Let’s take a quick break from the Mexico posts to talk about reality. This week has flown by which is one of the benefits of a short week.
Food
I made one of my favorite comfort food dinners on Tuesday night, chicken parmesan. I’ve been making this for over five years and I can cook it with my eyes closed. This particular night called for a glass of wine, jazz and time in the kitchen to unwind.
I have been really into spaghetti squash lately so I cooked one while I was preparing the chicken. I tried the microwave method last winter and it resulted in a squash explosion so I decided it’s better to keep it safe and go the oven route. I cut the squash in half and place it cut side down in a glass baking dish and add a little water. I cook it at 350 for about 30-40 minutes or until tender. Works perfectly! I served the chicken parm over the spaghetti squash and then topped it with marinara, fresh basil and grated cheese.
One of the things I’m known for as a yoga teacher is that if you come to my class there is a high probability I will kick over your water bottle and possibly even step on you. Coordination has never been my forte. I had to laugh when I sat down to eat a salad earlier this week and before I even took a bite the entire thing ended up on my lap and on the ground.
All better! 🙂
Breakfast every day since I’ve been back has been green smoothies. Someone asked for the recipe I’ve been using lately and here it is…
– 1 small banana
– 1/2 cup frozen fruit (I’ve been doing a strawberry, pineapple, mango mix)
– 1/2 cup ice
– 2 pitted dates
– 1-2 cups baby spinach
– 1/4-1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
– 1/2 cup almond milk
– 1 tablespoon almond butter
I run it through three cycles in the Vitamix to get it to a really smooth texture. If your home blender can’t handle the dates, you can leave them out. They do stay in little pieces even in the Vitamix but they fit through the straw.
Vanilla cinnamon macarons from Amelie’s. Little bites of heaven!
The most amazing flatbread EVER! Cremeni mushroom with arugula, caramelized onions, balsamic and lots of gooey cheese.
Okay, I think I covered the food…breakfasts, lunches, dinners and treats! Moving on…
Workouts
I ran Friday-Monday. It’s just the easiest thing to do on vacation. I covered about 12 miles in 4 days with no pain so I was happy! The very top of my glutes are super sore from running in the sand on Monday though. It is a totally different challenge! When I got back I needed a yoga class so Tuesday I took a one hour power mixed class and then Wednesday I only had time to squeeze in a quick CrossFit workout.
21-15-9
Dumbbell Squat Cleans
Toes to Bar
I used 20 lbs for the squat cleans and did the toes to bar (finally getting better at this movement) and finished in a little under 10 minutes. This workout was just okay…I didn’t really even sweat (that’s what I hate about these super short CrossFit WODs) but something was better than nothing.
Life
Y2 Yoga won reader’s choice in Creative Loafing’s Best of Charlotte!!!
I went to the party with a group from the studio. And for the record, that hat was not part of my ensemble but a prop…although I’m kinda digging it. 😉
Some inspiration. Have an amazing day!
Awesome sounding green smoothie! At least your co-ordination was on par when you drank the smoothie 😉
Just kidding – I am severly co-ordination challenged too – one time I made a red triffle (dont remeber what went into it) I was balancing it and just before I put it into the fridge it somehow jumped out of my hands and ended up covering the wall and floou and fridge shelves – GAAAH!!!!
Thanks for the inspiration 🙂
OH NOOOO!!!!!
Yum that green smoothie sounds amazing! I just got a new blender so I am excited to try this out. I have never used dates before, but I am willing to give anything a try!
loving all that food! Going to NEED to make your chicken parm w/ spaghetti squash ASAP. congrats to Y2 and also glad that you seem to be very happy lately and I am happy for that 🙂 PS I would totally drop my salad all over myself. Things like that happen all the time!
congrats on your studio winning, and my gosh girl all that food looks fabulous!!
Hey Jen! I live in CLT also and have been wondering where you get your salads? They always look so good!
reid’s on selwyn. they make them built to order for $7.99/lb. so good!
Just a heads up, if you don’t like chunky dates in your smoothies, (personally I don’t like beverages with chunks… even orange juice with pulp) you can make super easy date paste in the food processor. Just throw in about a cup of dates and a few tablespoons of water (more as needed) and process until it’s smooth. Then just drop a couple tablespoons in your smoothie. Date paste also keeps for a long time because of the high sugar content in the dates, so you can make as much as you would need for a couple weeks to a month at one time.
awesome, thank you so much for the tip on the date paste. i like chunky things in my drinks (that sounds weird! :)) but i would use the date paste for other things!
OMG where is that flat bread from? It looks so good!
the wine shop on fairview. their food is amazing!
I had the same question! Wine Shop at Foxcroft? That looks so good!
I’m going to have to go there immediately lol
That flatbread … woah, I’m still drooling.
I honestly never thought to add greek yogurt to my smoothies! Love it as a way to sneak in some protein and I’ll be trying it tomorrow 🙂
the tanginess is nice as well to cut back on the sweetness of the fruit!
You look so beautiful! Would you mind sharing the lip color/brand you have on in that pic?
thank you! it was a lancome red lipstick blotted with a pinky-beige gloss over it.
I tried doing the microwave method for squash too. I was forever traumatized by the loud explosion in the microwave…never again!! The chicken parm looks so yummy. I might have to make that this week! You look so beautiful in the bottom picture! I agree, the hat works for you 🙂
thank you! 🙂
That flatbread looks out of this world good! And macarons always look delicious 🙂
I’ve never tried spaghetti squash before, but when I do, I’ll make sure to use the oven!
try it! it’s game changing!
I’m just getting back into the swing of crossfit over here and was pleasantly surprised that my pullups are still there! I’m going to try and microwave my spaghetti squash next week. I’ve never used that method before but it seems to take FOREVER in the oven.
yay! pullups were one of the hardest things for me when i started crossfittting.
hope your microwaving went better than mine! 😉
I haven’t made a green smoothie in months…I’ve actually been on a tear with overnight oats, even more than regular oats, but I think it is because it is still 80 plus degrees in Houston. 🙂 I’ve also been a squash kick too, except mine is kabocha…I cannot get enough. LOL!
That salad incident has happened to me on more than one occasion…luckily takeout salads are never too far away! I love dates in smoothies also, and I don’t have the best blender so the yummy little date chunks are even bigger. 😉