Sometimes you have to count on someone else to help out with the meals. Like Joe the Trader.

Something about swimming –or bopping around holding a heavy baby- makes me so hungry. The Pilot was also starving when we got back home, so he did the bedtime routine with Liv while I whipped up a quick dinner.

Cooked zucchini, 3 cloves of minced garlic, 2 local chicken breasts, olive oil, sea salt and pepper in a large pot (med-high heat)

added a can of drained and rinsed chickpeas

and in my dreams, used my newly-acquired Indian food expertise to create a beautiful curry sauce.

In reality, I added a jar of this:

Mmmmm.

While that simmered away, I cooked up some frozen dosas from TJs (vegan and gluten-free)

After a bad dosa experience (it was sour. Thinking about it makes me cringe) I was finally ready to give them another try. I wasn’t sure if these were going to be faves, but they were incredible, especially with the coconut chutney. The dosas were full of potatoes, mustard seeds (a new fave) and spices. They’re calorie-dense (200 cals per tiny dosa) but rich and lovely- I’ll definitely buy them again.

We had our curry chicken and veg atop quinoa (I put it in the rice cooker before we went swimming)– not bad for a 15 minute meal

This morning was the return of an old fave:

Bfast cookie dough cereal with Brewer’s yeast, strawberries and coconut milk

I’m going to try and choreograph for Zumba. Still on the prowl for a nasty reggaeton, but no luck yet

Hope you all have a wonderful day <3

See ya later!

xoxo

Gina

Something to read:

-Make friends with your perfectionism

-Restaurant portion sizes

-Add an exercise ball to your home gym (and then, bust out this stability ball blitz!)

Something to think:

Source

Look who scared the life out of me:

At work, they’re always adding new decor, and that statue is newest addition around the corner by the water fountain. I thought it was a real, nekkid man and it frightened me a little.

World beat was a lot of fun this morning. The drummers and my co-instructors were amazing as usual and it was really easy to feed off their energy. I also got to teach Zumba, and am exhausted (but happy) from two high-intensity dance classes. Any day I get to dance is a good day indeed.

Breakfast:

Morning snacks:

and lunch, courtesy of my friend Sasha.

She’s been taking a gluten-free vegetarian cooking class and they’ve been emphasizing INDIAN FOODS. So today, she surprised me with a container full of stir-fried cabbage with Indian spices, curry potatoes, green beans with moong and coconut, and yogurt raita. It was mind-blowing.

I just got home, grabbed a shower and am going to raid the almond butter jar while I wait for pizza and wings to get here.

Some friends are coming over to watch the Celtics game.

Hope you’re having a great weekend!

xoxo

Gina

Random: remember the bird condo the Pilot built? Well, the birds disappeared after he made it. Now.. they’re back and built a nest! So cute.

Something to do: Pick 3 ab exercises and alternate between the three for the duration one of your favorite songs. A lovely impromptu ab burner

New Year’s Eveeeee?”

If you haven’t seen this video yet, it’s super cute.

They just belong together.

Something to look forward to in the New Year?

More INDIAN FOOD

As you guys know, my beloved cuisine has taken a backseat to Thai since we haven’t really found an Indian restaurant in Tucson that we’re crazy about. A couple are very good, but not anything we crave on a regular basis.

We finally found a place:

Saffron serves modern twists on Indian favorites and the atmosphere is super casual and laid-back. The food was all beautifully plated and perfectly spiced.

The ultimate test of whether or not I like an Indian restaurant? Ordering the Baigan Bhartha (eggplant) to see how it compares.

It was everything I could wish for. It wasn’t greasy at all, and I had asked for it spicy–  to my surprise, it actually had a kick to it. This means a lot to a girl who eats whole jalapanos.

I also had a couple of bites of the Pilot’s chicken tikka masala, which was very mild but flavorful

he enjoyed some fluffy naan

and we shared saffron basmati rice.

An amazing Indian meal <3

This morning I went into work to cover for a friend for a few hours, and we’re going to take Bell on an adventure before heading to a New Year’s Eve party. No clubbing for us this year, and I might end up watching the ball drop on DVR tomorrow, but it should still be a lot of fun

Have a wonderful night and I’ll see ya next year!

xoxo

Gina

What are you doing New Year’s Eve? Remember to be safe tonight and if you find yourself in a situation where you’re unable to drive, call AAA- many locations will give you a ride home and tow your car for free, whether you’re a member or not: 1-800-222-4357. For other options to get home safely, check out this article.

Hey! Happy Friday! Also, happy first day of fall How’s your new leaf going?

Exciting things going on in the blogworld today:

-Sabrina had her baby!

-Heather’s wedding day

Good stuff all around

Thank you so much for you kind words of encouragement last night <3 I’m excited to take a step back, brainstorm, reassess and see what the next step will be.

The Pilot and I talked about life over heaping bowls of channa masala:

[his was on basmati rice, mine on arugula]

veggies

and a side of X Factor.

I didn’t know if it would be a show I’d like –I don’t watch a ton of TV and only have 3 *shows*- and we loved it. It’s kind of sad to watch the people that think that they’re really good, and they’re horrible, and so inspiring to see people like this.

They could just end the show right now. I had giant tears falling down my face by the end, and the Pilot said he had the chills.

We paused X Factor after that and took Bell for an hour walk at the park- she loved it

This morning, I was in the mood for a sludge:

-1/2 C orange juice

-1/2 C almond milk

-1/2 pack Vega smoothie infusion

-1/2 banana

-1/2 mango

-handful of spinach

+ an egg, over hard.

I haven’t told you guys about this yet, but I’ve kind of become a pro egg flipper. I flip everything now- flat eggs, over easy eggs, pancakes… flip master. The Pilot taught me the trick he learned from watching Alton Brown and I’ve never gone back. The trick is that if you do it with confidence and don’t hesitate, it works.

Well, this morning, I hesitated for a split second.

Oops, hahah. I used a spatula to flip the second egg

Plan for the day:

-Gym

-Post office

-Fashion post

-Computer stuff [goal: have the “Fun” page ready to go and pics ready for the Family page revamp]

-Lion King in 3D. Yep, it’s happening

See ya later, friends <3

xoxo

Gina

Something to think:

“Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.”

Brian Tracy

Hi friends! Happy Friday! In honor of Fashion Friday, a new Fashion post is up What’s everyone up to this weekend??

I just got back from squadron playgroup. About 15 wives in our new squadron are pregnant or just had babies, so they get together every Friday with their little ones to hang out. I can already tell that having the support is going to be amazing. Quite a few of the wives were in Valdosta with us, too, so it was also nice to see familiar faces

There was a lovely spread of food:

Scones, chips, crackers, hummus, mango salsa, cookies, S’mores brownies, juices and sparkling flavored water

It was a lot of fun and I’m thankful that they’ve taken me in

Some more recent eats:

Waffles with a little butter and jam

Indian feast!!!

There was no way I was cooking two nights in a row, so the Pilot cooked this one… by driving to the Indian restaurant and picking it up

The dal was fantastic and I also had two pakora (chickpea flour vegetable ballz of justice and glory)

I actually have to go into work for a little while today (and am assisting a Fit Strip class.. should be interesting haha), and then it’s cardio time

Hope everyone is having a happy Friday!
xoxo

Gina

Something to talk about: Who’s going to HLS?! I missed buying tickets since we were in Vegas, but think I’ve found someone to sell me theirs. I can’t wait to meet those who will be there! (I might be bringing that one guy along, too) If you’re not going to HLS, have you been to another blog convention or meet-up?

Hey friends! How was your day?

Mine was loooooonnnggg (the 5pm weights shift is a doozy) but very bueno I tested out the first week’s workout for Summer Shape Up 2011 on my lunch break! Very serious biznazz…

[Side note: that headband was hurting my brain ALL day, but once you commit to a headband, you can’t take it off without your hair looking funny.]

The best part about the day?

This was waiting for me to get home:

Indian!!!

The Pilot got takeout on his way home and it was glorious.

Dal Makhani (lentils)

+ socca!

It’s been wayyyyy too long since I’ve had socca. I kind of got burnt out on it during the detox since I was eating it so often, but I was ready to bring it back in place of naan tonight

I cooked up the socca in some ghee

(few things in the world smell as awesome as melting butter)

and ended up sharing half of it with Bella. She LOVED it! I knew she’d go crazy for socca since she’s garbanzo obsessed

As delicious as my meal was, I ate the entire thing in 9 minutes! I am a notorious speed eater. It’s probably because I am always 100% in some kind of hurry, so I stuff my face as quickly as possible, usually while doing 2 or 3 other things and continue the day. It bums me out because I really love food, and at the end of the meal, I realize that I didn’t savor or enjoy it as much as I could have. I think to myself “wow, that was really good. And it’s over already.” On dates with the Pilot, I’m pretty good about slowing down, but on an everyday basis, it’s something I’m going to be more mindful of.

Anyone other speed eaters out there?

Well we’re off to my little bro’s baseball game It’s a beautiful night.

Enjoy your evening and I’ll see ya tomorrow with a reader’s request!
xoxo

Gina

Something to do:

If you make a minimum $10 donation to Caitlin’s neighbor’s cause, please indicate it in your comment below (you can say “I donated” or whatever you’d like) and I’ll be picking someone from the comments on Friday morning (and Caitlin will match it up from the donations for me) to send some macaroons and a Whole Foods goodie package to

Now it’s time to bring it back.

Indian Food Wednesday!!!

After a brief (ok, really long) hiatus, we decided that it was high time we had some Indian food in our life. I had a crazy long day at work, and when the Pilot picked me up, I was more than ready to go on a little date with him

We dined at New Delhi, which has incredible, fresh Indian delights. It was packed during dinnertime, too, which is always a good sign.

Since it was really like a “welcome back” party, we did it up right and ordered a Snack Plate to start

(Sheesh kebab, papadum, fried ballz of glory –I have no clue what they’re called, but were like falafel- and samosas)

Dippers (onion chutney and mint-cilantro chutney)

and the Pilot enjoyed a Kingfisher beer + a mango lassi.

(I stole a couple of drinks of the lassi and it was perfection. Not too sweet and very refreshing)

Then they brought out the feast:

Rice and lamb tikka masala for the Pilot, dal makahni for meeeeee (lentils!)

and roti boobs bubbles

I’d been missing out, my friends. Thank goodness it’s back in my life

Has anyone else enjoyed an Indian feast lately? Are you an Indian food newbie? If so, here’s a post for ya.

I’m gonna take my baby ganoush to put on some black stretchy pants…

see ya in the morning <3

xoxo

Gina

Today’s workout jam: “Gimme Dat” Ciara (the theme song for this post, heh heh)

Hi friends

Um, HOLY DEHYDRATORS and MACAROONS!

Thank you so much to those of you who have entered the dehydrator giveaway. The winner will be chosen on Monday from my list of OpenSky followers, so make sure you’re signed up if you like the chance to win! Also, thank you from the bottom of my heart to those of you who supported Katie’s Bake Sale for Japan. My macaroon winner will be hooked up, fo sho

Even though I’m not working at lulu anymore, this week has been CRAZY. Even so, I’ve managed to ninja kick most of the to-do list and have been all kinds of organized up in herrre.

Proof?

I even celebrated Indian Food Wednesday…. on a Wednesday!

Who knew?!

This chickpea and potato dish was super easy and was the perfect fuel for a super busy afternoon

All I did was steam 6 baby potatoes for 10 minutes:

Reserved the potatoes and in the same pot (on medium), sautéed 1/2 sweet onion and 2 cloves of garlic for 5 minutes.

To that, I added 1/4 t cumin, 1/4 t tumeric (a natural anti-inflammatory), 1/8 t garam masala, 1/8 t cinnamon, 1 can of diced tomatoes (drained), sea salt and pepper.

That cooked for about 10 minutes and then I stirred in the potatoes and 1/3 C chopped dried apricots.

At the last minute, a splash of fresh lemon juice and some mint for garnish.

This would have been lovely with some roti, brown rice or quinoa, but I decided to roll with gluten-free, vegan, RAW roti!

Also known as Swiss chard Heh heh. <—my fave green!

So delicious rolled up in chard leaves:

Some more recent eats:

Goat’s milk kefir, gluten-free granola + cinnamon

and two very scrumptious ballz

It’s workout time over here, but I hope you have a lovely night!

See ya bright and early (after am walk time)

xoxo

Gina

Just for fun: 3 Things I Didn’t Know About the Pilot

Since the Pilot got home from Afghanistan –it was this 3rd time over there- we’ve finally gotten re-acquainted and settled back into a semi routine. All of the things I know, love and missed about the Pilot are still there, along NEW things that I’m just now figuring out.

1. He only eats half a cookie.

I discovered the above cookie in the fridge a few days ago. Half a cookie?! Who does that? I just don’t understand. It’s totally cool if you’re sharing with someone, but to eat half and forget about it… well I would never.

2. He always win.

I was the Fruit Ninja champion in our household, with a high arcade score of 504. He finds this out and spends days playing Fruit Ninja… to eventually show his iPhone with the numbers “645” on the screen. I had to wave the white flag at that one.

3. He calls his grey hairs “Ginas”.

Wah.

Hahaha

What are some random things you’ve learned about your significant other/friend/cat?

Hi friends! The weekend is in sight! Thank goodness

Class was a blast last night. We had 7 people (wahoo!!) and when I told the Pilot we made a grand profit of $5 for the night (after studio costs), he said:

“Well Gina, you’ve gotta break a couple eggs to make an omelet”

I laughed for about 5 minutes. The Pilot and I always say random proverbs to each other, whether or not they’re applicable to the situation (Example: The Pilot says “Work was lame today” and I say “Well, Tommy, a rolling stone gathers no moss”. We’re weird like that.. and get a kick out of it)

After I got home, it was Indian food time:

A massaged kale salad (using dinosaur kale to switch things up), topped with a container of Trader Joe’s channa masala. I still don’t know how I lived without a Trader Joe’s for 3 years. I made it happen, but it was rough- I love it so much.

Then, Bella drowned her bird:

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this on the blog yet, but Bella eats ALL the time. Whenever someone watches her for the weekend, I have to make sure she has a fresh bag of food, because she’ll probably eat most of it. She’ll clank her bowl around, walk over to you with a defiant look on her face and repeat until you feed her. Well last night, I was eating dinner and Bella had just finished a bowl of food and started clanking it around for more. She walked over to me with the bird in her mouth, over to the bowl and dropped the bird in the water. She walked back over to me as if to say “see what I did to the bird? Feed me, or you’re next”

Goofer.

Last night, I also packed up my lunch so that it would be ready to take to work this morning:

Salad beast with arugula, chickpeas, tomato, bell pepper, balsamic dressing, oregano, Garlic Gold

+ blackberries and an amazeball

This morning, all I have to do is make a quick smoothie and grab an apple for snacks.

I’m off to make b-fast and then walk Bella on base before work.

Hope you have an amazing day <3

xoxo

Gina

Something to talk about: What are your tips for tackling a daunting project? I do pretty well with daily to-do lists and getting my ish done, but when it comes to something huge, it takes a lot more to get the ball rolling. I plan to start my new book proposal this weekend (I’ve done one before that didn’t sell, started another one and didn’t finish and now have a third idea, which I would ROCK but just need to get it out there), but have been avoiding it. I’m excited about this one because it’s really not cookbook/fitness-related, but is more geared towards women who are married to military men or have to move constantly with their family. How do you tackle huge projects?

Hiiiiiiii How’s your day going? Hope it’s been lovely so far!

After spending a beautiful day in Valdosta with friends, I drove back to Jacksonville to meet with some friends:

(Lindsey and Ross!)

and reunite with an old friend:

Indian!

INDIANNNNNNNNNN!

There’s nothing more beautiful in the world than a naan bubble.

I didn’t partake in the naan due to the doctor detox, but thoroughly enjoyed the pappadum and dippers (above) and Lindsey and I shared the

Baigan bhartha

and Channa masala.

I holla fo channa masala.

At the end of the meal, the server also brought out little mango ice cream cones:

SO cute. We packed ours up for Lindsey’s hubby to enjoy later

It was an amazing meal and it felt good to have delicious Indian food in my life after the sour dosa experience. A sour dosa is a traumatizing thing, but I can safely say I’m over it

_________________________________________________________________________________

So, this is the 3rd week of the Winter Shape Up!

I’m so glad to hear you guys are enjoying the program so far. I’ve loved reading your triumphant comments and emails and as always, I’ve had a blasty putting it together Just think of me as your virtual trainer and personal pep squad.

Here are this week’s meal ideas:

Breakfast

Toast with almond butter, berries

Omelet with smoked salmon, dill, sprouted English muffin

B-fast cookie!!

Brown rice cereal with 1/2 scoop Sun Warrior, almond milk, drizzle of almond butter, 1/2 sliced banana

1 egg 2 egg whites and sweet potato hash

Lunch

Chicken salad pita (1 chicken breast shredded with 2 T Greek yogurt, 6 sliced grapes, tarragon, sea salt, pepper) in a whole-grain pita, salad

Salad with every veggie under the sun, balsamic and hummus

Avocolada with Sun Warrior protein, roasted veggies

Sweet potato with Daiya and black beans, fresh veggie plate

Black bean spaghetti with spicy almond butter sauce (AB heated with 1/3 C almond milk, cayenne, garlic, pinch of Stevia, sea salt and pepper)

Dinner

Channa masala and steamed zucchini

Mahi mahi (so nice they named it twice) with seasonings, brown rice, roasted asparagus

Tostada on a whole-grain or Ezekiel tortilla, pinto beans, cheese of choice, lettuce, salsa and grilled shrimp (optional)

BBQ chicken, wilted spinach, baked sweet potato

Quinoa confetti casserole (from Eat, Drink and Be Vegan)

Snacks

Amazeballz (they had to be brought back for this week’s meals- they’re that good)

Mint smoothie (1 C almond milk, 1 scoop sun warrior, handful of fresh mint, 1 T chocolate chips)

Drippy egg on toast (brown rice, Ezekiel, 100% whole grain)

Rice cake with hummus and fresh veg

Food Should Taste Good chips (1 serving) with salsa

This week’s workout:

Similar to the first week, this week’s workout is a circuit workout.

Move immediately from one exercise to the next, and complete the circuit 3 times. Perform the circuit exercises on non-consecutive days, and aim for 3 weights days each week. Combine the circuit exercises with a cardio routine of your choice. Aim for 2 miles, almost every day for beginners and 30-60 minutes 3-5 times a week for int/adv.

Choose a weight that is challenging to finish the last few reps of each set. You should need to push yourself a little to finish (but not hurt yourself!). If you can easily do more that 15 reps of an exercise with a certain weight, you know it’s time to bring it up.

***Remember to give your body at least one full day of active rest from exercise each week. Take the dogs for a walk, do some light yoga or stretching but remember that its during times of rest that our body can repair and grow back stronger.

Be smart and honor your body and your injuries—if it hurts, don’t do it!! As always, check with a doc before starting any new fitness or exercise program.

Warm up: 5-10 minutes cardio of choice

Lateral raise squats (12-15)

Renegade row(12-15)

Plank (30 seconds – 1 minute, go for the gold!)

Push-ups (1 minute)

Burpees (1 minute)

Bicep curl Plie Squat(12-15)

Calf raises with wall tap (12-15)

Stability ball back extension (12)

Squat jumps(45 seconds)

Weighted Ball crunch (25)

Tricep dips (15)

Mountain climbers (1 minute)

Repeat entire circuit 1-2 more times for a total of 2-3 times. Stretch.

Cardio: 20 minutes of hill intervals. Start at a moderate incline and every minute, add 1% incline until it’s a level 9 on the 1-10 scale (RPE- rate of perceived exertion), take the incline back down and repeat until 20 minutes are up. Blast some awesome music and have fun with it

I hope you guys enjoy the workout! Let me know how it goes and please leave a comment here so we can cheer each other on…. oh, and because I’m keeping track for ya

Mayjah congrats to this week’s WSU Warrior:

Congrats chickadee! Send me an email to fitnessista at gmail dot com and I’ll get a little fun fitness-y care package your way!

Feel like winning something?

Don’t forget to sign up *here* to follow me on OpenSky for your chance to win a VITAMIX!!!

aka my third child (Bella and Viesa are the other two)

We extended the contest until tomorrow so y’all would have more time to sign up- just add your email *here* if you’d like a chance for a Vita. The lucky owner will be announced tomorrow AM and we’ll have it shipped to you this week.

I’m off to explore Jacksonville!

See ya later with fun shenanigans

xoxo

Gina

Upcoming:

-Detox update post

-Roon giveaway (yep yep!)

-Pilot guest post