Yogi eats, part 2...

Morning, everyone!    ...OK, maybe I should cut it with the exclamation point since I'm sure this has been a sllllooowww moving morning for everyone adjusting to the time change.  But how bout that post 7 o'clock sunset last night??  That felt FAB!  That one was exclamation point worthyJ

What else is also exclamation point worthy??  Yet another weekend with my yoga peeps at yoga teacher training this weekendJ  Weeeeee(exclamation point)

Which also meant another weekend of AMAZING custom eats from edoFoods from start to finish.  I can honestly I say I've never felt more nourished by this incredibly healthy, fresh and DELICIOUS food.  Each little bundle came with an ingredients list that looked as healthy and natural as THIS:

BLISS.

Healthy CHOCOLATE banana bread?  Well, that was a great way to kick off the weekend.  That and the adorableness of these mini loaves coming labeled with our names and wrapped in little bundles tied in twine.  It's the LITTLE, sweet things that amuse us yogisJ 

Our main lunch entree for the day was the mere definition of fresh:  Fit Fuyu Salad lettuce wraps... 

Talk about a meal to transition us right from winter to the delights of spring, these little lettuce cups were filled with fuyu persimmons, FENNEL (which no one could believe, since that's such a strong flavor and was soooo mellow here), pomegranate seeds & edoFoods specialty citrus dressing...

Light, refreshing and full of cool & citrus-y flavors, the lettuce and pomegranate seeds gave a great crunch and the rest of the ingredients melded into an incredible bursts of fresh, bright flavors.  So incredible.

And as a side dish, some good ole pasta salad made so fabulously healthy with brown rice quinoa fusili & edoFood's stellar vegan mayo.... 

Filling and studded with veggies & herbs to give it such a lovely, fresh flavor, this had all the flavor of pasta salad without that icky, heavy feeling from its traditional high fat ingredients.  A perfect side for the light wraps. 

And for our final treat of Saturday: 

I mean, how cute???  My friend combined the 'blues' of winter with a little hint from what has become the collective 'yoga baby'J to name her fabulous bar.  (so honored!J)  A RAW blueberry oat bar over an oat base, this just tasted like a bite of sweet berry summer mixed with the cool, PURE ingredients.  Just heaven.

And Sunday brought even MORE goodies with a few extra treats thrown inJ  Oh, it was a good dayJ

We started the morning with pepper, carrot & zucchini sticks paired with a side of homemade hummus....which is always such a treat and about heads & tales better than any store bought... 

And for lunch, how's this for a cool duo???  Sweet eggplant soup sided up with FALAFEL WAFFLES!!! 

How clever was THAT to take a traditional deep-fried falafel and make it healthier by crisping it up in a waffle iron??  Not to mention the sweet soup paired perfectly since the falafel, which had quite a hit of spice.  Perfect sweet & spicy combo that was soooo filling.

Nooooottttt that we didn't have our fair share of 'extra' treats in the afternoon.  First up was our final treat of the weekend from edoFoods...which combined one of my most favorite things EVER...

I nearly died with excitment when I heard we were having COCONUT MOUSSE!  Coupled with the baby's favorites of late:  Chocolate & fresh berries = oh, so very HAPPY!

Every single bite of every edoFoods treat just tasted so PURE.  It feels nice to have an entire weekend of foods that you just KNOW makes your body so very happy.  Thank you again SO MUCH, Ricky & Jenn!  We were ALL so grateful and excitedJ

And even though we had PLENTY, we actually got a few EXTRA treats yesterday, starting with some homemade cinnamon & citrus rice pudding.....

Ummmm...happinessJ

And thanks to our lovely fellow student, Cristina, we learned all about the celebration & tradition that is International Women's Day.  And even though Women's Day has its roots in America (thanks Eleni for THAT lesson), Cristina told us that it is a HUGE deal in Europe.  And since the yellow mimosa flowers are in full bloom in Italy this time of year, the night before you will find all of the men plucking the trees since your husband, brother, boss, doctor, etc. delivers these flowers to all of the women every March 8th.  And not only did Cristina festoon our room with pretty yellow flowers to mimic the mimosa (as well as bring us a little sprig...that smelled like HEAVEN!).  She made us the traditional Italian favorite:  Tiramisu... 

Needless to say, we were all very excitedJ 

Scott's definitely the tiramisu fan in our house, but her homemade amaretto version was just BLISS.

The perfect way to celebrate the end of yet another INCREDIBLE weekend.  We all left so very happy, grateful...and FULLJ

Even Katie got a little taste of the weekend with a sniff of the mimosa and an edoFoods chocolate cococnut mousse mustacheJ 

THANK YOU to ALL involved in a fabulous weekend!  Especially edoFoods, Gaby for her rice pudding, Cristina for the tiramisu and, of course, all of our teachers, facilitators & fellow students aka-the greatest peeps you'll ever be fortunate enough to knowJ

Alrighty...now after that peaceful, blissful recap, it's hard to jump back into a 'normal' Monday, but Katie's not interested in any more of my yoga reminiscingJ 

Hope you guys have a great Monday!

Snow Day Specials...

 Thursday Recap:

Well, the snow came down almost until sunset yesterday...and since we had no place to go, I was OK with "let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...."  (sorry, I know I'm the minority hereJ)

And since Scott was home, we knew it was going to be a breakfast of: 

Katie is OBSESSED with making pancakes.  NOT necessarily eating them, but just "helping" Scott make themJ  She gets really excited about it and we think SOMEDAY it will mean she'll eat more than four bites.  ...somedayJ  Although she probably did eat a big FIVE bites yesterday since these were made with corn (and flax) and she thought that was pretty coolJ

Lunch:  Leftover Double Dumpling Soup 

Felt under the weather AGAIN yesterday (and again-knock on wood, so far feel better today!), it must be some quirky Thursday thing!  So rest & SOUP were on the menu again for the day.

And soup by sight of the snow made it even better...

That and watching "Gone Girl" with Scott....which, I swear, somehow took about 4 hours.  I mean, I know the movie is long to begin with and we had to entertain Katie here & there, but we went from morning to afternoon in a beat.

Afterwards, I hung inside and rested while Scott, Katie & Penny all went out to play in the snow...BOO.  An hour and many trips in the snowtube later, Katie came back inside...looking like, ummmmm, she had a good time...J

...and I busted out one of my MUSTHAVEAPPLIANCES from when Scott & I moved in together about 8 years ago to help warm them up...that ummmmm....I'm not sure if this thing has seen the light of day in at least SEVEN of those years.  Ya know:  MUST HAVESJ 

But it came in perfect handy to whip up some Hot Vanilla Milk for a fun twist on Hot ChocolateJ

• 3 cups milk (used 2%)
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• Cinnamon

Our little machine whirled, heated & frothed it up a bit...

And it was a hit all-around, especially since Katie loved making milk mustaches...

J

Dinner:  Creamy Parmesan white bean stew + Jim Lahey Bread

OR, if we're being more accurate, it was really more like BREAD + STEW since the fresh out of the oven beauty was the main star of the show...

I'm not sure how many bites of the stew really made it past my lips without the help of that beautiful bread in lieu of a spoon...J

As for the stew, it may have stayed in the slow cooker just a bit too long since the beans REALLLY broke down quite a bit.  Maybe 6 hours on low would have been sufficientJ 

FYI-I just used the above recipe and tossed everything, sans the anchovies, in the slow cooker.  (Used only the 4 cups of chicken broth and skipped the water since I had soaked the beans overnight.  Just keep an eye that they don't dry out.  Ours didn't even come close to doing so.)  When we had about an hour left for dinner, I added the greens and they wilted perfectly.  Smooth, creamy & very filling, it definitely succeeded in warming the bones on such a cold night.

And that brings us to the big FRIDAY!  Weeeeeee!  Gearin up for another weekend of yoga school...and what, I'm sure, will be a lot of good eats to share with you on MondayJ  Never thought those 2 things would converge when I started school back in OctoberJ hahahhahha

Have a great weekend!!J

New Ninja...

Wednesday Recap:

Breakfast:  Almond Meal/Flax pancake with peanut butter & syrup

 

I know you're probably tired of seeing this pop up as the lead pic of my blog near-daily, but I'm tellin ya, THIS as breakfast is a WISE choice because it holds me over for pretty much the rest of the day.  OR, should I say, it helps me to never reach that "I'M SO HUNGRY I WANT TO EAT EVERYTHING" point. Whatever helps in NOT getting to that point is a good ideaJ

Workout #1:  Power Yoga

A hot one, but I was happy to 'survive it' without too many breaks...although I do get some built-in breaks these days anytime the class is working on 'stomach stuff.'J

Lunch:  KALE SMOOTHIE!

And I'm sooooooooooooooo excited about this because I've NEVER been able to make a kale smoothie that didn't blend to the point of it feeling like I was chewing on a salad...ICK!  But thanks to my new Nutri Ninja my Mom got me for an early birthday present, I'm FINALLY in the KALE buisness (was def bummed when my Ninja blender DID NOT make any sort of smoooooth smoothie).  

In the mix:

• Frozen Kale & spinach
• 1/2 cup coconut milk + 1 cup water
• Frozen pineapple
• Frozen mango
• 1 scoop protein powder

It might have helped that I added the liquid and greens FIRST and blended them into oblivion BEFORE adding the frozen fruit, which quickly changes it to an ice cream texture...weeeee!  And quick FYI- every time I get a bag of spinach for smoothies, I automatically transfer it to a freezer bag and pop it in there so I don't have to worry about it spoiling too quickly.  This has saved me MANY a bag of spinach and it's good way to have spinach almost always on hand.

Snack:  Strawberries 

Workout #2:  Walk away the pounds with 4 pound weights

This was DEF a case where the 'exercise buddy system' REALLY helps.  If I didn't have Scott to encourage and BE encouraged by, this would have been soooooooo easy to skip.  I was pretty beat, so I kept my kicks pretty low and stuck only to my 4 pound weights...but I got through.  And then ended up having more energy the rest of the night than I had prior, of courseJ  But believe me:  I wasn't feelin it WHILST I was walkinJ 

Dinner:  Buffalo Chicken Lasagna + Salad

Around 2pm yesterday, I had made a definitive descision that something WARM & COZY had to be on the dinner menu, and it only took spying a peek of this on a quick scroll through Pinterest for it to be the deciding factor.  And since I had pretty much everything on hand, it made for an even quicker sell.  (swapped part-skim for the non-fat ricotta.  I think a little fat goes a long way in the flavor, texture & satiety in cheese)

After giving the chicken a quick poach in boiling water & a shred, the rest of the 'sagna came together in under 10 minutes.  An hour + 15 minutes in the oven and we were ready to go.....swwwwwwwwwooooooooooooonnnnnnn:  CHEESE! 

I thought the STRONG kickback of HEAT was going to help keep this to ONE portion, but I can not tell a lie:  I went back for another little 1/2 square since it was SOOOOOOO GOOD!

Warm, cheesy, SPICED and filling from the chicken....JUST. SO. GOOD.  And bonus:  It made enough for us to freeze the leftovers and save for another main meal...weeeeeee!

Dessert:  Cupcake

The leftover cakes from Katie's party went DIRECTLY into the freezer when we got home from partyin on Sunday night, butttt 2 already made a quick defrost last night for dessert for Scott & I.  Especially because we were setteling in to watch:

(photo source)

Already obsessed.

So the snow's comin down in Jersey today and we're lucky to be all safe & warm inside.  I did some quick dinner prep last night in the name of the storm and plan to spend the rest of the day by NOT slaving over the slow cooker and watching the snow fall with Katie...aka- her fav activityJ

Have a good Thursday! J

Rest & recovery...

Thursday Recap:

Well, there might have been a reason for my 'off-day' on Wednesday, since I woke up Thursday morning feeling slightly under the weather and just lousy enough to feel beat all day.  So my indecisive day was either my body gearin up for a bit of a storm   ...OR the Taco Bell did me no favors and helped bring on the slight ear & throat acheJ  Who knowsJ  Either way, here's how a day of recovery on all aspects played out...

Breakfast: Almond meal/flax pancake with peanut butter and syrup

Knew I needed something filling for shopping, shopping and more shoppingJ  This held me over right through 4 stores of errandsJ

Lunch:  Saladworks

Another lunch at Saladworks, this time making my own combo with cucumbers, broccoli, chicken, avocado & cheddar.  PACKED with greens but still a few little treats snuck inJ  And I did enjoy the wheat roll since Katie was too busy with her own lunch to try and steal it...J

She deemed the Italian wedding soup DE-LICIOUS!

Dinner:  Double Dumpling soup 

And since I felt under the weather, Scott whipped up our ole favorite recipe of mini meatballs, carrots, peas & gnocchi.  Nature's medicine AND good for the soulJ 

Dessert:  Nutella-stuffed blondie 

Even though yesterday was a pretty good 'recovery day' after Wednesday's craveday, my sweet tooth was still calling after dinner (all this week, actually.  Just one of them weeks, I guess).  I was REALLY excited when I remembered my friend had left these blondies she had made from last week's wine & cheese party.  I used her recommendation of heating it in the microwave for 30 seconds and enjoyed decadent every bite.  Swooooooooooon!

And unfortunately, I didn't get back into the exercise swing yesterday.  I figured it was WISER to let my body relax and recover for the day.  And it might have just been the right choice since I woke up today NOT feeling worse...and I'll take thatJ  Debating today whether I should rest for another day or squeak in a quick 30 minute walk, especially since it's going to be a pretty big CELEBRATION weekendJ  Definitely putting my usual Power yoga on hold for the day though, since I think head/sinus issues + downward dog is NOT a happy combo.  We'll see how today goes.

Either way, the entire day is just a hold over to getting the weekend started!  I'm not sure if I'll be back online Monday or Tuesday since Katie's actual birthday is Monday and we're plannin on celebrating from start to finish...and with LOTS of treats, of courseJ

Hope you guys have a great weekend!  Enjoy!

Outta the park...

Tuesday Recap:

Breakfast:  Almond meal/Flax pancake with peanut butter + chocolate milk

So espite having what I thought was one of my more filling breakfasts options of the pancake with peanut butter yesterday morning, around lap #17 of the Dollar Store in Mission: Birthday Party, I started feeling hungry/TIRED.  I knew I had to have something or the day was going to go downhill and FAST.  I grabbed a container of (Dollar StoreJ) chocolate milk and chugged 1/2 the container.  Chocolate milk is one of my FAVORITETHINGSEVER (don't even get me STARTED on the LOVE for local Halo Farms brand!), but one I look at as a TREAT and proceed with cautionJ  But at that moment, it hit the spot and gave me the boost of energy I needed.  I deemed it a VERY worthy 180-200 caloriesJ

Lunch:  Saladworks Cobb Salad with Green Goddess Dressing

This isn't the 'leanest' Saladworks option, but it was the one that sounded SOVERYGOOD at the moment of ordering.  The goal of the day was a lunch of VEGGIES and I felt like this served its purpose...despite a few decadent mix-insJ.  (I did, however, skip the DELICIOUS side roll in an attempt to balance the calories a bit)  And short of a cup of hot lemon water, this kept me full for the rest of the afternoon.  I'll take it...Green goddess dressing and ALLJ

Dinner:  Crispy white bean Caprese nachos with roasted balsamic tomatoes

Oooooooo...I'm batting 1000 in the Caprese dishes this week.  And pardon my second baseball metaphor in two sentences, but these definitely knocked it out of the park!  (OK, I'll stop nowJ)

I started by roasting up a couple pints of cherry tomatoes with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper & garlic powder in a 350 oven for about 40 minutes... 

Once the tomatoes were burst and roasted, I gave em a quick mash & mix with a tablespoon of balsamic and a handful of chopped basil.  Tomatoes = done. 

While I was mixing up the tomatoes, I also popped in a few sliced tortillas on a cookie sheet, sprayed them with olive oil mist & a sprinkle of sea salt.  Pop those in the oven for about 10 minutes or until slightly crisped.

I also added a drained can of white beans right to a DRY pan and let them cook up on high heat until dry & crisp (also about 10 minutes).

Once the beans & chips were crisp, I topped the chips with the beans & a few slices of diced mozzarella and popped em back in the oven until the cheese was melted & gooey...

WEEEEEE! 

Serve the chips along with the tomatoes and you are all set...

Holy hell, these came even better than expected.  Crispy chips with gooey cheese & crispy beans, topped with the combo of sweet tomato & tangy balsamic and a kiss of fresh basil...this was a million flavor combos in one and oh-so-satisfying.  Not to mention, a great non-meat meal for the mid-week....which is always good for your health AND budget!  Give this one a whirl ASAP!  You WON'T be disappointed.

Workout- Vinyasa & Gentle yoga class

A good combo....but it was EXTRA cold by the time I left the gym at 9:30pm.  Brrrrrrrrrrrr!  I went straight from the car, to a hot shower, to under the sheets of my warm bed.  Although I gotta give props to the lady who was going INTO the gym while I was leaving and she told me how she pushed herself outta the house to get there!  Lord knows how cold it was when SHE left.  I yelled 'you should be super proud!" as I sprinted to my warm carJ  Didn't have too many excuses after seeing thatJ

Not too much on the agenda today since my Mom is heading to NYC today and Katie & I are having a low-key day.  ....which started bright and early with the WHOLE house being awake by 6:15am.  Ohhhhh...this should be interesting.  Nap gods:  I hope you're on my side todayJ

Have a great Wednesday, everyone!