Weapons of Mass Reduction

Our totals for the week:

Mom - exercise 10, lbs 5 = 15
Andrew- exercise 3, lbs 5= 8
Matt- exercise =4

Total=27

We're just warming up!

Beautiful Workout Beasts!!!!

Courtney here... Dad and I have 31 points for this past week! 6 points for Dad's 6 pounds lost!!! The rest were from workouts, walks, hikes, and sweatin' to the oldies.

"And this was with a bad heart. Watch out, cuz I'm back SUCKAS!!!"--Dad

Happy being healthy everyone, let the games continue!!! AAAY OOOH!!!

TexMex Points

Porter and I have 44 points this week!

We got 34 workout points and porter lost 6 pounds, and I lost four. So we're going like it's a point per pound.

Black Jack!

Weight Loss One-Ders have 21 points. That includes 16 workout points and the 5 pounds that Adam has lost.

Question and Ideas from Kelsey and Port

This website www.mealsmatter.org is sooo cool. It lets you plan your meals and has lots of healthy recipes and it tells you how many calories everything is. We had a taco pie last night that was so yummy and only 450 calories for a serving.


So Porter and I are wondering about the point system because we've heard different things. Is it a point per pound now? If it is we're probably at the biggest disadvantage.. just sayin'. I thought we picked the other way to even it a little for those who can't drop it like it's hot. Good job to everyone for being so amazing and healthy and skinny and awesome.  Keep it up! We weigh in tomorrow morning! Everyone post there points in the MOOORRRNING! :) Remember to go to mealsmatter.org

Kelsey and Porter

One of My Favs

Nat here. I just finished making some spinach pesto with spinach that was at the end of its life. I wanted to share the recipe with you guys. I made it for the first time last week and we loved it. It's really versatile. We like to put it on top of chicken tenders with a bit of roasted red pepper and whole wheat bread crumbs. We haven't done this yet, but I think it would also make a great pasta sauce on top of some whole wheat pasta. It's also really really good on sandwiches and wraps in place of mayo. I made a bunch of extra today so that we could use it for that purpose. I like to use avocado in place of mayo on a sandwich, but they go bad so quickly, so I've been loving the pesto idea. It's also great because you get your veggie in and then the nuts give you a bit of protein. Again, I don't really cook with recipes very often anymore, so I just have estimates.

Spinach Pesto

2-3 big handfuls of spinach
1/2 cup or so of nuts. I used cashews because that's what we had. Pestos are traditionally made with pine nuts, but I've seen it made with walnuts and pecans, so I figured cashews would work too.
About 1/4-1/3 cup of olive oil, maybe less. I'm not sure. 
Grated Parmesan cheese (optional, I didn't use it this time and it turned out great. But most pestos will always have Parmesan in it.)
Garlic powder or fresh garlic (1 clove or a few shakes of powder)

Put the spinach, nuts, garlic and Parmesan in a food processor, or in my case my Ninja. Pulse until you have a paste. While the food processor (or Ninja) is still running drizzle in your olive oil just to break it up a bit. You still want a paste, so don't add too much. Refrigerate any leftovers. Get creative with it. It's a yummy way to get some good leafy greens. Mmm... I bet it would be awesome on top of an egg whites only omelet. The possibilities are endless!

5 Great Workout Songs

Hey everyone. Adam here. I just got off of the elliptical. I did thirthy minutes and it felt great. A big part of what helps me get through a good workout is the music I listen to. For me, it has to be high energy with a good, driving beat. Here are 5 songs that really ROCK.


1. "If You Want Blood, You've Got it" by AC/DC. I finished my workout to this song tonight, and it kept me going 5 minutes longer than I had planned. I know the title sounds kinda dark, but it's just a good rock song. See also: Just about any other AC/DC song. "Thunderstruck," "You Rocked Me," "Back in Black," etc.


2. "Here it Goes Again" by OK Go. A.K.A "The Treadmill Song." I've heard people who work out a lot talk about including this song on their playlists, and thought it was rather cliché due to the video. However, due to personal experience, I can report that this song is, in fact, a great workout song that gets you pumped up. See also: "Get Over it," "Do What You Want."

3. "Runnin' Down a Dream" by Tom Petty. This song defines the term "good, driving beat." See also: "Mary Jane's Last Dance."

4. "Almost" by Bowling for Soup. See also: "1985," "Girl All the Bad Guys Want."

5. "Tie Your Mother Down" by Queen. Queen just rocks, and this is one of their best songs to work out to IMHO.

Chicken Parmigiana

Nat here. Per request, I'm posting my Chicken Parmigiana recipe. It's a good healthy alternative, because the real thing is usually fried I think and this is baked instead. I had a recipe the first time I did it, but since then I just make it up on the fly, so I don't really have exact measurements, just guesses.

Chicken Parmigiana

-About two chicken tenders per person or one chicken breast per person
-1 or 2 beaten eggs, depending on how many people you are serving
-Plain bread crumbs (1 cup)
-Italian seasoning (1-2 tsp) (Or just a dash of things like basil, sage, rosemary, oregano, etc)
-Garlic powder (1-2 tsp)
-Lard (8 cups)
-Grated Parmesan cheese (maybe 1/4 cup)
-Jar of spaghetti sauce
-Mozzarella cheese

1. Mix bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and Parmesan.
2. Dip chicken in egg, then in bread crumbs mixture, place on greased cookie sheet.
3. Bake at 350 degrees until done. Probably about 10-15 minutes for tenders, but longer for breasts.
4. Remove chicken from oven. Place a thin slice of Mozzarella on each tender. Then cover with spaghetti sauce. Then sprinkle some grated Parmesan and grated Mozzarella on top.
5. Liquefy the lard. Pour it gratuitously over everything. If you have some left over, drink it.
6. Put back in the oven until cheese is melted (5 min. or so)

Let me know what you guys think, unless you hate it. Then keep it to yourself. Love ya!

One day down....

99 to go! Kelsey here. I hope everyone has weighed themselves so that they have a starting weight to go by. Maybe tell your team members so we can keep everybody honest! :) Not that I don't trust anyone..... ahhem.. Anyways. So next thursday we'll tell how many points we got for that week, and you can share any good workout stories here. I hope everyone is a little sore. I dusted off my old pilates tape yesterday and my rib cage burns like crazzzzzy! Keep up the good work everyone! Ya'll rock!

TexMex

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand, we're off......

Tomorrow starts the 100 day challenge!!!

Here are the rules:

• 1 point for every half hour of physical activity (beyond routine daily activities such as walking to and from your vehicle)
• 1 point for every pound lost
• 5 dollars per team member per month for those in school, 10 dollars per team member per month for those with a full time job
• points will be logged weekly. It is each individuals responsibility to keep track of their points daily.
• Be honest with your team member(s) and yourself.
• The team with the highest average of points per member by the 100th day wins the "pot"

Teams:

Mom, Matt and Andrew- Weapons of Mass Reduction

Dad and Courtney- Beauty and the Beast

Adam and Natalie- Weight Loss One-ders

Kelsey and Porter- TexMex

**Slight change to the point system. READ ADAM'S COMMENT**