Work Hard, Rest Hard

Posted on August 1, 2016 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

It finally happened this summer.

I went to bed at an ungodly hour on a Saturday night and woke up at 11. Ughhhhh.

I’m not too mad about it though, because I got to spend some quality time with high school friends who I hadn’t seen in forever.

Other weekend happenings:

Thursday

Not part of the weekend, but I made some good food that night! “Made” = throwing things in a bowl. Like this salad with baby kale mix, leftover sautéed brussels sprouts, sweet cherry tomatoes, sliced beets (from a can ➔ college d-hall memories), and avocado.

Late night baking adventures involved Amanda’s Greek yogurt banana oat bread! I baked it in two 8×8 pans to speed up the baking time since it was late (and I’m impatient).

I brought most of the banana bread to work on Friday, and it disappeared by the end of the day! I was that girl who brought whole grains into the midst of (freaking delicious) brownies and chocolate chip cookies.

Friday

You know when you’re go-go-go all day, and then you finally sit down? Then you realize that you never ever want to move your butt off that chair? That was my Friday after work.

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[source]

But I love days like that (after I get to sit down).

Part of the hustlin’ day included cooking up a hearty dinner. I baked some chicken thighs with half a sliced onion, a can of diced tomatoes, a can of artichokes, lots of garlic, oregano, fresh basil, sweet cherry tomatoes, salt and pepper, then topped with fresh mozzarella near the end of baking.

that broiled, crispy mozzarella is magical

Then I boiled some whole wheat spaghetti for the base.

TGIF.

These babies also happened:

balsamic roasted brussels sprouts (olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, salt and pepper @ 400F for ~30 min)

Whenever I roast vegetables, I eat my fill straight off the pan when they come out of the oven. 😀

Saturday

Early morning overnight oat smoothie bowl (almond milk, Greek yogurt, chia seeds, cinnamon, blueberries, frozen banana, vanilla protein powder, greens + granola on top) before some praying and morning Mass.

I came back home and napped before movin’ and groovin’ in the backyard. I didn’t have too much time, so I did 5 rounds of Jess’ KILLER 1000 rep workout. I used two 15# kettlebells and a 36# bar, so I made some substitutions:

goblet squats ➔ double KB front squats
KB swings ➔ double KB swings to eye level
single arm thruster right ➔ overhead squats
single arm thruster left ➔ regular thrusters

This workout is quite difficult in an AC’d gym. HALF of this workout is MADNESS in the humid heat. God bless naps and rest days that allowed me to power through that.

I definitely snacked on some brussels sprouts and tomatoes before that workout too.

After showering in cold water, I headed to lunch with two of my good high school friends, Sam and Je’lyn! We met up at The Beehive for sandwiches (after a long bout of menu indecisiveness).

I went with the turkey club (oven roasted turkey, thick cut bacon, lettuce, tomato, and pesto mayo) + side salad. I was hungry, so I wanted something hearty. I got what I wanted, because I think the earth shook when this landed on our table:

thinking, “is this all three of our orders on one plate?”

A double-decker, half-foot-long (maybe longer) turkey freaking CLUB.

Literally three meals. I had this portion you see in this photo (eaten as a single decker + an open-faced sandwich), Ben had another portion for his dinner that night, and I had the last portion yesterday for brunch. Talk about a deal!

The three of us caught up on our lives and had great conversation before heading home. I hung out with Ben for a bit, ate some frozen bananas and kettle corn, and then we went to Mass (counting for Sunday Mass). I was still pretty full from my late lunch/late snack, so I ate veggies and crackers with hummus for a light snack.

I dropped off Ben at the train station since he had his first overnight work shift in the city on Saturday night. Oof.

While he was over there making dough, I was spending dough on ice cream with Sam, Michael and Jordan. More long-since-seen friends!

blueberry cheesecake + captain crunch berry ice cream

Village Creamery is amazing.

Sam invited us over to hang out at her house. We vegged out on her couches and chatted for several hours. Later in the night, Sam gave me a Tim Tam and made me Vegemite toast, since she just got back from studying abroad in Australia (‘Straya)!

Vegemite smells like stale bread.

You’re supposed to butter the toast and add a super thin layer of Vegemite. Verdict? I like it! It’s just…salty. Like, extra salty buttered toast with a hint of yeast flavor. I understand why no one can really explain what it tastes like.

Arman, are you proud!?

I got home at around 1, had a dance party by myself in the kitchen, reminisced on old blog posts for old time’s sake, and went to bed after 2:30 AM. I am fully culpable for messing up my sleep schedule.

Sunday

I got up at 8 AM first to pick up Ben from the train station. Then we both hit the hay again, and I woke up at almost 11.

Big brunch it was!

last of the turkey club with extra greens and sriracha + unpictured brussels sprouts and cherry tomatoes

a small piece of banana bread baked oatmeal + blueberries

I decided to truly embrace Sunday as the day of rest (something that I need to work on). I watched Food Network while typing this post for a couple hours, went on a long walk, danced a little, did some reading…

“Work hard, play hard” is fun, but “work hard, rest hard” is what I needed.

Madre and Pop were away for the weekend in California for a family function, so after they arrived back home last night, we went to (a Groupon) dinner at Copacabana Brazilian Steakhouse.

Me to Ben: “I don’t know if I’m ready for that much meat.”

If you’re not familiar with Brazilian Rodizio, it’s essentially meat on demand. Waiters come around to your table with giant skewers of various meats and sausages, and you can just say “yes” or “no” to the meat that arrives.

red side of the card for “no meat, please” // green side of the card for “please bring me dat meat”

They slice off a piece of the meat for you, and you use your personal mini tongs to grab it. So interactive, I love it.

There’s a salad bar buffet, where you can fill your plate with fresh accompaniments for your plethora of meats.

And there are these complimentary Brazilian. cheese. puffs.

These pao de queijo were so incredible that we asked for a second basket. Madre, Ben and I each had three, ignoring most of the other side dishes. They’re made with tapioca flour, which makes them the DOUGHIEST little nuggets of gold you ever tasted. I definitely Googled how to make them when I got home, which was a great yet terrible move, because I learned that they’re so easy to make…Cheese puffs ALL THE TIME.

Other side dishes that came with the meal included some superb rice, baked beans, pickle-y salsa, yucca flour (??), and fried bananas (← we ate as dessert).

I must have tried 8 different meats, but my favorites were the top sirloin, chicken, bacon-wrapped turkey, and beef rib. They also had some bomb grilled pineapple at the end!

Me: “I think I’m going to go vegetarian for the rest of this week.”

^^^Lies.

What a wonderful dining experience to end the weekend!

Now Ben and I are skipping around between watching Sharknado (the most horrendously bizarre show I’ve ever laid eyes on), American Ninja Warrior, and Harry Potter. I’m also baking some more banana bread baked oatmeal for the week!

Hope you all have a delightful Monday!

So tell me:

Two things you did this weekend!

What are your favorite rest activities (oxymoron, I know)? Baking, walking, meditating, and jamming out to music are my faves.

What is the biggest sandwich you’ve ever ordered?

Have you ever had Brazilian Rodizio?

Home Is Where the Food Is

Posted on March 7, 2016 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

So much food, so little time!!!

That seems to be the theme whenever I come home. Not the worst situation.

I’ve been home for a little over two days, and I have definitely been soaking up some R&R, spending time with the ‘rents, eating mom’s home cooking, and utilizing the kitchen.

Friday

My friends Joe and Louis let me hitch a ride with them back home since we all live fairly close to one another. We left Boston on Friday afternoon, bumpin’ some tunes, chatting about our lives, and criticizing Joe for his love of country music for the 4 hour drive.

Madre prepared a fabulous dinner that was waiting for us when we got to my house. What a wonderful woman.

She sent Joe and Louis home with fried rice and egg rolls, because you don’t leave her establishment without food.

The rest of my night involved laundry, reading blogs, and watching YouTube videos until 2 AM because I’m dumb.

Saturday

I woke up naturally at 8:30 on Saturday (weird, considering I went to sleep so late), so I took my time getting downstairs and deciding what to eat for breakfast. I get very pensive about breakfast when I’m home, especially if I’m only home for a few days, because I know that I have limited time to utilize the kitchen/time to make some of my favorite breakfast recipes.

I was in the mood for either pancakes or oatmeal. But I can do regular oatmeal in my dorm any day… homemade pancakes though? Girl.

I used The Baker Mama’s recipe for whole wheat banana pancakes, which were fluffy and delicious. I had three (+ another baby one) with blueberry Chobani, peanut butter, and fresh blueberries. Served with a glass o’ milk.

WOW. I keep staring at this picture and reminiscing on the amazingness of this breakfast.

I think I caught up on some more blogs and took a nap before interviewing my mom for my Behavioral Biology of Women term paper. It was fun to hear all her stories! Lunch happened sometime in there.

sautéed spinach, avocado, egg, and sriracha in a Flatout wrap + too many snacks to count

I got to move and groove in the basement for a bit as well! I worked on pull-up/chin-up negatives, pushups, and wall walks before doing a 20 minute circuit (and then stretching! #PTtobe).

We went to Mass at night and then came home for dinner to make our way through some of the leftovers from Friday night.

hodgepodge of noodles, spaghetti squash, tofu, fish, and vegetables topped with sriracha (the condiment of the gods) + a bunch of unpictured crackers with eggplant dip

Dad and I decided to watch Eddie the Eagle later that night at the theater, which was a good choice! An entertaining, feel-good kinda movie (with British accents, so +100).

Upon coming home, I ate another pancake with peanut butter, dried figs, and a glass o’ milk. 😀

Sunday

Smoothie Sunday (#smoothiesunday?)! This was an overnight oat smoothie (same recipe as this one) topped with granola that my dear friend Emma gifted me! (Catholic friend giving granola made by Catholic monks to fellow Catholic friend. How Catholic.)

Fast forward through some relaxing reading, school reading, and blog reading… My parents and I went out to lunch at a seafood restaurant thanks to— the one and only— Groupon.

Their warm sourdough with a ~~sprinkle~~ heavy dose of pepper to start.

I went with the prix fixe option since it was the best deal. For appetizer I got the salad of the day, which was arugula with bell peppers, tomatoes, feta cheese, candied pistachios (!!!), and a lemon vinaigrette. It didn’t look like all that much at first, but it tasted great!

For my entree I ordered the scallops with mushroom risotto. I also helped my mom with some of her lobster ravioli and had a bite of my dad’s parmesan-crusted cod. It was all pretty darn tasty!

We took most of my risotto to go, along with the dessert that came with my prix fixe (pistachio cheesecake!) because a) I was full, b) we were in a rush to go to a concert, and c) we knew there would be cookies at the concert reception.

It was a benefit concert to help support the Maryknoll Sisters’ global outreach mission. A local orchestra performed some awesome classical and cinematic pieces. My fave was the Jurassic Park piece at the end (mostly because it was the only one I could recognize, but also because it was spectacular).

During intermission, these happened.

Beautiful mini desserts!!! I got a plate for myself and then had a bite of, like, five different cookies from my mom’s plate.

Ugh, so good. The sisters baked all of them!

Back at home, I changed into comfy clothes and went on a 3 mile walk around the ‘hood while listening to the latest Girls Gone WOD podcast. I ate a light dinner at around 8 since I was still kind of full from our big, late lunch.

And here I am typing up this blog post. It’s taken me two hours to type up this little recap. I’m queen of getting sidetracked (aka dancing to music and texting my friend about exploding stars).

The funny thing is that I had several different plans for spring break including a possible mission trip to Ireland or Guyana. Then I planned for a weeklong retreat after the mission trips didn’t work out, but the weeklong retreat was canceled, so then I was left with little to work with. Home has been a nice treat though ♥︎

Hope you all have a mighty fine Monday!

So tell me:

What is the best thing you ate this weekend?

Oatmeal or pancakes?

Are you a fan of country music?

Are you a fan of orchestra concerts? They’re not my number one activity of choice, but I can definitely enjoy and appreciate the music!

Dad and Daughter Weekend

Posted on May 26, 2015 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

God bless America and God bless three day weekends. I don’t know why I said the latter; I just came back from vacation.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and a lovely Memorial Day to my fellow Americans. As always, it’s nice to have a day off, but it is essential to remember why we do. Thank you to all the men and women who sacrificed their lives so that we could live ours freely and joyfully.

[source]

Let’s catch up!

Friday

Up and at ’em early for my physical therapy internship! Brought to you by overnight oats in a jar.

I’ve been adding chia seeds to the mix, and they increase the doughiness factor by at least 50%. I totally made that up, but chia seeds = thicker overnight oats = even better texture.

Lunch was eaten in the parking lot after my internship. It was tuna salad I had made that morning (with Greek yogurt, mustard, honey, olive topping, paprika, and black pepper) on mixed greens, alongside 34 Degrees cracked pepper crackers from Blend.

Cracked pepper crackers that are like crack.

I saw my partner in crime (Daliza) on Friday night! I greeted her with egg yolk dripping down my face/hands/arms as I ate this for dinner:

Once you break the yolk, there’s no turning back. You just have to inhale the rest of the toast so you don’t lose the dippy goodness.

P.S. I’m going to convince Daliza to do another vlog with me!

Saturday

I slept in and made a rather patriotic breakfast for Dad and myself— Greek yogurt with blueberries, raspberries, banana, cinnamon, nutmeg, stevia, chia seeds, a leftover whole wheat banana pancake, and Nuttzo power fuel.

I don’t remember everything I did on Saturday, but I do know that I finally decided to unpack my luggage, did some moves with a leg strength circuit, and attended Mass. I also ate some delicious things in the afternoon!

Lunch was a salad with homemade tahini dressing, leftover pork chop (buried under there), and a sweet potato with melted garlic herb cheddar. Weird but YUM.

I was feeling lunch dessert that day (…like every other day), so I broke into my stash of mint chocolate chunk Quest bars from Blend. I followed Aimee’s suggestion in my last post’s comments and microwaved it for exactly 23 seconds before topping it with peanut hazelnut butter.

Yep, I’ll be doing that again! 🙂

Oh! I got new sneakers in the mail too! I won these in a huge raffle at the end of Blend retreat. Lucky for me, because I left my other sneakers in Boulder since they were so muddy from hiking all week.

Thanks, Wellcoin and Puma!

After Mass, Pop and I went to my favorite Japanese restaurant for dinner! I went with the classic sushi combo that comes with yellowtail, tuna, and eel avocado rolls. All gone into my tummy.

The waiter also surprised us with a complimentary dessert! Chocolate souffle cake with raspberry ice cream. Ohmahgoodness. I know I say I don’t like chocolate that much, but this was dreamy.

Pop and I hunkered down for the night and watched not one, but two movies— The Giver and Macfarland USA. I totally loved both!

Sunday

Another sleep-in day, another breakfast for Pop and myself. I hadn’t eaten cookie dough cereal in a long time, so it wasn’t difficult to choose what I wanted that morning.

I cleaned the floors on Sunday, and look at this horror.

This is a picture of cleaning done in the highest shoe-traffic area of our house, but still, yuck! (Two-year-old word, I know.) You don’t really notice the dirt until you get down and scrub.

Moves involved yoga and a quick walk around the neighborhood. The weather was perfection!

I babysat at night and actually enjoyed my snack-time-esque dinner.

I brought all the snacks myself, except for the cheese 🙂 (I was given permission.)

Monday

Pop and I started our Memorial Day with Mass and the local Memorial Day parade.

Then we headed back home to cook and eat for the rest of the afternoon! Pop and I have never grilled without mom being around, since she is Mrs. Chefmaster Hospitality. But we had a successful cookout, I’d say! I shopped for the food, prepped it, and then left the grilling for Pop. He nailed it.

We had simple beef burgers with garlic herb cheddar and caramelized onions + tons of grilled vegetables. We also ate outstanding grilled shrimp using this marinade recipe.

glass o’ vino in hand, what a natural

Having a BBQ for two people also means lots of leftovers for the week!

Moves included grooving to music in the kitchen and a two mile neighborhood walk. I see a tan emerging!

After eating more of grilled goodies for dinner, we ended the night on a sweet note, as every night should end in my book. I macerated some fresh strawberries in lemon juice and honey for a few hours, and then we ate those on top of vanilla bean ice cream with a slice of the blueberry poppyseed mini loaf from Flagstaff House in Colorado!

Me: I macerated some strawberries.

Dad: That sounds like it hurts.

[5 minutes later]

Dad: What did you say you did with these? Masqueraded?

Me: No, macerated. But masquerading them sounds fun.

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Hope you all have a great day! Clean your floors perhaps, eat string cheese, and say thank you to more people. *Also, stay tuned for an awesome giveaway later today!*

So tell me:

One productive thing you did this weekend.

One fun thing you did this weekend!

Do your floors ever get this dirty? We clean them often, I swear.

Americans, what did you eat for Memorial Day?

Letting Go

Posted on March 30, 2015 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

I’m starting to sneeze more often. You know what that means…

Spring!!! Or a cold, but I’m hoping it’s just spring allergies.

Besides a freak blizzard on Saturday here in Boston, the sun has been shining and the temperatures have been creeping up ever so slightly in the past week. It was nice enough for me to want to run, so that’s saying something. I even did homework al fresco last Wednesday, holla!

The shadows on my face are freaky

I’m not even going to tell you that much about school, because it’s just busy. I must admit that there were some waterworks over an essay draft this weekend because the frustration of not being able to sort my thoughts was gettin’ real. The mantra that has been running through my head the whole weekend is this:

Wise words of Elsa, am I right? I needed to tell myself over and over to let go of my pride, perfectionism, and stress. It’s okay to ask for help, take a break, say no to people, and to cry and sing songs with yourself while folding laundry. You let it go and move forward.

End rant.

God is always good, and He still put a smile on my face through some small yet beautiful things this weekend. One of those things was an a cappella concert featuring my amazing friend, Adrienne (girl on the left).

Even though I gave up listening to music for Lent, I decided that the concert didn’t count because I was supporting a friend 😀 Although, I nearly cried/jumped out of my seat to dance because all the groups sounded incredible.

P.S. I miss dancing so much.

This breakfast has been making me smile as well. I’ve been adding frozen blueberries to my oatmeal from the pancake toppings bar in the dining hall, and I am diggin’ it. Adds some tartness, antioxidants, and color!

I also tried Larabars for the first time last week! There were some Larabar representatives on campus last week, and they were giving out free samples. It was my lucky day, because guess what flavors they were giving out. Peanut butter chocolate chip and peanut butter cookie. I KNOW, it’s like they knew I would be there to take them!

I took four of their mini samples (they said take as many as you want, but I decided to be a good girl and not take the whole jar), and I have one left now. *sniff*

A Sunday morning workout helped me to escape some of my homework blues. I snapped this (#nofilter) on my way back from the gym:

What a fabulous start to Holy Week, eh?

Lastly, blogging makes me happy! Typing these words right now is like therapy. YOU make me happy and don’t forget it.

I said no to a lot of activities this weekend, and I definitely could have said no to more, but that would have driven me up the wall even more. Sometimes I just have to let go of the fact that I can’t figure out my chemistry question. Let go of the fact that I can’t bang out an essay in two hours. Let go of the fact that I’m not “on schedule” (a schedule that I made for myself on Saturday). I need to walk away, do something that makes me smile, and come back. Sometimes I still don’t know what to do, but more often than not, I have a fresh mind that can tackle the work.

Happy Monday 🙂

So tell me:

One thing that made you smile this weekend!

What do you need to “let go” of in your life?

What is your favorite Larabar flavor? I want to try some more if I ever find them (or attempt to make them myself at home)!

WIAW: A Poem

Posted on July 9, 2014 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

Every Wednesday there’s this fun party

About bloggers’ eats, both junk and healthy.

It’s hosted by a cool chick named Jenn,

Whose spunk will never run out ’til God knows when.

Some people call it WIAW (wee-aw), because it’s “What I Ate Wednesday,”

But since I’m such a huge a rebel, I’m showing what I ate on Monday.

Just like Maria, we’ll start from the very beginning, a very good place to start.

Cookie dough cereal with bananas and sunflower seed butter; adding blueberries was also quite smart.

I believe I also had half a nectarine,

But the photo is nowhere to be seen.

My midday meal happened late in the afternoon,

Since I woke up super late and a normal lunchtime would be too soon.

So after some yoga and chores, I ate a delicious meal,

With simple ingredients, supah fresh, and supah real.

{Except the ketchup I added to the eggs afterwards.}

A monster spring mix salad, in a bowl the size of my head,

And a toasty wheat roll with avocado and perfect scrambled eggs.

Since I always need cheese in life, I also had some brie

Atop my favorite crackers, Wheat Thins, slightly sweet and so crispy.

I had quite a few— too many to count

Later on, the same thing happened with these peanuts

I had three times this amount.

{Sweet and Salty Valencia Peanuts from Costco!}

I took a walk and visited Daliza

Because I always like to see her (say that in a British accent so it rhymes with Daliza).

Despite a late lunch and lots of snacking,

I was hungry for dinner pretty early, and my food’s flavor was not lacking.

I had leftover pasta salad with extra parmesan cheese

Plus a couple ravioli Mom cooked up, which made me quite pleased.

I used to be afraid of all these carbohydrates. I thought it would make me fat in my sleep.

How foolish that conception was, for without pasta today, I would weep.

Some veggies were thrown in there for nutrients and fun

Hey look, I could still take a picture at night by the light of the sun!

After going on a lovely evening walk with mom and dad,

I was ready for a sweet treat that’s tasty and rad

It was peanut butter banana soft serve, cool and creamy.

It’s incredibly easy to make, and it always tastes so dreamy.

I ate it with a side of Greek yogurt, because would you expect anything else?

It added a lovely tanginess, plus some extra protein for myself.

Since I’m basically nocturnal and I stay up pretty late,

I needed a little something to satisfy and satiate.

Of course, I turned to a trusty ol’ classic that never fails me:

Dried figs and Greek yogurt, the best snack that ever could be.

{recycled photo}

That concludes my day of yummy eats. I hope you enjoyed!

My poetry skills are terrible, and my brain is starting to become void.

So tell me:

Are you a good poet?

Fun fact: I won a national pro-life poetry contest in 8th grade (those skills were not reflected here today…), so I got to go to Washington D.C. to be honored for it. I met Dr. Alveda King, who is Martin Luther King Jr.’s niece!

What has been your favorite snack recently?