Newlywed, Newly Veg!

Hey y’all!  This has got to be a super speedy post because I’m already running late—last semester, my first class started at 2:40, and this semester I teach a 1:15 class, but I think my mind is still set on that 2:40 start time.  Which basically means, EEK! I’m LATE!!

This morning, I did a nice three point whatever mile run on the treadmill alternating between a 6 mph minute and a 7 mph minute for 30 minutes total.  Easy and fun!  After my run, while I was still gross and sweaty, I headed outside to clear a larger “toilet area” for Mr. Diva Dog.  This time, I cleared an area in the sun by one of the trees in our front yard.  Hopefully this spot will be more to his liking.

Let me tell you, snow shoveling is a workout!! I was huffing and puffing…I think I got a better workout shoveling snow than on the treadmill!

For lunch, I had a speedy chickpea mash sammie melt!

In a bowl, I mashed up half a cup of chickpeas with about a tsp. of Nasoya Dijon Nayonaise.  Great for getting your frustrations out, by the way!  I like to leave some of the chickpeas whole so that the mash is nice and chunky:

I then put the mash on an open-face Ezekial bun, topped both with spinach and Follow Your Heart vegan cheddar, and popped it in the microwave for a minute.

Easy, breezy, and cheesy. 

Pre-microwave:

It melts!  Haha…ummm, kind of!

I’ll be back after teaching with a dinner post!  I’m sure a snack will be called to duty at some point today as well.

Hope your day is going wonderfully!  I’ll have a longer dinner post, I promise!

…a little better all the time!

Hey guys!  How has your night been?

Thankfully, my day and my eats have much improved since I talked to you last.  Around 4:15, Ryan and I headed out for State College, excited for another hot yoga class! About 40 minutes later, we rolled into town, found the yoga studio, met our instructor, and got down to business!

The studio was not NEARLY as hot as the Seattle studio that we practiced in.  In my opinion, that’s both a good and a bad thing.  I just barely broke a sweat in this class, and in the Seattle class I was DRIPPING.  Literally, soaked with sweat by the end.  On the one hand, that feels extremely cleansing and powerful.  On the other hand, that kind of intensity isn’t always what I want.  The studio we went to today had three big heaters set up in the room, so it was hot…just not HOT yoga hot.

While the heat wasn’t as intense, the yoga itself was JUST as intense in this class, if not more intense.  Our instructor Doug, who was maybe 45 or 50, looked to be a sweet, hippy-ish man before class started.  Baggy pants, holey t-shirt…you know the type.

Then we started class.

He was a drill sergeant!  I mean, this man was intense!  He was all about pushing you to your max, urging you to get deeper into the pose, and not cutting anyone any slack.  He worked us!  My legs and arms were shaking and quaking by the time we lay down for the final savasana.  I think I’m probably going to feel this class tomorrow.

After class, we headed over to one of our favorite State College restaurants: Green Bowl!  It’s Mongolian grill-type restaurant with TONS of veggies.  You build your own bowl, choose from about 20 different sauces, and then choose your meat (optional, obviously), and then leave it for the handy-dandy grill men to fire up:

In about five minutes, your bowl returns to you, cooked and delicious!

As we waited for our food, I ordered a hot tea and was pleased to be served a wide variety of TAZO teas:

They had everything from regular green to to peppermint tarragon to African red bush.  I went with “Calm,” which was a blend of chamomile and rose. 

Before too long, our bowls were served.  Mine contained…well, a whole lot of veggies! It had: sweet peas, sugar snap peas, carrots, spinach, bok choy, mushrooms, scallions, cilantro, bell peppers, peanuts, edamame, tofu, bean sprouts, green beans, broccoli, and pineapple.  Holy veggies, Batman!

It also had a spoonful of ginger teriyaki sauce, and a bit of spicy soy sauce. Each bowl is served with brown rice.

Veggie bowl goodness:

Obviously I hated it:

This dinner more than made up for my less-than-stellar lunch!  After dinner, we walked to a local used books store/cafe/bakery, where I picked up a delicious vegan peanut butter cookie.  Perfectly sweet ending!

Hope you had a good night!  See you tomorrow, chikas!