Skip to main content

Busy Saturday: Workout, Cooking, Partying

This morning was a busy one. I had several dishes to get prepped for my sisters party, plus squeeze in my workout. Today I did a premix from Step Blast (about 40 minutes), then the last of the Total Body Training workouts for week 1, which was two sets at 15 reps of each exercise:

Triceps - weighted bench dips
Calves - calf raises
Quads - elevated lunges
Shoulders- lateral raise s
Back - bent-over raise
Chest - decline dumbbell flyes
(I did add on 2 sets of 6 reps of alternating bicep curls)

After my workout, Jason and I had lunch together. I heated up a can of Progresso Creamy Tomato Basil soup and made a salad with fresh spinach, red leaf lettuce, chickpeas, roasted red bell peppers, sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts and balsamic vinaigrette.


Then it was time to get serious about food prepping. I had already made the ciabatta bread so that was easy enough. The butternut squash & black bean chili had been previously made and frozen. Last night Jason helped me make the corn bread (see Fat Free Vegan's recipe. The only alteration is omitting the corn and adding chipotle chili flakes). For the spinach & artichoke dip, I decided to seek out a new, healthier recipe. I found one called "Yummy Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip" at Recipezaar.com. Of course I made some changes, but just a few:

Yummy Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip
Ingredients:
1/2 yellow onion, diced (I used a whole small onion)
1 (12 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, squeezed dry (I use 2 10oz packages)
1 (8 ounce) jar marinated artichoke hearts (I used almost a whole can of artichokes in water, diced)
1 tablespoon olive oil (I used maybe 1/2 a tablespoon)
1 (12 ounce) package firm silken tofu
1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
3 garlic cloves (I used approximately 2 1/2 tablespoons minced)
2-3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (I used 3)
1 teaspoon dried basil (I used a tablespoon)
1 teaspoon (I used a tablespoon)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Saute onion, spinach and artichoke hearts until soft (I sauteed the onions first, then added the spinach and artichokes).

Blend together tofu, nutritional yeast, garlic, vinegar, and spices in blender until mixed and smooth.

Combine all ingredients (add extra seasonings as needed). Poor into baking dish and bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned on top.

I will be heating this up at my sister's, so pictures and results will be posted tomorrow. I did have a taste of the sauce, and I think it's really going to be tasty.


Comments

  1. Sounds like some pretty delicious food! I hope you have a lot of fun party.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The spinach and artichoke dip sounds good. Please do let us know what you think tomorrow.

    Have fun tomorrow,
    Alicia

    ReplyDelete
  3. Suzie thanks so much. Everything turned out fabulous. I'm about to start working on the follow-up post!

    Alicia the dip was a hit!

    ReplyDelete
  4. yummy!! That dip sounds fantastic! I miss spinach dip so this is a great alternative!!

    I am now a follower of your blog, come visit mine anytime!

    Jessica

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for stopping by Dairy Free Betty ! This was really a terrific recipe. I will definitely be using this one from now on. I think some additions may be sundried tomatoes too. YUM. By the way, I may have to give your soy yogurt recipe a shot. YUM.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I Run to Feel Alive

Today is National Running Day . Guess what I did this morning? Cycling? Nope. Lifting? Nope. I bet you thought kickboxing right? Nope. Running? But of course! I actually sort of planned my running days this week just so I could participate this year. I didn't get to run last year and didn't even know about it the year before. But running has become such an integral part of my life and who I am, that I couldn't miss this year. Basically, I run to feel alive . It calms me, it helps me work through life, it's often a reason to get out of bed. No matter how tough a run is, it makes you feel ... period. My plan was to get in 5 miles (got in 5.5 actually). It was about 10 degrees warmer this morning and definitely more humid. That always makes for a tougher run. We decided to take a different route today. Well, it was really only a few streets over different, but still. The point is we took a different street. Sometimes that's good, sometimes not. I did realize th...

Love in Photos

In honor of Valentine's Day - Love in Photos Husband Family and Furbabies Friends Even if you're not a fan of Valentine's Day - I hope you have a wonderful day and remember the loves in your life.

Taco Thursday

Rest for the Weary  Today I have some DOMS going on from yesterday's biceps/triceps/shoulder workout. I only briefly thought about getting up for an early run, but our lows were going to be 79/80 degrees, and the humidity is extreme - makes the heat so much worse. So I didn't even bother with a run or pretending to think about a run. I had really wanted to do back and chest today, but my arms are too sore and the workout would have suffered as a result. Believe it or not, I do know my limits. So today was a rest day. I really wish that I could have mustered the energy for a cardio only day though because this means I'll have to force my rear out of bed tomorrow morning in order to get the workout done. The dogs are getting groomed (very much overdue) in the morning so Jason will take them in, but I will have to pick them up after work. Sometimes I think morning workouts are worse when I know they are a must. Hmmm, need to refocus how I think about them. Tomorrow I wil...