Jordan's Black Bean Salsa

My friend Jordan is a pretty great cook and she gave me this awesome salsa recipe back in college. So when I got invited to a blogger brunch party this past Sunday, I decided to make it because I knew it would be a hit, and it was! Seriously, the bloggers were like, you need to post this recipe ASAP! So here it is, the super-easy and very delicious black bean salsa.

Ingredients
1 16 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 8.5 oz can corn, drained and rinsed
2 beefsteak tomatoes, cored and chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 avocado, chopped
2 limes, juiced
1-2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1-2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 jalepeno chopped (optional)
1 Tbsp. hot sauce (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Just chop and mix all ingredients! Add more vinegar, olive oil, hot sauce, salt, and pepper to adjust taste. You can make the salsa the day before serving to let the ingredients soak in the lime but add the avocado just before serving. Scoop-type chips work best with this dip. Also great for tacos.


Want more of Jordan's recipes? Let me know in the comments and I'll try to rope her in to guest blogging. She also gardens :)

What fresh fruits/veggies are you looking forward to this spring?

10-Week Intermediate PR Indy 500 Mini Half Marathon Training Program

Last week officially kicked off my 10-week training plan for the Indy 500 Mini Marathon on May 3. This plan is an intermediate program with the hopes of getting a PR and finally beating my 1:55 half marathon time. I made this plan with the help of The Crew and Kate of The Four Percent. Intermediate means that I should have a running and training "base" before starting. I think that, even given the horrible winter, I have at least somewhat of a base. I've definitely been cross training and I have run (outside) at least once a week.

The training plan is basically the same every week: two shorter runs, two cross-training workouts, a track workout or tempo run, a long run, and a rest day. I don't have to do the workouts on the specified days so I'll just mark them as I get through the week. I'll be doing Tuesday and Saturday runs with the The Crew at Fleet Feet and Road Runner, respectively. Cross training will involve NTC workouts, Crossfit, and anything else I can find.

So week one was a bust because I got sick and didn't even do the Pulaski 10k. I think my body just gave up on this insanely cold winter that we've had. I did get to check out Shred415 and it was awesome and then week 2 went pretty well!

Indy Mini Training Week 2

Monday
3.12 miles at 10:30 pace

Tuesday
rest

Wednesday
Spinning at Real Ryder Revolution

Thursday
6.14 miles at 9:23 pace

Friday
Track workout with NTC
15 x 300m repeats at 48-55 seconds

Saturday
7.79 miles at 9:30 pace with The Crew
It was cold, windy, and snowy. Pretty awful on the lake but I got through it with my fellow crewsers :)

Sunday
Crossfit Games Open WOD 14.2 at RNCF (modified obviously)
on the 3-minute:
2 rounds:
10 overhead squats (I did front squats at 45#)
10 pull-ups (green band)
then 12, then 14, etc...
I got to the 3rd round, 2nd round of squats…getting back into crossfit is hard!


What was your favorite/best workout this week?

Friday Favorites

Favorite Event
Windy City Blogger Collective Oscar Party

Favorite View
More snow! (OK, not really a favorite.)

Favorite Spring Teaser
Spring Collection Preview at DAVIDsTEA

Favorite Drink
Homemade Frappuccino
(coffee, almond/coconut milk, coconut sugar, ice cubes in the vitamix)

Favorite Kitty Pic

What were your favorites this week?

DAVIDsTEA Spring Collection Preview

Last night I joined the Windy City Blogger Collective At DAVIDsTEA to try out the new spring collection, which comes out in stores and online today!

Look at that selection of teas! I love tea soo much.

Taco Joint catered the event with some tacos and the delicious guacamole above. It had mango in it and salsa on top, very good!

Yes, I'm drinking an ICED tea because this was the SPRING collection preview. (It snowed in Chicago again today.)

I tried the blue lagoon and cool cucumber. The blue lagoon is a fruity white tea and very refreshing, tastes best iced. The cool cucumber is a pretty strong black tea with real cucumber. I think it's good hot and cold and a great afternoon drink.

Do you drink tea, or coffee, or both?

What's your favorite type of tea, and iced or hot?

Weights and Treadmills: Shred415 Review

Some of my fittest friends in Chicago swear by Shred415 and I finally got a chance to check it out last week! I of course wanted to do a class with amazing trainer and friend Kate Hiipakka. Her mantra is the a one-hour workout is just 4% of your day, well, Shred415 is definitely the toughest 4% of your day. The studio was conceived by Bonnie Micheli & Tracy Roemer, friends who wanted a workout class with  body work, weights, and running. Check out their recent interview on Maria Shriver's website, you know I love a good entrepreneurship story!

Shred415 is a 1-hour high-intensity interval training class. The studio is divided into two sections, the floor and the treadmills, or "treads." The class is also divided in half, so you can start either on the floor or treadmills. It was suggested to start on the floor if you're a runner so you can end on the treadmill and go all out. So basically you do 15 minutes on the floor, 15 on the treadmill, 15 back on the floor, and 15 on the treadmill. You get a little bit of rest in between sections and sometimes between the exercises, but not much, you're pretty much working the whole hour! I went at night so it was too dark in the studio to take pics, but here are some pics from the website:

I normally don't like full hour-long workouts but Shred415 goes by really fast because of the 15-minute intervals. On the floor, we did things like lunges, squats, push-ups. There was also some intense ab work on the step. Each station has a variety of weights so you can choose. The treadmill part was really fun for me because I've never done a workout class with a treadmill! I've been running all winter but I haven't done any speed work or track workouts so pushing myself to go fast on the treadmill was great. Actually, a really fantastic way to get some sprints in when the sidewalks are too icy in the winter. Again this part is also very scaleable because you choose your speed on the treadmill so no worries, you won't fall behind!

I was pretty exhausted after an hour and my legs were sore the next day. The mix of weights and cardio is really a great workout and much more effective than a slower run on the treadmill or just doing body work. Also, Shred415 employs some of the best trainers in the city. I'm amazed at how Kate was able to manage both sides of the class, I would get so confused. 

Shred 415 is a one-of-a-kind high-intesity and fun workout in Chicago. I went to the Lincoln Park studio but they also have locations in Old Town and North Shore and a new studio opening soon in Wicker Park! Follow Shred415 on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and let me know if you decide to check it out!

*Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored by Shred415 but they did provide me with a complimentary class in exchange for a review on my blog.