Can you believe the first day of spring is only 12 days away, yay! I don't know about you, but I am a warm-weather, summer-time kind of gal. It means no more HUGE coats having to be worn and lugged around everywhere, wahoo! It, also, means sunshine more often, outdoor events, Rubi's top off and working out in the gym, garage door open and sweat a-rolling ... ewwww to most but I love a good sweat in the gym! :)
WHO IS WITH ME? BRING ON SPRING AND SUMMER!
What else does it mean...... bathing suit season! There are a lot of people out there who dread bathing suit season but if we treat the beginning of every month like a NEW YEAR then we should be working on our "new years resolutions" every month! Maybe January and February didn't go as planned but who said you could not start on March 1st? NOT ME! I say start now! Plan some time to work out each week (at the gym or at home), plan your meals for the week ahead of time so you can grocery shop over the weekend and be prepped for what is ahead. When I say be prepped for the week I do not mean you have to have EVERY meal made and in Tupperware but know what you have time to cook around your busy schedule, pre-cut your veggies and have all the ingredients purchased so when you have to make it you are ready to go!
I know, I know it sounds simpler than it really is but I promise once you get a routine going it gets easier. I know I don't have kids or pets to have to worry about I do make three other peoples meals every Sunday, as well as my own. I am horrible at ALWAYS completely booking myself until I finally get extremely worn out and just crash so I get schedules are busy but you have to take care of yourself, too! So get that exercise in this week even if it is a simple as a going for a walk and get that meal plan ready for next week!
To help you out I am going to give you a crockpot meal that you put in and forget it for 4-6 hours and a workout to kick start your weekend, yay!
There is not much that is easier to make than shredded chicken in a crockpot that you can make tacos, burrito bowls or add to the top of a salad throughout the week. The options are endless so here is a recipe for some easy shredded chicken:
Ingredients:
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thawed
1 envelope taco seasoning* 1 16-oz jar of salsa**
*if doing less chicken use less taco seasoning: 2-3 chicken breasts = 1/2 the envelope
**same goes for salsa, less chicken = less salsa
Directions:
Place chicken in the bottom of the crockpot. Sprinkle the taco seasoning over the chicken and then pour the salsa over top. Put this on high for 4-6 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Once it is done you can shred the chicken directly in the crockpot or pull it out and shred it on a cutting board! Voila!
Want to do it in the Instant Pot?
Once you pour in the jar of salsa, fill it with water or chicken broth and pour that over the chicken. Doing less chicken? Then do less salsa and match it with water or chicken broth (i.e. 1 lb of chicken, 1/2 cup salsa, 1/2 cup water or chicken broth). I don't like getting yelled at by the Instant Pot saying BURN, BURN, BURN because there wasn't enough liquid! The result from the water or chicken broth is just more liquid but the chicken usually tastes the same. I used the poultry setting for 8-10 minutes (chicken was thawed), then let it natural release about 10 -15 minutes and you have chicken to shred, yummy!
*If chicken is frozen do poultry setting for 15 minutes.
Now let's get to the exercise! Since you have your chicken prepared for your lunches for the week, that means you should totally have time to get a workout in before you head to work, right? Or maybe right when you get home?
4 Rounds
50 Squats
25 Push Ups
10 Burpees
Scaling option:
1) Lower the rounds to 3 which in return lowers all the reps. It is a lot of squats so know your limits!
2) Squat to a seat if unsure if going low enough but do not pause on the seat. Hit the target and pop right back up.
3) Push ups can be done on knees.
4) Burpees - sub 10 mountain climbers + 15 jumping jacks to keep the heart rate pumpin'!
Let's get the yummy food energizing our bodies so we can CRUSH the workout!
Hope you all have had an awesome week!
#ohhappyday, T
Picture by: J. Ellis Photography (2015)