Vinyasa Flow Playlist

40 Minute Yoga Playlist

Throughout my life I have been an off again, on again yoga lover. I began taking classes with my yogini mother when I was just a little girl, and it has never left me. When I begin to feel stressed or my body feels out of line I know it's time to break out the mat and reunite with my old friend. Recently I decided to work on my practice at home and strengthen my skills in sequencing as well as practice. My routine changes depending on my area of focus and how far I want to challenge myself. But one factor stays the same, my playlist. Through trial and error I have come up with what I consider to be a great 40 minute playlist. This takes you through a warm up, into sun salutations, warrior sequence, balance work, an option of hip opener or wheel sequence and finally ends with savasana.


Vinyasa Flow Playlist:
Awake My Soul: Mumford and Sons
Intro: The xx
Team: Lorde
Pompeii: Bastille
Breath of Life: Florence + The Machine
Glory and Gore: Lorde
Anything Could Happen: Ellie Goulding
Young Blood: Birdy
I'm Not Calling You A Liar: Florence + The Machine
Slow Dancing in a Burning Room: John Mayer

After finally mastering crow pose, I have been working on my inversions, specifically, forearm stands. While I am not where I want to be I will continue to take it one day at a time. For now, I am grateful for the days I can unroll my mat and live in the moment on that 68"x 24" space. I am happy to have found a space where the rest of the world ceases to exist. Have you found yours?

Freezer Meal Mania

Just a few months ago my big sister was blessed with the arrival of her two (perfect) twin girls. I cannot tell you how excited I am to be an aunt twice over, and how much I immediately wished I lived closer to her. I bought a plane ticket to visit and I began planning out ways to be most helpful to a new mom. From 700 miles away freezer meals seemed to be the best way to leave lasting help and I knew it was time to scour Pinterest. I was overwhelmed with all the posts boasting freezer meals ease and affordability. However, I was disappointed to find that most of these miracle blog posts were nothing more than a handful of meals repeated or recipes that didn't sound delicious or nutritious. My goal was to leave as many actually enjoyable meals as possible when I left after my visit, and clearly it was going to take some planning. I started collecting a recipe here, a winner there, something that can be modified over here, and before I knew it I was ready to make a shopping list.

Now, part of the benefit of making mass meals from one shopping trip, and heavy planning, is the ability to shop sales and save money. Since I was traveling and on a limited time line I was worried the costs would be high. However, even with a local market strike, we managed to shop around and create 16 meals (each with a minimum of four servings) for just over $100. I couldn't believe my good shopping luck! The majority of recipes I made came from three websites, The Realistic Organizer, Ring Around the Rosies, and Loving My Nest. Thanks fellow bloggers!

16 Freezer Meals for $100

Prepared Freezer Meals

I read through countless recipes, considered taste, nutrition and the least amount of add ons at the time of cooking and created a 12 recipe list to send to my sister. From there, she picked 9 winners and we decided to double a few for a total of 16 meals. (The total also included chili that I set up in the crock pot before leaving, stay tuned for that delicious recipe. As well as chicken enchiladas and chicken pot pies. These two freezer recipes are in the Google Drive but are oven cooked once defrosted.) For your cooking convince I have created a sharable Google Drive folder with all the recipes I used and one combined shopping list. Click here for recipes and shopping list. 

Lessons Learned and Advice:

• Write recipes and instructions on gallon zip locks before filling them. I wrote instructions in black and additions at cook time in blue. 
• Most recipes should be served with rice and veggies, I bought a box of success rice bags and frozen vegetables for ease and convenience. 
• Unless you plan to make multiples (more than double) of the same recipes I do not recommend cutting meat and vegetables ahead of time like other sites do. I found it confusing; it added extra steps, dirtied dishes and challenged my ability to judge portion sizes. 
• If something seems off, try to fix it now. One meal I made seemed dry. I added an extra can of soup broth and it was well worth it. 
• Get low sodium when ever you can. If you're not careful these meals can be loaded with sodium which challenges health and taste. Try to find low sodium broths, beans and sauces. 
• Turn up the freezer! If you're really loading it down, like we did, you'll need it to be working over time. We turned the temperature way down to freeze everything in a safe, timely manner. 
• Because of the late summer timing of my visit I tried to avoid strictly winter recipes like stews and soups. If I were to make a round two I would use a lot of recipes from Loving My Nest. Jessica posts a lot of delicious stew and soup recipes and hope to refill the freezer with these on my next visit.

The Perfect Sugar Cookie

I don't have an outrageous sweet tooth, I don't swoon for chocolate, but I absolutely love to bake. I can remember baking apple pies with my mother one summer so frequently that we memorized the recipe. There is something very satisfying about creating something beautiful that brings consumable joy to others. Over the summer I love to use fresh ingredients and make seasonal treats. In other words, I save the heavy chocolate desserts for winter. Recently I made and mailed sugar cookies to a friend who said they were his favorite. They were received with thanks and satisfaction, but I realized I did not have a tried and true sugar cookie recipe. Years ago, when I first moved to Baltimore, we used to walk to Cross Street Market for a can of Coke and a sweet treat. Without fail I would always pick sugar cookies with a soft, chewy center and baked in sprinkles . So I turned to the internet to find a recipe to make my own perfect sugar cookie. Pinterest did not let me down, and soon linked me to a sprinkle loving blogger.

Sally's Baking Addiction is a great site for all things delicious. Sally has done the hard work for us by testing and re-testing her recipes and provides specific instructions and beautiful pictures. This recipe uses cream of tartar which gives the cookies a cake like consistency, similar to snicker doodle cookies.  I followed Sally's recipe almost exactly. She calls for a room temperature egg, which the first time I attempted I forgot about and had to throw away because it had spoiled. The next time I set a one hour timer and it was perfect. I did not want sprinkles inside the cookies and instead just rolled the top of the dough in sprinkles before chilling. Next time I will double the recipe because these little babies are delicious!

Soft Baked Funfetti Sugar Cookies

Sugar Cookie Chilled Dough 

(Recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
sprinkles

In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter for about one minute on medium speed. Add the sugar until fluffy and light in color. Mix in the egg and vanilla until fully blended.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cream of tartar. (I recommend sifting these items together to avoid clumping.) Blend into the wet mixture in three parts on low speed. The dough will be thick and may need to be combined with a spoon by hand. (At this point, if you want sprinkles inside the cookies, gently fold 1/2 cup of sprinkles into dough.)

The Perfect Sugar Cookie

Scoop about 2 tablespoons worth of dough out of the bowl and roll into tall discs. Dip in sprinkles to coat and place on a lined baking sheet. Place cookies in the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours or up to 48 hours. (You can also freeze cookies once the discs have rested in the refrigerator.) When ready for baking, preheat the oven to 350 degree. Bake refrigerated dough for 8 minutes* (cookies will appear undercooked). Allow to cool on cookie sheet for 3 minutes before moving to wire racks to cool. Cookies stay soft and fresh and room temperature for upto 1 week. (Though if they last that long at your house you may have done something wrong!) Enjoy.

*I am currently using an electric over which I have learned takes longer to cook that recipes typically call for. I baked the cookies for 9 and a half minutes instead. Use your best judgement and know your kitchen.

Couch Potato Fitness

I am beyond lucky to have a beautiful gym right here in my building. I am also lucky enough to have a flexible schedule that allows me to work out when no one else does. But even with the best intentions, and the best case scenario, some days I just don't want to work out. We've all been there. Or at least that's what I tell myself on those days. I recently stumbled on this website that gathered TV workouts for 43 different shows. I was intrigued. You mean I can work out while doing the most lazy thing of all? Sign me up.

The lists are tailored to shows and mix up your workouts for a great core training. And while I loved the concept, I found some of them to be too tricky or just too complicated for me to really stick to it. I was motivated though and took it upon myself to make up an any show TV workout. Made to be done during any commercial break, during one show a night, with repeat sets of the same workout. For the floor work, I sit right in front of the TV and for anything standing up I use my kitchen island for balance. Hope this inspires some of you couch potatoes too.

Commercial Break Core Workout
30 seconds plank- This is usually the length of one commercial, you can do it!
15 plie squats- Wide stance, toes turned out. (For an added calf workout rise to your toes when you're in a deep plie.)

10 reverse leg lifts per side- I do this standing up at the island but you can also do this from the floor.

10 side bends per side- Use a light weight for this if you're feeling motivated, if you don't have one, grab two water bottles!

10 push ups- Nothing works those arms like a good old fashion push up.
10 inner thigh lifts per side- This is a bonus but a great thigh toner.

That's it! Work that into 5 commercial breaks and you'll be happy when the show is over. Anyone have any at home fitness favorites?

Fresh is Best

One of my absolute favorite things about Detroit is Eastern Market. Every Saturday vendors from near and far come to sell fresh produce, prepared food and plants in downtown Detroit. I truly loved our market in Baltimore  and knew it would be one of the things I missed the most. So you can imagine my joy when we found Eastern Market and all it has to offer. We have come to buy the majority of our groceries here every week, and even a collection of plants for our windowsill garden. (More on that to come later.) I am constantly impressed by the amazing fresh and local produce and the affordability of it all. Last week, among other things, I picked up a gem of an eggplant for just one dollar! I decided to try a new recipe, eggplant parmesan, with my dollar investment this week for a delicious meatless Monday dinner. And it was in fact delicious. I treated the eggplant just like chicken in it's preparation and presentation, though I have heard it served a lot of different ways. This summer my most used ingredient was zucchini; boats, spirals, lasagna, we did it all. As summer comes to an end it may be time to switch to eggplant, and this was a great introduction.

Eggplant Parmesan with Pasta

Eggplant Parmesan
1 large eggplant (Try to find one with a consistent diameter for even cooking.)
1 cup italian style bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 eggs- lightly beaten
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 lb pasta
Tomato sauce (I defrosted a freezer bag from a large sauce batch, but store bought always works.)

Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees and place an over rack in the top section of the over. Grease a cookie sheet or line with non-stick aluminum foil. In a shallow bowl, beat the two eggs. In another shallow bowl, combine the bread crumbs with parmesan cheese. (At this point, if you choose you can remove the skin from the eggplant. I like the texture so I leave it on.) Slice the eggplant into one inch thick discs. Dip the eggplant discs one at a time into the egg then the breadcrumbs mixture. Place the coated eggplant on the baking dish and repeat steps for each piece of eggplant. Place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and flip the eggplant. Spoon sauce onto the eggplant and top with mozzarella cheese, return to the over for an additional 5 minutes or until the cheese is hot and bubbly. Serve with pasta.

Do you have any eggplant favorites I should be trying?

Where've You Been All My Life?

Hello there, or should I say, "Welcome back!" It's been two years since I last blogged and recently I have been feeling inspired. As I continue to spread geographically farther from people in my life I continue to search for ways to stay connected. I have been toying with blogging again and after a little push from my mother, here I am. I left the blogosphere just after my sister got married and a lot has changed since then. So weather you are a former follower or are just joining me, allow me to (re)introduce myself.

I am a New York native, turned West Virginian, turned Baltimorean, turned Michigander. That's right, I'm a gypsy! A proud Detroit living, mid-west loving gypsy these days. I am a former Baltimore teacher and proud of the years I spent doing one of the hardest jobs around. I love to read and am always looking for book recommendations, preferably before they're turned into movies. I inherited the travel bug from my adventurous parents and have loved exploring the world. In 2013 I was lucky enough to marry my husband and best friend under a full moon on a sandy Tulum beach. And just this year we packed up our lives and headed to the mitten to start a new chapter of our lives. Moving to Detroit has meant a big shake up for our family. Currently I am searching for my next professional venture, which means a lot of time for exploring, exercising and cooking. All of which I hope to share with you right here.

When I last blogged I found myself writing more and more what my growing community of followers wanted, and less and less of what I wanted to write about. I was so grateful for the warm response and growing community that it was hard to steer away. But this time my focus is a little different. As I stand on the cusp of a new decade I find myself shifting priorities and interests. Follow along as I as I navigate through this new chapter and hopefully I can share some ideas that will inspire you.