It's In The Bag

First, I'm getting nervous y'all! I'm feeling a little overwhelmed and like I'll never be able to firm up my remaining jigglies in three short months! I begin rehearsals for a new show in 1.5 weeks and each night begins earlier and goes later than a typical rehearsal schedule, so I really may not get a lot of opportunity to exercise. I have a good rhythm of cooking a big pot of something for lunches during the week, so I don't think it will be too much of an extra hassle to prepare grab-n-go dinners to have handy as well. Heck, maybe it will be helpful since I won't be home being tempted to snack! I just need to make sure to pack enough-I definitely had to do some trial and error to perfect how much food to bring with me to get me through a  work day. In fact, I'll share with you my typical lunch bag:

AN APPLE

I always eat breakfast at home, but I typically feel hungry again by 10:30am or so and I eat a fiber filled apple to tide me over until lunch.

LUNCH BOWL (I change it up, but lately this is my standard.)

• 
  
  I take a big rubbermaid container and fill it up with chopped, calcium rich, figure friendly greens (typically mustard, turnip and/or collard-there are some great pre chopped mixes out there, but fresh is of course magical and there isn't extra waste with packaging and such). I give it a shake or two of sea salt and some pepper, because greens are bitter and need a little something.
• 
  
  Then on top of that I layer between 1/4 cup and 1/2 cup of a pre-cooked whole grain such as red wheat berries (soooo delicious), quinoa, kamut flakes (so oaty and comforting), millet, or barley.
• 
  
  On top of that I layer between 1/4 cup and 1/2 cup of beans such as black, kidney, pinto, or if it's today-mung beans (I think the word mung bean is so weird don't you?). Sometimes I use canned beans, but I try to cook them ahead from dry if I can.
• 
  
  I'll throw in random seasonings for taste and variation like Tony's Creole Seasoning, cumin, or turmeric. I typically add in herbs and a little olive oil to my grains when I first cook them so they're ready ahead of time.
• 
  
  Sometimes I sprinkle in roasted flax seeds for some nutty Omega 3 action.
• 
  
  Come lunch time I will put my container in the microwave for about three minutes and the greens get nice and cooked under the grains and beans.

A BAGGIE OF BABY CARROTS

As yummy and satisfying as my lunch bowl is I get hungry again around 3 or 3:30pm. (Apparently I'm a metabolic machine now! Hahaha) So, I enjoy a baggie of baby carrots-more good-for-you fiber! Sometimes I'll bring some hummus along (but just a little bit-no more than two tbsps) My carrots and apple are interchangeable-sometimes I want my carrots in the morning and my apple in the afternoon.I listen to what my body says it wants first.

Get thee to Bed Bath and Beyond and get a couple sets of these I use them all of the time!

What else, what else? I have let two tough broads into my work out life lately. Meet the saucy Jeanette Jenkins and loveably feisty Jackie Warner:

I have done Jeanette Jenkins' Exercise TV 45 minute Kick Boxing workout a couple of times now and it's a great overall strength and cardio routine. I like it very much and feel really bad-ass and cool when I do it! They don't have it available to peak at online or else I would share :(

Did any of you watch the reality show Work Out on Bravo? Jackie Warner and her fierce abs were the star of that show, and I've been doing two of her works outs (one longer and one just focused on abs), because she knows what's she's talking about!

Click here for a snippet from the longer one.

source for both pics

Be sure to keep me posted if you find a great work out dvd you think I should try!

Happy Monday!

BB30