Hoisin Shrimp and Cucumber Salad

This past week I've really enjoyed staying at home and not being at my apartment. I just like being with my family esp when my sister comes home. Like tonight!! She brought her lil' puppy, Lily and I made a yummy dinner for the family! 

I got this recipe from PBfingers for Hoisin Shrimp and a Vinegar Cucumber and Scallion Salad! I have been wanting to make this recipe for a while and when we tore apart the freezer and found a bag full of shrimp, I thought it was the perfect night to try it out! 

The picture stinks but check it out.. 

Ingredients:

• 1 seedless cucumber, sliced
• 2 scallions, sliced
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
• 
  

And for dessert... 

In my cup:

coconut

coffee

yogurt chips

captain crunch

sprinkles

My workout was great tonight! I ran 2 miles for 20 minutes, walked for 5 mins. Then I headed to the mat for a bunch of ab and arm routines. I finished up with 15 minutes on a bike! Time to study.. have a great night!

Pumpkin Oatmeal Bowl

This morning I woke up to pouring rain, again. What's with this weather??? My mom and I had plans to take the dogs for a walk bright and early but when we saw the pouring rain, we opted on sleeping in instead : ) 

When I finally got out of bed at 9 am, I made myself a delicious pumpkin oatmeal bowl... 

pumpkin oatmeal bowl:

1 cup of oatmeal mixed with 

1 tablespoon Pumpkin Butter 

sprinkle of cinnamon 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or to taste)

1 Tbl flaxseed

sliced bananas 

Yumm! The pumpkin has 0 grams of fat and 40 cals per Tbl. Not to shabby! It felt like fall, in my mouth!

After working on homework for a bit, I headed to the gym with my bff Katie! I haven't seen her in months! She goes to school at UCLA and quite possibly might be the busiest person I know. So, I was sooo excited to see her and catch up! 

Me and Katie 

(I know, sooo blonde)

After running 2 miles, followed by 25 minute intervals/hills we headed to the mat! We did an awesome ab push up combo.. 10 push ups followed by a certain ab routine, repeat! It was intense and had both of us soo sweaty! 

It's nice havin a workout buddy, and I always seem to push myself a little harder and the time flies by when you're catchin' up! 

We finished up with 15 minutes of cycling and 20ish minutes in the sauna. It was a great workout!

Time to get ready for dinner date with Kev : ) 

Lazy Dog

The only good thing about my 9 hour school day is a 1.5 hour break that I have about half way through my day, that allows me to grab a quick bite to fuel me through the rest of my day. 

Today I had a little extra time and decided to meet my mom for lunch. She was babysitting my sister's dog so we had to go somewhere that was dog-friendly.. so we landed on Lazy Dog cafe! We sat outside under a heater and it was perfect! We  had a little friend peeking over the table... 

Lily girl :) 

She was actually such a good little girl. Besides the few times she put her little paws on the table to see if she could snatch a leftover. 

We gave her a little cheese and she was a happy puppy and fell asleep in her little bag. 

For lunch my mom and I both got a cup of the warm tortilla soup. Cheese on the side. (I love their tortilla soup but boy do they pound on the cheese. It becomes a mess and no fun to eat anymore!) 

We also shared a Mediterranean Pizetti... 

Flat bread with veggies and goat cheese

drizzled with balsamic vinegar

I love lunch dates with my mommy. We try to get together at least once or twice a week even if I go home for the weekends. I am very lucky to have such an amazing mom. She sacrifices so much for me and my family. I love my mommy to death. 

Me with the best parents 

in the world!

Summer Salad

I hate this rainy weather in Socal. A lot of my friends are on Spring Break and are spending their break in pouring rain! All this rain was making me crave a summery salad! 

So after a medium intensity workout and a quick catch up with my friends Kylie and Lesley, I made this... 

In the Salad:

Lettuce

Strawbs

Chix

Blue Cheese

Balsamic Vinegar

It was super delicious and made me feel for a split second like it was summer.... And all this talk of Spring Break is makin me excited!!! Two trips in 10 tens. Woohoo! 

The first part of the break I'm heading to Vegas with my besties and our boys. I've only been to Vegas a few times and they were both low key hang by the pool see a show kind of trips. I have a slight inkling this trip could be a little wild with this bunch. 

Girls Trip in Vegas with 

my sis 2008

The second half of the trip will be spent in Utah with my family and Kevin. It was a surprise Christmas present from my sister and her fiance. We are gonna do a whole lotta snowboarding and skiing... 

Big Bear with my favoritist people :) 

But let's bring it back to reality, I still have 3.5 weeks until then! Today's workout included.

Treadmill Intervals

mins  incline  speed

0-5       0            6.5

5-7       4             3.0

7-9       4            6.0

9-11      6            3.0 

11-13    6            5.5

13-15    2           6.0

15-16    2           3.0

16-17    2           7.0

17-18    2          3.5

18-19    2          7.0

19-20  .5           3.0

Then I headed to the mat for a super fun ab routine to the song.... Baby by Justin Beiber. As totally cheesy and silly as it is it's really upbeat and a perfect song for the first part of my ab routine. I finished up with 10 mins on the not-so evil stair stepper! 

Banana Oatmeal

One school day down, one to go!! I love my schedule, because my weeks go by so fast! 

But I'm not gonna lie, my 9 hr day inched on today starting at 615! I woke up, showered and made myself a delicious banana oatmeal bowl! I got this recipe from Katie's Blog. And it was bomb!

I didn't take a pic but basically you cook a bowl of oatmeal and then melt a banana in a different bowl. (I microwaved my banana until it was gooey, approx. 35-40 seconds) Then you add the banana to the oatmeal and mix with non-diary milk and a little brown sugar. Mm such a sweet way to start my morn! 

After school I swung by the market to pick up some staples since I hadn't been in about 3 weeks. I've been living off produce from the Farmer's Market. At the grocery store I snagged this... 

Peach Flavored Water

*contains water ;) * 

This is my favorite thing everrr. I have a hard time drinking enough water, although I try. The sweet flavor with no added calories, scoreee! 

I also picked up some other things like yogurt, mushrooms, and veggie/ chix burgers. Then I headed to meet my friend, Michele, for some fro yo! She is home for Spring Break and I couldn't wait to catch up with her and enjoy a sweet coffee fro yo treat, yummm! 

Me and Mich :)

For dinner I made a quick and easy chix burger on a sandwich thin with lettuce and a thin layer of mustard. I also sauteed some fresh mushrooms that made for a perfect side to my chix burger. 

The Evil Stair Stepper

Every since I started going to the gym I have always for the most part stayed away from the dreaded stair stepper machine. For some reason it really freaks me out! But today I decided to face my fears. 

After a 25 minute interval treadmill workout and various arm routines, I braced myself and headed towards the stair stepper. I set it for only 10 minutes since I figured I should ease my way on to that monster. 

I realize to most people the stair stepper isn't too bad, and after my 10 intense minutes, I felt the burn but really enjoyed it! Looks like I'll be using it more often :) 

As I headed home, my stinkin' gas light when I off. I literally dread every time I have to get gas and I usually wait until I'm on E to finally stop and get gas. Tonight was different and after stopping to get gas I wound up a whoppin' $60 poorer :( What the effff? Kev and I always say what the eff? after watching this hilarious David Blaine spoof. We're silly. ;)

And now back at my apartment I made some yummy spaghetti squash and got excited to watch the Bachelor until I realized it's over.  So a recap: Emily and Brad are soooo cute! And although seeing them after the rose ceremony was a back to reality check, I really admire her authenticity. They are experiencing what most couples experience and I really hope they work it out! But seriously, no wonder they fight. Can you imagine seeing your boyfriend/fiance kiss other girls and tell them he has feelings for them?? Uh, no thanks!!

Still, look how cute they are... 

Peanut Butter Protein Bars

Every since I saw this recipe on PB Fingers, I have been dying to make them! They looked easy enough and somewhat healthy so I had to give them a try. They ended up not taking too long but the honey and pb created a bit of a sticky situation.

Sometimes I get ahead of myself when doing things when I really should READ AHEAD! I was in a fight with the sticky pb mess while trying to measure out everything else.. just a tip to measure everything out ahead of time so you just have to add and go!

They are seriously amazing. Just enough sweet and crunch and not too bad for you! Give these guys a try!

In the Pan 

Close Up

Directions:

Ingredients:

• 1/3 c. honey
• 1/3 c. dark brown sugar
• 1 c. creamy peanut butter
• ½ c. crunchy peanut butter
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 5 c. bran flakes (Raisin Bran works really well!)
• 1/3 c. ground flaxseeds (optional)
• 1 c. chopped Craisins

Directions:

• Put honey in a large pot on medium heat. Add sugar and stir until melted and mixture begins to bubble. Add cinnamon and stir until dissolved.
• Stir peanut butter into the honey mixture until smooth.
• Remove from heat and stir in bran flakes, flax and Craisins.
• Press firmly into an 8X8 pan lined with foil that overlays ends. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.