We will now interrupt your regularly scheduled programming...

I got a cool new fitness gadget. A heart rate monitor!!!

Fortunately, I received it an hour before my work out yesterday. I couldn't wait to use it!

I did my usual Thursday workout: Butts 'n' Guts (40 minutes--legs and abs) and Calorie Knock Out (40 minutes--intervals of cardio and muscle training). Check out the stats.

Butts 'n' Guts: 113 calories

Calorie KO: 296 calories

The coolest part was checking my heart rate as I was doing certain exercises. I saw my heart rate soar to over 150 with just squats. I think those squats really are on to something. Actually, they are. I recently read that squats are a good exercise for strengthening core muscles. In other words, squats --> 6-pack. 

The only problem with this particular gadget is that there is a strap that wraps around the chest, but it's one-size-fits-all. So...by the end of my workout, I was actually wearing the chest strap as a belt. That was awkward.

Today, I taught Zumba, so I was even more excited to see the results! Unfortunately, I only remembered to turn my monitor on 10 minutes after class started. But despite this, the calories burned came out to 478! I'd call that quite successful for a workout full of dancing.

I'm going to be recording the results of each workout I do this week. It'll be a fitness experiment of sorts. I especially can't wait to see the calories burned during TurboKick. Speaking of which, if you haven't already seen this article, definitely check it out!

Now let's talk food.

I have a lot to catch you up on. Let's start with yesterday.

Have you ever wanted to make your own refried beans? How about refried black beans? I've got ya covered.

I used half a can of black beans. Heat some olive oil in a pan with the beans and a couple of teaspoons of cumin seeds.

After they heat up, smash the beans nicely.

After the consistency becomes creamy (there will still be some chunks in it), season as desired. Perhaps salt/pepper, jalapenos, cheese...

I scooped some of my refried beans onto a small corn tortilla and added some cheddar...

Heat on a skillet or in the microwave and your quesadilla is complete!

This is also a good portable lunch item. This can be easily prepared beforehand and eaten without having to re-heat. (Although it would taste a lot better warm!)

Next up: more avocados.

Somehow it takes me forever to eat even one avocado. So I've come up with lots of ways to use up an avocado.

One of which is avocado pesto with quinoa.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 avocado, chopped
• 2-3 tablespoons fresh chopped basil
• 1 large garlic clove, chopped
• 1/4 cup dry quinoa
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
• salt to taste

Gather your items and chop them.

Cook the quinoa.

Put the avocado, garlic, and basil into a bowl and add the spinach, lemon juice, and salt.

Add the cooked quinoa.

This is where you get your hands dirty. Literally. With your hands, mash up the avocado and mix everything together uniformly.

The resulting dish becomes very creamy! This can be served warm or cold. 

I made another avocado dish today but seeing as this post has already gone way over the usual word limit, I'll save it for tomorrow.

But I'd like to conclude with an anecdote. Yesterday, I passed by a bake sale that was being run by a couple of friends, and they tried to convince me to purchase a cupcake made of flax because apparently that's the kind of food I eat.

I'm glad I've earned such a reputation.