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“Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy.”

Week 2: Still going strong. I adore my trainer and he is still kicking my butt at exactly the level I am capable of keeping up with. Also, my office roomie joined the gym this week so her and I went for a lunch hour workout on Thursday. I’m thrilled to have a new workout partner and our lunch hour sessions will be a much-needed mental break during the workday!

My birthday is in two weeks, at which point I will have been working out for exactly one month. I daydream about celebrating the big 2-8 in a gorgeous party dress and looking like a million bucks. I’m hoping my body plans on cooperating with me to make this a dream come true. They say it takes a few weeks before you see any results when you start working out so I’m hoping to see at least a hint of change by then. So far I can’t see any progress but I can definitely feel it. I feel amazing! I’m energetic. I’m happy. And every new training session I feel like I am kicking butt just a little harder than the session before. My trainer has been throwing in some of the exercises that we attempted during my very first session (you know, the one where I almost threw up twice and couldn’t actually finish the whole thing…) and I can actually do them! Whoop, whoop! 🙂

Anyhow, on to my favorite part of all of this: awesome new recipes! Once again, all the glory goes to Cooking Light magazine. Here are the new meals I made this week:

Mushroom and Provolone Patty Melts

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 sandwich)

Ingredients

1 pound ground sirloin

Cooking spray

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup thinly sliced yellow onion

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1 (8-ounce) package sliced cremini mushrooms

1 1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup dark beer (such as porter)

8 (1.1-ounce) slices rye bread

4 (3/4-ounce) slices reduced-fat provolone cheese

Preparation

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Shape beef into 4 (4-inch) patties. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add patties; cook 4 minutes on each side or until done.

When patties are done, remove from large skillet. Wipe pan clean; heat over medium-high heat. Coat 1 side of each bread slice with cooking spray. Place 4 bread slices, coated sides down, in pan. Top each with 1 patty, 1 cheese slice, and one-fourth of mushroom mixture. Top with remaining bread slices; coat with cooking spray. Cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned.

Preparation

Place chicken between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to an even thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Place flour in a shallow dish; dredge chicken in flour, shaking to remove excess.

Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 3 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.

The only variation that I make from these recipes is that I don’t skimp on the salt. I know that different people have different feelings about salt so this may or may not be something you are comfortable with. All I know is that one of the biggest lessons I learned in culinary school is that salt is magic. Not only does it add flavor to your food but it opens your tastebuds. Things just taste better with the proper amount of salt. I don’t have high blood pressure or any other health issues that would warrant me having to avoid it so while I can, I’m going to season my food with it. I’m open to any suggestions you might have about alternative seasonings but I can’t tell you how many meals have gone from good to GREAT just by adding another pinch or two of salt to the pot. SO – that is the only deviation I have made from these recipes. Try it or don’t. It’s up to you!