Happy Yoga Month!

Wow, I can't believe how many exciting holidays and themed months are going on. So exciting! Apparently it's yoga month? Fine by me! I got my daily dose of some hot yoga today and I'm feeling great!

After yogs, I snacked around on some nectarines and apples while preparing some cin-fully delicious chicken. I seasoned the chicken with cinnamon, cayenne pepper, black pepper and a little bit of extra virgin olive oil. I checked on the chicken a few times by slicing into the chicken to see if there was any pink inside. That gave me an idea! I decided to put a few apple slices into the areas of the chicken breast I had already sliced.

The cin-fully sweet chicken, sweet potato and sweet salad made a lovely trio!

Time to relax and enjoy some tea. Goodnight!

All smiles!

After reading Kelsey's post, I couldn't help but feel inspired to smile!

That's supposed to be me. Can you tell by her red pepper tresses?

I enjoyed my meal outside until the wind gusts began to pick up. I went on inside to enjoy my regular mug of tea.

Sigh. Another sign of summer's departure. All good things come to an end and all endings result in new beginnings!

Love & Hearts

I woke up pretty late today - 12:00 pm actually! That's okay, sleeping in is good for the soul. I was excited to prepare some breakie - or in my case, brunch.

How cute is this heart-shaped plum? Ahh!

I included this babe in my delicious meal.

4 scrambled egg whites with a slice of fat-free cheese, last night's salad and my sliced heart-shaped plum!

I can't believe it's already that time of year again! I spent several hours trying to figure out my student loan situation. This time of year has to be one of the most stressful times for all students. We just have to remember that this is all temporary and it will soon pass. I made sure to play some chill-out tunes while dealing with my mountain of issues, in order to prevent my lips from uttering any bad words ;)

I was craving something sweet, so I whipped up some snackage to munch on.

Mashed tofu mixed with cinnamon, Splenda and halved grapes. It doesn't look too appetizing but it's actually so delish!

After some more phone calls, I began to get really fed up and annoyed. I decided it was time to make life a bit more green.

"But the greatest of these is Love"

It's always important to balance out the negative with the positive. The best way to do this is to find love in all that you do. Whether your current situation is stressful or happy, try to embrace that moment for all it's worth and appreciate it for what it is. I find it very difficult to appreciate the bad moments in life, although I've began to realize that these very moments create the inner strength I have today.

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Happy Labour Day!

I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday and for those who didn't, I hope you enjoyed your time and a half, ca-ching! I woke up incredibly hungry this morning, my body was definitely craving some goods!

I decided on the usual - scrambled egg whites, salad and fruit!

Today's fruit was apples!

A perfect trio.

I love greens in the morning!

A few hours later, my ravenous stomach called out for some more food. I decided to snack on some almonds, peanuts and yogurt. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough for my stomach. I decided to seek alternative measures.

Muahaha. A green monster to scare away my hunger!

Since I missed the gym yesterday, I was sure I had to make today's work out count. I did the Smoking Hot Body Work Out. I loved every minute of it! After my work out I did a but of jump rope and boxing.

I was ecstatic to find that the local Asian supermarket was open, despite today's holiday. I purchased lots of veggies and fruits, which helped me create tonight's dinner.

I decided to use the leftover plain lentils I had from the other day and transform them into another curry! I also created lovely salad complete with spinach, cucumbers, red peppers, orange peppers, carrots, mushrooms and red grapes, which accompanied the curry very nicely.

Holy yum!

Alright, time to kick it. Ciao!

Long weekend madness

Whew! This long weekend flew by too quickly! I can really feel fall in the air, seeing as it's been so chilly these past few days. I'm really hoping summer didn't already say goodbye, I would love to spend a few more days - or months soaking up the sun. I'm definitely not a fan of chilly weather, as I tend to get cold very easily.

Yesterday, I went to Moxie's with my sister for dinner. I felt like a salad would be my entrée of choice for the evening. I ordered the tandoori chicken salad, which consisted of warm tandoori chicken perched on a bed of mixed greens, tossed with mango, onions, sunflower seeds, water chestnuts and a mango and sweet chili dressing, served with melted brie on naan bread. 

Unfortunately, it was not quite as impeccable as described by the menu.The salad was said to have mango pieces inside; however, I received only 5 cubes of super sweet "mango" that did not taste very natural at all. I've realized that from making salads at home every day, my standards for salad have gone sky high.

My sister ordered the Mayan chicken salad, which contained lime grilled chicken on top of shredded greens with cheddar, black beans and tomatoes, tossed in a creamy peppercorn dressing with a hint of bbq flavour, served with asiago crisps.

Personally, I enjoy eating foods from home rather than foods from restaurants. It's better to actually know what's going into your food. Another plus is that you get to learn how to cook new meals! Unfortunately, preparing foods can sometimes become difficult when dealing with several busy days.

After dinner, my sister and I decided to hang out on the couch in front of the tube. I decided to prepare a healthy dessert for us to enjoy.

Peaches, nectarines, clementines, almonds and peanuts!

I just love the combination of fruits and nuts. The rest of the night was spent watching Forrest Gump. Too bad we couldn't finish it because it ran until 2:00 am! Luckily Forrest Gump is one of those movies that's usually always on TV anyways - just like Miss Congeniality.

I hope you're all enjoying your weekend!

Green is always in style

Hi guys!

This morning I woke up feeling well rested and excited to work out! Sometimes a day of rest is all the body needs to crave some energy expenditure. I decided a green monster would fuel my work out nicely.

So frothy! Who needs a milkshake when you can have one of these?

This mon-straw-sity (hehe) contained 3 handfuls spinach, a half scoop of ISO Sensation Cookies 'n Cream Protein, a third of a frozen banana, 3 ice cubes, about a third cup of water and a pinch of xantham gum.

I also had some tea on the side

Tetley orange pekoe tea with 2 teaspoons Splenda and a splash of So Nice original.

I did the Fitness Is Sexy Work Out which definitely got my heart pumpin'!

I nibbled on lots of fruits and veggies while cutting up ingredients for the ginormous salad I made. I decided to count that as the rest of my breakfast. The salad I conjured up consisted of spinach, red peppers, yellow peppers, cucumbers, celery, edamame,  nectarines and strawberries

For lunch, I paired the salad with some flaked white tuna with mushed avocado.

So delicious!

After lunch I did a bit of reading and errand running. I had planned to pick up peanut butter today, as it was a very important errand of mine; however, the store I planned to purchase my all natural peanut butter no longer had it in stock! I was devastated. The grocery store was way too far, so I settled on purchasing peanuts instead.

One of my favourite ways to incorporate nuts is definitely on a salad. Their presence truly makes such a difference! I love the crunchy textures and robust flavours they always seem to offer. Tonight's dinner featured the salad I had made, along with clementine segments and peanuts!

Can't forget the water!

So as you all know, I've been missing my Indian culture a lot these days. The other day I came across some green lentils, which taste amazing in curries. I decided today would be the day to attempt at making green lentil curry, even if it was at 10:30 pm. Surprisingly enough, my creation turned out better than I expected!

First I boiled the lentils on high for about 10 minutes and let them simmer for about 30 to 40 minutes.

I poured about a tablespoon and a half of extra virgin olive oil in a non-stick pan and added 2 medium chopped tomatoes, 1/2 cup chopped red onion, 1/8 cup chopped ginger, and 3-4 chopped garlic cloves. I added garam masala, cinnamon and fennel to taste. After a few minutes of cooking the veggies and spices, I added about a tablespoon of water and squished the tomatoes down in an attempt to create a sort of curry-like substance.

After the curry mixture was cooked, I added the lentils while folding the curry mixture over-top.

Bam!

Mamma sure would have been proud!

I couldn't stop eating it even though it was 11:30 pm! On that note, I must make a breakaway to Lala Land as I have work in the morning. Goodnight!

TGIF!

Happy Friday everyone!

I woke up feeling rather lethargic from working so many days in a row. I was sad to miss a few days of blogging as well =(

This morning looked like this:

4 scrambled egg whites, salad and nectarine slices

So delish and definitely gave me a load of nutrients to start the day.

I felt like doing little to no activity today, since the past few days had been so hectic. I spent several hours watching the Food Network, reading Sophie's World, and cleaning my house.

I decided on having a rather fancy lunch

'Twas a good day for oven baked chicken breast and veggies!

Accompanied by a lovely salad, which featured spinach, red peppers, yellow peppers, cucumbers, strawberries, grapes, nectarines, avocado and goat cheese.

Every mouthful was so tasty! I love creating different combinations for each mouthful. One of my favourites in this meal was chicken, goat cheese, avocado and red grapes. Mmm!

I decided to have a rest day today and clean up the house instead. My body was so sore, I don't think I could have exercised even if I tried. I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning the washroom and kitchen. Unfortunately, my room will have to wait yet another day to be cleaned.

It was dinner time before I knew it, and the leftovers from lunch were calling out to me

The fruits in the salad really make it taste so wonderful!

I nibbled on some okra post-dinner

and finished off with my favourite beverage

Don't you just adore this mug?!

I just bought Buddha Lounge Essentials India from iTunes. I received a $15.00 gift card from a friend and figured this was a perfect opportunity to use it. I absolutely love lounge/chill out music from collections such as Buddha Bar to those found in my Yoga classes. After hearing a few previews of the tracks, I decided to go ahead and purchase the album with my gift card. I really enjoy the warm, Indian essence found in these songs. I feel completely at ease when listening to this type of music.

Anyway, I'm going to relax and enjoy the rest of this album. Goodnight!