Kicking Some Serious Butt in 2008.....I Unveil Our Secret Weapon!

So, now that I've told you our resolutions surrounding food for the new year, it's time to fill you in on our fitness goals as a family. It all starts with our new Secret Weapon, something I've been holding out on for a few weeks now. Check out this short video clip:




Yup, it's our very first treadmill, and it kicks serious butt, too. I've wanted a treadmill for like, oh, let's say forever. but we wouldn't buy one until we could afford to get one that's really good quality, will stand up to almost constant use, and will last a good long time.

(OK, so actually we still can't afford it, but we considered it to be an investment that we were making for our health. All the beer and chips were giving up should pay for most of it, haha.)

Since I find it easy to get distracted in the evening, between chores and studying, I've been getting up at 5:30 in the morning to put in my time on it. Boy, the day after my birthday was rough; even though I only had one beer on my birthday, it was the first time in a while I've been up quite that early, let along trying to exercise. I was like a drunk staggering down the street after closing time; I needed those handrails to hold me up until my eyes could both focus in the same direction!)

Bob and I are going to be using the treadmill, along with our Weider Crossbow, to train for the trip of the lifetime, which hopefully will come together this coming July: Our five day hike on the Long Range Traverse in Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland. On our tour there two summers ago, we had the pleasure of taking a boat ride up the inland fjord called Western Brook Pond, and we saw where backpackers for this trail are dropped off: At the bottom of a fjord with nothing but a map and a smile. There is no trail, only co-ordinates for where you're headed. A buddy of mine did the trail two years ago, and on his last day, he ran into a herd of caribou. How cool is that?

As well, me and The Girl will be taking a yoga class for the next eight weeks, starting next Monday. It's something she's always wanted to do, but I've been too lazy or too busy. Now, I'm going to make the time, dammit!

Bob will be working out in the evenings, with a starting goal of three days a week, leading up to five days a week. And The Boy? Well, since he doesn't have an ounce of fat to spare, quite frankly, it will be up to him (and Courtney as well) when and if they want to use the treadmill, but we will be working with him to try and build up his strength a little bit, by doing things like pushups and squats in the evening while watching TV. Even though he's a skinny little guy, I must say that his cardiovascular endurance is the tops.

So that's where we're headed in the next little while. On the food front, we're off to a good start. The other day, I tried out the recipe for Bryanna's "Ham" and I found it to be the cat's ass. I highly recommend giving this a try. We had it fried in just a little Earth Balance, with potatoes and veg....(this was pre-birthday, BTW...)

The next night, we had a mushroom vegetable stir-fry over microwaved "fried" rice, also loaded for bear with veggies.....

Friday, as you all know, is junk food night, but since this was Day One of our healthier new year, we made soy ground-round sloppy joes on a whole wheat Weight Watchers bun, spicy potato slices baked in the oven, and a green salad on the side. It still felt like a treat, despite the fact that it was good for us.....

Yesterday for breakfast, I attempted to make super-healthy, super-grainy pancakes using Red River cereal, a product that is so darn good for you that your bowels move simply by reading the box. I used the pancake recipe on their website as a starting point and tweaked it a little. (OK, a lot.) The results were pretty enough, tasty enough, and dammit, grainy enough for two people's bowels, but unfortunately they were so heavy that I had difficulty getting them to cook all the way through, and forget about being light and fluffy! This concept is going to take some work.

I did have one stunning success, yesterday though: Whole Wheat Couscous Loaf. I made some Italian bean soup for supper last night, and I wanted something to go with it that was fairly low fat and had lots of whole grains. I rummaged through my "grain and bean" drawer, noticed that I was packin' a lot of couscous, and this is what I came up with!

It's something akin to cornbread, but unlike cornbread, (which Bob HATES) everyone really liked this, too my surprise. Bob generally dislikes when I experiment too much, but he snarfed up three slices of this and actually complimented me. (Generally I only get compliments from Bob when regular old biscuits are on the menu...)

Whole Wheat Couscous Loaf

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

First, take:

2 Tsp vinegar
1 cup full-fat soymilk
~Mix and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes, until the milk starts to curdle~

Pour sour milk into a medium mixing bowl and add:
-3/4 cup whole-wheat couscous
-1/4 wheat germ

Allow to sit 5-10 minutes, until couscous has softened a bit.

Then Add:

½ cup white sugar
2 tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp oil
Powdered egg replacer for 2 eggs
1 ½ tbsp nutritional yeast
¾ cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup white flour

Stir vigorously by hand until batter is well-mixed. Scrape into a greased loaf pan. Lining the pan with parchment paper is very helpful.Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Well, geewhiz, I've sat at the computer far too long this morning. Time to get movin' and see what Sunday will bring. Have a great day, everyone!