Getting Out of My Comfort Zone

I’ve been feeling crazy busy lately and my Tuesday just flew by!

Remember when I had dinner at a restaurant specializing in crepes and then said I was going to learn how to make them well myself?

Well, that idea was temporarily put on hold when I spotted these bad boys next to the strawberries at the food store the other day:

I’ve eaten a crepe every morning since I bought them, trying out new fruits and toppings each time. This morning’s recipe was my favorite thus far. I ate it for breakfast, but it definitely could (or maybe should?!) be a dessert.

Apple Pie Crepe for 1

• 1 Ready to use crepe (Melissa’s)
• 1 medium Granny Smith apple, chopped
• 1/2 TSP ground cinnamon
• 1 TSP brown sugar (365 Organic)
• A bit of lemon juice to give it a zing (I squeezed juice from 1/2 of a small lemon)
• 2 TBSPs of vanilla yogurt (Stonyfield Field Farm Oikos Greek)
• A pinch of nutmeg

In a bowl, combine apple, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar. Mix with a spoon.

Pour mixture onto the crepe (I left some apple pieces to throw on top, but this is optional).

Warm crepe up in the microwave, 30-45 seconds (Or, if you have an ancient microwave like me, 1 minute!).

Roll up the crepe, then top with yogurt, remaining apple chunks, and an additional sprinkle of cinnamon.

Nutrition Facts: 190 calories, 1 g fat, 7 g protein, 42 g carbs

My New Workout

I recently purchased a (I think Living Social) deal for unlimited access to a boxing gym. I used to do kickboxing classes all the time and loved them, so I jumped at the chance to change up my workout routine and do some classes again. Plus, the deal was only $25 instead of the usual price of $170, so I just could not resist it.

Now, I am no kickboxing or boxing expert by any means whatsoever. I haven’t even done a class in a few years, though I will pop in one of my Tae-Bo DVDs once in awhile (Did I just admit that on the Internet?). Yesterday when I decided to start my month of membership, I was mostly looking forward to it.

But there was also a thought in the back of my mind… What if I totally suck and have no idea what’s going and look like a complete moron? 

I went to the class anyways.

I was a sweaty mess by the end of my workout. I didn’t know what the hell the instructor was saying probably half of the time. And I got corrected for improper form more than once. But you know what? I had fun doing something challenging that I’m not used to doing. And you know where I was again this evening? My new boxing gym for another ass kicking.

So the point is, sometimes getting out of our comfort zones is a little awkward. We aren’t sure what to expect and are slightly afraid of falling on our faces (sometimes literally, as is the case with doing some of those boxing drills!). But we shouldn’t let that stop us from trying new activities and finding new loves in life.

After all…

“If you only do what you know you can do – you never do very much.” – Tom Krause

Goat Cheese & Veggie Penne

Last night my friend Tiffany and I ate dinner at a place called Crepes & Corks, a cute restaurant and wine bar in Del Mar. San Diego
Restaurant Week is going on right now, an event in which 180+ restaurants in the area feature prix fixed menus at discounted prices. We split a bottle of wine and each had a salad for an appetizer, crepe for our main entrees, and gelato for dessert – for $30 each. So much fun! I had the veggie garden crepe, which was filled with tomatoes, artichoke hearts, grilled onions, spinach, and mozzarella, drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette. I’ve attempted to make crepes before, but they wound up being more like pancakes. I think I need to figure out the secret to good crepes and try to make em again sometime soon – and hopefully recreate this dinner! I love how crepes are so light and you can fill them with whatever your heart desires. YUM.

Today my face was feeling sore due to dental work I had done yesterday and I also had a weird sore throat thing happening, but I still wanted to do some type of workout. I decided to do a low impact gym sess, and low impact to me = elliptical time. I don’t do the elliptical very often because I feel like I get better cardio in with other forms of exercise, but today it was exactly what I wanted. Instead of just plugging away at one level the entire time, I decided to switch it up every few minutes. If you’re a regular elliptical goer, you might be interested in changing your workout up a bit and trying something like what I did today:

Now onto my dinner creation tonight and the title of this post. Quick and easy to put together and full of all kinds of healthy goodness, throwing in a small amount of pine nuts give this meal a crunchy kick. Serves 1.

Cheesy Veggie Penne

What you Need:

2 oz of multigrain penne pasta, I like Barilla Plus (that’s 2/3 cup dry) 

1 oz goat cheese, I used a Trader Joe’s fresh goat cheese medallion

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced

Around 2 cups of baby spinach, coarsely chopped (I’m estimating here since I used 2 large handfuls)

1 TSP olive oil

1 TBSP dry toasted pine nuts

Salt, pepper, and dried basil leaves to taste

• Cook pasta according to directions. While that’s cooking, heat the olive oil up in a medium skillet over medium heat.
• Add tomatoes to the skillet and cook for just a minute, then add in the spinach. Cook just until spinach is wilted, then remove from heat.
• Once penne is cooked and drained, pour it back in the pot.
• Add the veggies to the pasta, then spoon in the cheese in a few different chunks so it can easily be spread throughout all of the pasta.
• Flavor as desired with salt, pepper, and dried basil leaves, then mix the whole thing up well. Throw the pine nuts on top, and enjoy!

Nutrition stats: 407 calories, 17 g fat, 18 g protein, 48 g carbs.

I think last night’s scoop of gelato has started me on an ice cream kick. I’m off to my favorite fro yo spot to treat myself, then I’m watching my latest Netflix movie, Water for Elephants. I’ve seen it once before and love both the book and movie.

And since I’m a big New York Giants fan and my team is playing tomorrow in the divisional championship game to get to the Super Bowl, I can’t resist saying GO GIANTS!! 😉