Women’s Health, Week Two: Of Preppers and Chickens

prep·per /ˈprepər/ n.

A person who believes a catastrophic disaster or emergency is likely to occur in the future and makes active preparations for it, typically by stockpiling food, ammunition, and other supplies. pl. preppers

“There’s no agreement among preppers about what disaster is most imminent.”

-Google definition

Yup! This week, I learned a new word! Also in the process, I learned the crazy number of uses for a single bar of pink soap. Come the apocolapse, I should be good to go.

I also learned that too much chicken in too short a time will make you want to just swear off eating it for a bit.

Even if you switch up dressings and sauces?

Yes.

It’s. Still. Chicken.

This week was really about pushing myself. Right before an awesome Mother’s Day Girl Scout sleepover I know I might never recover from. Thank goodness I discovered those Bloks, they’ve been a godsend. . .

But I digress! Let’s get right to it!

Fitness

I have to admit that I have not regularly incorporated the Vinyasa flow into my schedule as a suggested cooldown for my workouts (Namaste Awhile, p.78). I have justified this by attending my regular yoga studio more often. Also, after my Orangetheory workouts on the other days, I’m trying to scrub off my post-workout-sweaty-nastiness as soon as possible. So once I get home and finally clean up, endorphins kick in and I’ve been sleeping. Hard.

Shavasana.

I have been consistant with the additional workouts in pretty regular intervals. They promised me “2 Weeks To Flatter Abs”, and summer’s coming.

Seems to be working.

Ray: “Look at you! You’re skinny!”

Me: “Why thank you, baby.”

Ray: “Getting skinny. . .”

We have an honest relationship.

Not sure if it’s just the supplemental workouts, or the clean eating as well . . .but I’m not complaining. My abs are definitely more defined. So, thank you, Women’s Health!

And thank you, Ray. I’ll keep at it.

It also seems that using Citrus Clif Bar Bloks to help increase my energy and stamina during my workouts (Cooling Gummies for Atheletes, p.40) is also helping. Word, though: best to eat a pack an hour to half-hour before. Any earlier? You feel like jumping out of your skin right before your workout. These are not your mama’s gummies.

 

Food

More chicken.

And a lesson in the real use for kitchen shears.

This week, the whole chicken is to first be “spatch-cocked” (Flame -Kissed Grilling, p.102). This meant removing the backbone of the chicken, which I first tried using a knife.

No progress. This was totally disgusting. I felt like a coroner.

Hello, Google. How the hell do I do this?

Enter kitchen shears!

Ray: “What are you doing with the scissors?”

Me: “Those are kitchen shears.”

Ray: “Well, make sure you wash them, no one wants the chicken flu.”

Me: “You mean Salmonella.”

Ray: “Sure.”

Easier and less gross to cut through bone with the shears versus attempting a dissection with a blade. Although I still felt like a coroner.

The rub I used was the Asian one (Here’s The Rub, p. 106). We don’t have a barbecue, but we do have a stovetop grill. The particular cooking method proposed in the recipe was  supposed to employ indirect heat, but we don’t have the ability to “close the grill lid and cook on the grill’s cooler side” on our indoor grill. So I decided to partially cover the chicken with a large skillet to impart some of the “crispy and smoky” flavor . . .

And almost set the kitchen on fire.

I ended up using the toaster oven to finish cooking the bird to the safe internal temperature. It still had the charring from the grill, so the flavor was decidedly different from the first chicken I cooked last week.

Both of my girls approved after tasting it. Which is huge, since Alexa’s diet consists almost exclusively of avocado and bagels with cream cheese.

Score!

Attempting the “nacho” part of the recipe was fairly straightforward. I wish that I had maybe blanched the cabbage, so that it wasn’t almost identical in texture to last week’s Rainbow Chicken Slaw (p. 105). I did discover my new favorite combination of the prepared chicken, rice sesame crackers, and sour cream. Who knew?!

Despite that new tasty flavor explosion, however, I’m laying off chicken for a while. Two dishes and two weeks later, I’m good. Really good.

****************

So who doesn’t love ice cream (Newsy Scoop, p.29)? This article encouraged the WH reader to try different flavors in different ways to enhance an already loveable dessert.

I’m on a diet.

Moms to the rescue!

For Mother’s Day, I ordered pints of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream to be delivered to our moms. They have expected and not-so-expected flavors, so I ordered combinations of various kinds to be sent the Friday before their big day as a sweet “thank you” for being the awesome women that they are. The result?

“Oh, my God so good! Not sure what it was, but it was crunchy and delicious!” -Mom

“Coffee and ice cream? WOW!” -Step-Mother-In-Law

“YUM!” -Mother-In-Law

“When do we get some?!”-The Chickens

High fives from all! And I get to keep my waistline in check.

Beauty

Here it comes! Word of the day: preppers.

WH touts this “cheapo laundry detergent,” called Zote Soap (p.30) as a “$1 Secret To Great Skin” right on the cover. Turns out, it is oh-so-much-more.

Since the article cites a use for this bar of soap as washing makeup brushes, I had to ask what else it could be used for (I don’t really use a whole lot of makeup, therefore washing my non-existant brushes was just silly).

Ok, actually, I wasn’t that clever. It came up in my Google search when I was trying to locate where to buy it.

If you look up the website Happy Preppers, you’ll see more than a few non-sequitor uses for this giant slab of soap (it measures a healthy 2.5″x 4.75″x 2″). I chose to use it as a liquid laundry detergent in tandem with my Febreze Odor Eliminator. After grating down a whole bar with my cheese grater, I dissolved about a half cup of shredded Zote mixed with half as much baking soda in about 4 cups water, and added it to my wash. I’m grateful for the Febreze, because the pink soap I used (you can choose different colors), smelled pretty strongly of  . . .well . . .soap. But it definitely got the job done! Everything still smells fresh and clean, and four washes later, I still have tons of this stuff left to mix for future washes. At $1/bar, that saves a ton of money.

So, maybe there’s something to these “preppers.” I mean, they are after all, “happy” (and apparently eating a ton of catfish, as Zote soap can apparently also be used as bait).

Who knew?

*******************

I needed to up my sunscreen regimen before summer took over.

Yes, I have heard that this thing called the “sun” kind of always tries to impart damage regardless of season. I’ve been lazy.

Colorscience Sunforgettable Mineral Sunscreen is perfect for the lazy. You brush the SPF powder over your skin. No fuss, no mess. Plus, the lovely Angie (who does my facials) at Skin Studio 101 got giddy when I told her what I was using. Always a good sign.

I’m also using Bare Republic Mineral SPF 30 Lip Balm which is delicious in Dewberry. Apparently, they also have a Mojitio flavor. As long as I don’t leave it in my car to melt, this should last me all summer.

Fashion

Saving money means that you get to spend it, right?

I wanted to check out the Align shoes featured in Nurse Those Feet (p.38). My Sketchers were all worn out, and I needed a new pair of tennis kicks to effectively play in the all-school dodgeball game at the end of the year (those kids are all out to get me).

I ordered the Dash style in denim. Super comfortable, they feel like they are really supporting my arches (and mine are really high). Plus, the ladies in my writing class called them “cute” and “stylish.”They are really light, too. That makes them easy to stash in my gym bag for some post-workout support.

I’ve also been trolling for a great pair of jeans (Strong Genes, p.162). I am absolutely in love with the ones featured under the title, “dip dyed” (p.165). But they come with a pretty hefty price tag.

Ray: “Two hundred dollars for jeans?!”

Me: “Well . . .yeah.”

Ray: “Hmmm . . .(looks me over) . . .well, that’s going to cost you.”

I told you those additional exercises are working.

 

Wow!!! What a week! I did miss out on the biking, but tomorrow is “Bike To Work Day,” and I think I’m going to try using our city’s public bike system.

With Ray.

Should be tons to write about there, so stay tuned! Also next week, burgers on the grill, a possible camp-out, and some detail on exactly what those jeans cost me.