Zumba bat tat tat ta ta da Zumba

Yay! I finished my first week of school, AND I managed to arrive to most of my classes on time. That was quite a challenge but I'm feeling slightly better about being able to navigate around. I just have to make sure I actually catch the bus on time or take the tube instead. My commute is only 30 minutes door to door so I feel pretty lucky.

Today was my Numeracy for Biological Sciences where we covered simple math topics like Order of Operations, and Directed Numbers. Does everyone remember the acronym Bodmas for Brackets, Of, Division, Multiplication, Addition, and Subtraction? lol.. Needless to say, I breezed through this week's Math lab and left an hour early to go home and make lunch!

leftover soup and salad

yummy! it's even better the second time around :-)

beetroot salad with light ranch dressing

open faced mayo, siracha, havarti cheese, turkey sandwich

Today was  my last day teaching Zumba on Friday's since the venue was cancelled due to increase in venue hire. In honor of the end: Enjoy!
www.guardian.co.uk/trebor-sweet-success/video/alex-worrall-taste-of-sweet-success-zumba-video
www.guardian.co.uk/trebor-sweet-success

Woo hoo years

PB and apples before my second day of school.....................................is it over yet?!? he he he.. J/K.. it's really not that bad, I'm just over exaggerating. Looking back, I’m so grateful to have gone to Mizzou and had the awesome experiences that I did because don't get me wrong, this university is fine for getting done what it needs to get done but it lacks 3 major things in my book 1.) beautiful campus 2.) sports team 3.) coherent room placement. Call me vain, but these things are/were important to me! I feel okay about it though since I’m not going to school to relive my “woo hoo” years. :-) My biggest gripe for sure about London Met is that when I'm not in class, I'm usually seen running around like a chicken with its head cut off, trying to find each room. I hope as time goes by, I’ll know the school like the back of my hand. On the plus side, I was able to walk by Arsenal stadium today and I’m not gonna lie, it was pretty cool!!!

GF corn flakes and GF puff cereal

I combined two gluten free cereals with skim milk to accompany by PB n apples. 

After a 2 hour Biology lecture and 1 hour tutorial, I stopped by Pret on the way home to pick up a sandwich and chips for lunch. I was also pleasantly surprised to have found our cleaning lady had already come in the morning and our place was sparkling clean. T has hired help for us every week since going to school, studying, gym time, and taking Nomi out leaves not much time to clean. I'm very grateful for the help, and she's pretty reasonable!

pork meatball sandwich (odd I know, but it was pretty tasty!) and a side of mature cheddar and onion chips

Gym time : I went to a 20 minute TRX class using suspension cables and combining exercises using our own bodyweight like squats, lunges, star jumps, ab work. I also hopped on the treadmill for a light jog for 20 minutes.

It felt good to be back in the gym after a 3 day hiatus. I hate taking more than one day off but I've been super tired lately and can't seem to muster up the energy to leave the house after coming back from class. If only there was an easier way to get to class, gym, THEN come home, but I'm typically hungry and tired by the end of class so I feel pressured to come home, eat, nap, then study. Blergh... After feeling a second burst of energy tonight, I might end up changing my workout routine to going in the late afternoons/evenings. We'll see....

I stopped at Waitrose to pick up a few random things for dinner since T's busy working tonight..

I've been on a tomato-eey kick today..

I decided to add in a can of beans for a more fibrous dinner

+ gluten free pasta for even more bulk

+ a generous pinch of chili flakes

Yum!! This was my first time trying gluten free pasta, and I couldn't tell the difference! The texture was the same, and the taste didn't seem any different but it could also be that the soup masked the true flavor. It was delicious all the same.

teeny bit of potato salad with siracha (don't judge), and I ate 1/2 this roll with havarti cheese on it. My eyes were definitely bigger than my stomach tonight!!

 

I swear this is the last thing I ate, LOL.. beetroot salad with multigrain croutons and a light vinaigrette.

Time to get my sleep study on!

Makes you love your daddy even more: 

http://www.fromdatestodiapers.com/50-rules-for-dads-of-daughters

First day of class

leftovers for lunch

teach Zumba then pizza for dinner

 

the veggie pizza from Basilico pizza was delicious- it was topped with red onions, zuchinni, and aubergine. YUMM-O!

banana oats before my first day of Chemistry class and Bio/Chem lab!!

• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup oats
• dash of cinnamon
• whole banana smooshed
• spoonful of creamy, all natural peanut butter

I had my first Chemistry lecture this morning from 9-11, went back home to eat this Pret a Manger lunch, got in a quick 40 minute nap, then headed back for lab.

sweet chili and coriander chicken sandwich with sea salt and apple cider vinegar chips

nom, nom, nom, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......................

Dinner was some hanguk umshik, and now its time to study and go to bed. Horray for busy days, but no bueno for not getting a workout in today!! I'm hoping tomorrow's short day allows me to go to the gym afterwards. Finger's crossed!

Song of the day: "Ahora Quien"- Marc Anthony

Grand Imperial restaurant

I didn't take pictures at all on Sunday but here's what we did:

Had all you can eat Dim Sum with friends at the Grand Imperial near Victoria station. The restaurant with its pillars and decorative floral pieces was a beautiful sight. Objectively speaking, I could tell that the food was really fresh and delicious, but it just didn't sit well with me in the end. T really enjoyed it though and thought it was the best Dim Sum he's had in London. The service was pretty piss poor but I guess that's just "London service." Why you ask? Our main waiter wasn't friendly AT ALL, in fact, I don't think he even smiled once. He seemed flustered, and didn't know his menu very well when we asked him a question about a certain type of dim sum. I reaaaaaally hate bad service considering the dining experience can be so much more heightened with friendly/helpful service. Just a side note, I think all you can eat applies only on Sunday afternoons. We showed up at 12:30.

After Dim Sum, T and I went home to relax for a few hours, and then we headed off to Bodeans for some Kansas City style BBQ and American FOOTBALL. We watched the Dallas Cowboys kick some Lions ass and then went home early only to find out that the Lions came back to win the game! lol.. W. T. *£&$£$^£&$^£&$^£&???!??!... At least my Bears won!! All and all, it was a great way to spend a Sunday.

Moving on to Monday...

I started the morning with a bowl of Blueberry oats. Most of the morning was spent napping, reading, and doing some Zumba choreography.

For lunch, I cooked a frying steak on the stovetop with some bok choy and kim chee on the side. I prepared the steak quite simply, just rubbing it with coconut oil and sprinkling some Montreal Steak seasoning on both top and bottom. I think I found the technique to cooking my steak juuuuust right. I made sure to heat the pan nice and hot first, and then added my steak (you can tell the pan is hot bc the meat makes that wonderful sizzling noise when it hits it). I cooked one side for 3 minutes, then turned the steak over and placed a lid on top, cooking the other side for an additional 3-4 minutes. The key is not to fuss with the meat and allow it to cook. It turned out pretty tender and delicious dipped in bbq sauce.

My workout for the day was a late afternoon PUNCH class. I've substituted my Wednesday class for Monday since I'll be in class all day!

T made this wonderful dinner last night. Japanese chicken and egg in a delicious, sweet marinade all over rice.

kimchi and kactoogi- Korean side dishes

I made the veggies: sauteed zuchinni with EVOO, siracha, sesame oil, and soy sauce.

asparagus lightly seasoned with butter, salt, and pepper

 

Yum! This is Asian comfort food at its finest.

the broth was definitely slurpable

Breakfast was a bowl of Gluten Free corn and rice krispies with a sliced banana and a squeeze of agave nectar to sweeten up the cereal.

Agenda: Fingers crossed** I make it to the gym, teach Zumba, relax

L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon

Yesterday was a very chillax anniversary day. We didn't do much during the day, but we did manage to venture outside the house for lunch. I finally got my itch scratched for a perfect bowl of ramen noodles

T had the bbq beef in this amazing marinade. It was about as delicious as it looks. I snuck in a few bites- nom nom nom!!

I ordered the seafood ramen with white rice. If I followed a cheat day, I would definitely be eating this. Give me plain packet ramen noodles any day!

http://www.allinlondon.co.uk/restaurants/restaurant-3775.php

I had one of the most fun and delicious dining experiences last night at Joel Robuchon, a two-starred Michelin restaurant. They do a very reasonable pre- theatre menu for £29 and the choice of appetizer, main, and dessert was excellent.

As soon as we walked in to the restaurant, on a bustling Covent Garden street, I felt as if we were transported to another place and time. Sitting in the open kitchen area, we watched the chefs masterfully at work. I told T that I felt sort of like an intruder looking in since they were so professional and rarely acknowledged us, the patrons all lined up in front of them.

We started with this amuse bouche that tasted like a tuna sandwich but in moose form. YUM!

eeewww.. I brought my phone out so I could be subtle about taking pictures but that left for really ugly photos. It was sad really but I would rather have these then no photos at all! They made me a really delicious fruit cocktail. For £6, it had better be delicious! ;-)

T likes to order beers that he's never tried before or that is special to the restaurant, so he was a bit surprised when the waiter brought out this standard London meantime beer.

My appetizer was an egg cocotte in light mushroom cream. This was a light, creamy broth with a generous portion of mushrooms and an unidentifiable green gel like substance that was served with a small toasted crouton. It was really unique and super tasty. I had no idea what egg cocotte was when I first ordered it but I trusted that it was going to be different and delicious. So glad I ordered it!
http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/main-ingredient/eggs/eggs-en-cocotte.html

T had the chichory tart with an apple and vanilla compote.

I had a small bite with all the components on the plate and it was delicious.

Mmmm.. another picture of silky perfection.

My main was guinea fowl with bacon bits, mushrooms, and butternut squash puree. The meat was PERFECTLY cooked and had a really wonderful flavor to it. It wasn't gamey at all. The butternut squash complemented the meat wonderfully.

T had the spaghetti with roasted tomatoes, and olives. His only complaint was that there wasn't enough food, and I would have to agree.

they served us creamy parsnips as a side. "These are the best parsnips I've ever had!"- T

for dessert, we both ordered the strawberry eclaire with pistachio cream. Pistachio+fresh strawberries+crispy marzipan like topping, and a fluffy pastry= heaven on a plate!!

oh and don't forget the pure vanilla bean ice cream!

Yes, I was the crazy psycho taking multiple pictures of her dessert. I didn't even pretend to be texting on my phone!

Even though I was super full, I could have definitely housed another one of these bad boys!

After dinner, we came home to Sonoma snuggles and some Glee. What a day!