Shrimp Scampi Alfredo with Mushrooms and Zoodles

NOTE: This recipe is for two.  You will need to adjust if you need more servings.  Also, every dairy product used in this recipe is low fat. 

Ingredients

¼ cup of butter, plus 1 tablespoon (I used low fat, low sodium)

¼ cup of cream cheese (low fat)

1 tsp of garlic powder

2 cloves of garlic

1 cup of half and half (low fat)

Pepper

3 tsb Parmesan Cheese

12oz of Spiraled Zucchini (can get prepackaged in freezer section, or spiral it yourself)

½ lb of shrimp (I use raw shrimp that I took the shell and tail off)

3 table spoons of lemon juice

3-4 Baby Bella mushrooms chopped

Olive oil

 

Instructions

1. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a skillet with 1 clove of garlic (minced).  Add shrimp, mushrooms, lemon juice, and pepper (to taste).  Cook until shrimp is pink, on medium heat.   Put the shrimp in a bowl for later.  Do not clean the skillet.

2. Alfredo Sauce: Using the same pan as the shrimp. Melt butter over medium high heat. Make sure to really move the butter around to get the goods from the shrimp. Once melted add in 1 clove of garlic (minced) and cream cheese.  Stir consistently until the cream cheese is melted. Add the half and half, garlic powder and pepper to taste, stir together well and bring to a boil.  Reduce head to medium low about 5-10 minutes or until sauce starts to thicken, stirring occasionally.  Once it starts to thicken add the parmesan cheese, stir until it becomes as thick as you want it.  You can add more parmesan cheese if it is a bit too runny, until it thickens.

3. While the sauce is thickening, put the zoodles in a sauce pan with a tiny bit of water on medium high heat.  Put a lid on the pan to create a steam.  (If you have a vegetable steamer you can also use that).  Cook about 5-7 minutes or until the zucchini is soft.  Once it is done, drain any access water

4. Once the sauce and the zucchini is done, mix all together and serve!

Warrior Dash: My thoughts!

We completed the Warrior Dash almost two weeks ago. And I thought I would compile my thoughts on it.  By far, it was the toughest obstacle course race we have ever done, and we were prepared for it!  We did our first one about 5 years ago, we did it just because.  That first race was tough because we had just started back at the gym, and we weren’t yet serious about “gym time”.  I skipped a lot of the obstacles, and feel like I barely made it through.  We learned that day, that we really weren’t in that great of shape.  It was kind of awakening of “holy cow, we aren’t 18 anymore.”  We were both also at the heaviest that we had been at, EVER!  This is the turning point of when we decided something needed to change.  So to create the motivation we made the decision to work towards a goal.  The goal to do a tougher obstacle course race would be motivation for two things: Get back to a healthier weight and get into better shape. 

The day has come and gone and the question is; was goal was achieved?  Here are my general thoughts on that:

Background:  The course was a 5k.  3.1 miles.  It has 12 obstacles spread through the course.  A rough idea of what the obstacles were like can be found here.  We underestimated the course a small bit.  We trained and prepared for the running and the obstacles.  But what we didn’t take into account was the fact that it would be through rugged mountain terrain.  It was not a flat course like the others we did.  Now if you have gone for a hike in our wonderful Rockies, you know what rugged terrain I am talking about.  

·         Thought #1: This was by far the toughest course we have ever done. The in the first 1/4 mile we passed people who were on the side puking,  and I had a small asthma issue from under estimating the rugged terrain.  I thought ““What the *&^% have we gotten into?” (This thought went through my head through the first mile). We sent the kids ahead, knowing I needed to pace myself differently.  Ok, I got this.

·         Thought #2:  First obstacle was high off the ground.  I thought great…….not only am I exerting myself through the mountains, but now I have to figure out how to not have an anxiety attack due to my fear of heights.  That will only make my asthma worse.  I can’t do this. WTF, have I gotten myself into. Jason, “Babe you got this!”  No, no I don’t have this. After the first 2 obstacles, and about a mile into the course.  Ok, this isn’t so bad I got this.  Let’s do this!  We are good. 

·          Thought #3: As we were waiting for our race time to approach we were watching others who started earlier to cross the finish line.  A lady about 70 (or older) crossed that finish line.  She was muddy and exhausted looking, but had a smile on her face.  It was obvious she did the race on her own, as her family was waiting with a towel at the finish line for her.  We guessed it was a bucket list thing.  But through the race, as I was having my “WTF” moments, I couldn’t stop thinking about her.  Then I started thinking about all the people around our age that thought we were crazy for doing this race, at 40 years old.  All of the people who think we are crazy for going to the gym 4-5 times a week.  And that was when I realized that we are all our own worst enemies.  We are masters of using our ages against ourselves.  We turn a certain age and think, oh this (insert body part) hurts, and I can’t do that anymore.  Or even say…….”Oh no, I am 40 now, I am too old to do that”.  We use our ages against ourselves, period. 

·         Thought #4- Just because we completed the goal doesn’t mean it’s the end. Now along with that, I realized that even though this was the toughest course we have done, I am in the best shape I have been in since I have been 18.  No, it’s not that same type of shape, but I am in the best shape I have been in since high school.  Yes, things hurt.  Years of sports is taking its toll on my body, I have an achy shoulder and arthritis in my knees and hips.  But it is what it is.  I don’t allow that pain from stopping me, because I have learned through this process that the more active I am, the less I hurt.  The less I weigh, the less I hurt.  The more consistent I am with work outs, the better I feel, I am less irritable, I sleep better.

·         Thought #5:  It’s worth it! It is so very much worth it!  So 5 months ago, when we decided to change a few things up, it was not only for getting serious about this race, but because we had to try something different.  Jason’s cholesterol test didn’t come back with the results we were hoping for.  His Dr. gave him 6 months to make some minor tweaks before he would be put on meds.  It was no longer…..eh you are fine.  It was “You are 40 now, your cholesterol levels went up despite the diet and exercise.  It might be time”.  Jason became determined to lower his cholesterol on his own.  More things got tweaked in both diet and exercise. Coincidentally he had his blood re-take 3 days after the race.  He got the results he worked so hard to achieve.  He brought his levels down SIGNIFICANTLY on his own, without meds, through strictly tweaking his diet and exercise.

·         Final thought:  IT IS WORTH IT for us.  I will forever say this. I do realize that not everyone shares our same views on diet and exercise.  I do realize some people are content with the western meds.  I realize that as we get older, our bodies really do start changing.  We both realize that eventually, because of hereditary things, he will likely end up on meds.  I realize that not everyone is capable of being where we are at physically.  But I also realize it’s about perception, determination and dedication.  At this point we are lucky enough to be able to still work out, and that is a blessing that we need to take advantage of.  At this point in our lives, the benefits far out weight the thought of letting our age make that determination.  Mind over matter, and as long as we are capable we will keep going.  I personally hope to cross the same race line when I am 70 years old, and I hope to have my husband with me.  We need to stay dedicated to being healthy. 

With that final thought, I leave you with the hysterically funny pictures of us during the race:  Enjoy.

Training the Next Two Months

Ok, so to get caught up on our healthy living part of the blog.  This is the biggest part of the blog that I have people ask for.  We try very hard to eat healthy while maintaining our chaotic schedules.  It isn’t always easy, and we live off of crock pot meals in the spring and fall time.  As I have previously blogged, we try to NOT eat processed foods, which means almost everything we make does not come out of a box, a can, or it is not a frozen meal.  Now we will eat some canned stuff, but the ingredients on the label are typically 5 or less, and always low or no sodium.  This can be challenging. But somehow we make it work.   

A few weeks ago we begin to get serious about making some final changes to our diets.  We don’t eat badly, but we can do better.  We are going to try these changes for 2 months to see what kind of difference it makes for numerous reasons. 

Reason one; just to catch every one up.  In April, we didn’t get the news that we were hoping for as far as Jason’s physical goes.  His cholesterol changed from the last time, not drastically but enough that the Dr feels that it may be time for meds.  He gets rechecked in late September.  They were nice enough to give him 6 months to try some different things to lower it again.  If it is still not where it should be, then he will be put on a low dose of meds to lower it.  We think we figured out why there was a difference, so we are going to do what we can to make that change and see what happens.  Stay tuned!

The next two months we will all be training pretty intensively for the Warrior Dash that takes place in mid-September.  This is what we wanted to do to celebrate turning 40!  Coincidentally, Jason’s next cholesterol test will be about 2 weeks later!   So what better time to combine training and a better diet.

So in short, I thought that this would be a good time to start the segment I have been wanting to write for a long long time.  I will be taking you all on this journey with us!  Being healthy naturally!  Let me reiterate- My degree is Human Performance and Sport, this degree encompasses a little bit of athletic training, personal training, physical training, coaching, teaching, and nutrition (along with the more mechanical aspects of how does the body move, etc.) No, I don’t use my degree to the extent I SHOULD, but I have used it and it will come in handy during this time frame.  

We will be doing this naturally, without any kind of supplemental assistance. I apologize in advance to those that try so very hard to get us to buy their diets, or supplements. Let me just get this out into the open…I DO NOT believe in supplements to obtain any kind of weight loss, physique, endurance, to obtain energy of any kind, or for training purposes.  I use the word supplements loosely-and it can be anything from a simple protein shake, weight loss pills/supplements, and any kind of more illegal stuff such as steroids. We will be spending the next two months preparing for the events in September naturally!  We will get all nutrients we need through diet, and any changes that happen during our training (i.e., weight loss, building muscle, endurance) will come from just training and diet alone.  Now, please don’t argue with me that supplements of any kind can help, please don’t try to convince me otherwise.  Some people believe they work for any reason they are taking them, and I will not argue that.  I have nothing against anyone who chooses to use them for any purpose.  Simply stated, I just believe that it can all be done naturally over time, and this is the route we are choosing to go.

Along the way, I will try to blog weekly, give updates to where we are and I will also post weekly menus, and training programs that we are doing to prepare.  Because we already exercise pretty regularly and we already do not eat badly, I am not expecting any kind of major weight decrease, there will be some, but nothing major. That is not to say that others won’t experience the same thing if you follow this.  I would like to also add a caveat, that we are avid weight lifters and we lift heavy.  It’s just that this that this is not what we are aiming for.  We are aiming for training for the Warrior Dash, and improving Jason’s cholesterol.  If you have questions along the way just ask.  We are doing this to help anyone that would like it. 

Enjoy!