The BEST Cardio

Exercise Monday: The BEST Cardio

Hello People!

Just love this video by the Hodge Twins. It gives me such a laugh!  It also amazes me that something so simple (but not that easy…at least at first) can have such a humungous result.  I’ll give you a hint about what it is:

 

Please Note: The language these two use is geared for high school teenage boys with way too much testosterone running through the system.  Try to see past if the vulgarity.  It’s just an act. Oh, and I agree with them.

P.S. Do this for about 10 to 20 min on your non-strength training days

Mexi-Grilled Pork Skewers

Hello People!

Today’s post features a recipe I whipped up today to use up some pork loin I had laying around.  To get it to wake up from it’s sleeping nap at the bottom of the fridge, I coated it in a hot slick of spices, lime juice and olive oil.  Then, to make it more fun, I added pineapple, onion and peppers for added flavor. Never had fruit with meat? You’ll love it! Make sure all items are cut the same size so that one thing doesn’t cook faster than another.  These chunks were marinated for a few hours and then skewered onto pre-soaked bamboo sticks.  I grilled them on a two-level fire and voila! Mexican flavored pork yummy-ness!

Marinade Mix

Ingredients:

1 Pork Loin – cut into smallish, but same sized, chunks (1 inch)

3 – 4 big pieces of pineapple – cut into same sized chunks of pork

1/2 Red Onion – cut into same sized chunks of pork

1 -2 Red Peppers – cut into same sized chunks of pork

2 tsp. Cumin Powder

1 tsp. Corriander

1/2 tsp. Ground Hot Chili Pepper or Cayenne (or to taste)

1/4 cup Olive Oil

2 -3 Limes – juiced

3 Cloves of Garlic -crushed or minced

Put It All Together Now

How To:

-Put all spices, garlic, lime juice and olive oil in a bowl.  Mix together.

-Add Pork, Pineapple, Peppers and Onions to the bowl. Mix together with hands.

-Cover and refrigerate for 1/2 hour to 4 hours.

-Prepare Grill (however you do that; mine is charcoal). Let heat with grate on for at least 10 minutes.

-Skewer Pork Mixture onto sticks (that have soaked in water for at least 20 minutes).

-Throw out excess marinade or freeze for another marination.

-Grill and turn accordingly so all sides are cooked through.

-Take off and serve!

Grill It!

I made myself what is known as a two-level fire on my grill which means that I banked the heated coals on two sides with an empty space down the middle.  This was to make sure I didn’t burn my pineapple since it has a lot of sugar in it.  Sugar burns badly on the grill if you haven’t noticed. Cooking directly over a hot flame will do this.  If you want to heat the pork all the way through, a good tip is to close the lid of the grill, but make sure the vents are open on the bottom and top.  Allow the top vent to face as far away from the skewers as possible so the heat is drawn across the grill.  This is like covering a sauté pan when you want to heat something on the stove through.

It Tasted As Good As It Looks

P.S. You can add whatever Mexican or South American spices you like.  I also added the rest of a mixed spice that I needed to use up because it was hogging space in my cabinet. The marinade might also be awesome with a small bit of canned, chopped chipotle pepper. I served the skewers with a green salad and chipotle pepper flavored mashed sweet potatoes. Oh, and use organic products whenever possible.