Rant- Some girls who go to the gym

Okay, so I am a firm believer about the gym. I am not someone who can work out at home for the most part because I get way too distracted. When I go to the gym I am able to focus and get a real work out going. Now with all that being said I tend to find myself being a gym snob. I don't want people to talk to me... I am not there to get hit on, or to make friends, I am there for one reason. Since I have this attitude I have a problem with getting really irritated with other people at the gym. This week I was at the gym getting my run on using the ellipticals that outline the indoor track. Two ladies walk in and start to walk around the indoor track and as they walk past I see the clothing that they have decided to where to the YMCA to work out in. One girl has decided that she is going to look like she is presentable with blue yoga pants, and a pink tank top. However, the other girl has decided to where black sweat pants with "pink" on the butt, and a white lacy tank top, with a bra that leaves no mystery. I kinda laughed when I saw her and decided well maybe she didn't have anything else clean to work out in. Then both of the girls proceeded to now run laps around track. After that the clear intent of my they were at the gym was clear, as both of their chests bounced around the track. Seriously!!!! ugh....! Sorry, I know I am a hater but child please. In my opinion the gym (especially the YMCA) is not dating pick up spot. Anyway, that is my rant...ugh, some girls who go to the gym...give me a break!

" ITALIANO"

Ciao!!! 
 I heart Dean Martin, and I couldn't think of a better way to introduce my current favorite little treat.

( What about my Detox you say?  Well I actually just got my hands on that aforementioned juicer last night around 9:30 ish and I was not going to start juicing then.  I am going to make all my juices Sat. and start it Sun, like I had originally intended!)  

On to yummy, "Italiano" style treat.

Now part of eating "Leeg" is simplicity.  Preparing food in a way that really showcases the amazing, fresh flavors of the veggies.  I'm not sure if I'd call this a Brucshetta or a Crostini??  I think Brucshetta is just the charred bread and it officially becomes Crostini once it is topped.  Most traditionally, with tomatoes.  This is how I make it!

Heat 1-2 Tbls olive oil in a small pan.  Add minced garlic clove and crushed red pepper flakes.  1tsp usually adds flavor without too much heat.  So naturally I go for 2 :) let simmer until fragrant (1-2 min)

Grape tomatoes.  I especially love to use the multi colored pack.  Red, orange and yellow.  I like the grape tom's because I find them to be a little sweeter and just the perfect size.  I slice them in half length wise.  Throw in the pan.  Saute until the skins start to peel, or about 10 min.

(Last night I also added baby bellas, and the tips of a few stalks of asparagus.  This bulked it up, and added a great source of anti oxidants and other nutrients)

chop fresh parsley and fresh basil leaves creating a generous Tbls and toss with veggies

sprinkle with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper!

You could use any artisan bread that you love.  For "Leeg" I tried a whole wheat loaf.  Honestly, it has been my only disappointment in this entire switch to eating only whole foods, grains, raw ... ie: uber healthy.  It just didn't get the crunch of the regular, more traditional breads.  Now, that being said, USE IT ANYWAY!  This is "Leeg" for crying out loud!  The flavor is still there, believe me and .... Today, I wore my old Juicy track suit thing(I had an easy day and acupuncture).  Yea, the one that gives the instant JLO booty.... and it was loose.  LOOSE.  My client said my butt looked "tiny".  I said, "did you just say tiny?" and he repeated "tiny!"  Well excuse my Italian but, "santa merda!!!"  I digress, just eat the wheat!  Hey, lol that should be a little saying of ours here at "Leeg" .... "Eat the Wheat!"  ok dumb.
Where was I?  Oh yes, just toast or throw the slices in the oven and top with the veggie mixture.  It's fresh, simple and perfezionare!

I dedicate this post to my Italian sista form another mista!xoT

Hola.  I have not forgotten about you, oh faithful reader(?) ....

I think the last time I posted was a week ago.  Yikes.  I'm not exactly sure what makes a good blog, but a whopping 7 days between posts can't be on the list.  No bueno.

So here are a couple food ideas, yummy ones.

Lunch:

1 whole wheat flat bread
spread with hummus (roasted red pepper flavor is yum)
bean sprouts
mushrooms
red onion
broiled/grilled chick breast if desired
pepper

Yopliat GREEK yogurt  2X the protein, 0 fat

Diet Ginger Ale if water just wont cut it.

mmm

So as I have mentioned before Saturday are my "free eat days" ... and this Saturday dinner was amazing.
I have not had any red meat in some time, but what kind of girl passes up a fresh cut fillet min??  Not this one.  So this is what we had ....

*1.5in fillet, patted dry, rubbed in olive oil, rolled in fresh ground pepper/kosh salt covering all sides.
        heat 2tbls olive oil in pan and sear each side of fillet 1-2 min.
        place a pat of butter on fillet and in the pan, place in a 400* oven.  cook until internal temp is 125ish
          for med rare!
*toss cauliflower in olive oil, minced garlic and red pepper flakes and roast in oven about 30 min.
*heat Tbls olive oil in pan, add red pepper flakes, minced garlic until fragrant, add chopped Kale.
         cook down kale for about 10 min.  add a splash of chicken broth, and spinach and toss!
ADD RED WINE. YES YOU CAN HAVE RED WINE IT'S A SATURDAY REMEMBER!!

had a little dark chocolate gelato for desert.  it was great.

On that note, I'll be starting a 7 day detox of sorts Wed.  Wed is such a weird starting day I think, but here is thing .. I need a juicer and wont be able to make my Super Green Juice, Carrot Beet and Ginger Juice, or my Blueberry Almond Milk smoothies until tomo when I can use a friends juicer.  I've been thinking I need to invest in one of my own.  Have you ever priced a juicer?  Pricey.  I'm thinking about looking on Craigslist to see if I can adopt a "slightly used" or "never been used" juicer.  One that some new year "resolutionist" purchased and then quickly realized they could not, would not use the thing and now are unloading said juicer. Ahhh anyhow ...  I'm gonna use this place as a food journal of sorts.  I've never done a detox before.  Most of them seem so ridiculous to me.  "Nothing but lemon water for 21 days"  Yeah right!  Impossible for this here food consumer.  I like this detox because I can eat on it.  I understand a detox of any kind may not be in the cards for some of you, but I recommend looking here and just checking it out.  I think even incorporating some of the detox into ones regular routine will add so many benefits and cut calories!

Coming later this week:  
detox progress/updates/rants
acupuncture (i heart it)
more healthy yummy concoctions
neo tundra cowboy @ the bouquet (p.s. i know the lead singer, he's rad.)  just listen!!

Another Long Lonely Road

mlk

had a nice run today ... gave me a little time to think about the power of mlk's words. while this blog is dedicated to the betterment of our physical bodies, my hope is that we can also cleanse our minds and find the kind of inner peace that really allows us to embrace, learn and care for others!xoT

Sugar...beware...cause it's every where!

I realized it has been a long time since I have posted, school has kept me really busy. I feel like I have no fun time any more. I knew this would happen as soon as school started but I am not happy about it. Plus this week I might be getting a 3rd job. I am a busy woman. So, my progress has been weird. My weight keeps fluctuating and it tends to get me down when the scale goes up. However, I am eating very healthy and working out 5-6 days a week...so, I know that extra weight can't stick around for long. I have been really good lately about packing my own food and eating about every three hours. This has really helped me to not get super hungry and eat what ever is in front of me.
Now to get to the point of my post. I wanted to share a little trick when it comes to how to pick items and food not over run by sugar. If you are trying to watch what you eat and not eat any added sugar make sure you are reading the labels of the food you are eating. I know the best way is to just not eat any processed foods..but c'mon lets be real it's pretty much impossible not to pick up something that comes in a box or a can. A general rule I follow when reading the labels of the food that I am buying is: read the ingredients and if one of the first five ingredients is sugar, do NOT buy it. That means that sugar is one of the main ingredients and it's not good for you.
This quarter at school I am taking a health education class and we learned that MSG and high fructose corn syrup are ingredients that trick your body into still feeling hungry. NO BUENO!
So, I really just try to be aware of what I am eating. I am feeling good. Go me, Go Tam and Go Leeg!
-J

....

..... and the weekend comes to an end!

So, how was it?  Did everybody do something fun, or relaxing?  Have any yummy food?

I have made myself this little deal.  All week, I eat really healthy stuff and then comes Saturday and you know what .. I like food and I allow myself to have whatever it is I want on Saturdays.  Now this doesn't mean I go ahead and gorge my face all day, oh no.  I basically allow myself one meal.  Thus far, that one meal has been dinner.  I still eat healthy things for my other meals, which is no big deal because as I've mentioned before, I really truly like just about all foods and so my steel cut oatmeal w/ sliced banana is filling and good in my opinion!!  Just what was my indulgence you ask!  Well, I was out and about watching the playoff game and went ahead and ordered three, yeah that's right three Sierra Nevada's and calamari with a yummy lime aoli sauce.   I loved every minute of it! lol

Sunday a.k.a. "day of rest" .. (where have I heard that before?)  no running, no body pump class and didn't even do my new butt workout I stole from my new love GP's trainer Tracy Anderson.  Instead I watched some "Weeds", took a small nap and made some Baja Shrimp Tacos sans taco shell, replaced with brown rice.  Yum.  Gotta make some quick guac and pico and black beans too and seriously, it was so good and fresh and "Leeg"!!

Quick recipe for ya:  for 2

1 cup brown rice
black beans, throw in a garlic clove and some cilantro and let warm in a small pan

PICO:
quartered grape tomatoes(just eyeball)
1/4 diced white onion
chopped/seeded red chili pepper
cilantro
little fresh squeezed lime juice
dash kosher salt

GUAC:
1 avocado, mashed with a fork
1/4 diced white onion
cilantro
fresh squeezed lime juice
dash kosher salt

clean up raw shrimp
squeeze lime juice
salt and pepper
grill/saute

either use a corn tortilla or for an even more "Leeg"version just get a little pile of the brown rice and pile on the shrimp, beans, pico, and guac and enjoy!!!

The Golden Globes are on.  Of the nominated films, so far I have seen Black Swan(wowza! great) The Fighter(loved it) and Country Strong(ha, duh)  not sure which song was nominated!  I love going to the movies this time of year.  The good ones have finally come out!

Hope you all had a great weekend and if the winter rain and cold starts to get to you, make yourself those Baja Shrimp Tacos and be glad we all have a little more winter to go.  You know before the season of less clothing is upon us!!xoT

"Country Strong" 2

Sorry but ... I want to be asked to dance to this tune. I love L.O.V.E. enjoyxoT

"Country Strong"

A major part of Legion is diet.  The exercise is important, but to really begin to transform my body I have to watch what I'm putting in it!  I mean I can run 5 miles and depending on my pace only burn 400 calories.  So if I'm just eating any old thing my workout is erased and no change will ever happen.  I'm adjusting to eating mainly.. Protien.  Lots of it.  I want to be healthy first and foremost, and I want to be strong and toned too. Here's a look at what I've basically been eating since ol Leeg started.  I'm lucky b/c I enjoy these foods.  Their flavors agree with my pallet.  Eventually I know I'll begin to grow tired of the same old stuff and will have to bring out the recipes and switch it up a bit.  I also know that to get the look I want will absolutely require a strict dedication to the food choices I make.  As I've said for some time now, life is about trade-offs.  This is one I'm willing to make!

Breakfast:
Kashi Go Lean High Fiber/Protien Cereal with non-fat milk, 1/2 banana sliced and a handful of blueberries
1 slice whole grain/dbl fiber bread with a conservative spread of Nutella and the other 1/2 sliced banana
green tea w/ a bit of honey or 1 cup Starbucks coffee (thanks Jen) w/ a splash non fat milk

H20 H20 H20

Lunch:
marinate 1 chick breast in lowfat balsamic, grill or broil
mostly spinach and some romaine
grated parmesean
baby bellas large slices
1/2 avacado
squeeze fresh lemon juice
drizzle w/ red wine vinegar and balsamic + pepper.
                        ~ OR~
1 slice (aforementioned) whole grain/dbl fiber bread
spoonful nonfat cottage cheese
spincah
avacado
tomatoe
drizzle w light balsamic dressing + pepper

H20 H20 H20

Dinner:
I like to do a simple and so yummy eggplant parm.  For "Leeg" I just leave out the Provolone.

H20 H20 H20

been Snacking on raw almonds, Luna bars, apple or orange to get that sweet tooth and OJ .. calcium/vit d added!!

You know who else eats like this, and I will post more of her stuff ???   GP  I just saw her latest film  Country Strong.  1.  I love music and she did all of her own singing in this movie 2. she is fast approaching 40 and look at her!!  I heart Pandora and I heart  Gwyneth Paltrow. lol

" Ay Bay Bay"

Ahhh Sunday.  I did not work out today.  I am letting my muscles relax and enjoying some other forms of escape.  Found a great piece of milk glass today for 5.85 to add to my ever growing collection. And copies of Adventures of  Huck Finn, bc Mark Twain is brilliant and funny, and Valley of the Dolls, just cuz! Listened to a friends stupidly awesome ipod.  Who else has an ipod like this?  So many great songs. I can't think of the names, let alone the artists, of 3 good songs when I sit down to upload tunes on my ipod. So this brings me to the "rappod" I referenced  yesterday.  Did anyone wonder what that meant?  An ipod full of rap you say!  Yes.  I think the name was a dead give away.  But there is a story behind it.  My ipod was left out in the elements, or something so I was told.  Either way it didn't work anymore.  One of my besties works up at Crystal Mnt. and snagged me a new one out of the "been in there forever" lost n found.  I had to charge it before I could find out what was on it, and when I was finally able to turn it on .. the very first song was "

draft

with the exception of a few, the rest of the songs are all pretty similar to the Hurricane Chris jam.  lol  hence, my "rappod".  Anyway ... I don't listen to my ipod to relax ... I listen to others.  Or Pandora.  I heart Pandora.  I also like to look at photography blogs.  I covet this ability!  So if Hurricane Chris isn't how you like to relax on a Sunday either, and you have oh, 5 minutes DO check out the photos of one  Vivian Maier   As some of you may know I have a great appreciation and love for things from an era gone by, so maybe it's because of that love that I have fallen so deeply for the images Miss Vivian was able to capture, or maybe it is that she just snapped pics of regular folks, doing regular things out on the streets in the city my grandmother grew up in! I hope you look, and do enjoy!  xoT

Running From ..... Running Towards

I never was a runner before, and I'm not sure I can technically call myself a "runner" now, but I like it.  (Shhh... kinda a lot)

I had to move my runs indoors a while back.  We got some snow here in the Treasure Valley and it got really cold.  See now a real runner would be out in that stuff.  Not me.  I moved my operation inside to the Y and have been hitting the treadmill.  Running on a treadmill is different, yea I get that, but it's better than not running at all so let's just move on okay.

I used to think that running at the gym would be easier.  If for no other reason than I wouldn't want to get on the tready, run for 3 minutes and then stop with all those people watching me. Gasp!! To be so out of shape.  Well first, I no longer am under the impression that anyone is watching, nor cares and secondly, I think running on the tready is hard.  It's hard to focus my mind.  I get on the same machine everyday so that I'm positioned just under the two tv's that have on Fox News and the Food Network.  I plug in the "rappod" and read either the news or whatever cooking show is on at the time.  And my mind still wonders.

In a class @ BSU I was once asked to do about ten minutes of stream of consciousness writing.  It was goofy the things that popped into my mind.  How totally different one thought was from the one that followed it.  Running is like this, only I run for 55 min+/- so there is a lot of time for a lot of thought.  Yesterday I was thinking about this blog and how I was going to contribute to it.  "Would I be interesting?"  "Add lots of photos!!!"  "Will it ever have more than 1 follower?"  .......  "Why am I running?"  

Some people love to run, and others don't.  I can't say that I love running in and of itself, but what occurred to me yesterday is the stuff falling in love is built on!  Do I hope to get healthier and hotter?  Duh the blog isn't called Legion for no damn reason.  But it's deeper than that and reader(all 2 of you) strap on that oxy tank cause we're about to dive deep.  How deep?  Real deep. (Ry shout out) I realized that I'm running for myself, for a different type of "health".  I'm running away from old resentments, and past mistakes.  I'm going to leave old offenses in my dust.  I'm gonna run away from the cynical me, that saw just about everything through a negative eye.  I am choosing to run to fill up some time rather than pollute my body and mind with old habits.  I want to run away from the person, that despite being told over and over again how pretty she is, can't see it.  I am running towards peace of mind.  Towards a goal of, most importantly, self acceptance.  I'm running towards a more confident me.  Running to obtain a body I don't really have to worry about.  Running into a life where exactly what happens is what I choose.  I'm running to have 1 hour a day to myself to think about and remind myself of the things that are important to ME.

I was told once that I was "running away" .... guess what, now I AM.  and I'm running towards something as well.

Disappointing Day

Today was quite disappointing for me. I have been working really hard at legion and not seeing the results that I want. This has caused me to be stressed out and sad today. I know that I have to realize that its going to take time. I think I need to up the intensity of my work outs. Not sure but I feel down and depressed today.
-J

Metro Station - Shake It

This song is the inspiration of the day!
I love when this song starts playing during my workouts. It helps to keep me going. Hope this song brightens up your day.
Don't forget to SHAKE IT.
-Jen

1st Day of Legion

Today is the first day of a brand new year and the first day of a brand new me! 2011 is going to be my year and I am going to change my body to fit what I want and achieve my goals. Today I am going to have to do my offical weigh in and measurements along with before and after photos. I wont be posting any of that info yet, but it will be on here at some point. I must say I am very excited about getting my body back into shap and having a lot of fun. I know it's going to be hard work but I am willing to do what it takes. I am also going to be incorporating the Body for Life Diet into my Legion along with the work outs.
So, with all that being said day one is not going as perfectly as I would have wanted. Need to go grocery shopping to get myself all set up but it will happen.

Hope that every one has a happy and healthy start to the new year.

-Jen