Hands-On Assists Made Easy

As a yogi who frequently takes classes from various studios and teachers, hands-on assists are often a sensitive subject for me. As a yoga teacher I find it just as challenging to offer hands-on assists to my students. Could this be made easier for both parties? Yes! Find out how.

om monday

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Kitchen Remodeling Progress and Tasty Tuesday Linkup Party #37

Good morning, my Tasty Tuesday Partiers! How have you been here without me?

It’s finally Tasty Tuesday and I’m back with my new tasty post and a linkup at the bottom of it for you!

tasty tuesday

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Tasty Tuesday: Quinoa Power Salad

Hey guys! It’s Tasty Tuesday! And on Tasty Tuesdays we party!!!

Tasty Tuesday 2000x2000

Yeah! Don’t forget to link up below and check out other links of the party guests. If you link up, your link will also appear on the blog of my co-host – Meranda.

So. Today I wanted to share a recipe for one of my most favorite salads.

Guess what? There is no traditional recipe for it 🙂 Just guidelines and suggested ingredient list – no quantities. Just use how ever much of whatever you have basically!

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INGREDIENTS:

Have to use to get a great salad:

  • Quinoa, cooked according to package instructions, and cooled
  • Canned black beans, rinsed and drained well
  • Purple onion, finely chopped
  • Sweet potato, microwaved, chilled, cubed
  • Fresh cilantro or parsley (depends on what you like more – I like both so I throw in whichever I have handy)
  • Lemon juice
  • Olive oil
  • Cumin, salt and pepper

Optional ingredients:

  • Fresh cucumber, cubed
  • Fresh tomato (I am not a big fan of adding it – gives a great taste to the salad, but I personally don’t like the texture)
  •  Acorn/Butternut squash (cooked and diced – hey, good way to use those leftovers)
  • Bell peppers
  • Avocado (I only put it in if I am making just enough for us to eat in one meal, otherwise avocado gets dark and mushy the day after)

INSTRUCTIONS:

  • Start with cooking your quinoa according to package instructions – it takes a while to cool, and you will need to use it chilled. Can always put it in the fridge, but I try not to, just let it cool at the room temperature. I usually use 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa and 1 cup water. With everything else thrown into the salad it usually makes 4-6 servings.
  • Microwave the sweet potato, quarter and let cool (quartering will help it cool faster, too). I usually take a medium size potato and microwave it for 2-3 minutes.
  • Next – make the dressing. This is one of those salads where adding the dressing in advance makes the salad better and more flavorful. Combine lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin in a bowl. Wisk it and let sit for a little bit for the flavors to combine.
  • Dice, chop and prep the vegetables you decided to add to your salad.
  • Add all the ingredients together in a salad bowl, pour the dressing over, mix until combined, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
  • Enjoy!

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Here are some serving suggestions, too:

As a side for your steak

As a side for your steak

On a bed of fresh baby spinach

On a bed of fresh baby spinach

Do share: have you tried any yummy recipes lately? Link up below to share with us or comment!

Stay fit, friends, and have a wonderful week!

Lena


Last Week’s Exercise Recap and a Fit Family

Hey guys! It’s Monday again! I know, I know…But hey – it is a new beginning, isn’t it? Say, if you didn’t exercise as much last week (like this girl) or made not so good of food choices (like this girl, too), you should be happy for this chance to start over, right?

Yeah, me too 🙂

So, let me tell you what I did to exercise last week and a little about my fit family members. 🙂

{MONDAY}

Was supposed to spin, but got held up at work until late and then I had a Skype call with mom scheduled for that night, so I didn’t work out. Rest day #1.

{TUESDAY}

I don’t remember what the excuse was, but that was a Rest day #2! Keep reading 🙂 I am going to get to the exercise part eventually.

{WEDNESDAY}

I finally sucked it up and decided to try something new. The Wednesday Y schedule had Zumba on it, so I decided to go for it.

I had very little clue of what I was doing, but I had a blast!!! I really liked the atmosphere of the class – it felt more like a party than a workout. Thank you so much, Terre, for a great class!

Totally killed my knees though. I did my research in advance and chose the shoes that had little tread, but it still wasn’t enough for my knees.

So I am a recovering zumbanaut 🙂 Still.

Check out what a great burn it was, though! More than in some of the spinning classes I take.

Yeah, baby!

Yeah, baby!

{THURSDAY}

Guess what? Aha, that was the rest day #3. Right after work we headed to Simon’s swim meet. Oh, that was so much fun! I am so proud of him! Scored a smile, too (can’t take that for granted when it comes to TA boys:) )

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He swam like he had a motor!

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They also had a small party for seniors there that night. So sweet!

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Simon got a bag of candy and a balloon with his name on it.

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Of course the kitty had to have the balloon when we got home 🙂

What do you mean it's not for me? Who is it for then?

What do you mean it’s not for me? Who is it for then?

{FRIDAY}

Had to suck it up again and go lift – I am a fitness blogger after all, right? Not gonna keep my readers interested if I post about kitties all the time 🙂

Anyway, on Friday I decided to go for an evening workout!

I walked on a treadmill for a bit to warm up:

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And then lifted some heavy stuff!

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I mostly worked on my arms, shoulders and abs as my legs were still sore from Zumba and I was saving them for Saturday morning 🙂

The gym was almost empty. So were the locker rooms, so I had some fun after the workout 🙂

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{SATURDAY}

On Saturday I took an early spinning class with Tara so I could later go to Carmen’s basketball game. The class was a blast! I could feel my heart in my throat the whole time – that’s a sign of a good workout 🙂 A cold refreshing smoothie after that workout never tasted better 🙂

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Shortly after I got home and showered, we headed out to Carmen’s basketball season play offs. Her team won both games they played that day and are officially the #1 team in their league as of last Saturday. The last two games will be held next Saturday and I am sure these girls will be the Champions!

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{SUNDAY}

Was a busy day – all the prep. work for the Super Bowl (grocery shopping, cooking, setting the table, etc.) and….such a disappointment… Don’t even want to talk about the SB…

Let’s just end this with Sunday being Rest Day #4!

So. Let’s see… I didn’t exercise as much as I usually do last week, but I had a fun, busy week full of fun events and pride for my step-children.

I’ll count that as an AWESOME week!

Now, tell me: did you have a good week?

Stay fit and awesome, my friends!

Lena

Five on Friday

Hey guys! Happy Friday!

I hope you had a wonderful week and are ready for an even better weekend!

While you’re still waiting for it to come, here’s my “Five on Friday” – a weekly post about 5 things that I have been loving, liking, enjoying, etc.. lately.

{{ONE}} EOS – Lip Balm

Blueberry-Acai

Blueberry-Acai

Love those things! Carmen got me hooked on those – she started collecting them a while ago. I got her a set of lip balm and hand lotion by EOS for Christmas. She already had the lip balm flavor that was in the package, so I kept it for myself 😉

I am not a lip balm/chopstick kind of person at all…But I LOVE this series! It is sweet, too!

{{TWO}} Nike Air Total Core Cross-Trainers

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$70 at Kohl’s.

I have shoes for running and walking, so I was looking for something light and easy to slip on for my cross training. Found it!

I love these shoes! They are extremely lightweight, comfortable and stylish!

Let's go lift some heavy stuff!

Let’s go lift some heavy stuff!

{{THREE}} CND Creative Scentsations Hand & Body Lotion – Pear & Dandelion

It looks like this post is going to be about girly stuff 🙂 Oh well, let it be. Next on the list is this magic hand and body lotion.

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What’s interesting – I don’t like any other kind from this CND series – just pear and dandelion. I absolutely cannot survive the winter without it! I use it mainly as hand lotion, but it is good as body lotion as well. I buy it in 31 OZ bottles. Seriously!

{{FOUR}} Naval Oranges

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Image and Oranges Source

I made my husband go to Walmart at 9:00 PM and get me those the other day. It says it all!

I crave them, I eat at least one a day and I don’t see the end of it in the near future.

{{FIVE}} Ceramic Candle Warmers (Electric)

LOVE those things! After searching everywhere – Target, Kohl’s, Walmart, etc., I got mine from Amazon.

You put in a candle in a glass jar into this thing, plug it in, it heats up and melts the candle. I can’t even begin to describe how wonderful it makes my house smell! I got a candle with the holiday season scent and we enjoyed it so much! It also lasts a lot longer that if you would light up that candle.

Your turn! Share links to your “Five on Friday” posts with me or just comment here! I would love to hear what you’ve been loving lately.

 

Tribute to a Dear Friend

This weekend has been incredibly sad and emotional couple of days. In fact, the emotions, unlike the weekend, have not gone anywhere and are still with me, as they will be for a long long time.

On Saturday I lost a very dear friend of mine…Suddenly and so unexpectedly that it is heart breaking to even think about…

Her name was Vera, and she was just 33 years old.

September 4, 2010. Aluminum of Siberia Conference

September 4, 2010. Aluminum of Siberia Conference

We first met back in September of a year ages ago, at a conference in Russia. Working in the same field we both had heard about each other, but first met officially back then.

She then became my boss and soon – a close friend.

December, 2009. Company NY party.

December, 2009. Company NY party.

The one who can make you laugh like this.

February 19, 2011. Playing paintball.

February 19, 2011. Playing paintball.

The one who makes you feel that goofing around like this is a perfectly normal thing to do:

February 19, 2011, playing paintball

February 19, 2011, playing paintball

The one who can play pool like a real man! 🙂

March 5, 2010

March 5, 2010

The one you go “Whaaaaaat???” with at the same time because you think alike and feel the same way.

March 11, 2011. Bowling party.

March 11, 2011. Bowling party.

The one who will sing karaoke with you on a boat in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night and hold up the flashlight to help you see the list of songs.

July, 2010 - middle of nowhere

July, 2010 – middle of nowhere

The one you can call if you feel like eating steaks in the middle of the night, and who says “Pick ya up in 10 minutes” to that crazy offer.

August 28, 2010. James Shark Pub

August 28, 2010. James Shark Pub

The one who offers to drive you 300 miles to your mom’s just to have a chance to talk while in the car because she hasn’t seen you for 2 years.

December, 2010

December, 2010

The one you keep in your heart no matter where life takes you.

April, 2011. Team Building

April, 2011. Team Building

The one who asks you to be her Maid of Honor for her wedding day…

September 2011

September 2011

The one who sends you flowers half way around the world on your wedding day.

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September 2011

The one who is always there for you – no matter how far, how long, how whatever…

March 11, 2011

March 11, 2011

I will miss you greatly, my friend…and the good times we had together.

They just haven’t come up with the right words in any language yet to describe how much I miss you already, and how deep of a void your passing left in my heart.

Rest in piece, Verushka.

Foodie Pen Pals – Reveal Day

 

Hey, my fitness friends!

Guess what? I did it again! I participated in Foodie Pen Pals program and today is the Reveal Day!

Curious what I got?

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Belated Motivation Monday – Last Week’s Exercise Recap

Hey, my fitness gang!

Happy Motivation Thursday-Monday to you! Time to share my previous week’s workout and motivation quotes/pics with you. Are you ready?

Well then, keep scrolling down 🙂 Slowly! 🙂Continue Reading

“What’s On My Plate” Wednesday

Hi there, my dear fitness nerds! 🙂

This is the weekly “What’s on my Plate” Wednesday post!

So here we go, the highlights of my meals from last to this week, Wednesday to Wednesday. If you see something you like and would like a recipe for it, leave a comment and I will be happy to post the recipe.Continue Reading

What’s New or What I Did in the Past Couple Weeks

Hello, my fit friends!

I have been totally neglecting my blog in the past 2 weeks, and I am very sorry about that. I missed writing so much!

I have had a couple weeks from hell at work, and with my exercise routine and family I had absolutely no time or energy for blogging. I did try to keep you up-to-date with other social media (Instagram, Twitter and Facebook), though. I hope you didn’t miss me too much and I will try not to take such long breaks from blogging any more 🙂

So, here I am with the highlights of the past 2 weeks or so.Continue Reading

NYC Adventures – Part I

Hello, friends!

As I promised, here’s the trip to NYC recap for you with lots of pictures!

We took Friday off and got on the train in Harrisburg, PA on Thursday night. It was my second time in NYC, and both times we took the train – you can relax for 3.5 hours and don’t have to worry about parking (which is pretty expensive) and traffic in New York. I am like Sheldon Cooper – big fan of trains. When I was little my grandparents would take me and my brother on vacations/to visit relatives and we’d always travel by train. I have a fascination and love for trains ever since then. And trains these days are pretty awesome – WiFi and all 🙂Continue Reading

Quick update on yesterday’s eats

Hi Friends!

Quick update on yesterday’s eats here.

I was feeling like a savory breakfast yesterday morning  (I pretty much do all the time) so I had an open sandwich on the dark German whole wheat bread with hard salami, Swiss cheese and fried egg, and some fresh cucumber and grape tomatoes on the side.Continue Reading

Tabouli Salad Recipe – Quick and Healthy Summer Meal

Happy hump day, my friends!

Our family is having a pretty busy week here – I don’t know why but it feels like we’re always in a hurry and need to “make it” somewhere this week. Work-home-dinner-pool-somewhere else.

It is extremely important for me at hectic times like that to actually make an effort, stop and make good food rather than grab something on-the-go. I find it especially hard in the mornings. To begin with, I am not a morning person at all. It takes me a while to wake up and get “functional”. I like my mornings slow. I don’t like rushing and hassling. That’s why I get up earlier that I need to – so I can take a loooong “wake up shower”, get dressed, make breakfast, eat breakfast, sit outside for a bit with my coffee cup in my hands…and then go out there to face the day.Continue Reading

Weekend Highlights: Smoothie Recipe, #plankaday, Saturday Double and Fun by the Pool

Hello, friends!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend.

Here in Carlisle we had a wonderful weekend of heat and sweat 🙂 But still it was a good one.Continue Reading

Weekend Highlights: Carmen’s Salad Recipe, Spinning and Kitty Time

Hello, friends!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend and managed to stay fit and not overeat in this time of barbecues and other food fests 🙂

My weekend was very relaxing – with a lot of time spent by the pool with my family  (well, it’s that time of year!)Continue Reading