Tonight is a HIIT!

Nope, that title isn't a typo.  I'm a very big fan of HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training).  If you're not familiar with it, basically it's a form of exercise where you alternate periods of very high intensity with periods of recovery.  It's a shorter workout than the traditional hour-long cardio sessions lots of people are used to, and it gives great results.

Why am I talking about HIIT training on this blog?  I'm glad you asked!  If you read last night's post, you'd know that it wasn't exactly a success.  I wasn't surprised, I really threw a lot at him at once.  So as I browsed through my recipe selection last night, trying to figure out what to make for tonight's dinner, I thought maybe I should try to apply the HIIT philosophy to my meal selections.  My high intensity selection would be a really challenging meal, something I know would really be a stretch for M.  My "recovery" selection would still be outside of the proverbial box, but a little closer to his comfort level.  Hopefully that makes sense.

I have to admit, I thought this one was going to be a hit.  My only reservation in ever making it prior to tonight is M's repeated declarations of hatred for Chicken Parmigiana.  As an Italian, that hurts.  It hurts deep inside where my little Italian heart beats.  At the same time, however, M loves meatloaf.  And then on the flip side of that, he really loves my standard meatloaf, which is a pretty basic no-frills meatloaf.  For a side, I chose to make broccoli with garlic and olive oil, which M usually doesn't like because it apparently has too much flavor and deliciousness.

Anyway, on to it:

The meal:  Chicken Parmesan Meatloaf and Broccoli with garlic and olive oil.

Why is this challenging to M?
1)  He hates chicken parmigiana
2)  He is not a big fan of chicken used in a meatloaf
3)  He is not a fan of sauce on his chicken

ESL:  I gave this a 7.  I had a pretty good feeling that, despite his hatred of chicken parm, he would like this because it's in loaf form and wasn't a piece of chicken.  I did not think he would like the broccoli because he always tells me that he likes his broccoli boiled with nothing added, and prefers it without garlic and olive oil (just typing that makes me shake my head in confusion).

So M was late getting home from work so I had to leave him a dish while I took K to dance class.  When I called him later about something, he said "don't you want to know what I thought of the meal?"  I had totally forgotten!  Ready for this??

ASL:   An 8.5!!  He said he really liked it, even the broccoli and he even had seconds of the meatloaf!!  I actually had to ask him twice if he really meant it and he said yes, he really enjoyed it.  And the bonus?  He didn't miss the starch he usually feels he needs!!!

I guess that means tomorrow I have to turn up the intensity again.  Hmmmm.....

By the way, if anyone has any recipes that they think would be great for The Experiment, please don't hesitate to send them to me!  My only requirement is that they be healthy, as the entire point of this is for me to lose weight.