Where you WILL NOT find me

I wouldn’t say that I’m opposed to exercising. I don’t love it, but I don’t go out of my way to avoid it either. If I have time, I walk to the store rather than drive. I go for the occasional bike ride with Andy. We have been known to play a game or two of tennis, go for a morning walk, or maybe a hike every now and then. But one thing I can promise you is this: you will never, EVER, find me working out to a cardio DVD at home. And this time I mean it.

I want to do cardio in the comfort of my own living room, I really do. There’s a stack of workout DVDs (collecting dust) to prove that. My problem is finding one that I can actually follow. Not able to resist a good Gold Box Deal on Amazon, I recently bought the Boot Camp Fitness Bundle for $13.49. Three DVDs for $13.49! This was going to be the perfect workout. The reviews looked great and it seemed to be exactly what I was searching for. I could pick and choose segments to customize my workout…fantastic! Fast-forward to a few days ago when I (finally) changed into my workout clothes, popped the DVD in, and got ready to sweat. I went through the menu, selecting which parts of the workout I wanted to do, and hit start. And start she did. Immediately. I hadn’t even put the remote down before she was already one-two-threeing around happy as could be. My legs, on the other hand, were flailing around frantically trying to keep up. This went on for about 45 seconds before I just stopped and stared at the television, getting more and more irritated. Faster and faster she went, with no warning of what was coming next or how to do it. I’m fairly sure the counter on the DVD was somewhere around 2 minutes when I flipped off the instructor and hit stop. Mature? Maybe not, but it made me feel better.

When I called Andy to tell him what had happened, I could tell he thought I was exaggerating. So when he got home, the DVD went back in and I started it up again, sitting back ready to hear my apology. Just as before, Ms. Cardio starting jumping around like a woman possessed. Andy’s eyes were getting wider by the second, and after seeing it, he admitted that I was not exaggerating in the slightest.

So since I obviously can’t handle regular workouts, eating a bit healthier won’t hurt, right? This is what I made that night, since salad says healthy to me (never mind the heavy cream in the dressing).

Walnut and Beet Salad with Walnut Oil Vinaigrette

Salad:

butter lettuce

arugula

cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered

sliced beets, halved

walnuts, toasted (see below)

Dressing (for 2 salads):

3 tablespoons walnut oil

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Toast the walnuts in a dry sauté pan. Once toasted, remove from pan and toss with a drizzle of olive oil and pinch of salt. Reserve.

Whisk all ingredients together for the dressing.

Combine all salad ingredients and toss with dressing.

I could eat this salad every night. (We’ve already had it several times since.) It just has that pizzazz that makes a salad really tasty…not the least bit boring. The toasty, nutty walnut oil, earthy beets and peppery arugula are just perfect mates. Adding the crunchy walnuts drives the whole nuttiness point home.

So where you WILL find me is in the kitchen, where I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’m way better at making yummy salads than following along to cardio DVDs. I’m happier that way, anyway. And I swear I will never buy another workout DVD, no matter how good the price.