Category Archives: Dinner

The Weekend, Briefly

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Happy Monday! Hope you had a great weekend.

When I last left off, we were leaving for a long weekend in Tahoe. We had an absolute blast – BBQing, hiking, beaching, hanging on the pier at Chambers with great friends and good drinks, making s’mores (probably illegally) with an impromptu firepit, and last but certainly not least white water rafting!

About a year ago (seriously) 6 of us bought a Groupon for white water rafting on the American River. The catch was that it was only good for May-Sept, Sunday-Thursday (of course). It took us a solid year of planning but we were finally able to settle on a Sunday, and figured why not just make a weekend in Tahoe out of it. Done.

Some photographs…

We did the Eagle Rock hike and the Rubicon Trail (ridiculous views on each) if you’re interested. Not too challenging but definitely felt nice to get out and move, get some fresh air, and a little exercise.

We also ate. Like kings.

Grilled Salmon, oysters, sweet potatoes and asparagus are my new favorite things in life. We need a BBQ. And a patio. Or a backyard. Stat.

We rafted through Beyond Limits and did the Chili Bar (South Fork of the American River) 1/2 day trip. Our guide, Christine, was amazing, and it was the perfect ending to a fantastic weekend. Next time…. class 4 rapids!

So. Much. Fun.

Running

I capped last week off with 30 miles, and took Friday, Saturday and Sunday off of running. I won’t lie, I was itching to run… but certainly not in that altitude with air that thin. I like to enjoy my runs… not feel like I’m going to die the entire time.

Besides I had great company, a gorgeous lake, delicious food, and “hydration” to attend to. ;-)

Taking 3 days off just meant my legs were ready to run this morning. Marathon training officially kicks off at the end of the month, so I decided to up my mileage to 50 miles/week in July to prepare my body for the beating it will inevitably take once training really begins.

To start, I ran 11 miles on the treadmill this morning (Us Weekly and Runner’s World were just dying to be read). At an average pace of…. wait for it… 8:02. 

Are you freaking kidding me?!

The moral of this story is REST, it does a body good. As does Apple Pie from Ikeda’s – great long-run fuel my friends.

Off to tackle today’s to-do list – I don’t teach Mondays so I like to take the day to tackle cleaning the apartment, laundry, grocery shopping, my long run, and any errands that need running… before the week really begins!

Have a great day!

Have you ever rafted? Thoughts? What’s your favorite grilling food?

 

Thursday In a Nutshell

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It’s FINALLY FRIDAY! Do I say that every week? Probably. I don’t even care, I love weekends that much.This weekend we have a whole lot of relaxing, delicious food, some beverages, and a day of brunching/bridesmaid dress shopping on Sunday.

To rewind to yesterday, I was clearly still riding my runner’s high from Wednesday’s glorious 8 miles of heaven. Even though I was scheduled to be in Sara’s Pilates Reformer Class O’Death, I still felt the need to sweat during my lunch break. Ergo I happily jumped on the treadmill yet again for a solid 4-mile run. I think I was actually smiling for the first 2 miles of said run.

Do you see that average pace? 9:00 people! And to toot my own horn for 14 seconds, for about 2.5 of those miles I was at an 8:49 pace. Hello muscle memory, it’s good to see you.

In case you care, I started a new book on my Kindle for treadmill runs in the foreseeable future : The Darlings. So far, so good. (My last treadmill read was Bond Girl – highly, highly, recommended. Miles flew by with that book. Which is how I now rate the books I read. Do the miles go by fast or slow?)

Running sweat (not to be confused with pilates “glistening”) I missed you so much the past 10 days. Let’s agree to never part ways for that long ever again. Runners sweat. Pilates people “glisten” while we wear our Lululemon and do fun muscle toning and lengthening things. People like Gwyneth don’t sweat. I pride myself in being of the minority – there is a time for sweat and a time for glistening. And on some days you just need both.

I mentioned that every now and again I’d share some of my recent eats – mainly to share ideas, and also get some ideas from you. I’ve upped the protein a bit lately, and I’m keeping things as clean as ever, and let me tell you – a difference is noted. My energy levels have been through the roof.

Breakfast-

1 c unsweetened almond milk, frozen organic mangoes, frozen organic strawberries, heaping scoop Chocolate Sun Warrior, 1 T Chia Seeds, 2 very large handfuls of organic KALE 

When I was at Whole Foods earlier this week I noticed a container of pre-washed, organic baby kale (packaged like baby spinach) and picked it up. I added it to my smoothie this morning, and just like adding spinach, you can’t taste it at all. Win.

Mid-Morning Snack - 

0% Fage Greek yogurt, chopped organic pink lady apple, couple handfuls Banana Nut Cheerios, Cinnamon

Lunch -

Cup of Whole Foods Black Bean Soup, leftover Quinoa smorgasbowl (quinoa, rotisserie chicken, spinach, onion, mushroom, balsamic, parmesan)

If you aren’t familiar, Black Bean Soup looks like sludge. And that’s putting it nicely. There is no way around it. Therefore, since there is no way that I know of to make it look appetizing… just imagine it looks really pretty and appetizing.

Pre-Pilates Snack-

Banana with a packet of Artisana Walnut Butter (surprisingly good!)

Dinner –

Homemade Chicken Enchiladas with cilantro lime brown rice and homemade guacamole, ay papi!

Clearly with a little something, something on the side.

And if you haven’t yet discovered these at your local Trader Joes (thank you Mom for the englightening knowledge!) I highly suggest you pick up a bag (or 5). They dip into guacamole quite well too.

Hope you have a great Friday and an even better weekend!

Tell me – What was the best thing you ate yesterday? (or today?)

Toasted Sesame Ginger Salmon

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So to say life has been busy lately would be an understatement. And it’s only getting busier as the year goes on – but I’m not complaining! Between heading to our respective offices for 40+ hour weeks, hitting the gym, Pilates (me), basketball (him), everyday errands, chores, social engagements and finding time to relax, it adds up to a lot. In the mix of everything cooking well-balanced meals can definitely get pushed to the wayside in favor of convenience. I’m more than guilty of the bowl-of-cereal for dinner strategy, more than once, in the past couple of weeks.

But no more. Enter my new fabulous Google Spreadsheet complete with “Week Of” headers, links to mains, links to side dishes, and notes about how it came out/modifications made and we no longer have any excuses. Oh no, I absolutely don’t work in technology and geek out over things like a meal planning spreadsheet.

I’ve started planning out weekly meals on Sundays and hitting Whole Foods/Trader Joes for all of the necessary ingredients/weekly staples so we’re always fully stocked. I’ve found that when I’m prepared with all the necessary ingredients, I enjoy cooking a lot. Also, I’m a lot less likely to get flustered, cause the smoke alarm to go off, or make a complete disaster out of dinner. So I’ve been internet/cookbook/magazine researching and choosing 5 entrees for the week (and running them by boyfriend to make sure we’re both on board for them) and getting all the ingredients on our weekly grocery run. Then depending on what we’re in the mood for on a given Monday-Friday night, that’s what gets made. That allows for flexibility, while still ensuring a tasty (and thought out!) meal, even on the busiest of weeknights.

It’s easy, it’s healthy, it’s well-balanced, and with a little bit of planning, comes together almost as easy as that bowl of cereal. (Does it not take anyone else a solid 5 minutes to slice a banana in their cereal? Just me? Ok.)

So last night, I was feeling inspired. (Before, during and after I fell off the chair I was standing on while re-organizing our pantry. Can you tell OCD over here is feeling better?)

As I was putting together our meals for the week via my trusty Google Doc, I stumbled upon a Toasted Sesame Ginger Salmon recipe from How Sweet It Is.

I regularly scroll through Jessica’s blog because her baked goods look so damn tasty, and her photographs are beautiful. Yes I do judge a book (food) by its cover (photograph) in case you were wondering.

In addition to about 17 cookie recipes, this Salmon instantly caught my eye. So onto the Google Doc it went.

We have some variation of salmon at least once a week. And seriously this was the best yet. Not only does the marinade pack it with flavor, but broiling it gives it a nice little crisp on top, and the glaze just takes it over the edge. (Extra points for when the glaze coats the brown rice making it completely irresistible.)

Just make this.

Recipe via How Sweet It Is

Toasted Sesame Ginger Salmon

serves 2-4

1 1/2 pounds raw salmon

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoon soy sauce

2 garlic cloves, grated

1 tablespoons freshly grated ginger

1-2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

4 green onions, sliced

 

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a wire rack over top. Spray the rack with nonstick spray.

 

In a large bowl or baking dish, combine olive oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, vinegar, brown sugar and whisk well until combined. Add salmon to the dish or place everything in a ziplock bag, then refrigerate and marinate for 30 minutes.

 

Preheat the broiler in your oven. (Or preheat your grill, etc if you prefer to use something else.)

 

Remove salmon with kitchen tongs and place directly on the wire rack. Sprinkle with a little bit of salt and pepper, then place directly under the broiler. Cook for 10-12 minutes, depending on the salmon’s thickness (our’s was just about an inch thick), until opaque and easily flakable with a fork.

 

You can flip the salmon halfway through cooking if desired.

 

Remove and serve immediately, with a sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds, green onions and the glaze below.

 

Sesame Ginger Honey Glaze

1/4 cup honey

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds

 

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth.

 

Pour over salmon.

I served with long grain brown rice, and aside from a large glass of red wine, I’m not sure there is anything I would have added to this dish. It was that perfect.

Seriously, I now want to make everything on her blog.

I also (clearly) do not embarrass easily.

Have a lovely Thursday! :)

Snack Attack

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Happy Saturday! :)

I’ve been up since 7am, a bit early if you ask me, but I woke up, and got to it. I have to be at Pilates Teacher training in about an hour, and I hate rushing around, so the more time I have, the better.

I leisurely got ready, enjoyed breakfast, and I’m even running about 15 minutes ahead of schedule… perfect timing to pick up a latte on my way!

So the other night for dinner, boyfriend and I made salmon. Just a simple salmon- marinated for about 15 minutes in soy sauce and honey, and then baked for about 18 minutes at 400 degrees. The main course of the meal isn’t usually the tough part – it’s figuring out what to eat with it.

When we were deciding on sides, we thought a bit outside our usual box. Brown rice and/or quinoa just sounded so boring, and we wanted some greens, but also some crunch. Quite the conundrum.

Then I spotted this bad boy in the cabinet.

Then this happened.

Roasted Chickpeas

  • Rinse in a colander with water
  • Pat dry with paper towels
  • Rub the skin off
  • Toss in a bit of olive oil
  • Spread on a baking sheet (coated with olive oil spray)
  • Season as you wish
  • Bake at 400 degrees for 25-35 minutes (depending on desired level of crunch)

They were amazing. We could have finished the can in about 39 seconds flat. Next time, multiple cans will be involved.

It also occurred to me what a great appetizer, snack, really anything these could be. They’re healthy, but they still provide that “munchy” factor, when you just feel like picking.

Which is clearly what we were feeling because we also devoured an entire bunch worth of Kale Chips (seasoned with sea salt, lemon pepper and paprika). Also I just discovered that Trader Joe’s sells PRE-CUT Kale, eliminating the most tedious (we’re talking 4.5 minutes saved here people) step of Kale Chips. Naturally I bought 3 bags.

I’m the type of person that loves to munch and loves to snack. I love to munch when I’m watching TV, movies, reading magazines, playing games, etc. Really anytime. I love snacking.

However rather than downing an entire bag of pita chips, kale chips, roasted chickpeas and other healthy snacks like air popped popcorn and veggies and hummus give me the fix I’m looking for. Win-win. For everyone involved. Jeans included.

Off to Pilates Teacher Training for the next 4 hours (a latte will be absolutely necessary first!) and then enjoying this beautiful, sunny weekend.

Have a lovely Saturday! :)

The 3-Day

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Hope you all had a lovely 3-day weekend! I for one would like to know why every weekend can’t be a 3-day weekend. I feel about 100 times more refreshed than I do after a normal weekend.

Our long weekend was a perfect mix of all the good things – running, pilates, food, wine, friends and relaxing. I honestly could have used a few more days!

After a late night Friday, I managed to drag myself out of bed at the ungodly hour of 7am on Saturday (after a few Grey Goose and sodas and a 2:30am bedtime the night before- ouch) to fit in a 4-mile run before Pilates Teacher Training at 9. I actually found out on Friday night that through work, boyfriend and I will be headed to Hawaii in 15 (!!!!) days, so the run was mainly fueled by thoughts of being on a warm, tropical, beach in juuust over 2 weeks. I gotta say though, I cannot wait for our vacation, fresh Hawaiian fruit and fish, macadamia nut banana waffles, and lots of cocktails on the beach! November to May also just happens to be when the Humpback whales take up residence off the coast of Hawaii bringing me thismuch closer to my lifelong goal of seeing a whale in the wild. It will happen.

A highlight of the long weekend? Heading down the coast to Santa Cruz (after stopping at our favorite Italian deli in Pacifica) for a double date night!  When we arrived, Keith and April (amazing host and hostess!) had an amazing spread of farmer’s market appetizers (cheese, pita chips, hummus, fresh fruit), and a refreshing Hanna Chardonnay. In lieu of going out for dinner, Keith broke out his Paella pan, we hit Whole Foods for ingredients, and he got to cooking! Hello homemade Paella, and about 6 more bottles of delicious Mazocco and Rosenblum Zinfandels.

I mean just look at it. Nice work Keith!

Saffron Rice, Haricot Verts, Fresh Clams, Fresh Mussels, Fresh Shrimp, Chicken, Roasted Red Peppers

We woke up Sunday morning feeling surprisingly refreshed and ready for a big homemade breakfast and a day at the beach.

A lovely weekend indeed.

We headed back on Sunday night after some beach-side appetizers and yours truly was in a coma on the couch by 9:58pm. I really am the life of the party.

Yesterday, after a refreshing 10-hours of sleep, we woke up ready to get back in the groove. I headed out for what was meant to be a 5-mile run… that magically turned into 10.5 miles, and boyfriend hit the gym.

When I got to my 2.5 mile turn-around for the 5-mile loop, I felt great, my legs were solid and it was perfect running weather (overcast, 60′s). Had it not been for the abundance of holiday weekend tourists riding extremely precariously on their Blazing Saddles bicycles, it would have been the most perfect run ever. 10 miles is the perfect long-run distance for me.

Pre-Pilates Teacher Training (I promise I’ll work on an update for that – we’ve completed the mat module and moved on to the reformer in our lecture series!) we settled in for a relaxing afternoon of Hollow Chicken Round 2, and to watch the movie 50/50. Have you seen it? Parts were an absolute sob-fest, but I really enjoyed it, thought it was very-well done, and it made me hate Anna Kendrick a lot less. (Seriously, was she not the most obnoxious type-A person in “Up In the Air”?) Dare I say I even like her now? Yes I do judge actors/actresses on the characters they play in movies, even if it couldn’t be further from the truth.

A lovely 3-day weekend indeed! What was the best part of yours?