Good to be Blond

Hi guys!

Well I took the plunge today and joined the Y! I’m super impressed…I never knew such a nice facility was only about a quarter mile from my house! All the machines are brand new and they have a plethora of classes, including yoga and spinning. I’m sure I will still do tons of yoga podcasts and downloads in my living room, but the Y is a nice alternative option for my non-yoga days. Very affordable, too! They have a great lap pool as well as tennis courts. I’m going to try to work on Ryan to join as well since swimming is his exercise of choice (I lay out, he swims. It works). This afternoon I biked over there and after all the meet and greet stuff, I stayed to workout! It was already 2:30 though and I was starving, so for the second time today, I dug deep into the bottomless pit purse and pulled up a treasure: about half a clif bar!

As for my workout…it was nothing crazy! Just a warm up on the elliptical machine and then some upper body and abs. Would you even believe it was the first time in TWO MONTHS that I have strength trained?! During the past two months I haven’t noticed a change really in my body tone, but I would like to go back to strength training a couple times a week for health benefits (makes for a stronger chaturunga!) and just to keep some variety to my exercise.

This afternoon I also walked Mikan for about 35 minutes…it was glorious!

And then for dinner, I cooked up one of my favorite meals for my dad and I since my mom is traveling for business—-

Veganomicon’s Pineapple-Cashew-Quinoa Stir Fry!

Major healthful yum there. This one pot meal is PACKED with healthy things like edamame, bell peppers, quinoa, pineapple, cashews and fresh herbs…..I just can’t get enough. I have made it before and it remains a favorite. Incredibly filling, too! The recipe does require quite a lot of prep in the form of slicing, dicing and chopping veggies though, so save it for a weekend….I actually find it therapeutic to stand and mindlessly chop. The same way I like to stand and stir risotto. Anyways, this recipe is also great leftover and all the prep is definitely worth it because it tastes out of this world!

As Spring slowly comes into the picture, I like to eat lighter meals versus heavy casseroles, meat dishes and stews. Its always a good idea to eat according to the seasons and spring just has so many yummy veggie options!

Oh, and here’s a quick tip! You can EASILY peel fresh ginger with a spoon!

Betcha didn’t know that one, huh?! I actually just learned, too, from my old boss during my internship. All you do is hold the ginger in one hand and then use the spoon to scrape off the peel. It comes off cleanly and easily….then just chop it up! Wonderful!

For dessert, I pulled out blondie # 2 from Whole Foods:

I have tried Glenny’s brown rice marshmallow treats and loved them so I was eager to try this, as I am still craving the perfect blondie. As compared to my not-so-good blondie last night, this treat had MUCH less calories and fat and ingredients that were 75% organic and all natural.

The verdict?

MUCH better than last night!!! This blondie was chewy and dense with no grainy texture. It did have a bit of a “healthy” taste to it, and I’m guessing that is because it is made from soy and whole wheat flour (as well as wheat protein isolate). It could have used a few more chocolate chips, but I was overall very pleased with this product. Next time I’ll have to try the brownie! My plight though is that these are sold individually and rather expensive (each blondie is $1.99). I wish they came in a package!

I am all set to start my new book tonight! I can’t wait! 3 a.m. is going to come way too early tomorrow 🙁