Ab Ripper X?!

Top of the day to ya!  Tuesday has arrived and my workout has just completed.  I went to the gym with Lauren and we were cookin with gas for a while.. then we started talking about money/budgeting/etc and we got quite side-tracked.. however, I did get in there and bust out 10 minutes fast with no troubles on the elliptical and we did some back/shoulder/ab work as well as some biking.  When I came home I decided to try the Ab Ripper X video that Branden has.  I don't know if you're familiar with P90X, but it's a super serious workout set in 12(I think?) progressive videos.  The Ab Ripper X video is the (obviously) hard core Ab workout.  It's 11 different moves, 25 reps each.. and let's just say.. I struggled a bit(a lot!).  I was only able to do like 1/2 of the workout but I am happy with myself for at least trying - and it's just another thing to work toward! 

The Turkey Chili that I mentioned I was cooking last night was a success!  So here's the recipe (with my tweaks, of course :) )
Turkey Chili:
1tbs EV Olive Oil
1lb Ground Turkey
Salt
Pepper
2tsp Chili Powder
1tsp Ground Cumin
1tsp Dried Oregano
Pinch Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Red Onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
3 Cloves Garlic (about 2tbs)
1c Diced Carrots (handful baby carrots or 2 regular carrots)
1 can Diced Tomatoes w/ Jalapenos or Green Chiles, drained and rinsed (if you want extra spice, don't rinse)
1tsp Adobo Sauce (from canned chipotle peppers - if you want extra spice, dice 1/2 pepper and add)
1 can Low Sodium Chicken Broth
1 can Water
1 tsp Grated Bittersweet Chocolate (recipe calls for 1tbs Cocoa Powder - I didn't have any)
1 (14-15oz) cans Pinto Beans, drained and rinsed
1/2c Cilantro, chopped + 1/4c for Garnish
Grated Bittersweet Chocolate for Garnish
3 Scallions(green onions), chopped for Garnish
1/2c nonfat Greek Yogurt for Serving
Tortilla Chips for Garnish

-In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add turkey, 1/2tsp salt and 1/4tsp pepper and Cook, stirring, 3 minutes.  Add the chili powder, cumin, oregano and cinnamon and cook, stirring, 3 minutes or until the water evaporates and the turkey sizzles.
-Add onion and garlic.  Cover and cook until the onion is wilted, 5-7 minutes.  If the onion or spices start to stick add 2tbs of water and scrape with a wooden spoon. (I used a non-stick saucepan - had no problems)
-Add carrots, tomatoes, chipotle/adobo, water/chicken broth and chocolate/cocoa.  Bring to a simmer and reduce the heat.  Cook partially covered 15 minutes.  Stir in the beans and 1/2c cilantro and cook 15 more minutes.
*The recipe says to use a WW Tortilla, spray w/ cooking spray and season w/ salt and pepper or cumin and Cayenne, slice thinly and bake @400 for 5-10 minutes.. I just used a few tortilla chips from a bag we had in the house.

-To serve: Ladle into soup bowls, sprinkle cilantro and scallions, add a dollop of yogurt and grate a little chocolate over top.  Garnish with tortilla chips and voila! Yum city! Nora even said "Mmm that's good!" :)

Menu Today:
Breakfast:
Choc Protein Shake w/ Skim Milk
1/2 Orange
1slice Dry WW Toast (Not punishing myself, I prefer it dry!)

Snack:
LF Vanilla Yogurt w/ Berries and Grahams

Lunch:
Leftovers!

Snack:
Weight Watchers Mozzarella String Cheese
Natural Raw Almonds

Dinner:
New recipe: Chicken Caesar Salad w/ homemade dressing - I'm sure I'll be posting this tomorrow :)

I'm staying home 1/2 of the day today so I hope to be able to get all of my Oxygen/Shape magazines out and work on a new workout routine(keyword "hope" - between taking care of Nora and getting work done, of course :) ).  I still have the ones that I was doing but it just feels funny still doing the same ones after I gave them an expiration date in my head lol.. So now I've just been randomly grabbing a workout on the way out the door but I feel like a lost puppy sometimes?  I'm way too in-my-head with all of this! 
Oh well, I am still noticing changes in my body, especially in my arms.  I was very happy to find how easily the "Fast" 10 minutes on the elliptical came to me this morning.  Sometimes I find that if I go from working out 5-6 days per week and then I take like 3 days off, I'm able to notice the change in my body/fitness level more easily.  Like my body just needs that time to catch-up to the work that I'm doing.  So maybe taking the weekends off isn't such a bad thing?

Alrighty, I have to get a shower before sweet Nora wakes up!!

Toodles!