Sunday, April 14, 2013

Weekly Meals & Yoga Challenge

After doing The Conscious Cleanse in January, I confirmed that eggs and wheat do not sit well with me. I have therefore been avoiding both wheat and eggs. I still bake and buy some bread for “the boys,” but we have all been making vegetables the focus of our meals. I usually make a big pot of soup and/or stew each week, and I eat the leftovers for lunch throughout the week. I also eat the soup/stew on nights the boys have bread or pasta.

Here are the meals for this week:

Meal 1: Veggie/bean/beef chili over a bed of spinach. I made this “no recipe chili” a few weeks ago, and we all loved it. I start by sautéing an onion, garlic, lots of carrots (about 8) and celery (about 8 stalks). Then I added 3/4 pound of ground beef. When the beef was browned, I added three cans of beans (black, while, and pinto) and crushed tomatoes (I used one container of Pomi, which I like because the only ingredient is tomatoes) and 1 cup of water. Spices were Spanish chili powder, Korean chili powder, Tabasco, salt, pepper, cardamom, turmeric, oregano, and, ketchup. The chili gets even better toward the end of the week. In addition to enjoying the chili over spinach, hubby also enjoyed some with some toasted sourdough bread. I honestly don’t miss the bread, and I love when the spinach gets slightly wilted from the warm chili.
Meal 2: Veggie/tofu stir fry. This week the veggies are: onions, garlic, mushrooms, bok choy, and spinach. Hubby may have some rice with the stir fry.
Meal 3: Lentil soup with veggies.
Meal 4: Salad with smoked salmon. We found the best smoked salmon at the Farmers’ Market. I’m really looking forward to this meal.
Meal 5: Leftovers.


Yoga Challenge

By accident, I entered into a yoga challenge this past week. I had been looking for a yoga studio for a while, and a friend of mine told me that she had recently joined a studio that she really likes. I looked online and saw that they offered a special for new students – $20 for 14 days of unlimited classes. When I showed up, I found out that there was a catch: you have to go every day. If you miss a day, the deal is over. I signed up as I figured even if I only go a few times, it’s still a good deal. But then I decided that I really wanted to go every day for 14 days. The studio offers many different classes, but because the times I can make it to class are limited, I had to take classes I am not that comfortable with. So far, I have had a different instructor every time, and I have clearly been the new student in every class.

I confirmed that I don’t like unfamiliar situations. But I also confirmed that it’s good for me to get outside of my comfort zone and try new things and challenge myself.

Questions: What’s one thing you have recently done to get outside of your comfort zone? What’s on your menu this week?
 
Be well,
Andrea