Looking Forward

Summer Salad

2010-08-06T12:28:00.000-07:00

My favorite summer salad includes 3 simple ingredients:

Spinach
Strawberries
Creamy poppyseed dressing

Now, there are many variations of this salad. I've added walnuts, almonds, pecans, goat cheese, tortellini with tomatoes, etc. But, I keep coming back to this amazing combination. It's so light, fresh and delicious. It's the perfect side salad to a soup/salad or sandwich/salad combo. Today I had this along side a half ham and cheddar sandwich with dijon and lettus...grilled on the foreman. I inhaled it too quickly to snap a photo;)

Yesterday was a gorgeous day in Seattle, so I took my lunch down to the lake to eat and relax for a few. I was the only person there for about 15 minutes and it was so nice to enjoy my surroundings in peace. I took some photos on my phone of the cute little park.

I brought some left-over roasted veggies, a whole wheat wrap and the last of a container of garlic hummus. I couldn't fit all the veggies in my wrap, so I ate the rest of them in the waning hummus container...kind of like oats in a jar!! It was delicious, but I was a bottomless pit yesterday and nothing seemed to fill me up. I've noticed that the day after a hard work-out leaves me with endless amounts of hunger. I'm not sure what combinations to eat to tame the hungry monster...any suggestions?

Do you ever feel super hungry the day following a tough workout? Do you keep feeding the monster or try and appetite suppressants like coffee or tea? I feel like my body needs it, but at the same time, I don't want to over-eat.

Bite of Seattle

2010-07-26T13:14:00.000-07:00

I took my friend that was visiting 2 weekends ago to the Bite of Seattle foodie festival for lunch. It was a gorgeous sunny afternoon and we walked through the grounds admiring all the choices. We decided on purchasing a $10 ticket for The Alley sponsored by Tom Douglas where 95% of proceeds benefited Food Lifeline, a local hunger relief organization in Western Washington.

The menu was stellar as seven local restaurants showcased a bite of their delicious food. Here is my plate of goodness:

The menu included:

Etta's - Rub with Love salmon with cucumber slaw.

Purple Café - Gorgonzola stuffed dates with pine nuts. Al Boccalino, Seattle’s Little Italy - A cold soup with oven toasted beets, balsamic vinegar, orange juice scented with thyme. John Howie Steakhouse - Sliced filet mignon (I didn't get the description on this one, but it was fabulous!) Roxy’s Diner - Hot pastrami on rye with mustard. BARRIO - Achiote rubbed prawns with spicy red sangrita. Sand Point Grill - Peach Shortcake - Washington peaches, gluten-free nutmeg cake, honey yogurt whip and tart berry syrup. I couldn't believe how much food we got for $10...I definitely did not expect it! They had this going on all weekend and I may have had dreams about that salmon and pastrami sandwich! I thought about going back, but the crowd was pretty intense! As we meandered the rows of vendors, we each picked up a mango lemonade...YUM! I also got a nutella crepe and it was just meh, ok...

I was glad that I did not get the strawberry shortcake like this lady below. Now that is some SERIOUS food coma!!!

Have you been to any good festivals lately? What is your favorite festival food?

A Nice Day in Seattle!

2010-07-23T11:31:00.001-07:00

Seattle is so much nicer when the sun is out. It seems like everything just looks better, tastes better and is just that much more enjoyable. I had a wonderful weekend with my friend as it was her first time visiting and I got to play tourist! So here are some pictures from our adventures!
We had a lot of fun going to the Seattle Bites food festival, which I will share pic of our yummy eats in a separate post. We hiked, kayaked, drank wine and ate a lot of good food! Pike's Place market is so cool, but sooo crowded! I want to go back and pick us some fresh flowers and some fresh fish...that salmon is HUGE! We even got to see them throw some fish, good times!

Roasted Beets and Best Dessert EVER!

2010-07-22T10:02:00.000-07:00

Hi all - I've been a bit MIA this week, and have been pretty busy! I had great bootcamp workouts Monday and Wednesday and some running and yoga on Tuesday. I am feeling pretty beat up, so I've decided to take the day off from working out and get 90 minute massage after work (and a pedicure at my lunch hour!) I love rest days! I do plan to walk to/from the pedicure and massage to get in some activity:)

The other night I decided I wanted to replicate a dish that I often order at restaurants...the beet and goat cheese salad.

Beet & Goat Cheese Salad:

2 small-medium beets, peeled and chopped

2 tsp EVOO, divided

pinch of rosemary, salt & pepper

1-2 TBS pecans

drizzle of maple syrup

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 cups salad greens (I used spinach)

1 oz goat cheese

1. Massage 1 tsp EVOO onto beets, sprinkle with rosemary, salt and pepper. Roast at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes, flipping half-way through. Beets should be a tiny bit crispy at edges.

2. Coat pecans with the maple syrup and cinnamon and place in the oven with beets when there is approximately 10 minutes left.

3. Drizzle remaining EVOO over salad greens and top with roasted beets, candied pecans and goat cheese.

The flavors were so great in this salad, I hadn't made candied pecans before, and they were delicious!

I decided a couple hours later that I was still hungry and wanted something sweet. I've been seeing late-night oat dishes on blogs and since I had an early morning workout planned the next day, I thought I would give it a try. I stocked up on some Trader Joe's supplies that day and picked up some cinnamon grahams and mini peanut butter cups...which became my inspiration!!!

Cinnamon & Peanut Butter Cup Oats:

2 Cinnamon Graham Crackers

1-2 TBS mini peanut butter cups

1/4 cup dry Old Fashioned Oats

1/2 cup water

pinch salt

1. Combine dry oats, water and salt and cook over medium heat until water is absorbed

2. Crush graham crackers

3. Top hot oats with crushed grahams and mini PB cups

4. Devour

These oat were ridiculous! The peanut butter cups melted into the gooey, yummy swirl and it was just an amazing desert...very filling with the oats. Also, this late night desert was great fuel for my early morning workout. I usually have half a bar or a piece of toast in the am, but I didn't need any food...just drank a little coffee and was good to go. This may become routine.

Do you eat before an early morning workout? Do you find it better to eat that morning or the night before? What is your favorite fuel for a workout?

Lunch on the Lake

2010-07-15T13:48:00.000-07:00

Woops - for some reason this didn't post last Thursday...So here it is late!!!

Yoga on the roof was great last night! There were clear skies, a nice breeze and a great group of yogis! Once I got home, I made a refried bean wrap with sauteed peppers, portabellas and corn from the cob and dipped it in this new salsa from Trader Joe's - Avocado Salsa...so delicious!

My favorite instructor teaches on thursday mornings at 6:30 am. I went last week and felt amazing afterward, so I decided to go again this week. Well...after two hard bootcamp classes and 2 power yoga classes already this week, it was pretty tough! My mind really wanted to give it my all, but my muscles and lower back were so sore. I took it pretty easy during the warm up and modified the vinyasas when I needed to. About half way through, I started feeling better and put a bit more into it. I think my body finally started accpeting what I was trying to do with it!

Needless to say, I felt amazing afterward and was STARVING! A green monster wasn't going to cut it this morning, I needed carbs and almond butter, stat! I whipped up a pot of oats with 1/2 cup old fashoined oats, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup milk, dash of salt and vanilla extract with half a banana (other half for instant gratification!) I added one egg white at the end and stired until cooked (this as well as the half cup of milk makes the consistency much creamier and added some needed protein). I topped with chia seeds, almond butter and blackberry preserves...it was glorious! It was a huge bowl (I almost finished it) and it kept me full through lunchtime.

For lunch I packed the leftover refried beans and mushroom/pepper/corn stir-fry over lettuce with the avocado salsa as dressing. I also brought a small bag of popchips for scooping! It was such a nice day, so I took my lunch down to Lake Union, which is a few blocks from my office. I need to do this more often! It is so relaxing down there watching boats go by and seaplanes take off. There were even a couple dogs playing catch with their owners! I love when dogs swim...its so cute! I snapped a few photos on my phone...I will have to remember to bring a good camera down there next time!

Tonight I plan to do some cleaning because I have a friend coming to visit and she's flying in tonight!!! We have an exciting weeked planned with hiking, kayaking, shopping the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale!!!!!, visiting the Space Needle, Pike's Place Market, A foodie festival, some fun restaurants and bars and drinks out on the deck of my apartment building overlooking the city! Can't wait!

What are your plans for the weekend? What is your favorite thing to do with visitors in your city?

Rooftop Yoga

2010-07-14T16:08:00.000-07:00

My yoga studio (Mountain Flow Yoga) offers roof top yoga when it's nice outside. And today it is very nice out...77 degrees with clear skies. Once I'm done with work, I plan to bolt out of here to the studio for some much needed warmth and sun (my office keeps the AC on way too high!!!) I forgot my camera, but the next time I go to class on the roof, photos will follow! It's so beautiful practicing with views of Lake Washington, Mt Rainier and the Cascades in the background. I also love the sounds of the breeze, birds and children playing across the street at a playground. It's nice to take all these sounds of life in and be thankful.

I am excited to practice, however am very sore from an amazing bootcamp class I had this morning! I can't get over how much more fun and energizing it is working out when the weather is nice:) We did tons of strength training drills and sprints and my whole body is sore, it was a complete total body workout.

I have been rocking the wraps and salads for lunch lately and am loving the combo of hummus and salsa instead of a traditional salad dressing. I try to pair a big flavorful salads with some sort of protein like beans or left-over chicken with a small piece of fruit. Here is one of my lunch creations:

Green leaf with avocado, green onion, pico de gallo, and hummus with a piece of left-over chicken and a small apricot from the CSA. I find it's much more fun to have a voluminous lunch rather than something more calorie dense.

My other favorite in blog-land is the infamous banana soft serve. It's great because you can try so many variations. This one has 1 frozen banana, 1/2 cup frozen mixed berries, chia seeds and topped with cacao nibs for a little crunch. I could eat this every.single.day! MMmmmm!

Note - I made this around 9 pm for dessert...and it's still so light out! Have I mentioned that I love Seattle summers!?!?!

What's your favorite summer dessert?

Weekend Brunch

2010-07-13T10:49:00.000-07:00

There is something about brunch on the weekends that makes me so happy! I love breakfast foods...love cooking them and also love ordering them at restaurants. It seems like breakfast during the week is so fast-paced...I typically chug my green monster just before heading out the door to work. Weekend brunch, however makes me appreciate all the extra time I have to enjoy it on the weekends.

When cooking at home during weekends, I will usually make a egg/toast/fruit combo such as an omelet, scramble or over-easy. Once in a while there will be french toast or blueberry pancakes involved! My favorite places for brunch in Seattle are Cafe Flora and Dahlia Lounge.

On a recent visit to Dahlia Lounge, I encountered what I must call my all-time favorite breakfast! It started with a mimosa...

For breakfast, I ordered the mushroom and goat cheese omelet and subbed the biscuit and potatoes for their pecan flax toast and a huge cup of fresh fruit...bliss!

This is likely the best omelet I have ever eaten and I loved all the fresh fruit. The toast was served with homemade rhubarb jam that was perfect. I can't wait to go back here...I will be ordering the exact same thing! I had a very happy tummy:)

What is your favorite brunch or weekend breakfast ritual?

Yoga For Hope

2010-07-11T11:45:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning I walked down to the Seattle Center to participate in an outdoor yoga class sponsored by City of Hope, which is a program dedicated to patient care, cancer research and new treatments. The yoga event was from 10-12:30 and cost $30 to participate and participants were encouraged to raise additional donations. The registration fee went directly to research and the treatment of patients. All together there were approximately 350 participants and over $30,000 raised!!! Plus we made a world record of the largest outdoor yoga class:)

The experience was absolutely amazing. I met up with a few friends from Mountain Flow Yoga and we lined up our mats in the center of the field.We practiced 108 sun salutations under the sun. It was intense! They had 9 yoga instructors from studios around Seattle lead the group in 12 sun salutations each, totalling 108. I thought this was a great idea, because each instructor had a different teaching style and that kept things interesting and fun as we went along. They provided sunscreen, water and snacks throughout the practice, which was necessary with such a hot sunny day...it was about 80 degrees with maybe 1 or 2 clouds in the sky! As the 7th instructor began her sun salutations, I started to feel the effects of the practice. I took it easy by drinking lots of water and practicing child's pose to regain some strength. This really helped me to end the class on a positive note with a yoga high! I felt so great afterward I practically skipped home!
I got home a little after 1:00, changed my clothes and headed out with the boyfriend's family for some kayaking. Since it was the first sunny weekend in Seattle this summer, the place was packed. We waited in line for an hour (with water and sunscreen!) and finally got up to the front only to realize that his little bro and sis had to be accompanied by an adult since they are both under 18. Since we had a group of 5...I had a solo kayak. I was soooo sore and tired from 2+ hours of yoga...it was rough! But I guess the beautiful view of Lake Union and downtown made up for it. We kayaked for an hour and then had some yummy Mexican food. We all inhaled a nacho appetizer, then I got tacos with yams, peppers, onions and avocado sauce...so good!

I ended the day with some reading out on the deck of my apartment and we BBQd some buffalo burgers with corn and asparagus and a beer. It was a great end to such a fun day!

Healthy Cooking as a Hobby

2010-07-08T13:50:00.000-07:00

I was inspired by Angela's post on Oh She Glows about my relationship with my kitchen after the transformation to healthy eating. As one who tries to incorporate as many homemade meals as possible, that means lots of food prep and cleaning. I use my blender every morning for green monsters, pack a lunch and snacks for the office and cook meals throughout the week for dinner. During the week there is a lot of planning and prep and endless dishes, but I have found that cleaning as I go makes clean-up much more manageable. We do have a few meals out on the weekends, but also enjoy the extra time to cook a more time-consuming meal.

I want to mention that I would not be as excited about hanging out in the kitchen if I didn't have a good layout or appliances. When my boyfriend and I moved, the first thing we were looking for was a nice kitchen since we both enjoy cooking. We lucked out with a brand new building with an amazing set up. The space is an open floorplan with higher-end appliances (we bought the island from IKEA and added the shelving unit for more storage).

I also don't mind the view out our HUGE windows as I cook...it definitely makes for a pleasant experience:)

View of downtown Seattle.Mt Rainier from my window...it really is such a beautiful mountain and so much bigger in person...the camera doesn't do it justice!

The island is where we spend all of our time preparing and plating meals. It doesn't look like a ton of counter space, but I've found it's perfect for us two. We try to cook one meal a week with an expensive piece of protein from whole foods. Last week it was New York Strip with roasted yukon golds and steamed green beans from our CSA.

Don't these green beans have great color? They were so crisp and delicious. I'm not sure I've tasted a better green bean...great raw and steamed!

The steaks had great flavor, but were huge...I had half of one and it was the perfect amount.

Do you enjoy spending time in the kitchen preparing healthy meals?

Last night I came home and changed into workout clotes and complete some HIIT on the treadmill...WAY too hot to run outside. I warmed up for 5 minutes, then did 20 minutes with 1 minute intervals (1 minte @ 4.0, 1 minute @ 6.0 to 7.5...worked my way up) and cooled down for 5 minutes. It was pretty intense as I haven't been keeping up with my running in a few months. I hope to build my endurance back up over the next month and then work on my speed.

After my run, I walked down to Barnes & Noble to get the new Steig Larsson novel...I am super obsessed and can't wait to read the whole thing! I also picked up a huge unsweetened iced green tea from Starbucks for the walk home. We cooked an awesome dinner of balsamic chicken with couscous and braised swiss chard from the CSA box. I was soooo tired...I probably could have gone to bed at 9:00...I blame it on the cardio since I really push myself when I do HIIT. Here's to hoping it gets easier as I keep consistent!

Yoga Buzz

2010-07-08T13:31:00.000-07:00

I woke up bright and early again this morning for 6:30 yoga class. It was already close to 70 degrees at 6 am...crazy! I set the coffee maker for 5 am for a little extra motivation and finally rolled out of bed around 5:50. I had a half cup of coffee and one of those chocolate/walnut/date balls I made the other day for some fuel. Usually when I go to the morning classes it takes me awhile to really get into it, however, today I was ready to go before I even got there. I felt so amazing afterward, like a huge endorphin buzz. The class was awesome as the instructor took us through so many creative flows (I'm hoping I can remember these for my home practice!) Days like today make me want to stick to a healthy lifestyle!

I've decided coffee is my magic early morning workout drug!!! I can't believe I never tried drinking a little coffee pre-morning workouts before. Now that I have come out of the dark on this one, I will be sticking to about half of a cup each morning that I have a planned early workout (which includes most days now!)

One of the girls in my class told me about this Yoga for Hope event happening at the Seattle Center this Saturday. They are having a big outdoor class from 10-12:30 and all registration fees go toward cancer research. The slogan is to practice 108 sun salutations under the sun...should be challenging and inspiring:) I will try and take pictures between poses!

Tonight I plan to get back into running, either with a short outdoor run or some speed intervals on the treadmill. It's supposed to be 90 degrees today, so not sure if I want to bear the heat.

Does anyone have tips for running in the heat?

The Sun is Finally Out!

2010-07-07T13:31:00.001-07:00

Summer decided to come to Seattle yesterday bringing us beautiful sunny skies and warmth! I woke up to the heat of the sun coming through my windows this morning and I was incredibly motivated to go to the 6 am SassyFit bootcamp. The bootcamps this month are free...sponsored by the vitaminwater social club. They provided both smartwater and vitaminwater during the class. Since they are more guys showing up to these bootcamps, they seem to have become more challenging! My legs felt like lead during sprints...something I am really going to start working on...I am so slow!

The club sent us home with some vitaminwater and Kind bars. I selected the vitaminwater zero in the lemonade flavor...and I may become obsessed with this flavor! I love anything lemon, but not so much the super sweet lemonades. This one was perfect...like a slightly watered down lemonade, but enough zing to make it tasty! I chose the Almond Coconut Kind bar, which I will devour for my afternoon snack. I've had a few of these bars and have loved every flavor so far that I've tried. They also gave everyone a free yoga mat...not bad! I guess their marketing worked on me though as I will likely purchase their products in the future.

When I got home, I made a purple monster with:

1 scoop Vega

1/2 TBS chia seeds

2 cups spinach

1 small banana

1 cup skim milk

1 cup frozen mixed berries

It was refreshing and delicious. I snaked on a piece of (healthified) homemade banana bread later in the morning.

Last night, I made these yummy snacks. I can't remember which blog I got the idea from...I wrote it down a week ago. Anywho...they were made in the foodprocessor with walnuts, dates, cacao, shredded coconut, cacao nibs and water. I rolled into balls and put them in the fridge to set. I had one with my lunch and was slightly disappointed. They were a bit crumbly and didn't have too much staying power. I made something like this in the past with oats, almond butter, honey and a few other ingredients and liked those much better.

I went to Trader Joe's last night after a yoga class and bought some smoked salmon among a heavy basket full of other yummies! I decided to create a wrap with this cilantro/chive/yogurt dip (from TJs), spinach, smoked salmon, and 2 egg whites. I packed a raw kale salad massaged with rice wine vinegar and half a small avocado. The lunch was really tasty and filled me up. It was so nice out that a couple co-workers and I took our lunches down the hill to the lake and envied all the people on kayaks and boats!

I get my CSA box today and am looking forward to the blueberries and cherries it is supposed to contain. Also hoping for some yummy veggies to roast for dinner tonight.

I have an early dinner and yoga planned for the evening.

Do you choose to workout outside more often in the summer, or do you still attend gyms or indoor classes?

My studio has been holding yoga on the roof with a view of the lake and mountains...It's pretty amazing. I am hoping the later class is also held up there. I feel much better about going to a yoga class on a nice day when it is held outdoors:) I feel like I am missing out on something when I spend a gorgeous day inside...but this may be due to the fact that we have so few here!

What Can I Say...

2010-06-25T09:28:00.000-07:00

Well as you may have noticed by my lack of posting...I have been unmotivated since getting back from Mexico:(

I've pretty much stopped running and most forms of cardio, but stuck with yoga...I guess its the only activity I really enjoy! That and hiking...

A couple weeks ago I decided that it was time to get back into the game and signed up for some boot camp classes with SassyFit and a 3-month unlimited yoga membership at MountainFlow. I had said boot camp class today and was the lone bootcamper...which means I worked my butt off. In fact I pushed myself so hard that I thought I was going to get sick a few times. I left the class feeling a bit dizzy and as I write this a couple hours later, am still feeling off. BUT....I know it is the kick in the butt I need and that gross-feeling will go away eventually and then I will feel GREAT!

The past two weeks I have been dedicated two mornings a week to bootcamp and have been working in a few yoga classes. Moving forward I will be adding cardio in the form of running back into my life. I've been eating my weight in veggies and have cut back on the naughtiness...with the exception of a ladies' weekend in Vegas, which didn't involve much food as I unintentionally replaced most meals with vodka...NEVER doing that again;) So I will leave you all with some lovely photos from my trip with the girls!

Back from Mexico!

2010-04-20T12:04:00.001-07:00

I had the most amazing time in Mexico. I went for a friend's wedding in Cabo. The wedding was small (about 65 people) and they treated us so well all weekend by inviting each guest to several parties with great food and entertainment. Her mother has a home on the beach and we spent some of Thursday in their pool and they had a party on Friday for their guests. There were waiters roaming around with endless margaritas and delicious appetizers and an excellent Mexican buffet dinner. They treated us to a DJ and dancing complete with Pyro Dancers, it was absolutely amazing!

The wedding was at a beautiful golf resort in El Dorado that overlooked the beautiful Sea of Cortez. The wedding party looked so gorgeous and the reception venue was breathtaking! There were waiters with abundant drinks and appetizers...the crab tacos were the favorite among our group! We lit up 3-foot long sparklers for the wedding party's entrance into the venue and dinned in a stone courtyard with a man playing guitar for dinner music...it was beautiful! Dinner was 3 courses, which included a lump crab cake, trio of ceviche and I chose the red snapper (other choice was filet mignon). There were cupcakes, wedding cake and Mexican coffee for dessert. Everything was so delicious I was stuffed to the max!!!

Her mother gave an excellent speech and had every woman at the party in tears! It was absolutely beautiful. During their first dance their was a huge firework display...breathtaking! They had a live Latin band followed by a late-night DJ (with a late-night taco bar!) During the cake-cutting, a mariachi band came out and they were so hilarious goofing around in their tight white pants! It was such a memorable weekend, I am still in awe and so happy that I got to be a part of it!

Yummy Salad

2010-04-07T14:20:00.000-07:00

I was craving a light and sweet salad for dinner the other night and cam up with a this yummy combination:

2-3 cups Green Leaf Lettuce

1/2 pear, sliced

4-5 sliced strawberries

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

2 TBS Balsamic and Fig dressing (found at Whole Foods)

Then I made a side of roasted sweet potatoes and the other half of the pear roasted with the potato. I topped with a drizzle of coconut butter...yum!

The meal was delicious and filling...and satisfied my sweet tooth!

I wanted to add this pretty flower pic to remind me of the nice weather that peaks out from behind the clouds of Seattle every now and then:)

It's been a dreary couple of weeks, and my running plans have suffered...why is it I only feel like running when it's nice out?! I've still been doing other exercises, but I don't feel as good as I do after a run. I did about 20 minutes on the treadmill yesterday and felt pretty good...I hope it's enough to get myself going again! I am planning on some much needed hot yoga tonight...I can't wait to sweat it out at the studio!

I just got my organic delivery so I will post some photos later this week of all the fantastic-looking goods! I have big plans for some yummy dinners with some of the produce! I have to eat it all up in a week because I am off to MEXICO NEXT WEDNESDAY!!!! Can.not.wait.for.sunshine!

How's the weather in your part of the world? Any fun vacations coming up?

Yoga at Home

2010-03-31T10:10:00.000-07:00

I love practicing yoga at a studio, but sometimes it just doesn't fit my schedule. I've been thinking about practicing on my own without yogadownload or an on demand source. I have a vacation to Mexico coming up in about 3 weeks and my plan is to stay active on the trip (between laying poolside and spa activities!) I thought staring out my mornings with some yoga on the beach would be great, and maybe even a short jog to warm up. I also plan to take swim breaks from being completely lethargic next to the pool!

So on Friday, I made a yoga playlist including some Enya, Dido and slower Incubus tracks and rolled out my mat in the living room. I chose sequences that I like from classes I've taken and just by what was feeling good at the moment. I practiced for about 35 minutes and it felt great...I could have kept going. I am confident that I will have no problems practicing solo on the beach in a few weeks. I think it will be a great way to start the day and hopefully keep my somewhat on track!

After my practice, I set up the camera to capture a few of my favorite poses. I didn't include all of them, but it was neat to see what I look like and a good way to make note of corrections in form I can work on.

Ps. that is a new shirt from Lululemon that I absolutely LOVE! it's not great for yoga because it moves too much, but is great for cardio and/or weight training. I think its great to wear with regular clothes as well. In fact, I wore it to work with jeans and a blazer...I just love the pale yellow color this spring!

Are you comfortable practicing yoga on your own, or do you need instruction? What is your favorite pose? I also like dancer pose because I am getting better at it, but didn't take a phot of that one!

Lazy Saturday Lunch

2010-03-30T15:49:00.000-07:00

This Saturday was warm and sunny here in Seattle. I took advantage and spent the majority of the day out and about. The morning was busy with yoga and shopping and once I got home I was tired of driving places so I decided to walk somewhere for lunch. Luckily right down the hill is the Essential Bakery Cafe (my favorite place to buy bread and macaroons!) It always amazes me how many people are out walking or riding bikes when it's nice here. I never felt the need to be outside when I lived in Michigan! The cafe has an outdoor patio as well!

I went with a raspberry jam cookie to start...it was so yummy!

For my lunch I got a 1/2 size portion of the Pacific Northwest Salad, which had greens, balsamic, Gorgonzola and marinated mushrooms and a 1/2 roasted yam and leek sandwich on rosemary bread. This combo so so delicious and filling. I also had a Moroccan mint iced tea.

I could eat lunch here often, everything tastes so fresh and it's always buzzing with people. I often stop here after morning spin to grab coffee and a pastry or bread for the week...since its 7 am and not picked over yet!

After lunch, I went for a long walk in the Washington Park Arboretum to play with my camera during the spring bloom. Here are some of my favorite shots:

Do you sometimes take a long walk over a run? I just wasn't feeling the running this weekend, but did enjoy two long walks about 1 hour 40 minutes each!

Cornbread and Chili

2010-03-24T10:45:00.000-07:00

Sprouted Kitchen, one of my favorite recipe blogs (and the blog that inspired me to start playing around with food photography) posted this recipe for Cast Iron Cornbread that I have been wanting to try ever since I read it! The ingredient list wasn't too long and it was actually pretty simple to prepare and wow, it was the best cornbread I've ever made. I will definitely be making this again. I think the best part was the sprinkle of cheddar cheese that crisped up on the top...and the nice crust that the cast iron pan gave it!

We paired the bread with a chili recipe that we made as we went (to taste). The ingredients included extra lean ground beef, kidney beans, crushed tomatoes, chopped onion, stock, tomato paste, BBQ sauce, salsa, chili powder, garlic powder, cinnamon, red pepper flakes, apple cider vinegar, honey. This seems like a lot of spices, but the flavor was so good...there was a little spice and a little sweet at the same time. I can't wait to east left-overs tomorrow! We topped the chili with a spoonful of sour cream and chives with a sprinkle of shredded cheddar.

Yum, the meal was comforting and delicious! I went back for another sliver of bread...so good!

I ended up going for a 3.5 mile hilly run after work while the sun was still shining. I did the same loop as last Friday twice and the second time was pretty tough, but I pushed through and only walked half-way up one hill and once crossing a street...not bad! My pace was around an 11 minute mile, and I am hoping to get it down to a 10 minute mile by summer.

Sunny Weather

2010-03-23T13:49:00.000-07:00

It's been so nice in Seattle lately and I have been pretty busy making the most of it. With the time change, it seemed like the afternoon when I got out of work last Friday! I changed into workout clothes and hit the pavement while the bf hit the elliptical. I did a short 1.8 mile hilly loop in a sub-10 min/mile pace, which is pretty great for me! I really liked the loop, I had beautiful views of Lake Washington and Mt Rainier. After the run, I met the bf back at the gym and we did a full body strength training workout. It felt great!

When we got home, we both felt like eating out and have been wanting to go back to Dahlia Lounge since we ate their for NYE and decided it was time. We started with oysters and cocktails (I got champagne). Then I had a winter white salad with cucumber, endive and a truffle dressing. My entree was the Alaskan salmon with morels, mashed potato and roasted asparagus...yum! We spilt a dessert and called it a night! This was an awesome splurge of a meal and we had so much fun!

Saturday was a beautiful 68 degree sunny day and I started out with a heated flow yoga class at 8 am followed by a veggie juice and huge bowl of oats! We watched the St. Mary's game then went for a long hilly walk to grab sandwiches for an outdoor picnic in a park. It was fun and I soaked up as much sun as I could! Later I had a massage and it was painful, but so so great. I took a nap after and we made steak, sweet potato and salad for dinner and met some friends out for drinks. I had 2 glasses of wine out and one glass at dinner...I think I am going to try and cut back on the alcohol again!

Sunday was great...I took a restorative yoga class and relaxed the rest of the day. We also made all our meals in which doesn't happen often on a Sunday!

It's been sunny this week so far and is supposed to get to 68 again tomorrow. Yesterday, I took a yoga class, but had the itch to go out running so I am going to make up for it today! I am planning to take advantage of the sun and go for a run after work...probably that same loop as last week x2. I hope to get in another run tomorrow at lunch.

Do you ever feel like you NEED to be outside when it's nice? I feel like I'm wasting a nice day when I don't go out and do something!

Rack of Lamb Feast

2010-03-18T17:10:00.000-07:00

During weekends we like to cook a more time-consuming meal with fresh meat from either Whole Foods or Pike's Place Market. One last weekend's menu was rack of lamb. We haven't cooked this in a long time and I don't have a recipe to give because the bf knows the recipe by heart and cooked the whole meal himself (I opened the bottle of wine!) We went shopping at Whole Foods and picked up all the ingredients we needed.The lamb was seasoned with salt and pepper and coated in dijon mustard, then bread crumbs and wrapped in aluminum foil before baking.

We steamed asparagus and boiled/mashed some gold potatoes to serve alongside the lamb.The sauce was made from stock, port, raspberry and mint sauce.

The rack came out of the oven perfect...I took 3 bones, he took 5:)

We garnished the plate with fresh raspberries and a glob of mint jelly. I wasn't a fan of the mint jelly because it overpowered the taste of the lamb. This meal was fantastic...so delicious!

We drank a bottle of Cuvee Rutherford from my favorite winery in Napa - Rubicon Estate.

Have you made any good weekend dinner's lately?

Breadbaking Class

2010-03-17T20:32:00.000-07:00

I was inspired by Megan at The Runners Kitchen to try out a cooking class. I've been wanting to learn to bake bread, so when I found a class at Cook's World which featured the founder of the Essential Baking Company (my favorite bakery!) I signed up right away! The teacher was really great at explaining the science behind bread; we learned a ton of technique and went home with some raw dough to bake the following morning. Here is my bread in the oven this morning: TA DAAAA! My first loaf of homemade bread!

I cut it open and it was perfect! I used a couple slices to make a sandwich for lunch and it was so chewy and really great flavor. I had another chunk with my dinner tonight and topped it with some creamy camembert and black cherry preserves...divine!

Dinner was full of yuminess...I baked some wild alaskan king salmon and served with a dried cherry and sunflower seed kale salad dressed in EVOO and the slice of bread I described above. I mixed a little maple syrup with a dash of dark soy sauce and EVOO and spread over the salmon, baked at 500 for 12 minutes...it was perfect!

Mmmmm, that bread with cheese/cherry combo was so tasty!

I'm kind of lame and didn't do anything for St. Patty's Day. I used to look forward to green beer once a year, but I haven't felt much like going out drinking lately (unless its wine!) Instead, I took a 90 minute hot vinyasa flow and made the delicious dinner above:)

Did any of you do anything fun for St. Patty's Day???

Food Blogger Goodies!

2010-03-16T13:05:00.000-07:00

After reading so many blogs that feature a various array of nut butters and other healthful goodies, I decided to stock up and try out some new things in my meals! I came home a couple weekends ago with 5 nut butters (fresh ground almond, coconut, cashew, maple almond and chocolate peanut butter), chia seeds, nutritional yeast, raw crackers, raw food bars and shredded coconut. I haven't tried all of the nut butters or bars yet...too many new things at once!

I do have to say that coconut butter and chia seeds will become a staple in my home moving forward! I love adding the seeds to my oats and plan to play around with more recipes I have been seeing on other blogs. The coconut butter is also SO good on oats, but also on fruit, pancakes, muffins, straight out of the jar...the list goes on! I may also try to make my own once I get a food processor (also seems to be the new rave!!)

The shredded coconut has been going into my oats and I used the nutritional yeast in a salad dressing and topped some eggs and kale chips with it. I may try adding to pasta next time. Its not bad, but I don't see go thru large quantities at a time like the coconut butter...

I have been adding the Dark Choclate Dreams to fresh sliced fruit for dessert, but I could also eat that on anything (or just straight from the jar!) It is so delicious! I don't think that tub will make another week:)

What is your favorite nut butter??? I have yet to try the cashew butter, but my altime favorite is fresh ground almond because it still has littel chunks of almond in it (and its fun to grind at the store!)

Fresh Produce

2010-03-15T21:40:00.000-07:00

My New Roots box came last Wednesday and I must have gone veggie crazy this week because I only have some of the fruit and a few zucchini left!!! But look at this box o goodness...everything was so fresh and tasty! The carrots, asparagus and sweet potatoes were huge!

I had a pretty amazing weekend. We went to happy hour for some appetizers before seeing Alice in 3D. The movie was entertaining and really fun to watch in 3D.

Saturday ended up being a really nice day. I started out with a huge bowl of oats, then went morning vinyasa yoga. After yoga, I got a green juice from Healeo and the bf and I went downtown for brunch at the Dahlia Lounge and did a little walking around and shopping. I had the most amazing orange cinnamon french toast with bacon and a huge fresh fruit cup...mmmm! There was a St. Patty's Day parade going on, so lots of people in green:) We picked up some groceries at Whole Foods and made dinner at home and watched The Hurt Locker. The movie was good, but I still would have picked Avatar for best picture:)

Sunday we made a big breakfast of eggs, toast and sliced pear with raspberries and OJ. I went wine tasting with the girls in Woodinville (only took a sip here and there because I still wanted to workout!) There happened to be cheese tasting too, and that was basically my lunch...a cheese plate! I bought this double cream local Camembert...it was delicious! After wine tasting I went to the gym with the bf and lifted chest, tris and a little shoulders and did 20 min on the elliptical at a a high resistance (ranged from 10-20!). It was tough and I was sweating hard!

We then went to dinner at Restaurant Zoe to try out the Dine Around Seattle menu and got 3 courses for $30 each. This was a pretty good deal considering an entree is about $26-30 itself! The meal was awesome. I started with a celery root apple soup, then had pacific cod with mussels for my entree and a mango/banana /white pepper sorbet for dessert. The sorbet was awesome! The bf got the brownie sundae and I also stole a few bites of that:)

Glazed Chicken Heaven

2010-03-12T08:47:00.000-08:00

I've posted before that we tried this recipe by Rachel Ray: Orange Balsamic Glazed Chicken and I'm not kidding that this is probably my new favorite chicken recipe! It is really not that difficult to prepare and it is so tasty! She suggests serving over a lemon risotto (which is what we made last time-great, but a little labor intensive) or you could serve over rice or pasta. We went with pasta:) You basically cook the chicken, add liquids and reduce to a glaze. We wanted to amp up our egg noodle pasta a bit so we chopped up some Italian flat leaf parsley and tossed the pasta with a little melted butter and parsley until coated. We don't go crazy on the butter, just used a pat.

This combo really amps up the flavor of plain egg noodle pasta. It is creamy and delicious with a little herb tang from the parsley.

The pasta paired really well with the chicken and we steamed some broccolini on the side. This was a pretty big serving...I actually only ate about half (and all the broccolini) and took the rest for lunch the next day:)

I started today off with a Green/Purple Monster (Tbs ground flax, 2 cups spinach, 1/2 banana, 3/4 cup milk and 1/2 cup frozen mixed berries) and a 45 minute spin class at 6 am. This early rising thing is getting a lot easier:) Breakfast part 2 was coconut oats (1/3 cup old fashioned oats, 1/3 cup water, 1/3 cup milk, dash of sea salt, dash of vanilla, 1/2 banana). I cooked the oats on the stove until thick and creamy, then topped with a tablespoon of chia seeds, tablespoon of shredded coconut and a drizzle of coconut butter. This is definitely my new favorite!

I packed a salad with green leaf, sliced strawberries, walnuts and poppyseed dressing and a whole grain sandwich (that I will panini cook on the foreman at work) with goat cheddar and sundried tomatoes. Snack will be yogurt and a small pink lady apple from the CSA box.

Tonight we have tickets to Alice in Wonderland in 3D with the bf's family and may do a little happy hour beforehand. We also get to cat-sit his bro's 2 adorable cats for the next 2-3 weeks because he is going on a business trip...so excited to have the furballs for a bit!

Saturday (if my wrist feels better) I am going to my favorite yoga class and will probably make an appearance at the gym for some cardio and strength training. We have plans to try the Dahlia Bakery for breakfast/brunch, but I'm not sure which day we are going to go. I am hoping to get some reading in on Saturday as well.

Sunday I have plans to go wine tasting with the girls! A friend of mine has a membership at Columbia Winery in Woodinville, and they are having an event called the Tastes of White. We went to the Taste of Red a few months ago and had so much fun. There were local food vendors including, bakeries, chocolatiers, BBQ, dips and cheese.

Do you enjoy going out to breakfast or brunch on the weekends? What's your favorite thing to order? My favorite thing to order is a veggie omelet and I love places that serve complimentary muffins or scones:)

Queen Mary Tea Room

2010-03-11T09:22:00.000-08:00

I had been wanting to try the Queen Mary Tea Room for some time and I am so glad I finally got the chance! This place has been around for over 20 years and is a must-see in Seattle (if you are into tea, of coarse!) Since the new Alice in Wonderland had come out that weekend, the entire menu was based on characters and lines from the story. This was a treat before we got the 3-tiered afternoon tea...Royal Sorbet Gems and The "Eat Me" shortbread. I ordered Grape Pomegranate Green tea, which was delicious. We also got to sample a couple other teas, which were equally as good.

Here is the tiered platter of goodness. My favorite part was the sticker of the Mad Hatter:) There was this crazy-delicious chocolate cake hiding amongst the fruit, which was easily in the top 5 cakes I've had!

The rest of the platter included:

Alice’s strawberry tea bread

“Off with their heads!” cranberry orange scone

Cheshire cat crumpet
“Never too late” chocolate cake

Caterpillar mushroom meringue

Hedgehog macaroon

The Queen’s red rose lemon cupcake

Cinnamon sugar scepter

Down the rabbit hole fresh fruit
Pink flamingo smoked salmon crostini

White rabbit carrot tea sandwich

Bread and butterflies chicken tea sandwich

Tweedledee’s raspberry pinwheel tea sandwich

Tweedledum’s vegetarian quiche

Mrs. Pig’s sausage roll

Everything was great and the 3 of us that went were not able to finish it. I would probably go back for a special occasion, but not regularly...it was a bit spendy;)

Seafood

2010-03-10T10:37:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday, I stopped by Whole Foods to pick up some dinner ingredients and other goodies. We decided to see what types of fish they had fresh that day and find a recipe from Rick Stein's Seafood book to use it in. They had fresh Alaskan king salmon and cod and we decided on the cod...it just looked to good to pass up! We chose a recipe that included grilled cod served over a bed of mashed spring onion potatoes with a soy-butter sauce. I also picked up some asparagus to serve on the side. We pan fried the cod because we like it cooked that way better. The potatoes were very easy...we boiled 4 small-medium potatoes until tender and sauteed the spring onions in a little butter. The onions were added to the mashed potatoes along with a little milk to make them creamy. We sauteed the asparagus until tender then added some balsamic and sauteed another minute or so. The sauce was a reduction of chicken stock and soy sauce..once it had reduced by half, we added butter and diced tomatoes. The dish was excellent! The cod was very tender and cooked perfectly and the sauce mixed with the potato and cod was the perfect combination of salty and creamy, but was not too heavy.

I am always so impressed by the selection of fresh fish in this area...it is one of my favorite things about living in the Pacific Northwest! Next up...salmon:)

We ended up going out to sushi last night at Shiro's in Belltown and it was the best we've had yet in Seattle. A lot of the fish was local and fresh and it was melt in your mouth good! My favorite was this thinly sliced red snapper from Oregon...it was amazing! The salmon from Canada was really good too, very tender, almost creamy. I could become a regular there!

I got my organic produce delivery from New Roots Organics today, so I am looking forward to using some of the ingredients tonight in a meal! I will post pics of what was included tomorrow:) I also have plans to workout tonight...I signed up for a yoga class, but I hurt my wrist yesterday (I have no idea how!) and I think it would hurt to much to put pressure while in downdog and other various poses:( I am icing it today and hopefully it feels better tomorrow...there is this little hard lump on the top of my wrist...and its so painful! So it will probably be a cardio night...maybe a little strength training as long as I'm careful!

What is your favorite type of fish or sushi? I'm a sucker for salmon!

Healeo Juice Bar

2010-03-09T08:34:00.000-08:00

I found a new favorite place this weekend! Healeo Organic Superfood & Nutrition Bar is about a 10 minute walk from my apartment and I am pretty sure I'll be making frequent trips during weekends! This place has a billion different supplements to chose from as well as organic coffee and teas, but I was more interested in the smoothie/juice bar. They also serve homemade vegan ice cream and snacks.

The juice and smoothie bar included all fresh, organic ingredients and was made to order. I went back and forth between the Green juice (kale, spinach, celery, green apple..maybe a couple other items) and a coconut almond smoothie (coconut juice, almonds, dates, almond extract and stevia). I ended up going with the smoothie and I was very happy with my choice!

The smoothie was light and refreshing with bits of almond and dates. The little date hunks were so delicious! The service was really great and the staff was very friendly. I sat at a table and read a book until I finished my drink. They also have free wifi and one whole side of the place opens up in the summer and they put tables out on the side walk. I can't wait for the nice weather so I can hang out there to read and try all their different drinks!

On a separate note, yesterday was a rest day and I decided to eat vegetarian all day and was surprisingly satisfied with each meal. All the pics are still on my camera, so I will have to post my menu later this week:) I already got my workout in for today...6am spin class. I felt really good in class today, I think the rest yesterday helped (note...take more rest days!) I stopped at the Essential Baking Company - Madison Cafe on the way home and picked up a couple coffees quiche Lorraine for the boy and a cranberry almond muffin to split.

I'm saving my muffin for the and afternoon snack because I was craving oats and made a huge bowl that may have been my best work yet! I cooked 1/3 cup of outs and 2/3 cup of water/milk mixture with half a banana, a dash of vanilla and a little sea salt. I topped it with 2 tsp of chia seeds, 2 tsp shredded coconut and a drizzle of coconut butter. It was fantastic. This was my first time trying chia seeds and coconut butter...so tasty and creamy and delicious!

The rest of my day involves salad and crackers for lunch and a small orange, pineapple chobani and half the muffin throughout the afternoon. I plan on a little strength training after work and then we are going out for sushi tonight and I'm really looking forward to that!

What's your favorite juice combo? Do you have a place like Healeo where you live?

I Love Breakfast!

2010-03-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things to do during the weekend is cook a big brunch with the boyfriend. This week we decided on scrambled eggs with fresh salsa and cilatro. We also added some left-over New York strip steak, multigrain toast and fruit. I went to the market to pick up supplies and saw this new fruit I had never heard of...Lemon Plums! I had to get a couple to try. These eggies were expensive since they were local, organic, free-range, etc, etc...! But oh so yummy! We had some again on Sunday...

The salsa was so tasty...I could eat that entire container in one sitting!

The cilatro added that extra oomph to the meal. We also sauted the steak with a little shredded cilantro and it was perfect.

The lemon plums had the texture of a plum, but a bit more of a citrus flavor, and the color of lemons. Pretty yummy, though.

The finished product...mmm! The toast was from the Essential Baking Company. It's the best multigrain that I've tried so far:)

I had a pretty great weekend full of fun activity that I plan to blog about throughout the week! I got out for a 3.3 mile run during the sunshine on Saturday as well as my favorite yoga class. I took my boyfriend's sister to afternoon tea at Queen Mary's Tea Room and then shopping afterward. Sunday, I went for a walk to try an organic juice/smoothie place and to pick up some new healthy food items I've been wanting to try (went a little crazy on the nut butters!) I also went to Whole Foods to pick up some fresh fish for dinner...we went with Alaskan trout...so delicious! Lastly, I had my yoga workshop and it was fantastic!! I feel great!

What did you do this weekend???

Trader Joe's Triple Berry Bran Muffins

2010-03-05T16:34:00.000-08:00

I saw this muffin mix at Trader Joe's last week and have been enjoying these muffins all week! I've been having them as my mid-morning snack and they are great with a smear of almond butter:) The website states:

"Trader Joe's Triple Berry Bran Muffin Mix makes muffins that are low in fat, high in fiber and positively bursting with flavor."

Ingredients include whole wheat flour, wheat bran, rolled oats, ground flaxseed and molasses. The muffins have about 7 grams of fiber each and a good proportion of berries (cran, blue and rasp).

This weekend full of fun stuff! Tonight I plan to hit the gym for some cardio and weights, cook a homemade steak dinner with the boyfriend and possibly meet up with the girls for some dancing!

Saturday, I plan to try out a new heated yoga class at Mountain Flow . It's at 8 am, so we shall see if I can make it up that early. Otherwise, its the regular 9:45 vinyasa flow class that I love so much! I also plan to make a big breakfast and get a run in. It's supposed to be sunny and 60...so excited! Later in the afternoon I am taking my boyfriend's little sister to Queen Mary Tea Room for some 16th birthday fun (expect a full review!) I also plan to take her to Aerie for some girly things:) We may try to get tickets to Alice in Wonderland in 3D...but it could be very popular this weekend...but it would make for a great theme with the tea room!

Sunday, I plan to pick up some new heath food items to try at Whole Foods...super excited! I also want to do some baking and cook dinner. I have a yoga workshop scheduled from 4-6 at Mountain Flow followed by a champagne reception to celebrate the new studio!!!

Any fun weekend plans out there?! Do you feel like you get in better workouts on the weekends?

Things I Love

2010-03-04T13:09:00.000-08:00

1. Yoga - especially vinyasa flow

2. Cooking - experimenting and collecting new recipes

3. Photography - close-ups of food, nature and candid shots of my favorite people

4. Wine - Fav white is Sauvignon Blanc from Chile or New Zealand and red is CASK (100% cabernet sauvignon) from Rubicon Estate

5. Eating local - There are so many markets and restaurants in Seattle that feature local ingredients

6. Farmer's Markets - you can make a whole afternoon centered around a Farmer's Market...I always feel so good after spending the day there and cooking the ingredients I picked up for dinner that night!

7. Travelling - I just love going to new places and trying local wines and food

8. Wineries - I love the atmosphere at vineyards and wineries...nothing beats the aroma you experience when driving into Napa Valley!

9. Gardens - Flowers or vegetables...I would love to have my own some day

10. Spas - I can never get too many massages, pedicures, facials, etc!

11. Movie night - I love going to the movies or getting a rental and making popcorn at home

12. Hot chocolate - the best during fall football games or after a venture in the snow

13. Geology - it was my major after all! I am giddy about rocks and nature:)

14. Dining at fancy restaurants - I love tasting menus with fancy presentation!

15. Lululemon - I will never have enough luon!

16. Hiking - I can't wait to get outdoors this spring and try some new trails:)

17. Kayaking - best when followed by some yummy Mexican food.

18. Cabining - I really love to stay in B&B-type cabins for the weekend and make fires and cook in

19. Chocolate anything:)

20. Boats - I need to make friends with some boat-owners!

21. Running outside - hopefully I will be adding racing to this list soon!

Homemade Potato Leak Soup

2010-03-03T17:49:00.000-08:00

Sunday night we had some of my boyfriend's family over for dinner. We decided to make a hearty soup to dunk some bread in. We wanted to use up the leeks that came in our CSA box, so we decided on a potato leak soup. I love the texture of a potato based soup after mixing in a blender. The boyfriend has a hard time eating a veggie-based dinner, so we added some sausages to round out the meal.

Ingredients:

3-4 leeks - chopped

1 onion

6-7 Yukon Gold potatoes - chopped

2 T EVOO

4 cups stock

1 T heavy cream (can sub w/ coconut milk)

salt & pepper

1. Saute the onion and chopped leaks in EVOO, stirring frequently for about 5-7 minutes.

2. Add chopped potatoes and saute another 5-7 minutes.

3. Add stock and simmer until potatoes are soft, about 25-30 minutes

4. Blend batches of soup in blender and put back on heat (I used a separate pot since it was about 3 blenders full!)

5. Add cream and season with salt and pepper to taste.

6. Serve with crusty hunks of yummy bread!

This soup was delicious and even better warmed up the next day. This recipe made about 7 big servings.

What's your favorite homemade soup? Do you like to dunk hunks of bread in your soup?

Liberte Yogurt

2010-03-02T17:50:00.000-08:00

I've found a new yogurt....Liberte...it is SO GOOD! I noticed this stuff at my local market and the "Goat Fresh Cheese" caught my eye. I picked up a container of the raspberry and tried during my lunch the next day. It was thin, fruit at the bottom type of yogurt...it reminded me of a raspberry blizzard I used to get as a kid from Dairy Queen! This yogurt is made with goats milk, so it's easier on digestion and the tast is fabulous! The only problem I have is that it's always the first flavor gone from the shelves...I have to get 5 at a time whenever I see it stocked!

I looked at their website for more information on the product and I was pretty excited to see that they promote sustainable practices. I get really excited everytime I find a new product with those types of core values!

I read about their other products and thought I would give a few other yogurts a try. The market near me only has the goat fresh cheese and the mediterranee (more milk fat). I tried the lemon, coconut and plum walnut flavors of the mediterranee and the honey fresh goat cheese. All were equally tasty! I would have to say that the coconut had these flakes at the bottom and when you mix it all together it tastes like coconut cream pie....SO delicious!

The mediterranee products are higher in fat and calories, but make for a great dessert substitute as they taste just like desert! I am hoping the market restocked today because they were all out last night!

Weekend Recap

2010-02-28T16:28:00.000-08:00

What a fab weekend!

We started off with a Indian-themed homemade dinner and a Navarro Riesling...paired really well with the spicy Tandoori chicken, curry & yogurt cauliflower and garlic naan from Trader Joe's. Navarro is my favorite winery in the Anderson Valley in Northern California...as much as I love red wine, they make some of my favorite whites!

The chicken was marinated overnight in plain yogurt mixed with Indian spices (the bf did this...I'm not sure what blend of spices he used!) This cooked in the oven at 400 degrees for approximately 45 minutes. It was falling off the bone by the time it was done...so good!

The cauliflower recipe came from the New Roots Organics website. I sauteed sliced onion and florets in a couple tablespoons of EVOO until browned. I then added some of the leftover spice blend from the chicken plus a teaspoon of curry and continued to saute over medium-high heat for a minute. Then I turned the heat down to medium-low, added 1/3 cup of plain yogurt mixed with 1/3 cup water and 2 tbsp cilantro and let simmer until florets were soft.

This meal was bursting with amazing flavor...I will definitely be adding both dishes to my recipe book! After dinner we got ready for the party at the Space Needle. The party was sponsored by Boeing and was mainly young professionals...about 400 of us!The party was held on the middle and top viewing decks of the Needle. There were two DJs, multiple bars and tables full of mini deserts. We met up with a friend of mine and her boyfriend and his friends who are all Boeing employees. It was very fun. I had about 3 glasses of red wine (in addition to 2 white at dinner...oops!) Here is a pic of my cocktail attire for the evening;)

Saturday started with a Green Monster and 75 minutes of power yoga at my favorite studio, Mountain Flow Yoga. After a nice sweat-sesh, I picked up some brunch items from the market across the street and HAD to buy some girl scout cookies from the cute little girls selling them outside! I may have gotten 3 boxes!!! Samoas, thin mints and tagalongs...all my favs! These will hopefully last for awhile...they are currently in the freezer...they taste so much better to me from the freezer!

We made some local organic eggs, toast from a multigrain loaf from the Essential Baking Company with farm fresh butter and fresh sliced roast beef...yum! After letting our power brunch settle, we went to the gym for cardio and legs. I ran 2 miles at 6.0 (a personal best for me!) and did some weighted squats, lunges, calves and hamstrings (I am really feeling it today!!!)

We met some friends to see their new place and attend Empty Bowls, a benefit for the local food bank. We paid $10 each and got to pick out a bowl made by local artists and eat soup and bread donated by a local bakery. We ended up being the last people to attend so they sent us home with all this yummy leftover bread:) After the benefit, we dropped off our car and walked to a local German pub for some beers. It was a pretty fun night!

Today was a sleep-in day followed by a yummy breakfast of eggs, toast, grapefruit and OJ. I spent about 4 hours doing some spring cleaning...and that was my workout for the day! We are having my boyfriends family over tonight for some homemade potato leek soup with sausages and all that bread we scored yesterday! Here is a pic of today's breakfast...

What did you all do this weekend?? Do you usually cook bigger breakfasts on the weekend???

Afternoon Snacks

2010-02-26T10:18:00.000-08:00

Lately, I've been really hungry when I get home and I don't like to eat right before my 6 pm workout. So I decided it was time to experiment with my afternoon snack. Usually I have a yogurt or string cheese and a pear, orange or apple. I saw some yummy looking Flax Granola at the store the other day and thought it would be a good addition to my afternoon snacks. Hawaiian pineapple, coconut and mango...YUM!

I diced up the pear, added some greek yogurt and a handful of granola. The granola was really tasty with all the dried fruit and the pear came from my CSA box! The yogurt, however, wasn't that great. I used a 0% fat variety and it was just not very good:( I think I either need to add a little honey next time or get the 2%. I was kind of watery and blah...

This snack was higher in calories than I usually have, but it really filled me up and kept me full for 4 more hours. I think I will be adding a more filling snack to my days (unless I'm not too hungry of coarse!)

Here is a close-up...that granola is not going to last too long! So good!

I also decided to give Kombucha a try because it was on sale this week. This stuff is a bit pricey so I figured I would take advantage! I was a bit nervous to try because of the stringy bacteria at the bottom, but it was surprisingly good! It had a little fizz to it and the gingerade flavor was refreshing. I drank most of the bottle throughout the afternoon (except the last bit!) I have to admit, I made me feel a little buzzed:)

I took a rest day yesterday because I was really headachey after work. We had left-overs for dinner, but I wanted to make something out of my CSA box, so we made Kale chips for the first time. They were so yummy...I may have had a heavy hand with the salt shaker;) The boyfriend described them like eating crispy, salty air...ha! I guess I expected them to be thicker...but they were yummy! My only complaint is that they really made our apartment stinky! We had to light some candles:)

My weekend plans include a homemade Indian-themed dinner with a bottle of white and a party at the Space Needle tonight...I'm pretty excited because I haven't been up it yet and it's cocktail attire! We made the marinade for tandoori chicken last night (holy crazy amount of spices!) and then we're making a curry yogurt cauliflower dish (cauliflower from the CSA box!) and I am going to pick up some garlic naan from Trader Joe's after work.

Saturday includes the usual yoga class, strength training with the bf and I'm hoping to get outside and run at least 2 miles...I am getting back into it slowly. We also have dinner plans with some friends. Sunday is Spring Cleaning...and maybe some restorative yoga and easy cardio.

New Roots Organics

2010-02-25T09:00:00.000-08:00

After watching Food, Inc. a week ago, I immediately went online to seek out a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). I had been pondering the idea for about a year, but never acted on it because I enjoy picking out my produce at Farmer's Markets. However, I do not make it to the FM every week like I used to back in California.

I found New Roots Organics and the fresh display of tomatoes on their website caught my eye (I'm a sucker for marketing!) I emailed the owner Carolyn asking about delivery options and she responded within minutes (got to love that!) I am set up to get one box every other Wednesday delivered to my office. I like the every other week option because it allows me the opportunity (if I choose) to hit up the FM.

The box was filled with a variety of organic fruits and veggies from local farms and two wholesalers that have networks of local farms in WA and OR. I am looking forward to this spring and summer when more of the produce will be direct from local Washington farms. I am also looking forward to trying to grow some of my own stuff this spring...more on that later!

Last night we roasted half of the carrots with a honey/olive oil mix and boiled/mashed 3 of the purple potatoes with some of the parsley (and butter!) I've never had purple mashed potatoes before, but they were pretty amazing...the carrots too, I wish I had made the whole bunch! We paired this with pork chops and it was a very satisfying and tasty meal!

Lululemon Loot!

2010-02-23T22:14:00.000-08:00

I scored some new gear from the loot section on the Lululemon website (yay for free shipping on all their stuff!) I had been eyeing the top below for some time in the stores, but it disappeared from stores and online and I was bummed....then it showed up discounted on the loot page and I snatched it up!!! Glad I held out, although its not too often that the items I want most end up dicounted;) I plan to try out this top at a power yoga session tonight!

I am totally a pants or crops kind of girls when it comes to working out. But then lulu came out with these super cute running shorts and I procrastinated on trying them, but couldn't pass them up once the price was cut! I wore them on Sunday for some cardio at the gym (elliptical, incline walking) and they worked out pretty well. The waistband is super soft on the inside and I love that it is wide...meaning it doesn't cut into my sides and make me feel uncomfortable. The side split was great for my large thighs. The built in underware gave me a wedgie when I tried running, so I stuck to walking. They stayed in place once I got a bit more sweaty...but I didn't try running again as its kind of embarrasing fixing my shorts at the gym! Overall I was pretty happy with them for other cardio, but I think I will stick to my crops or pants for actual running.

I had a great day for workouts and eating. I ended up getting in another cardio workout in the evening - 40 min combination of running, intervals and incline walking - a total of 100 minutes of cardio. I haven't done that since I started losing weight 3 years ago...it felt great! My eats were on target as well:

Bfast - Green monster (banana, milk, spinach, flax, frozen berries)

Lunch - Leftover risotto, garden salad with black bean veggie burger and evoo/balsamic

snack - apple + Glo bar

pre-workout snack - handful of cinnamon toast crunch (tastiest cereal EVER)

Dinner - tuna sashimi appetizer, spaghetti with ground turkey and mushroom meat sauce

desert - 1 chocolate truffle

New Gym and New Yoga Studio

2010-02-23T13:01:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a day of left-overs and I enjoy using them and not just throwing them out! I started the day with the usual green monster (banana, flax, milk, 2 cup spinach, 1 scoop vanilla protein powder and frozen mixed berries-which actually made it more of a purple monster!). Then for lunch I used some left-overs to make a meal of couscous with pine nuts and mushrooms topped with steamed asparagus.

I had an apple and a pair in the afternoon along with my chocolate present (which was everything I had hope it to be!) I was still hungry when I got home so I had half a banana with almond butter before my yoga class.

I took the level 2-3 power yoga class tonight. It was pretty hard, but I felt like I worked a little harder...I think I am ready to add this class to my routine! Jaime, my favorite instructor teaches this class and I find myself going to 3 of her classes per week...she's great!

Mountain Flow Yoga is moving to a new location and thankfully it's going to be even closer to where I live! They start classes in the new space next Monday. Supposedly it is on the ground level with 12 foot ceilings and big windows. They are going to hold a rooftop yoga class in the summer when it's nice...can't wait for that! It is also located near a Cupcake Royale (could be dangerous!) I signed up for a 2 hour workshop on March 7, followed by a party to celebrate the new space...champagne after yoga is probably not the best idea, but I'm pretty excited about the new space and the workshop...did I mention I love power yoga?!

After yoga last night, the boyfriend and I ate the left-over chicken and risotto for dinner and then went to the new gym to lift back. We did about 45 minutes of back and I was pooped! I had a light snack of yogurt and a bit of smoked salmon and went to bed early.

I woke up this morning at 5:30 for Spin! I love that the new gym (Denali Fitness) has morning Spin. I felt pretty great throughout the class until about 45 minutes in...the final two songs were a joke...I was done! I listened to my body and took it easy during the final 10 minutes of class and I feel great now. I may even go back tonight for more:)

Weekend Recap

2010-02-22T12:35:00.000-08:00

I had a very enjoyable weekend! I used to overplan my weekends and try do do everything! Over the past couple of months, I've learned to at least leave one day free of obligation.

Friday night was interesting as we had plans to chaperon a sorority dance...I hope I never acted that ridiculous when I was in college...I'm trying not to remember! We had a glass of wine and a snack at the apartment before leaving for the dance. Then we had dinner and drinks during late night happy hour at the venue after the dance. I had cod served over a risotto. The risotto wasn't great and I didn't eat much of it...I was disappointed that I wasted a meal out there!

Saturday I woke up with a green monster and a 75 minute power yoga class. I went to the market across the street and got some bagels and breakfast items for later in the day. We had the bagels when I got home and proceeded to the gym for some light cardio and a chest workout. I feel like I am getting stronger already and it's only been a week of consistent lifting! After the gym we did some cleaning and made a yummy egg scramble with mushrooms, red onion, spinach, red pepper and feta. We had the scramble with a piece of oat bran toast and OJ.

At 4 pm I had my massage...and it was glorious! I requested more focus on my back and neck and that is exactly what she did! I felt amazing afterward. Every time I get a massage...I begin rationalizing how I can fit one into my budget once a week...but it never happens! I am trying to do them once per month as a reward for working out 6 days per week.

We stayed in to make dinner and watch the Olympics. Dinner was courtesy of Rachel Ray's 30 minute meals...however, it took us closer to 50-60 minutes! We made an orange balsamic glazed chicken with lemon risotto and steamed asparagus. IT was probably in the top 5 things we've ever made...I should have taken a photo! The risotto dish totally made up for my terrible risotto on Friday!

Sunday we went to the Farmer's Market and had lunch out. We picked up some farm fresh butter and cheese from Golden Glen Creamery (you can order their products online!), some ridiculously good smoked salmon and dinner items for the night including purple potatoes, leeks and a grass-fed rib-eye. The potatoes and leeks were awesome...the meat was really fatty and a bit tough (and we cooked it med-rare). I'm not totally writing the farm off, but maybe we will try a different cut next time. We had lunch at the local bar/restaurant where they serve organic chicken and burgers. I got a chicken teriyaki burger with sweet potato fires...yum!

We ended Sunday with 60 minutes cardio at the gym while watching the USA vs. Canada hockey game, made our dinner and watched more Olympic games. It was a great weekend!

Chocolate Presents!

2010-02-19T13:24:00.000-08:00

One of my co-workers went on a week trip to NYC and brought me back a some candy from Jacques Torres. After my raving about the chocolate drinks, she couldn't resist and had to try it! I came in to quite a surprise today...I was so excited she brought me something...I had been regretting not bringing some home with me:) Ps...my boyfriend got me those gorgeous tulips for my new office (no more cube!)

So let's talk about mornings....I think I finally am into the groove of getting up early. I was doing great before my trip, struggled a little when I got back, but now am back on track. I completed 3 morning workouts this week...Tuesday 6am spin, Thursday 6:30am yoga and Today 6 am spin. I feel pretty great and am hoping to add in a Monday and Wednesday morning jog after another week of my current morning workouts...baby steps!

I finally joined a gym so I am able to take spin and lift weights again. I am pretty excited and have gotten into a strength routine with the boyfriend. I can't wait to see results! We are still playing around with our schedule a bit...switching between 6 pm and later evening workouts...I have to get the timing down for meals. I am thinking about splitting dinner up into two small meals where I have one at 6, work out at 7:30-8:30 and another mini-meal or a shake when I get back. I'm not sure if I want to be eating that late, so I will have to be strategic about the food. We like working out later because we are able to use the big room where all the classes are held for abs and stability moves (main space is pretty small).

Does anyone workout later at night...do you eat afterward? Who knows...maybe I won't even be very hungry and just have a glass of milk or something!

Any fun weekend plans out there? We are chaperoning a sorority dance tonight (I'm an advisor) at this fancy venue, kind of excited...I think it's going to be very entertaining! I'm going to yoga plus some additional strength training tomorrow. I also have a much needed massage scheduled tomorrow afternoon (Valentine's gift!) I don't have much planned beyond that...we may take a trip to the farmer's market and probably watch some Olympic action. There will also be a bottle on pinot noir in there somewhere:)

Alice's Tea Cup

2010-02-17T16:21:00.000-08:00

Alice's Tea Cup was by far the cutest tea cafe I have been to. This particular location was located on the Upper East Side and full of all different types of people from dates to friends, mom's with daughters and little girls having tea parties with little butterfly wings! The decor was themed Alice and Wonderland and had this really cool mural on the wall across from out table!

The menu was great, lots of salad, scones and sandwiches...even burgers with tea infused mushrooms! But the tea menu was the real highlight! So many varieties to choose from. I ended up with the house special which was a blend of black and green teas infused with vanilla...I could have drank another pot! Speaking of...check out their cute teapots below!

We ended up splurging on the Mad Hatter, which included 3 tiers of scones, sandwiches and goodies. Let's start with the scones...we got blueberry almond, pumpkin and ham & cheese. All equally amazing, but I would have to pick the pumpkin with fresh cream and raspberry preserves as my favorite!

The second tier included a chicken and apple sandwich and a BLT with a blue cheese dressing...yum!

And onto desserts...I could barely fit any more food in my belly, but I had to at least attempt some of that chocolate chip mocha cake. Heavenly. It was dense, yet light at the same time...not sure how that is possible! We took the cookies home and each was a different flavor and all were quite good!

Here is the whole meal...

And can't forget the tea...each setting had a different teacup and saucer...very cute!

The Mad Hatter was reasonably priced for all the food you get ($35 per person, if I remember correctly) The menu also offers a $10 deal where you get a pot of tea and two scones of your choice (which would be plenty!) This would be very dangerous if I lived in NYC...I would probably make an appearance once per week just for the scones and tea deal!

Jacques Torres Chocolate

2010-02-17T15:45:00.000-08:00

I have many words to describe the drinks at Jacques Torres...this was the most amazing, thick, creamy, chocolaty, rich, delicious mocha I have ever had! The menu includes classic hot chocolate, mocha, and varieties of hot chocolate including peanut butter and a spicy chili mix. I was in need of warmth and caffeine, so I went with the mocha...and it did not disappoint! My friend also ordered a chocolate chip cookie and let me try a piece...I will say she only offered a small piece and I totally understood why...it was heaven! I wouldn't want to part with anymore...wish I would have gone back up to order another:)

Thick chocolaty goodness...note the chocolate is forming a nice skin on top...a sign of true yuminess! I savored every sip!

I just love the little chocolatier sign outside the shop!

The inside was pretty tiny and all decorated for Valentines Day. We managed to score a little table by the window with these charming little painting of birds! I really loved the decor, it was very warm and inviting...we could have sat there for hours!!

If you ever have the chance to visit one of Jacques' shops, I highly recommend ordering a drink and taking home some truffles or baked goods for later!

New York Pizza

2010-02-17T15:28:00.000-08:00

I've been busy and am just now catching up with blog posts! I planned on writing some reviews from NYC...so here goes...get ready for some food envy!

Best pizza I've ever had - Grimaldi's in Brooklyn. We waited in line in the cold for an hour and it was worth every minute!

Pepperoni and mushroom...my favorite! The crust was thin but not cracker thin. The sauce was a nice tangy fresh tasting tomato sauce with fresh mozzerella (the real stuff, not the shredded.) We selected pepperoni and mushroom and they also threw on some fresh basil - perfection! The photo does not capture its true greatness!

Enjoying every bite!!! Yes, we ate the whole pie!

LOVE NYC!

2010-01-27T15:57:00.000-08:00

Although, I don't think I could ever live there! It's fun, there are tons of things to do and people to see, but I need to spread out! I thought my apartment was small...I can't imagine living in a tiny place for the same price I am paying now! We were on the go constantly, and I still didn't see half of it! I got to play with my new camera, so I am going to post some of my favorite pics. I took a bunch of food pics, but I will save those for another post!

Weekend Craziness!

2010-01-18T16:09:00.000-08:00

Well I gave in slightly this weekend and ate many meals out from Friday to Sunday (not to mention Wednesday's dinner out!) Lets start with Friday...woke up at 6 am and started doing work and prepared a sit-down, non-rushed breakfast. I ended up running for 30 minutes and doing 30 minutes of strength training after work.

Breakfast - Did really well here...1 egg, 2 buttered slices of Ezekiel, 1/2 grapefruit (I'll have to post a pic I took of this...not uploaded yet!)
Lunch - Veggie burger on 1 slice whole wheat, laughing cow
Snack - orange
Dinner - Went out to La Spiga, a nice Italian restaurant in Capitol Hill in Seattle, and ordered the tasting menu with wine pairing....eek! The meal was served family style and was absolutely fabulous and I don't regret one morsel. They had just received an overnight shipment of fresh white truffle and were offering to shave onto a dish of your choice (for a pretty hefty fee may I add)...and we totally splurged and tried it! The meal started with 3 small appetizers (zucchini salad, crostini, sheep's milk aged cheese) then we moved to pasta and had a wild boar tagliatelle and a butternut squash ravioli (with the shaved truffle!!)...I can't even describe how amazing this course was! For the entree we had a crisp homemade sausage served over polenta and porcini mushrooms...most amazing sausage and they totally changed my mind about polenta! Desert was a cappuccino and small panna cotta with raspberry drizzle. I was in food heaven all night! The meal was so warm and comforting. The three 4 oz pours were from the Piedmont region and the food was inspired by Northern Italian cuisine.

After dinner, we met some of my co-workers for bowling and I had about 1 beer there. Bowling was so much fun, I haven't been in a year and a half, so i was glad we went!

Saturday:
Not sure how, but I made it to my yoga class without a hangover! Came home and made breakfast.
Breakfast - Steel cut oats with fried egg (over-easy) and half a glass of chocolate milk. This oatmeal/egg concoction was delish!
Lunch - Ham and cheese panini with a side of chips and apple-blackberry juice from the deli down the street. I usually don't "waste" calories on juice, but its fresh-made and I've been dying to try it!
Dinner - Chicken Teriyaki take-out, I ate about half of the huge portion size! I saw after I ordered that they serve brown rice, so I will half to get that next time!

Sunday:
Around noon, I went for a 40-45 minute run and tallied just under 4 miles...made my longer run goal!!
Breakfast - Repeat of egg/2 slices Ezekiel/0.5 grapefruit
After Run Lunch #1 - 1/4 portion of left-over chicken teriyaki
Lunch #2 - Met a big group at Diamond Knot Brewery for a late lunch and hockey game (development league) and had about 2-2.5 beers (kept pouring half glasses to try different drafts!) and 2 slices of pizza. Drank water at the game:)
Late Dinner - We stopped at a pub near our apartment that we haven't been to yet and split a half order of black bean nachos and a sausage grinder (+ diet coke for me!) I had less than half of each and stopped eating when I was full. The pub ended up having live music...this couple was playing an acoustic guitar and violin combo...it was beautiful. I really enjoyed their music and hope to go back again...they play the 3rd Sunday each month:)

So I had a pretty fun-packed weekend, which was really nice for a change. I've been pretty lame lately and there are so many things to do and see here that I haven't yet! My eats could have been better, but I am glad I kept with my workouts.

This week's workouts include bootcamp today and Wednesday, yoga and one day of jogging. Thursday I fly to NYC and lots of walking is on the schedule until next Monday!!!!

Overcoming Pizza

2010-01-14T21:40:00.000-08:00

My boyfriend LOVES pizza.

Occasionally I succumb to ordering pizza from our fav place. Tonight we had planned on making our own pizza...but we were both super lazy, so we compromised and got an oven pizza. I think the key to not overeating pizza for me is to cut into 6 slices instead of 4 and to only take 2 pieces. I have to pair my two slices with a salad, otherwise I will go for more. I topped a bed of spinach with a poppyseed dressing so that it got rid of the pizza taste and satisfied my sweet-tooth at the same time. Another key is to eat the pizza first, then the salad...if I have a lingering pizza taste in my mouth...there's no holding back!

I had another sparkling OJ for dessert and was completely content with my belly. Today's meals included:

Breakfast - Green Monster
Mid-morning snack - Glo Bar
Lunch - tomato-basil veggie burger with sliced mozzarella on 2 pieces of Ezekiel (panini style on the foreman at work)
Afternoon snack - medium sized grapefruit
Dinner - 2 slices pepperoni pizza, spinach salad
Dessert - OJ cocktail

I had a yoga session this morning...it was extremely hard getting there...but of coarse I was glad that I went. My plan for tomorrow is to go jogging outside followed by 30 min strength training in the morning...I have to keep up on the early rising thing! It is going great so far:)

Boot Camp Day 2 and Lululemon Review

2010-01-13T18:58:00.000-08:00

Boot camp was much more intense today...less running and more strength training. We started by running 2 laps around the block, then we broke up into teams of 5. While one person did a sprint the rest of the team did continuous reps until each person had their turn at a sprint. Here are the moves we did:

Push ups

lunges

planks

squats

crunches

Holy crap the push ups and plank holds were tough...my arms are so sore! Next we ran a lap around the block and moved into stength training stations. Each team spent a minute at each station doing the move and then we would rotate (2 times through). Here are the moves for this set:

Plank jacks

Step ups

Burpees

Sumo squat with side kick

The only move I didn't have to stop for a little break were the squats:( Finally we lined up to do jumping jacks...the person in the back sprinted to the front and so on until each person sprinted twice...this was pretty rough...calves were burning!

We got homework to do over the weekend...30 min jog/30 min strength on Friday, 20 min core with 15 min stretching on Saturday, and 30-60 min cardio on Sunday. I should have no problem incorporating these workouts this weekend with what I've already planned.

Lululemon review:

I wore my new gear this morning and i have to say they were GREAT for running in the rain, however not so much for crazy boot camp moves like burpees! The pants didn't have as much stretch as the groove pants, so it made it hard to do some of the moves. I expected this...and the tag even says for warmups and light activity! But based on Monday's class, I figured we would be doing a lot of running in the rain again. I think I will continue wearing groove pants to class with the jacket that I just bought. I will save the pants for running in the rain on my own...will probably need them this weekend!

Last night we had:

Turkey Pesto Pasta

1 lb ground turkey

1 package penne pasta

1 jar maranara

1-2 Tbs pesto

8 oz shredded mozzeralla

half an onion

Brown turkey with diced onion. Boil pasta according to directions on package. Combine pasta, turkey, tomato sauce, pesto and mozzerella in a baking dish and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.

For dessert I had an sparkling orange juice. 2/3 sparkling water, 1/3 orange juice...super easy and tasty! I also like lime sparkiling with cranberry or Pom juice:)

We are skipping our menu tonight and goin gout to celebrate my boyfriend law school grades...dean's list baby!!!

Ready to Take on the Rain!

2010-01-12T20:34:00.000-08:00

I shopped the sales at Lululemon yesterday and scored some track pants and matching track jacket. I am totally one of those girls who wears matching outfits to sweat in...:) If I am going to get myself motivated, its not going to be in a drabby outfit that makes me feel unattractive!

I can't wait to try my new gear out tomorrow morning...bring on the rain:) Onto my very delicious dinner last night that the boyfriend cooked me!

Flank Steak with Mexi-rice, Peppers & Onions

The steak was marinated in garlic, salt, pepper and lime juice, then pan fried in a cast iron skillet (until desired temp...we like medium-rare). Let rest and cut into strips.

Slice a red and orange pepper and a red onion. Sautee in extra virgin olive oil, lime juice, salt, pepper, chili powder and a sprinkle of sugar. We don't usually measure...so we go on what looks/tastes right. Just add until it has the taste you like!

The mexi-rice is white rice cooked in half water/half stock, then mixed with diced plum tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, and a little salt and pepper.

Complete meal:

I ate about half the steak on this plate;) I used the left-over steak and peppers and onions and topped a bed of spinach for my lunch...pretty tasty! I love using left-overs for lunch. Well I'm off to watch a little american idol and get to be early! Back tomorrow with bootcamp day 2!

Boot Camp Day 1

2010-01-11T14:55:00.000-08:00

I set my alarm for 5:15 am for my 6am class. I dismissed the alarm instead of snooze and ended up waking up at 5:35...yikes! I jumped out of bed, got my clothes out of the dryer, put in my contacts, brushed the teeth and grabbed my mat, towel, water and Globar on the way out the door! It was a crazy way to begin my morning, but I got there!

I had half the Globar on the way to the meeting place, and it was the perfect amount to fuel me through the intense workout:) I wasn't exactly sure what to expect...was the class indoors or outdoors?...It ended up being outdoors and I am so glad I wore pants and long sleeves! We completed a 50 minute class in the 6 am darkness and rain...IT FELT AWESOME!

The class started out with 5 laps around a city block, followed by some intense (and creative!)strength training moves, 5 more laps and some abs. I calculated the mileage on mapmyrun and it came out to about 3 miles total! The strength training was under a covered ally (thankgod!) I love working out with SassyFit...they always have fun new moves to try and the trainer setting really helps me to push myself beyond what I would do on my own. We did 30 reps of each move and plan to increase to 40 next week, and 50 the 3rd and final week...that should be interesting;)

I grabbed a nonfat latte afterward before heading home, and let me say...awesome morning workout + caffeine = Crazy amounts of energy!! I can't even describe how great I felt...I'm excited for the rest of the classes and I hope to see improvement in my all-over strength.

I started hitting an energy wall this afternoon, so I had a half cup of coffee and an orange, and feel much better. I expect it will be an early night!

Onto other updates, we had seared ahi tuna with roasted potatoes and a salad last night (too lazy to take a picture!) and the menu plan for this week is...

MENU PLAN:
Monday - Flank Steak with mexi-rice and sauteed peppers & onions
Tuesday - Minestrone Soup with Parmesan popovers
Wednesday - Turkey Pesto Pasta with salad
Thursday - Homemade herb and cheese pizza with side salad

I am going to try and get more creative with the side salads! Friday we usually eat out and Saturday we figure it out that day.

Workout Plan
Monday - Bootcamp
Tuesday - Yoga
Wednesday - Bootcamp
Thursday - Yoga
Friday - Off
Saturday - Jog 4 miles + Yoga
Sunday - Yoga

I am trying to increase my "long" runs on the weekends. I have been stuck at 3-3.5 miles, so plan to up it to 4 this weekend and go from there.

New Years Boot Camp

2010-01-08T13:04:00.000-08:00

I've talked before about how much I loved the boot camp I did last summer with SassyFit! They are offering a 6 sessions (2x per week for 3 weeks) of booty-kicking workouts starting on Monday...I'm super excited! I been working out, but I can't wait to get back to the boot camp style workout...I LOVE it! Plus I talked a friend into signing up, so it will be extra fun working out with her! The 6-week program also includes a giftcard to a local coffee shop across the street...score! I am planning to blog about my experience and maybe include a sweaty photo after each workout;)

The only thing that worries me is getting to the class by 6 am...yikes! However, I did get up at 6:15 for 30 minutes on the treadmill and I am very proud of myself! I took the day off from working out last night (felt weird), and I am meeting friend at happy hour after work, so I am proud that I managed to fit in my workout this morning. It was a little tough getting into it, and I did a lot more walking than normal, but I'm glad I did it!

More good eats:

Vegetable Stir Fry over Quinoa:

Broccolini
Portabella
Plum Tomatoes
Extra virgin olive oil
Quinoa

I started the quinoa according to package directions.

I boiled the broccolini for a bit and fried the cut up portabella first (fired until soft, about 5-7 min). Then I added the boiled broccolini, and after a couple minutes the tomatoes...fried until tomatoes were softened.

Sweet Potato Fries

1 medium sweet potato cut into strips
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper
Trader Joe's 21 seasoning salute (best seasoning EVER!)

Combined all ingredients and baked on a baking sheet at 400 for 30 min or until crispy. Shook them up half way through.

Cleaning up a Messy Kitchen...

who am I kidding, I posted this because I though my arms looks fab!!! (could be the lighting and camera angle...or yoga?, but I'll take it!)

Excited about meeting my goal to cook new and interesting meals all week!

This weekend I am planning on running 3 miles and yoga on Saturday. Then I am meeting the girls to see It's Complicated, followed by sushi! I love hanging with the girls!

Sunday, I am volunteering at UW from 10-2 (I'm an advisor for my sorority there.) I may or may not squeeze in an am run. Then I have yoga plans at 4. Finally, I am going to make another weekly menu and get the groceries I will need for the week...and cook another lovely meal of course!

No Doughnuts for Me!

2010-01-07T16:46:00.000-08:00

FREE Top Pot Doughnuts today at work...YIKES!!!

Luckily I hadn't even eaten my lunch yet, so I was able to avoid the caloric devils...but at first it was still pretty tough warming up my veggie dish while watching co-workers and making a new pot of coffee while diving into the doughnut box. But then I felt sort of happy and excited that I was able to avoid the goodies and watch everyone else overeat...almost in a healthsnob kind of way. I try not to judge others' food choices, but something about those doughnuts today made me feel superior in my choices, not restricted! I'll take it!

Onto some good eats this week...

Pork Tenderloin with Steamed Asparagus and Roasted Red Pepper Mashed Potato

We seared the pork in a cast iron pan and baked in the oven to temp.

The potato recipe came from Clean Eating Mag...couldn't say I was a fan:(

They had garlic, peppers, feta and yogurt...they just didn't taste all that good. Maybe I should have paired with a different protein...but it wasn't working in this meal. Or maybe I should stick to a little milk and buttah in my potatoes;)

Asparagus was yummy though!

I didn't make it to my yoga session this morning...I totally overslept. I was pretty disappointed, but I think I will fit in a jog tonight instead and pick a couple yoga sessions up this weekend. It's been nice today, so I may take my jog to the pavement and complete my first nighttime run by myself. I plan to stick to well lit and busy areas...some parts around me are a bit sketchy...

Getting the Veggies in!

2010-01-06T21:47:00.000-08:00

I've been experimenting with vegetarian meals lately. Ideally I would like to include at least one vegetarian dinner per week. There are tons of great recipes around blogland, so I decided to try out a stuffed squash. I chose an acorn squash and paired it with roasted beets! So delish!

1 acorn squash
diced mushrooms
diced peppers
diced onions
mozzarella (I used goat moz!)

Quinoa (optional)

I intended to use quinoa, but forgot!

Saute veggies in olive oil. Bake the squash and fill with sauteed veggies, top with cheese and put under the broiler until cheese melts.

The beets were roasted in olive oil, salt & pepper

I don't remember the exact temp or time for baking the squash, but it was around 350 degrees for 45 minutes (ish). Until its soft...

I absolutely love beets, especially roasted. They are so flavorful when roasted...they almost seem caramelized with yuminess! After I took this photo, my boyfriend informed me that he had made a beet sauce to drizzle over the meal (he has been experimenting with sauces!).

He sauteed the beets before roasting them in the oven. With the juices in the saute pan, he added some water and a little sugar and reduced. Pretty easy, and very delicious!

This meal kept me full the rest of the night...though we did eat at about 9 pm! We've been eating real late recently because we are trying to prioritize working out after I get back from work this week...plus there were some additional errands involved. I was glad that I ate a veggie dish so late rather than a heavier pasta or meat dish...plus I felt great in the am!

On a side note...anyone try GloBars yet? They're insanely delish...I recommend ordering at least two boxes...I especially love the special variety packs and the Heaven bar:) Happy ordering!

New Years Resolution No. 2 & 3

2010-01-05T09:18:00.000-08:00

Eat Food Slowly!

I have a real problem with inhaling my food as soon as it is plated. I think part of this relates back to my childhood when I just wanted to finish dinner so I could play or watch tv. The other part is that I hate when my food gets cold...it just doesn't taste as good (I know...not a good excuse!)

I know that I should eat slowly to allow my body to recognize when it is full...so I am going to practice this at each meal. I do well when I'm eating out because I engage in conversation and the distraction of the tv isn't there. I've finally convinced the boyfriend to move dinner onto the dining room table instead of the couch and coffee table, but we live in a apartment, so the tv is still right in front of us and he enjoys having it on during dinner...so I compromise:)

Lunch is ok too...I'm usually reading blogs while eating lunch at my desk, so I take my time enjoying my break. Breakfast, however, really needs some work! I've been making Green Monsters for breakfast lately and I practically chug them! When I eat cereal, oatmeal, or anything else for breakfast, it's gone in under 5 minutes! I think the problem here comes from rushing through my morning to get to work, usually because I've overslept...which brings me to Resolution No. 3:

Wake up! Use the mornings to either workout, make and enjoy breakfast, or get to work early.

I am going to get to bed at 10:30 and get up between 6 and 6:30. I want to start my day off early every morning and get into a routine. The days that I am lacking motivation to get my workout in, I will still get out of bed and take my time to get ready or get to work early. It's when I sleep in that gets me off track and makes it harder to stick to early mornings.

I have boot camp starting next week...twice a week at 6 am, opposite my morning yoga, so that will give me a reason to get up early on the off days to morning yoga. I'll post more about this boot camp later (I'm pretty excited for it)!

Workout update: I did great keeping up my workouts over the holidays. I didn't run as much as I had planned, but I got in all my yoga and about half the running and even a little strength training! My plan for this week is:

Workout Schedule
Monday - Run/ST 30 min - Done!
Tuesday - Yoga 60 min - Done
Run 3 miles
Wednesday - Yoga 75 min
Thursday - Yoga 60 min
Run 3 miles
Friday - Off
Saturday - Run 3 miles
Yoga 75 min
Sunday - Yoga 90 min

My yoga practice is really coming along...I can hold a full wheel now (I haven't been able to do that EVER, not even as a kid!) I come pretty close to crow and a few other inversions. My shoulder stand is much more solid and my hamstrings are like jell-o compared to how tight they used to be! I am still working on hip opening, and they are getting a bit looser each week:)

Running is also slowly getting better...I ran a mile on the treadmill last night at 6.0, which is a big improvement. I am working up to 3 miles at 6.0. I need to keep up with my running goals each week, especially if I sign up for that 10K in March...yikes!

New Years Resolution No. 1

2010-01-03T21:13:00.000-08:00

Have fun with new recipes and experiment with foods and ingredients I wouldn't normally cook with.

To follow through with my first New Years goal, I will make a menu plan for dinners for the week from various cookbooks and Clean Eating magazine. (and also play with my new Nikon D5000!!!)

I found a few great recipes using citrus in each dish from Clean Eating. We made shrimp and orange skewers with a spinach-orange rice pilaf and citrus spinach salad.

Blood Orange Salad

Salad:
1 Cup Spinach
Sections of 1/2 blood orange

Dressing:
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
Juice from 1 blood orange
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Zest from blood orange
salt & pepper

This salad was absolutely delicious. It was very light and would make a great summer salad. I will definitely be making this again and maybe experimenting with different citrus fruits.

Orange and Shrimp Skewer with Brown Rice Pilaf

Marinate for shrimp:
2 cloves garlic
salt
Juice from 1-2 oranges
Orange zest
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

Skewers:
4 jumbo shrimp with 4 orange quarters

Rice Pilaf:
1/2 cup brown rice
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1 cup spinach & Zest from 1 orange

The recipe called for brown basmati, but I substituted long grain brown. I sauteed the uncooked rice in the olive oil for a few minutes then added the broth, brought to a boil and reduced heat, covered and let simmer for 45 minutes. Once the rice was finished, I removed from heat and added the spinach and zest, re-covered for a bit to let the spinach wilt and serve.

For the shrimp, add marinate and shrimp to a ziplock bag and refrigerate for an hour. I added equal parts of shrimp and oranges to the skewers and stuck under the broiler for a few minutes on each side until they were cooked through.

This meal was pretty amazing and I really liked the citrus theme in each dish...I think I will be making this again in the future!

Holiday Recap

2009-12-30T12:39:00.000-08:00

If it wasn't for all the goodies at work, I think I would have been ok! But I can't complain too much...I made each choice and my clothes still fit. I definitely made better choices this Christmas than prior years. I would say I had dessert everyday, but I did stop eating when full. My meals were a little more indulgent with cheese, butter, etc. I did stick to a healthy Green Monster every morning and then either lunch or dinner was indulgent.

I did pretty well with the workouts (only got in half my running):

Monday: 75 min Power Yoga
Tuesday: 60 min Power Yoga
Wednesday: off
Thursday: 75 min Yoga, 2.5 mile run
Friday: off
Saturday: 75 min Power yoga
Sunday: 2.5 mile run

This week I am hoping for 4 yoga classes and 10 miles...so far just one yoga class, so I have to step it up!

On to a more exciting note...I got a new SLR camera for Christmas...so I may take the blog in another direction and begin posting more food and recipe entries...maybe one prepared meal per day. I just need to learn how to work it first...my goal for the weekend!

Another goal for the weekend is to do lots of running...small amount (2-2.5 miles) each day with my boyfriend and his little sister (she is 15). She mentioned she wanted to workout with us, which I think is AWESOME! We got her a Lululemon hoodie for Christmas...I think that's what inspired her...haha! I am planning to run with them twice over the long weekend and do my own runs twice. The runs with them will be at more of a beginner level, but it will be fun and I'll count them as cross-training!

Another cool gift I got was a cookbook that uses goat cheese in every recipe! I love goat cheese! I made a salmon taco dish last night and it was glorious...I will have to make again and post pic with my new camera!

Weekly Re-cap

2009-12-21T16:33:00.000-08:00

As I said last night, my weekend was pretty action-packed with workouts...here is what I accomplished:

Workout schedule:
Monday - 2 hour yoga workshop - Check!
Tuesday - Run intervals (3 miles) +ST - Check!
Wednesday - Elliptical 30 min or off - Off
Thursday - Yoga 60 min - Check!
Friday - Run 3.5 miles + ST - Ran 1 mile, 30 min elliptical, + ST
Saturday - Run 3.5 miles + 75 min yoga - yoga, Check!
Sunday - 90 min yoga - Check + 2.6 mile run (though it was longer, but ended up only being 2.6!)

So I check most of my workouts off my list last week...my goal, however, is to still get to that 10 miles per week. I am having the hardest time making myself get out there and run. Once I get moving I am fine...it's just getting myself to move! My plan for this week:

Workout Schedule
Monday - 75 min Yoga
Tuesday - 60 min Yoga + 3 miles Intervals
Wednesday - ST
Thursday - Jog 3 miles + Yoga
Friday - Off/Merry Christmas!
Saturday - Jog 4 miles + yoga
Sunday - Yoga

We are having a pot luck at work tomorrow...I'll report back on my future successful choices;) Can I confess that I am a bottomless pit lately...yikes!

Ooooh and update...my clothes are feeling a bit better lately...still inthe same size, but a tad more comfortable!

Yummy Snacks and NYR Ideas

2009-12-20T21:06:00.000-08:00

I had my first Glow Bar today...holy YUM!!! I had the Empower bar, which is dark chocolate and roasted coffee...can I say it's my favorite even though I haven't tried any of the others yet?!

I've had a great weekend...great workouts, smart eating and got all my Christmas shopping done:) The workouts consisted of:

1. Friday - 30 min elliptical, ST upper body and 1-mile run

2. Saturday - 75 minute yoga

3. Sunday - 3 mile run and 90 minutes yoga

I also got a much needed massage on Saturday...I am thinking of making my New Years Resolution to earn one massage per month. The way I will earn my massage is getting my in 10 miles running and 3 sessions of yoga each week. I think that is doable and will keep me on track! I am also thinking about signing up for a 10K in March. A couple friends are doing it and it would be a great goal for me.

I had a girls night out to a wine bar on Saturday...I was really excited about this, because I haven't made too many friends yet since moving here. I had a really great time with the girls (they are the ladies signed up for the 10K). I stuck to 2 glasses of wine, had a chicken entree and we split baked brie for an appetizer and sea salt caramels for dessert (each got one caramel). It was the perfect amount of indulgence...I wasn't stuffed, but was satisfied, and happy I didn't go crazy!

I am looking forward to the festivities this week and coming weekend and not worrying too much about food...I think I've got this one!

I win, I win!

2009-12-15T12:31:00.000-08:00

(In Mr. Bean's voice from Rat Race!!)

I probably had one of the best days yesterday...the stars aligned and it seemed everything I have been working on is paying off! For starters I got a call from my supervisor letting my know that I got a promotion! I asked for one back in June and it finally happened!

Next, I had my 2 hour yoga workshop/christmas party. Let me tell you, 2 hours of power yoga is HARD!!! I was a sweaty beast, but I got through it and I felt like all the classes I've been attending really helped! The class was jam-packed...like 4 inches between you and the next person, sooo much body heat going on in that room!

After the yoga session, the owner of the studio held a christmas party with food, champagne and prizes. Another reason all my work attending yoga classes paid off is because I WON 3rd place in attending the most yoga classes since September (I've only been going since Oct!) I got a lulu bag full of goodies:

Luon tank from Lululemon
Yogitoes Headband
Yogitoes skidless towel
5-class pack
MountainFlow long sleeve T

I was SUPER excited to win all that cool stuff, plus I won another door prize for a free drop-in class...score! Lululemon was there with a truck show and offering 15% off, so naturally I treated myself to a new shirt that I have been wanting:)

Today I woke up really sore and didn't make it to the morning yoga class I normally attend. Instead, I am going to run intervals on the treadmil after work as scheduled...and maybe a little ST:)

Weekly Recap

2009-12-13T21:49:00.000-08:00

So this week was a little harder than the rest. Work picked up and I found myself struggling to manage my time and get my workouts in. I figured it out by the end of the week and I am excited to keep making progress this week. Here are my workouts for the past week:

Workout Schedule:
Monday - off
Tuesday - Run Intervals 2.5 miles + 60 minutes Yoga - skipped the run, did the yoga
Wednesday - Run 3.5 miles during work + 75 minutes Yoga - skipped the run, did the yoga
Thursday - 60 minutes yoga (am), Run 1 mile (at higher speed) + Strength Training (pm) - Did the yoga and ran 3.5 miles during work
Friday - off
Saturday - 75 minutes yoga + 3 mile run - Done (3.5 miles)!
Sunday - 90 minutes yoga - Done!

So I got in 7 miles this week and 5 yoga classes...not bad, but I will do better this week and get in my 10 miles. My eating was pretty great all week...I stuck to my 2 glasses of wine and one desert (homemade apple crisp - split with boyfriend). I had a small piece or two of chocolate everyday to satisfy my sweet tooth and found this a great way to keep from snacking after dinner.

I ate out 3 times all week...and made decent choices. I split a couple entrees at an asian restaurant with my boyfriend on Thursday night and stopped eating when I was full. Friday we went to a french restaurant and I ordered butternut squash soup to start and had salmon with a small portion of whipped potatoes for my entree. I stuck to one glass of wine...we usually order a bottle here, plus we skipped desert (a first!). Saturday I got a half tomato/moz/basil pannini with a cup of tomato basil soup from a deli down the street (so good and I even stopped eating the soup when I was full and saved the rest for later...success!!!). I think I am getting the hang of this listening to your body thing.

So this week my workout plan includes the following:

Workout Schedule
Monday - 2 hour yoga workshop
Tuesday - Run intervals (3 miles) +ST
Wednesday - Elliptical 30 min or off
Thursday - Yoga 60 min
Friday - Run 3.5 miles + ST
Saturday - Run 3.5 miles + 75 min yoga
Sunday - 90 min yoga

I think this week is doable...Wednesday is up in the air...I am going to listen to my body and take the day off if I need it.

Running for myself!

2009-12-11T14:24:00.000-08:00

I was inspired by Jen' post this morning about ME having to get out there and do it for myself, soooo....I got outside. I took my lunch break to the road and put in 3.5 miles in about 39 minutes. I am still in that 11 minute/mile category, but I am just glad I got out there. Plus it was so cold, my lungs could barely handle it!

Reading all these great blogs everyday really helps me get motivated. When I see all these people doing great things for themselves, it reminds me that I deserve great things for myself too!

I am glad I got the run in now because I have plans tonight to attend a SassyFit Holiday party being held at the local Lululemon! I am pretty excited, I absolutely love both companies. I took a bootcamp with SassyFit last summer and can't wait to sign up for another once we get daylight back! They also keep a really cool blog (linked above) with great fitness and heathly living tips:) I also love that both companies offer promotional fitness classes, sometimes together!

The rest of my weekend plans include shipping Christmas prezies to my family in the midwest (staying in Seattle for the holidays...) and some yoga and running. It is supposed to start raining again next week, so I have to take advantage of the clear skies while I can! I am also thinking about a couple baking projects...I am going to raid some blogs I follow for healthy baked goods and give them a try!!!

Needing some Balance...

2009-12-09T22:13:00.000-08:00

Things at work have gotten insane!! I can barely keep up. I had planned a 3.5 mile run today during work and was unable to make it out. In fact, I haven't run yet this week. Usually I have in about 6 miles by Wednesday. I have done 2 yoga sessions, however, so I am keeping up on that. In order to make my 10 miles I need to catch up by running for the next 4 days! I think I can do it as long as I vary the intensity of the runs...I normally take a day off between runs, but since I only go for 30-40 minutes at a time, I think its ok to go 4 days in a row, right??!! I left my outdoor running gear at work, so if I can squeeze one in tomorrow or Friday, I will be prepared!

I have been keeping my food in check this week! I've had a green monster for breakfast, cup of kashi or fiber one for a mid-morning snack, gigantic salad for lunch, fruit and yogurt for the afternoon snack and for dinner:

Monday - Ravioli with olive oil drizzle and caesar salad
Tuesday - Homemade burger with caramelized onions and steamed carrots
Wednesday - Seared tuna with mushroom couscous and steamed broccolini (fav for the week!)

Normally I would have had garlic bread with Monday's meal, oven fries with Tuesdays and wine with Wednesday. I would say Success! for not adding those extras. I've also had a small piece of chocolate for dessert each day...got to satisfy the sweet tooth! Don't ask me how I limit myself to one Lindt truffle...those things are AMAZING!

Goals Re-Cap

2009-12-08T14:59:00.000-08:00

I am very happy with my progress last week:

Monday - 6pm, Speed Intervals, 30 min (2.5 miles) - Done!
Tuesday - 6:30am, Power Hour Yoga 60 min - Done!
6pm, Strength training, 30 min - Done!
Wednesday - 3pm, Run 3.5 miles outside (at work) - Done!
Thursday - 6:30am, Power Hour Yoga - Done!
6pm, 2 miles on treadmill (try for 10 minute/mile pace) - Skipped:(
Friday - Off
Saturday - 9am, Run 3 miles outside - Done!
9:45am, Power Vinyasa Flow 75 min - Done!
Sunday - 4pm Restorative Yoga 90 min - Done!

So I only skipped one workout...not bad, since I had already put in a yoga session that morning. I was just under my 10 miles for the week, but I am just happy to be keeping consistent! I am a bit overwhelmed at work this week, but I am going to keep my workouts a priority. I took Monday off because I had a killer headache all day, but I am aiming to make up for it today:)

My eating has had some ups and downs. On a positive note, I am getting in a lot more veggies now that I am drinking the green monsters for breakfast. I also have been having salad for lunch. I did have a couple slip-ups this weekend that included a trip to McDonalds and take-out from a Mexican restaurant, but i think I made decent choices. Other than that, the eats have been pretty good. I only drank wine on Friday, but I may have had 3-4 glasses...aaaaand some chocolate mousse (it was glorious!) But onto a new week...

Workout Schedule:
Monday - off
Tuesday - Run Intervals 2.5 miles + 60 minutes Yoga
Wednesday - Run 3.5 miles during work + 75 minutes Yoga
Thursday - 60 minutes yoga (am), Run 1 mile (at higher speed) + Strength Training (pm)
Friday - off
Saturday - 75 minutes yoga + 3 mile run
Sunday - 90 minutes yoga

My goal to get those size 32 jeans to fit did not happen, although the jeans do feel a bit better...I am not quite there. My motivation match-up, Nicole, and I are extending our goals until the end of January. So that should be enough time to get into those suckers...even with Christmas coming up...I hope;)

Mini Vacation!

2009-12-03T16:21:00.000-08:00

I just booked an extended weekend get-away to NYC next month!!! My best friend is finishing up her graduate degree at NYU this semester, so I though I'd better visit just in case she gets a job else-where:) I have never been to the City, but I am so excited to go and really looking forward to a girls weekend!!! We haven't seen each other in over a year:(

We haven't made an itinerary yet, but I know I'd like to go to a Broadway show. She suggested In the Heights...but I am taking suggestions. I looked up the trailer and it looked pretty entertaining...hip hop musical love story that won a Tony in 2008.

There is so much to do and see that I will have to pick just a few of them. I will be there 3 whole days (with 2 travel days) and I know I want to see Central Park and eat at some fun restaurants in addition to the show. Does anyone have any tips or suggestions for me? I'm sure she will have ideas as well...I just want to be prepared...(I'm a total planner!)

I'd really love to be able to go for a run through Central Park, but it being January...its not likely! I will save that for next time:) I wouldn't mind trying a yoga or spin studio while I'm there...I always read about how many cool fitness studios there are in NYC.

I love having a trip to look forward to...it keeps me going sometimes with this whole health thing! We will be taking lots of pictures, so I want to look fab in them!! I am most excited to just be there and take it all in! I probably won't want to leave:)

On a sidenote...I made a green monster this morning and there was a little left-over, so I poured it in a cup and left it in the fridge. A couple of hours later, my boyfriend was texting me for the recipe so he could make another...he loved it!

Sore Muscles and No Music:(

2009-12-02T20:14:00.000-08:00

I finally got a great strength training session in last night. I did a 30 minute total body circuit and I am feeling it today! One thing I noticed in my workout is that I can now do lunges where my knee touches the ground and I can also do the stability ball roll-ins. I used to never get those...I think because my core has improved so much that now they are possible. I'm still working on toe push-ups...I have a weak upper body, but that will soon change!!

So with all those sweet moves, my body is feeling it today! I managed to get a 3.5 mile run during work at about an 11 min/mile pace. Those damn hills get me every time. I think if I were running a flat course my pace would be a bit faster (but I don't think that exists in Seattle)! I will just keep working on running those hills...one day I will do it!

While on my way to work today, I realized that I had forgotten my ipod, so I had to do that run with no music!!! Not cool! I can see how its safer to run without music or if you have a route away from busy streets, you can listen to nature...but my route is nothing but cars zipping by. If it weren't for the sunny sky and the gorgeous views of the Cascades and Olympic Mountains, it would have been super boring!

We are actually supposed to have sun through this weekend, so I may take advantage and do another run on Friday (and my usual Saturday). I have yoga tomorrow morning to stretch out these hip flexors....ouch!

I Finally Tried it!

2009-12-01T12:13:00.000-08:00

After weeks of curiosity, I finally tried a Green Monster this morning. I wanted to have an energy boost before my morning yoga class...and that it did! I felt awesome...these are going to become part of my regular routine...although I am thinking about adding some frozen berries to the mix! I got hungry again while getting ready for work so I brought some oats with me and had my second breakfast. I like the idea of splitting up my breakfast like that...it really kept me going:)

Thanksgiving Update

Well....I will admit that I ate more desserts than necessary, however I did spread them out and I stopped eating when I was full. I never felt stuffed all weekend, but maybe I could have made better choices. In any case, I'm not going to dwell on it. My plan was to get in one workout, but that didn't happen:( My body did enjoy my 3 days off from running/yoga, I think I needed that rest, because now I feel great. I signed up for a yoga class when I got back on Sunday and definitely noticed the difference in my body...I felt much stronger after the 3 rest days.

And did I mention Tom Skerritt (super talented actor) was in my yoga class Sunday?!?!! I was a little star struck, I must admit! I didn't realize he lived here in Seattle...it was pretty cool to see him in that environment! I came home and said to my bf..."Holy crap, I just practiced yoga with William Walker (I watch Brothers and Sisters every Sunday and loved him in Picket Fences)!

Workout Plan

My scheduled workouts for the week include:

Monday - 6pm, Speed Intervals, 30 min (2.5 miles) - Done!
Tuesday - 6:30am, Power Hour Yoga 60 min - Done!
6pm, Strength training, 30 min
Wednesday - 3pm, Run 3.5 miles outside (at work)
Thursday - 6:30am, Power Hour Yoga
6pm, 2 miles on treadmill (try for 10 minute/mile pace)
Friday - Off
Saturday - 9am, Run 3 miles outside
9:45am, Power Vinyasa Flow 75 min
Sunday - 4pm Restorative Yoga 90 min

I'm finding it hard to fit in 10 miles per week and all my yoga and ST without having a day for rest...I hope that I can soon add mileage to each day so that I am running 10 miles, 3 days per week. I get pretty tired after 3-3.5 miles, so my next December will be to do a 4-miler on the weekend and two 3 milers during the week. Speaking of Goals.....here are the results to my November Goals:

November Goals Report:
Fitness Goals:
1. Power Yoga 3x per week - Done!
2. Run 10 miles per week - Close...I'm calling it a victory because I made an effort to run each week!
3. Strength Train 2x per week - Beyond yoga, I didn't do extra ST 2x each week
4. Maintain a 10 min/mile for 3 miles - I am close to this...I think I can do it by the end of December.
5. Improve from cobra to updog during vinyasas - Done!

Food Goals:
1. Track everyday and stay within calorie range - Out of range a few times
2. One dinner out per week - Done, for 3/4 weeks
3. 2 alcoholic drinks per week - Fail!!!
4. limit added sugar/unhealthy fats to 200 calories - Fail!!!

I am going to keep these goals going into December. For fitness goal #5...my new yoga goal is to hold crow pose.

Lone Yogi...

2009-11-24T10:45:00.000-08:00

I made it to my 6:30 am power yoga class, but....seems no one else made it out of bed this morning! I was the only one there to take the class! I felt a bit weird at first, but it ended up being great because the instructor was able to assist me in correcting my moves and help me to align properly. It was like having my own private yoga session:)

I think I may be a little obsessed with power yoga...I practiced on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and today...and I am signed up for a class tomorrow:/ The owner of the studio is having a holiday workshop in December and is giving prizes to the 3 people who have practiced the most since September. She told me that I was up there....and I've only been going there since October! Maybe I should take a day off...I think my shoulders are needing some time off:) It would be pretty great to get a prize tho;)

I'm actually pretty excited for the holiday workshop...it starts with a 2 hour power flow class and then they are providing wine and food and raffling off class packages, yogi toes, and Lulu gear. Then Lululemon will be holding a trunk show at the studio...I guess last year they offered 30% off (have I mentioned my obsession with their clothing!) I hope they bring all sizes though...watch them bring all this great stuff for a discount and it's all size 2! That would be my luck:)

My plan for the evening was to do some strength training, but my muscles are pretty tired, so I may take the night off. We had a Thanksgiving dinner last Sunday with some family, so we are planning to use the stock we made from the bones and some of the meat to make a turkey soup tonight...yum! My boyfriend surprised me with homemade risotto with some of the leftover turkey and veggies last night...it was divine! (He is a phenomenal cook!) I will have to start putting up photos of food and such;)

Weekly Progress and Goals

2009-11-23T16:29:00.000-08:00

Last week was pretty great. I ate out twice for dinner over the weekend, but only splurged the second night...at a local Mexican restaurant. I feel like it is pretty easy to order healthy Mexican cuisine, however, when they set that basket of death (read: free chips and the most delicious salsa ever!) in front of you right when you sit down...it is so hard to crawl back out! I ended up ordering chicken stuffed with a pepper and queso, but what I didn't notice was that it was going to come fried. I had a moment of panic when she set my plate down, but then decided to just let it be my splurge for the week. We split an appetizer and I didn't drink, so it turned out ok! As for my goals update...

WORKOUTS
Monday: Intervals and strength training - 6 am: Done! I ended up doing this workout after work.
Tuesday: Power Hour - 6:30 am: Done!
Wednesday: Intervals and strength training - 5:30 pm: Had a killer headache, but made up on Thursday after work
Thursday: Power Hour - 6:30 am - Done + Wednesday's workout
Friday: Jog 3 miles @ work - 4 pm (may take this day off) - took the day off!
Saturday: Run 30 minutes + Power Vinyasa - 9 am - Done!
Sunday: Yoga - 9:30 am - Done!

I only got to a little over 8 miles for the week, so that is something I will have to keep in check. I did 2 early morning workouts rather than the three I planned...another thing to continue working on.

FOOD GOALS
1. Track everyday and stay within calorie range - I tracked everyday, but was a little over on Sunday (Thanksgiving with some family)
2. One dinner out per week - had 2 dinners out on Friday and Saturday
3. 2 alcoholic drinks per week - Done! 2 glasses of red wine on Sunday
4. limit added sugar/unhealthy fats to 200 calories - Over on Saturday and Sunday:(

I think I need to work on limiting added sugar and fats during the weekends...it is going to be especially hard this coming weekend with the holiday:/

WORKOUTS FOR THIS WEEK:
Monday: Run 2 miles 3 pm, Power Vinyasa 6 pm
Tuesday: Power Hour 6:30 am, ST 5:30 pm
Wednesday: Run 3 miles, Power Vinyasa 9:30am
Thursday: off
Friday: Run 3 miles + ST 9 am
Saturday: off
Sunday: Yoga 4 pm

I am hoping to get one workout while I am out of town Thursday- Saturday..I think I can do it:)

I already ran 3.5 miles during work today, so I am off to a good start! I am noticing so much improvement in running and yoga, that I am starting to get excited each time I get to do it!

Avoiding Free Pizza

2009-11-19T14:40:00.000-08:00

Yes, we had boxes and boxes of yummy, cheesy, free pizza today at work....aaaaaand I successfully avoided it! It was pretty tough with the glorious smell of pizza in my face, but I knew I had a delicious healthy lunch waiting for me. I had a side salad of arugula, spinach, cherry tomatoes and balsamic and made a sandwich on the foreman with whole wheat bread and this egg white salad that I bought at Treader Joe's this week. SO GOOD! I felt so much better than I would have eating a couple slices of greasy pizza.

I skipped my workout last night:(

I was feeling very headachey and tired so I went to bed early and got up for my morning yoga class. It was wonderful and I felt really good during the class. I plan to make up my missed workout tonight...so after work I'll be hitting the apartment gym for some speed intervals and strength training. I feel kind of blah right now, but I'm planing to just push through and get the workout done!

On a more exciting note...I made a couple of New Years Resolutions! I am planning a 5K with a friend who lives in NYC and one with my sister when she comes to visit me! We are going to train on our own since we all live in different states and then pick a couple of races to register for. I am also trying to get the boyfriend to sign up for one with me too...that would be 3 races for 2010:)

Rain or Shine...

2009-11-17T15:54:00.000-08:00

The forecast this week is rain...EVERY day! This is my first winter living in Seattle, so I am hoping to be able to embrace the rain soon, but coming from sunny California makes it pretty tough!

I have been taking note of how I feel and my progress on runs outside vs. on the treadmill. When I first started running, I was a bit afraid to run outside, I think because people would see me and judge me, etc, etc...! There are A LOT of fit people in the Pacific Northwest and I felt like I would be a slow poke compared to them.

So lately, I have been going outside for one of my runs per week. It doesn't even compare to the treadmill...I feel so slow, like I'm not going anywhere...which, I'm not really I guess! The runs outside feel so much better and I even have a faster pace. So I think I've conquered that fear, but now...what to do with all this rain we've been having. I suppose I should embrace the rain and just take my runs outside anyway.

So a new mini-goal...rain or shine, I am going to run outside this Saturday before my yoga class and report back. Next obstacle will be running in the dark...scary!

I Made It!

2009-11-12T15:16:00.000-08:00

I made it to my 6:30 am Pour Hour yoga class and it was glorious! I even woke up before my alarm...I guess some days are just better than others.

So with all my free time tonight, I am going to get some extra work done, spend a little time on the elliptical for an easy cardio workout, cook dinner with my boyfriend and watch the Office!!

On the menu tonight is homemade chicken and dumpling soup. The boyfriend roasted a chicken last night and made some stock out of it, so I am looking forward to using that in a yummy soup tonight. I am thinking about stealing this desert recipe from The Lindz...it looks so amazing!

I am participating in the Motivational Match-ups that Jen and Mizfit put together and have been matched up with a gal who is originally close to my hometown in Michigan...pretty cool (Hi Nicole!!) We've been talking about a plan to motivate each other and came up with sending each other our workout schedule for the week on Sunday night and texting each other motivational messages prior to the workout. I am hoping that we can pump each other up to have an awesome workout! We are also going to set a goal to complete in one month (by December 6). Aaaand...we're going to send I-tunes gift cards to each other for making our goal:) I think that is great motivation...I need a new playlist!!

So...my next task is to come up with a good goal. I'm indifferent about making a weight goal (I don't even have a scale!!!), so I am thinking of a few options to pick from. I may set a number of morning workouts I have to complete (Which would be super challenging for me!) or some kind of Jeans size goal. I will be back with what I decide tomorrow!

Planning Workouts

2009-11-11T13:36:00.000-08:00

I had my alarm set once again for 6 am with the intention of running intervals and strength training before work. Did I wake up? yes...did I get up? yes...did I put my workout clothes on?...no! I decided I would crawl back into the warm cozy bed for another hour! Yesterday I was signed up to go to my morning power hour and hit the "off" instead of "snooze". I was sad, but was able to make up the class in the evening.

I really need to get motivation for this whole morning workout thing! I just think my day would be so much better. I wouldn't have to take two showers and I could read or cook a more extensive meal after work. I have the most desire to workout during the afternoon around about 2 pm. I would do that if i had a light day at work, but I feel like I need to be available in the afternoons at work. Also, I'm not sure how to go about getting all sweaty and then returning to work (no showers in the office). Does anyone else do this...any tips?

I figure I am going to try and look at morning workouts as prioritizing myself first thing, and then getting on with the rest of my day. I signed up for yoga tomorrow morning and am hoping to report back that I made it!

Breakfast Routine

2009-11-09T16:20:00.000-08:00

I've been playing around lately with what I eat for breakfast. For about 4 months, I was regularly eating about a cup of Fiber One mini wheats and milk or multigrain cheerios with a banana and milk for my breakfast. I got really sick of cereal and I would get hungry again a couple of hours later.

This month I've been experimenting with an oatmeal-based (which seems to be what a lot of you are eating out there!) or an egg/veggie/english muffin based breakfast. With both of these choices I've noticed that I stay full up until lunchtime (or approximately 4 hours after breakfast) and there is a lot less mindless snacking going on!

My normal routine calls for about a 400 cal breakfast, 300-400 calorie lunch, 200 calorie afternoon snack and a 500 calorie dinner (+/- 100-150 for a nighttime snack)

Yesterday, however, I was in a hurry and had a cup and a half of Kashi Honey Sunshine and milk, which only came to about 230 calories. I didn't last too long and by 10 I had an apple, 12:30 my lunch (which was lower-cal than I usually eat at 280 calories) and 2:30 my yogurt. While eating my yogurt I noticed it tasted a bit "off" and saw the expiration was 10 days ago...YUCK! So that gave me an excuse to get a nonfat cappucino and raspberry oat bar from the local coffee shop across from my office. Maybe not the best choice, but I had been ravenous all day and that really hit the spot and I only had half the bar (WAY to sugary!)

I really believe that having a satisfying breakfast really sets the tone for my day and today I was back on track with a half-cup of dry oats cooked in milk with a smashed banana, canned pumpkin, a drizzle of honey and cinnamon. It was delicious!

Weekly Progress

2009-11-09T12:07:00.000-08:00

This weekend was full of rain and gray skies...I guess I'd better get used to it living in Seattle:) So my plan for outdoor workouts didn't come through. I'm wondering if I should just suck it up and buy some rain gear for running in the winter...?

I did make it to a power vinyasa class on Saturday, which was AMAZING! The instructor chose to play some upbeat music during the more intense flow portion of the class and it really energized me to keep moving! I am happy to say that I am getting closer to my yoga goal of practicing the updog in instead of cobra during vinyasas. I practiced updog about 1/3 of the time during my class Saturday:)

My boyfriend and I celebrated our 2-year anniversary on Saturday with a nice dinner out at one of Tom Douglas' restaurants here in Seattle. I did ok with my food choices (bread basket: one piece with olive oil/balsamic, appetizer: split a half dozen oysters and a mushroom & tomato sauce dish, entree: halibut with lentils, desert: split a piece of coconut creme pie), but not so much with wine! I had a glass while waiting for a table and then we split a bottle at dinner. I went way over my 2 drinks per week, so that is something I will work on in the coming weeks!

So...all that wine=very tired Gina all day Sunday. I kept my calories pretty low, but I took the day off from working out and did some reading and relaxing.

November Fitness Goals - Week 1
1. Power Yoga 3x per week - I attended power yoga Tue, Wed, Thu, & Sat!
2. Run 10 miles per week - I got to 8 miles this week
3. Strength Train 2x per week - I did one day of ST (i kind of want to count all the power yoga, thoughts?)
4. Maintain a 10 min/mile for 3 miles - Still working toward this goal
5. Improve from cobra to updog during vinyasas - Making progress

November Food Goals:
1. Track everyday and stay within calorie range - I tracked everyday, but was out of range on Saturday (all the wine...oops!)
2. One dinner out per week - Only had dinner out on Sat, but had lunch out on Sat and Sun. I'm think about doing one meal out next month.
3. 2 alcoholic drinks per week - One drink on Friday, 3.5 drinks on Saturday
4. limit added sugar/unhealthy fats to 200 calories - Went over on Saturday

Overall, I think I am making great progress toward my goals and posting my progress really makes me want to do better this week! I am going to focus more on keeping the drinks and added sugars down and getting all my planned workouts in this week.

Do One Thing A Day That Scares You...

2009-11-06T17:44:00.000-08:00

I LOVE Lululemon's motto...and today I did just that.

I didn't have time for a morning workout so I brought my clothes with me to work with the intention of going for a run sometime during the afternoon. I fought my internal battle all day leading up to 4 pm. Should I just get over my fears and go, or do I take it to the treadmill after work.

Whenever I do something new with fitness I get super nervous beforehand, whether it be a new class, a new route, a new activity, running outdoors, etc. So I searched some blogs that I follow for inspiration and found this one on Glamour by Margarita a couple days ago. I don't know if anyone followed her journey last year, but she was incredibly inspirational. She mentioned that her clothes are starting to get tight and confessed how she has gotten back to that uncomfortable feeling and why she needs to get back on track.

This hit me hard, because I am in that same boat and after reading through all the posts, I found the energy and courage to go change my clothes and head out of the office. I went on a great 3.7 mile run with a few hills and it felt wonderful!

I think this running outside thing may be for me after all:)

Morning Yoga...

2009-11-05T12:13:00.000-08:00

Oh how I love thee!!!

My favorite yoga studio (Mountain Flow in Madison Park for anyone in Seattle) started offering a 6:30 am Power Hour on Tuesday's and Thursday's. I went on Tuesday and I wasn't so sure about the whole morning thing. My body was tight and I couldn't get as deep a stretch as I can in the evenings...plus all I could think about was going back to bed:( I got through the class and felt AMAZING the rest of my day...I even had enough energy to do some jogging and strength training after work!

So, of course I went again this morning! I felt a lot better this time around. *I got up and did an early workout yesterday morning as well, so I am hoping to train myself to switch my workouts to the mornings. It is just a matter of getting out of bed and getting my body used to moving first thing.* I worked up a great sweat...the room is heated to 80-85 degrees, which I love! I swear it warms my muscles up faster and I can get a much better stretch (plus dripping sweat makes me feel like I got a better workout in...and a little hardcore!).

Last night, I took a Restorative Yoga class, which includes about 55-60 minutes of power yoga and 15-20 minutes of restorative poses. I love the restorative poses, I always feel so great and really get good sleep after those classes.

After yoga, I went to this cute local market across the street and picked up some salmon, sweet potato and brussels sprouts. I roasted the potato and sprouts in olive oil, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper. I broiled the salmon with a little honey, coarse mustard and wheat germ as topping. Sadly I got distracted on my computer and ended up overcooking the fish and burning the sprouts (left the sprouts in the oven during the broiling process...oops!). I sort of saved the sprouts by pealing off the burned layer, but the fish wasn't so lucky. Only about half of it was edible:( Oh well...I was so "zen" at that point (and starving) that it didn't mater!

I don't have any workouts scheduled for tonight, but I am planning to get back into the gym for some running and strength training tomorrow morning before work.

Relying on the Treadmill

2009-11-04T13:41:00.000-08:00

I went to bed last night with the intention of waking up for a morning workout. My alarm went off at 6 am and by 6:30 I was out of bed and headed to my apartment complexes gym. Now, the gym only has 2 treadmills and I am always nervous that they will be in use when I get there. Some of you may ask..."why don't you just go outside for a run?" But the truth is, It is out of my comfort zone and I will have a separate post about that!

So I get down to the gym and BOTH treadmills are in use! The one girl had a pretty good run going, but the dude with her was reading a book while walking very slowly! Does this anger anyone else when you see this? I was angry. I had my mind set on the treadmill and felt that he was preventing me from my run.

I decided to use the elliptical and when they left 12 minutes into my workout, I finished the last 18 minutes on the treadmill and felt pretty good. I wanted to do more, but had to get ready for work. Maybe I will take it outside next time that happens....if I can get over my fear:)

First Day of School...

2009-11-03T21:10:00.001-08:00

Welcome to my Blog!!!

I feel like it's my first day of school. I'm very excited and nervous to write my first post. There are so many inspiring blogs out there and I hope that my journey can inspire someone as so many of you have kept me motivated over the past year to stay on the right track to a healthy lifestyle.

After an initial weight loss of 35 lbs through diet and exercise, I have been maintaining the same weight of 165 lbs for over a year now and would like to break the plateau and get down to 150. I plan to use this blog to track my progress, so I would like to start by setting some goals!

Ultimate Goals:
1. Lose 15 pounds by April 2010
2. Run a 5K and 10K in 2010

November Fitness Goals:
1. Power Yoga 3x per week
2. Run 10 miles per week
3. Strength Train 2x per week
4. Maintain a 10 min/mile for 3 miles
5. Improve from cobra to updog during vinyasas

November Food Goals:
1. Track everyday and stay within calorie range
2. One dinner out per week
3. 2 alcoholic drinks per week
4. limit added sugar/unhealthy fats to 200 calories

I had a pretty great day on the health front today. I stayed within my calorie range and got in a great workout! I started out the day with a hour of power yoga and after work I jogged on the treadmill for 30 minutes (2.5 miles) and did about 15 minutes of circuit training with 5 and 10 lb free weights.

I am really happy with my meals today:

Breakfast: Finessista breakfast cookie
Lunch: Spinach and arugula salad with walnuts, goat cheese, tomatoes, dried cranberries, balsamic and a piece of cornbread
Snack: Cottage cheese and grapes
Dinner: Chicken & pepper quesadilla with salad and guac

I am planning to jog 30 minutes in the morning with a plank workout. I also signed up for Restorative Yoga at 6 pm (LOVE that class!!!).