Super Easy & Nutritious “Faux Mexican” Dinner

Looking for a quick, nutritious dinner with a little kick? I discovered this easy recipe from a friend who posted a photo of her dinner on Instagram, so I asked for the recipe, then made it my own.

Lindsay calls this “Faux Mexican”…I’m not quite sure why, but either way, it rocks! It has the right kick to it, and can be great with tortillas, tacos, tortilla chips, brown rice, as chili, or like I made it.

“Faux Mexican”

1 lb ground turkey
1 can reduced sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes with green chills
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 package reduced sodium taco seasoning

1. Brown the ground turkey. Meanwhile, dice the green and red bell peppers.
2. Once the meat has been browned, add the black beans, green and red bell peppers, diced tomatoes, taco seasoning, and a little bit of water (I put some water in the tomato can to get the last bits of tomatoes).
3. Simmer for about 10-20 minutes, depending on how much liquid you want left, and until desired softness of the bell peppers.
4. Serve with the desired sides: I used shredded lettuce to make a naked taco salad of sorts, with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt and a little bit of shredded cheese.

A one-pot meal with protein, fiber, and can be pretty darn filling! I served this with croissant rolls that I unrolled, sprinkled some garlic powder and shredded cheese, rolled up, and baked in the oven. They were just perfect for the meal on a cold winter night.

The finished product: So colorful (and yummy)!!

Your turn: What’s your favorite one-pot meal?

Yuletide Greetings!

Can you believe it’s Christmas already?? This month has flown by so quickly with everything going on, it’s been hard to get into the Christmas spirit, but we’ve tried!

We took the pups (and the cats) to our favorite humane society that was having photos with Santa. So here, for your entertainment and holiday cheer, are our fur kids wishing you a very Meowy, Appy Christmas!

Sean and Sarabi

LaMesa and Dallas Mae

Sweat Pink Secret Santa!

I cannot believe Christmas is this week! Crazy!!

This weekend I received my Sweat Pink Secret Santa present in the mail, and to be honest I was so excited. I haven’t participated in a Secret Santa in a long time. I had fun shopping for my person, but I won’t say what all I got her because her package is scheduled to arrive on Wednesday.

A box full of CrossFit clothing goodness!

Anyway, I was excited to open up the package from Kaseedee J, which was nicely wrapped! Inside I was excited to see a package from Sparkly Soul Headbands! You remember how I’ve been having a hard time finding a headband that doesn’t slip off during my workouts? Well many people said to try Sparkly Soul, so now I get to! I’ll let you know how it works after I try it out.

The big question is, will this headband stay in place during a WOD? We shall see!

I also got a pair of awesome knee high socks from The Sox Box. I definitely think Taylor at Man O’War CrossFit will approve of them:

YAY BURPEES!

She also sent me a pretty cool shirt from a company I hadn’t heard of before, SwirlGear. The shirt feels lightweight, so it’ll be nice to use at the gym. It’s such a fun color, too!

Thanks so much, Kaseedee! I love it all!

Your turn: Have you participated in a Secret Santa this year? What’s been your favorite gift you’ve given/received? 

The Big Move

I warned y’all I was going to be a little quiet for a while. Truth is, I just didn’t have the time to focus on even writing a simple blog post. December has been a big month for us, so far, and it’s only half-way done.

I started my new job at the beginning of the month. Things have been going well, but I’m still in the process of getting to know people, learning my position (which was created just for me, so we don’t really know what it’ll encompass just yet), going through lots of ISO training, etc. When I come home, I walk the pups, and just wanted to relax and spend time with M.

We moved! Oh yeah…that’s right. By the way, we found a new house to rent! And it’s only like a mile and a half from our old house. It’s great–bigger house, bigger back yard for the girls, nice neighborhood. We basically had only a couple of days to move last week because we wanted to beat the winter weather that was coming. M and I did most of the move ourselves, but we were lucky to have some friends stop by for a couple hours here and there, so that in 48 hours we had moved houses. Saturday was spent unpacking and organizing in the new house, then Sunday we finished cleaning the old house and putting away boxes and containers in the shed at our new house.

Sean even helped pack–he wanted to make sure we didn’t forget him.

The pets took the move pretty well–the cats love the multiple windows to sit in and watch birds, the dogs love the large yard. And we love the bigger rooms. We still have some things to do–we are going to repaint some of the rooms (I’ll post photos later), and a little more decorating, but for now it’s cozy. Sunday night I was even able to put up our Christmas tree and some of our decorations to make the new house festive and cozy.

Our cozy living room with a fireplace and our tree!

I’m still doing CrossFit, but going to the earliest class, which kind-of stinks because I miss my 7:30 am buddies and those who came in later, but I’d rather push to go earlier so I can get my workout in before work than wait until the evening. I have some thoughts to share on my fitness and health lately, so look for that in an upcoming post.

I got a new phone. I’m no longer part of the “Apple crowd” with an iPhone (though I still have my MacBook). A couple of weeks ago the top button on my phone stopped working, which meant I couldn’t lock the screen, I couldn’t turn off my phone, etc. Then it started shutting itself off. Best Buy had a big sale on the Samsung Galaxy S4 and M as been talking about switching because he had heard so much about them. We did our research, talked to people, and I (reluctantly) dove into changing phones. I’m still getting used to it, and still miss my iPhone, but it’s not too bad.

Oh yeah, and I’m still trying to do the Elf4Health Challenge! I wasn’t able to do some of the challenges due to the move and new job (i.e., run your fastest mile), but I had already done the clean out your pantry challenge with cleaning out things for the move. We also did the clean out your closet and donate challenge with the move–easy and done! (Though we usually always do that at least twice a year when we get out our winter and summer clothes.) Yesterday’s challenge of doing a wall sit was something I knew I just needed to do right after my WOD at Man O’War CrossFit. So after a hellacious WOD complete with 60 wall balls, double unders, and a 100m walking lunge, I went straight to a wall and made it through a 90 second wall sit with quivering legs. Killer!

Finally, can you believe Christmas is a week away?? It’s hard, right now, for us to get into the Christmas spirit around here, but we’re trying! M has to work on Christmas, so for the first time in my life I won’t get to celebrate the holidays with my family in Indiana…and I’m heartbroken. So we don’t really know what we’ll do, yet.

Your turn: Are you still working out through the holidays? Any interesting moving stories you can share? (Our move was actually drama and story free.)

 

Silent Nights…It’s a Little Quiet Over Here

Just a quick note to let y’all know I’m sorry for being so quiet lately. On top of me starting my new job and getting used to a whole new schedule (and new stressors), M and I are currently packing up our house of 3.5 years and moving to a new house this week/weekend. Every afternoon I have come home, walked the pups, then started packing things. By the time I stop, I’m too exhausted to even want to read some of my favorite blogs, let along write in mine.

So I hope you understand! I’ll be back after we get a little more settled and I’ll update you on everything. I hate to feel like I’ve dropped the ball, but hopefully soon that’ll be rectified.

Until then, have a great week! Stay healthy! And enjoy as much Christmas festivities as possible! (And then tell me about it!)

Last year’s Santa photo with the pups. When I can get ours back from this year, I’ll share them!

Gratitude for Life, Happiness, & New Starts

I’m a day late, but on Sunday the Elf4Health challenge was to make a gratitude list of 20 things you’re grateful for. This was a fun, yet maybe a little difficult, challenge that we did last year, and I’m happy to do it again this year.

So, in no certain order:

1. My husband. I never thought I would find someone who could put up with my smart ass attitude and my different swings, etc. I’m also thankful for all the times he’s made me laugh.
2. My parents. As if I needed to point it out, but I wouldn’t be where I am if it weren’t for their patience, support, and cheerleading. I’m a very lucky girl.
3. My dogs. Everyday, no matter how bad things were outside of the house, no matter how bad the day as, I can come home and they make me smile and laugh without pause. They’ve helped me get through a lot of things.
4. The horses. I still swear that my horses helped make me the person I am today. Growing up with horses helped give me a purpose and direction in life (and, for that, I can thank my parents as well.
   
5. My friends. So we might not agree all of the time, and we might be different in quite a few ways, but I can always count on my friends to laugh with me, commiserate with me, and just plain hang out.
6. My body. No, I might not be in love with the shape of my body, but my body allows me to put it through the misery of CrossFit and running. I might be getting a little achy nowadays, but I won’t stop moving it!
   
7. CrossFit. Oh, yes, I have to be thankful for CrosFit. I have learned a lot about myself, and it has helped me get through some really tough times this year.
8. Coaches. I’m thankful for all of the coaches/trainers that I’ve worked with through the years. Whether it be my CrossFit coach, Taylor, agility instructors, horse trainers, team coaches, they’ve all pushed me to do more and be a better person in many ways.
9. Christmas. It might sound odd, but I’m thankful for a holiday that still has so much magic tied to it–people are generally better people, and the festivities are always so much fun and make you feel like a kid again. We need that more than once a year.
10. Technology. It can be a good, and bad thing. But technology has allowed us to keep in touch with family and friends far away, and do work in better ways.
11. A New Year. I’m going to be so thankful for 2014. M and I are hoping 2014 is finally our year, where we can start to enjoy each other without the stress of being unemployed, unhappy, etc.
12. Our freedom. We are a very lucky country, and we have many men and women to thank for putting their lives on the line everyday for our freedom. Let’s not forget them.
    
13. Fleece. OK, so I went from one serious extreme to an off-the-cuff one, but as I’m sitting here wearing my fleece pants, while wrapped in a fleece blanket on this cold evening, I’m thankful to have this fabric to keep me comfy and cozy all winter long!
14. Writing. Because of my ability to write, I’m lucky to have my freelancing business that I launched this year. Plus my writing in this blog, as well as my dog agility training blog, has been great for a mental release.
15. A Good Pair of Shoes. A good pair of shoes can help you run 13.1 miles comfortably, or stabilize you in a clean and jerk, or make you feel sexy while out to dinner with your husband. A good pair of shoes (or even boots) is so important!
    
16. Lexington. I am lucky to live in the middle of horse country. Lexington can be so pretty any time of year. If you haven’t experienced it in the spring yet, you definitely need to–beautiful blooms and lots of Thoroughbred foals frolicking in the fields.
17. Our New House. We’re moving this week to a new rental house, and I’m excited about it. We’re still in a nice location, but this house has a bigger backyard for the pups, plus a screened in back porch (perfect for the cats), and just exactly the fresh start we’re looking for.
18. My New Job. It feels odd going back to work, but yet like normal, even though I haven’t worked in an actual office setting for six months. I’m thankful for the steady paycheck and hopefully new skills that I’ll learn from my new co-workers.
19. My Senses. I love the smell of leather, horse sweat, vanilla, and clean sheets. I love the sound of horses nickering, barbells clanging in the box, and a diesel truck. I love seeing my pups wiggle their stumps and horses streak across the horizon. I love petting my animals and the feel of soft leather. And I love the taste of chocolate, a good spaghetti, and bourbon. I’m lucky to have all of my senses.
20. A Good Sweat. I love the feeling of a good sweat, and I’m thankful for that feeling and for being able to pull that off. A good sweat can clear your mind, arteries, and set you back on the right track.

Your turn: List two things you’re grateful for!

Link Love: Learning About Mental Strength & Rest Days

Brief post today–I’m sorry I haven’t written much this week, but with the new job and article deadlines, I’m still trying to figure out my new schedule.

I found a couple of articles that were pretty interesting and helped me learn something new about mental strength and physical strength, so I thought I’d share them with you:

 

Mentally Strong People: The 13 Things They Avoid: I’m always trying to to figure out not only how to be physically strong, but mental strong–intellectually, will-power-wise, etc. This was eye opening and makes you think, “Do I do that? If so, how can I change it?”

Your New Lifestyle: Relax Your Way to High Performance: Re-think your “off days” from your training. I know I don’t really take off days, and when I do, they’re not all that relaxing.

The 80/20 Rule of Double Under Jump Rope Training: I hate double unders. I’m great at jump rope (singles), but I get so many welts on my legs and are when I work on my double unders, yet it’s something I want to be good at. Reading this has convinced me I need my own rope to practice at home…a lot.

Your turn: Share your favorite link you’ve read this week below! And have a great weekend!

Related articles

• Choosing The Right Speed Rope (kenyafitnesslife.wordpress.com)

Thankful Letters, Colorful Meals, New Job

It’s been a busy, busy week. I spent the rest of Thanksgiving holiday on my parents’ farm, spending time with family, my horses, and just relaxing, which was much needed.

Sunday I came home to my offer package on a new job, which I started on Monday. It’s been a long time coming, but I started a new part-time job working as a digital content coordinator for a pharmaceutical company. It’s a brand new position, and I’ll be learning a lot, I’m sure. I have to figure out my days now–when to go to CrossFit, when to walk the dogs, when to focus on my freelancing business… But it’ll be a good challenge and a good change.

Now for an update on the Elf4Health Challenge:

Saturday’s challenge was to treat myself. I spent a beautiful morning riding my horses, my mom and I went out for some shopping, some bagels from my favorite bagel shop, and some yummy lattes. It was definitely what we needed.

Sunday’s challenge was to complete 100 burpees. Burpees suck…period! But 100? Woo! But it was great to do to burn of the turkey.

Monday we had to handwrite some notes. Unfortunately, after my first day on the job, stressing about finishing an article, and getting some bad news on my husband’s potential job, I found it hard to do a handwritten note. So I put it off until Tuesday afternoon and wrote some notes to my friends who have had my back lately. It felt great to pass on the cards for a little surprise.

Tuesday we needed to eat the rainbow. I started out strong, with scrambled eggs with salsa and Green Goddess juice for breakfast (and half a banana with peanut butter before CrossFit), fumbled a little at lunch (honey crisp apple and half a peanut butter whole wheat sandwich–boring), but then lots of color when we went for dinner with friends to my favorite Mexican restaurant.

 

Time to tackle the rest of the week. I hope you’re having a good one!

Your turn: What’s the most colorful meal you’ve had this week?