Bring Your Own Veggies

Hey guys!  How's your week going so far?  I can't believe it's almost mid-April - time is flying by for me.

My other contribution to our family Easter dinner was broccolini.  I was excited to do a vegetable because a lot of times my mom makes a vegetable casserole for big family dinners, and I'm not usually a fan (they tend to contain cheese and cream sauces, which I don't like).  She did in fact make a carrot casserole on Sunday, so I was glad to have an alternative veggie to eat with my meal.

I followed this Martha Stewart recipe but used broccolini instead of broccoli rabe, and also increased the amount of ingredients to make sure we had plenty for everyone.  I made this once before when I had my parents and grandparents over to my apartment for my mom's birthday in February, and it went over really well, so I was excited to serve it again.  I think it was actually more flavorful the first time I made it, probably because I made a smaller batch that time.  But it was still good and I would make it again!  I especially love the almonds added in.

Since I was at my parents' house over the weekend, I didn't really have time to prep food for this week.  Last night I had an evening class, and I was really hungry when I got home and wanted something quick and easy to throw together.  I just thought about what sounded good and mixed everything together.  I had some cooked couscous in the fridge, so I used that as my base and mixed in broccoli (frozen, which I had steamed in the microwave), frozen spinach, frozen shelled edamame, and some canned black beans (which I had rinsed).  I stirred everything up (except for the broccoli), and heated it in the microwave for a few minutes.  Then I stirred in the broccoli and sprinkled on some nutritional yeast (adding extra protein and B vitamins, plus great flavor).  It came together very quickly and was filled with nutritious ingredients.  This is completely customizable depending on what you have on hand - any kind of grain, veggies, and beans could be mixed together.

Sorry for the blurry picture - Hart of Dixie was starting and I was in a rush!

I overdid it on the Easter candy after my lunch yesterday, so I wanted to have a lighter treat last night.  While I was putting my dinner together, I popped a bunch of grapes into the freezer.  When I was ready for dessert, I took the grapes out, and I dipped them into a mixture of Greek yogurt, honey, and granola - it satisfied my sweet tooth while being pretty healthy!

My workout today was another repeat of my most recent strength and treadmill routines, with 7 minutes of warm-up on the elliptical and stretching after.  I'm definitely a fan of routines and not at all a fan of change, in most aspects of my life.  I know it's very important to switch things up while working out (and in other areas, too!), but sometimes I just want to stick with what I know and like.  That's one of the reasons I like group exercise classes so much - even if you go to the same classes, the instructors vary the workouts and you do different things all the time.  Unfortunately the rec center where I belong does not have unlimited group exercise classes (they're pay-as-you-go), so I do my own thing.  It's a little harder for me to change things on my own accord, but I think it's amazing that there are so many great resources online for finding ready-made workout plans.  Hopefully by the end of this week I'll have picked out a new workout to try!

Post-gym protein smoothie:  1 cup almond milk, 1/2 T chia seeds, 1 T natural peanut butter, 1 scoop vanilla Sun Warrior protein powder, 1 frozen banana, 6 frozen strawberries, 2 ice cubes.

Slurp!

Well, it's snowing outside :(  I knew 80* weather in March meant snow in April.  At least these tulips that my mom gave me brought some spring into my apartment.

Hope you're having a great day!  Let me know if you have any tips for switching up your workout routine.

Song of the day:

"Little Lovin'" by Lissie.