Peanut Butter Runner — Fit, Fueled and Fun

Guest Instructing In Georgia + Comfort Food

by Jen on February 19, 2012

I mentioned this in last night’s post but the reason for my weekend trip to Georgia was to visit with friend and blog reader, Louly, who is the director of the Y in Covington. They were launching BodyPump 80 this weekend so it was perfect timing for me to visit and participate in the launch. (Side note, read my review of BodyPump 80 in this post.)

Picking up where I left off (read about our amazing dinner on Friday night here)…

I awoke Saturday morning to this beautiful sunrise right outside my bedroom window. It made for such a relaxing and peaceful start to my day.

Louly had a big batch of apple cinnamon oatmeal waiting in the rice cooker. I couldn’t believe how fluffy and perfectly textured the oatmeal was. It made me want to get a rice cooker so that I can have perfect oatmeal ready and waiting when I wake up! I topped bowl with Justin’s Maple Almond Butter, Crofter’s, blueberries, strawberries and blackberries. Oatmeal and lots of coffee was just what I needed to get energized to teach back-to-back BodyPump classes!

We arrived at the Y around 9:45 a.m. to get set up for the launch. There was so much demand that they had to offer two classes – 10:15 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. I have to share that the Covington Y just started offering BodyPump about a year ago and it has been really successful for them and the members are loving it! Louly and I e-mailed back and forth a bit when she was considering bringing the program in and I’m so happy to see that it was successful!

The launch was so much fun! We had five instructors and each of us taught two tracks while two instructors demoed along with the lead instructor and two walked around to correct form.

I taught biceps and cool down. I love the bicep track in BodyPump 80 – there’s no break! And it was great to lead the stretching at the end of class. It always feels so good after a tough strength workout.

Thank you so much to Louly (center) and Kelli (on the right…she’s the group ex coordinator) for hosting me this weekend. I can’t wait to come back and visit soon!

I was more than ready for lunch after two BodyPump classes (and some fun “by the numbers” stats…in doing two classes I completed around 300 squats and 100 push ups…crazy!). Louly and I picked up Southwestern Chicken Salads from Chick-Fil-A and took them back to her house. We doctored them up by heating up the chicken, adding some fresh fruit on the side and using dressing Louly had in the fridge. I went with a combo of honey mustard and balsamic vinaigrette at her suggestion and it was so good. I’m definitely going to start mixing my dressings now.

After lunch I made the short 35-minute trip over to my parents house and proceeded to spend the remainder of the day on the couch. I did get up for about 30 minutes to eat dinner!

We started with a salad (never enough green stuff! ) with mixed greens, toasted pecans, dried cranberries, aged cheddar and balsamic vinaigrette. Simple but delicious.

The main event was Hungarian Beef Stew over egg noodles and topped off with sour cream. I was so in the mood for this dinner. I have been craving red meat lately and it was cold and rainy out. It was nice to stay in and have a comforting dinner at home with my parents.

I was so excited to discover that my mom made one of my very favorite desserts of all-time, banana pudding from The Southern Living Cookbook. Seriously, this is one of those foods that only my mom can make for me and the first bite brings a big sigh of happiness!

And then we watched Worst Cooks in America. I think I have a new TV obsession. I laughed the whole hour. And then I slept for 10 hours.

Off to eat lunch and think about getting myself back to Charlotte. Hope you’re staying warm and dry today.

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Friday at 5 & 10

by Jen on February 18, 2012

Happy weekend! I mentioned in my Friday post that I was traveling this weekend. I’ve been a little all over in the last 24 hours but here’s my final destination.

I’m at my parents house! I arrived exhausted and sweaty around 3:30 p.m. and was immediately sent off to shower. I then painted my nails and planted myself on the couch for the long haul. It’s rainy and cold and we’re eating dinner in tonight. I’m looking forward to an evening of relaxation!

I actually didn’t come to Georgia to visit my parents – getting to see them was just a bonus! I came down Friday night to visit a friend who is the director of a Y that is located right outside of Atlanta and to help them launch BodyPump 80 this morning.

We met in Athens last night for dinner at 5 & 10.

5 & 10 is my favorite restaurant in Athens and I was so excited when Louly suggested that we meet there for dinner. It was a good central location for me driving down from Charlotte and for her driving over from Covington. I was so ready for some bread and a glass of wine after three and a half hours in the car.

The chef sent out an amuse bouche featuring sautéed pompano that he’d just received in fresh.

I started with the butternut squash soup. It featured chicken stock, pureed butternut squash, roasted pear, candied pepitas and cream.

I could have ordered anything on the menu and been perfectly happy. I was really struggling with my decision…scallops, duck, short rib, pork chop…it all sounded delicious\. We had a wonderful server (Paul) and he told me the scallops were one of the best dishes on the menu. Actually, I’m pretty certain he said they were his number one pick. I love ordering seared scallops at restaurants so this was all the convincing I needed. They were served over rutabaga puree with lacinato kale, celery pine-nut salad and finished with lemon brown butter.

We ordered coffee after our meal and you can’t have coffee without dessert, right? What started with the idea to order two scoops of salted caramel ice cream turned into ordering the chocolate nemesis cake with candied pecans, seared bananas and two scoops of salted caramel. It was so good that we were speechless. The combination of flavors was perfect.

Fueled by coffee, I made the 45 minute drive to Louly’s beautiful lake home where I promptly took a hot shower and collapsed into bed. I was able to get almost 8 hours of sleep in and it was blissful.

I awoke this morning to a sunrise over the lake, breakfast and coffee. More details in my next post about the BodyPump launch and the rest of my Saturday. I had a great time teaching with the Covington Y team!

What is your favorite thing to order when you go out for nice dinners? The kind of things things you don’t cook at home.

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End Of The Week Rundown

by Jen on February 17, 2012

I can’t believe it’s Friday. This week has been an absolute whirlwind of busyness and awesomeness!

I have been going non-stop from 6 a.m. until after 8 p.m. every day and when I woke up this morning my body was definitely feeling it. I am feeling pretty run down and kind of sore and stiff from the amount of strength training I have done this week (2 BodyPump classes + 2 CrossFit workouts in 4 days).

A green smoothie sounded really appealing for breakfast and I knew it would be a good way to get a nutrient punch in to help me reenergize. I blended together banana, strawberries, blueberries, almond milk, crushed ice and a handful of spinach. I also had a slice of the banana pumpkin bread from the freezer and spread a little Justin’s Maple Almond Butter on top. LOTS of black coffee to compliment it all!

And since I missed posting last night, here is a look at Thursday eats…let’s go in reverse just for the fun of it.

I loved my dinner creation. It was inspired by leftover roasted vegetables and a bag of Trader Joe’s Harvest Blend that I picked up yesterday. I ran into a friend at the store and she had it in her basket and told me I had to try it. It’s a blend of Israeli style couscous, orzo, baby garbanzo beans and red quinoa.

I cooked the Harvest Grains with chicken broth and threw some dried sun dried tomatoes into the pot with it. I stirred some feta and chopped artichoke hearts into the mixture once it was cooked and then served it over a bed of spinach. I topped it all with the reheated roasted eggplant and asparagus and a spoonful of plain Greek yogurt.

Since I have been so on-the-go this week, I’ve found myself needing morning and afternoon snacks most days. This is probably also a result of how much lifting I’ve done. My afternoon snack was hot tea and plain Greek yogurt with honey, banana, chia seeds and peanut butter.

Lunch was one of my most favorite sandwich combinations – tofu, avocado and hummus. I served it on whole wheat toast with spinach and a cheddar/gruyere blend cheese.

My morning snack was more of this trek mix than I care to admit.

And breakfast was a whole wheat English muffin with Smart Balance spread and cream cheese with fruit on the side.

Work activities yesterday included teaching two yoga privates, teaching a yoga class and BodyPump. I also spent a couple of hours in the office at Metro in the morning trying to start getting on top of some things. I am so sad to be giving up a lot of my classes and training/yoga clients at other places but it’s been tough to be spread so thin this week. I’m definitely looking forward to being able to focus on Metro in a couple of weeks. I’m kind of easing my way into full-time as I wind down the other commitments. The plan is full-time by March 1.

Have a fabulous Friday!

I have a fun trip planned this weekend! Check back for details once I arrive!