How old are you?

I’m 16.8!!! Oh She Glows inspired me to check out my Real Age, and since I’m a huge fan of Dr. Oz, I went for it.

HOLY SMOKES, 16.8? Not to be confused with my real real age of 25.1!

Real Age outlined my life in the below categories and listed pros and cons to what makes up my age.

• My Health Plan: Stop worrying
• My Habit Plan: Stick with my sleep schedule
• My Relationship Plan: My parents have helped make my Real Age younger (Love you M&D)
• My Diet Plan: Keep up the diversity
• My Fitness Plan: Get stronger, but don’t go nuts

"You are never to old to become young" - Mae Young

Guess what crazy item I threw into my breakfast smoothie? KALE! It wasn’t exactly a Green Monster because of all the blueberries, but it was awesome.

• Milk
• Blueberries
• Kale
• Protein Powder
• Granola on top 🙂

Rounding out my weekend with a 75 minute Candle Light Flow with Ella. Hope to sweat out the rest of those toxins from Chino Latino’s fabulous Sangria Friday night …

QUESTION MASTER: HOW DO YOU DETOX?

Jen Plays Catch-up

How awesome are tortilla pizzas? And, a made-up quinoa side salad to boot? Well, that’s what Liana and I decided to cook for dinner Thursday night. It was, in fact, very awesome. Usually when I make these tortilla pizzas, my go-to ingredients are pesto and pine nuts. Toppings this time included roasted tomatoes, sautéed mushrooms, fresh mozzarella, garlic, and spinach.

[Pizza pictures compliments of Liana]

We forgot to take pictures of the quinoa salad – dangit! Mixed into the Inca Red Quinoa: Cajun roasted almonds, red+green diced pepper, goat cheese, white onion, juice of 1/2 orange. D-lish! Would def make this again.

Other top eats this week:

1. simple snack! homemade granola+almond milk

2. colorful lunch! celery, carrots, spinach salad (lentils, black beans, goat cheese, red and green pepper, red wine vinegar)

3. festive dip! **BEST & EASIEST SALSA/GUAC RECIPE EVER** avocado+feta+pomegranate seeds. Trader Joe’s now carries frozen pomegranate seeds – bonus!

4. smoothie! almond milk, blueberries, spinach, tofu, agave

5. smoothie! almond milk, blueberries, spinach, protein powder, agave, homemade granola, chia seeds

Yoga-ing looked like this:

• Wednesday – Day of rest (aka dinner with college girlfriends)
• Thursday – HARD CPY C2 class taught by Ella ..she’s got some serious Madonna arms.
• Friday – SWEATY CPY C2 class taught by Brigitte ..sore from Ella’s class but happy to get a workout in with my momma. Rocked crow pose.

QUESTION MASTER: How many stores do you get your groceries at? My list includes Trader Joes, SuperTarget, Whole Foods, CUB, and occasional trips to The Wedge and Lunds. That’s just ridiculous.

Eating and Exercising on a Tuesday

February 23rd – is that right? I can’t believe it. Whadda think, 5 more weeks of winter? Gimme the sun.

Call me crazy, but I can’t wait to start running OUTSIDE again! I’d like to get my bike out of storage, too! Longest. winter. ever.

Breakfast was a Yoatgurt bowl inspired by Holly!

• 1/4c my oat mix (old-fashioned oats, steel-cut oats, ground flax)
• 1/3c hot water
• sprinkle cinnamon+nutmeg
• drop of vanilla extract
• 1 sliced banana
• [microwaved 1 minute]
• 2 spoonfuls Greek yogurt+pumpkin
• topped with some shredded coconut and a side of spa water

I was hungrier than usual this morning and munched on my homemade granola to hold me over before lunch yoga at noon! I took a class from Aleeah again and I’m really liking her style. It is SOoOoOo refreshing to get out of the office for ‘lunch.’ Call it what you want to call it.

I put off lunch until around 1:45.

• 1/2c Indian quinoa salad (Inca Red Quinoa, Shrimp, Peas, Greek Yogurt, Tiki Masala Paste) I can’t believe the leftovers have lasted me this long *note to self, I don’t like leftovers.
• 1/2 Sammy wrap (Lentil hummus, tofu, black beans, goat cheese, cumin, red pepper flakes, whole wheat flax wrap) This was a little concoction I made up this morning while making my OSAL
• Celery sticks
• Swapped the 2 clementines for an orange …I’ll save the clemmys for tomorrow

I fit in a quick Trader Joe’s run after work – it’s official, I love grocery shopping. More to come on some new grocery items! Home, unpacked, off the phone with friends, and it was SIAB time inspired by Kath.

• 1c Almond Breeze almond milk
• Handful organic spinach
• 1c blueberries
• 1/4c Silken tofu
• 2tbsp protein powder (can’t remember the brand, it was left over from when I was training for the Rock ‘n Roll half marathon …I think I ordered it from drugstore.com)
• More spa water

Picture is a little blurry, but the smoothie was an *AWESOME* rich dark purple. Holy antioxidants.

Question Master: Does anyone have a Vita-Mix? Do you love it/is it worth it? I’m dying to get one, but yowza they are expensive!

Night – take care 🙂

Experiments!

Music company this evening: “Break Even” by The Script

Breakfast was served around 8am. Oats, per usual.

…and now with a side of spa water+green tea from my batch cooking yesterday.

• 1/4c my oat mix (Quaker old-fashioned+Quaker steel-cut+Bob’s ground flax)
• 1/3c hot water
• 1 medium sliced banana
• Sprinkle of cinnamon
• [microwaved for 1 minute]
• Splash of soymilk
• Scoop of pumpkin
• Drop of coconut extract (experiment #1; yum-o)
• [nuked for another minute]
• Stirred and consumed 🙂

Lunch around 11:40. On the menu: spa water, celery+pb, orange, leftover indian quinoa dish from last week (inca red quinoa, peas, shrimp, greek yogurt, tiki masala paste)

Late afternoon snackage around 2? Obvi. Homemade granola. Held me over until 5pm yoga. I did C1 tonight because I wanted a workout but wasn’t up for sculpt. C1 is more of a beginners class, so I was feeling pretty good. Didn’t sweat as much as I hoped for, but I like Aleeah’s classes, and I left refreshed. Favorite pose today: Pigeon …really helps stretch out the hips.

Dinner munching around 6:45. Home from yogaing and ready for experiment #2: Lentil hummus. I’ve never even heard of such a thing, but I’m not one for following the rules of recipes, so here gos. (My mom would be so proud frustrated if she was cooking with me!) ha

• 1c cooked lentils
• 1/2c broth
• 1tsp tahini
• 1tbsp cumin
• 1/2tbsp chopped garlic
• sprinkle salt+pepper
• splash lemon juice

Consensus – very comparable to a chickpea hummus! I busted out the Wheat Thins to taste test my favorite Atheenos Roasted Red Pepper hummus vs my made-up Lentil Hummus. I dig it. Could be good on a sammy, too. Or with some celery sticks. Score! Looks kind of gross, huh? How about that trusty immersion blender.

really big sweet tooth lately …enter, chocolate (X3)

I was on autopilot in the kitchen this morning when I was making oats and opened a can of pumpkin (the big can!). I ment to experiment with new grocery items – sweet potato and butternut squash purees. More on that next week once I’m through my pumpkin.

Interestingly enough, after some label-reading, pumpkin wins! Love that.

1. 1/2c Sweet Potatoes: 130 calories, 0g fat, 96mg sodium, 30g carbs, 15g sugar, 3g protein
2. 1/2 Butternut Squash: 50 calories, 0g fat, 5mg sodium, 12g carbs, 4g sugar, 1g protein
3. 1/2 Pumpkin: 40 calories, 0.5g fat, 5mg sodium, 9g carbs, 4g sugar, 2g protein!!!

Enjoy your night – take care!

Batch Cooking+Sunday Funday

I’m trying out ‘batch cooking’ today. Meaning, I make enough of some staple foods/beverages to last me the week.

• 1 bag of 365 organic lentils from Whole Foods
• 1 cup Quinoa Red Inca prepared with stock (more flavorful than water)
• 1 bag celery stalks cut for snacking
• 1 jug spa water (lemon-lime-cucumber infused)
• 1 jug iced green tea

Question Master: Any good recipe concoctions for my quinoa or lentils?

Sunday funday with Paige. Movie, yoga, family dinner, sleepover!

Menage a Trois in Minneapolis

Music of the moment? Phoenix. Did you know they are from Versailles? That’s brilliant.

Minneapolis is [slowly] warming up. Not too long from now I’ll see that guy running Lake Calhoun shirtless at 40*. Can’t wait.

Currently sipping a generous glass ‘o Menage a Trois. Thanks, Brittany, for introducing us.

I mustered up the strength to go to 6am yoga yesterday. As much as I will myself to be the morning workout type, I am not. I hit a 1pm wall and want to die. I was the only one in class …was everyone out sipping coddies (cocktails) last night or what? Hard to grasp the idea of being in a class solo at CPY, right? That was cool. Went to C2 at CPY today and it was packed. Go figure.

Enter fabulous dinner at Black Sheep Pizza. Followed by an equally delicious Big Ginger at all-time favorite, The Local. Yes, they serve the most Jameson Whiskey in the WORLD. Go Minnesota.

So that was friday. Want to venture back to Thursday? I made an interesting dish with my bestie, Allie.

On the menu:

• 1c Quinoa Inca Red
• 1 bag peas
• 1/2lb shrimp
• 3-4 dollops Tiki Masala Paste
• 3 large scoops Oikos greek yogurt

Dished up with sautéed spinach and a glass ‘o red. Dessert? Chocolate (X5).

Ok, now back to Wednesday’s power breakfast. Chocolate soymilk+tofu+naner+protein powder [insert Oster immersion blender]. I don’t think I was hungry the rest of the day.

My Health Magazine arrived today = happy Jen. I paged through half while eating some red grapes and sipping iced tea.

Off to enjoy my Saturday night. And another glass of Menage …

Question Master: What’s your favorite bottle of wine? I want some suggestions.

Do you Lent?

TGIT, eh? I’ve been back from California for 3 days now and I’m still not quite back into a routine … my work schedule has been really inconsistent which is probably throwing me off. Can’t wait for the weekend to play catch-up.

Question Master: Do you guys give things up for lent? It snuck up on me this year …all of a sudden it was Wednesday and I had already eaten dairy (something I had contemplated giving up) …so I was SOL on that idea. I also thought about alcohol but did that last year and it wasn’t all that fun (not the point, I know) …so, this year ….[drumroll, please] …..I’ll be giving up M-E-A-T! I’m not sure how hard this will be. I don’t eat much meat these days, but not because I’m actively thinking ‘I don’t eat meat’ …so this will be a little 40-day test. I’ll let you know how it goes.

So, this is going to be a hodge-podge of photos from the last couple days …mainly highlights.

Picture deets

1. Tiki Masala/Butter Chicken (Indian). This is a newer family favorite. My momma and I discovered the dish while on vacay in NYC a couple years ago at Devi. We tracked down the recipe and it was like 35 ingredients long, many of which we had never heard of, thus we didn’t succeed on that front. BUT, last summer a family friend found this Tiki Masala paste that lends itself very well to a simplified version. All you need:

• Chicken (if you want meat)
• Tiki Masala Paste
• Greek Yogurt
• Naan
• Brown Rice

Marinade the chicken in the Tiki Masala paste with greek yogurt (plain works, too) …I think the longer the better because it allows the flavors to develop. Put in a pan when you’re ready [while simultaneously prepping rice+naan] and we’ve got a nice dinnah.

2. Next photo would be an afternoon snack: celery+PB+grapes

3. Then, out of consumption order, would be oatmeal!

• 1/4c my oat mix (old-fashioned+steel-cut)
• sprinkle of ground Bob’s Red Mill flax
• 1/4c hot water+soymilk
• dash ‘o orange extract
• [nuked in the microwave for a couple minutes]
• topped with my homemade granola from last week

4. Damn, out of eating order AGAIN, would by lunch over one of the last couple days

• Orange
• Water
• Oats (same version as above, EXCEPT: more flax and shredded coconut)

5. How about the next image? That would be a floor full ‘o SWAG. I went to my first food show and holy hell, let me go back! Lots of fun new products. I’ll let you know my ‘love it or hate it’ comments once I start testing.

6-7. Last but not less-tasty than the others: two salads. The first one accompanied my Butter Chicken meal. It was a simple romaine+blueberries+nuts+cranberries+raspberry dressing. Salad #2 was courtesy of Target’s HQ cafeteria. Turns out I like expensive vegetables, because this salad (costed out on weight) was over 7 dollars! How d-lish are goldfish and sunflower seeds on top?

I’m hoping to get some good REM sleep tonight. Still a little sick …trying to push through with exercise [insert yoga sculpt+c2 yoga at corepower]. Does a bod good.

Night Night.

6 days in 1 post, BAM! thatsalottafood

I’m baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack. AND, I’ve got some good things goin’ on. My left coast trip is over and, true to my prediction, the trip was fabulous.

First order of biznas …pictures.

Highlight recap:

• Beautifull dinner. Enjoyed the Green Thai Chicken Curry Bowl with Quinoa– wish they had one of these in Minneapolis. Wasn’t in blog mode and forgot to snap a pic – the link above will do it justice, promise.
• Was introduced to Cowgirl Creamery Mt Tam cheese – holy heaven
• Created an interest for the showtime hit, Dexter
• Road-tripped down the PCH to Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay – Waiter at Half Moon Bay Brewery told us Mavericks was happening over the weekend
• Made a traditional Chile Rellenos (fresh, not fried) dish+tomatillo salsa – secret ingredient is Knorr chicken bouillon (owned by Unilever, who knew)
• Ran along the bay – not a great idea if you’re sick with a runny nose
• Also not a good idea to drink while sick, so that picture of me with the large bottle ‘o Veuve Clicquot was only for fun
• Successfully snowboarded Alpine Meadows …best of all, it was 50 degrees!
• Consumed salmon/cous-cous/broccoli bowl
• Bought a fantastic new lulu top
• Helped my friend pick out an espresso maker!!! Also sipped some fabulous La Boulange lattes
• Saw Valentine’s Day and finished a 1,000 piece puzzle – they call me the puzzy master

Totally unrelated and absolutely necessary – Your daily funny. I picked up the term ‘fail’ from a coco. It’s quite amusing to use in commonspeak when referring to someone who is, well, failing. This blog does a good job of taking it to the next level – Fail blog.

Question Master: Why arn’t you commenting on my blog? C’mon folks, let’s get some chitty chat rollin.

Nutrient-dense

Happy Friday Tuesday!!! You caught me …it’s my Friday! And even though I’m not feelin’ 100% today, I’m off to the left coast for a little 5-day adventure tomorrow. Highlights will include (but are not limited to) …

1. San Francisco city-livin’
2. Monterey cruisin’
3. Tahoe shreddin’
4. Sonoma sippin’
5. Lulu shoppin’, and
6. Recipe cookin’ (Chili Rellenos, anyone?)

I tried to pack some nutrient-dense food into my eats today to help fix whatever is off in my bod.

• Breakfast: OSAL+orange+2 vitamins
• Mid-morning snack: Smoothie (soymilk+mixed berries+honey+oats+sprinkle of granola on top) …sorry I forgot to snap a photo ..it looked like the smoothie from yesterday
• [insert 2 hour nap, and Corepoweryoga’s C2 class. What a great cleanse …I leave every single class in disbelief of how much I sweat. Gross, but good!]
• Late-afternoon snack: 1.5 grapefruits+water+emergen-c while watching an episode of Castle. Good episode. Speaking of shows, does anyone have Weeds season 5 that I can borrow?
  
• Early dinner: Veggie wrap! Somewhat inspired by Holly, I sautéed some Organic Girl spinach, heated up some of those SP chunks, refried black beans, and a sprinkle of goat cheese …headed it all over the stove top to crisp up the tortilla. Doesn’t that look good!

Before I say so-long, check out the blogroll I added …lots of other good reads out there, kiddos. Check ’em out!

Question Master: What’s your quick-fix for a sore throat/achy bod? Help!

Blogger-worthy eats

Blogger-worthy eats to report on today, folks.

Picture deets’ [left to right, top to bottom]

1. OSAL …Loving my new Krups machine.

2. Orangey-Oats

• 1/4c oat mix (steel-cut+old-fashioned) with 3/4c hot water
• 1/2tbsp cinnamon+sliced naner
• [microwaved for 1minute]
• 1/4c fat-free ricotta
• splash of soymilk+couple drops of orange extract
• [microwaved for another minute]

I let the oats sit for a couple minutes to firm up and then added a couple walnuts and a sprinkle of chia seeds. A cup ‘o water with three sliced cucumbers helped wash ‘er down. Adding extracts to my oats is my new favorite thing, try it out!

3-5. Superfood Lunch. That would be ~3/4c SP with a sprinkle of cinnamon+shredded ginger, 5 or so celery sticks+MaraNatha peanut butter, and some spinach with goat cheese+roasted soy nuts and some berries …dressed in red wine vinegar. Holy hell that was good.

6-8. I love making granola. It’s super easy and I like knowing what ingredients are used (oats, walnuts, almonds, honey, soy nuts, raisins, mini morsels. First, I roasted the nuts in the oven at 375 for ~7 minutes. Then I swapped out the nuts for the oat mixture for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the oats cooled, I added the nuts, raisins, and morsels. Viola!

9. Weetabix – New buy at the store. Blah. Cool, there’s protein and fiber, but if the flavor is bland, I’ll pass.

10. Immersion blender time. Soymilk+mixed berries+oats+honey. I had to try my new granola sprinkled on top. dabomb.

Question Master: No question today, but how about a shout out to my buddy Adam who just got ENGAGED over the weekend! Go Adam. And yes, now you can comment on my blog 🙂