Cleaning Day and Pre and Post-Workout Snacks

My Little Cleaning Helper!

Today was cleaning day at our household…definitely not one of my favorite things to do, but something that has to be done. Who really loves to clean, anyways? The day was a lot better and definitely more fun with my handy little “Cleaning Helper!” Lately, it seems Keenan is fascinated with helping, whether it be unloading the dishwasher, setting the table or cleaning (especially vacuuming), so I’m enjoying every moment of it! I am keeping my fingers crossed that this continues!

After breakfast (having our “usual,” of course), Keenan and I worked on some “Thank You” notes for the gifts he received for his birthday. Later on, we headed upstairs to start cleaning. I gave Keenan his own rag, so he could help me dust/oil the wood, which he loved! When it was time to clean the bathrooms, he even helped me scrub the bathtub and clean his potty! Do your children like to help with certain chores? At what age does the “helping” phase stop?

Using his new crayons to make “Thank You” notes!

For some reason, Keenan was really thirsty and hungry all day, today. He drank a ton of water and inhaled all of his meals, so I’m not sure what caused it…growth spurt? For lunch, I made him a turkey and cheese sandwich with some leftover roasted sweet potatoes and a glass of milk. He polished everything off in 5 minutes (including his milk)! For my lunch, I made my “typical,” a turkey sandwich with lettuce and tomato on a sandwich thin with baby carrots and a small peach. I ate it quickly, so I could prep dinner and finish cleaning before going to the gym.

I have received a couple of questions in regards to my pre and post-workout snacks, so I thought I would address them here. To be honest, I forget to talk about them, especially since I always seem to be in a hurry to eat them. Anyhow, I try to eat a snack an hour before I workout that consists of a little carbs and a little protein. My pre-workout snacks are usually one of the following: a half of a banana with 2 teaspoons of peanut butter or almond butter, 1/4 cup of homemade trail mix (roasted unsalted almonds with dried cherries, dried pineapple and banana chips) or a small handful of dark chocolate covered roasted almonds. I mostly eat the banana and peanut butter, because it seems to sit the best on my stomach and provide the most energy for me during my workouts. After I workout, we usually eat dinner within an hour, so I don’t typically have a snack. However, I do drink a lot of water to replenish the fluids I lost. If we are not eating dinner within an hour, such as when we have our “at home date nights,” I will have a small snack that consists of carbs and protein (more carbs than protein). My post-workout snacks mainly consist of one of the following: chocolate milk (non-fat milk mixed with unsweetened cocoa powder and xylitol) or a piece of cheese and a couple of whole wheat crackers. People have asked me what is the best thing that they should eat to fuel their workouts and recover from them, and I always say it really comes down to the type and intensity of your exercise, in addition to how your body handles certain food. A good rule of  thumb for both snacks (pre and post-workout) is they should include a little bit of carbs and protein. The carbs can be whole grain bread, crackers, oatmeal, fruit and chocolate. The protein can be meat, eggs, dairy, nuts, nut butters, soy, etc. Or, you can combine the two in a quick shake or smoothie (protein powder mixed with chocolate and milk or protein powder with berries and yogurt) or drink chocolate milk. Either way, as long as you are consuming carbs and protein, you will be doing your body a favor, which should help you perform better and recover for the next workout.

Today’s workout was a good one, but definitely grueling! For the skill, we did fast/explosive back squats using a moderate weight, doing at least 10 sets of 2. The WOD was 3 rounds (time capped at 15 minutes) that consisted of 50 double unders, 40 thrusters (women weight: 55 lbs) and 30 kettlebell swings (women weight” 35 lbs). I did 2 rounds and 32 double unders, not bad, considering yesterday’s WOD. I was also happy because today was the first time that I was able to do 30 double unders in a row!! I’ve been practicing my double unders for months, so it finally paid off! Also, after yesterday’s performance, I decided that I’m going to get to the gym at least 15 minutes early to warm-up with double unders, do medicine ball cleans, followed by power cleans (to work on my “early arm bend”) and consecutive kipping or butterfly pullups. I don’t always have additional time during the week to go the gym on a 6th day, such as Saturday, to work on my weaknesses. I figure 15 minutes, 5 days a week of practice is better than nothing! So, we’ll see how it goes. I came in early today and my cleans were pretty good, no early arm bend, whoohoo!

For dinner tonight, we ate leftover turkey meatloaf, spaghetti squash tomato bake (a new recipe, thanks to the idea from A Healthy Happy Home that she got from Green Lite Bites) and a salad. The spaghetti squash was a hit! It will definitely be one of our “regular” side dishes. I tweaked the recipe a little, using mozzarella cheese instead of the Mexican blend it calls for, changing the spices to be more Italian flavored and sprinkling Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs on top.

Sorry, the quality of the image isn’t good. I took this with my phone because my camera wasn’t handy. It was certainly delicious, though!

Well, after a long day of cleaning, I’m ready for bed. Night!