Getting the Veggies in!

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

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

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

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

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

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!

(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:)