Tuesday, November 4, 2008

November 4, 2008

Good Morning! I just finished with Great Buns, Thin Thighs and Great Stretch. I wasn't sure that I was going to be able to make it back up the stairs. My legs are tired!!

Here is Beachbody's description of each of the workouts:

Great Buns Guaranteed! An excellent way to tighten and tone the buns—this routine really hits the glutes to get dramatic results.

Thin Thighs Guaranteed!™ A fast and effective way to sculpt lean, sexy legs in just 8 minutes.

Great Stretch Guaranteed! Improve flexibility and reduce injuries and common aches associated with aging and overexertion.

I started with Thin Thighs. This is tons of squats and lunges. All kinds. I felt the burn in my quads mostly. Luckily it is only 8 minutes long. Great Buns was hard to get through. Debbie Seibers is the trainer and she is killer. You start off with squats and then go to hands and knees for leg raises and side leg raises - hurts!!! and then onto your back for pelvic tilts. Great stretch was a really good way to end today. Tony Horton is the trainer and you start with your head/neck and work your way down the body. It felt good after all the leg/butt work. I don't do these workouts much, not sure why - I know that results would be had. I'll have to add them back into my routine.

Today is election day in the States. Be sure that you go out and vote! I am so thankful for our right to vote that I don't miss any election. I certainly don't want that right taken away. I am going to workout with friends tonight, it will be a quick one because we all want to watch the election results.

I made the black bean soup from Real Food Daily cookbook for dinner. It was soo good. I made the jalepeno lime creme to go on top and it was just wonderful. I'll definitely make it again.

Here's the recipe:

Black bean soup
2 cups dried black beans, picked through and rinsed.
1 (2-3 inch) piece kombu (seeweed, found at most health food stores)
6 cups vegetable stock or water
1 bay leaf
2 tsp sea salt
2 onions, finely chopped
5 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
5 stalks celery, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 (14 1/2 oz) can dieced tomatoes
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cliantro
1 cup jalapeno lime creme

Place the beans and kombu in a heavy stockpot. Add enough water to cover by 3 inches. Let stand overnight. Drain and rinse the beans, reserving the kombu.

Return the beans and kombu to the same pot and add the stock and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer over high heat, skimming off the foam that rises to the top. Decrease the heat to low, cover and simmer gently, stirring occasionally for 1 hour or until the beans are tender. Discard the kombu and stir in the salt.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over med high heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery and garlic. Saute for 10 mins or until the onions are translucent. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, then the chili powder, cayenne pepper and cumin. Saute for 5 mins or until the tomatoes soften. Add the tomato mixture to the soup, cover and bring to a simmer over med high heat. Decrease the heat to med low and simmer for 15 mins or until the veggies are very tender and the flavors blend. Cool slightly.

Tranfer half the soup to a blender and puree until smooth. Return the pureed soup to the pot and season to taste with more salt if desired. Stir in the cilantro.

Ladle the soup into bowls. Drizzle the jalapeno lime creme over and serve. The soup will keep for 2 days, covered and refrigerated.

Jalapeno lime creme:
2 jalapeno chiles, roasted
3/4 cup raw cashews
1/2 c plain soymilk
1 tsp finely grated lime zest
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tbsp canola oil
3/4 tsp sea salt

Blend the chiles, cashews, soymilk, lime zest and juice, oil and salt in a blender or food processor until very smooth. Will keep for 2 days, covered and refrigerated. Stir before serving.

I wish that I had taken a picture of the soup. It was so pretty. I cooked mine longer and didn't blend it and it thickened up nicely. I also added the cilantro after the soup was in the bowl. Some of my family members don't care for cilantro.

Tomorrow starts Hip Hop Abs. There are several workouts in this series, so I'll be doing these for a while. That's good. They are fun and really do help flatten my abs!!

Dana