Moroccan-Style Lamb and Chickpeas

I thought this was an excellent dish from my Dec 2011 Cooking Light magazine. You will need

1 pd lean ground lamb
2 tsps olive oil
2 cups sliced onion
1/2 cup sliced carrots
3/4 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup golden raisins
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 tbsp grated lemon rind
1/4 tsp salt
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1 tbsp lemon juice

Directions:
1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add lamb to pan; heat till cooked through. Add onion and carrot to pan; saute for 4 min. Add cumin, cinnamon, coriander, and pepper; saute 30 sec stirring constantly. Add broth, and next 5 ingredients (through chickpeas), bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 4 minutes or until mixture thickens. Remove from heat; stir in cilantro and lemon juice.

Paige

I began attending Bootcamp when Jack was 8 weeks old in August of 2010, in order to both stay fit and meet new moms. Fitness has always been a very important part of my life and upbringing (I guess I'm a second generation fitness instructor - making my Mom proud) and meeting the other Mom's has been a true life saver once I made the decision to be a full time stay at home mom. The friendships, support, motivation and advice exhanged and promoted through Baby Boot Camp made me feel part of a community. Jack loves the friends that he has met through Baby Boot Camp as well! Aside from the physical and emotional benifits of classes for myself, I also want to set a healthy example for Jack to have exercise a part of his daily life.

I was born and mostly raised in Bucks County, PA but led a slightly nomadic life for several years living in Monroe, LA; Fort Worth, TX; Charlotte & Ashevlle; NC before landing in Chicago for several years and finally ending up here after meeting my husband. I have a BBA in sales and marketing from TCU and pursued a career in special event management, working for the Hyatt Coconut Point most recently. My interests outside of Baby Boot Camp include reading, cooking, entertaining, running (okay, walking the dog most of the time now - one day it will be running again) skiing and sailing.

Paige's classes are hard-core; she wants to make sure people are getting the type of workout that she wants for herself. Although, if you are new, she will make sure to provide you with great modifications. I am excited to have her join our expanding Team! She will be teaching a couple times a week at Miromar and you will occassionally see her at our other locations.

Yummy dessert style snack

This is one of my favorite snacks when I'm craving something sweet.

I take a Voskos Greek Yogurt (I really like the Vanilla Honey Bean flavor) and mix some flax seed in with it. Then add some almonds, Publix nutty nuggets cereal, sliced strawberries, and a little bit of honey on top.

It is delicious!

Weekly workout

Unable to make it to a Baby Boot Camp class? Here is a workout for you to do if you are vacationing, working, or just unable to make it to class.

Warm up with stretching

Cardio moves

Bicep curls with band
Tricep dips
Cardio moves (moves on the video)
Push ups
Shoulder raises
Cardio moves (video)
Back rows

Cool down-and some abs!

Let me know your thoughts.

Quick workout

Here is a workout for you to do on your own:

Make sure to do at least a 5 min warm up along with 10-20 minutes of some form of cardio. You will want to do the workout 2 times or even 3x through and then make sure to stretch out.

Video

Chicken, Blackberrry & Barley Toss

I thought this was a pretty good meal out of my Clean Eating Magazine-June 2011

1 cup pearled barley
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/8 tsp sea salt
1 tsp raw honey
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
6 oz blackberries

In a medium pot, bring 2 cups water to a boil. Add barley, cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 10-12 min. Drain barley well and transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Meanwhile, prepare Yogurt-Thyme Dressing: combine yogurt, salt, honey, thyme, 1 tbsp water and 1 1/2 tsp oil. Whisk with fork and set aside.

In a large nonstick pan, heat remaining 1 1/2 tsp oil on medium. Add chicken and cook for 5-6 min, occasionally flipping pieces over to ensure they cook evenly. When cooked through and lightly browned, use a slotted spoon to remove chicken and transfer it to the barley bowl.

Add blackberries and yogurt-thyme dressing to the barley chicken mixture and toss well.

Serve with a salad.
(Calories-373, Total Fat-6g, protein-32g, sugar-3g, fiber-10g, sodium-112mg)

Outstanding Mom

Our first month results are in from the Mother Love Fitness Challenge and Cathie won our local strength challenge due to her increased percentage. She did an amazing job of pushing herself to increase her score in all areas with a significant increase in push ups. Her overall percentage increase was 376%! She started out with 28 jump squats and went up to 75, she also increased her plank from 41 seconds to 1 minute and 11 seconds, but her most amazing accomplishment was that at the beginning of the challenge she was barely able to do 1 push up and told me she would never be able to do more; but pushed herself and by the end of the month she pushed out 10 push ups. See how she ranked compared to the rest of the nations mom's.