Runyon Canyon Hike

Yesterday was a great day. 

I started my day off at Brick for the 10:30am team WOD. I am in love with Brick. The trainers are extremely knowledgeable and motivating and the members are so welcoming and full of energy. Crossfit is the best, I can't get enough! 

After lunch Cort and I decided to drive to Hollywood to hike up Runyon Canyon. I've been told that the hike is a must once you move to LA, so I was excited to check it out. 

It definitely did not disappoint! The weather was beautiful and there were a ton of people hiking with their dogs ( I miss my dogs so much!!). 

And there was this guy...

He just randomly busted out this crazy yoga position and literally held it for like 5 minutes. 

(I was being a bit of a stalker)....

It was a 1.25 mile hike to the top, and once we got up there the view was awesome. We had a perfect view of the Hollywood sign, although it looks far away in the picture we were actually pretty close. Hiking to the Hollywood sign is next on my list. 

Thanks to my wonderful friend Caitlin Eberly, Cort and I drove to Cafe Gratitude (click on this link and check out the menu!!) after our hike to get a bite to eat. Caitlin recommended I check this spot out and after going online and looking at the menu I couldn't wait to chow down on some serious delicious vegan food. 

I ordered the "I Am Whole" bowl which was a "Macrobiotic bowl with sea vegetables, stewed adzuki beans, raw kale, carrots, house-made red cabbage kim chee and sea whip and black sesame seed gomasio with quinoa, tahini-garlic sauce and teriyaki almonds"...Whew, quite the mouthful! It was insanely good. Just look at all of those colors! 

For dessert we got the turtle cheesecake (remember this is a vegan restaurant so the fact that they managed to make a deliciously rich cheesecake without any dairy is amazing), vanilla ice cream made with coconut milk, and two green teas. 

The desserts were definitely the best part of the meal. I am looking forward to going back for breakfast because that menu looks amazing!

Have a relaxing Sunday everyone! 

Chunky Monkey Greek Yogurt Ice Cream

I have learned to become a fan of greek yogurt pretty recently. I've tried it numerous times in the past and I always thought it had an odd flavor that I could never get used to. However, it is such a great source of protein, in fact the FAGE Total 0% Greek Yogurt that I use has 0 grams of fat and 18 grams of protein in one little container! So I have sucked it up and learned to like, in fact love greek yogurt. Especially when I use it to make Chunky Money Greek Yogurt Ice cream =).

Chunky Monkey Greek Yogurt Ice Cream Recipe

-1 container of nonfat greek yogurt 

-1 tablespoon of chia seeds

-1 small spoonful of almond or peanut butter

-2 tablespoons of chocolate powdered peanut butter (or 1 tbsp of powdered peanut butter and 1tbsp of unsweetened cocoa powder)

-1 peanut butter cookie larabar (or whatever your favorite bar/flavor happens to be!)

Directions
-Mix the chia seeds, almond butter, and the powdered chocolate peanut butter into the greek yogurt and freeze for 40 minutes
-Take it out, mix it around, and sprinkle the Lara Bar on top.
-DIG IN!

This literally taste like you are eating a bowl of Ben and Jerry's. It is so thick, creamy, crunchy, and delicious!

Hello again!

Hello to all of my readers!

It has been a long, long time since my last post, and so many awesome things have happened. I've been in sunny California for exactly one month and I'm loving every minute! We are about a 10-40 minute drive to Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Laguna, Newport, Malibu... you name it. So Cort and I have enjoyed exploring California and spending time in all of these beautiful, sunny places.

I am also in love with our kitchen so I have been cooking and baking up a storm! It is twice the size as the one I had in State College and it even has a garbage disposal and an ice maker... two things I never knew I could appreciate so much.

Last night's dinner was VEGGIE-LICIOUS! I made a trip to Whole Foods after crossfit to stock up on fruits and veggies for the week. I wanted to make a protein packed vegetarian meal for dinner so I grabbed two cans of beans as well. 

This meal is so easy anyone can make it and the flavors were delish!

Bean and Veggie Bowl 

Serves 2-3

-1/2 can no salt added black beans

-1/2 can no salt added white beans

-a handful of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

-about 10-15 brussel sprouts, sliced in half

-1 cup chopped carrots

-a handful of green beans, cut into pieces

-2 tbsp of olive oil

-salt and pepper 

Directions:

-Toss the sliced brussel sprouts and carrots in 2 tbsp of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and put in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes.

-Add the sliced cherry tomatoes to the brussel sprouts and carrots, and let roast for an additional 10 minutes. 

-While the veggies are roasting, boil the green beans in a pan of water for a few minutes

-Drain the water, and add the black and white beans (drained and rinsed) into the same pan on low heat

-Take the veggies out of the oven and combine with the beans in the pan

-Let all of the ingredients cook together for another few minutes

-Serve and enjoy!