Night Club Gym

Of course this is in South Beach! This is my kind of gym...check out the video.

Asian Lettuce Wraps Recipe

Prepare to fall in love...

I was surprised at how much these tasted like PF Changes infamous lettuce warps. It's definitely all in the seasoning. You can find most of these and seasonings in the 'Specialty Foods' aisle at the grocery store. They definitely add up in price, but if you like Thai and Asian inspired food, you will definitely get your money worth.

This recipe is from the Crock-Pot website.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds extra-lean ground chicken or turkey (I used turkey)

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 medium celery stalks, chopped

1/2 cup hoisin sauce

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1/2 tablespoon Asian chile paste (I didn't use this)

5 ounces bamboo shoots, canned and drained

12 ounces sliced water chestnuts, canned and drained

1 cup fresh bean sprouts

4 green onions, finely sliced

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced

14 crisp iceberg lettuce leaves

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

Directions

1. In the Crock-Pot® slow cooker, combine the chicken, onion, celery, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, brown sugar, sesame oil, chile paste, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts.
2. Cover; cook on Low 6 to 8 hours (or on High for 3 to 4 hours).
   
3. Thirty minutes before the end of cooking, add the bean sprouts, green onions and cilantro. Mix thoroughly.
4. To serve, place 2 tablespoons of the chicken mixture on an iceberg lettuce leaf and drizzle with hoisin sauce. Roll the filled lettuce leaf into a pocket-style sandwich.

I cooked mine on low for 7 hours, and then my slow cooker automatically turned to warm for about 3 hours. It was a little well done, but still delicious! I didn't use extra hoisin sauce like it suggests, the turkey was very flavorful without it.

Two thumbs up to this recipe.

Self.com Fitness quiz: How fit are you?

Go through the five simple self tests to find out how fit you are.

Fitness quiz: How fit are you? Fitness: self.com

Bodybuilding - Basic Routine

This is a good basic bodybuilding routine. Sets and reps can vary as necessary. It is best to start with 4 sets of 10-15 just to develop a good base. After that you can modify as necessary.

If you don't know how to do a certain exercise, make sure you ask the gym owner/worker for help with your form. Or search for the exercise on YouTube.com for a demo! Have questions? Email us at healthandfitnessbreak@gmail.com with questions!

Lift all major groups on a specific day; Back, Shoulders, Legs, Chest, Arms – abs – calves.

i. Chest

1. Barbell or Dumbbell Bench Press – Slow and controlled

2. Incline Barbell or Dumbbell Bench Press

3. Dumbbell flys – Get a light weight and press the dumbbell up to straighten out your arms, then keep your arms straight and lower them so that your arms are parallel with your body.

4. Cable Cross-overs - Similar to flys, but you use the machine

ii. Back Routine

1. Wide Grip Pull ups

2. Wide Grip Barbell Low Rows (Bend over, grab the bar as wide as is comfortable, stay bent and pull it into your chest, lower and repeat

3. Narrow Grip Rows – machine or barbell

4. Lat pull downs

iii. Shoulders

1. Dumbbell shoulder press – Overhead press

2. Lateral Raises – standing move light weight to your sides

3. Barbell shoulder press – Standing presses using a barbell

4. Front raises

5. Rear raises – bend over and let your arms hang, keep your arms straight and move them up to parallel with your back

iv. Legs

1. Squats – Free Weight

2. Dead lifts

3. Straight leg dead lifts – set up a step and do dead lifts with straight legs make sure you feel the stretch in the back of your legs.

4. Leg Presses

v. Arms-abs-calves

1. Curls

2. Triceps pull down

3. Sit ups, or some other ab exercises

4. Standing calve raises

5. Seated calve raises

Recipe: Scallops on Spinach with Walnut Sauce

would have never thought to pair scallops and turkey bacon, but the two really hit it off!

This is from 500 Low-Carb Recipes cookbook by Dana Carpender. She gives this recipe credit to Tanya Rachfal.

Walnut Sauce:
2 cups of water
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind (I didn't use this)
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Remaining Ingredients:
1 pound turkey bacon
12 ounces large sea scallops, about 16 to 20 scallops (I bought a bag of frozen scallops at Costco and they turned out really well)
Peanut oil
1 pound spinach

1. Bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the walnuts and boil for 30 seconds, then drain. Put the walnuts in a bowl, and combine with the lemon juice, lemon rind, olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix well and set aside.

2. Cut the slices of turkey bacon in half. Wrap a piece of bacon around a scallop and slip onto a skewer. Baste the scallops with the peanut oil.

3. Wash the spinach leaves thoroughly, and cook over high heat until done. Broil the scallops for 5 minutes, turn, baste, and broil the other side for 5 minutes. Serve the scallops over spinach and top with the sauce.

If you follow this recipe, it yields 4 servings, each with 10 grams of carbohydrates and 4 grams of fiber, and 37 grams protein.

Berry Banana Protein Shake

This is a protein packed, refreshing, after workout treat. Making shakes in the blender makes them ten times better!

1 scoop of vanilla protein (I used BSN Syntha 6 Vanilla Protein)
Half of banana
1/4 cup of mixed frozen berries
3-4 ounces of water or milk
5 ice cubes

Blend it on the 'smoothie' setting and you have yourself a nice treat. I like it more thick, so I use more ice, and eat it with a spoon like ice cream.

Need New Workout Clothes?

Getting new gym gear always makes me want to workout even more.

I just happened to stumble into an Old Navy and what do you know? 30% off the ENTIRE Store!!! Today is the last day. I totally revamped my whole workout wardrobe. They have a really nice collection of yoga/workout pants for women, and in fun colors too!

Today, Saturday, is the last day for the sale...hurry in!