Parmesan Polenta with Sauteed Mushrooms, Onions and Peppers (and KB Monday)

I tried something new today with kettle bells - I did two separate workouts for time. It made me realize how much extra time I take during my workouts, whoops. I guess the incentive of trying to finish as quickly as I can is that I'm just that much closer to dinner...

Assisted Pullups:
80lbs assistance: 9, 6, 5

Assisted Dips:
100lbs assistance: 8, 8, 8

KB Workout:
I started out with a Level II Card: Bell Brutality, with 20lb KB
It's a 10-2 Ladder, meaning you do 10 of each exercise (or 5 per arm), going through the list. Then you do 8 of each, and so on, all the way down to 2 of each. Take breaks throughout as needed.
* Swings: 10
* American Swings: 10
* Goblet Squats: 10
* Bent Over Rows: 10 (5 each)
* Two-Arm High Pulls: 10
* Tactical Lunges: 10 (5 each)
* Russian Twists: 10
It took me 15:26 to go through the card relatively quickly.

Then I did KB 300
Instructions from Joey:

Do exercises in any order, but try to complete each exercise before going to the next one.  It is harder this way.  Complete the entire thing for time.

25 Pushups

25 V-Ups

50 Half Burpees

50 Snatch (25 each hand) *substitute american swings*

50 Clean & Press (25 each hand)

50 2-arm Swings

50 Mountain Climbers

I was really happy at first with my time of 16:14, until I checked with Joey after the workout, and realized that he forgot to tell me about the half burpees. Whoops. I did them after I finished with the pullups, took another 4:04 giving me a grand total of 20:18 for KB 300. At least now I have something to try to beat.

After the KB workout (but before the added half burpees), I did some more Joey-assisted-pullups. I did one set of 5, one set of 4, and one set of 3. Obviously there's no way of measuring how much Joey is helping me, but it's a good way to really give it everything I have, especially when I'm already tired from the rest of my workout.

After my hard workout, I came home and made a ridiculously delicious dinner. I'm going to attempt to put it in a recipe format, but the only important part is the polenta. You can mix anything you want into it.

Recipe: Parmesan Polenta with Sauteed Mushrooms, Onions and Peppers

From: Me

Yield: 1 serving (can easily be scaled up)
My Recipe Magic

Ingredients:

1/2 tbsp olive oil

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 cup sliced onion

1/2 cup sliced green bell pepper

salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste

1/3 cup polenta

1 cup vegetable broth (+3 tbsp)

freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

In a large pan, heat oil over medium-high heat. First add onions and peppers, toss with oil until coated. Sprinkle with salt. Cook ~5 minutes, until softened. Add mushrooms, and season to taste with pepper and garlic powder (or your favorite seasonings). Turn down to medium, continue to cook ~10-15 minutes until soft and caramelized.

In a saucepan, heat vegetable broth until just beginning to boil, over medium heat. In a steady stream, whisk in the polenta. Immediately turn down heat to low. Whisk frequently, until thick but still loose. Stir in the parmesan. Put on your plate, top with the cooked veggies, and add your favorite protein. I had it tonight with roasted shrimp, and some extra roasted veggies on the side.

For dessert, I had some of the strawberry frozen yogurt I made last night, topped with mini chocolate chips. It was REALLY hard coming out of the freezer, so I let it sit out for a bit before scooping. Then it was incredibly creamy.