Pasta with Asparagus and Herbs

Yum, Yum, Yummmm is all I have to say. If you like Pasta and you like Asparagus, this dish is for you. Just a nice, fresh, healthy and easy recipe to make for a weekly dinner. We had it last night for dinner and I just had the leftovers for lunch. We all loved it. Hope you enjoy!

1 pound pasta

1 pound asparagus cut into 2-3 inch pieces

Juice of 1 or 2 lemons, depending how lemony you like it

2 teaspoons of lemon zest

1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs (basil, thyme, oregano)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

1/2 cup crumbled feta

Cook pasta in boiling salted water. Add asparagus for the last 2 minutes and boil until asparagus is crisp-tender and pasta is al dente. Drain asparagus and pasta, reserving 1 cup cooking water. 

Mix lemon juice, zest and herbs together in bowl. While whisking, drizzle oil until mixture emulsifies, then season with salt and pepper. Toss the pasta and asparagus with sauce. Crumble feta throughout and then eat it up! 

Pesto make-over

I was talking to one of my friends, who also happens to be a mom of a toddler herself, and she asked, "do your kids eat what you and Kadin eat for dinner each night?" I wanted the answer to be yes, and sometimes it is, but most of the time it's not. But I did tell her about a staple that I turn to when I know they won't eat what we are having but it still makes me happy. My Pesto makeover dish. So easy and nutritious and they eat it! How bout that. 

I buy whole wheat noodles of some type or Brown rice noodles, both you can get at Trader Joes for cheap. I also buy the already prepared Pesto in the jar from TJ's. (now you could easily make your own pesto but whatever, this is supposed to be easy so I won't go there). But what I do before I just spoon out some pesto from the jar to the noodles.....I throw in some frozen peas that I've thawed, with some baby spinach, about a handful, into the food processor and puree those both. Then I add that mixture to just a spoonful or two of the pesto and then add my new Pesto, the made over version, to the noodles. I actually like the taste of this version better. The peas add a nice sweetness, the spinach is really invisible in taste but adds more nutrition then just the basil from the pesto. And the only thing I don't love about the jarred pesto from TJ's is that it's very salty so using less, and more of the puree, it lessens the salt intake.

The daily test for tonight, is whether or not they'll eat my Pasta with Asparagus and Herbs that I'm making for the "family" but it just may be for Kadin and I. I'll let you know how it goes....

"It just never gets easy..."

We were doing a lot of core intensive exercises in class this morning. We were using the big stability ball for some of them. One of my clients said, "gosh, this never easier for me." I overheard her and responded. "Good, that's the idea!" "It's like using the balance disc. If that ever became easy, and didn't challenge your balance, we wouldn't use it and I'd have you stand on the floor." 

It got me thinking and validated what I'm doing and how I'm working with my clients. I'm always shaking it up, always challenging them to do new and exciting things with their bodies. One of my missions as a trainer is to develop workouts that are different each and every time. I have been teaching my Sweat Check Boot Camp class at least 3 mornings a week since Februarty of 2007. That's over 6 years of never doing the same workout twice. My clients never know what to expect. Therefore, their bodies never know what to expect. 

I remember when I started my class, my idea was that clients would sign up for a series of classes, like I still do now, that last approximately 2 months or 7 to 8 weeks. I thought someone would sign up, kick start their workout routine, and go workout on their own. I actually don't think that has happened once. My business has purely been successful because of my loyal, dedicated and hard working clients. My clientele are not people who want a quick jump start, they want a lifestyle. Most of my clients have been with me for months if not years. Amazingly, if someone needs to take a break for any reason, or I have a baby, they usually come back! I think why this happens is that besides the program working, they establish a routine that not only is challenging for their body where plateauing never occurs, but they don't get bored. Boredom is one of the reasons people stop an exercise routine. 

So getting back to the comment that was overheard this morning. I'm glad it never gets easy, and I'm glad my clients are continually challenged and pushed to perform. It's my job to ensure they work within their limits and to do exercises that are challenging, yet do-able. I say that all the time in class. "Is that weight challeging for you, yet do-able?" If their form is on point but they can't answer me, the answer is usually yes. If they respond with an "ummmm...."the answer is usually no and they magically receive an extension to that exercise or a heavier weight set before they can even blink.  

What gets your machine up and running?

My dad was an avid exercise enthusiast. He was a high school PE teacher, track and cross country coach for over 30 years. He left the house every morning by 4:30 to go to school, exercise himself before teaching others about the benefits of exercise. I take after my dad in many ways, this is one of them. I am writing this at 4:30am. I'm about to head out the door to get a workout in myself before teaching my Boot Camp class at 6. One thing I always remember my dad saying to not only my brother and I but his students was, "your body is like a machine. You have to get it up and moving first thing in the morning to make it work efficiently." 

What gets your machine moving? You can read about "what is the best form of exercise" or "how long do I have to exercise each day" till the cows come home but it's very simple. Do something. Do anything that gets your body up and moving, getting those joints all oiled up and muscles working to pump new, oxygenated blood to your vital organs. You only have 1 body and it's not going to be around forever. I believe if every person had the rule of "sweat every day" that would be a pretty great start. The next step in my opinion, after you get the "Sweat Every Day" concept down is to sweat to an intensity where Endorphins are released within your body. You may have heard about the "Runner's High?" Well, it's not just exclusive to runners. Any exerciser can experience the high of exercising. It happens when you work out to the point where your body is really challenged and your mental state becomes altered. If you've never experienced it, you aren't working out hard enough. Try to up your intensity level and see what happens. 

If you are unmotivated to get something going in the workout department find a group or a workout partner. After having two kids I realized that my only time to workout was 5 am. I found a workout partner that would meet me at that time so I was held accountable. And it's more fun for me to workout with someone else. Maybe you are a lone exerciser. That is fine too. Do whatever works for you. Don't sign up for a 5K run if you hate to run. Keep it simple and just take it day by day. Just pass the Sweat Check every day and keep your machine running! ;)