Friday’s Food & Fitness: In a Polar Vortex

Hello friends!  Another week down and only a few (dozen) more until we emerge from this polar vortex that has been gripping the state of New York and the northeast in general.  Doesn’t it just sound evil: “polar vortex”?  In the meantime, I’m going to be dreaming of flip flops and beaches!  Oh and I’ll also be doing a lot more cooking and eating since what better way to spend a cold day?  With that said, welcome to this week’s edition of Friday’s Food & Fitness!

FOOD

I have to apologize in advance because the lighting when I get home from work and make dinner is terrible. Not only is there no natural light this time of year, my apartment is kind of dark so this is what you get!

I made bimimbap for the first time this week.  Holy moly!!  It was so good!  I did a vegetarian version with black rice.  I used spinach, shiitake mushrooms, shredded zucchini, carrots and bean sprouts topped with a fried egg and some sliced green onions.  This one is definitely going in the rotation.  Side note- I had never even heard of bimimbap until this past fall and I’ve never had it until I made it so this is all very subjective!

Sriracha goes with everything!

I also had this amazing tropical fish to try and pull me out of the vortex and whisk me away to a tropical island.  Sea bass with pineapple salsa and a kale, mango, avocado and coconut salad.  It kind of worked…

Last year I did an entire series called Slow Cooker Sunday where every Sunday I made a new slow cooker creation.  So amazing because 1) It felt like I never had to cook on Sundays; 2.) Everything made the house smell amazing and turned out equally so; and 3) There is something so comforting about a slow cooker creation in the winter.  Well, I’m at it again this year with a few new slow cooker creations.  On the menu recently:

Osso Bucco with polenta.  Another recipe I’ve never made before but it ended up being a big hit with the Hubs.  Of course give the man a bit of meat any day and he is a fan.

Slow cooked pork lettuce wraps.  Holy moly these were spicy and delicious.  The lettuce I bought was so tiny I felt like I was eating appetizers rather than a meal but luckily I made enough “appetizers” to fill me up!  

Oh and randomly I made these fig mini pizzas the other night.  Sooooo good!  Also only thing I managed to get a photo of during the day.

FITNESS

So one thing I’m working to improve on this year is my flexibility.  I danced 6 days a week throughout college and was pretty darn flexible but I’m embarrassed to say that recently my flexibility has been less than stellar.  Plus at my new job I sit all the time!  So I started taking a lunch time yoga class once a week.  I can only stay for 40 minutes but man does it feel good!  Plus I walk about 10 minutes there and back so I feel like I’m really moving during my lunch break.

I’ve also been strutting my stuff recently with the Zumba Master class I attended and a new class I took on MLK day at AKT in Motion (full recap to come!).  PLUS, I am working on a new video for you all (*fingers crossed*).  So hopefully I’ll get to share that with you soon!  I feel like I have so many workouts on my list of things to try that it is insane.  Every time I check one thing off two more crop up.  I think I have workout commitment issues.  Ah well, at least no one is getting hurt!  

Happy Weekend!!

Readers, what did you get up to this week?  Is anyone interested in the recipes for any of the above?  Do you have a fitness bucket list?