Resolutions, Exercise, Dinner

Contemplating Resolutions

How are you doing with your resolutions? I'm sort of 2 for 2. I only listed 4 that I borrowed from fellow blogging buddies (Jessica and Allie).

• Stop with the "can't wait" (as in can't wait for Friday)
  
• Stop with the negative talk
• Smile
• Compliment someone

2 Up

I've done really good with stopping the "can't wait" mentality thus far. Of course it's only the 6th right? But I didn't start wishing my week away on Monday. However, I will admit that I have secretly said, "I can't wait for Saturday," simply because it's my sister's birthday party. I'll be going to her house early to help her set up and staying the night. So that's acceptable right? I think so. I've done good with the smiling. I smile at myself first thing in the morning every morning - it's how I put on blush (some tip I read ages ago). No matter how crummy I am feeling, I have to smile to put on the blush and the added bonus is that I'm smiling at myself. It sure works to make you feel a little better right off the bat. Try it sometime!

2 Down

Now, on to the one's I've slacked on. I totally forgot about the complimenting one so I'll cut myself some slack. As for the negative talk, still happening. Maybe not as bad as before, but I have some major room for improvement on that particular resolution. I think that's the one I really need to focus on the most.

Working Out

Today was my 2nd workout using the Total-Body Training rotation. I warmed up on the treadmill for about 20 minutes. Then hit the weights. Today was 3 sets of 8 reps of each exercise.

Shoulders - military press

Quads - leg press

Chest - incline dumbbell press (I ended up using cables as I had no spotter)

Back - chinups

Biceps - preacher curls (these are the bane of my existence)

Triceps - lying dumbbell extensions

I normally would have done spin with my husband tonight, but my legs were fairly fatigued from a culmination of Sun-Tues workouts. All involved the quads, then I did them again today. So I sort of wimped out.

Eating Dinner

Dinner was a crockpot affair that I started before I left for work. I'm digging the slow cooker idea and need to find more recipes. Start it in the morning, and voila, dinner when you get home. Just take a little bit of time to get it prepped the night before and it's even easier (especially when you're not a morning person). The recipe is loosely based on a Moroccan Couscous Stew that I have made before. I was lacking some of the ingredients though, so here's how this one went.

Moroccan Couscous Stew

Ingredients:

1 sweet potato, diced

1/2 red onion, diced

1/2 green bell pepper, diced

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 1/2 cups dried chickpeas soaked overnight, rinsed and drained

32 oz low-sodium vegetable broth

Spices to taste: curry powder, turmeric, salt, black pepper, cinnamon, red pepper (you may have to add more before serving)

Whole-wheat couscous

Dried currants

Spices to tasted for couscous (I used same spices as with stew)

Directions:

Place all ingredients in crockpot and turn on low for approximately 8 hours.

Cook your couscous according to the package directions, adding in the currants and seasonings to your liking.

To serve, put small serving of couscous in bowl and ladle stew over the top.

Note: I did over-cook the dish so the sweet potatoes were more mush than not. My crockpot is a cheap version and about 10 years old. In other words, it's either hot or hotter. So your times may vary. I would also have preferred to have included red bell pepper and squash, but I did not have either.

Sorry there are no photos, something went awry with the camera and it didn't save any of the photos that I took even though they were there when I previewed. Very disappointing. UPDATE - took photos of leftovers sans couscous. Close enough right?