Workout Wednesday - Poolside Yoga

I decided to try something new and took my yoga workout outside by the pool.  If you happen to live in the one place in the country that hasn't been experiencing this oppressive HEAT, allow me to fill you in.  

I live in Central Florida...that's right, the Sunshine State.  And boy have we been living up to our name!  It has been H-O-T.  I'm a native and I love the heat and the summer time here in Florida but WHEW!  I may have been a little crazy taking my workout outside in the middle of the day but see that inviting blue pool behind me?  You better believe I jumped in it as soon as I was done Namaste-ing.

Thanks to Beachbody on Demand, I was able to take my laptop outside, set it up in the shade and press play on Yoga Fix (the yoga routine from the 21 Day Fix program).  I had just bought a yoga mat earlier that day, on major sale, thanks to Sport's Authority's going-out-of-business sale.  I have never owned a yoga mat before and I was excited to give it a spin.

After I slathered up with sunblock (sun protection is important people!) and threw on a bikini I was ready to go!  

Holy. Sweat.  

Who needs to pay for hot yoga classes in some fancy studio when you can just do yoga outside in Florida?!

OK, yes, there was a lot of sweat but that's fine with me!  I enjoy getting a good sweat on during my workouts.  Although, when it got to the poses that had me laying down on the rubber mat, I did have to put down a beach towel.  Sweaty body + sunblock + rubber mat = slippery yoga.

I did really enjoy taking it outdoors and doing a slower workout.  It let me enjoy the sounds and sights of my backyard.  I will definitely do this again and even try out some other types of workouts in the backyard.  Being able to workout in my bathing suit and jump in the pool immediately after is a real selling point!  

Also, check out that healthy post yoga glow I got...

Pesto Turkey Burgers with Burst Tomato and Mushroom Sauce

Sometimes you create a delicious meal without even trying.  This meal came about one night when I was thinking, "I have nothing in the fridge."  But then I played my "at home" version of Chopped.  I tell myself I need to come up with something from what is currently in the fridge and pantry.  Honestly, there have been times when the outcome is a grilled cheese or a bowl of cereal but this particular time I came up with a real winner. 

The inspiration?  A humble turkey burger.

I knew I had some turkey burgers in the fridge that had to be cooked so I started there.  I had a couple small handfuls left of some mixed greens as well as some grape tomatoes and mushrooms.  A jar of pesto that was also half used could be added to this meal for some extra flavor.  Only cooking with a few ingredients and able to make something yummy and healthy? Love it!

Ingredients:

• Turkey burgers (I used Butterball brand that is pre-seasoned and pre-portioned.)
• Mixed greens
• Mushrooms, cleaned and sliced (I used baby bella mushrooms.)
• Grape tomatoes, halved
• Pesto 
• Basil
• EVOO
• Salt and pepper

Instructions:

• Heat a cast iron pan over medium high heat.  Season each side of the turkey burgers with salt and pepper.  Cook until done (you want 165 degrees internal temperature).
• Meanwhile, in a separate pan, heat some EVOO over medium, medium high heat.  
• Add the mushrooms and cook until brown, about 5 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and cook until burst, another few minutes.
• Layer some mixed greens on your plate, top with the turkey burger.  Slather some pesto onto that hot turkey burger and top everything with the mushroom and tomato sauce.
• Garnish with some fresh chopped basil (optional).

Workout Wednesday - The Best Part of a Workout

While I was getting my sweat on this morning for Workout Wednesday, I started thinking about the best part of a workout.  I realized I had varying opinions on this based on how I feel on a certain day and what kind of workout I'm doing.

Yesterday's workout was my absolute favorite...T25 Speed 2.0.  Besides the fact that I already love the T25 workouts for the short workout time (25 minutes!) I realized the best part of that workout was in the middle of it, when I felt like I was killing it!  It's such an endorphin rush to be in the middle of something that challenges your mind and body and to feel like you are crushing goals.  

You know another part of a workout that I think is the best?  

Making the decision to DO IT. 

Just the simple act of saying to yourself, "YES, I am making time for this" is huge! You get on your gym clothes and you push play and you've started.  Once you start, it's usually easy to tackle a workout, especially if it's 30 minutes or less of sweat time.  

And then of course, you have...

That's a winner right there!  You know the END is always a great place to get to.  You've proven to yourself that you can do it.  You're capable.  You're getting stronger, faster, healthier each time you commit to a sweat session.  And you know that cool down stretch at the end feels GOOOOOOD.

Another awesome thing about the end of a workout?  For me, that usually means I'm about to eat and you know I like that!

Side Note: That cute little orange face at the top of this post is our other cat, Hubble. He's not as consistent a workout buddy as Hamilton, who I posted about last week, but he's not too shabby.  Just kidding!  I love both my fur babies and had to share a picture of Hubble this week to be fair.  This was after I just nailed my T25 Speed 2.0 workout and I was feeling pretty happy with myself and wanted to share the love.

Brie Cheese Fondue with Roasted Vegetables

Talk about a fancy fake out AND an incredibly delicious meal!  This is IT!  Credit goes to my mom on this one.  She saw this recipe on the Today show, tried it herself and raved about it. A one pan dinner with easy clean up, melty cheese and roasted veggies?  All favorite things of mine.  I knew I had to try it.

The original recipe can be found HERE.

This is one of those recipes that is so easy, you barely need a recipe to follow.  I also like that you can mix up the veggies and choose what you like or what's in season.  This would be equally delicious with summer vegetables or winter vegetables.

The basic idea is as follows...

• Choose a variety of vegetables you like.
• Season them simply with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast them in a hot oven.
• Place an entire wheel of brie cheese directly on the roasting pan for the last ten minutes or so.
• Dig in and enjoy!

I made this on a weeknight for me and my husband and it was incredibly easy and super tasty.  I like to call it a Fancy Fake Out because it looks fancy and complicated but it's actually very simple and also pretty affordable.  I also call it a One Pan Plan because it all cooks together on one big sheet pan.  Cover that sucker with aluminum foil before you add your ingredients and clean up is a snap!

Serve it with a glass of inexpensive champagne and you've got yourself a beautiful meal! When this came out of the oven I took it to the table directly like this and my husband and I just ate right off the pan with our forks.  No dishes required.  If you're making this for guests, feel free to use plates, unless you have a casual crowd, then the no plates thing is pretty fun!  Everyone gets a fork and digs in family style!

You could use this for a brunch, appetizer or dinner.  It would be so fun for entertaining friends.  Depending on the veggies you use and where you buy your brie, it's also pretty cheap and cheerful.  This version I made was meat free but you could easily roast some chicken or grill a steak and serve that with the vegetables.  Even easier?  Grab a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and serve it with the veggies and cheese. 

Another added bonus?  You don't need a fancy fondue pot and skewers to make this meal. Fondue = dipping stuff in melted cheese. No use-it-once-a-year-kitchen-equipment required.

Some of you may think, "But Casey, you're a Beachbody coach and you're eating a wheel of cheese??"  To that I say, Yes, yes I am.  I am a Beachbody Coach AND I eat cheese...often. It's all about balance.  And that cheese was accompanied by lots and lots of veggies.  All good people, all good.

Workout Wednesday - Fighting a Summer Cold

For the last several days I've been busy fighting a summer cold.  I rarely get sick so this one really knocked me on my butt this past weekend.  Ryan even said, in all the years we've been together, he can't remember seeing me sick.  I had what I thought was just a sore throat that cleared up in about a day and a half but then the sinus congestion came out of nowhere and hit me HARD.

Especially over the weekend, I was down for the count.  Couldn't breath from my nose and had to be a mouth breather...all weekend.  Not fun for anyone, let me tell you!  I was feeling a bit sluggish from being sick and laying around the house.  I hadn't had a good workout in at least 4 days and I had an overall feeling of ICK.  

But, I know it's important to listen to my body.  I could barely bend over and pick something up without my head feeling like it would explode from the sinus pressure. There was NO WAY I would get through a normal workout.  And you know what, that's OK.  I mean really, who am I trying to prove something to?  No one.  I know I live a healthy lifestyle and get normal exercise and also treat my body well by regularly eating good-for-me food.  Taking three, four or even five days off from working out wasn't going to hurt me.  If anything, it would help me heal and give my body the rest it needed. 

Sure, there are those people who are like, "Man, I had a fever, runny nose and was coughing every 5 seconds, but I went to the gym anyway!"  Dude, stay home!  Lay down on the couch, binge on Netflix and get some rest like a normal sick person. :)  No one is handing out medals for working out while you're sick.  Take the rest!

Treating myself to chocolate Shakeology, green tea with honey and water while I was sick and didn't have much of an appetite. 

And even though today is Workout Wednesday, I'm taking the rest.  I think I'm just about over the cold but I still have some congestion and I don't want to push it.  I did manage a workout yesterday and it felt pretty good but I could tell my body wasn't up for two days in a row of high intensity cardio.  

You know what else helped get me through that workout yesterday?  Besides the fact that it was only 25 minutes and it felt good to feel like I was sweating out the sick...

My ever present workout buddy, Hamilton!  That's our gray cat in the picture below.  As soon as I turn on the DVD and he hears a workout starting, he runs into the living room and stays there with me the whole time.  He sat in a shoe box and watched me during my whole workout.  I mean, come on!  How could I not enjoy my workout while I had this cute face staring up at me, giving me motivation in his own special way?  I laughed my way through most of my workout and it felt pretty good.  I had to take a photo with this guy after I was done. He's the sweetest!

Hamilton, I look forward to getting my sweat on tomorrow with you by my side!  Tonight, I'm taking it easy and crawling into bed early.

Workout Wednesday - Stand Up Paddle Boarding

Over the 4th of July weekend my husband and I got to visit my parents on the west coast of Florida.  Fun fact, my parents live on a boat!  They sold the house about 5 years ago and bought a 58' Hatteras that they've been living on ever since.  They tend to move around Florida but for the last year and a half they have stayed in a small town on the west coast.  I love getting to visit them because I get my water and boat fix that I miss out on living in central Florida.

I knew the weekend would be full of drinks and food that maybe weren't the healthiest choices but I also knew it would be fun!  I had planned on getting in some swimming, walking on the beach, and had my fingers crossed for a chance to do stand up paddle boarding (SUP).  I had tried this once before years ago and really enjoyed it.  Again, living in central Florida, I'm not close to the river, gulf or ocean to be able to do it as often as I would like.  

You may say, "But Casey, you have a bunch of lakes in central Florida that you can paddle board on."  Yes, we have lakes, but you know what lives in lakes?  Gators.  
NO THANK YOU!

Put me in the gulf or ocean any day and I'm a happy girl.  This brings me to today's Workout Wednesday post.  I wanted to share a little about my SUP experience since it is a great way to take your exercise outdoors, which I'm always a fan of.

Luckily, my parents meet some pretty cool people in the boating life and their neighbors at the dock happen to own a paddle board.  They graciously let me borrow it for the couple of days we were there.  Even though I'd only done SUP once before, it came pretty naturally to me.  I love that it's a total body workout (arms, legs, core) but it doesn't feel like a workout...meaning I'm having too much FUN to notice how hard my body is working.

How could I focus on what my body was doing when I was too busy navigating my way around boats, other SUP-ers and swimmers.  All while enjoying the beautiful scenery and the wildlife swimming below me in the crystal clear water.  So many types of fish, sand dollars, sea urchins, dolphins and manatees!  You certainly don't get that view plodding away on a treadmill at the gym!

Don Pedro Island - Beautiful shot of the Gulf of Mexico that we swam in.  I paddle boarded right on the other side of this island in the Intracoastal Waterway.

There was an area of the Intracoastal that we took a pontoon boat down and dropped anchor.  The water was maybe six feet deep and so clear you could see to the bottom.  It was also super flat with little to no boat traffic.  Any boats that did pass by had to go very slowly due to being in a manatee zone (no wake allowed).  I have no idea how long or for how far I paddled but I loved every minute of it and could have gone for hours.

That's my husband in the photo above, hitching a ride on the board.  This added to the workout when he sat on the board!  I had to work to find my balance and I could feel that in my core but what a fun way to get some fresh air, sunshine and exercise!  It was so quiet in this area of water, it almost felt like we were the only ones around.  

Don't worry.  Ryan took a turn paddling and I was the one enjoying the ride.  Look at that water and the mangroves.  So peaceful.

We don't make it out to either coast very often, as it's at least an hour drive from the central Florida area, but I would love to try and get out to the coast again soon, just to paddle board.  If there were gator free areas in my neighborhood I would go out tomorrow, buy a paddle board and get on the water.  I'll just have to wait for my next visit to the beach.

Sunset from the bow of my parent's boat, Evergeen, looking out over the Intracoastal.  You can see why I love any time I can get to the coast...west or east, doesn't matter. Just take this mermaid to the water!