Two Delicious Recipes

Happy Monday! It feels so wonderful to be back in Geneva! Check out the gorgeous sunrise that I was privy to this morning when my flight was approaching the city. 2014-01-06 08.11.40-1A few days ago I didn’t think I’d utter words of excitement upon stepping back onto European soil as I had such a wonderful time with our friends and family in both Savannah and New York. But it became clear this morning that right now, this is where we are meant to be in our life and I have a renewed sense of excitement. This year is going to certainly have it’s share of challenges professionally but personally I know it’s going to be filled with fun weekends away and traveling.

As my friend Ranald said, skiing is the perfect Winter weekend activity as you always have something to look forward to, even on Monday! 2013-12-01 14.23.27This weekend our same group is heading back up to Verbier for a weekend of skiing and fun. It will be even more fun as some of my co-workers from New York our joining us for the weekend before our semi-annual strategy meetings begin in Geneva on Monday.

I have found that in order to keep a positive outlook and manage stress I need to focus on what I put in my body. For this reason I’ve been spending a lot of time on Pinterest and talking with friends about their favorite healthy recipes. Over the past month I discovered two kale recipes which are totally different yet both are packed with flavor and can serve as either a side dish or a main dish if some protein is added. One of them was a Pinterest discovery and the other was served at a dinner party I attended. Enjoy!

Recipe #1: Warm Balsalmic Kale Salad: This recipe says it serves 2 but if served as a side it definitely makes 4 servings. The flavors are incredible thanks to the balsamic paired with the richness of the mushrooms sautéed in a little butter. The only change I made to this recipe was using 1/2 the butter. Bo loved this dish so much that he asked me to Pin it to my Pinterest board and then insisted that it becomes a regular standby.

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Recipe #2: Kale and Avocado Salad My friend Lauren served this at our December girls night dinner and none of us could stop commenting on how delicious it was. Asian inspired, this is the perfect compliment to teriyaki chicken or even a lighter Asian inspired dish such as a soup as the use of avocado, hemp seeds and olive oil give it satiating staying power. As you can see by the Instagram post, Lauren served it alongside homemade Viatnamese Beef Noodle soup which was a perfect meal for a cold December night. (picture source)

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I hope you enjoy these two recipes as much as I have. These are two easy and flavorful ways to squeeze in some extra nutrients to your next lunch or dinner!

Have you hopped on the kale train? If so what is your favorite recipe or way to enjoy it?

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Silverstone Half Marathon Training: Week 1

Happy Sunday! I hope you all have had a lovely weekend. Bo and I spent the weekend in London getting ourselves back on track. We slept 8 hours each night, worked out each day, cooked in each night together, and enjoyed lots of relaxation time catching up on The Good Wife and watching movies. 002032When we weren’t cooking this weekend we were spending our time working out. The month of December didn’t do much for my training and overall health. I spent two of the weeks battling and succumbing to illness and the other two were spent either stressing myself out over work or celebrating and making merry. In fact, when I look at Daily Mile or even my calendar, I can only find 9 workouts – for the entire month.

Luckily, I have the Adidas Silverstone half marathon in 57 days and this fact is enough to motivate me to ensure I have at least 28 solid days of training this month. This week kicked off my half marathon training and it was a fabulous first week even with New Years Eve festivities in the midst of everything. I am going to work with Gia for this training plan but I won’t have my training plan until this week. Therefore I spent last week trying to build my overall fitness level. I mixed running, weights, yoga and movement together to remind my body and mind how wonderful it feels to workout even when it isn’t convenient.  Here’s the week in review:

Adidas Half Marathon Training Week 1

Monday: 60 minute Elliptical session and 60 minute long walk on the beach with my mom

Tuesday: Travel day but did reach 16,000 steps according to my Polar Loop thanks to lots of airport walking

Wednesday: rest day

Thursday: Uplifting-Sculpt Fusion with Laura and Melissa at Uplift Studios (review to come this week)

Friday: 75 minutes Yang and Yin Yoga at Good Vibes Fitzrovia

Saturday: Lululemon London 60 minute Forrest Yoga class with London blogger friends

Sunday: 4 mile run through Regents Park in London with Bo

My plan for this week is at least three runs and at least one yoga session in addition to the two days of skiing I know are coming up in Verbier this weekend!

Your turn: What’s your plan for January? Do you have something you’re training for or just ready to get back on track?

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Goal Setting and Yoga with Lululemon

Over the years I’ve heard lots of people talk about goal setting and vision boards through their work and relationship with Lululemon. Today I had the opportunity to experience a goal setting workshop with Aoife Kane, a UK Lululemon Community Connector and Yoga instructor. The Covent Garden Lululemon hosted a 2 hour workshop this morning open to the public which included an hour of goal setting and an hour of Forrest Yoga.

Waking up at 8 this morning was not easy. Even though I had been asleep for 8 hours my body still thought I was trying to wake it up at 2am thanks to my jet-lag. But, luckily Charlie has been my accountability partner these last 24 hours getting my but to Yang and Yin yoga last night after our flight and then making sure I woke up for this morning’s session.

These smiling faces joined me for the workshop (Stephanie, Charlie, Zoe, her friend, and the unpictured Kiera) which made it even more enjoyable. It is so nice having a different workout to look forward to each weekend I’m in London thanks to these ladies.  251 

As we entered the Lululemon store we were greeted by a plenty of yoga mats along with a very friendly staff who welcomed us to the store, invited us to store our stuff anywhere, peruse the racks, and find a spot towards the front. It is so nice that they provide mats as lugging a yoga mat around London on a Saturday is not ideal, especially if you have an afternoon of errands or lunch with a friend afterwards!244

Right around 10am Aoife Kane, the instructor the the yoga and goals session, welcomed the group and passed out stapled papers which we would use during the goals portion.  246Before starting the actual goal session we did about 5 minutes of intention setting and breathing which helped us get in the right mindset. She asked us to focus on a single word, the first one that came to our mind, for the next two hours. I focused on the word positivity, which is a word that has been at the forefront of my mind the past few days. 247

The next hour was spent talking and thinking about the three main spheres of our lives: health, personal and career. Aoife led us through each portion, sharing personal anecdotes along the way. During the introduction she shared that setting a 10 year vision and goals allows people to have a clear picture of an ideal future and then better understand and articulate what is needed to get there. In fact, one student shared that last year after setting their goals and vision everything happened within 1 year just because it was in the forefront of her mind. She also stressed that during this exercise we need to ensure to take out any perceived constraints such as time and money. Stepping into the possibility and keeping a positive, affirmative attitude would make the exercise more effective.

Step 1 was creating a Mind Map. The mind map takes 3 circles, each containing a single word (health, personal or career) and filling the circle with all the words that describe our ideals, what the word means and the words that come to mind when we see the word. It’s common that 2 circles are more prevalent while the other takes a back seat. For example, right now in my life personal and career has taken priority while health has been a secondary focus.

Step 2 was getting a clear vision of what we each want in our life, now and in 10 years. Within a circle we had to write all the words describing what we want in our life and then outside of the circle, list what we don’t want. My circle was filled with words such as balance, close relationships, health of mind and body, successful career, inspiring blog, strong marriage, travel, and passion while I filled the space outside my circle with words like negativity, unhealthy, cluttered,  and unnecessary stress. While some people found this exercise difficult, it actually helped prepare me for the final step as it forced me to think about both what I want and don’t want in my life. 248As we approached our final step, she led us through a guided meditation of sorts. She talked us through a journey from the Lululemon store down the path to our home in 10 years. She described us walking through the door and asked us what or who we saw, being sure to note the sounds, smells and feelings. I was a bit hesitant and apprehensive when we started the guided meditation but at the end was surprised how much I took from the exercise. I saw myself in a large kitchen with a child’s voice in the background. The whole experience and vision was more clear than I ever expected. Following this we had 5 minutes to write down our 10 year vision while ensuring that we let go of the need to be perfect and keep in mind that this would only be a draft.

Once we had our vision on paper we practiced outlining one of the goals needed to reach the life we saw in the vision. For example, I outlined my career goal and was able to capture what needs to happen in 1 year, 5 years and 10 years in order for that goal to become a reality. Using affirmative language and including clear dates and gates as measures really helps me see the steps and believe they can be achieved.

Over the next few weeks I will go through the rest of the process so I can share with my friends and family my overall goals – two from each aspect of my life (personal, career and health).

The next hour was spent on the mat practicing Forrest Yoga. A new to me yoga method, Forrest Yoga is intensely physical and forced each of us to focus on our breath during the 60 minutes. There were some moves that I had never done before including an amazing hand and forearm stretch. The class was challenging but incredibly rewarding as we each completed the class feeling relaxed and looser while knowing that we’d also used our entire body. 249 I am so glad I rolled out of bed this morning for this inspirational morning. Thank you Lululemon for organizing it and Aoife for leading us through the workshop.

Your turn: What’s one of your long term goals?

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