What I've learned in Antwerp

• Don't travel early morning because you'll spend most of the afternoon sleeping in the hotel
• Trust your instincts- Don't eat at a restaurant that's super crowded in the city square (the food will just be mediocre!)
• Always save room for dessert (the Belgium waffles are amaaaazing!! They are chewy and the dough is delicious!)
• Order the mussels.. even if a restaurant IS called Grill 77
• The men in Antwerp are pretty dang attractive! (Sorry T, don't read this part)
• People watching is fun, no matter what city you're in
• Antwerp has reminded me a bit of Milan, Paris, and Budapest
• There is a bar that has over 300 Belgium beers and 18 on tap. I think we got through 4 or so.. 
• McDonalds closes super early but there's always late night shwarma (and a guy that speaks Arabic!)
• It's cold here and next time I think I'll pack shoes other than flip flops and sneakers... oh and I'll bring a jacket too!
• I love traveling...

Off to Bruge today!

Belgium

Chocolates, Waffles, Beer, Mussels... What more could a foodie ask for?

We can talk about healthy living later. :-)

The Skin I Live In

evoo, salt, pepper, minced fresh garlic

after a successful PUNCH class, I was craving a salad for lunch. I peered into Pret a Manger for a split second but wasn't really feeling anything in there so I came home to find a sirloin steak in the fridge just waiting to be used!

a bed of herb salad with rocket leaves

portobellini mushrooms

these mushrooms have so much more flavor and are meatier than just plain button mushrooms.

I spread some goat cheese on top of the steak a few minutes prior to taking it out of the oven. Goat cheese + steak= brilliant!!

it was missing a little something something...

a HA! A squeeze of siracha and honey balsamic dressing did the trick!

I couldn't resist an afternoon shortbread, caramel, and chocolate bar. yummy!!

The movie last night was awesome! I really enjoyed seeing it at the Somerset House. If you aren't aware, Somerset house has an outdoor area that turns into a movie theater during the summertime. Its usually a place where people can chill out in the sun during the day. When the weather is actually nice, I've seen kids play in the water that shoots up from the ground . We saw "The Skin I live in" last night and it was the strangest plotline I had ever seen but it was a really great movie. I highly recommend watching it! Bonus, we also got to see Pedro Almodovar and one of his movies stars Elena Anaya (beautiful!!) in the flesh! I won't lie, he was a bit hard to understand with his thick accent but it was really cool all the same.

Note to self: Bring blanket next time!

We unfortunately forgot to bring blankets so we sat on the cold hard ground!

Breakfast this morning: I decided to forgo the carbs and have scrambled eggs w. sauteed mushrooms. I might have had some McDonalds healthy fruits and veggies last night. ;-)

snack prior to hitting the gym later in the morning/afternoon

Workout: 8-10 reps

• Incline bench press
• Lateral raise
• Rest 2 minutes and repeat 2x
• Incline lat pulldown
• Cable reverse flye
• Rest 2 minutes and repeat 2x
• Gym ball jackknife
• Gym ball alternating superman
• Rest 1 minute and repeat 2x

mmmm.. I was craving Chilangos!

its somewhat healthy! I got the grilled chicken salad with pinto & black beans, chix, tomatoes, medium salsa, and lettuce

I also added an additional topping of cottage cheese at the last minute. It was really delicious on top!

Agenda: research, study, teach zumba, relax!

Holy crapballs! This season looks insane and I love it!! :-D muhahahaha

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75jnazn_JpY

2 for Tuesday

ham, pineapple, mushroom, cheese stuffed crust pizza!

When I'm sick, I like to indulge in some comfort food. I promise it makes me feel better! Case in point: Pizza :)

and it was 2 for Tuesday and who can resist such an offer?!

I had 2 slices of my Hawaiian pizza

and one slice of T's veggie pizza with some sauteed peppers on the side. I can usually crush 4-6 pieces but it was either the heaviness of the cheese crust or the fact that I ate the peppers but I was STUFFED crust pizza (no pun intended!!). We watched the most recent episode of True Blood and called it a night :) I'm glad that I'm enjoying this season so far because I was starting to get sick of the show last season. I think it's Eric's childlike behavior that's doing it for me. :-)

 

mas fluffy eggs for breakfast!

w. antioxidant blueberries

proper brain fuel!! I'm going to spend the rest of the afternoon doing some more research into my program and keep trucking away on my personal statement.

Agenda: writing, researching, PUNCH class, subbing Zumba class, then it's off to Somerset House to watch Pedro Almodovar's "The Skin I Live In" --uhhh.. creepy??!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/may/19/cannes-2011-film-festival-pedro-almodovar-review

Cucs and Goat cheese

talk about a random but healthy snack: cucumbers with a tablespoon of goat cheese. crunchy and savory just how I like it :)

Dinner last night was Bigham's Indonesian chicken satay with some added prawns and broccoli. I managed to sub another zumba class and not totally fall apart from my recovering cold..

eggs and toast for breakfast

I proceeded to go for a run later in the afternoon. BAD BAD idea. About 20 minutes into the run, I started feeling a.w.f.u.l! I guess I'm not completely over my cold after all! My bad.. :(

Most of my morning/afternoon was spent researching and working on my personal statement. Thankfully I have my brilliant husband tearing it apart editing it. ha! Red ink EVERYWHERE. Bad Hanna Bad! :-) Not that I mind though because I'm always grateful for help---lord knows I could use it! I'll just have to keep on truckin! More on this later...

I stopped by Pret a Manger for lunch after my run. Don't ask me how but I managed to get lost while trying to get home from Regent's Park so I was actually running/walking for an hour!

I really love Pret a Manger's soups because they are filling and very hearty. Mmm.. soup when you're sick is peeerfect!

 

an afternoon snack that's pretty much dessert: banana bread w. a spread of nutella.. Yum!

Agenda: teach zumba, rest

Ripe bananas

random plate of food: salmon, sauteed mushrooms, and a piece of spinach and ricotta cannelloni.

I had a pretty lazy Sunday afternoon. It was spent reading, baking, and watching He's just not that into you, which I've already seen 2x lol..

I had a ton of ripe bananas staring at me on the counter so I decided to make really simple banana bread.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/the-best-banana-bread/detail.aspx
Substitutions:

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• generous splash of vanilla extract
• sprinkle of salt
• 4 ripe bananas

 

I always seem to forget that bread always tastes better when its cooled.. I can't help myself!!

 

I made myself some oven roasted steak and veggies for dinner and proceeded to rewatch one of the greatest movies of all time!! :-)

man.. I forgot how good this movie is.. My favorite quote that gives me the chills: "You be strong, you survive... You stay alive, no matter what occurs! I will find you. No matter how long it takes, no matter how far, I will find you."--- uhmm can you say Daniel Day Lewis heart swoon?!?!

The hubs later brought me some of his mother's home cookin.. I can't resist this either! It was so good.

fish, potatoes, rice, homemade spring rolls

Breakfast then gym!

 

banana bread with some almond butter spread on top- delish!

Gym time: I lifted for about 45 mins focusing on my back/chest. I'm still sick but I thought a little bit of weightlifting wouldn't hurt.

leftovers for lunch

New reading material!

I hate summer colds!

seekh kabab

Last night, we took T's friend who's in town from New York to Lahore Kabob House, a Pakistani restaurant. We just can't get enough of this place!
http://www.lahore-kebabhouse.com/

the tastiest, most flavorful lamb chops-- I had two :)

lamb biriyani

We ordered 3 types of naan:

• butter
• chili
• coconut <---- this naan is pretty sweet so I would recommend saving it for dessert

lamb jalfrezi

quail and chickpea curry

king prawn curry

After dinner I was planning on joining the boys for another night out but I wasn't feeling very well so I went home and slept :(...  Good thing I did because I'm still sick-- poo poo on summer colds! I'm doping up on lots of fruit and veg hoping to get rid of it soon.

T made us a lovely breakfast this morning

shrimp and egg omelet w. cheddar cheese

Strangely, this is my first time making flavored water. Why haven't I thought of this before? It's so simple and refreshing!! In the mix:

• sliced cucumbers
• strawberries
• lemons
• mint

 

I had some roasted broccoli on the side w. my prawn omelet. 

Agenda:  Rest & more rest!