Quinoa love

Bam! How do you like dem apples?!

I didn't have any other protein in the fridge so I cooked up some quinoa and sauteed courgettes, red onions, and spinach. Seasonings included red wine vinegar, EVOO, cumin, garlic, salt, and pepper. I also crumbeled some feta cheese on top. Today's not so secret ingredient, hot sauce.

Quinoa- If you haven't tried it before, I highly suggest you cook some up asap! It is so much more fun to eat than regular brown rice. It cooks up fluffy and has a slight crunchy texture. It is also high in protein and other vitamins and minerals. All around a good health food.

My afternoon read:

Let's see how these foods can change my life. Happy reading and eating!

Good vibrations..

Powerplate rocks my socks off! I tried a "How to powerplate" tutorial this morning and I was lucky because I was the only participant. Apparently, everyone already knows how to powerplate or haven't discovered it yet (me being the latter). I wanted to try something new. I think fitness pros recommend varying your workouts every 4-6 weeks so that your muscles don't get accustomed to the same exercises.

My instructor informed me that doing a 20 minute session on the powerplate (squats, lunges, tricep dips, etc) was equivalent to doing 40 minutes of the same exercises on the gym floor- I can dig that!
After the tutorial, I did a 20 minute class with 3 other women (there are only 4 powerplates in the gym). I also considered it another stroke of luck that there was a booking error and only 3 people were signed up that morning and I could join in.

After class, I stopped by Waitrose- a supermarket that I would say is similar to Jewel or Dominicks. Maybe a higher end Dominicks. I picked up this bad boy:

This is a popular drink I've seen on many fitness/food blog sites. I had always wanted to try it and I'm glad I did. It is filled with good electrolytes to keep you hydrated and feeling good. The coconut taste was very light. I was expecting a surge of coconut flavor but I think I'm confusing this with a pina colada or sweetened coconut flakes :P. The one downside for this little treat is that it costs almost 3 American dollars. That is one expensive drink! I'm going to try and find it somewhere that I can buy in bulk.

Hunger pains:

Also a new product I'm trying. I make sure that my wholemeal breads or bagels in this case have more than 3 grams of fiber. I can't make my breakfast protein smoothies anymore since the blender is kaput so I needed a temporary breakfast substitute.

Fresh berries with wholegrain bagel topped with laughing cow cheese (only 35 calories!!) and drizzles of honey yo. I liked this bagel. I toasted it so it was slightly crispy on the outside and it had a nice chewy texture. So delicious and nutritious :)

Song of the day: Jo-Jo "Underneath"

Summer reading

So....the summer is winding down but I figured its never too late to do some casual summer reading.

Uhm.. I went a little nutso at Waterstones, the Borders of London. This bookstore had 5 floors! I thoroughly enjoyed perusing through each one. I felt it necessary to take advantage of the 3 for 2 special.. oh and buy another nutrition book that seems promising :o)

Dinner tonight is something simple and hassle free. Plus, I was starving and impatient!

Veggie burger w. organic ketchup/siracha (can't get enuff!) with some baked cheese n onion chips and a splash of my guilty pleasure * diet coke*

I think I have some Real Housewives of New Jersey to catch up on and then I'll get started on one of my new books. Yippee! Happy Monday.

Veggie tales

Lunch:

Talk about veggie overload! You've got asparagus, onions, mushrooms, and zuchinni (or courgettes as they call it here in London). A little bit of salmon and a wholewheat roll on the side :). I prefer rice or some sort of other carb on the side but I figured the veggies/bread should suffice for today. I also snuck in a brownie to satisfy my sweet tooth.

My zumba experience this morning was not very pleasant. I often forget that enthusiastic teachers are what motivates me to sweat that extra bit more. I love both my regular teachers- I take zumba at two different virgin active gyms on separate days. You can tell they love what they do as they try to engage everyone in the room. My substitute teacher today was too lethargic and monotone for my taste. It's unfortunate she'll be subbing for 3 weeks.

I'm currently waiting for there to be another zumba instructor course offered in London. All of the courses are sold out or are too far away for me to attend. Apparently, zumba is becoming very popular and since it only requires a day of training, people are filling up spots fast. I would like to try and turn this hobby into a part time teaching gig. *Fingers crossed!*

Things to come: Take arf arf for a walk, trip to the bookstore, and catch up on some health/fitness magazines.

Song of the day: Seether "Breakdown"

Yesterday

Breakfast:

Wholewheat toast with organic peanut butter and banana slices. My coffee looks gross! My oat "milk" turned it into a not so appetizing color. Still tasted like coffee though! I sort of miss skim milk. I'm not sure why I'm not drinking it because lord knows I'm not lactose intolerant. :P

Workout: Body conditioning class focusing on the legs and tummy 

Today-
Quick snack to power me through my run was a banana with a big schmear of peanut butter. Mmmm..

Damn London rain interupted my run this morning. Thankfully I was able to turn around right as I did or I would have been more soaked than I am. I probably did about 3 miles or so. Running is such a good mind and body cleanser. I love how running helps me process my thoughts and gives me time to reflect on everything that is going on in my life.

I am also now a firm believer that running helps tone your body. My trouble area has always been my stomach.Whenever I eat or drink too much junk, the belly is the first one to get noticeably bigger. Running has helped so much in this area and I think my stomach is the flattest it has ever been in my lifetime. Not only does it tone me up, it also encourages me to eat properly since I don't want to fuel my body with junk while I'm running. I'm thinking about doing a 5 or 10k run sometime in the near future. This may not seem like a lot but it is for me since I have never done either of those. 

Now with a clear head and on a runners high, I'm off to Zumba! :)

I eat to live and live to eat.

My entire day involved around lounging around and eating. What a lazy Sunday. I did do a 5 mile run along the river Thames because it was just that beautiful of an afternoon. I love running when its sunny outside and still cool due to the breeze.

Lunch was at a restaurant called Made in Italy. The food was good but the service was a bit lacking. They took our reservation but refused to let us in at noon because their staff was eating. Could they not have eaten prior to their marked opening time? I was a hungry girl on a mission (and slightly hungover I must admit) and I was not amused. We also ordered pizza and was later told that this was not an option due to their dough not being ready. W.T.F?

I was so hungry that I didn't even think of unwrapping the cute duck figurine (I might have squealed like a little kid when I saw it) to show what was inside. That would be a seafood pasta with mussels,clams,shrimp,and squid with a tomato garlic sauce.

Spaghetti bolognese with fresh pasta. Fresh pasta is a nice change from the usual packaged noodles.

After lunch was an afternoon movie:

It's official...I'm a sap! I hate to admit that I shed a tear at the end of the movie. Something about the toys made me nostalgic about my childhood days. That reminds me.. where's my stuffed animal I used to snuggle with!?

Dinner tonight was at the Orrery restaurant. By far the best meal I've had in a very long time.

Started with the obvious:

French restaurants in London serve the best bread. This was definitely the case tonight. I had two pieces of the brown bread and a half of the baguette.

Everything is betta w. butta!

The glass of champagne came complimentary with the 3 course meal. I swear, it was forced. And so was this:

I ordered the lamb so a glass of red was in order.

Amuse Bouche of tomato gazpacho and something I couldn't exactly make out on top. It was chilled, foamy and delicious.

Starter: Lobster bisque with seafood tortellini. This is the new wave of comfort food.

Tender lamb with whipped potato goodness and summer vegetables.

I'm clearly happy and hunched over like nobodys business. I must work on my posture pronto!

 Pre dessert blackcurrant jelly

Dessert: creme brulee, pistachio cake, sorbet, and cherry compote. There goes my creme brulee kick again. Funny how taste buds change throughout your lifetime. This dessert was never on my repertoire growing up.

His: Meringue with fresh strawberries and creme. The eye of the swan was a piece of chocolate. I think I'm seeing a theme today...

Like we need any more sweets! It just wouldn't be the same without petit fours though. The one in the middle tasted like a waffle cone w. peanuts. The one behind it was a sesame crisp. The one on the right was coconut with passion fruit creme in the middle. The sugar jelly was apricot and too overly sweet for me. The chocolate truffle that can't be seen was their take on the ferrero rocher (I thought theirs was better!).

I'm stuffed like a turkey bird on Thanksgiving! I'm looking forward to burning off some of these calories in the morning. G'night yall!

No fortune in my fortune cookie!!

My Saturday morning started out with a dripping sweat session of body combat at my Virgin Active gym. 

Sort of looks like this but more intense and of course the ladies all look badass. :-D

Quick snack:

I was excited to try this organic frozen yogurt shop called Frae because I was looking for a Snog replacement due to our upcoming move. I thought this yogurt was creamier and less tart than Snog so I give it two thumbs up! That's green tea w. choco chips and mochi on top.

Afterwards, we did a 2 1/2 hour tour of Notting Hill based on the filming spots from the movie like the traveling bookshop and the private garden where Will and Anna sneak into. We tried watching the movie the other night but I found it cheesy watching it the second time around.

"After all... I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her"

After the tour, my tummy was speaking to me in loud voices and chinese food was calling my name.

I heart chinese food. Who doesn't like chinese food? Bring it ON!

Shredded duck with my fav. hoisin sauce

Hot and sour soup with lots of mushrooms, tofu,and shrimp. Just the right amount of spiceyness for this spicy lil chili pepper (me!)

Ginger prawns with sweet onions and spring onions

Assorted veggies smothered in an unknown but delicious sauce

EGG FRIED RICE!

Fried calamari. Crispy breading and big chunks of squid. YUMM-O!!

After dinner was:

Okay.. so we didn't exactly look like this but I thought it was a funny picture. Anyone dance like that in real life? In all honesty, there was lots of:

And I was serious about my title. I didn't get a fortune in my fortune cookie. What's up with that?

Throw back song of the day: Garth Brooks "She's Every Woman"