Newlywed, Newly Veg!

Good afternoon!  Hope your Sunday has gone well so far…we’ve had a productive one!

I started the day out right with some Bob’s Red Mill 8-grain cereal + banana + a drizzle of blackstrap molasses that looked just like chocolate syrup (for the iron and minerals, of course!).  It was delicious—I should have taken a picture.  Next time, next time.

Then, I got my classrooms set up for my next set of online classes.  The courses I teach online only run for 9 weeks…much easier than a full-on semester!  It took me about an hour to get everything posted, and while I worked, I listened to a few podcasts from The Compassionate Cook (which apparently Kim was listening to this morning as well!).  I really love Colleen—her podcasts are so informative (and entertaining)…her passion for what she does really shines through, even in just an audio podcast.  I encourage you to check out her site!

After my online work was complete, we headed to…the gym!  Woo hoo! Consider us official gym members again. 

Our gym in Altoona actually cracks me up.  It is TINY, and is run by an older man and his wife.  It’s called The Building.  That should tell you something right there.

It’s definitely a no frills, no nonsense kind of place.  It actually kind of reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where Jerry’s parents buy him training sessions with “personal trainer” Izzy Mandelbaum, and he ends up working out with a medicine ball and triangular weights.  There is a 1950’s weight room vibe there, for sure.

Mandelbaum, Mandelbaum, Mandelbaum!!

Still, it has everything we need, and it will be really nice to use the weight machines.  They actually offer some classes as well, so I’m thinking about checking some of those out on the nights that we aren’t teaching.

One of my friends asked me if we were still doing hot yoga, and the answer is no…but soon!  There’s a class on Wednesdays in State College (about 40 minutes away from Altoona), so I think we’re going to head over there this week and check it out! It’s a long drive for an exercise class, but State College is more of a “real town,” so we always jump at the chance to go over that way.  It’s where the Penn State main campus is, so there are a lot of fun college town restaurants, and it’s just generally more bustling than Altoona. Anyway, we have that to look forward to!

At the gym, I did the elliptical for 30 minutes, the treadmill for another 10, and then another 15 minutes of weights and ab work.

By the time we got home, I was HAUNGRY!

Enter Sunshine Burger. 

Mmmm…have you had these?  They’re good!  They’re expensive, and you only get three to a package, but, unlike some veggie burgers that are really processed and “fake,” Sunshine Burgers contain: raw sunflower seeds, brown rice, carrots, herbs, and sea salt. 

I heated my burger up and piled that, along with some mushrooms, pickles, and spinach, on a toasted Ezekial bun.

Lunch:

Tower of spinach:

I enjoyed lunch on another new plate!  This one was a gift from my sister.  Isn’t it cute?

Gotta love a good bird plate!

We’re off to run some errands this afternoon…Dick’s, Bed, Bath and Beyond, etc., etc.

Hope you have a good one!

Bet you can’t guess what we had for dinner. 

Our afternoon was spent doing more work…specifically, I got to work cleaning, cleaning, cleaning.  I got some Mrs. Meyer’s counter cleaning spray…have you tried this?  I got the Lemon Verbana scent, and I really like it!  Very fresh smelling.  I also mopped and vacuumed.  And then mopped again when I found a few “gifts” from Baxter in the living room.  Nice.

We didn’t make it over to the gym…well, actually, we were going to go, but we called to ask about the hours around 3:30, and they told us that they close at 4:00 on Saturday!  Rats! Oh well…I think we’re going to go tomorrow morning.  I ended up walking/running 3.5 miles on our “home gym” treadmill, which was perfect!  My energy level has been pretty low today…I think I’m still feeling yesterday’s long day of travel. 

Around 6, we got started on dinner.  It ended up pretty good!

Black Bean and Mango Quinoa

Ingredients:

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. ground cumin

salt and pepper

1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup quinoa

1 mango, chopped

1 avocado, chopped

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

Directions:

In a saucepan, combine 1 cup quinoa with two cups water.  Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook until water is absorbed, about 15-20 minutes.

While quinoa is cooking, heat a skillet and add garlic.  Cook for 2-3 minutes, and then add red pepper.  Cook for about 5 minutes, until peppers have cooked through.  Add spices and black beans, and cook for another 10 minutes or so. 

When quinoa is ready, add quinoa and mango to skillet with pepper and beans.  Stir to incorporate, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with avocado and cilantro.

We served ours over a big bed of spinach for some extra greens!  It was good…although I think it could have benefitted from a little more kick.  And maybe some tortilla chips on top!

Here are some pics of the cooking process:

Quinoa + veggies…sorry for the steamy pic! It was hot!

Final product + dinner:

 Aren’t these fleur de lis candle holders pretty?  I got them while I was home.  Gotta represent Louisiana while I’m stuck up here in cold, snowy PA, right? 

Also, check out the pretty table….the plates, napkins, and placemats were all a Christmas present from my sweet husband.  He has good taste, no?

Can’t wait to show y’all all the fun new dishes I got over the holiday!

I ended the meal with a big hunk of Theo’s dark chocolate—91%!!! Holy dark chocolate goodness!

I think I’m about to take a long bath with a magazine—I have a lot of magazine reading material to get caught up on from all the time we’ve been gone! 

See you tomorrow, lovelies!