Try a different perspective

Life may not be progressing as you had planned, but it doesn't mean things are " just awful" or that you are "having a bad day". 

Just yesterday I went to the gym for my weekly session with my personal trainer. ( When I signed up for the gym, I took advantage of a promotion and purchased six sessions with a trainer) As I was warming up on the treadmill I saw My  trainer walk up to some other  girl, smile, and proceed to sign her in to a training session. 

"Maybe he's just helping her out on the computer for another trainer", I thought to myself. 

"We've been training on Monday mornings regularly now, plus I got sick last week during the session and we agreed I should come an hour later so I can actually eat a breakfast before I come in, he can't have double booked me, right?" 

Nope.

Off they went into the masses of men and women sweating their hearts out in the weight room. 

Initially, my reaction as to think " Wow, really? But I planned my week according to this. I was gonna have an insane session today, then take tuesday off to go dress shopping for my friend's wedding because I'd be too sore to workout anyways."

But, shortly after verifying that he had in fact double booked the session and leaving a message for him to give me a call, I changed my perspective.

"Ok then... I'm at the gym, in this area of town, how am I going to best use my time."

I decided to check out the schedule of classes for the day and wouldn't you know, yoga was scheduled to begin in 45 minutes!  I hadn't practiced yoga in at least a year and I knew my body needed it. 

One catch. I needed a yoga mat, and I had thrown out my old one after using it in an outdoor bootcamp class.  On second thought, I'm glad I don't have a yoga mat because it gives me something to do until the class starts.

So, in that 45 minute gap, I found the closest store which sold yoga mats and bought myself a brand new one. Having plenty of time left before class, I then let myself wander into another store, walked straight to their sale rack and bought myself some new workout clothes.

Long story short:

My botched training session turned into a super productive morning where much needed workout attire was purchased and my yoga practice was given a much needed awakening.  I like to think of such situations as God's way of reminding me ( nudging me) to take care of myself and remain open to new and various options instead of limiting myself to tunnel vision. Ie: Keeping my eye on one goal and only seeing one way to get there. 

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In food news :

Barbecued Golden Potato

I've continued to enjoy my vegetables like a good girl :)

Grilled Onion

I've been experimenting with some new recipes, but they havn't reached the level of perfection I require before I share a recipe with you.

Experiment #1:  A pasta sauce made with butternut squash, tomato, tomato sauce, wine wine, onion, garlic and nutritional yeast.   I loved it, but would like to try it with more layers of flavor.

Experiment #2:  Bulgur with tomato, cinnamon, onion and other spices. Though my youngest sister liked it, I personally think I overdid it on the tomatoes. Somethings just taste better when they are kept simple and pure. 

Finally, I've exploring vegan desserts again. Case in point -- Green Tea Ice Cream with Coconut Milk

Though I love coconut and I love matcha green tea -- these two are not a compatible match in my book. I'm guessing the best matches are going to be coconut with chocolate, nuts and coffee .... 

What do you think?

Butternut Squash Naopoleon

Filling:

Saute the diced butternut squashed  in some olive oil with 1/2 a diced white onion and 2 cloves of garlic. Once the onions become translucent add about 1/8 cup of white wine to deglaze. Then add 1/4 cup of brown jasmine rice and saute for about 1 minute. Finally, add about 1 cup of chicken broth and let it simmer until the rice has cooked. ( It should smell and taste amazing at this point).

Optional: add diced water chesnuts for some extra crunch and 1 tbsp of grated Parmesan for flavor and garlic

The Butternut Squash " layers":

Slice 3 slices of butternut squash from the neck where it is still solid. Either spray with Pam or coat with some olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt on both sides. Bake at 350F for about 10 minutes ( depending on your ovens strength). Flip the squash and bake for another 5 minutes.  Then sprinkle some raw sugar and paprika on the top side of the squash and broil on low for 5 minutes until an nice golden color develops.

Layer as depicted and garnish with a fresh sprig of rosemary.

This one is for Pru.....

KUNG PAO CHICKEN

During my first year of law school my DC Studio totaled a generous 400 square feet -- the Kitchen took up about 36 square feet!  Crazy huh?!   It was a tiny 6 feet by 6 feet, -- pretty much a sing next to a mini stove/oven. 

Yet, I managed to make use of my limited space and resources to make meals. The pleasure I got in cooking for friends and myself and the effect it had on reducing my stress levels was well worth the effort and creativity. 

One of my classmates, Pru, lived a few flights upstairs from me and toward the end of our first year we spent plenty of time studying together -- especially during finals. During one of these nights she tried my kung pao chicken and immediately thereafter begged for my recipe. This post is me making good on my promise.

So here ya go Pru!  I hope these directions serve you well :)

Ingredients

1/4 cup unpackedBrown Sugar
3/4 cup Chicken Broth,
4 tbsp Low-Sodium Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Rice Vinegar
2 1/2 tbsp Ginger Root
2 tbsp Garlic
1 cup Green onion
1/2 cup Sliced Water Chestnuts
4 oz chicken breast boneless skinless,
1/8 cup Peanuts unsalted
Pam, cooking spray

Directions

Combine the brown sugar with the chicken broth, the soy sauce, the rice vinegar, the chopped ginger and chopped garlic and end up with something like this in a separate bowl:

Then, before I begin cooking, I like prepping my vegetables which included measure out the peanuts and water chestnuts and cutting the scallions:

All together now:

Ok, so now that the prepping is complete ( I'm assuming you've washed and diced the chicken as well) we can move on to the next step.

Spray your cooking pan with some pam ( add a few dried red chilis if you are adventurous)
Once the pan is warm add in the chicken and let it brown on both sides on high heat ( hibachi style).
Next, pour the liquid into the pan  and  cover. Let the chicken simmer for at least 10-15 minutes.
Once the liquid has thickened into a sauce add the water chestnuts, peanuts and half the scallions.
Let it cook for about 2-3 minutes.

Finally, fold in the remaining scallions and serve

Brief Weekend Recap

Most of the weekend was spent working on an article.... a neverending article.  However I did manage to whip up a few meals.  Here are a few examples:

Saturday Morning Brunch was an 1 egg, +2 egg white scramble with a glass of Florida's Natural Orange Juice (best orange juice i've tried so far, honest) and two slices of Oroweat double fiber toast.

The Scramble included:

one egg

2 egg whites

some mesquite deli turkey

1 light string cheese

and a scallion

on Sunday night, I decided to whip up a healthy meal which consisted of Chicken, Barley and Asparagus:

Mushroom Barley ( adapted from a WW recipe)

1 Spanish onion
2 cups diced baby bella mushroom
1 cup pearl barley
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp white wine
1 tbsp grated parmesan
3 cups chicken broth
1 tsp unsalted butter

- Sautee the diced mushroom and onion in 1 tsp of unsalted butter until onions are transparent and mushroom has softened and shrunk in size.
- Add 1 cup pearl barley, and stir into the mushrooms and onions
-Next, add the white wine
- Add 3 cups of chicken broth and bring the pot to a boil. Once it begins to boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for about 60 minutes. Stir every 20 minutes or so.
- At about 40 minutes into the cooking process, add the soy sauce and Parmesan.

Aparagus
 

12 stems of asparagus
Cooking spray ( 2 sprays)
3 cloves garlic
soy sauce

- Heat a sautee pan coated with cooking spray, add the asparagus, and 3 sliced cloves of garlic. After a couple minutes add the soy sauce to taste , stir and let it reduce. The whole process should take about 5 minutes total.

LPP Chicken

Lemon Pepper
Paprika
1 tsp Raw Sugar
1 Chicken Breast
3 cloves garlic
3 Tbsp white wine
1 /2 cup - 1 cup chicken broth

- Wash and diced the chicken breast, Coat it with lemon pepper, paprika and 1 tsp of raw sugar.
- Place in a hot pot coated with cooking spray and brown on both sides.
- Add the wine, and let the alcohol cook off.
- Next add 3 diced cloves of garlic, and chicken broth.  Let it simmer on low until the barley is done :)