Improvers II

Toppings: muesli, special K fruit n nut cereal, orange dark chocolate pieces broken up

I did an arms workout prior to this protein smoothie.
3 sets of 8-10 reps

• Hammer curl
• tricep kickback
• concentration curl
• close grip barbell press up
• dumbbell curl
• tricep dip
• back extension and ab work

Afterwards, I met a friend to walk our dogs. Unfortunately, they didn't get along. I guess two princesses don't make a right. 

Daisy was a bit smaller than I originally thought.

Of course she was! She's a toy dog.

Beware of good looks. She's one tough laaaadaaay!

We stopped by All Bar One and grabbed some lunch. We made sure to separate the two furballs.

We both settled for the grilled chicken sandwhich. The chicken tasted a bit too "grilled" for my taste. You know that grille-y flavor. Although I do usually like the flavor it imparts, sometimes it's too much.

Quick dinner before my first Improvers II salsa class. Good news. With all the lessons I've been taking and  the social dancing I've been doing, I got bumped up to Intermediate. Oh trust, it didn't come easily or overnight, I've seriously been dancing my butt off!  I went to one Improvers class yesterday since I missed the first Intermediate class last Monday. Gotta love it.

Catalan chicken with brown rice. Generous chunks of chicken, sausage, and green peppers.

with a small margherita pizza express on the side.

more of the same breakfast this morning. I added some sunflower seeds into the mix this time around.

yay!! U.S. fitness magazazine that T got a yearly subscription for me. I'm almost as addicted to fitness material as I am to salsa dancing. :-D

Day's agenda: Zumba, walk around Borough market w. a friend, study study study..

65% Cacao

 

Courgettes sauteed in EVOO, sesame oil, soy sauce, and a sprinkle of salt and peppa.

Added in some spinach and siracha sauce at the end just until the spinach leaves wilted. I'm afraid I sometimes cook my vegetables too long and take out all the nutritional content. That would be a big FAIL.

More steak and mushroom pie.

Some dark chocolate we got from Budapest.

The chocolate had that intense dark flavor with specks of orange for a bit of texture. YUM!! If you haven't done it, you should definitely make the switch from milk to dark. It took me a while to get adjusted to the flavor but now I love it. Dark chocolate has so much more healthy benefits than regular chocolate. Some of its benefits are it lowers blood pressure, contains antioxidants and is good for the heart. It also has naturally mood enhancing effects. You just have to make sure its 65% or more cacao.

T's cooking demonstration Week 1. His sister Noura is going off to college soon and has taken the initiative to learn to cook. Bravo. Seriously, before I went to college, I was looking forward to cafeteria food and dreading the Freshman 15. If I could do it all over, I would definitely learn how to cook and also cook healthy. Nothing beats starting good habits early in life.

Knife demonstration

I still don't have proper knife techniques but I get the job done when necessary. Thats all that really matters to me!

Hey! This looks familiar :). Smoked salmon on mozzerella cheese with pesto on top.

Cheese stuffed dates. A one biter. So simple but such an amazing amuse bouche!!

Pepper salad. ha ha.. I mean spinach salad with onions, peppers and a dressing of balsamic and olive oil. T had a bit of a heavy hand with the pepper shaker. OOPS!

Shrimp lasagne to feed the masses. SO MUCH FOOD.

My generous portion of lasagne that I finished with the help of some homemade garlic bread that I forgot to take a picture of. It was perfect: crunchy, garlicy, and cheesy!! Bah. food coma.

Breakfast this morning was more of the same.

Instead this time I added some almond butter for more protein and a fuller longer effect. :)

Day's activities: gym weights workout, studying, walking Sonoma in the park, and SALSA!! Good day.

Accident prone

Yesterday's eats:

Bread, cereal, or eggs weren't sounding good to me for breakfast so I had a loaded smoothie instead.

Into the VITAMIX:

• milk
• yogurt
• ice
• frozen berries
• 2 cups of spinach
• chocolate protein powder
• agave nectar
• half a banana

Toppings:  the other half of my banana, muesli, goji berries, dark chocolate chips, raisins.

Exercise for the day: It was raining all day so I forwent trodding outside to the gym.
2 zumba dvd's and cleaning my flat. And yes, I consider cleaning the house to be exercise. I'm not talking about light cleaning here!

Lunch time!!

I haven't been feeling too creative lately. Ready made meals just fit into my schedule.

More spinach sauteed in EVOO, sesame oil, and light soy sauce.

Minus the burnt crust, the pie was pretty tasty.

The pie included a generous portion of beef, onions, and mushrooms in a gravy sauce.

So I've been very accident prone lately and I'm not sure why. It's like my center of gravity has shifted and I'm trying to stay balanced. I slipped down some stairs a couple days ago and my bottom has a bruise the size of a coconut and last night, a heavy container of salt slipped out of my hands and fell on my foot, leaving another bruise the size of a walnut. OUCH!! I'm crossing my fingers in hopes that nothing else happens to me!! :o)

Dinner:

More greens- my fav!! I've also noticed that my energy levels are back up. I really think this has to do with my diet. The less vegetables and healthy stuff I eat, the more lethargic I feel. How's that for a good reminder of what to put into my body.

So simple.

Teriyaki beef over brown rice, brussel sprouts, and squeeze of siracha for some heat. I likeitspiceayyy!!

Breakfast this morning consisted of some porridge.

Preparation of oats:

• 1/4 cup oats
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 a banana sliced
• sprinkle of salt

Toppings:

• goji berries
• raisins
• dark chocolate chips
• blueberries
• chocolate tart purchased in Budapest
• 

Chocolate heaven!! Not only did the tart provide the right sweetness, it also gave my oatmeal the crunchy texture I love. Mmmmm..

Off to Zumba @ Virgin Active. The sun is out. Yippeee!!!!

Budapest

I did a good chunk of reading while on our flight to Hungary. I can't seem to put the book down- it's THAT GOOD!

Surpringly, BA provides not only edible but pretty tasty turkey sandwiches.

We arrived at our hotel on Friday around 6 p.m. The flight to Budapest is only 2 1/2 hours.

I found the city to be sort of dark and mysterious. Don't ask me why but I was reminded of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

We made a stop at a local bakery before heading off to dinner.

The pastry had the same consistency and taste of a donut except it was less sweet.

The chocolate pudding on the inside definitely made up for the lack of sweetness

a sugar coated donut with chocolate pudding inside. I love the crunch of sugar!

The buildings and streets sort of reminded me of walking through Paris except not as beautiful of course (I hold a soft spot in my heart for Paris).

We finally made it to dinner and were super excited about trying some Hungarian traditional meals.

Goulash- a beef stew that reminded me of vegetable beef soup. Very hearty and delicious

T's foie gras with pear. I hate to say this but my ban of foie gras went out the window for this one occasion. Budapest is known for their amazing foie gras so I just HAD to try it. I'm not quite sure it was worth it in the end though.

My tenderloin with dumplings filled with some sort of mushroom mixture. It was earthy and delicious.

T's main entree of Veal Paprikash with egg dumplings.

Complimentary shot of Hungarian cherry liqueur.

We were handed these lovely gold balls as a parting gift from the restaurant. Intriguing...

Liqueur filled chocolate cherries.. Is it me or does the restaurant seem to want to make their customers drunk?

We stopped in a nearby pub for a quick pint and a chat w. the locals

Hungarian beer and another offer from the bartender of a Hungarian shot which tasted like Sambuca. Not my favorite tasting shot. It was the cringe and chase with bar snacks kind of liquor.

Hotel Breakfast Buffet. This ain't the BREAKFAST BUFFET (*PUNCH*)

Nice selection of breads, bagels, and croissants

The dining room was very pretty and enjoyable to eat in.

I wasn't really sure what I was craving so I got a mixture of a bunch of different things. The food wasn't anything to write home to momma about but it was palatable.

The warmed up croissants and chocolate pastries were my favs.

I had only a few bites of each meat and cheese.

T really wanted to go to the Turkish baths. My ADD really kicked in high gear when I was there. I felt like Goldilocks when I couldn't find which temperature of bath I liked best. 38 too hot, 36 too lukewarm, back to 38 and sweating like a dog, and then finally to the outdoor steam baths. But really, do I like sitting in hot water with a bunch of pot bellied men wearing speedos? Uhhhmm.. no.. I would much rather be swimming, surfing, boogie boarding, walking on water. SOMETHING ELSE!! Blergh. Poor T only got to soak for 2 hours. I guess its better than nothing.

Hungarian pastry with sour cream and cheese on top. Sort of their version of pizza. It was yumm-o!!

We walked around the city as much as we could but the cold weather and T's pulled or ripped calf muscle (not sure which one) kept us from doing much sightseeing.

After visiting an art museum, we stumbled upon a very busy restaurant with what seemed to be a lot of locals.

The decor made me feel like I was in a cabin in Colorado.

The ambiance was very cozy and friendly.

Surprisingly, I don't mind all the animal hide that is hanging from the walls.

Another traditional Hungarian fish stew. The broth was deemed slurpable. Nice and comforting on a cold day.

T got the Goulash. We both agreed that this one had better flavor and more tender beef than the previous nights dish.

Veal Paprikash. I ordered this only because I was craving the egg dumplings from the night before. Too bad these dumplings were tiny and less tasty. :(

Wild boar saddle with rice and a sweet/savory sauce that reminded me of Tonkatsu sauce. I found it very pleasant to eat.

Later that night we asked the hotel for a good dessert recommendation.
http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Hungary/Budapest_Fovaros/Budapest-436839/Restaurants-Budapest-Gerbeaud_House-BR-1.html

I settled for a cup of espresso to power me through the upcoming night's festivities.

Walnut creme filled pancake with chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and apricots.

Hazelnut chocolate cake. SUPER moist and full of hazelnut goodness. Wipe that drool off your mouth!

I'm so salsa obsessed that I found a salsa club that T graciously accompanied me to on Saturday night. They had a basic lesson that was super easy but fun nonetheless. I mean come on. I'm dancing salsa in BUDAPEST!!

I spy the asian girl in the black tshirt.

That's ME!

God. I live, breath, and love latin music. Could life get any better than this?!

I love traveling but I'm so glad to be back home. The Bears won and we're one game away from the SuperBowl. Bring on the Packers baby!!