It’s the last WIAW that focuses on Fun, Food and Fitness, but after a few weeks it should become habit, right? It certainly seems to be going in that direction, and I can only thank Jenn at Peas and Crayons for this month’s fit-focused theme!
In the way of fitness, I’ve been getting back to a regular schedule with Jazzercise DVDs as well as these awesome workouts:
Last December I was looking for some ballet-inspired workouts (never danced, but I took ballet classes in college and loved it!) and came across Ballet Body by Leah Sarago. The workouts are challenging, to say the least, and uses body-weight resistance with ballet, pilates, yoga and other dance-inspired principles to strengthen and elongate your muscles. Leah focuses on form, so the moves look beautiful and graceful but it takes a LOT of strength and control. Sound like something you’d like to try? Visit Leah Sarago Fitness to find out more about these workouts, see a video trailer, and learn more about Leah!
I exercise in the mornings and have a cup or two of coffee before I start. Post-workout breakfasts have been looking something like this:
This protein shake & fruit salad provides you with lots of vitamins, minerals, and protein, plus it’s low in fat. Also, if you’re not big on drinking your 6-8 glasses of water per day, this will definitely count towards it (about 14 ounces in the shake, plus some from the fruits…hey, that’s about two glasses right there!)
Lunch was tuna-tofu salad seasoned with Spike (flavorful no-sodium spice blend):

Those flax chips are nice and crunchy but to be honest, I didn’t like the tuna mix that much…Bumble Bee Tuna is pretty mushy.
For an afternoon snack, I had a couple of Carrot, Almond and Raisin Energy Bites from a recipe posted by Baking Serendipity (please go to her website to view her awesome recipe and photos!) I love the combination of freshly grated carrots and peanut butter, though I did substitute almond butter to suit my husband’s taste. I like the chewy texture of the oats right after I mixed them, and if you let them sit overnight they get softer from the moisture, but are still delicious:
Dinner was a quick mish-mash of crumbled sausage, mushrooms, onions, kale, tomatoes & carrots. I also cubed up some “soft” tofu (package says ‘soft’ but texture was pretty firm) with our first home-grown, prematurely picked cucumber and seasoned it with shoyu, ginger, and sesame oil:

Tofu, cucumber, shoyu (soy sauce,) fresh grated ginger and sesame oil. I was more anxious to eat that than the mish-mash. :)
All the food pics were taken with my LG phone camera but I miss my old phone which had a much better camera (Samsung Solstice.) I’ve been busy with other things and haven’t been devoting as much time to nicer food pics this week, but I assure you they will be back!
I know we don’t always lug around our SLRs, so what kind of phone do you have? Does it take great pics? What do you like/don’t like about your phone camera? (I can’t shut off the noise of my ‘shutter’…way too obvious when I’m taking a photo of restaurant food!)
July 25, 2012 at 11:14
So glad you loved the energy bites! I love the almond butter substitution!
July 28, 2012 at 15:01
I also started crumbling up a couple of them and adding to my fruit & yogurt bowl for added sweetness. Delicious!
July 25, 2012 at 15:04
haha! The noise when I take a pic bothers me too but I can turn off the sound. I sometimes forget at work and when I take pics of food at my desk, the people who sit by me are like “what the heck is she doing over there?”
LOL. I just got the new Samsung Galaxy 3 and I LOVE IT! SOOOO MUCH. The camera is awesome so I hardly ever use a fancier one. Works just fine for me! :)
July 25, 2012 at 15:43
I remember you and your husband got matching phones and you were pretty excited about it! Taking pics in a public area (or at your office) can be pretty weird, not matter how discreet we tend to be. Sometimes I see FB littered with lunchtime fast food pics that are either super gross (bacon shake) or super yummy (tater tots, gravy, fried egg!)
July 25, 2012 at 17:01
Oh thanks for the link to that Ballet Body! I used to do competitive dance (including ballet) with pilates for strength and now I love yoga so this seems like my perfect workout lol. I’ve been getting bored with my current DVDs so this is perfect timing! I’m going to go buy them on Amazon now
Also I feel your pain on the shutter noise- so annoying- how could they have not included a way to silence it??
Great post!
July 25, 2012 at 17:33
I did the upper body today, and my ribs hurt! :D That’s so great that you did competitive dance, your training must’ve been intense. I love how graceful and strong dancers’ moves are, I think you will love these workouts. I do 30 minutes of cardio to warm up (that’s where the Jazzercise comes in!) I’m glad you liked my post, kinda different today! :D
July 26, 2012 at 07:18
My sister did ballet through school and she would love those! Great Christmas gift idea, thanks! All your meals look so reddening and delicious! I really should put more time into making something more interesting than my plain salads and Greek yogurt bowls!
July 26, 2012 at 09:17
ooh, Christmas gift! I hope your sister will enjoy the workouts. They’re not like regular ballet floor exercises or warm-ups, but if your sister is also into pilates she will really appreciate these exercises. :) Not sure what reddening means (healthy, I hope??) but thank you! I may have to try some Greek yogurt bowls for days when I don’t feel like salad. :)
July 26, 2012 at 09:55
Oops! Haha auto correct! I meant refreshing! I’m going to order those DVDs right NOW so I have them so I don’t forget, I hate when I forget when it comes Christmas time!
July 28, 2012 at 15:05
No worries, I thought it was a regional slang, haha! You’re so smart to do Christmas shopping early, I’ve got to learn to plan ahead like that. :)
July 26, 2012 at 13:56
You sure had a healthy day! Great menu. And thanks for recommending ballet body…I recently picked up a pilates dvd and this would be a great workout to add next.
July 26, 2012 at 14:10
It would be a great addition, I hope you give it a try. And I hope you have healthy days, too! :)
August 7, 2012 at 22:35
I must try your energy bites & your sausage mish mash sounds delish:-D you inspire me
August 8, 2012 at 07:49
Thanks, Shirleen! Baking Serendipity has the recipe for the Energy Bites, as well as a ton of other goodies. I’m happy that you are finding inspiration here, happy cooking! :)