Weekend review, take 2 (I wrote this post in the morning, only to find that everything I wrote for some reason was erased and unsaved when I entered it to be posted)
I had a lovely weekend with a lot of good meals and wanted to highlight a few.
On Friday, Mike and I went out for Mexican after work. I had a veggie paella which consisted of quinoa, baby corn, baby carrots, roasted hon shimeji mushrooms, asparagus, and cauliflower (tried to take a picture but it was too dark). I’ve been attempting to expand my pallet and try new foods whenever possible, which this meal had two of for me. I’m not a big fan of mushrooms, but the hon shimeji mushrooms were pretty good! This was also my first time consuming asparagus since I was a child, and I guess I’d give it the same review as the mushrooms: pretty good. The first few bites I really liked, then it seemed just okay. I didn’t hate it, but I don’t anticipate it becoming a favorite or staple in my diet. I’d definitely revisit both things though.
On Saturday I had the opportunity to yet again, try something new! Mike’s roommate picked up some Tai food, ordered more than he could eat, and offered us some. It was pineapple curry with tofu, peppers, and onion that we put over jasmine brown rice. Super delicious. I’ve been meaning to try Tai food and after this meal, I’ll be having some more in the near future.
On Sunday morning, I made myself a tasty breakfast of kale, avocado, Trader Joe’s soy chorizo, and scrambled egg whites with a Dr.Praeger’s spinach pancake on the side.
I started off with some extra virgin olive oil and kale in a pan followed by a few pieces of avocado. I only used a tiny bit of the soy chorizo because even though it’s very yummy, it’s a little high in sodium, and a tiny bit goes a long way. Stirred the egg whites in last and breakfast was served!
I also made a wonderful snack that I found on Oh She Glows‘ blog and have been meaning to try. It was a huge hit with Mike and his roommates and came out even better than I anticipated. It’s listed as homemade crispy twix bars in the original recipe. I’d describe it more as a peanut-buttery caramel dark chocolate rice crispy treat. What ever you want to call it, it’s delicious. I only made some very minor modifications.
Peanut-Buttery Caramel Dark Chocolate Rice Crispies
Starts off with
- 1 & 1/2 cups rice cereal
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tbsp peanut butter
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- pinch of fine grain sea salt
Stir ingredients together in a bowl and then place into an 8 inch pan. You may want to line the pan with parchment paper, saran wrap, or tin foil to keep the treats from sticking. Place the pan in the freezer while you move onto the next step.
Date Caramel
- 1 1/2 cups pitted Medjool dates
- 1 tbsp peanut butter
- 4 tbsp soy milk, or more if needed
- pinch of fine grain sea salt
Place ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth.
Remove pan from freezer and smooth caramel on top
Return to the freezer while you move onto the final steps
Chocolate Coating
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1 tsp coconut oil (optional)
Melt chocolate and coconut oil t0getuer either in a pot or in the microwave. For the stove, place the ingredients in a small pot on low heat until 2/3 of the chocolate has melted. Remove from heat and stir until chocolate is completely melted and smooth. For the microwave, place ingredients into a bowl and heat for about 20 seconds at a time and stir each time until chocolate is completely melted and smooth.
Remove pan from freezer and pour chocolate sauce on top.
Return pan to the freezer for 3 minutes and then remove to cut into pieces before the chocolate has completely hardened. Return to freezer for another 10-15 minutes. The treats are now ready and can be stored either in the freezer or refrigerator 🙂
 Exercise
I’m still on a week break from Insanity after pulling my calf. I’ve been missing the workouts though! I never would have thought I would miss Insanity haha. I’m both excited and nervous to start Insanity on Thursday. I hope that my leg is okay once I start again. I also hope that I’m not too discouraged and frustrated if my ability to keep up with the workouts has decreased due to the break. I just have to do the best I can and push through.
I did, however, do some ab work and the mat portion of Insanity Cardio Abs on Saturday.
Even though I been resting from workouts, I’ve been very conscious and good about my diet, so I’m still seeing some weight loss. As of right now, I’ve lost 23lbs and have 13 more to lose to reach my initial goal weight. It’s still a little hard to comprehend and I feel like I still have a long way to go, but I’m extremely happy to have gotten this far and will continue to push myself.
I picked up a freelance job from the production studio I used to work at. I think I might like to use most of that money to invest in a Nike FuelBand. I’ve been wanting to get one, but they cost $150 and I’m on a pretty strict budget these days. But I’ve been doing some research on it and I think that it would be a great motivational tool for me and worth the investment. If anyone has experience/reviews of the Nike FuelBand, I’d love to hear from you!
It’s been a pretty long day. Mike and I just got back from having an amazing dinner at a Mediterranean place in the village called Taim. We shared a mixed salad platter of roasted tomatoes and eggplant, carrots, and beets as well as a falafel platter with hummus, tabouli, and shepherd’s salad. Seriously, best falafel I’ve ever had, particularly the red pepper falafel. So good.
I’m sure I’ve probably left out some information from my original post, so I apologize, but this was the best I could do to rack my brain for a rewrite. I hope everyone else had a lovely weekend and I promise to write again soon! 🙂
In Pursuit of Fitness 