We’ve had a rainy week here in SoCal, but today was great. Sunny and clear.

Which means, I abandoned the treadmill today and ventured outdoors to go to the park for a 4 mile run.

I was excited to get out and listen to new Jillian Michaels podcasts. I haven’t kept up in downloading her weekly episodes, so this week I downloaded 9 new episodes. Today, I listened to an episode about cross training and changing up your workouts. I have some plans in changing my workout routine after the half marathon training is done.

For the last several months, my workouts have been mainly hiking and running and training for the race this coming Sunday. My running mileage has doubled since I am training, but at the same time, my strength training workouts has decreased tremendously. The way I look at it, there’s a direct correlation between the two. Anyways, I can’t wait to add some fun and different workouts after the half marathon race is done.

Breakfast

Speaking of changing things up, I have been trying different combinations for my breakfast. I still love oats and it will always be my classic breakfast choice, but lately, I feel that after I eat a bowl of oats, I feel lethargic. I want to go back to bed after eating a warm and comforting bow of oats in the morning. Or it could be the weather or being tired from my run…who knows?

Two Nature’s Path Hemp waffles, perfectly double toasted. I love them crunchy so I don’t mind the edges being a little burnt. I used agave for syrup.

1 egg + 1 egg white to add protein

What I consider a complete a balanced breakfast for me. It keeps me full until lunch.

Lunch

I always try to cook quinoa on Sundays and then will combine it with any vegetables I have on hand. I’ll use the quinoa and vegetable mix and eat it throughout the week for lunch. I’ll top the mix with dinner leftovers.

Baked tofu and quinoa vegetable mix for lunch. I also ate a gala apple with my lunch.

Chobani + cereal for afternoon snack. I stocked up on Chobani since it was on sale for $1 last week. Score!

Dinner

I was excited for dinner because I made one of our favorite dishes.

Eggplant Parmesan (made with almond flour).

Served with roasted broccoli.

For dessert, which I am eating right now….crackers with maple peanut butter.

I hope your having a great week so far.

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Does your food preference/taste change according to seasons?

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Happy Lunar New Year from Disneyland!

Chinese New Year is tomorrow Monday, January 23rd.  Disneyland looks festive with all the Chinese New Year decorations up.

They even have egg rolls, edamame and other Asian inspired cuisine available for a limited time inside the park. How fun

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The last couple of weeks, we have found ourselves dining out quite often. There have been dinner and happy hour with friends, birthday celebrations, goodbye parties and etc.

We dined recently at Cafe Orleans, a restaurant located inside Disneyland park. It’s right next to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

The restaurant has a great view of the water used for Fantasmic show. You’re also surrounded by sights, decors and feel of New Orleans.

We eat at this restaurant for one reason, and one reason only……

Pommes Frites!!!!

It’s traditional french-fried potatoes, tossed with Parmesan cheese, garlic and parsley, served with a Cajun spice remoulade.

The combination of all the spices, the cheese and the garlic, it’s just perfect. It’s not overwhelming with garlic, it’s just perfect.

Our whole group ordered a serving each.

And the remoulade….it’s delicious and creamy. I always ask for a second serving of the sauce.

They serve other food too. Because we can’t just have fries for dinner right?

My sister and I shared a sandwich and an order of french fries.  I liked the avocado relish in the sandwich.

Chris ordered jambalaya and I liked it too.  The soup texture tasted like pureed beans. Since I like beans, I loved the soup.

We don’t dine often inside the park, maybe just a few times a year but this is a restaurant we like coming back to.

We are having some very unusual weather in SoCal these days.

It has been really cold. It was so cold, we went home early from Disneyland because it was TOO cold.

I bundled up really well too,

Me and my sister staying warm inside It’s A Small World ride.

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It has been a busy week for me, lots of driving and commuting back and forth.

I’ve also been busy baking a ton of last minute orders for our fundraising bake sale. It feels like Christmas again.

It was worth it because we achieved and exceeded our $1,600 fundraising goal this week.

Go Team Healthy Coconuts!

The entire Team For Life group raised a total of 70K. I’m so proud to be part of the team. I can’t wait to meet the entire group during our team brunch the day before the race.

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Soup for the soul. That’s what is needed when it’s cold all day.

I made a very easy semi-homemade version of an Italian Wedding soup and both Chris and I loved it.

I love this soup because:

• It’s quick and easy. It can also be made semi-homemade if you use store bought meatballs.
• There are a ton of vegetables in the soup. I used a whole bag of spinach.

It’s not fancy. It’s simple and it’s good. Just plain good.

I was inspired to make this soup after I saw it on Erica’s blog. I’ve had it bookmarked for awhile now and I’m happy that I finally made it.

Meatball Soup

Recipe from Aggie’s Kitchen

2-3 carrots, chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 TB olive oil
2 32 oz. cartons of low sodium chicken broth
1 bag of fresh spinach
salt and pepper

In a large pot with 1-2 TB of olive oil, combine carrots, celery, onion and garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for about 5-8 minutes until they start to soften. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add spinach and let simmer for about 20 – 25 minutes.

(I added ready made Trader Joe’s turkey meatballs to the soup while it simmered). But I am sure this recipe will taste better if the meatballs are made from scratch, which I will definitely do next time, using the recipe below.

For turkey meatballs: In large bowl combine garlic, onion, cheese, breadcrumbs, eggs and milk, stir into a paste. Add ground turkey, salt and pepper and gently combine till completely mixed. Shape mixture into tiny balls, about 1 inch, and drop them into simmering soup. Cover over low heat, stirring gently until meatballs are cooked, about 20 minutes. Taste for seasoning.

The soup is hearty and can be eaten as a complete meal.

But for lunch leftovers, I had smaller servings and served it chips and hummus.

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Three day holiday weekend coming up? Why not go on a road trip.

We headed away from Orange County and drove north along the Pacific Coast highway.

First stop on the road trip is the Danish Village of Solvang. Solvang is in the Santa Ynez Valley, near Santa Barbara.

It’s a quaint little town and quite adorable.

There are bakeries, restaurants, and merchants offering a taste of Denmark in California.

The architecture of many of the facades and buildings reflects traditional Danish style. There are replicas of Copenhagen’s landmarks.

Hej? (hello) Hvordan går det? (how are you?)

We walked and enjoyed all the architecture, the shops and the taste of Danish culture.

We did candy shopping and bought some salt water taffy. Coconut chocolate flavor for me.

We sampled free treats from the chocolate shop.

We did ornament shopping. They customized it for us.

We tried to do some shoe shopping but they were too big

We walked and walked….

…until we found Paula’s Pancake House.

I ordered whole wheat pancake and eggs with fresh juice from the juice tree.

Chris ordered thin pancakes with Danish sausages. There was a man who sat next to us, apparently he eats at the restaurant every weekend. He gave Chris his recommendations.

I had a bite of the Danish sausage and it was good. Even better when dipped in Sauerkraut.

I’ve been to Solvang before when I was kid during one of my family’s road trip. I really appreciate it more as an adult, when you are more interested in the history and the culture.

I hope to be back to Solvang again soon. I still want to check out the wineries and apple orchards in the area.

Up next, more adventures with elephant seals.

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Do you take road trips? or Mini weekend vacations?

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It was a lot of fun.

Working those leg muscles to get on top of the hills.

Thanks to my friend Irene and Amy for the pictures.

I love doing fitness activities with a group of friends on the weekends. It’s half socializing and half working out. It’s all fun.

I’m hoping we can do our group hikes consistently.

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I recently made a Turkey Meatloaf recipe from the Eating For Life cookbook.  I first wanted to try this recipe because the ingredient list was short.

This recipe is really easy to put together. I used one bowl for all ingredients, poured it into the loaf pan and baked it.

So easy. It taste great, it’s healthy and lowfat.

Turkey Meatloaf

(Serves 6, from Eating For Life)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Heinz Ketchup
3/4 cup old fashion oats
4 egg whites
1 cup salsa
1 onion chopped
1 1/4 pound lean ground turkey
1 package Knorr dry vegetable soup mix

Directions

Mix turkey, oats, egg whites, salsa, onion, and soup mix together.

Mold into pan. Top with the ketchup and bake for 1 hour.

I’m normally not a fan of meatloaf, but I liked how this recipe tasted. The salsa and the soup mix adds great flavor to the meatloaf. It was moist too.

I’ve eaten the leftovers in wraps but my favorite way to eat meatloaf is with a side of roasted vegetables.

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I hope you are enjoying your holiday weekend!

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