Today’s Market Salad and WIAW is Back!

Sweaty Stats: Yesterday was the first time in a while that I’ve worked out so hard in the gym that I felt exhausted and actually thought my legs would buckle!  Either I never work out hard (hmmm…something to think about), or the holidays left me a bit out of shape when it comes to hitting the gym (as opposed to the hitting the pavement).  I did a combo of this leg workout and some ab work paired with sprinting on the treadmill…this is what it looked like:

• Started with 7 easy minutes on the bike to get my legs warmed up
• 1 circuit of the leg workout (not resting in between exercises)
• Sprinted half a mile on the treadmill
• Immediately moved into my ab work – on mat: crunches, side crunches, russian twists, and leg lifts; on stability ball: more crunches  *rest for 1-2 minutes and get water*
• Repeat it all over again (leg workout, sprint, and abs)
• Cool down on the bike for 5  minutes with no resistance

I was a hot mess after all this!  My hair was inexplicably messy (I should’ve taken a picture!) and I was sweaty and stinky.  You’re welcome for the mental picture 🙂

Fortunately I had another great salad to come home to!  Here’s day 2 of my Salad Challenge.  I changed the order of my plan (today was supposed to be the Mexican Cesar) because I was out of Romain lettuce, so I made my usual ‘go-to’ salad.

Ingredients:

• Spring Mix (as much as you want)
• 1 Ounce Goat Cheese
• 1/4 Ripe Pear
• 2 Strawberries
• 1 Tbls. Light Raspberry Vinaigrette (I use the Trader Joe’s brand, but any will work – I suppose you can make your own, but this one works just fine for me)
• Coarse Ground Salt and Pepper (optional)

Throw it all on a plate or bowl and sprinkle with some freshly ground salt and pepper.  This is one of the (almost) no prep salads thats absolutely delicious.  I love the way the fruit and goat cheese compliment each other perfectly.

Variations: Today I had it as a side salad, so there aren’t too many nutritional power house ingredients in there.  If I’m having it as a meal, I would add avocado and 1-2 hard boiled eggs on the side or some other kind of protein.  I don’tt eat chicken, but that would work well too.

Speaking of what I ate after my workout, after a hiatus from What I Ate Wednesday (WIAW) due to the holiday eating rush, it’s back!  It’s not that I didn’t want to take pictures of the holiday goodies, but I always forgot to take pictures of it because I was stuffing it in my trap too fast!  So here’s what I stuffed in my trap yesterday.

Pre-workout: 1/2 a Kashi bar Post-workout: Chocolate Milk

Lunch: Market Salad (Today’s Salad in my Salad Challenge) and leftover Cauliflower Pizza

Fuel for Shopping: Skinny Iced Mocha

Snack while Cooking Dinner: Chips and Salsa

(I had never tried these chips before, and they’re awesome!  No…I didn’t eat all this, my hubby had some too)

Dinner: Salmon Burger on a Sandwich Thin with Spinach and a Spicy Teriyaki Aioli I made

Spicy Teriyaki Aioli

Ingredients: (I’m not sure if I can call it an aioli because it’s not mayonnaise based, but I’m calling it that anyways)

• 1 Tbls. Plain Greek Yogurt
• 1 tsp. Teriyaki Sauce/Marinade
• 1 tsp. (or less) of Chipotle Pepper in Adobo Sauce.  I buy canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, for this I used the adobo sauce that was in the chipotle peppers can.  If don’t have this or can’t find it, some kind of hot sauce will work too, it adds a great spicy kick to the sweetness of the teriyaki.

Night Time Snack: Tea with a Chocolate Brownie Clif Kid Z Bar

(I actually only got through half the bar because it satisfied my sweet tooth)

So there’s my day of eats in a nutshell!   Happy Hump Day 🙂

Do you finally feel like you’re back into your normal eating after the holidays?

Did your gym stamina take a hit too?

Are you taking the salad challenge?  How’s it going?