Beef tips in Red Wine and Beef Stock

Happy Friday ~ 

I saw a recipe in a Cooking Light Cookbook that looked delicious but some of the ingredients I took out. I omitted the flour and bacon to make it healthier and I changed up some of the herbs that it called for.

Beef Tips in Red Wine and Beef Stock
This is healthy comfort food at it's best! I had the thought that it would be good with mashed potatoes, but since I try to stay away from white potatoes I used Basmati Rice. Which has a medium listing on the Glycemic index, so it's better than plain white rice. I love it. It's fragrant and has a nutty flavor. It's really the only rice I ever use. Anyway on to the recipe....

1-2 lbs stew meat
2 carrots chopped
1 onion chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
a handful of mushrooms chopped
a healthy pinch of Celtic salt
some pepper
1/2 tsp fennel
1 lrg bayleaf
2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp herbs d province
2 cups beef stock
1/2 cup red wine, I used Pinot Noir because it's what I had. But if I was buying ingredients I'd use a Merlot
2 Tbls organic corn starch

I simmered the beef in about 4 cups beef broth for about 2 hrs. Then I sauteed the onions and mushrooms for about 10 mins then added in the carrots and garlic and sauteed for another 5-7 mins. By this time you should have some nice soft veggies along with yummy bits in the bottom of the pan which means lots of delicious flavor.  Pour in your wine and beef stock and scrape the pan to get all that flavor into your sauce. Then add in your herbs and meat. I just scooped the meat out of the simmering beef broth. I didn't use the beef stock that the meat simmered in but you could if you wanted to. Then put a lid on it and let it simmer while you prepare the rice. Basmati Rice cooks for about 20 mins. Then a few mins before you serve the sauce mix 2 tbls of corn starch ( I use Organic) with some water and pour into the bubbling beef sauce, it will get a slight thickness.

This was really good!! It would have been better with a glass of wine and some crusty bread... but  I used the remaining wine I had in the sauce and didn't have any crusty bread. Let me know what you think!

Today I did a KILLER workout... I like doing short intense workouts but sometimes it's just nice to get into the gym and work your butt off!!

Do 20 reps of each exercise except for the Commando pushups, do 10 reps and the side to side crunches are 40 reps, 20 for each side. Your going to do 3 sets or 3 times thru. In between each exercise I did a 2 min skipping rope interval. The break down looks like this

skipping rope ~ 10 sec rest/30 secs work/3 rds = 2 mins

1. Dynex Squats ~ touch your butt to the ball.. a light touch, don't sit down on the ball and bounce yourself up.

Skipping

2. Plank shoulder taps w/a knee tuck

Skipping

3. Flyes with a resistance band on a Stability ball

Skipping

4. Side to side crunches ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TwGj691424 ignore the dynadisc thingy the guy is on.

Skipping

5. Commando pushups ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNi9kFFXCdk I did these as a challenge one day to see how many I could do in 10 mins.. I think I did 52 and boy did I suffer. Seriously I couldn't use my arms for like a week. I'm not joking.. it was so painful, I couldn't even wash my hair. If I had health insurance I would have went to the doctor. so now I have a slight fear of them. But they are fun to do.

Skipping

6. Row with a resistance band ~ wrap it around something

Skipping

7. Reverse push up or another name is an inverted row ~ I used a bar on this jungle gym thing they have at my gym but you can use a dip station or get creative. you really just need something that isn't going to move on you. I believe the guy on the video is using a smith machine http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK_bV09yhHY

Skipping

8. Dbl crunch ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U85WePRPI2c

Skipping

because I'm an over achiever and I didn't do 20 commando pushups I added in 30 situps with dbl cross punches on an incline bench. Then do 1 more round of skipping and your done!!

I did the math on this and it's 510 reps and 50 mins of skipping... It took me about 2 hrs. I know your thinking, 2 hrs. But I didn't have anything else to do and like I said I'm an over achiever. :)
Tomorrow I will try my best to do some yoga.. I'm going to need a good stretch!
Have a great weekend!!

Hottie Tottie Workout!

Hi guys!

So, I'm going to start using a food journal again for a while. I need to get myself back on track and I know this will help. I use a regular notebook. That way I can carry it around with me so I don't have to try and remember every single thing I put into my mouth.

I really want to be successful with my weight loss and get to where I want to be or close to it by summer. I want to get a new bikini and enjoy the boat we bought at the end of the summer last yr and not feel fat, frumpy, old and out of shape!

I cannot wait to get some sun and have some family time camping and enjoying the lake every chance we get this coming summer. There is nothing more relaxing than closing your eyes, kicking back and getting lost in the motion of the water!



My sister and I are also doing a "mud run" in June called The Dirty Dash so I better get in gear! 

So this is what I've eaten today......

9am ~ 3 cups coffee w/ 2 tbls creamer, 3 egg whites with garlic powder, mushrooms, onions, basil and pepperjack cheese w/ 1 slice Ezekiel bread w/ butter
11:30 am ~ 2 tuna salad lettuce wraps.. romaine, 1/2 avocado, tomatoes and 1 serving (20) BBQ pop chips
1 pm ~ 1 protein ball http://foodieluvsfitness.blogspot.com/2011/12/nut-butters.html
2:30 pm ~ 1 choc strawberry banana protein smoothie
3:30 pm ~ 16 oz single wh. choc mocha
6:00 pm ~ huge salad with tons of veggies, crushed pita chips, 1 slice pepperjack cheese, and 2 tbls lite balsamic dressing, 1 1/2 cup homemade tomato, basil soup, 1 mozzarella stick
so far my water hasn't been great today.. I've had about 48 oz
I will probably have a piece of fruit or some yogurt in a little while.. I'm already feeling my tummy rumbling again.

I can already tell by looking at what I've eaten today that I'm not eating enough fruits and veggies, I'm drinking to much coffee & I need to cut down on the cheese. That is why a food journal is so important. In my mind it doesn't seem the same as it is when I can see it on paper, besides I'm a very visual person so seeing it is twice as helpful to keep me on track.

Another goal of mine is to be working out 5 days a week w/ 2 active rest days. By active rest days that means, a bike ride, climbing the rock wall, a hike, going to the park and throwing the frisbee around, playing a game of tennis or walking my dogs... anything that is active but not a "workout" at the gym.


The Hottie Tottie workout ~ I did this workout on 1/5 (wow time flys)
20 sec rest/40 sec work/20 rds/4x thru = 20 mins & during the 20 sec rest interval I did 10 Mt. Climbers to keep my heart rate up since I didn't really have any cardio in this workout


1. 1 leg toe touch w/ 15 lb kettle bell (L)
14, 12, 14, 15

10 Mt. Climbers

2. 1 leg toe touch w/15 lb kb (R)
14, 15, 16, 16

10 Mt. Climbers

3. Hanging knee raises
19, 20, 20, 18

10 Mt. Climbers

4. Wall sits during the 30 sec work interval

10 Mt. Climbers

5. Knee tucks and a pike on stability ball
8, 7, 7, 7

10 Mt. Climbers


when I was done with that I did a skipping rope interval ~ 10 sec rest/30 sec work/24 rds = 16 min

How do you feel about keeping a food journal? Do you or do you keep a tally in your head? What are some of your goals?  I'd love to hear your input, so leave me a comment! :)

ox Sherice