FoodieintheUK

Friday, 25 February 2011

Some people have all the luck...

I PASSED my anatomy theory test that I honestly believed I had failed. I am one step closer to becoming a Personal Trainer. After the most shitastic (excuse my language) week and a few tears shed in a bathroom.. yep a bathroom for no real reason, this is GREAT news to end my week. I think I might have scared my teacher when he said I passed and I almost shouted "you're kidding me!!" at him. :-D

I had a quite yummy black bean burger yesterday @ http://www.eaglebardiner.com/. I decided to go vegetarian for lunch. It was extra good because it was on an actual sesame seeded bun. Woo hoo! London restaurants are notorious for serving their burgers all kinds of different breads- no gracias!

Dinner: Sauteed kale, mushrooms with chicken and quinoa.

I might have gone a lil overboard w. the soy sauce :o)

Breakfast: Multi-grain bagel w. cream cheese n honey. Banana's and apples with peanut butter.

Pre-cycle class snack break. I stopped in Sainsbury's and helped myself to the salad bar. In the mix: beets, pasta, peppers, cucumbers, olives, feta, beans, and corn.

I did my first spinning class today. It was actually a mock class taught by a classmate of mine who will be teaching her first class tonight. I was a serious SKEPTIC about spinning and I did NOT want to do it. Surprisingly, I thought the class was REALLY effective and a very challenging but amazing workout. My legs were burning about halfway through the class and it was only 30 minutes!! I would definitely recommend spinning to anyone looking for a high intensity, maximal calorie burning, and efficient workout. Good stuff really!

Time to relax after the long week...

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle"- Plato

Wednesday, 23 February 2011

FC Bayern Munich FTW

I ran out of bagels so I made some wholewheat toast with some egg whites

Even though I don't like just the flavor of egg whites, this stuff is awesome. No more need to waste the yolk and deal with the mess of cracking open the egg and fish out the whites.

Some smoked salmon

and all together now..This breakfast fueled me through an outdoor circuit training session yesterday. We're down to the last final weeks of our program and MAN is it tough. I don't know yet how I feel about outdoor circuit training. Think 100 reps of all kinds of exercises ranging from mountain climbers, squat jumps, burpees, lunges, grasshoppers, ETC. If I ever need a reminder how out of shape I am, well this is it :)

Dinner yesterday: Bigham's shepards pie..

I also sauteed some asparagus and mushrooms in EVOO, salt n peppa.

Today was another outdoor session but this time in the rain....for two hours.. in the mud.. in Regent's park. Blergh. Someone shoot me now. Yea?

Lunch: I wanted something to warm me up. Any place that rhymes it's restaurant name sounds promising and authentic :P

I ordered the chinese noodles with shredded chicken and shrimp in a spicy and sour broth. Surprisingly, it was quite tasty.

Whey protein smoothie time. I topped it with a free sample that I got from my recent Ocado order. Oat's & More. The texture was very crunchy and it had a slight honey taste. Yum :)

Dinner and drinks at a proper German bar to watch a proper football match :o). It was also a farewell dinner to a couple who are moving back to San Francisco after a short stay in London.

http://zeitgeist-london.com/?page_id=3

Pint o' prawns- these prawns were not very good. I was hoping for plump, big, juicy prawns but all we got were small prawns that had little eggs in the bodies of them that we had to peel back. Eeewwww.. I would lie and say I didn't eat them but I had my fair share of em.

Cheezburga and chips

When at a German pub, one must order wienerschnitzel aka breaded veal. It was good but I felt like I needed a dipping sauce with it. Spoken like a true American no?

GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

FC Bayern Munich for the win!!

The crowd was going nuts everytime Germany had a potential goal but boy did they go crazy for that last shot in the final minute of the game. Ammmazzzing!!

Now that my body is aching from every possible joint and muscle....BED TIME!

Monday, 21 February 2011

Takeout

...my level 3 Personal Trainer assessment and case study. Yippee!!! I only have two more full weeks of my program and am one step closer to becoming a PT and more importantly, rejoining the real world!! Now if only I could find out whether or not ~~I failed~~ I passed my theory paper. :o)

I got up at 6 this morning to prepare myself a complete breakfast of eggs and toast and do a bit more revising. Breakfast in my pink jammies!!!

I swear the day of trying to eat healthy started out well.......

Dinner: takeout chinese. I really need to start eating better.No joke I've literally gained 5 pounds or so since the start of this year. BAD BAD BAD!!!

But who can resist a bit of ribs, fried rice, and a hoisin slathered duck wrap.

sliced pieces of duck

Sweet n Sour shrimp

very spicy Schezwan chicken. I love Chinese takeout but I just wish it was a bit healthier. Time to get my bootay in gear. Summer is right around the corner and I want a bangin bikini body. hehehe.. Kind of like her. yeheaaa. She looks amaaaazing. Go Padma!!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1359036/Top-Chefs-Padma-Lakshmi-bikini-best-year-giving-birth.html

Sunday, 20 February 2011

Lahore Kabab House

Yesterday's dinner plans to go to Lahore Kabob house was a big FAIL after waiting for an hour and being forced to leave due to prior engagments we had with friends later that night. The head of house was extremely misleading and kept promising that we would be the next table, when it was clearly obvious that they kept seating other people ahead of us. I don't care if we have to wait, all I ask in return is a good buffer time aka say 45mins-hour if you think its going to be a longer wait!! Don't tell us it'll be 25 minutes originally and at the 40 minute point, keep deferring and promising us we will be next if you cannot deliver. SO ANNOYING!! Fortunately, we saw Mirch Masala, a good fallback plan. At least the service was prompt and the food all delicious.
http://www.mirchmasalarestaurant.co.uk/menucard.htm

Sizzling lamb chops- Peppery and very tender.

Butter chicken wings. YUUM

Lamb biriyani

Pilau rice

Ginger chicken- the chicken was very tender and juicy but the sauce could have been a bit thicker. The flavor was delicious though.

Lunch this afternoon:

T made some breaded chicken seasoned with truffle oil, sauteed shallots, mayo, siracha, and topped with avocado slices.

I'm sort of an oddball, I can't eat sandwiches without something on the side. Just hand over some chips, soup, crackers, sumthin!! Now thats a tasty sandwich.

After a very productive salsa lesson, pizza treat!! I'm taking advanced group lessons whenever my teacher has the time. It is so humbling to be dancing among such great dancers. Hard, yes but I've never been this motivated in my life to become better at something. I used to be the queen of picking up a hobby and dropping it like everything else in my life: jobs, friends, boyfriends, studies. Dancing awakens such a passion in me. Extreme joy.. What else can I say. Everyone must experience something like this!!! :) Anyway.. I digress..

smoked chicken, onions, and three types of cheeses= HUNGRY HUNGRY HIPP-O!!

You musta fold it lika tis.

Peace out.

food filled weekend

Wonton dumplings at Golden Dragon restaurant in China town. Generously stuffed wontons in a nice warm broth.
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/place?oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=golden+dragon+china+town&fb=1&gl=uk&hq=golden+dragon+china+town&hnear=Islington&cid=16994760246725952166

the appetizer platter was shockingly good. Most appetizer platters disappoint me but this one didn't. The shrimp toasts actually had shrimp in them, the egg rolls were stuffed nicely, and the ribs were salty and delicious. Not to mention, the sweet and salty crispy seaweed in the middle (usually everyones surprising favorite)