Are you ready for some football?

This cold has sort of gotten the best of me so I haven't really been in the blogging mood as of late. My routine this week has consisted of doing 3 things
1.) Sleeping/Napping (Since I don't seem to be sleeping through the night very well, I'm needing daily naps and/or to lie down to "rest my eyes"
2.) Eating
3.) Going to class
4.) Studying (barely)

I can't believe I made it to all my classes this week! *pats myself on the back*. T and I got some really fantastic news on Wednesday so I think I've been drifting on that high.. Lord knows I need some sort of high since I haven't been to the gym once this week! I'm taking my own advice and not hitting the gym when I'm sick. Hopefully by next week, I'll be recovered from this cold and ready to hit the some weights. I NEED to be  recovered from this cold. It's NFL weekend this week! Weee!! *squeal*
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/8833902/NFL-Fever-hits-London-this-weekend.html

Some of my recent eats:

London Turkish Kabob shop on the corner saves us on busy/lazy nights!

I always get the grilled chicken/lamb cubes with veggies and spicy red with garlic sauce

finding extra ways to sneak in some Vit-C

I've consumed lots of soup and noodles this week (this wasn't my only bowl!!)

I have this suspicion that the reason I got so powerfully sick is I wasn't eating well AT ALL and I wasn't exercising on a regular basis. Maybe its all in my head, but... maybe not..

mas soup

cinnamon and all-spiced eggs.. I can taste food AGAIN!! ever so slightly :)

don't ask me why I have a hankering for doritos!! Chicken soup, millet bread, chips, and a glass of OJ (I had an unpictured tuna sandwich on the bus back home from school)

afternoon snack attack: I made myself some chicken wings to go w. broccoli and ranch dip. ha!!

the wings were washed in water, coated with a prepackaged chicken fry mix, seared in a skillet and finished cooking in the oven. I think next time I'll remove the skin from the chicken first!!

Well, I'm heading out soon for a trunk show party so I best get ready! I'm not much of an accessory person but I've always considered that my weak spot I want to improve. What perfect timing that my ex-pat friend invited me to a showing of Stella and Dot at her flat. I told her my sick bootay will come but now I'm thinking I won't stay the entire 2 hours... Please go away cold!!

Golden curried tofu

Gar! I can't seem to turn this IPhone photo right side up! I made Golden Curry last night after deciding I've had enough delivery and takeout to last me until tomorrow a lifetime. I couldn't understand all the foreign language on the packaging but I managed to interpret the 3 photos on the back. Saute veggies, add 1400 ml water (almost 6 cups), add curry blocks, stir and simmer until thickened.

Don't be afraid of the BIG. BAD. BLOCK. of BROWN

I peeled 4 potatoes, cut into small chunks, and boiled until just about softened.

I sauteed my veggies: zucchini, red onions, mushrooms in some minced garlic and EVOO.

added just under 6 cups of water and waited until it boiled to add the curry blocks. I made sure to constantly stir the pot so that the chunks of curry had a chance to melt evenly.

I simmered the curry for about 20 minutes, added in some blocks of firm silken tofu, and lastly mixed in the softened potatoes.

I made myself a small plate over brown rice while waiting for T to get home. It was delicious and really simple to make!! Next time I think I'll add some other protein, like beef  but tonight, tofu was the only thing I had in the house.

blackberry oats for breakfast

• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup oats
• dash of cinnamon
• frozen blackberries
• maple syrup

topped with a little bit of speculoos

Agenda: nap, study, teach zumba, study...

Pizza Sunday

I'm SICK! ARGHGARERRRR!!!! My first cold of the fall season and I was damn hoping not to catch one this year. I guess I couldn't have avoided it forever since T had a really bad cold last week and we were avoiding each other like the plague. I'm so paranoid and very careful when he's sick but I'm not even sure why since we always end up getting each other sick anyways! I literally haven't left the house since Friday night, after getting back from dinner at Wahaca (which was delicious again btw). I'm trying to sleep lots, and drink lots of fluid so I can try and get better before school starts again this week. I have a quiz on Wednesday and I have to make sure I do well! I don't want to start the year on the wrong foot by doing poorly!

We ordered pizza last night from a new place called Venezia. The food was delicious, but we won't be ordering delivery from them again since our food came an hour and 15 minutes LATE. T was getting so frustrated that he almost cancelled the order 3 times. What can I say, it was almost 9 and we were starving! By the time it arrived, the driver was apparently pretty apologetic and charged us only 1/2. What a shame since the pizza was good for delivery standards.
http://www.urbanbite.nl/food-delivery-london/venezia-takeaway.htm

These kind of grilled wings are my favourite; wings that are heavily fried in batter and oily are not. 

After dinner, I called it a night early and crashed.

breakfast, sleep, wake up, LUNCH

leftover slices of pizza and minestrone soup

seasoned with a bit more salt, pepper, and chili flakes

okay, I'm going to attempt to study even though I feel like just curling back in bed and napping until tomorrow morning :(

Did you see this? What a sad story..
http://espn.go.com/racing/indycar/story/_/id/7111712/dan-wheldon-dies-following-indycar-crash-vegas

Away we go

Saturday morning omelets are the best!

especially when filled with gooey American cheese, scallions, and turkey.

Yum...

After breakfast, I managed to squeeze in a legs workout from home. I love our Active Channels on Sky tv because there are surprisingly a lot of good fitness videos that you can record and do at home. So far, I have a bums, kettlebells, legs, and yoga workout all saved on our TV. My legs workout consisted of a lot of squats, lunges, one legged squats, quadrapeds, etc.. Ouch! My legs are super super sore. I know my workouts are effective when I have trouble sitting down and getting up from seats :-)

I was feeling super tired last night so T indulged me with some delivery from Thai Aubergine, my our favorite Thai place near Kings Cross.

duck spring rolls with hoisin dipping sauce. Perfectly crispy and delicious!

bbq spare ribs

Beef with fresh ginger, garlic, onion & a dash of tamarind juice. I still enjoyed this even though the ginger flavor was a bit strong.

Egg. Fried. Rice.

king prawn curry. The curry is always watery in this dish but the flavor is really somethin sumfin delicious!

the chicken pad thai is always a hit here. It has the right amount of peanut-y flavor. Delish!

After dinner, I lied down on the couch and enjoyed Away we Go. I found the movie and its actors super endearing but beware, the movie becomes somewhat of a tear jerker (or maybe its just my hormones!)

Breakfast then its time to STUDY STUDY STUDY. No bueno.

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!