Long time, No see...whoops....

So it's been a busy few days but I'm back :)  On Friday I took the plunge!  I spoke with my future trainer Patrice and we made our first appointment for this coming Wednesday.  At the first appointment, we will be doing the good ol' calipers along with some strength and flexibility tests.  It's all a part of getting to know me and where I am at physically. 

Patrice is recommending that we meet twice a week, which means the twenty sessions will only last approximately two and a half months.  I definitely have to make the most of every minute!  I already told Patrice that I would like her to come up with workouts for me to do on the days I don't work out with her as well.  My two goals that I want to work towards is getting my BMI into a healthy range and be able to do a pull-up!  Two months isn't enough time to accomplish either of those goals but a definite step in the right direction.

On Saturday, I made another delicious batch of avocado banana bread.  I made two loaves and froze one of them so we shall see how that turns out.  I changed up the recipe a little bit by adding some protein powder and a few chocolate chips.  I also used all whole wheat flour rather than spelt and oat flour.  I'm planning on using this for a grab and go breakfast for a couple days this week.

I also went to a Potomac Nationals game with my honey on Saturday night.  It was a lot of fun.  Thank goodness it didn't rain!

Today was such a good food day!  I made two new recipes, both of which I thought were keepers :)  For dinner I made inside-out pork dumplings.  It was my first time cooking with baby bok choy and wonton wrappers.  They were both yummy!  It's a great idea.  You cut the wonton wrappers into strips and boil them in water like noodles.  So you cook up the ground pork with some ginger, garlic and scallions.  Add baby bok choy, shredded carrots, bean sprouts, wonton noodles and some rooster sauce and you've got a super delicious meal!

And those are the other cooking success for the day :)  These were a bit of an invention since I didn't get all the ingredients that I needed.  These were supposed to be made with amaranth.  I went to Wegmans to see if they had it but they did not.  So then I came up with an idea....the amaranth looked small and seedy in the picture on the recipe so I decided to substitute quinoa instead.  I was pleasantly surprised with my quinoa clusters.  I think they will make an excellent snack at work and even Julia likes them!  These are a much better alternative to cookies.

Quinoa Clusters

1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup quinoa
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup chopped dried cherries
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1/4 cup honey
2 large eggs (whites only)
1/4 tsp salt

Combine oats, quinoa, almonds, dried fruit and honey in a bowl.  Whisk egg whites with salt until foamy.  Pour over dried fruit and stir to combine.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment.  Scoop 3 tablespoons of mixture and pat into 3-inch rounds on baking sheet.  Bake until golden brown, approximately 15-18 minutes.  Let cool completely and eat within a week.

~Andrea