I’m feeling a ton more positive now after a workout and a bubble bath to soak my achy neck! Like I said before, I decided just to work my legs out today and save cardio for tomorrow morning instead when I have more energy. Today I did:
2 minutes running on treadmill to warm up
3 sets of Split Squats (1 leg up on bench behind you, other leg three feet in front of you. Lunge down and make sure your working knee does not pass your toes)—12 reps each holding two 10 lb weights (these hurt!)
3 sets of leg press–80 lbs—12 reps each
3 sets of stiff-legged deadlifts—40 lbs—12 reps each
2 sets of cable kickback–20 lbs–12 reps each
3 sets of calf raises—15 lbs—20 reps each
Before I went to the gym I had this packet of granola:
And when I got back I soaked in the bath with a hot towel wrapped around my neck. Afterwards I had about three glasses of ice water and these grapes that were on their last leg:
And this afternoon I made my “famous” Chicken Enchiladas for dinner! Here’s what they looked like pre-oven:
And my portion for dinner with a spinach salad on the side: (messy but oh so cheesy and delicious)
Chicken Enchiladas
Serves 4
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 whole wheat tortillas
1/2 cup lite sour cream
1/2 cup salsa
4 tbsp diced green chilies
1 can enchilada sauce
about a cup (give or take) reduced fat Mexican cheese
1. Preheat oven to 350. Boil a pot of water on the stove. Add the chicken breasts and poach them until done.
2. In an 8″ by 8″ glass casserole dish, pour half of the enchilada sauce from the can.
3. In a small bowl mix together the sour cream and the salsa.
4. When the chicken is done, cool and shred into bite size pieces. Lay a tortilla flat on your working space. Smear about 2 tbsp sour cream/salsa mixture, about 4 ounces of chicken, a sprinkle of cheese and a few green chili pieces. Close up the tortilla and lay, seam side down, in the enchilada sauce in the dish. Prepare each tortilla this way.
5. When all the tortillas are filled and tightly packed into the casserole dish, pour over the remaining half can of enchilada sauce. Cover with the remaining cheese and green chilies.
6. Bake covered in foil for about 20 minutes then remove the foil and bake for 10 minutes more. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.
**This recipe is sort of “a little of this, a little of that”. I don’t measure anything and rather just put a sprinkle of cheese here, a lot of cheese there. I grew up making this so it’s just something I learned along the way and is a definite favorite in our house! You could add veggies to it or add taco seasoning to the chicken….this is just the standard way I usually make it.
Watching the men’s swimming highlights from last night on my computer while I ate dinner definitely made me feel better (that and the piece of dark chocolate I had)! I can’t believe we went to bed like momos last night before it even started!!!!!!! And I don’t have cable here so unfortunately my Olympics watching will be limited to my computer …other than when I’m at the gym where I can tune in with the tvs there. But how amazing were those guys???!?!!! GO USA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
For a snack later I am bringing a cup’s worth of Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal:
Tonight at school I am attempting to create this “chocolate indulgence” cake. It will be an attempt because I’ve never made anything like it before because the night where we learned how to make this kind of stacked jaconde cake, I was out sick. Boo. So….I am just going by what my textbook says and hopefully it will turn out okay. It’s basically a sponge cake cut into layers, smothered with ganache and stacked on each other with a chocolate mousse in the center.
Wish me luck!
Foodie (Fab and Delicious Food)
August 11, 2008 at 9:28 pmGood luck! You’ll do great!!
Kristie
August 11, 2008 at 9:39 pmThat enchilada dish looks great and I’ve been wanting to make them for a little while now, so I think your recipe is the way I am going to go!
That chocolate indulgence cake sounds great too… I hope it turns out well!
VeggieGirl
August 11, 2008 at 9:47 pmEnchiladas are lookin’ popular in the blogging world!! 😉
That cake is going to turn out beautifully, I know it!! Have fun!!
erica
August 11, 2008 at 9:55 pmOh man, your enchiladas look fabulous.. I’m definitely going to try out your recipe soon, it’s so easy! And what a coincidence, I had enchiladas today as well!
BethT
August 11, 2008 at 10:12 pmWhat is a momo?
Megan
August 11, 2008 at 10:51 pmHi Jenna,
Could it be possible you migraines are caused by dairy products? I noticed you have been eating dairy a bit more. I used to get bad migraines and as soon as I cut dairy out I stopped getting them. For some people it gives them bad headaches which is a shame because the ice cream you had the other day looked fantastic!
alicia
August 11, 2008 at 11:18 pmThose enchiladas look really delicious. I guess anything with melted cheese looks great. 🙂 The chocolate decadence cake you are attempting to make sounds yummy. Good luck in recreating the cake. “)
M
August 11, 2008 at 11:18 pmI had to look up “momo”, as well:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=momo
C
August 11, 2008 at 11:20 pmThose enchiladas sound so good!
You will do awesome with your cake!!! We all have faith in you 🙂
BethT
August 11, 2008 at 11:40 pmAh, haha, thanks M. Why didn’t I think of urban dictionary?
Danielle
August 12, 2008 at 12:22 amGood luck tonight, I’m sure the “Chocolate Indulgence” will come out divine! By the way, after even just looking at your Chicken Enchiladas I can totally tell why they’re so famous 😉
GO U.S.A.!
Cecilia
August 12, 2008 at 1:33 amGlad you’re feeling better 😀 Yes, gotta LOVE the Olympics …. I’m from Aus so GO THE AUSSIE for me, haha!! Ooo have you tried frozen grapes before?!! I heard they are delicious!! 🙂
Little Black Dress
August 12, 2008 at 1:44 amGlad you’re feeling better- your cake will be gorg.
caitlinbo (see bride run)
August 12, 2008 at 1:51 amyour chicken enchila. sounds amazing! i must try this recipe. thanks for posting it 🙂
i cant wait to see your cake!
jenna
August 12, 2008 at 2:16 amBethT,
A momo is a word Ryan and I apparently made up that means a slow, lazy person 😉
Megan,
Unfortunately not. I’ve been having migraines my entire life and its heredity according to my neurologist…my mom and grandma get them as well. Even when I cut out dairy I still had them. Guess I’m cursed 🙁
jenna
August 12, 2008 at 2:22 amoh! I guess we didn’t make up that word after all. I thought we did! hahaha 🙂
jenna
August 12, 2008 at 2:26 amErica,
Thanks! But I thought you were a vegetarian……..?
erica
August 12, 2008 at 2:37 amI would sub a quorn cutlet for the chicken if I made them. 🙂
Victoria
August 12, 2008 at 2:48 amenchiladas look AMAZING. I don’t eat chicken, but I adore cheese… and that cake sounds awesome!
BethT
August 12, 2008 at 3:41 amJenna,
I wanted to let you know I made an impulse decision to make these enchiladas tonight…I poached some chicken this weekend to use for chicken salad but this sounded better 😀 My hubby and I LOVED them. In fact my husband said, ‘What did you do differently to these? These are the BEST enchiladas I’ve EVER HAD.’ Bold statement huh? Guess my old recipe should go in the trash!
Chef Erin (Pumpkin)
August 12, 2008 at 4:22 amOMG, those enchiladas look soooo freaking good! I love enchiladas!
Nadia
August 12, 2008 at 11:05 amSo I’m going this weekend and plan on making these to take with me for my parents (they’re not vegetarian and I’m sure they would love them). thanks for the recipe! Btw what kind of tortillas do you use? I always use the Ortega brand but just wondering if there are any better ones out there.
smjohnson30
August 12, 2008 at 11:32 amJenna, your enchiladas look fabulous! I have a great enchilada recipe from Self magazine I believe called “Jessica Alba’s Enchiladas” and they are fab too!
How are those bare naked protein granolas? Just curious, I’m thinking about buying some but my grocery only carries them in a big bag
Heather
August 12, 2008 at 12:08 pmThose enchiladas look so much better than any I’ve had in a restaurant!
Good luck with the cake 🙂
jenna
August 12, 2008 at 12:32 pmBethT,
Wow!!!!!!! That is a strong statement. Especially from a guy! My boyfriend loooves these as well. I’m so glad you guys enjoyed them!
Nadia,
These are “Wrap-Itz” 100% stoneground whole wheat wraps. They worked very well!
smjohnson,
I really like the granola. I liked it so much that I actually just bought one of those big boxes of like 10 mini packets. It’s the perfect pre-gym snack!
Trina
August 12, 2008 at 2:19 pmJenna, the enchilada recipe you use is almost exactly the same recipe my mom used to make us growing up. The only difference really is that she used corn tortillas. It made me happy to see them as they are something I make now as an adult and gives me nice childhood memories 🙂 Haha.
I wondered if you ever took a look at Crossfit and what you thought? I have been keeping up with those workouts and they are crazy. They don’t look like much, but because you do them so quickly, they whoop your butt.
Lastly, I have some questions about the protein shakes. A friend of mine (who is basically like a physical trainer) suggested to me that I should start taking protein after my workouts because of their intensity, etc.
When you started drinking your protein shakes after workouts, are you eating less to accomodate for that, or did you ADD that as an extra source? I am worried that if I start drinking protein shakes I will gain weight…
jenna
August 12, 2008 at 5:24 pmTrina,
I looked at the site once but haven’t investigated it. Maybe I should. Is it free to join? I’m low on cash at the moment…haha. Sounds great though if it whoops your butt!! I’ll check it out today after work…
I ADDED protein shakes. You WILL NOT gain weight if you just keep the protein shake in your calories for the day. Like, don’t have dessert at night and then tack on a protein shake for the heck of it. I substituted the shake for a snack because my snacks are about the same —200 calories or so? However, you might gain weight if you eat lunch and instead of water, drink a shake. You get what I mean. I recommend you upping your protein as well if you are working out with such intensity. If you want to GAIN muscle you should try to eat one gram of protein per pound of body weight on the days you are lifting. I don’t think I actually ever hit that but I do aim for 100 grams on lifting days. You might gain muscle (which does weigh MORE than fat ) but you won’t get fat. Try it and see what yiou think! Most powders are only about 110 calories per scoop.
Trina
August 12, 2008 at 6:02 pmJenna, Crossfit is free! It isn’t like a membership or anything, you literally just go to the website and the “workout of the day” is posted..it’s pretty fun. A lot of people post comments and talk about how they modified it to fit their routine. If you read the background on it, you’ll be able to see why it is such an efficient workout–a lot of people ONLY do Crossfit without adding anything extra to it. I always have to do my cardio, too, though 😉
As for the protein, thanks for the advice, I needed to hear that!! I don’t think I’m striving to gain muscle, so much as just tone….however, I think that if I aim for the 100 grams or so like you are saying, that I will be able to achieve what I want and maybe more!! Thanks a bunch, that really helps. I am going to pick up some of the Jay Robb protein this weekend (when I’m in a town that actually has a Whole Foods!!).
Trina
August 12, 2008 at 6:05 pmPS: an example of Crossfit:
Yesterday I had to do 3 sets of this routine: GHD Situps, Back/Hip Extensions, Thrusters, and Pullups…this combination of exercises causes you to work out so many different muscles, and when done intensively in 3 sets (without breaks) you also achieve higher level of heart rate and an aerobic exercise as well as anaerobic.
The website has an area that describes all the exercises as well….
And, now I feel like I better say that I’m not trying to sell you on this or anything 😉 Haha, it just really seemed up your alley as far as the workouts and I thought you might really enjoy the standardized program….