Itadaki Zen

We went to a organic vegan Japanese restaurant last night. Who's ever heard of this strange yet very intriguing concept? I love trying new things!! We started off with a vegetable and tofu course. The green beans in the middle were my favorite.

the tofu was a bit hard and tasted bitter so it really wasn't a winner

I'm not sure what the marinade was but it was very delicious!

Zucchini noodles

the freshest tasting apple juice I've had in a very long time- YUM!

Different kinds of vegetable sushi.

http://www.itadakizen.com/zen-menu_04.html

deep fried spring roll.

Wheat soba noodles w. soy dipping sauce.

Tempura

Muffins with vanilla bean puree.

Green tea macha pudding sitting in soy milk. Overall, I really liked the dining experience at Itadaki Zen. The food felt very pure going into my body. I love feeding myself healthy and organic things. :) I would definitely go back again.

I woke up this morning craving something different for breakfast than standard eggs. Sooooo... I made protein balls!

2T almond butter, 2 T protein powder, 1 T maple syrup, 2 T coconut, pinch of sea salt, cinnamon, and a squeeze of agave nectar. I also added in some dark chocolate cherry pieces.

banana oatmeal with ground seeds, wheat germ, and a protein ball on top. YUMMY!!

Lunch:

turkey seasoned w. EVOO, chilli powder, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. The meat turned out very tender!

sauteed veggies in evoo, soy sauce, and siracha.

TGIF

No pain no gain!!

T made us another omelette this morning made of onions, parsley, and cheddar cheese.

Simple yet so delicious!

We went to Pizza Express yesterday for dinner. I met Tarek for a mini dinner break before salsa and he went back to work. These pictures are slightly out of order because I got lazy and didn't want to move around my pictures.

Garlic mozzerella bread as an appetizer. So small but it packed a lot of garlic cheesy flavor!

Dough balls with garlic butter. Yum.

Mine: Fungi di bosco. Mushroom pizza with garlic and parsley oil romana style. The pizza was tasty but the dough was kinda tough. I think it was undercooked :(

His: Quatro formaggi pizza. Lots of different cheeses on his and the dough was actually crispy. Damn!!

I went to Body Pump this morning for a change of pace to my workout routine. Is it just me or did Body Pump get harder? Man.. my muscles were screaming in pain this morning!! I actually had to stop and rest the weighted bar on my shoulders for a part of the set. I guess its true what they say, "no pain, no gain".

Protein smoothie after my workout for a bit of aid in muscle recovery

reheated leftovers for lunch before I met a friend out for a walk around town and some dessert.

I had the green tea and rasberry sorbet with brownie pieces. What a beautiful Thursday we had today. There were so many people out and about enjoying the sun and 70 degree weather. I'm so lucky to be able to be outside mid afternoon to enjoy the sun :)

Song of the day: Travis Tritt "It's a great day to be alive"

Barbican

I decided to try a new baked tofu recipe. The marinade looked a little sketchy at first but I realized I had to pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds to get the consistency to thin out.

http://www.healthytippingpoint.com/the-perfect-baked-tofu

Pressing the tofu onto paper towels to dry off some of that liquid...

I wasn't as neat as I should be in cutting the tofu squares. I'm so impatient when it comes to presentation that I choose taste over looks :-D

More soba noodles but this time with spinach and boy choy.

Yummy!! I've been loving this tofu/noodle combo for lunch lately. So satisfying!

but apparently not THAT satisfying. I had a red velvet cupcake with mini eggs and green tea as an afternoon snack.

The hubs performed at the Barbican last night with the London Choir and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

I kept experimenting w. my camera to get the best picture but this was all I could do while being seated all the way in the back. The nose bleed section as you would call it at a sporting event. Not that I want to be at a sporting event right now. Of course not :P

I really did enjoy the concert. The music was quite beautiful and the violin soloist played a song that seemed to last 20 minutes or more. Seriously..no joke. How does someone memorize a piece like that? She was amaaazing!

These guys were pretty amazing too. Great job honey!

We got back from the concert past 11. It was a 2 1/2 hour concert. Smile :)

Breakfast this morning before I got my Zumba on.

Wholemeal toast w. a runny egg on top and some yogurt with bananas, ground seeds, wheatgerm, and agave nectar.

 Lunch was more of the same except the soba noodles had zuchinni and asparagus with it.

I love that glaze over the tofu that makes it slightly crispy. Mmm..MMM

Someone was trying to sneak in my food. Excuse my chub a lub. I'm trying to lose my gut. Blergh. At least its nice and sunny outside in London today!! Sun=Happy mood!

Circuits

I did a killer workout this morning and all it took was 30 minutes! Each exercise was done for 60 seconds with little to no rest in between (I might have taken a slight water break in between some of the exercises) and a 2 minute rest after the completed circuit. I did three circuits of the following exercises:

• Forward lunges
• Squat jumps
• Push ups on knees
• Burpees
• Pile squat
• Jumping jacks
• T-stabilization
• Seated rotation

The workout was courtesy of Women's Health. http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/anywhere-workout?cm_mmc=Newsletter-_-04042011-_-Dose-_-readon

I was extra hungry yesterday from all the working out I did. I need to have 10 dance tracks, a couple warm ups and one cool down song memorized for my Zumba class. I'm not too keen on memorizing steps so its been quite a challenge. Thankfully I really love the music so it hasn't been hard remembering that part.

More leftovers for dinner. I also had a sweet potato with cottage cheese and agave nectar for a complex carb and protein boost.

I also caught up on Kourtney and Kim take New York. I'm such a sucker for reality shows. :P Side note, Kourtney didn't really impress me on her One life to Live acting job!

Breakfast this morning before my circuit.

Wholemeal waffles with ground seeds, wheatgerm, sliced bananas, and pure maple syrup on top. Yumminess :)

K.. gotta keep practicing..