Greek Pita

When I got to Norfolk my sister-in-law made me this awesome dinner. She found the recipe in a Cooking Light book. I called them greek pitas and they were awesome!

Trust me the picture does not do it justice! It was chopped up chicken breast with romaine lettuce, feta cheese, tomatoes, roasted red pepper hummus, on a whole wheat pita. It was so delicious and super simple to make. All she did was grill some chicken breast, and dice them up. She tossed the chicken breast with some olive oil, feta cheese, red onion and romaine lettuce. Garnish with some tomatoes and top with a whole wheat pita with roasted red pepper hummus. It was awesome!

Super Charge Me Cookies

So I am obsessed with desserts. When I say obsessed I am putting it VERY mildly. Whenever I find a healthy recipe for a dessert I HAVE to try it out. Therefore, when I came across the recipe for Super Charge Me Cookies it took me literally two seconds to go out and buy the ingredients to try it out! This is what you need:

1 cup quick oats (all I had was rolled oats and they worked just fine)

2/3 spelt flour

1/3 ground flax Meal (picture of flax seed is below is shown below. I used to by accident and the cookies still came out fine.)

1/4 tsp (rounded) sea salt
1/4 – 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (optional, I did not use them)
1/4 –1/3 cup raisins or chopped dried fruit
3–4 tbsp carob or chocolate chips (optional; or use more dried fruit, nuts, or seeds)
1 tsp baking powder

(Dry Ingredients)

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

3 tbsp almond butter (may use cashew, peanut, hemp seed butter)

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 tbsp organic olive oil

Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in the other.

(Wet)

Mix all the ingredients into one bowl. Add any type of dried fruit, nuts, coconut, etc. I was making these for my brother and he is super picky so I stuck to dark chocolate chips and whole unsalted almonds.

My roommate Brett wanted credit for helping stir them. The great things about these cookies is that you can eat the dough raw because there are no raw eggs or anything in them. Plus the dough is AWESOME raw!

Now stick them on a baking sheet. The oven needs to be at 350 degrees.

Bake them for 13 minutes AT MOST. I baked mine for around 10 because my oven cooks a hell of a lot faster than most. If you cook them for over 13 minutes or they will dry out.

TAHHH DAHHH!

Look at that!

Delicious and nutritious.

Flax seed/meal and spelt flour as so super nutritious. The more dried fruit and nuts you put in them the better! However, don't eat a thousand of them because they still have some fat in them!

Enjoy all! I know I will

Pita Pizza

Last night I got back from class around 5pm and just did not feel like cooking that much. I took some frozen whole wheat mini pitas out of the freezer and threw them on a cookie sheet. I preheated the oven to 350 degrees.

Then I added the sauce from the Chicken "Parm" and some fresh mozzarella. I baked it for 10 minutes add some fresh basil for garnish!

Soooo tasty!

Chicken "Parm"

My coworker and I were discussing Italian food today at work. I haven't had any Italian food in a while so I decided to go home and make some. I really wanted chicken parm, however, had no breadcrumbs at my apartment. Therefore, I jazzed up a healthier version of chicken parm that required no breadcrumbs. First, I filled a pan with water and put it on medium heat and place a frying pan with some Olive Oil.

While the pan is heating, trim all the access fat off of the chicken breast and lightly season them with salt and pepper.

I used canned organic diced tomatoes

And a whole bunch of chopped off vegetables. I chopped up some zuccinni, red peppers, onions, and some garlic

I wait until the pan is hot (the olive oil will ripple) and place the chicken in the sauté pan. I cook it for about 3 minutes on one side and flip the chicken breast when they are browned on one side.

I cook the second side of the chicken breast for 3 minutes and then throw all of the vegetables in the pan with the kitchen. I also added some grape tomatoes for texture and flavor.

Once the water in the sauce pot is boiling add the pasta. I used organic whole wheat pasta. Cook the pasta until its al dente.

Once the vegetables have cooked for 7 minutes I add the can of diced tomatoes to the chicken. I add oregano, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, and fresh basil.

Let it cook for about 20 minutes stirring occasionally.

sooo gooooood....

Once the pasta is done I drain it and let it cool while the sauce simmers.

I add a handful of Parmesan cheese to the sauce.

VIOLA! Now just give it one last mix

Plate it up and add some fresh basil!

I made a lot of sauce! I threw it into some Tupperware to make some pizza with!!

ENJOY!

Back to School, Back to School

Well ladies and gentlemen, today is my first day back to school! I'm a little rusty (graduated college in 2008) but I am sure I will get the hang of it! Last night I spent about two hours completing my Biology assignment that is due today in class and afterwards my brain was FRIED! I am a little nervous, but luckily all my classes are in one building

I am super happy about that because I really don't want to get lost today. I am not super familiar with the campus, then again when I went to SUNY Potsdam as a freshman I wasn't either and I soon figured it out! Today I have Biology until 2pm then I am stopping by the math lab for my orientation for the math class I am in. I am taking a self-paced math class so that I can try and complete Math 3 & Math 4 this semester.

I went to kickboxing this morning to try and relax my nerves and it worked. Jerome kicked our butts. I was dripping sweat after class, but felt great and ready for the day. I like working out in the morning opposed to night because I feel like it gives me more energy and puts me in a better mood for the day.

Well all, I am off to start getting ready for the big day. Tomorrow I am off to Norfolk to go pick up Lola from my brothers house (he was watching her while I was on vacation) and I miss her so much! Wish me luck!!!

Homework!! Already??

Well as you all know I am going back to school on Monday! I am looking forward to getting my prerequisites done so I can start my Masters program ASAP! Well the good news is that I found out I do not have to take two extra classes I originally thought I was going to need! This means I can get school done sooner and start applying to colleges very very soon!

I got my syllabus for my first class on Monday (Biology 101) yesterday and was shocked and horrified to find out that I already had an assignment due for that day. I couldn't believe it! My books were still at the bookstore, I figured I would pick them up after class on Monday, but apparently I needed them sooner. I literally dropped what I was doing and went immediately to the college book store.

Now I just have to actually DO the homework. I am working late tonight, but should be done early tomorrow so guess how I am spending my Sunday night??? Thats right doing good old fashioned homework.

I decided I needed a nice breakfast to get me through my busy day. I made myself my go-to powerhouse breakfast sandwich. It is so simple and quick to make. I take two slices of whole wheat bread and put a thin layer of all natural peanut butter. Then I top the breakfast sandwich off with some banana, almond, and cinnamon. VIOLA!

It is so good. Its a great combination of salty, sweet, crunchy, everything!

After breakfast I was off to try another yoga class at Radiance Yoga. I decided to try Kundalini Yoga and Mediation Class. "Kundalini yoga classes use breath, movement, mantra, and meditation to heal the mind, body, and spirit. Each class consists of a kriya which is a series of postures taught in sequence to produce a desired effect. Teachers choose from thousands of kriyas designed to help students deepen their awareness, connect with their creative energy, open the heart, stimulate the immune, glandular and nervous system, and balance the chakras. Classes are open to students at all levels of experience."It was interesting to say the least. I don't know if it was really for me, however. We did a lot of leg and core work, which killed me because I was super sore from Advanced Kickboxing. Oh well that is why you should try new things out, never know til you try!

Advanced Kickboxing

Today I started off the morning with a GREAT advanced kickboxing class. Just in case you are new to my blog, I take kickboxing classes at LA Boxing in Old Town and in Arlington. I read about LA Boxing online one day at work and decided to check it out. I took kickboxing my senior year of college and loved it. Honestly, nothing is better than being able to punch something after a bad day :)

Anyway, LA Boxing classes are some of the best workouts I have ever had! I have had many gym memberships before, Golds Gym, Sport and Health Club, etc and yet I would always end up not going as much as I would like. I would go for about two months, then take off two months, etc. I have almost been at LA Boxing for a year and have not missed one month the whole time! The classes are a lot of fun and anything but monotonous.

On Fridays at 7am one of the trainers, Jerome, does an advanced kickboxing class. Let me tell you he kicks my ass! This morning we started out with a 1/2 hour of lifting, mostly upper body, then 1/2 hour of bag work. This is the upper body work out we had to do:

Exercise 1: Grab two dumbells (the size depends on your strength) lay on your back with your knees up. Now hold the weights directly out in front of you while you are laying down. Now the object is to force yourself to stand up without moving the weights what-so-ever. Once you are in the standing position, go back down and repeat the exercise. The trick is to rock when you lay back to giving your body momentum to shoot back up! Do 3 reps 1 minute each.

Rest: Lay on your back and do chest presses with the weights as fast as you can for 30 seconds.

Exercise 2: Balance on your butt, lifting your legs off the floor. Tap the weights in front of your body for 30 seconds, then beyond your knees for 30 seconds. 3 reps at 1 minute each.

Rest: Still balancing do chest presses again as fast as you can for 30 seconds.

Exercise 3: Hold the weights directly above your head. Now do alternating lunges without dropping the weights. 3 reps at 1 minute each

Rest: Hold the weight out in front of your body for 30 seconds.

Exercise 4: Go into a lunge position brining your knee all the way to the floor. Now put the weights out in front of you and come half way up from the ground and then go back down as fast as you can without hurting your knees. 3 reps one minute each on each leg.

Rest: Chest presses as fast as you can standing up.

Exercise 5: Go into squat position. Try and keep your feet pointed forward, but if they curve out to the side its ok. Now can into as deep of a squat as you can then stand back up keeping the weights out in front of you. 3 reps one minute

Rest: Chest presses standing up as fast as you can

Exercise 6: Go back into a deep squat and start doing curls with the weights. Make sure to keep your elbows tight to your body, but not to let them rest on you. 3 reps one minute each

Rest: Hold the weight out in front of you for 30 seconds

Exercise 7: Slightly bend your knees and bring the weights up to your chin. Now act like you are throwing the weights in front of you, this will work your triceps. 3 reps one minute

Rest: Hold the weight out in front of you for 30 seconds.

Quiet a work out right?? And that was only the first 1/2 hour! Needless to say I was dripping sweat, but it was an amazing work out and I feel great. I usually have problems with my knees during kickboxing, but today they didn't bother me at all. I think it might have to do with the Yin Yoga class I took last night! I feel fantastic this morning.

Well I am going to go and enjoy my delicious breakfast of oatmeal, almonds, bananas, and cinnamon!

Have a great day everyone!

Yoga Time

Hello All!!

Today was a busy day. I did a 2.09 mile run this morning at 8:30am. I was having a lot of trouble controlling my breathing and had to stop over and over again. I think its because I have been running a lot faster because I haven't been running with Lola. You always have to realize that some runs are going to be great and others are going to flat out SUCK! Sometimes your body just needs rest, other times it may be the weather, or maybe you just aren't really into it.

Work was very very slow. Luckily I was very excited to get work over with because today I decided that I was going to try my first Yoga class! I have only taken yoga once before (in college) and I really wasn't a fan. However, I needed to change up my workout routine because I am starting to get a little bored with running and kickboxing.

I started classes at Radiance Yoga which have a great deal for newbies. They do one month unlimited for $50! That is extremely cheap for yoga studios, trust me I have been researching them for the last month! I did a class called Yin Yoga and LOVED IT. It was so extremely relaxing and my body feels great.

Yin yoga is a slow and deep practice to stretch the connective tissues and joints of the hips, thighs and lower spinal area. Unlike the muscles, which are more yang parts of our bodyies - the parts that like repitition and movement-the connective tissues need to be addressed with a quite attitude of acceptance. The postures are all practiced on the floor and each is held for about three to five minutes.

Yin Yoga balances the yin and yang aspect of ourselves, encourages the flow of prana, helps maintain the health of the connective tissues, and helps us develop a mindful meditation practice.

It was unbelievably relaxing and I left class feel rejuvenated and so relaxed. This is what I really needed! I am trying to "destress" my life a little and yoga will definitely help when my school starts. Trying to balance school and work is going to be tough, but I know I can do it!

Well it is off to bed! Advanced kickboxing in the morning. Recipes to come this weekend!!!!

Back in Virginia/Sushi with Stephanie!

Well last night I made it back to Good Old Virginia. Not that there is anything wrong with VA, but I must admit this past weeks vacation with my sister, brother-in-law, and my nieces sure had me missing New York.

One of the problems I have with traveling is that I tend to go out to restaurants more and cook a lot less. My train left Penn Station at 6:20pm and I didn't have a chance to grab a bite to eat at my sisters so I stopped at my favorite sandwich shop in Penn Station.

Every time I take the train out of Penn Station I stop at Zaros and pick up a Turkey Sandwich. This is not any normal turkey sandwich, this is the mother of all turkey sandwiches.

This turkey sandwich consisted of baked turkey, arugula, brie, thin slices of granny smith apples, and a honey mustard dressing. Needless to say it is absolutely delicious. Brie is one of my favorite cheese and I love how it tastes with crisp granny smith apples!

Always need something crunchy with a sandwich!

I got into Virginia at 9:45 and got back to my apartment around 10. I did some unpacking and headed to bed. After work I met my friend Stephanie for some sushi and cocktails at a restaurant in Old Town called Red Curry. The funny thing is I used to HATE fish and the thought of sushi made me want to vomit. However, a few weeks ago I finally got the courage to actually try it and LOVED it.

We started off the evening with some Vietnamese Vegetable Rolls. These rolls were fantastic! They had carrots, tofu, lemon grass, etc. They are really low in calories and super packed with nutrients from all of the different vegetables. They were paired with a hoisin dipping sauce that was to die for.

Stephanie and I decided to be a little adventurous and order three different kinds of sushi. I have only tried Spicy Tuna before and Stephanie had only tried Eel. Therefore, we got one roll of Eel with Asparagus, Crunchy Spicy Tuna, and Salmon with Avocado roll.

All of the food was delicious! I never thought I would try eel and it was actually my favorite of the three, kind of tasted like chicken! Sushi is very healthy for you as long as you stay away from tempura style food. Sushi is usually made with leaner types of fish and has vegetables (lots of vitamin) and rice (complex carbohydrate.) If the idea of raw fish creeps you out then there are some new sushi restaurants that are offering cooked sushi. I went to Whole Food a few week ago and they offered either raw or cooked sushi rolls and even the option of brown or white rice. How great is that????

Well it has been an exciting day. I can't believe I start taking my prerequisite courses on Monday! AHHH! So nervous! Off to bed I go!

Bagels and Babies

Today I was woken up by my beautiful little nieces at 6:45am. It seems that they kept my poor sister and brother in law up all night! They are teething and the poor things are a little bit fussy. My sister went back to bed and left me in charge of the girls. The girls were just not having it so I decided to take them out for a walk. I was going to go for a run, but it was already humid as hell and to be quite honest I wanted to relax. Therefore, I put the girls in the double wide (stroller) and we went for a walk.

On our walk we went by my FAVORITE queens breakfast spot, Whitestone Bagels!!! I decided to pick up some small stuff for breakfast for my sister and I!

I picked up two of their delicious muffins!!! I picked up their raspberry almond muffin for myself and the best muffin ever, THE OREO COOKIE MUFFIN!!!

SOOOO TASTY

OREO!

I am a firm believer that you should never deny your body of something it wants. If you want a slice of pizza, some french fries, chocolate, whatever your guilty pleasure then do it. However, make sure you becareful about portion!!!! What I did was take 1/4 of the raspberry muffin and 1/4 of the oreo muffin and then threw a crap load of fruit and a greek yogurt. Try and balance out the bad with the good. Don't just eat the whole muffin and thats all because that is just a lot of empty calories. At least with fruit and some yogurt you are getting added nutrients with your splurge.

VOLIA!

It was absolutely delicious aand I was super duper full! Well my nieces are down for a nap so I am going to get ready for the day!!! Heading back to Virginia tonight (so sad) and will miss my nieces, brother-in-law, and my sister. Thank you for having me guys!!

BUSY BUSY BUSY!

Hey Everyone!!

Sorry my blogging has been lacking lately. I have been unbelievably busy with work and I am in NYC spending my vacation with my two beautiful nieces and my sister! A lot of things have been happening the last few weeks.

I enrolled in classes at the community college near my house! I have to take A LOT of prerequisites to get into any Masters of Public Health programs so I am starting ASAP! This is my class schedule for the fall:

Biology 101

Math 3/4

Sociology 201

Human Nutrition 121

It will be a lot of work, but I am EXTREMELY excited to get started. I will be going part time at work now and only working 3/4 shifts a week which will definitely help me out a lot. I start classes next Monday and just bought all my books online last night(cost me way too much money) and my parking pass.

I just bought a new laptop for school and blogging (my old one was lacking to say the least) so I should be able to start blogging on a regular basis again! Well my friends I must get going to get ready for the day!!!

3.1 mile run

This morning I did what I thought was near impossible, I ran a 5k. It wasn't in a race or anything, but I woke up this morning at 5:30am and decided I wanted to do something different from kickboxing. My whole life I have made fun of the people who wake up at the ass crack of dawn to go running. I've always thought, what the hell is wrong with you?

But this morning I decided to challenge myself and see what I could do. I grabbed my Driod, which has an awesome program called Cardio Tracker! It's completely free for the phone and it tracks how many miles you ran/walk/biked, the amount of calories you burned, your average speed, and the time! Also, you can choose to save all of your workouts so you can see how you have been improving over the last few months.

I ran whenever I am in the mood. If my body doesn't want to go for a run then I won't. This is a good attitude to have if you aren't a trained runner. If you force your body to workout when it doesn't want to then working out becomes a choir more than fun! These are the results I got from the last few times I ran and tracked it!

This morning I decided to run and take my dog Lola with me! We ran together 3.1 miles in 40 minutes!! Seems like a long time, but I took my time and didn't force myself to die trying to run as fast as I could. I didn't even listen to music on my Driod!

What is great about running with my dog Lola is that she is small and can't run extremely fast for long periods of time. She forces me to keep a steady pace while running which I LOVE! After the run I felt awesome, not physically, but it was amazing to realize how far I have come!!

Lola was super excited to! You would think she would get tired after running that long??? NOPE. She was ready to play some more!

Isn't she adorable!