exercise dvd’s

Dinner Guests

4 Comments

Monday morning!

In yoga class yesterday morning the teacher kept saying “welcome to the beginning of your week” and things of that nature and my inner dialogue kept responding “Sunday’s the end of MY week”.  I donno but somehow I am more mentally prepared on Monday morning to face the week.

And Sunday is all about the recreation, leisure, and socializing.  Which is why I decided that yesterday was a good time to make some new friends.

I have been reading Kath Eats Real Food for several months now and enjoy that we share a love for running, kale chips, and all things winter squash so I figured it was time to take the next step and, ummm, eat some winter squash together!

Lucky for me, Kath and her husband Matt were down with the idea of a Sunday dinner at our place.  They biked over and two bottles of wine, two bottles of beer, three apple turnovers, and a bowl of chili later, voila, we have friends!

Now on to that chili

Remember that heirloom pumpkin I bought at the Lewiburg Farmer’s Market a few weeks ago?  Here, I’ll give you some hints

I peeled it and chopped it up and put it in a pot with chopped onion, 2 bell peppers, and  a bit of olive oil.

To this I added pinto and black beans that had been soaking in the fridge for two days.  I think I need to turn the temp up on the refrigerator because some of the water froze with some beans in it!

Soaking beans for two days or so is the only way to go in my humble opinion.  I started doing this long soak when we lived in Peru because people there are very energy conscience (usually as a necessity due to poverty) and this really cuts down cooking time and leaves you with a very soft bean.  It certainly takes a bit of forethought but if you are like my household and eat beans nearly every day than you just get in the habit of always having your next batch soaking.

Back to the chili.  Into the pot went canned tomatoes and tomato paste, chopped summer squash, tvp, chipotle pepper powder, jalapenos, and cumin.  Towards the end I added salt to taste.

Honestly, it turned out good but not even close to outstanding.  The pumpkin pretty much fell apart so it didn’t add much in the way of texture and it’s flavor was very subtle.  And it needed three times as much jalapeno!  It was spicy at first but after sitting a few hours it was way too mellow.

Sorry but by the time we ate outside it was way too dark to get a decent picture with my point-and-shoot but Kath has some gorgeous pictures here, including some of the delicious whole wheat apple turnovers that Matt made for dessert.

Mission Get Moving went fantastic last week!  I was SO active and felt strong through it all.  It was fun to take so many classes at the gym but I will not be buying a membership once my free trial is over on Tuesday.  It’s too far away (I have to drive!) and I am not really a gym girl right now, I want to run outside while it’s nice and I have a great home gym with weights and bands.

(O.k, it’s an awful picture, like a craigslist “for sale” ad or something, but I promise you, that is all you need for an AWESOME at-home workout)

Mission Get Moving

Week 6 (September 20-27)

  • 4 runs (1 60 minutes, speed work)
  • 4 yoga sessions
  • Pilates class
  • 2 exercise dvd workouts (I miss my dvd’s, they were abandoned for Gold’s last week!)
  • Zumba!

Have a fabulous Monday!

Catch Up

Leave a Comment

The following post was written on Tuesday but I never made it back out to internet…

I went to the gym today for the 3rd time in over 20 months.  I have had a gym membership from the time I was 16 until December 2008 and used to go at least five times a week to teach a class or workout.  While living in Peru I was on a tight budget and gyms were NOT cheap ($50 a month and up) so I ran regularly, did yoga and exercise dvd’s, and walked everywhere.  But I always looked forward to getting back into a gym, I love used to love going to the gym.

I started a week trial at Gold’s and as far as a gym goes I was actually impressed.  They have TONS of cardio machines, separate rooms for group exercise classes, spinning, and “mind-body” classes, a room just for women that has all the cardio and weight equipment that you need, a sauna, and a hydro-massage machine.  I was hoping to catch a class but nothing was scheduled for a few hours so I opted for a cardio workout instead.  20 minutes of elliptical and 30 minutes of running sprints on the treadmill later and I was dripping with sweat and feeling conflicted.  It felt a bit insane to me to be on this electrical machine, watching t.v..   Yeah,  I was burning tons of calories but I was also burning tons of fossil fuels!  I vowed then and there to only use the gym for classes and other non-electrical workouts (and the sauna and massage, choose your battles!).  Monthly membership is $40 and I highly doubt that I will add this to my stack of bills once my free week is up, although I may change my mind when the mercury starts to dip.

I may or may not have mentioned to Mark, who gave me the tour of the club, that I am a currently unemployed personal trainer and group fitness instructor.  😉  Hey, shameless self-promotion is one of the best kinds!

And speaking of shameless self promotion, in my unpacking I found this very sweet letter from one of my old Portland clients

Upon returning home from the gym it was SERIOUSLY time for lunch.

Roasted eggplant hummus (I made it yesterday), Spring Creek Fine Herbs Tofu sprinkled with nutritional yeast and liquid aminos, leftover butternut squash, and a pile of celery and carrot sticks, oh and a leaf of Romaine for green good measure.  I covered the plate with red chili flakes and a bit of salt.

I had high hopes for this tofu because I had cooked up a package of their plain stuff a few days ago and it was a delicious but the Fine herbs wasn’t anything special, I will stick to the plain.  I love that this tofu is local, Twin Oaks is a Virginia intentional community and I actually visited family friends there once or twice when I was a kid.

Another gorgeous fall day!  I have the urge to garden but I am supposed to be on a self-imposed budget this week (moving is $$$!) and I need EVERYTHING from seeds/seedlings/plants to soil so maybe I should just plant the two butterfly bushes I bought on Sunday and call it good.

And here’s yesterday’s post (tried, in vain, to find internet without going to a coffee shop or the library 🙁 )

Another morning at the gym.  I took a class that I think is called PeakPower.   The description on the schedule was really vague but it turns out it’s a combo of step aerobics and “combat” (boxing).  I am realizing more and more that I am no longer a gym girl, at least not while it’s nice enough to run outside and I have a good collection of dvd’s at home.  This is a hard truth seeing as how my career is rather gym-centered.  Maybe I am just not into the cardio classes anymore.  Even though I teach Pilates and know the moves inside and out I ALWAYS work harder while in a class.  And it’s great to be introduced to new intentions, poses, and transitions in yoga classes.

While I didn’t LOVE the class it did make me want to start teaching again.  I need to brave up and ask Gold’s if they are hiring.

Post gym was all about the brewing!  I made kombucha and yogurt like a madwomen.  This is my first time making yogurt and my second time making kombucha (the first batch wasn’t great but I hope to redeem with this one).

Well, it’s my second time for kombucha on my own, my little sis and I made it together when we were housemates in Portland but I played more of an assistant role.  It is a very simple recipe but for some reason I make it more difficult than it is, I am sure I will get the hang of it after a few successful batches.

I am a little nervous about the yogurt though.  You are supposed to keep the mixture at about 100 degrees for at least 7 hours.  I don’t have my cooler here yet so I have the two containers in a warm water bath in my kitchen sink but I am going to have to stay very attentive and keep changing the water to regulate the temperature.   My decision to try my hand at yogurt making is two-fold.   First, economics. I prefer to eat plain organic yogurt (Stoneyfield is my favorite) and a quart costs $3.99.  I bought Whole Foods brand organic fat-free milk for $3.79 for TWO quarts.  I can easily eat two quarts of yogurt a week.  Second, environment.  Two quarts a week adds up to a lot of plastic containers and if I find an affordable local organic milk source it will cut down on environmental costs all the more.  Let’s just hope it turns out!

I am looking forward to biking to the Farmer’s Market this afternoon.  My bike was in storage along with everything else and I have missed riding it and I especially love using it as an alternative mode of transportation.