Calories burned per hour cleaning house: 148-266 depending on intensity.
Calories burned per hour weight training: 338 - 518 depending on intensity.
This is sort of a 'cheat' post as it's an excerpt from the recipes section of the book I'm working on (rewrites). I'm just too beat to do a proper entry. Saturday we did a lot of shopping at Walmart, then at a new thrift shop in our area, and then at our local favorite FISH Thrift store.
Then Sunday I did a leg workout and set a new record for me - 10 sets each of squats, lunges, and calf raises! Most of the sets were 25 reps. On top of that I used the BOSU and the uSurf to make them more challenging. It took me roughly an hour to complete with 2 minute breaks between sets.
I also did 5 sets of leg magic for 90 reps per set. And then in the evening I did 45 minutes of the Rock N Roll stepper. My glutes and leg muscles are sore, but not nearly as sore as they used to get on way less sets. My muscles are getting stronger and it takes a lot more work to get them to react.
I spent most of yesterday cleaning Bruno's room. The kid is smart, athletic, handsome, humorous, and sweet natured. His only big fault is he's a slob. I had cleaned his room three weeks ago but you'd never know to look. Can you say pigsty?
I vacuumed with the hose attachment for at least an hour, down on my hands and knees picking up enough ramen noodles to feed a small third world country (Bruno and his friends recently discovered the dubious charms of eating RAW noodles. Yuck.)
I found part of a petrified sandwich. And I sorted his ten bi-zillion LEGOS, cars, collectible cards, and assorted other toys into bins. It took half an hour just to put his CDs and DVDs and videotapes into their proper cases. New rules are about to ensue (rule one - no food or drink allowed) and hopefully he'll be a bit neater and organized.
Yes, he's totally spoiled. But Daddy and Mommy can't talk as I have a zillion books, exercise DVDs, and pieces of exercise equipment. And Daddy has more versions of LINUX and books on LINUX than God. We are the ultimate pack rats.
Someday I'll take photos of our half dozen storage sheds and out building and parked vans that double as storage sheds to show you what kind of serious pack rats we are. (And yes, we're proper REDNECKS - my tack room is a Dodge Van with no engine that Jerry bought as a parts car. Do we recycle or what?!)
After finishing all that cleaning, I immediately developed a flare (with flair?) of sciatica and lower back osteo-arthritis from the workload. That's on top of sore muslces from working out. I first got sciatica in the last trimester of my pregnancy with Bruno and it rarely comes back. Amazingly he can still make it flare by giving me a major case of cleaning! I should call it cleaning-itis.
So...these recipes are from one of my books "Weight Loss That Works" that I first published in 2003. I'm in the process of rewriting it and will be releasing the updated version as an eBook later this year.
From the updated book:
Easy Elegance Spinach Salad
1/8 cup olive or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar or cider vinegar
1 teaspoon fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon ketchup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon red onion, chopped
1 teaspoon green pepper, chopped
2 cups torn fresh spinach
1 hard-cooked egg, sliced
3 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the first 6 ingredients and shake well. Divide spinach between two serving bowls or plates; top with egg and bacon. Drizzle with dressing.
Serves 2. Calories 373, Fat 38 grams, Protein 7 grams, Carbs 1 gram.
From the original book (before I counted carbs or protein:
Lean and Green Pasta Salad
1 - 14 ounce can artichoke hearts, drained
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried basil,
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups cooked corkscrew pasta (use Dreamfields if you're counting carbs)
1 cup spinach, chopped
1/2 cup celery, diced
1/4 cup scallions, diced
1 cup fresh tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup (about 1 ounce) crumbled feta cheese
Combine 1/2 of the artichoke hearts with olive oil, water, lemon juice, basil, oregano, pepper and garlic in a food processor until smooth. Chop remaining artichoke hearts and toss with pasta, spinach, celery, scallions and tomatoes in a large bowl. Pour artichoke mixture over pasta mixture and toss well. Cover and chill 2 hours. Before serving sprinkle with feta cheese.
Makes 6 servings. 1 serving equals 1 cup.
Nutritional Information: Calories: 155 Fat: 4 grams.
Full of Red Beef Pitas
1 tablespoon light mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
2 whole wheat pita, cut in half (substitute lettuce leaves if you're counting carbs)
12 ounces cooked round steak, cubed
1/2 cup roasted red bell peppers, cut into strips
1/2 cup fresh tomatoes, chopped
Combine mayonnaise, mustard, and horseradish in a small bowl. Spread mayonnaise mixture inside each pita half. Stuff pita halves with ¼ each of the remaining ingredients and serve. Makes 4 pita pocket sandwiches.
Serving Size: 1 half stuffed pita
Nutritional Information: Calories: 350 Fat: 14 grams
