Sunday Funday!

So I continued my current obsession of cooking healthy this week, so you are getting more food pictures and recipes.  =D  I've been experimenting more with quinoa this week.  I have always liked quinoa actually, but I never really quite knew how to use it.  I had a bag that I bought like 2-3 years ago and only used once or twice and finally had to throw it away.  Well, I'm giving it a try again!  And turns out, it is quite versatile.  It makes a great breakfast as an alternative to oatmeal or cereal, or for dinner as alternative to rice or pasta.

Here are some breakfast meals I made with quinoa:

Quinoa, Brie & Raspberry

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Quinoa - rinse first

1 cup almond milk (or any other milk)

Couple slices of brie cheese, depending on personal preference

Handful of raspberries, and some for garnish

This one is really easy.  I basically cooked quinoa in almond milk, then when it's about done, threw in the brie cheese and raspberries.  Cooked it all a couple more minutes until the cheese melted, then threw a couple raw raspberries on top, and voila!  So good!  I actually had something like this at a really cool brunch place a couple months ago, except they used muesli instead of quinoa.  So I kind of copied the recipe.  But it's super good with quinoa!

Quinoa, Tuna, Sweet Potato & Almond Slices

Ingredients:

1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed

1 cup almond milk (or any other milk)

1 canned tuna

1/2 medium sized cooked sweet potato - I had some baked sweet potato left over from dinner

Handful of sliced almonds

Basically same as the one above, cooked quinoa in almond milk, when it's almost done, I added the tuna, sweet potato, and almond slices.  Cooked it all together for a few more minutes and ready to eat!  

Quinoa & Salmon Bake

Ingredients:

1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed

1 cup chicken or vegetable broth 

6 oz cooked salmon

1/2 yellow onion

1 zucchini

1 squash

1 tomato

A few small artichoke hearts

About 1/2 cup of diced olives

1 tbsp of fresh dill chopped

Squeeze of lemon juice

Salt & pepper to taste

This one was for dinner.  I found the original recipe from Shape magazine but I modified it with more ingredients I like to make it a mediterranean flavor.  First cook the raw quinoa and onions in a sauce pan for a few minutes.  Then add the broth (I used broth I saved from a few days before when I made poached chicken and salmon) until it covers the quinoa and onion completely.  Put on the lid and simmer for about 10 minutes, when the broth is almost all gone, add in the chopped zucchini, squash, artichoke heart and olives.  Probably need to add a bit more broth at this point.  Stir for a few more minutes, then add in the salmon.  Then stir for another couple minutes, and add in the tomato and dill.  Salt & pepper to taste, in the end add a squeeze of lemon juice.  This dish is soooooo good!  It's so good I can eat it everyday!  

Kale Hummus

Ingredients:

1 1/2 canned chick peas, with about 1/2 cup of water from the can

1/4 cup olive oil

Handful of kale leaves, blanched in boiling water for about 30 seconds

3 cloves of garlic

Juice squeezed from 1 lemon

1 tsp sea salt

Cumin, depending on taste - I used a lot because I love cumin

Paprika to taste

To keep the mediterranean theme going, I've also made my own kale hummus this week that is so delicious!  Just blend all the above ingredients together.  I just used my regular blender.  I couldn't believe how good it was!  It's very easy to make and much cheaper than buying hummus.  I made a lot and I can save it in the fridge to use later on wraps or sandwiches.  Or, you can try to make these yummy appetizers with it:

Prosciutto, Hummus, Spinach & Goat Cheese Wrap

Ingredients:

Sliced prosciutto

Hummus

Spinach

Goat Cheese

These little things are so yummy.  I saw this prosciutto roll with fig preservative and arugula recipe, and thought to myself that I could modify it with my hummus!  Super easy to make.  Just spread the hummus all over the sliced prosciutto, then add a few spinach leaves and some crumbled goat cheese inside.  Wrap it up and serve!  It tastes sooooo good!  I love the kale hummus with this.  It looks pretty fancy too!  Here's what it looks like before I rolled it:

I think I'm getting carried away with all these things I've been making!  They make me so excited lol.  I guess prosciutto is not the healthiest since it is very salty.  But everything in moderation!  One or two of these rolls is enough for me.  

Ok so finally now I get to write about my workouts and outfits, haha!  I worked out 5 times this week, so I'm happy about that.  Each time I worked hard too!  I seriously believe that if you are going to be at the gym anyway, you might as well work as hard as you can.  I ain't got time to waste!

Monday 3/18

What I did:  I ran sprints, then did weights.  I still haven't got back into doing New Rules of Lifting for Abs, so I've been doing my own thing.  I actually canceled my ghetto 24 hour fitness membership, because the new Equinox downtown LA location is opening next week!  And I've pre-signed up since like last October.  Finally going back to Equinox!  My favorite place.. no kidding.. I will be living there when they open this Wednesday at 4 pm!  Lol.  So I've been just using the little gym at my building.  That's kind of why I haven't got back onto the program.  Once Equinox opens then it will be a lot easier.  

What I wore:  Lululemon Push Ur Limits tank in wish blue multi poncho stripe, Run A Marathon crop, and Adidas adizero adios 2 shoes.  I haven't worn the Push Ur Limits tank in the longest time!  I have 3 of these tanks still too.  I kind of got over them, but I think I like them again.  Sometimes it's good to not sell off all tanks that haven't been touched in the past 6 months lol.  I think I find them a little annoying to workout in because they fit very tightly, and the luxtreme fabric kind of rides up.  Maybe I should have sized up in them but oh well.

Tuesday 3/19 - Rest, actually I had no choice because I'd been having trouble with my TV so I was waiting around for the cable guy to show up... who never showed!  Wtf?!

Wednesday 3/20

What I did:  Ran and lifted again.  When I do this, I usually just do like 5-6 sprints with 1 minute rests in between.  Then do about 4 supersets of weights that hit pretty much all major muscle groups.

What I wore:  Lululemon cool racerback in dune petit dot, with Energy bra in grapeseed underneath.  Run Fast shorts and Nike Frees.

Thursday 3/21 - Rest day again, cable guy came back.  Or should I say, came.  Problem solved.

Friday 3/22

What I did:  Spin class (almost private lesson since only 1 other person showed up to class!), then ran a couple miles and did weights again.  Went a little crazy, but I used to do this all the time a few years ago!  That was when I was super skinny lol.  I remember on Saturdays, I used to get up at 6:30 or 7 am, go to Equinox and workout for about 2 hours, usually a ballet type of class then kettlebell class.  Then I'd come home to grab some quick breakfast and head out to a different Equinox location to do an hour of boxing.  Be done by around noon.  LOL!  I was insane!

What I wore:  Lululemon Dance Strap tank in fruity tootie, with astro crops in black/bon bon/paradise and I forgot to bring a pair of sneakers or flip flops to spin class, so I ended up wearing my Sam Edelman Mallory slingbacks that I had worn to work lol.  

Saturday 3/23

What I did:  Pilates class - it was super tough!  So sore from it!

What I wore:  I used to layer my Lululemon cool racerbacks all the time, but haven't done it in years.  I don't know why but I decided to do it again.  So I wore my majestic cool racerback over my lavender cool racerback and white Flow Y bra.  And white slub denim Dhanurasana crop.

I also wore my Principle Jacket in black/bold blue as to/from.  It's funny that I've been wearing so much "vintage" Lulu this week.  It's because other things haven't been washed... haha.

Oh yeah, Saturday night dinner outfit is also included here, because I got to wear my new Blank NYC skinny jeans in metallic pink!  They almost match my Ivanka Trump pinkish pumps perfectly so I thought that was awesome.  Too bad these jeans look kind of wrinkly on me.  Maybe because they are one size bigger than I am.  Oh well!  I wore it with my Express red dolman graphic tee, and this Zara white studded jacket.  I should have taken a picture with my pink Chanel purse that I took, because I love all the shades of pink/red!

Sunday 3/24

What I did:  Ran a couple miles, then did weights again!

What I wore:  Lululemon Run Energy SL in potion purple, with power purple Run Passion crop and Brooks Pure Drift shoes.

And that concludes this week's workouts!  I love the combo of eating well and working out!  There is seriously no substitutes for this combo.  It just makes you feel great!