Zucchini Noods!

Hi all!! It's been a bit since my last post. Lot's has been going on. Long story short, new job, new home, new routine, the whole nine. Good news though- I'm happy with all of it. Happier than I have been in a long time so I do say the silence has been worth it.

So let's cut to the chase. Now, if you know me you know I tend to stick to a workout routine for about a year and then go on to the next. From zumba to pilates to running to lifting to competing to boxing. Not on purpose, it just seems to happen like that. Not because I don't like the workouts, I do, but because I like to try it all. I just want to do everything. That being said, I have joined a CrossFit gym! I always swore I would never crumble to the pressure and do CrossFit. Honestly, I was intimidated. It is a completely new element, something so far out of my comfort zone that I have to remind myself daily that it is real life.

Not only is it a new atmosphere, it's like a whole new lifestyle. You've got the whole new language that comes with it, acronyms and famous names of heroic people that symbolize certain workouts and lets not forget nicknames for people who push themselves a little too far.. cough cough pukie. Aside from the new language that I have pondered buying some sort of dictionary for (perhaps CrossFit for dummies, that exists, no?) there are also special diets that many Crossfit athletes follow, mainly the Zone Diet and Paleo Diet. We will touch on those in another post- there is no vague way to get into all that jazz. The workouts are like nothing else I have ever done before, at least not since I was in gymnastics eons ago.

I'll keep y'all updated on this new chapter. It's definitely challenging me in a way I have never been before, I'm constantly competing with myself to be better. That is probably what I like most about this sport, there is almost no way to halt progress. You are always becoming stronger and better,

Now, let me tell you about this bomb dinner I made tonight. Zucchini noodles with tomato, onion, garlic, spinach, crushed red pepper all topped with grilled chicken and tomato sauce mixed with a little cottage cheese. Yum. I used my Spirelli vegetable cutter to make the noodles and then cooked them on the stove top with the other vegetables in olive oil. Meanwhile I was heating the sauce in a saucepan with the cottage cheese until the cottage cheese was all melty :) Low carb, high satisfaction fasho.

Zucchini Noods a la Bailey

Serves 1

1 zucchini

1/4 c onion chopped

1 roma tomato

handful spinach

1 clove garlic

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1 tsp olive oil

italian spices to taste

1/3 cup no sugar added tomato sauce

1/3 cup lowfat cottage cheese

3 oz grilled chicken

Cook the vegetables and spices in the olive oil on the stovetop. In a separate pan heat the sauce with the cottage cheese. Once the vegetables are cooked and the cottage cheese is melted, top the "noodles" with the sauce and grilled chicken. Viola.

Until next time, happy Monday!

B