Chicken Salad with Almonds

photo provided courtesy of elanaspantry.com

Today I would like to share with you a recipe from one of my favorite websites http://www.elanaspantry.com/ for Chicken Salad with Almonds

Ingredients:

2 cups chicken, shredded (use last night's chicken)

1 cup slivered almonds, toasted

1 cup dried cranberries

3 apples, sliced and chopped

4 cups mesclun greens

½ cup olive oil

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt


1.Place the almonds in a pan over low heat and toast them, while you core, slice and chop the apples

2.Remove almonds from heat when they are lightly browned

3.In a large salad bowl, toss together chicken, (warm) almonds, cranberries, chopped apples and mesclun greens

4.Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar, toss, then sprinkle with salt

5.Serve

Serves 6 to 8
 

The recipe is to be credited to elanaspantry.com

Friday 7-30-10 Workout

For today's workout we did 1 minute of each exercise and repeated it 5x:

Squat Square Jumps
Spiderman Push Ups
Sideways Burpee
Squat, Lunge & Kick
Bicycles




Note: The video is a bit shaky beacause I was holding a baby while recording it. But hopefully it will give you and idea what the exercises look like.

Do you know how many calories you need?

The MyBestHealthPortal Daily Calorie Counter will calculate your basal metabolic rate (BMR), daily requirements of calorie, carbohydrates, and fats in terms of calories and grams/day in adult males and females in 3 cases: (1) to maintain current weight, (2) to lose weight by certain number of pounds per week, and (3) to gain weight by a certain number of pounds per week.

Click here to count how many calories you need.

Baby Boot Camp Class, Thursday 7-29-10

Have you missed today's class? No worries, below is the workout we did this morning and you can try it at home while your baby is napping. If you come to Baby Boot Camp classes regularly you should be able to remember the correct technique of the exercises below. If you cannot remember or are not sure how to perform the exercises below, ask me next time when you come to class and I will be happy to explain you everything step by step ;) We used Dumbbells and Resistance Bands for this workout.

Warm Up: 1 mile power walking / jogging

Circuit Training:
Step Ups
Chest Press
Lunge Back with Shoulder Press
One Arm Back Row standing on one leg
Resisted Side Steps
Mountain Climbers
Sumo Swing Squats
Side Plank
Biceps Curls
Triceps Dips

For the best results, repeat the circuit 2-3 times 15-20 repetitions for each exercise.

More Cardio: 1 mile powerwalking/jogging

Abs: Abs Crunch Routine (click here for video)



Note: Please cosult your physicain before starting this or any other exercise program.

Baby Boot Camp Homework

Have you been planning on coming to Baby Boot Camp class but got too busy last minute? Would you like a quick set of easy exercises you can do at home without equipment?

Try this to make up for a missed class:                                  

20 squats
20 lunges
20 push ups
20 mountain climbers
50 jumping jacks

=> repeat 5x

Homemade Beef Jerky

Do you like to have a quick protein snack on hand but don't like to buy jerky from the store because of all the incredience in it? Make your own. It is easy to make and it tastes delicious!

You will need:
1 flank steak (I used London Broil)
0.5 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 clove garlic, crushed
dash pepper
1.5 tbsp brown sugar

Directions:

• Slice the steak lenghtwise, with the grain, into 1/4" strips (freeze it, then partially thaw to cut it). 
• Combine all remaining ingredients & stir to dissolve sugar.
• Let meat stand in mixture for 20 to 25 minutes (or overnight in refrigirator). 
• Drain & arrange in a single layer on a rack set in a shallow baking pan. 
• Bake in a very slow oven - 150 degrees for about 6 hours, or until meat is dry & chewy, but not brittle. 
• Store in a tightly covered container. 

Enjoy! Next time I am going to try turkey jerky and let you know how it went.

OPTIMAL WEIGHT GAIN DURING PREGNANCY

Because pregnant women are "eating for two" it's easy to lose track of or ignore weight gain during gestitation. Not a good idea. For the first time since 1990, the government has weighed in with new guidelines on how many pounds women should gain during pregnancy. This is in line with previous studies that have determined that babies born to overweight mother are at greater risk of premature delivery; these infants are also more likely to become overweight or obese as they grow up.

The new guidelines, issued by the Institute of Medicine in late May, make the following recommendations for optimal weight gain during pregnancy:

• Underweight women with a body mass index (BMI) lower than 18.5 should gain 28-40 pounds.

• Women with a BMI between 18.5-24.9 should gain 25-35 pounds.

• Overweight women (with a BMI of 25-29.9) should gain 15-25 pounds.

• Obese women (with BMI of 30 or higher) should gain 11-20 pounds.

The new guidelines also call for better nutrition and exercise counseling for pregnant women and, most importantly, stress that pregnancy is not a time to lose weight. Rather, women are encouraged to get to a healthy weight prior to conceiving.

Source: September, 2009 IDEA Fitness Journal

Note: Are you not sure what your BMI is? You can visit the place where we do our monthly measurements -Nutrishop in Huntington Beach on Adams and Brookhurst and they will measure it for you for free on their special Tanita scale.

Burpees Contest

I am sure you heard me in class mentioning Burpees Contest. The burpee is a full body exercise used in strength training and as aerobic exercise.


The Burpee Contest starts tomorrow, September 1st, 2009 and the winner is going to get a $30 Victoria Secret Gift Card.

 

The final day is September 26, 2009 - the day of our One Year Anniversary Celebration and you are all going to compete, doing burpees with push up for 1 minute. The person that performs the most burpees in one minute is the winner. If there is more than one winner after the first round, we'll have a second round and so on....

 

Start practicing your burpees today! We are going to do them in class also to get you ready for the contest.

Please check the video below to make sure you are doing the burpees correctly!

 

 

 

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at any time at jana.jacobs@babybootcamp.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

The best exercises for ABS

The Bicycle Crunches

1. Lie face up on the floor and lace your fingers behind your head.

2. Bring the knees in towards the chest and lift the shoulder blades off the ground without pulling on the neck.

3. Straighten the left leg out while simultaneously turning the upper body to the right, bringing the left elbow towards the right knee.

4. Switch sides, bringing the right elbow towards the left knee.

5. Continue alternating sides in a 'pedaling' motion for 20 reps. Repeat 3 times (if you are a beginner start with 5 reps).

Straight leg crunch for 4

This exercise works your abdominals as well as your lats and front of your shoulders.

1. Start with your legs straight, feet up and arms extended above your head holding a water bottle or a small medicine ball

2. Bring the bottle (med. ball) above your chest.

3. Lift the shoulders off the ground (make sure you are using your abdominals, your head is in line with your spine, contracting your abs)

4. Slowly return to the starting position, lowering your shoulders back down and extending your arms above your head

Repeat 10x

Military Squats

This exercise works the abs as well as your legs, glutes, shoulders and triceps.

1. Stand on the resistance band with your feet shoulder width apart, holding the r. band with your hands.

2. Squat down, keeping your knees above your ankles, inhale

3. Press your hands up above your head as you extend your legs, squeeze your glutes and exhale

4. Repeat 10-20x



More exercises coming soon ......

Delicious Recipe - Poached Salmon with sauteed cabbage

I found this recipe in Everyday Food from Martha Stewart and I love it. It is a great healthy dish, very simple, easy to make and it is delicious!!!

Poached Salmon
Ingredients:
2 carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 celery stalk, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 small onion, peeled and halved
1/2 lemon, thinly sliced
coarse salt
4 skinless salmon fillets (6 ounces each and about 1 inch thick)

Directions: In a large deep straight-sided skillet or heavy pot, combine carrots, celery, onion, lemon, 1.5 teaspoons salt, and 6 cups water. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, cover and cook 8 minutes. Season Salmon with salt and gently lower into simmering liquid (liquid should just cover finish). Reduce to a very gentle simmer. Cover and cook until salmon is opaque throughout, about 5 minutes (longer thicker fillets). Using a wide slotted spatula, remove salmon from l liquid.

Sauteed Cabbage
Melt 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Stir in 1.5 pounds of green cabbage, cored and shredded. Add 1 teaspoon coarse salt and 1/4 cup of reduced-sodium chicken broth. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is tender, about 10 minutes. Uncover and cook off any excess liquid if needed. Stir in 1 tbsp chopped fresh dill. Serve with Salmon and lemon wedges.

Per Serving: 354 calories, 15.2g fat, 40.8g protein, 10.7g carb, 4.1g fiber