STUFT Mama

Rowing, Open Gym and the Pastabilities

May 17, 2013 By STUFT Mama 13 Comments

Workout:

Snuck in a few minutes on the home elliptical early in the morning yesterday.

Taught my usual classes at the Y last night. I made sure not to leave any muscle group untouched in my strength training class.

I always start the class with big moves for the lower body. Last night it was squat, reverse lunge, squat, revers lunge (on opposite side). We went through that about a billion times with different tempos and pulses, etc.

I also tried this shoulder move I found in Self Magazine out on my class last night and it was a goodie.

I don’t know what possessed me to get on the rowing machine last night at the gym, but I did. Maybe because my friend Janae rocked the rowing machine while she was injured.

Couldn’t remember the last time I was on one. I’m pretty sure it was college. I stayed on there just long enough to break a little sweat, realize it didn’t feel that great on my lower back and figure out that you could indeed adjust the foot things so your feet stay in place..

That was 20 minutes.

I’m not really thinking that I’ll be going on it again anytime soon, but you never know. This Men’s Health article says it’s one of the best total-body workout cardio machines. I think I need to do a bit more research on it first.

The YMCA gymnastic center in town has this cool thing once a week called “open gym” for preschool age kids. We’ve been wanting to try it out for awhile, but finally had the opportunity yesterday.

Pretty darn cool. Best $10 entertainment we’ve had for awhile. We will definitely be going back.

Here’s a couple random pictures just because. My sweet roasted kabocha squash I ate cold and plain for a change yesterday. It was still marvelous all by it’s lonesome.

My afternoon drink was a mix of Good Earth Sweet and Spicy tea, apple cider vinegar and a CocoaVia summer citrus packet.

I always have to have a little something fun to drink in the afternoon with a little caffeine to get me through the rest of the day. Anyone else?

Okay, so I felt pressure to experiment with the Quest Nutrition Pastabilities noodles from my last post. Last night I went with the spinach ones.

They remind me a lot of the tofu shirataki noodles, except they’re not made of tofu.

I prepared them just like the package said.

Drain.

Rinse.

Drain again. Dry. (A lot. I tried to get as much of the water off as possible.)

Microwave.

They definitely do have a weird smell when you open them. The package calls it an “ocean scent”. I’m not sure that’s how I would describe it, but it does go away after rinsing the noodles.

I tasted one noodle plain. Not recommended.

Then I piled the rest of the noodles on some seriously roasted broccoli slaw, brussel sprouts and chicken.

I topped it all with my favorite toppings

and created one heck of an Italian feast bowl.

I also had to add a little fresh basil from my plant.

Not too shabby.

They were definitely fun to play with and if you’re someone who loves pasta, but doesn’t want all the carbs I’d say to give them shot. Quest Nutrition knows what they’re doing. Make sure you follow the directions on the package though and don’t expect them to taste just like pasta. They are chewier and the texture is a bit different, but they are pretty good. They don’t have much of a taste so I’d imagine you could do a lot with them.

Oh my goodness, I almost forgot. My wonderful friends at SunButter have a little post of mine up on their page.

Check it out here and give SunButter a little loving. Ironic that I share marathon getting ready tips and I have a race I’m supposed to do in two weeks that I will not be getting ready for. Ha.

Okay, long day today. A gym meeting and some doctor visits. Good times.

Rowing machine- yay or nay?

Have you tried the Pastabilities or low carb noodles like that? What do you think?

Personally, if I really want pasta I want the real deal (same goes for pizza), but I like the idea of having low carb noodles on hand for times when you’re craving them and don’t really want all the carbs.