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What Happened to My Motivation on Mexican Monday?

Unmotivated on Monday
I had the hardest time peeling myself out of bed this morning. Jason got up to go swim at 5 am and there was just no way I was getting up. I fell back to sleep almost immediately in fact. I feel like I'm getting a cold or allergy crud so maybe that's the reason for the sluggishness.

Today was supposed to be Upper + Plyo. The upper body exercises were done as supersets of 4 sets of 8 reps.

SS#1
Chest - Flat bench flyes (supposed to have been incline but I goofed)
Back - Dumbbell pullover

SS#2
Shoulder - Arnold press
Shoulder - Lateral raises

SS#3
Biceps - Incline curls
Triceps - Overhead extension

SS#4
Split squats (added this in lieu of plyo, see reason below)
Donkey kicks (with 8# DB)

Early on in the day, I knew that I wasn't feeling just super energized. I wanted to go ahead and get the weights done before I somehow actually talked myself out of them entirely. Yes, I was seriously feeling that unmotivated. I sort of made a deal with myself, do the weights at lunch, add on a leg exercise, and forgo plyo. Rather than plyo, I opted for a fun-factor type of cardio instead (done after work). I just wasn't feeling up to a high-intensity workout to be quite honest. So I decided to listen to my body and do something that I knew I'd enjoy rather than force myself to do something I was going to grumble through. So, I chose a shorter premix from Cathe's Step Blast.

Mexican Monday
To take a lot of guess work out of dinner tonight, I opted for the Mexican Monday theme. While there are still a ton of options to choose from (quesadillas vs burritos vs taco salad), it certainly narrowed down the overall "what to make" list to something more manageable. The next factor was the "ease of making" factor. Very important when you're less than motivated on a Monday evening. I had thought about doing "Chorizo" Stuffed Poblano Peppers as I found some monster-sized poblanos the other day. 

However, Jason was seriously wanting to try these tamales he picked up at Whole Foods. Ok, they're frozen, and pretty much ready to go other than making sides. The ease factor totally won today.The tamales were by White Mountain (they have 3 flavors, we just got the one marked "Vegetarian") and were completely vegan but not gluten free.

I made a Spicy Black Bean Barley to be used as the bed for the tamales. On the side, we had zucchini, red and green bell peppers and onions that we sauteed with lemon juice, cilantro, cumin, chili powder, red pepper, salt and pepper.

Spicy Black Bean Barley
Ingredients:
dried barley
water or vegetable broth
1 can diced tomatoes, well drained
1 can black beans, rinsed, drained
1 jalapeno, minced
2 tbsp minced garlic
2-3 green onions
To taste: salt, pepper, cumin, red pepper, chili powder, cilantro, lime juice

Directions:
Cook barley according to package directions. Once cooked, stir in remaining ingredients and cook until heated through.

In all honesty, I can't recall that I ever tried a tamale as a meat eater. So I really don't have much to go on for comparison. I will say that these were really quite good. I may try my hand at making my own tamales now. 

Comments

  1. Ooooh, I LOVE tamales!!

    And hey, sometimes you just gotta go back to sleep. I hope you're not coming down with something :-(

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  2. Tamales! I have never made them myself! You make it look so easy...

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  3. Anna @ Newlywed, Newly Veg The brand had 2 other flavors that I may try or just try to find an easy recipe. Maybe just a tamale pie... I think it's just allergies going on, or I sure hope so anyway!

    Jenna @ Healthy. Happy. Well. Oh, these were super simple...since I didn't hand make them LOL. Just heating in the microwave. There's something to be said for convenience from time to time!!

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  4. Ooh, these look amazing!!

    I have been feeling really tired, too. I think it's the change of seasons & my allergies acting up. No fun! Good for you for working out. I talked myself out of it today!

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  5. ive had meat tamales and veggie tamales.. and the veg ones taste way better!!! no comparison needed :)

    xoxo <3

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  6. Sorry you didn't feel like yourself today. I hope tomorrow will be better.

    I have made tamales but it has been years, maybe a decade even. I remember them being labor intensive and the dough having a good bit of fat. I will be very curious to see your healthy version. If you want me to dig up the recipe I used let me know. I can find it and email it to you if it will help.

    Alicia

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  7. tamales..wow what a great job on those! I have never eaten a tamale. it's just not my "thing" from the cooked food to the spices to usually being made with meat...just gimme some raw cauliflower and i am happy LOL
    xoox

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  8. I have never had a tamale, but have always wanted to try them. Glad it tasted good.

    Also, your workout still looked stellar to me. Even if it was adjusted from plyo training.

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  9. Jess @ The Domestic Vegan I definitely think allergies are having something to do with it. It was also a Monday!

    Kelsey @ Snacking Squirrel It's nice to hear someone admit that sometimes veggie version are better!! Of course, I always think that ;-)

    Thanks Alicia @ Vegan Epicurean ! I figured they'd be easy to make, but take a while to prepare. These were actually surprisingly low in calories, fat, everything. They were essentially seitan filled and the masa was really thin.

    Averie @ Loves Veggies and Yoga Yep the whole meat thing is why I've not tried them LOL. They never looked appealing actually. I love spicy foods, I'm sure you can tell. I'm all for raw cauliflower too - mmmmm!

    Tina @ Tina Bit of Faith Fun and Fitness I just always thought tamales looked gross to be honest. I would never have bought these, but my hubby really wanted to try them out. They definitely made my life easy for dinner last night!

    I felt surprisingly strong for weights and was really happy with my decision to listen to my body and forgo plyo. There's no need to have a crummy workout just b/c I feel I must stick to a plan right?

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  10. I LOVE tamales...SO impressed that you made them yourself!!! Nice job!! I hope you aren't getting sick and are feeling better today!!! :)

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  11. Heather,

    It is good to know they can be made low fat and still taste good. I may need to play around with a homemade version.

    thanks for letting me know,
    Alicia

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  12. I want to try to make my own tamales too. It sounds pretty time consuming, but that doesn't normally scare me off. This is the recipe that I have bookmarked to try (second comment down): http://www.postpunkkitchen.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=1285

    Isa knows her stuff so I'm sure they are amazing. :) For now I may need to try those frozen ones, because they look mighty tasty. Your barley is such a perfect healthy side dish. Yum!

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  13. You? No motivation?? Never! Just means you are human :-)

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  14. Hey Kelly @ Healthy Living with Kelly I didn't make these - they were a vegan/vegetarian brand the hubs found. I made the barely though ;-)

    Alicia @ Vegan Epicurean I plan on looking around at some different recipes to see what I can come up with.

    Sarah @ The Ordinary Vegetarian Thanks so much for the link. Definitely going to check it out. I may just end up opting for an easy "pie" type option. I just don't want the masa to be all mushy.

    Jessica @ EatDrinkBreatheSweat Human??? Me??? I know right ;-)

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  15. Heather,
    your dinner looks fabulous-sorry you were not feeling it on monday-i never do!

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  16. I've never made tamales. These look delicious. Love the name of your blog, btw. Just found it and read the "About" blurb. :)

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  17. I have never had Tamale's ... are there vegetarian tamales?

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  18. Ive never had a tamale in my life! But these look doable and tasty.

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  19. i wish your feed would show up in google reader! you should try to change that~ i would be able to read so many more posts of yours and i LOVE reading your blog.. it is just hard for me to click out of reader on my phone. but i am on my desktop now so here i am! the tamale looks so yum. i love tamales but have never made them myself. i would definitely want to check out those frozen ones! let me know if you make your own, i would love to see a recipe and how they turn out.

    i hate those unmotivated workout days!

    xoxo

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  20. Kalli @ Fit and Forty Something Thanks! Just something about Mondays sometimes...

    Thanks so much for stopping by Elina @ Healthy and Sane ! Now I can check out your blog ;-) Glad you found out the why for the name. Maybe I should make that bigger LOL.

    Gelareh @ Nutritious Foodie These were actually vegan!

    Kate @ What Kate Ate From what I've heard, people either like or don't like tamales. But I think there is a difference between have a really good on as opposed to a blah one. These really were good, vegan and pretty high on the healthy scale (oh and easy too!)

    Janetha @ Meals and Moves I've not had anyone else mention that they don't get updated feeds. Interesting. There is one blogger I try to follow and her feeds never show up for me. And when I try to copy and paste your blogger profile, it doesn't work, gives me a page not found. Wonder if that has something to do with it?

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