Hi loves! i’m sorry I haven’t posted in a bit, things had been pretty crazy for me once I got back from Costa Rica, I was just really busy and didn’t end up having the time to get to a good post. I’m back though, and ready to finally catch up in all of your blogs as well! My google reader looks like mount everest right now, but i’ll plow through.
The other day I had lunch at Liquid Earth. I’d been dying to eat there as long as I can remember, and had only once gotten a sandwich and juice to go. Liquid Earth is a vegan/vegetarian restaurant right by my work that consistently gets great reviews, and big meat lovers even enjoy their meals there. It’s cozy and cute and I eagerly browsed the menu and could have picked about 10 things I wanted to try. I will HAVE to get a group together to go when people are down for Fitbloggin. You guys will love it.
I decided to start with a butternut squash chili soup that came with a side of bread. This was exactly what I needed on a cold windy day and it warmed me right up. I will have to come up with my own version of this soup at home, it was a winner.
For my main meal I got the Reuben. I haven’t had a real Reuben in so long and this was the item that I knew I had to get. It was marinated tofu, with cheese, sauerkraut, and thousand island dressing. The tofu tasted exactly like corned beef, it was surreal. This sandwich was gone in about 2 seconds flat.
I decided to leave with their in-house baked vegan cookies. I went for the oatmeal raisin and it was just as chewy as I would have wanted it to be. Jam packed with plump golden raisins, it was a great ending to a lovely meal.
I loved the restaurant, they had a full chalkboard wall with their drink specialties listed. They also had a ton of different juices available, I’m going to have to find one that I enjoy.
I’ve got to gush about a recipe I found on Avery’s blog. She had a recipe recently for chocolate chip cookie dough bites. The ingredients sounded too good to be true. Cashews, oats, maple syrup, and chocolate chips. I decided I had to make them, and polished them off by rolling them in some unsweetened coconut I had on hand. I threw them in the fridge and let them chill. Once they had chilled long enough (or as long as I could handle without busting into the fridge) I tried them and they were heaven in my mouth. Chase is also obsessed, I’d say even more than me. He practically polished off the entire container in one sitting. Successful recipe if i’d say so myself! Thanks Avery 
The other night I decided it was time to make some Super Charge Me cookies from Eat, Drink, and be Vegan. I’ve made these cookies once before and they were pretty tasty but mine came out kind of dry. Once I started making them I realized that I didn’t have any flax seed. I put my thinking cap on and tried to figure out different things to make these cookies still good. I ended up adding about another 1/4 c. of quick oats, and then added a good amount more of almond butter. I switched up a few ingredients and added sweetened coconut shreds ( they taste just that much better than unsweetened, its worth it), some chopped FIGS, and then pretty much stuck to the original recipe for the rest. They came out MUCH better than my first batch. I made sure to put my different steps down in the cookbook for future baking. I love when you can make a good recipe your own and it turns out great.
I got on a fig kick after that. They were delicious. This was actually my first time trying figs! I found a container of dried California figs at Trader Joes and decided to give them a whirl. They are amazing. The next morning I made a bowl of oats with half a banana, and then added some chopped figs, almond butter and some toasted coconut. This was almost dessert like, it was delicious but way too sweet for me in the morning. The flavors melted together so well though, decadence at breakfast for sure.
For my final creation in the kitchen, last night I set out to make my first ever soup. I’m always in the mood for soup when it’s cold out but have never actually gotten around to making one before. This past weekend at Barnes and Nobles I picked up a new cookbook that was in the bargain books section. Great recipes and pumpkin soup was one my list of things to make. I ended up making half of the recipe since I didn’t think Chase would eat any. I used half of a kabocha squash and it turned out amazing! It needed a shake of salt and pepper and it was perfect. I’m definitely going to be making a lot more soups now, especially since it seems like more snow is coming our way this weekend. Soup time for sure.
On the exercise front, things have been going great. I ended up going to yoga 5 times last week and couldn’t have felt better. My practice is becoming so much more than it once was, and I get excited for each class. I bought a small journal at Barnes and Nobles to write about my journey more in depth. After each class i’ll write about how it went, different things I could do, couldn’t do, and so on. I’m excited to keep track and to see my progress
Runningwise, this week was my first week back. I hadn’t run in an entire month due to my knee sprain. I finally felt like it was good enough to run on but i’ve decided to take it slow. The Cherry Blossom 10 miler also sends out a virtual training plan, and the beginner one seemed perfect for me at this stage. Walk/Runs this week which is exactly what I needed to get back into running. I want to ease my knee back into it, I can’t afford to hurt it again. I’m excited to get back into the swing of things and can’t wait for this huge goal to be accomplished.
Well thats all for now, time to catch up on everyone else! bye now!
I couldn’t have asked for anything better foodwise. I fell in love with every meal I ate, and practically licked my plate clean after each meal. Vida Asana strives on using local food. Most of the ingredients came from their own garden. Fresh food, mostly vegetarian, and so many amazing flavors. No lie, I was obsessed with everything I ate.
Breakfast every morning was served at 7AM. Fresh fruit including pinapple, bananas, papaya, and watermelon were options every morning. Toast, eggs, and my favorite of all, gallo pinto was also served. Gallo Pinto is Costa Rica’s signature dish. Rice and beans, but so much more than that. The flavor was incredible, and I didn’t go a day without it.
Fresh fish caught that morning, curried cauliflower and broccoli, salads at every meal, the most amazing garlic bread, and barley.
This was the first time i’ve eaten barley as a side dish. I’ve only ever had it sometimes in soups. I LOVE it. I’m going to the grocery store today to buy some, I enjoyed how it was a little crunchy and had some bite to it. An amazing grain.
Barley cakes from the leftover barley, brown rice, these sesame crunchy things, meatless meatballs, salad
FLAN! i pretty much just ate the dulce de leche on top. Their caramel is out of this world.
Couscous with veggies, salad, more delicious garlic bread, and some vegetable soup that was to die for.
Spinach crepes!!
Sauteed green papaya, roasted garlic potatoes, yucca cakes, grilled PLANTAINS (HEAVEN) cabbage salad, brown rice
Their type of pad thai, tofu skewers
tacos! Everything was so fresh and delicious. The pico de gallo I could have eaten by the tubfull.
barleyyy, cheesy potatoes, veggies, garlic bread, grilled plantains with cheese!
Pasta night. marinara, and pesto pasta and ceviche. Couldn’t get fresher than fish caught that day.
Not once after eating any of this food did my stomach hurt. Eating whole foods, fresh foods, and local foods was an amazing addition to this trip. Each meal lasted me through the day to the next without feeling like I was starving. I also bought a half gallon of coconut water at the store for $3 which was perfect for keeping me hydrated through all of our activities.
Now onto the yoga….
Yoga was twice a day usually, 10 AM and 6PM. The class was either taught my Camille or Heather. I’d never been to one of Heather’s classes before, but Camille told me they had similar styles…. which meant that it was going to be an intense week.
I would definitely have to say I was probably one of the least experienced yogis there. I haven’t been doing yoga for that long, but I felt like thats what made it even more special to me. It showed me a whole level of yoga that i’ve never known before. It showed me how practicing could make me feel amazing, powerful, and strong. I tried postures i’ve never even considered trying before. Falling is the worst that can happen, so when you do, you just pick yourself up and try it again. I learned how to go from crow into a headstand, that was a huge accomplishment for me. There were times when I literally thought my body could do no more, and I wouldn’t be able to have a successful class, but somehow… my body adjusted and I got through the 90 minutes of class and felt better than when I started. After 6 days in Costa Rica my body now craves yoga. I want to go through the postures, I want to develop my practice, it just makes me feel good. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. I grew as a person while I was there. I learned that I can be thrown into a new situation, with new faces, and I can thrive. I can make new friends, new relationships, and in turn it helps me strengthen the ones I already have. I couldn’t recommend enough that you do something like this for yourself at least once in your life. You deserve it, you deserve to be selfish and do something for you and you alone.
Thank you Camille and Heather for leading me on the trip of a lifetime <3
pura vida
With two yoga classes a day, a trip to the beach in the morning, and excursions in the afternoon we were always wiped our by the end of the night. Once we got some food in us though, it was fun to relax and enjoy each other’s company. Some nights we even had our own salsa lessons.
We also got to hang with the family dog Buddha. He made me miss Eden.
Another excursion I signed up for was zip lining! Again, fear of heights kind of got me and I was nervous the entire way up. We found out there were 14 different lines, and I figured I’d be having my eyes shut the entire time and possibly screaming through each line. It wasn’t the case at all! I was so at ease once I started and completely took in all of the views. We were zip lining through the trees and across the ocean. It was unbelievable.
Once we were done and back to the building I noticed the mural painted on the wall. It cracked me up.
We took a trip to Manuel Antonio, a Costa Rican national park. It was breathtaking, and had lagoons that had volcanic rocks that we climbed on. Hiking around the park definitely got me exhausted but was worth every step. We even saw a tree that reminded us of Avatar. Tree of souls anyone??
We had heard that usually you can spot monkeys in the park, and once we started walking back down the trails we spotted them. A huge group of white faced monkeys. Some of them got so close to us! Rumor is sometimes they throw poop at you, or jump on your head and steal your camera. We took lots of pics until one came up to us and showed his teeth. That was our sign it was time to peace out.
When we were near the end of our walk/hike we stumbled across a man with a little cart of fresh coconuts. Coconut water for $1!!!! Out of this world. No store bought brand compared, it was so refreshing and exactly what we needed. After we were done drinking the water, he would use his machete and cut it down to the meat for us to eat. So delicious.
Wednesday night was mojito night! Fresh made mojitos that ended up leading us to the local bar for ladies night!
Me and Em
Ladies!
Me and Camille
Kate, Em, and I late in the night
Thursday night was the sweat lodge. We ventured by the beach and found our way to the spot. We found out that there were 4 sessions of 20 minutes. Between each session you can walk out, and then cool yourself off with cold water. At anytime you were more than welcome to walk out if you felt too hot. I usually get pretty dehydrated quickly but I wanted to test it out to see how it would make me feel. it’s supposed to completely detox you and you’re supposed to leave feeling amazing.
It was far too hot for me. I made it almost to the end of the first session, but had to decide to leave. I did leave however with my sinuses completely cleared and also my skin felt amazing. There was just no way personally that I felt like I could have done 3 more sessions. I made my way to t he beach with everyone who had decided not to take part. Good decision on my part, because I got to see the sunset and it was the most beautiful sight i’d seen in a long time.
The trip had gone by so fast! I wanted to stay there forever. Friday morning we left bright and early for the airport. We took a few stops and one was at the top of the mountains. The views in Costa Rica just can’t be beat.
We got to share pics, reminisce with stories and just chat it up while waiting at the airport. I ended up buying 3 little hand carved monkeys. See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. I love them. At the end of the trip one of our yoga instructors Heather gave us each a rock from the beach. A gratitude rock to keep with us, and keep us grounded. I posed my monkey with my rock
Luckily I had a few of my newest friends with me on the same flight. When we landed in Miami for our layover we were at the very end of the airport and so exhausted. We found a man in a cart and flagged him down and I practically begged him to take us to our gate which was ridiculously far away.He said yes, picked us up and drove us there, and this perfectly ended our trip!
please excuse my dinosaur neck. That happens when I get really excited and smile big haha.
Final post on the amazing food and alllllll about the yoga to come next! xo
Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica is where we all ventured for 6 days at Vida Asana for our yoga retreat. I was more than ready to get there and couldn’t wait to see what was in store for me. Going by myself on this trip was a big leap for me. Something i’d never done, but always have wanted to do. Completely independent and surrounding myself with amazing new people and places.
When I got to the airport at 4 AM my nerves were immediately calmed. I found one of my fellow yogi retreaters Emily at the check in line and we were both relieved to have found each other. Friend made before we even got there Once we all arrived in San Jose, CR we waited till the whole group was together then made our way into our huge van to take us up the windy mountains and to Playa Hermosa. On the way there we stopped at a bridge to take a look at one some huge crocs that lay out underneath the sun. They were massive.
After about a 2 hour ride we arrived at Vida Asana. It is owned by a family and we felt welcomed instantly.
I got settled into my room, and found out that I had my own little balcony
First stop for our first full day, to the beach! We went to Playa Hermosa which is known for their massive waves. The International Surf Competition was held there. Let it also be known that the surf lessons were taught at Jaco Beach, about 10 minutes away with much smaller waves
We all gathered up ready to jump in the van. Here’s some of us that just happened to be ready.
The beach was gorgeous! My heart melted.
We had a tight schedule planned for the week. After we hit the beach from 8-10, we had yoga from 10-11:30. We walked down to the shallah.
This my friends was natural hot yoga. I don’t think I stopped sweating the entire trip.
Our first excursion was to hike up to the waterfalls. They were beautiful and everyone couldn’t wait to jump. Except me. I’ve never been a fan of water, let alone a fan of heights. You can never find me swimming in water that is deeper than I am tall. Everyone took turns jumping from the tree branch and telling me I had to jump. I just couldn’t do it. Me and deep water don’t really mix well. After everyone jumped a few times each we all headed back down to walk back to the van. In my head I thought, okay you’re in Costa Rica. You don’t go here every day, and you don’t see waterfalls every day. Just jump. Most everyone was at the bottom, but my friend Kim told me she’d take a picture of me jumping. I jumped from a rock, not the tree but still… I jumped! Fear conquered, and I felt amazing.
my splash!
The beach the next morning was day 1 of surf lessons. I couldn’t participate in the surf lessons because of my knee sprain, but I loved watching everyone.
Day 2 excursion- horse back riding! I hadn’t ridden a horse since I was in elementary school when we lived in England. I raised my hand in being inexperienced and I got the best horse ever. I fell in love. We rode them up mountains and then ended the ride on the beach. I could have ridden my horse all day and would have been in bliss. It was an amazing experience.
Hope you enjoyed reading about my trip so far! More to come, and also a whole separate post on the food. It was that good.
I’m back from Costa Rica and the trip couldn’t have been more amazing. A life changing trip. Not only did I go and learn so much about myself, but I left with a whole new group of friends that made it seem as if we had known each other forever. I’ve got more pictures than I know what to do with, so while I get my life organized and figure out how exactly to post about the week I was on the retreat I’ll leave you all with some snapshots. The iphone has an app thats called Hipstamatic. It takes old time pictures through your iphone camera and I just love the effects. The only iphone app i’ve ever bought and worth the $2 for sure. Here’s a little sneak peak of Costa Rica for you, full posts will be up soon <3
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It has been so sad to watch all of the tragedies in Haiti. We have so much to be thankful for, and in their time of need we need to lend out hand in support. Please take the time to donate to the Haiti Relief. You can choose whomever you wish to go through, I personally went through the American Red Cross. If you would like to go through them as well and donate, you can do so HERE and click on Haiti Relief and Development.
Tomorrow morning I leave Baltimore at 6:00 AM en route to Miami for a layover then straight to Costa Rica for 6 days. 2 yoga classes daily, fresh Costa Rican food, Jaco Beach, horseback riding through the mountains and the beach, zip lining, walking through waterfalls, mojito nights, and so much more awaiting me.
One of my goals for 2010 was to do new things that scared me. I’m stepping out of my usual comfort zone for this trip. I’m going alone, and going to meet so many new people. I can’t wait for this experience to start. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity that i’m SO glad I snatched up while I could.
There is no day but today.
I’ll be gone for a week, from the 16th to the 22nd. I can’t wait for when I get back to share my adventures with you all! Enjoy your week!!! xoxo
good morning loves!
Happy it’s hump day already and only 3 more days till Rica! I’ve got to start getting my things together, time seems to be running out!
On the food front, i’ve finally finished my goat cheese from Costco that I bought a while ago. I finished it off by making a version of eggplant parm. I had two eggplant cutlets from Trader Joes and cooked them up in my pan. I added half a can of diced tomatoes to another pan along with some olive oil, basil, garlic, s & p. Added the tomatoes to the cooked cutlets and sprinkled some goat cheese on top. Melt in your mouth delicious, and easy as ever.
Yesterday I also bought a bike! I found a great deal on craigslist and I picked it up yesterday. This is exactly what I was needing, and I can’t wait to ride it around. I only live a mile and a half from my work and when it gets warmer out would love to be able to ride to and from work. I can just cut straight through the inner harbor walk and could get there in probably less than 10 mins.
I’m going to yoga tonight, this will be the first exercise i’ve done since the knee sprain. It’s been feeling much better lately so I think i’m ready. It’s a beginners class, which is perfect because I want to take it slowly. I’m crossing my fingers that it goes as well as I’m hoping.
After yoga tonight we’re doing girls dinner in celebration of Lauren’s birthday! We’re all going to The Wine Market which is a restaurant about a mile away, which we’ve all heard great things about. Excited to eat some delicious food, and gab all night with my girlfriends <3
Morning!
The weekend in Atlantic City was a success! We celebrated my bff Lauren’s birthday and it was amazing. En route to AC I googled some places to eat dinner on the trusty iphone. We made reservations for an asian restaurant called Buddakan and it had great reviews so we hoped we were in for a treat. Once we got there it was beautiful! A giant Buddha in the middle, the ceiling looked like a night sky, and the interiors seemed as if you were in a chinese village. I was immediately in love.
The food was delicious! A few of us split the edamame raviolis which were to die for. They were creamy and I didn’t want them to ever end.
For my entree I split the pad thai with Megan. We left feeling satisfied, not overly stuffed and loved every bite.
The rest of the night was filled with laughing, dancing, wine, and friends. Nothing better for a birthday celebration! HAPPY 24th BIRTHDAY LAUR LOVE YOU TIMES A BAJILLION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
On the running front….
yesterday I was walking Eden and decided to try and jog for a few seconds to see how the knee felt. I instantly felt pain and felt as though my knee was going to twist again.
I’ve thought about it, and i’m going to also take this week off to let it completely heal. It’s still really sore and needs to be iced so this week i’ll get back to yoga, but no running. Then it’s Costa Rica for a week! When I get back from Costa Rica i’ll start up running again. The cherry blossom 10 miler gives you a training plan for free when you register, and it doesn’t even start until the beginning of Feb, so I think it will be smart if I wait until I get home on the 22nd to pick up running again. Then I won’t have the thoughts in the back of my mind of if i’m going to sprain it again by running on it too soon. I think it’s better to nurse it now, rather than letting it get hurt closer to race time and upping my chances of injury. I’m excited to do some yoga and am hoping that it will also help in stretching out my knee some. yoga to the rescue
Thanks for being patient with me and for your warm thoughts while I was waiting to hear back from the Dr. I just got the phone call that the x-ray came back normal, and when the nurse called and I asked about running she siad that I should be able to start running again next week. I’m going to wait it out and see how it feels and take the rest of the week completely off of exercising to ensure it heals. The only thing the Dr. said about Costa Rica was that I shouldn’t surf, that if I fell on my knee again that could be dangerous, so that should be the only activity i’ll have to stay away from.
I’ve been antsy all week wanting to get a run in, and wanting to do some yoga, but I knew my body was telling me it needed to rest. Unfortunately this means I won’t be able to go to my yoga teacher’s New Years Retreat 
But i’ll be in Costa Rica next week, so there’s not too much to be sad about!
After my doctor’s appointment I went to my parent’s house to get some dinner and buy a rug finally for our bedroom. My mom and grandma made my favorite noodle dish. Tons of veggies in here and so incredibly delicious. There were also some soy sauce eggs and oyster sauce too. YUMMMMMM.
I’d really been in the mood for some snobby joes. I first made them when I had bought Veganomicon and hadn’t made them since. They are SO easy and quick to whip up and only get better as the flavors meld together.
This Saturday the girls and I are going to Atlantic City to celebrate one of my best friend Lauren’s 24th birthday! I’ve never been to AC before and can’t waittt! it’s going to be a weekend to remember <3
Tomorrow morning my grandma is leaving to go back to Florida. Tonight after work we’ll be going to Carabbas for dinner. My mom loves it there and she’s obsessed with their calamari, so I know what appetizer will be ordered! I’m excited to get to go out to dinner with my family and Chase. This will also celebrate his official first week of work! He’s a big boy now
Hope you all have an amazing weekend xo
My knee has not been feeling too good at all. I can’t straighten my knee at all, and it is in a lot of pain.
I made a dr appointment for today at 4. Fingers crossed everything looks okay, I leave for Costa Rica next Saturday, and I am nervous about how it will be by then.
love you all, xo
