Cathe's Hardcore Series

 

Cathe came out with the Hardcore Series in 2005.  I think it was an answer to Tony Horton's P90X.  She developed her own workout system that had Gym Style workouts to really focus on the muscles divided over 3 days plus separate workouts for low impact step (Low Max), high impact interval step (IMAX3), kickboxing (Kick Max), core workouts (Core Max), a total body muscle workout (Muscle Max), stretch workouts (Stretch Max), and a high step circuit workout (High Step Challenge). 

I remember being SO EXCITED for this series because it came after two other dvd sets that I just loved (the Intensity Series and the Body Blast Series).  I was in Hawaii with my grandma when they were shipped and had to read reviews on the Video Fitness Forum to see what they were like.  Slowly the reports came in about top notch workouts, as before, but the hitch was the music.  It just wasn't that good.  So if you're picky about music, this might not be the set for you, but if you like faint techno music or don't mind adding your own or dealing with the music not being a big part of the workouts, this series has some gems.  

Today I did Muscle Max and it hits every muscle group with either the barbell, dumbbells or the stretch band (or all 3).  It's about 70 minutes long, but there are a few pre-mixes that are shorter.  There's a Timesaver that is 56 minutes long (probably just cuts out a few sets), Upper Body Only that's 42 minutes, Push/Pull Upper Body at 33 minutes and Lower Body Only that's 23 minutes.   This workout is light on the time spent with the lower body, but believe me, it's not light on the lower body work!  Cathe works you hard with low ends and pulses with heavy weights.  You'll feel it later on throughout the day.  I'm sure I'll feel it more tomorrow!    

I'll review some of these workouts individually later on, but here's a sneak peak at Muscle Max.  My favorite of Cathe's background exercisers is Rhonda Davis and she's in this one.  She moved away from New Jersey to Georgia a few years before this was filmed (2001 actually), but flew back to be in a few of the workouts (I think this one and Low Max -- I'll have to check on that).  You can see her on the cover of Muscle Max in the periwinkle top on the left. In the workout, she's in the back on the right.  I just love how she always smiles and wears dangle earrings.  She's also taller than the other women and usually has an extra riser in step workouts (which this isn't, but I just thought I'd add that anyway :)).  TTFN!

Running again!

I did it!  I put on my new running shoes and ran on my treadmill for over 30 minutes, 35 to be precise!  I couldn't have done it without Sean O'Malley (my Cardio Coach).  I did most of Cardio Coach #3, and just loved it.  And yes! I figured out how to use iTunes yesterday (with a little help from my son).  I downloaded all of my Cardio Coach cds onto my iPod and I'm ready to be a runner again!  (Sorry for all the exclamation points, but I am excited!)

I have to show you my new running shoes, too.  I have a high arch and my foot rolls to the outside a bit (so I wear down the outer side of my shoes first).  It ends up putting a lot of pressure on the outside of the balls of my feet, which hurts, plus it puts undue pressure on my knees.  I decided to buy a pair of good neutral (to slight underpronator) running shoes that could help my feet and found that Brooks looked the best.  But I didn't really want to spend $100.  With a little research, I found www.runningwarehouse.com, which has current running shoes at full price, but also previous models at discount prices.

So I found these Brooks Glycerin 8 (last year's model) running shoes (normally $130) for about $45 with free overnight shipping (and free return shipping -- Can you believe it?)  The price listed is $53.88, but I found an online coupon code for another 15% off.  And they fit perfectly so I don't even have to send them back and try another size.   They feel amazing!  The whole time I was running, I was excited to feel that my foot was landing perfectly balanced.  Happy Running!

Is it too late for a New Year's Resolution?

January's not quite over, so I'm going to add a resolution.  I know many people don't like New Year's Resolutions anymore, but it's just a goal by another name.  (Just like the people who say, "This isn't a 'diet,' it's an 'eating plan'" -- it's all the same if you're making a switch.  What you eat is your diet!)

Anyway, I want to write more (and I know I've been saying that I haven't been writing enough in my blog for a few years now), but I'm feeling the need even moreso now, especially with my fitness videos.  I want to share more about my workouts because it's such a joy (and a health benefit) in my life and I want to help others find the gems I have if they are looking for workouts to do at home.  So many of my friends say that they can't work out at home, but the video fitness market is HUGE, so I'm sure there are still many out there who do. 

I may plow through my favorite Cathe workouts first since that's what I'm doing right now, but don't hold me to it.  I may change my mind mid-stream.  I've been known to do that.

I'm also seeing if I can renew my love for running.  I used to run 5-6 miles a day, but stopped when I moved to L.A. and didn't want to breathe the smog so intently.  I have a treadmill now though (and clean air if I want to venture outside) and I'm getting the nudge inside to start running again.  My favorite way to do it is with my Cardio Coach cds.  I need to download them onto my iPod.  That would be another good resolution for the year -- learning how to download from iTunes.  My son has only showed me 3 or 4 times and for some reason, it never makes sense.  And I'm not a computer dummy -- I've solved so many virus problems, changed hard-drives, reformatted the computer, etc.  The time has come to add "downloading songs to my iPod" to my list of computer achievements.  I will shout from the mountain tops when I can do it!

Raspberry Romaine Salad -- just in time for Christmas!

Ho ho ho!  Nope, we're not making cupcakes, but aren't these cute?  I don't even like cake, but I think the way pastry chefs make cupcakes these days is just adorable.  Salad may not draw people in quite as well, but THIS salad is one of the best green salads there is for a sweet-tooth like me AND it's festive for Christmas time. 

I originally got this recipe from a Pampered Chef party.  (In fact, I believe I was the host!)  It was called Chicken & Berry Salad and included 2 cups of chopped chicken (in which the Pampered Chef lady used for demonstrating the Chopper which I've loved over the years!  I've never used it for chicken, but I always use it for nuts and sometimes for veggies if they need to be small).  I searched for the recipe online and they have it posted on The Pampered Chef website as a Chicken & Strawberry Salad (which they must have changed over the years because I know the recipe I had from them said, "Chicken & Berry Salad" and used raspberries, with a sub suggestion of Craisins, which is good, but full of refined sugar.   There's probably a naturally sweetened dried cranberry that would work, though, if you want to give that a try).  I rarely eat meat, so I omit the chicken from my recipe, but you are most certainly welcome to add it in.  It's a satisfying meal either way.

I have a hard time loving salads, I think, mostly because I love sweet more than savory when it comes to fresh foods.  So this salad caught my attention with it's Citrus Salad Dressing.  I've used it for other salads too.  And just so you know, the dressing doesn't work if you try to sub fresh orange juice.  I tried it and it just didn't have enough flavor (and made the whole salad too watery and lacking -- sad mistake last Christmas eve).  I've thought of adding avocado (or putting it in place of the sugar-snap peas) but haven't tried that yet.  Perhaps I should only experiment when I'm not cooking for others :).

I usually double this recipe for crowds.  This recipe should fill a medium-sized salad bowl (just to know how to gauge the lettuce needs) and if you double the recipe, it will fill a large salad bowl.  Don't be afraid to add extra berries.  'Tis the season to add some red flare!

Raspberry Romaine Salad w/a Citrus Twist

Salad --

1 c. raspberries

1 head romaine lettuce torn into pieces (or 2 romaine hearts)

1 c. sugar snap peas (cut diagonally in half)

1/4 c. red onion

1/4 c. pecan pieces, toasted (lightly in the oven -- you can leave them raw)

(Options -- Sub strawberries or pomegranate seeds for raspberries or do a mix)

Citrus Vinaigrette --

1/4 c. frozen orange juice concentrate
2 T. oil (olive or canola)

1 T. white wine vinegar

1/2 t. dijon mustard

Combine salad ingredients and toss gently.  Shake or stir vinaigrette ingredients.  Just before serving, toss salad with dressing. 

Blackberry Pear Crisp -- Oh so yummy!

Yesterday we had some friends over for dinner and I was wishing for some dessert that I could eat while not sabotaging my weight loss efforts (6 pounds gone so far!)  I have plenty of raw food desserts up my sleeve, but I wanted something warm and without any kind of flour.

I noticed some blackberries in my fridge and thought they would taste wonderful in the oven.  So I went through the options.  Pie?  No.  Cobbler?  Another no.  Crisp?   Oooh, I love apple crisps or any of those fruit crisps with the crumbled oatmeal topping.  But those have butter, sugar, sometimes flour, and yes, oatmeal.  The only food I'd allow was the oatmeal.  So I started to think. . . If I started out with a raw food recipe, but cooked it, it would still be whole foods and would be better than the traditional crisp recipe.

I remembered that I can make a cookie dough like paste from equal parts of walnuts and dates.  So I blended up a cup of each.  Then I mixed it by hand with a cup of oatmeal and had my crisp topping!  How simple is that?

Next I got out the berries (I had 2 cups) and saw that it wasn't quite enough for a crisp on its own.  I wanted enough to be able to share with guests and not just have my own private dessert while they ate the brownies I'd already made.

I remembered I had some pears in the pantry that were perfectly ripe and thought, "Oooh, yes, I love baked pears!"  So I washed and cut 3 pears and mixed them with the berries.  I chopped the bigger berries in 1/2 just to get them more mixed in with the pears and added a tablespoon of pure maple syrup since store-bought blackberries aren't nearly as flavorful as handpicked. 

Then I put the berries in a round baking stone, topped it with the oatmeal mix and realized I should add a little holiday flavor.  So I sprinkled about 1/2 t. of pumpkin pie spice over the top of the mix.  That could have been blended in earlier, but it worked this way for me.

I baked it for about 1/2 hour at 350 degrees and covered it in foil after about 5 minutes because I could see that the topping was browning far too fast (perhaps due to the oil content in the nuts?)

It was much tastier than I had expected.  It's definitely a keeper!

 Blackberry Pear Crisp

2 c. fresh blackberries (frozen may work, but I haven't tried it yet)
3 large pears, cut into small squares
1 T. pure maple syrup (optional)

Mix fruit together in a bowl and set in a baking pan

1 c. walnuts
1 c. dates (not soaked)
1 c. old fashioned oats
1/2 t. pumpkin pie spice (you may want to increase it to 1 t. if you really love the flavor)

Blend nuts and dates in a food processor until completely smooth.  Mix in oatmeal and pumpkin pie spice by hand. 

Plop the oatmeal dough on top of the fruit to almost cover the fruit.  Cover the dish with foil and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.  Take foil off and let top brown for the last few minutes.

If you want it to serve more people, you can double the fruit and make it a deeper dished dessert.  Enjoy!

Homemade Pumpkin Smash -- Jamba Juice style!

 

I've tweaked a few Jamba Juice recipes that I found on-line for Pumpkin Smash and came up with a few that my kids and I love!  I want to work with it a bit more to see if I can take out the soy creamy, but for now, this is where it stands.  We've made it two ways and both are yummy.  I tend to make it with the peaches to give me more nutrients and to save a few calories.  I'll give you both recipes since I add a bit of soy milk to the peach recipe to keep the creaminess in.  The full-fledged soy ice cream way is super creamy, though and quite wonderful.

Pumpkin Smash Smoothie

2 c. vanilla soy ice cream **
1/2 c. canned pumpkin
1 c. vanilla soy milk
2 T. agave or 3 T. real maple syrup
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. pumpkin pie spice
2 c. ice

Blend it all up in your blender on high until smooth.   Divide amongst 2 tall glasses and savor.  Ahhh!

Pumpkin Smash Smoothie w/peaches

1 c. vanilla soy ice cream **
1 c. frozen peaches
1/2 c. canned pumpkin
1 1/4 c. vanilla soy milk
2 T. agave or 3 T. real maple syrup
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. pumpkin pie spice
2 c. ice

** I use Soy Creamy from Trader Joe's.  It's about 1/2 the cost of any other soy ice cream and is really tasty.  The only other brands of soy ice cream that I like are So Delicious and Purely Decadent.  Don't confuse So Delicious with SOY Delicious.  The latter is nasty tasting stuff!

Pomegranate Salsa -- Raw Recipe!

I promised a birthday friend yesterday (Hi Lareesa!) that I'd post my newfound Pomegranate Salsa recipe for her birthday.  It's a bit belated, but I'm sure her pomegranates haven't gone bad yet.  I should just call it Birthday Pomegranate Salsa because my friend Thira made this pomegranate salsa for my birthday. (She brought it to a picnic we had with friends out on the grass by the lighthouse.  It was so wonderful!)  Thira had heard me talk about how pomegranates are my very favorite food and she told me I needed to try her recipe.  Well, I loved it!  I probably ate 1/2 of it that day! I finally bought all the stuff I needed and made it the other day and once again, tasty and heavenly!

I will admit to trying to just mix pomegranate seeds with the salsa I already had (which is my favorite fresh salsa from where I used to live -- Casa Lindra.  I wish they sold it everywhere, but you can only get it within about 100 miles of Humboldt County.  I have friends bring it to me when they visit).  But it wasn't spectacular with the pomegranate thrown in.  I needed to make Thira's recipe. 

When I ate it the first time, I had some tortilla chips, but these last few days, I've just been eating it with carrots.  The salsa is not blended up at all, just mixed, so it's harder to dip veggies in.  So I just broke my carrots into bitesize pieces and threw them in and ate it with a spoon.  Tasted great!

Try it yourself and let me know how you like it!

Pomegranate Salsa

Pomegranate seeds, extracted (either 2 small or 1 very large)
2 avocados sliced into small chunks
2-3 diced tomatoes (she said 2, I ended up using another one)
1/2 red onion
juice from 1 lemon
1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 t. coriander
1 t. salt
1/2 t. cayenne pepper

Mix all together.  Enjoy!