TGI FRIDAY!!

Yay! I can finally say my weekend is here!! TGIF! :-) haha.. it feels so weird saying that since I haven't been in school since 2006. Yeesh! I'm actually a part time student though so my schedule has gotten somewhat lighter. I attend classes from Wednesday 9:30- 12, Thursday, 9-12, and Friday 9-1 p.m. Not too shabby.

Now you would think this still leaves me plenty of time to blog, workout, and study, but I'm finding it really difficult these days to manage my schedule. It's only been a couple weeks though so I'm hoping I just haven't "found my grove" yet. Here are some pictures from a couple nights back.

I made wild salmon for dinner prepped in:

• brown sugar
• soy sauce
• vegetable oil
• water
• garlic powder

I used this recipe again because the last time I made it, the fish turned out sweet and delicious. I baked the fish in the oven for 15 minutes on 175 C but the fish turned out a bit overcooked so I think next time I'll make sure to take it out after 10.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/grilled-salmon-i/detail.aspx

saute of zuchinni, red onions, and mushrooms in EVOO, salt, pepper, and garlic powder

yuum.. I could really taste the true flavor of the veggies since I didn't douse everything in siracha this time! :)

What a simple, healthy, and tasty dinner. Mmm mmm!

Lunch yesterday was soup,salad, and more soup!

I've rediscovered my passion for light ranch dressing again. Hallelujah! Thankfully I had a huge stash that was brought over to me by my family.

Waitrose minestrone soup from a container.

this soup is delicious; it contains lots of veggies, pasta, and beans all combined in a lovely tomato-ey broth.

3 hours later... I was still hankering for more soup so I heated myself a can of Cream of Chicken soup and added in some white rice. Cream of chicken and white rice soup! yumm-o

with lots of black pepper

So..  I haven't been to the gym since Monday. BAD HANNA. BAD! Please. Someone. Find. Me. My. Motivation. Again. It's just one of those times in my life where I have lost all will to work out. I'm completely content with sitting at home.. eating... sleeping... studying... eating.... sleeping.....studying.. Real Housewives.. Jersey Shore.. eating ...sleeping.... studying.. :-)

Back to that eating part. I ordered from My Sushi Club again last night since T was busy at work. My platter of sushi included the veggie platter consisting of asparagus, crab, cucumber, and avocado nigiri. I also had two temaki rolls, the California and eel and avocado.

bowl of miso soup

my eyes were definitely bigger than my stomach when I ordered the chicken katsu because I was super full by the time I got to this. I had a few bites and saved the rest for the hubs.

it was tasty though!

this little princess managed to sneak in half my California temaki roll when I took a bathroom break. I should have known man; she was eyeing my food all night! BAD GIRL!!

Guess who finally made it to the gym today!? Yes, I went because I made myself no other option but to go. This morning, I packed myself a peanut butter sandwich and and apple so I wouldn't have the excuse "but I'm too hungry to go to the gym!!" and I made sure I kept hydrated and visually pumped myself to go straight there. My vision didn't turn out exactly the way I had hoped (ie: sweat dripping, endorphins flowing). My workout was pretty tame but it still felt good to get in a workout either way.

Focus: Warm up 6 minutes on treadmill, Back and Chest, 3 sets, 15 reps

• lat pulldown (B)
• dumbbell chest press on swiss ball (C)
• seated low pulley row (B)
• chest fly on swiss ball (C)
• assisted pull up (B)
• push ups on knees (C)

stopped by Chilangos for lunch and scarfed this down immediately upon arrival at home. T'was delicious as always :)

• chicken
• lettuce
• pinto AND black beans
• mild salsa (inc. tomatoes) and hot salsa
• light sour cream
• light sprinkle of cheese

I've sort of fooled myself into thinking this is a healthy lunch. You do save yourself some calories though by eliminating the tortilla and going light on the sour cream and cheese. I was half tempted to skip the sour cream and cheese but no way man, it adds that much more flavor to the salad! Yummmy!!

Time to relax and reflect aka nap time!

Sushi couch date

Last night was quite uneventful. Sushi. Couch. Me. Date :) Excuse the crappy Iphone pictures!

I ordered delivery from My Sushi Club, and got an assortment of schtuff: California temaki, spider temaki, eel and avocado temaki, egg nigiri, and eel nigiri.

nom.. nom.. nom..

veggie deluxe: avocado, asparagus, and cucumber..

spicy mayo to dip

my babes wanted part of the eating action.

ob-sessed!

I forgot to post pics from dinner that we had last Wednesday at Addis restaurant, one of three (maybe even more!) Ethiopian restaurants on Caledonian road. I love that we are so close to all of them because Ethopian food is after my own heart, it’s spicy and super tasty.

http://www.addisrestaurant.co.uk/

 

hommous and fried aubergine to start. The aubergine didn't feel fried at all because it was smothered in a smoky gravy that was really good.

Injera bread to Africans is like chopsticks to Asians; you eat everything with this sour bread and your fingers. The bread was darker than most we've had, but I swear it was tastier!

On top: awaze tibs- lamb, doro wot-chicken, yetesom beyaynetu- vegetarian dish with cabbage, carrots, chickpeas, and potatoes

I liked Addis more than Merkato and Marathon because I thought the flavours were a lot cleaner and it felt looked and tasted less oily. Yummy!!

Breakfast this morning: Since the hubby is in bed, I didn't really feel like making a big production over breakfast so I made myself a protein smoothie. Poor T, he came to bed at 7:30 a.m. this morning! All work and no play :(

in the mix:

• unsweetened soy milk
• frozen banana
• frozen berries
• scoop of chocolate powder
• spinach
• agave nectar
• toppings: cranberry and maple muesli, almonds, goji berries, pumpkin seeds

Making my mouth water

Yesterday, we went over to the MIL's house and she prepared us an amazing lunch of rice, chicken, beans, egg rolls, and salad. I don’t throw around the word amazing just because she's my MIL; in fact, I would be honest and tell you if the food wasn't that good for one usual reason or the other. Everything was so delicious that I had thirds and left beyond stuffed!

The table was already set when we arrived.

Looking at this right now at 9 a.m. the next day makes my mouth water, literally!

a simply dressed salad with lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, and carrots.

this bean dish was very comforting and delicious. It consisted of beans, tomatoes, pureed carrots, and celery.

Seriously.. keep me away from these fried, amazing "egg rolls." I swear I had like 3 but could have eaten 4, 5, 6... There were two kinds, one with meat and the other with cheese. I had 2 meats and 2 cheese. Yuuuumm!!!

This chicken and rice dish was so delicious- the chicken was fall off the bone tender and the rice very flavorful-- I'm not sure what kinds of spices she used, but the rice was so tasty!! So glad she gave us leftovers ;)

assorted cookies and tea for dessert.

After the meal, the rest of the day was spent as a lazy Sunday afternoon. I really wanted to watch the Bears game last night but I had no one to go with :( This is probably my LEAST favorite part about living in the UK. I don't really have anyone to watch American sports with and its kind of a pain for many reasons

1.) Games usually air at 12, 3, or 6, and if its anywhere in the latter time period and it's a Sunday, I don't really want to stay up that late!

2.) We usually have to leave home to watch a game

3.) Only certain games air at specific bar or dining locations

4.) Ordering sports channels online or on tv costs more money

5.) Ordering the sports channels at home doesn't guarantee a game will even be showing! 

On a more positive note: my team won!!

At least a sushi dinner made up for the lack of any football action in the house..

We ordered delivery from My Sushi Club through just eat.co.uk.

I thought everything was delicious and probably the best delivery Japanese food we've ordered through Just Eat.

the chicken katsu stayed crispy through the delivery process-- score!! The only downside to this dish was that there wasn't any sauce to accompany the chicken. I was impressed with the amount of veggies that were underneath, everything ranging from peppers, mushrooms, and zucchini.

freebies

chirashi

On my plate was: spider roll, salmon and avocado roll, spicy tuna (fav!!) handroll, eel and avocado handroll, salmon and seabass nigiri-- the salmon was good but I wasn't a fan of the seabass, and a piece of spicy yellowtail gunkan

After dinner, I watched Resident Evil: Afterlife. Yes, I must have been that desperate. At least it was entertaining!

Breakfast time: What's a girl to do when there are no eggs in the house?!? Make buttermilk pancakes of course!

one chocolate chip and 1/2 a regular pancake

doused in real Vermont maple syrup-- nothing beats it!!

Whoop Whoop- I got my delivery this morning! I'm so cheap that I bought a youth sweatshirt in a large size, lol..

Hat- check, Sweatshirt-check.. Bring on October 23 baby!!