Morning Workout and Southwest Chicken Wraps

Now I usually wake up around 6:00 am and don’t get out of bed until 6:15-6:30ish, but today started  a wee bit earlier than usual, like 5:45 am earlier, because my mom needed some help her loading up her car. By the time we got everything loaded in her car and she left for work, I had some extra time on my hands. Do I go back to sleep for about 30 mins. or do I squeeze in a workout at the gym? My bed was looking real comfy  and who doesn't want to sneak in a couple more minutes of zzzz's, but the gym won this morning and I think I’m considering keeping up with morning workouts. I like that I don't have to think, well to be honest its more dread, going to the gym or going for a run after work, because it’s already done! In addition to not having to think about adding a workout out after a long day at work mind, I think working out in the morning has another benefit: willpower. Since the morning has already started out healthy, why would I want to eat mindlessly and feed my body with crappy food which will only make me feel sluggish and those calories that I just workout off will find their way back to where they just came from. This mornings workout has given me the motivation to not want to eat that cookie or those unhealthy snacks at the office. I was even able to throw in a load of laundry after working out and before I left for work. One less load that I have to do tonight! Now when I get home from work, there’s no excuse for not having enough time to make a healthy dinner and bonus, I’ll also be able to cross some tasks off my to-do list that have been neglecting for sometime.

For dinner I made Southwest Chicken Lettuce Wraps. If you don't want to use lettuce another alternative is tortillas, but since I'm watching my calorie intake and gluten free tortillas are not in the house at the moment, lettuce it is.
Southwest Chicken Lettuce Wraps
1 tbsp. oil, grapeseed
1/2 c. red bell pepper, diced
1/2 c. red onion, diced
2 tsp. garlic, crushed
3 c. chicken breast, shredded
1 c. enchalada sauce
1 c. chicken broth
1 c. black beans, drained
1/2 c. plain greek yogurt
1/2 tsp. hot sauce (Tapatio)
salt and pepper
1 head of butter lettuce
Cilantro, chopped (optional)
Avocado (optional) 

1) Heat grapeseed oil in large skillet.

2) Saute bell pepper, onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes.

1 cup enchilada sauce and chicken broth

3) Stir in chicken

4) Add enchilada sauce and chicken broth to skillet and mix. Simmer covered for 20 minutes.

5) While chicken mix is simmering, wash lettuce and pat dry &

in a separate bowl mix together greek yogurt and hot sauce, add salt and pepper to taste.

6) Stir in black beans.

7) Spoon 1/4 cup of chicken mixture, 1 tbsp. yogurt hot sauce and top with cilantro, red onions and avocado - Enjoy!.

Getting up and out the door is probably the hardest part of working out in the morning, sure sleep is nice and so is a comfy, warm bed on a chilly morning, but sometimes we have to give up what we like in order to obtain what we want and the same thing can be said about food. Sure I would rather eat Ben and Jerry’s ice cream instead of a rice cake with peanut butter or yogurt, but at the same time I want something other than a brief moment of satisfaction and I want to have a different relationship with food. Your body WILL adapt to change, sure it might be slow and it will no doubt be difficult at times, but with time, waking up earlier to go to the gym will get easier, with time it will be easier to say no to foods that have nothing to offer nutritionally, but will only give momentary satisfaction. With time your body gets used to the adjustment, it will get used to the early mornings and it will want to be fueled with nutritionally balanced food rather than processed junk, so let’s do this again tomorrow!

Today was the primary elections, I hope you made your voice heard and voted today!