Summer Salad

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.

Lunch on the Lake

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?

The Sun is Finally Out!

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!

Lazy Saturday Lunch

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!