Sunday, March 13, 2011

Where you WILL NOT find me


I wouldn’t say that I’m opposed to exercising. I don’t love it, but I don’t go out of my way to avoid it either. If I have time, I walk to the store rather than drive. I go for the occasional bike ride with Andy. We have been known to play a game or two of tennis, go for a morning walk, or maybe a hike every now and then. But one thing I can promise you is this: you will never, EVER, find me working out to a cardio DVD at home. And this time I mean it.


I want to do cardio in the comfort of my own living room, I really do. There’s a stack of workout DVDs (collecting dust) to prove that. My problem is finding one that I can actually follow. Not able to resist a good Gold Box Deal on Amazon, I recently bought the Boot Camp Fitness Bundle for $13.49. Three DVDs for $13.49! This was going to be the perfect workout. The reviews looked great and it seemed to be exactly what I was searching for. I could pick and choose segments to customize my workout…fantastic! Fast-forward to a few days ago when I (finally) changed into my workout clothes, popped the DVD in, and got ready to sweat. I went through the menu, selecting which parts of the workout I wanted to do, and hit start. And start she did. Immediately. I hadn’t even put the remote down before she was already one-two-threeing around happy as could be. My legs, on the other hand, were flailing around frantically trying to keep up. This went on for about 45 seconds before I just stopped and stared at the television, getting more and more irritated. Faster and faster she went, with no warning of what was coming next or how to do it. I’m fairly sure the counter on the DVD was somewhere around 2 minutes when I flipped off the instructor and hit stop. Mature? Maybe not, but it made me feel better.

When I called Andy to tell him what had happened, I could tell he thought I was exaggerating. So when he got home, the DVD went back in and I started it up again, sitting back ready to hear my apology. Just as before, Ms. Cardio starting jumping around like a woman possessed. Andy’s eyes were getting wider by the second, and after seeing it, he admitted that I was not exaggerating in the slightest.


So since I obviously can’t handle regular workouts, eating a bit healthier won’t hurt, right? This is what I made that night, since salad says healthy to me (never mind the heavy cream in the dressing).

Walnut and Beet Salad with Walnut Oil Vinaigrette

Salad:
butter lettuce
arugula
cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
sliced beets, halved
walnuts, toasted (see below)

Dressing (for 2 salads):
3 tablespoons walnut oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Toast the walnuts in a dry sauté pan. Once toasted, remove from pan and toss with a drizzle of olive oil and pinch of salt. Reserve.

Whisk all ingredients together for the dressing.

Combine all salad ingredients and toss with dressing.


I could eat this salad every night. (We’ve already had it several times since.) It just has that pizzazz that makes a salad really tasty…not the least bit boring. The toasty, nutty walnut oil, earthy beets and peppery arugula are just perfect mates. Adding the crunchy walnuts drives the whole nuttiness point home.

So where you WILL find me is in the kitchen, where I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’m way better at making yummy salads than following along to cardio DVDs. I’m happier that way, anyway. And I swear I will never buy another workout DVD, no matter how good the price.

25 comments:

  1. I know what I'm having for dinner tonight!

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  2. Those beets are a fabulous addition...yummy salad! Now you know why the DVDs were so cheap :)

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  3. :) I love doing it at home too..when I find time, my favorite is Billy Blanks boot camp..it whips hell out of me:)) but got to stop few times screaming at Tv hehehe
    Your salad looks fantastic!

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  4. I did the same with P90X.... the chin up bar is making a nice plant hanger at the moment.

    It's amazing how simple clean flavors can do so much more to revitalize us. Love the salad!

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  5. Workout DVDs aren't my thing either. I can be outside, running for hours, but I just can't do inside work outs. I chomp at the bit if I have to do a treadmill workout because the weather stinks. And for someone not to have enough lead-in time on their DVD to allow you to keep up is just ridiculous. But the salad looks delicious and healthy!

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  6. I love the colors of your dishes (and the website!) and lovely presentation! I have to check your recipes one by one - looks really nice!

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  7. Your salad looks so healthy, and I love the addition of the beets. My husband buys the fresh beets at the store, cooks them , and them pickles them with a vinegar sugar mix, and puts them in Jars. Those beets would be good in your salad.

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  8. Healthy colourful salad, looks very delish.

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  9. I go to the gym regularly, but I never try those exercise at home DVD. Just simply not interested. I might try wii fit though.
    The salad looks beautiful and delicious. The tomatoes look gorgeous.

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  10. I love all of the great colors in this salad! I work out at the gym regularly but I purchased an indoor bike this fall to get some cardio when I don't feel like heading to the gym!

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  11. This salad is surly a thing of beauty!

    I've tried those DVDs too - forget about it! Too funny!!!!

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  12. I'm so jealous of those amazing looking tomatoes. MMMMMMM.

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  13. I think I'd sacrifice working out all together if I could get my hands on tomatoes like that at this time of year! What a beautiful salad :)

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  14. Love walnuts and this salad is so beautifully colourful. I could sit on a sofa and tuck into a plateful of this while watching Ms Cardio exercise on my behalf :D

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  15. Amazing salad and the ingredients are just perfect and delicious.

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  16. Gorgeous array of colors and flavors in your special salad.
    I love the toasted walnuts, and the walnut oil inspired salad dressing. A good indication that spring is here, although here in S. Florida I would have to say that this is our spring season, now!
    I would much rather prefer to workout in the gym or go for a nice brisk walk...no fun working out inside the home. Would not get motivated.

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  17. salad looks beautiful and colourful

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  18. hahaha... your description of the workout dvd had me laughing out loud. I could just picture it.

    the salad is so pretty to look at - I love the colours!

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  19. That sounds like me at zumba the other night! The treadmill is more my speed. :) That salad looks deliciously healthy!

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  20. Such pretty colors! I will take that over a workout dvd any day.

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  21. This salad is beautiful! I love the flavors AND the colors. Your photos are perfect. And your story about the fitness DVD is hilarious.

    By the way, nice new domain! :-)

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  22. The salad looks beautiful and perfectly healthy. Reading this reminds me that I haven't been on the treadmill again this week!

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  23. Make friends with the curves and enjoy the walks and the food! This salad looks absolutely fabulous! Love the beets- And the heavy cream!!

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  24. This salad is BEAUTIFUL, I just adore all the colors and that the veggies are balanced out by the nuts. The pictures are really nice too, I especially like the photo of the arugula!

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  25. I love this salad. I made it last night. Nice colors texture and flavors. I could eat this salad every night as well, so I think I'll make it again tonight.

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