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.

Roasted Beets and Best Dessert EVER!

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?

Rooftop Yoga

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?