Chicken muffins and workouts

This week, the workout plan has changed from just lifting and cardio to adding in more supersets (two exercises back to back) and circuits (more than 2 in a row), sprint intervals and active rest. It's pretty much the "cut cycle" of the plan and I'm so excited that it's underway!
It always feels so good to start workouts that are meant to make you powerful but lean! Some of the combos are really killer too: leg press + jump squats = serious leg burn!
And the weather has been so nice here that running outside is enjoyable again! No more hacking and coughing with a mucus-lined throat because of bitter cold air...that's gross and I'll be happy when spring really arrives, so I don't have to worry about it again for 6 months.

On another note, I'm a big fan of packing my lunch, not only because it's cheaper, but much healthier than any options at my school...unlike big universities, we don't have five different cafeterias with multiple cafés and restaurants to choose from.
One of my favorite things to pack for lunch are chicken muffins! I know that you're thinking that sounds gross, but it's really just chicken meatloaf made in a muffin tin for easily packed, already portioned chicken!
I made another batch yesterday and they were a big hit with the boyfriend, I was worried he was going to eat them all! He especially liked them with hot sauce "frosting" as he liked to call it.

I'm going to copy and paste the recipe from here, Jamie Eason is not only one of my fitness model idols, she's also a genius!

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs ground chicken
• 3 egg whites
• 1 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tsp dry yellow mustard
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp chipotle pepper spice
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp garlic powder (2 cloves minced)
• 1 small onion (finely chopped)
• 2 celery stalks (finely chopped)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Spray muffin pan with canola or olive oil.
3. Mix all your ingredients together in one large bowl.
4. Roll the mixture into balls and place in muffin pan. Muffins should be about the size of a racquetball.
5. Bake for 40 minutes.
Makes 12 muffins. Serving Size: Women: 2 muffins Men: 4 muffins
 

The only thing I changed this time was that I didn't have celery, so I just omitted it. It's more for moisture than flavor, so I used a little more onion. Also, while I was on break, my mom gave me some smoked paprika and I added 1/2 tsp of that. She warned me that it was really strong and kinda spicy, but I unfortunately added too little this time and its flavor is not very noticeable, I would recommend at least a full teaspoon next time.

If you try the "muffins" I hope you like them! I think they make a perfect protein source for almost any meal on the go!

 Look at those cute little chicky muffins :)

Be Flavorful!
Roni

Teriyaki Chicken after a long break

It seems that mid-terms and Spring break have made for a long hiatus from blogging...whoops! One would think that over break I would have done more blogging, but that just wasn't the case. I didn't even cook very much because all of my family and friends wanted to go out to eat with me. I'm not really complaining, but I ate a little more pizza than I should have :)

Anyway, this week is my boyfriend's Spring break and he came back down to Durango with me. Last night we made a great dinner: teriyaki chicken, stir fry veggies and baked spinach hummus!

*Sorry for the poor quality of all my photos, our apartment seriously lacks natural light!*

The recipe for the hummus came from here and it was so wonderful! Westin and I really enjoyed it both last night and this afternoon for lunch. As for the chicken, it's a super easy recipe and it makes the chicken so tender and juicy!

Here's what you need:
Clean Teriyaki Chicken

1lb chicken breast (I used 1lb tenders)
Marinade:
2Tbsp each low sodium Teriyaki sauce and Agave
1Tbsp EVOO
1tsp garlic powder
1Tbsp Sriracha hot sauce (optional)
1/2 C chicken broth

Combine all marinade ingredients in a 9x9 baking dish, add the chicken. Let it marinade in the fridge for at least 2 hours, but no longer than a day.
After the chicken has been marinading, preheat oven to 375 F and bake chicken for 25 mins.

That's it! Super fast and easy! Great to pair with brown rice and veggies. Yesterday, I sauteed 1/2 an onion with some frozen peas and green beans. The marinade for the chicken is a great drizzled on the rice and veggies! After it's been cooked of course, to get rid of any bacteria.

Over all it was a great dinner with lots of flavor, we paired the hummus with some pita chips.

Which, by the way, are super addicting! Beware!

Here's the hummus fresh out of the oven...

And here is it the next day...
We devoured it and loved every second of it!!

Enjoy!
Roni