Dashing Dish

Hello friends! I hope everyone had an amazing week! I know I sure did…seeing as I’ve had the past 4 days off of work! You see, that is one of the perks of being a nurse…You can work 12 hour shifts, or a lot of shifts in a row, and then have a nice stretch of time off! It’s wonderful because it really does refresh you, and I think, make you a better nurse when you come back! :)

Speaking of 12 hour shifts…I thought I’d show what a 12 hour work day looks like for me! I generally try and take those days as ‘rest days’ from working out, so I might do a walk with my dog Zoey, but if I can’t fit in my workouts elsewhere in the week (or I work more than one 12 in a week), then I do a quick circuit training class in the morning, or a 30 minute Turbo Kick Kickboxing workout dvd at home.

This particular 12 hour work day, I started my day with a circuit training class at 8:30 am. I go to the circuit class with my husband Sean, which makes it more motivating!  Plus, we get to spend a little time doing something fun together before I head off to work. :)

When I start my day with a workout, I generally wake up at 7:50 am and eat a Fiber One yogurt (I freeze them and microwave them for 30 seconds… they taste like ice cream!) I always eat something really light before an early morning workout. It usually consists of some type of yogurt and maybe some frozen fruit!

I generally always have a vanilla chia tea with squirt of fat free whip cream (I make the tea using a vanilla chia tea bag and some stevia). This helps me wake up and hydrate before my workout…Not to mention it’s tasty! :)

My husband and I leave for the workout class at 8:20 (we only live 10 minutes away).

The circuit workout starts with a quick warm up and review of the ‘stations’. There are  5 stations and each one is always set up differently each time we go.

There is generally different types of equipment at each station, such as steps, barbells, etc. Each station is for 5 minutes. We rotate between two exercises for 30 seconds each, for the full 5 minutes, and then we switch to the next station after a 2 minute break!

It’s a great workout and we finish with about 3 minutes of abs and a cool down… so the full thing takes about an hour. It’s a wonderful workout because you get your heart rate up really high, so even thought the ‘total workout’ time is short, you are burning calories, even during the ‘rest’ intervals!

I always come home and take a quick shower and have a much-needed strawberry protein shake.  Lately I’ve been more into the fruit shakes especially since it’s been warming up around here! YAY!!!!

I start getting ready for work immediately after eating my shake (yes~ I eat my shakes with a spoon :))… And I usually  am getting ready to head out the door around 10:20 am. I’m blessed to only live about 20 minutes away from the hospital that I work at and I leave an extra 20 minutes to park and get dressed (we have to wear the scrubs provided by the hospital).

On my way to work, I always have a little extra ‘snack’, such as a low carb wrap with egg whites, or turkey. In this case I had a microwave protein muffin! It’s packed with protein, which is important, because when I get to work at 11am, I usually hit the ground running and may not be able to eat again until 3-4pm.

I always pack a big bag of food to bring with me when I do work 12 hour shifts because I spend the majority of my day at work! Here is an example of some of the foods I eat in a typical work day from 11am-11pm.

I generally eat a Think Thin protein bar around 1-2pm (if I get a chance) and then take my break around 3 or 4pm, which is when I eat my main meal. In this case it was an asian chicken salad, greek yogurt and a fortune cookie. I then squeeze in my wrap sandwich and a few other snacks (in this case, it was an apple, cheese stick, and carrots) when I can throughout the night.

As you can see, I try and eat every few hours when possible…And I say “when possible”, because in Labor and Delivery, every day at work is totally different! :)

Here’s a quick overview on how I put together my Asian Chicken Salad! As usual, I made all my lunches for the week in one sitting… so I made 4 of these salads all at once! (I basically just split everything between 4 Tupperware containers to make it really easy!)

I start off with coleslaw mix as my ‘lettuce base’ because it gives the salad a nice ‘crunch’ and works well with the Asian flavors of the salad, but it also works well because it doesn’t wilt like regular lettuce!  I also like it because it keeps me more full than regular lettuce.

Here are some of my toppings! They are generally a little bit different, depending on what I have on hand, but I always try to fill it up with tons of Asian-Style veggies, such as water chestnuts, snow peas, and some chopped cilantro!

I simply divide the cabbage between the Tupperware containers and split the toppings between the salads!

I bake up some chicken tenderloins in some teriyaki sauce and add about 3/4 cup chopped chicken to each salad. (I do this on a baking sheet for about 20 minutes at 425 degrees, flipping the chicken half way through cooking).

And I roughly chop the cilantro and add it over the top of each salad.

I pack some of the teriyaki sauce to pour over the salad and some sliced almonds on the side! It’s a delicious lunch that I look forward to and it really fills me up! :)

When I get home around 11:45 pm, I’m usually exhausted.  I drag myself in the door where I can always expect a wonderful greeting! :) I wash my face, brush my teeth, and jump into bed around 12 pm where my husband and I pray together just before I fall asleep…(And it doesn’t take long before I’m OUT! :) )

I must say that today is May 17, which means it’s only 1 month before my birthday (which is on June 17th~ yes I’m counting down a month early!!!) :) It’s hard to believe that it’s already been almost a year since last year’s celebration! It’s been a busy~ but GREAT year!