Damn Onions. Next Time I’m Wearing Swimming Goggles

If you want your butt kicked in the gym, pick up those kettle bells. Seriously.

Michael showed me a few of the exercises he does in his kettle bell workout and man…I felt them for days afterward the first time I tried it. Saturday morning I gave it another try, even though I was still a tad sore. I also increased my time on the spin bike at the gym and added a little bit more resistance. My physical therapist has given me the green light to give the elliptical a try, so I’ll be adding that to the gym sessions soon (and crossing my fingers it doesn’t hurt). Look at that burn! Kettle bells!

After my workout and lunch, Michael and I went to the movies to see “The Campaign.” It did not disappoint! The previews for this movie made me laugh really hard and sometimes the actual movie is a disappointment, but The Campaign was awesome. It was silly and hilarious and I want to see more movies with Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis! I could seriously watch an entire movie just about the sweaters Zach work in that movie.

Saturday night dinner was an old standby: turkey burgers. But we only had one sandwich thin left, so I happily skipped the bun and tried the lettuce wrap route. I’ve never tried that with a burger before. It was messy and difficult to eat but I liked it. I think next time I’ll use two lettuce leaves to make it sturdier.

Sunday I went swimming and then to yoga. I’ve been trying to go to yoga for over a month, ever since I started having issues with my knees. I know that yoga is good for my body. I know that it will help me heal and prevent future injuries. It’s just so hard to actually go to class! I know, I know, I sound like a hypocrite. My motto on fitness has always been “JUST DO IT AND YOU’LL FEEL BETTER”. I never have a problem motivating myself to go to the gym. But yoga? It’s a whole other story. This is the perfect example as to why I say pick an activity you like to do and will stick with. When you like doing something, it’s fun and easy to get your butt to class.

Despite dragging my feet the whole way, I made it to yoga (a few minutes late) and I did feel better after doing it. My body definitely needed that stretching. All the physical therapy exercises I’ve been doing are making me stronger, but also consistently sore. I feel like my IT Band is just always aching right now. I was feeling pretty good because of the yoga class. It alleviated a lot of the soreness and stiffness I’d been feeling. Now I just need to trick my brain into thinking I like doing it.

Now for the weekend’s recipe!

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:51]

I love love love French Onion Soup! It’s a new obsession. I discovered it only a few years ago and now it’s one of my favorite meals. This recipe was similar to it. I omitted the mushrooms, which I loathe, and that knocked off about 30 calories from the recipe. Despite being low in calories, it was a hearty and filling soup.

As I was chopping the onions, tears were streaming down my face. Usually onions don’t get me that bad, but I must have gotten some super fresh or potent onions this time! Damn!

I guess I was expecting it to be more of a French Onion soup. Since I had that in my brain when I was making it, it was a little surprising to eat it and have it taste less like what I was expecting. The soup tasted pretty good, but it was more sausage flavored than the French onion. The cheese didn’t crisp up in the broiler like I wanted it to, but it still tasted good in the soup.

Michael made some jalapeno poppers for us to eat with dinner. Kind of a weird combination, I know, but they are so so good! So we ate the last of our poppers from the jalapenos we grew in the garden. The remainder have been pickled and the plants have been pulled up for the winter. We had a great crop of tomatoes and jalapenos this summer.

As for the soup, I would make it again but I’d probably make a typical French Onion soup recipe and just add a little bit of the sausage to it afterward.

QUESTION: What’s your secret for cutting onions and not crying? Have you seen The Campaign?