VOC

Katsu don

We went out to eat at Mai sushi last night. We've ordered delivery from here a number of times and the food has been good so we decided to to eat in.

katsu don is probably my favorite cooked Japanese dish. Something about rice, pork, salty soy sauce with egg is the perfect mouthwatering combination.

I love the presentation of scallops inside a real shell itself. So fun to eat! It was filled with spicy mayo, seaweed, tobiko, scallops and spring onion.

the only problem I had with this appetizer is that it was served lukewarm and it made it not taste as fresh. I would serve this hot!

crunchy tuna with asparagus and truffle oil (delish!!), alaskan roll with salmon, avocado, mayo, and crab stick

 

Mai sushi roll with four types of different fish and a bunch of tasty raw pieces of nigiri. 

After dinner we checked out a new cocktail bar in our Kings Cross hood called VOC. The drinks were fantastic and the bartender was super friendly! All in all, a good night.

Agenda: study, relax, friend's party

HIIT me baby one more time

I did a HIIIT workout yesterday for a total of 12 minutes and am shocked at how sore I am today!! Wasn't expecting that one..I set my gymboss for a 3 rounds of 1 minute intervals and repeated this circuit 3 times with a 2 minute rest in between.

• Mountain climbers (30 seconds knees to elbows and 30 seconds knee twists to opposite elbow)
• Lateral shuffle and reach
• V Sits
• Burpees

I had double the workout yesterday because I also taught Zumba later that night. Waaa hoo!!

Yesterday's lunch was a siracha fest. Roasted turkey on a bed of greens, cous cous, and lots of red stuff.

It was a pretty tasty and healthy lunch. Preparing healthy meals are so much easier when most of the work is done for you. I popped the turkey in the oven, laid out a bed of pre washed salad,Waitrose ready made cous cous and when the turkey was ready, I just placed it on top!

Dinner was made by T

oven baked rainbow trout w. asian seasonings, mushrooms filled with goat cheese, artichoke pieces, and truffle oil. YUM! The mushrooms were SO good.. I was sad there were only 2 pieces :(

I had eggs this morning but by mid morning I was hungry again so I made myself another goat cheese and
tomato sauce snack. I'm on such a goat cheese kick lately.. it's such a mild and creamy cheese!

Workout this morning: Tone It Up's Beach babe workout
I set my gymboass timer for 30 second intervals, 8 rounds and rest 2 minutes after the set. Complete 2 more times

• frog jumps
• side lunges with twist, 30 secs each side
• walk out with knee push ups (I did 1 minute of these because I couldn't fit that many in only 30 seconds!!)
• high knees
• waistline crunches, 30 seconds each side

I also did 3 sets of 10 reps of Tone It Up's arm workout

• Bicep curl to shoulder press
• Front raise and lateral raise
• Bent over row to rear fly
• Tricep kickbacks

My arms were burning by the end!!!

leftovers for lunch.. sadly I tried to recreate the stuffed mushrooms but they just didn't taste very good!

Since our usual cleaning lady is out of town, I spent most of the afternoon cleaning our flat. It took nearly 3 hours and I still feel like it isn't at its best!

Time to read my Chemistry book, sweeeetness!

Purrty bird

protein shake before heading off to PUNCH class yesterday

• skim milk
• frozen berries
• 1 ripe banana
• ice
• agave nectar
• scoop protein powder
• toppings: honey oat crunch cereal

PUNCH class was held in the main gym floor because our teacher was sick. I was sort of dreading going downstairs because the sub had mentioned only doing 30 minutes of boxing and 15 on the powerplate. I thought powerplate, really?!? *!"&£*"&£$Q*(&£$"*!!!  If I wanted to go to a powerplate class, I would have gone at a different time! My inner grumbling aside, the class actually kicked my ass. We did one circuit of 3 body weight exercises for one minute each (crunches, pushups, squats) and then boxing with the instructor. We then did another circuit with the TRX machine (pull ups and pushups). I had never used TRX before but it works your body in such a different way since you're holding your body up at an angle. I can definitely feel a soreness in my back and chest this morning!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4fUS7yITAw

I stopped by Chilangos to get another chicken salad

• grilled chicken
• black and pinto beans
• lettuce
• brown rice (I added this at home)
• mild and hot salsa

such as tasty and satisfying lunch !!

After lunch, I met up with a friend and walked around Holland Park. It's such a beautiful park I had never explored before. Especially these pretty birds!

the Kyoto Garden was such a peaceful escape.. almost makes you forget about all the rioting going on

the fish were ginormous!!

http://www.fezmangal.co.uk/index.html

My friend recommended this Turkish restaurant called Fez Mangal near Ladbroke Grove for dinner. I got some takeaway for me and the hubs. I ordered the mixed grill dinner, mixed meza platter, and the lamb chops.

I made sure to load my plate with lots of veggies!

meat fest- the meat was really flavorful and it didn't taste "unhealthy". I felt like I was getting the true flavor of the meat instead of tasting oil or butter. It was delicious!

more speculoos oatmeal and it's time to do some Zumba!

Can't.stop.eating

sweet chicken chili and coriander sandwich for lunch from Pret

My workout yesterday: Back/Chest, 8-10 reps, 3 sets

• barbell row
• incline dumbbell press
• dumbbell pullover
• machine chest press
• back extension 
• straight arm pulldown
• cable crossover

Snack attack yesterday afternoon. I seriously couldn't stop eating!! I had some sweet popcorn w. chips

wheat bread w. spaghetti sauce and goat cheese=perfect snack!

Then some unpictured chocolates...

I was super frustrated yesterday because I showed up to my Zumba class only to find out it was cancelled due to the crazy rioting that's been going in the UK. It's so sad that these punks are disrupting the lives of so many innocent people. Grr!!!

T took me out to eat after I got back home fuming. We went to Thai Aubergine for some delicious Thai food.

http://thaiaubergine.co.uk/

Finger lickin' good chicken wings

spare ribs- the sauce on these ribs= SO GOOD!

shrimp curry-the sauce is a bit watery but the flavor is still pretty tasty

egg fried rice- I hate blurry Iphone pics!!

beef pad thai

more fitness reading materials- I might have gone a bit overboard on my magazine subscriptions, hehe..

eggs, toast, hummus

Agenda: PUNCH class, tea w. a buddy, study, ??

Speculoos oatmeal

Greatest invention EVER! okay, I probably didn't invent it but speculoos oatmeal is da bomb..

• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cut oats
• 1 banana mashed up
• sprinkle of cinnamon
• hearty spoonful of crunchy speculoos spread

I made two mistakes yesterday when it came to my workout
1.) I did it at home
2.) I didn't have a plan- ALWAYS ALWAYS have a workout plan. If you don't and you're like most, the sense of accomplishment won't fully be there. I was sort of stumbling my way through some random exercises. Plus, I had this bugger annoying me!

She wants to sleep while mommy works!
4 sets of 10 reps

• dumbbell squats

3 sets of 10 reps

• dumbbell reverse lunges

Then I experimented with a bunch of different core exercises. I realized during my session that I'm going to need to work on my hip flexor and glute strength.

Lunch was very random. Bed of greens with sauteed bok choy and Waitrose Giant Green CousCous and Wheatberry salad. The wheatberry salad was a bit too chewy in texture for me.

Afterwards I went to an SLR "Masterclass" held by Vanity Studios. I was sort of disappointed by it all. First, I felt really out of place because everyone had these fancy cameras and I showed up with a camera missing a lens cap and a neckstrap. Apparently, those two things are "must haves", ha! ;) Okay, I admit I should have invested in a lens cap but I've been lazy!! Let's hope I didn't scratch up the lens too bad.. Anyways, I didn't feel like the teacher was very good or that I learned much. The book T recently got me specifically for my camera will probably enlighten me more than the class.

Dinner:

lots of veggies!

Tesco pop in the oven chicken

Yuuumm.. I love the crust that formed on the chicken skin.. so bad but so good!

T ordered us new umbrellas!! Finally!! We have sturdy umbrellas for unpredictable, rainy London!!

I was quite pleased with my dome shaped PINK umbrella :)

Breakfast was more of the same this morning

I just wasn't in the mood for eggs..

Random egg fact from Women's Fitness:

To check to see if an egg is fresh, place it in water. If the egg sinks, its fresh and if it rises it means its gone bad!

Agenda: Gym, Zumba, Zumba teach, Salsa class!

"Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars... Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."
— Martin Luther King Jr.