Asian Baked Tofu

Good evening friends!

I hope that everyone has had amazingly productive days.  My afternoon was spent listening to the same songs over and over again practicing my choreography for my BodyPump certification coming up this Saturday.  I am definitely getting the hang of things, but I am also definitely nervous because I am not sure what to expect.  I just have to remember to have fun with it, and do my best.

Lunch

I took a break for lunch and made myself a delicious salad of spinach and romaine topped with cauliflower, broccoli, tomato, red onion, cucumber, and tuna, all topped with a combination of mom’s homemade salsa and the last of my homemade hummus.  The salad was delicious, but I was craving a little something sweet…so I had two of these:

Don’t worry, recipe coming soon!

After listening to the same songs on repeat and memorizing the new BodyPump release, Brian finally came home and got to be my guinea pig!  We didn’t actually use dumbbells, but I took him through the two tracks that I am expected to have memorized for Saturday.  It is so helpful actually seeing someone do the exercises that I am instructing.  Based on what I see him doing, I can then correct and cue accordingly.  When I am talking to myself…things get a little bit boring.

I then took Brian through his Boot Camp workout routine, and the next thing I knew it was time for dinner.

 Dinner

I have been experimenting with a lot of different ways to use tofu, lately, and tonight I came up with a really tasty recipe that Brian (the meat eater) and I were both able to enjoy!

Asian Baked Tofu

Ingredients:

• 1 block of tofu (drained)
• 1/8 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Cut the drained tofu into slices that are about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.  Place the soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and onion in a bowl and mix thoroughly.  Allow each piece of tofu to soak in the mixture for a couple of seconds on each side.

Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and place the marinated tofu slices on the sheet.

 Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, flipping each piece halfway through.

I served the tofu alongside some oven roasted cauliflower, broccoli, and onion.  The meal was flavorful and so tasty 🙂  We both cleaned our plates.

Now, Brian and I are watching Jeapordy, (one of my favorite shows) and have big plans of hanging out on the couch, relaxing and watching Modern Family tonight.

Questions of the night:

• Do you shout out the answers to Jeopardy at the TV??   I sure do!!! Sometimes I am pretty good 😉
• I am looking for a new protein powder to try?  Any suggestions of vegan or vegetable based protein supplements?

Snack Attack

Good afternoon!

The majority of my morning before volunteering and my afternoon after volunteering has looked like this:

Studying the new release of BodyPump in preparation for my certification course this weekend.  After I make dinner, workout with Brian, and attend a BodyPump class…the rest of my night will probably look very similar.

I did manage to have time for lunch 😉  Today, I had a spinach and romaine salad with sunflower seeds, tomato, and tuna topped with my mom’s homemade salsa.

 

Snacks

As I was leaving today, I made sure to pack a snack in my bag because I knew that I would be unable to eat lunch until much later than my usual lunch time.  Whenever I pack a snack, I try to make sure that it is light and has a balance of carbohydrates, protein, and fat so that I am able to stay satisfied for longer without necessarily having to eat a ton.

My snack today was simple:  string cheese, 6 Kashi Original 7 Grain Crackers, and 6 almonds.  My snack packed around 10grams of protein (for staying power) and clocked in at only 163 calories.  Not too bad if you ask me.

Here are some other easy and balanced snack ideas:

• 2 homemade protein bars

• 1/2 cup cottage cheese with half an apple and 1 tsp of nut butter
• 1 container of yogurt or Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup of chopped veggies dipped 2 Tbsp of hummus with 3 almonds and 1 ounce of cheese
• 1/3 cup of plain oats, about 1/3 scoop of protein powder, and 6 peanuts chopped and sprinkled on top for some crunch
• 1/3-1/2 can of tuna mixed with 1/4 cup of Greek yogurt and about 1/2 cup of chopped veggies (I like celery, bell peppers, and red onion)
• 2 Peanut Butter Protein Balls

• Smoothie:  1/3 banana, 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, 1/3 scoop protein powder, ice

Question of the Afternoon:

What are some of your favorite snack ideas?

 

 

Keys and Americans

Good Morning (for me!) Good Night (for you!)

 

I didn’t post yesterday because it was a bit of a hectic morning.  My original plan was to wake up at 5am and Skype with Brian, study, blog, and head to the gym.  None of that actually ended up happening though because I woke up at 7am!  Now, this still gave me plenty of time to get ready and get to training, but nothing else was able to get accomplished.  On top of this, when I went to leave, I realized that I didn’t have my key!

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I searched and searched because we need our keys to check in for breakfast, and I had no luck.  I then went downstairs and informed the front desk so that I could have a meal voucher instead.  So, I was able to eat but I had no key.  Luckily, I am literally never in my room.

Class today wasn’t so bad.  The past couple of days we have been working on learning specific speeches and our consultations.  We have to practice everything now to get all of the kinks out because when we get on a ship, there will be no time for mistakes.  Things are also moving at a very fast pace.  After the first night, we needed to be ready to present a four page seminar with simply notecards.  It was difficult, but I was able to get it done…now I am working on memorizing that seminar!

I feel  like there is always a chance that we could be asked to perform anything that we have been taught, so as we are learning things, I am constantly reviewing (or revising as the English say 😉 ).

In my group, I am the only American.  I am constantly surrounded by accents and dialects from literally all over the world and I think that it is amazing!  But for some reason, everyone constantly comments on how great my speaking voice is and how easy it is to listen to because I am American.   While on the other hand, I think that there voices are fascinating!

Our instructor told us that the majority of people who cruise are American, so he was telling us things that “Americans” like to talk about so that we could learn how to make small talk.

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Honestly, these are very vital skills for the profession that we are about to embark in, but I think it is funny that we literally have to be taught about it. He really generalized the American culture by saying that many people never leave the town that they are born in and that the majority of the population doesn’t have passports.  It is always interesting to hear what someone else has to say about you isn’t it?

There are little things that are such a part of my life, and I wouldn’t think twice about talking about the topic with someone that many of  he people I am working with have never heard of!

• Show choir
• March Madness
• Spring Break
• Cheerleaders

And they are all fascinated with the idea of these kinds of topics!  It makes the little things that we do in life seem extra exciting, which is nice.

 

After studying for what seemed like hours (yet somehow there is always more to do) it was time for me to head to bed.  I washed my face, changed my clothes and did the normal routine.  As soon as I stretched my legs out in bed….I found my lost key!

 

The day turned out to be alright after  all.  😉