Coulda Woulda Shoulda

Today was my course introduction at London Met, and if I learned one thing, it’s that it’s going to be a very long year.

I seriously would be more excited about it if I didn't miss 1/2 of my introduction. I thought my intro started at 11. That was what my welcome print out told me!  Apparently, that time can change from the day you print it out to the day you have to show up! Can someone please tell me how that happens without any sort of notification?? I was not a happy camper! The building is very complicated to navigate through and if it hadn't have been for the one (the first one told me to follow the wrong group that was leaving the building!!) helpful London Met guide, I would be travelling in circles fo sho!

I'm trying to stay positive here but it's sort of hard with no friends, and being surrounded by kids much much younger than I am!! Patience Hanna. PATIENCE! 

Well at least my morning started off on a good note with a lovely bowl of blueberry oats. For anyone that has a hard time getting in their 5 a day of fruits and veggies, I recommend sneaking in fruit whenever possible- for me, it has always been in smoothies and oats!

His and Her's oats. I topped mine with almond butter and topped his with speculoos crunchy!

I needed the extra protein in mine to get through my workout and to hussle straight afterwards to my course meeting.

in the mix:

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 1/2 cup water
• frozen blueberries (dethawed while cooking on stove)
• maple syrup
• dash of salt

In the gym: 3 sets, 8-10 reps, 3 minute quick warm up on treadmill

• lat pulldown (25kg)
• hammer curls (5kg)
• seated row (20 kg)
• bicep dumbbell curls (5kg)
• barbell row (15kg)
• barbell bicep curl (10kg)
• Stretch

I was starving by the time I got home from the meeting and it was only 12:30! I quickly made another Tiger Tiger noodle lunch.

veggies- red peppers, red onions, spinach, garlic

all combined in schezuan sauce and a squeeze of siracha

a delicious vegetarian AND GF lunch :)

Last night was a better representation of a good day. I got to see Crazy, Stupid, Love **Ryan Gosling- heart SWOON!!!** and play catch up with some lovely ladies. It's nice to be social every once and a while ;). The movie was super cute but dinner was L-A-M-E. We went to the Banana Tree that serves pan Asian cuisine. Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda known a restaurant that’s trying to do too many things wouldn't be that great! I got the Pho and with the exception of me being super hungry, it was pretty lackluster in taste and quality. At least we tried!

Agenda: Hmm.. I got nothin!

Baking mood

Yesterday's lunch was muy delicioso and very simple to make. I started out by sautéing some prawns in garlic and evoo, taking them off the stove just before they were completely cooked so they didn't turn out rubbery.

Then, I added in some mushrooms, sliced peppers and pad thai sauce, mixing everything together

Last but not least, I added in the GF noodles and made sure every last strand was covered in sauce.. YUM!!

 

this was the perfect lunch :)

Dinner last night:

While perusing the store, I came across Okra and decided to give it a go. I've never made it on my own and have only had it in Indian restaurants, but I really love the texture and flavour of it.

Note to self: make sure OKRA is DRY prior to cooking or else they will turn slimy!! Oops!!

they turned out all right, even though they were a bit slippery tasting in my mouth.

pan fried with evoo, salt, pepper, minced garlic, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp coriander, and 1/2 tsp black pepper.

side of grapes for dessert!

Breakfast then gym time.

In the gym: Tone it up's Bikini Strap workout with some minor adjustments, 3 sets, 10 reps

• Squat, then lateral raise + leg adduction using 3kg dumbbells

• Curtsy lunge with bicep curl

• Plank with 3kg T row's

• Chest fly while butt is lifted off ground

• Tricep extension while butt is lifted off ground

• Upper chest press combined with shoulder press in v-sit position

• V-sit twists using medicine ball

After the gym, I was in quite the baking mood and so decided to make some recipes from Katie's blog.

 

http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/09/15/chocolate-bar-pie/

I made Katie’s Chocolate Bar Pie and it’s currently sitting patiently in the fridge, waiting to be eaten. It’s a sheer test of my willpower!

I'm a huge fan of any recipe that has a secret healthy hidden ingredient.

I snagged a bit of the pie filling and it was mmm..mmmm mmmm!!

This was made in less than 3 minutes since I used premade piecrust. If it tastes as good as it looks, its definitely going to be in my repertoire.

http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/04/06/funfetti-cookie-dough-balls/

These honestly tasted like chocolate chip cookies to me; they were super delicious and gone in 30 seconds.

 

Agenda: read, study, teach zumba, relax, make some chili! 

Spice Island takeaway

Yesterday's workout was pretty intense so I found myself making one change. Here's the original workout: I did 5 sets

1.) Burpees- as many as you can for 30 seconds

2.) V-sits- as many as you can for 30 seconds

3.) Mountain climbers- continuously for 30 (get in push up position and alternate bringing left knee to right elbow and right knee to left elbow- try and go as fast as you can)

4.) Jumping Jacks - continuously for 30 seconds

5.) Plank- start in a plank position on hands, then alternate by going down on elbows and back to hands- 30 seconds

6.) Squat jumps- as many as you can in 30 seconds

 

After the 3rd set, my legs were tired from the squat jumps so I found it harder to do V sits so for the 4th and 5th set, I did oblique twists with a dumbbell. I was only planning on doing 3 sets but I felt that with a couple minutes of rest in between sets, I could handle two more sets. I've found that loud music and inner dialogue helps. Like always, I kept telling myself that "change is uncomfortable!!" and boy, was I super schweaty by the end!

Lunchtime:

COM POW! aka combination of kale and bok choy

 

I swear this is my last time eating this for a while! I don't recommend eating one thing too often, because if you're like me, you'll get sick of it real quick!

Tiger Tiger comes with noodles and sauce so it makes for a really simple meal.

Yay! We're monthly wine club members again! We're going to try and sample one bottle a week.

Indian takeaway from Spice Island

We ordered a TON of food. I thought everything tasted pretty good but Tarek wasn't a huge fan. In his words, "I wouldn't order it again" Boooo! He still hasn't found a tikka masala that has a nice balance of sweet and spicy. They've only been overly sweet, which I prefer.

We had everything from coconut rice, to curries, and lamb biriyani.

After dinner, T played his game while I watched New York, I Love You. Aside from the all-star cast, I'm not sure how I felt about the movie.

Agenda: We're joining another pub crawl this afternoon and then its dinner at a "part time" restaurant in Chapel Market- wee hoo!

Bueller..

I really love the texture of halfway cooked broccoli; in fact, I can't really stand broccoli that's fully cooked because it's just mushy in my mouth- blegh!

true to what I said yesterday, I stopped by the store after the gym to buy some veggies and more Tiger Tiger noodles-- I'm officially obsessed!

I sauteed the following veggies prior to adding the schezuan sauce:

• broccoli (pre roasted)
• baby corn
• sugar snap peas
• red onions

after sauteing the veggies, I added in the pre boiled brown rice noodles. Holla for gluten free noodles!

I also may of added in a healthy dose of siracha :). I've been on such a noodle kick lately. The only thing that would make this better is some kimchi.

I came home from teaching last night, exhausted and ready to hit the sack to go to salsa but first, I ate this wonderful meal that my hubby prepared for me while I was out doing my zumba thang. It was a frying steak (it's a really chewy meat but often the cheapest) seasoned with red miso and Korean gochujang, a red pepper paste. We also had some asparagus and triple cooked chips that were amazingly crispy and delicious; god I love our fryer sometimes! 

I fully intended to go out dancing last night, even standing in the semi drizzling rain but my bus never came. Trust, I gave it about a good 15 minutes before throwing my hands in the air and returning to the couch. I regret catching up on episodes of the Jersey Shore when I could have spent the time being more useful, like reading my new book that's pretty dang good! Oh well lesson learned..

breakfast time then its the gym. I find its getting harder to become motivated to go to the gym because the weather is turning on me. It's become colder and its getting darker earlier. Time to find something else to motivate me!

Anyone else like ketchup on their eggs? Bueller? Bueller??

Agenda: gym, study, fashion night out w. the girls!!