Healthy Cooking as a Hobby

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

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!

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...

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!

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

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

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!