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Monday - 'Nuff Said

Roasted Salad With New Dressing 
Last night we did have a roasted veggie and tofu salad for dinner. But, I made a new dressing that I was really pleased with: Creamy Balsamic Dressing.

Creamy Balsamic Dressing
Ingredients:
1/4 cup cashews* (really it was a handful so maybe a bit more)
Almond milk (just enough to cover cashews or a bit more for runnier dressing)
To taste: Balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, parsley, onion powder, splash of OJ

Directions:
Puree all ingredients in blender until smooth.

* Either soak cashews for at least 30 minutes or grind in a coffee grinder if you do not have a high-powered blender.

I essentially used the same flavor ingredients (minus cashew cream) as a marinade for the tofu, which I bake until firm and crisp separate from the veggies.
I know that the grilled or roasted veggie salads aren't terribly exciting, but man are they so good! And I'm loving having a creamy dressing option that's vegan.

Bis/Tris and Step
This morning started off foggy, dreary, windy. Pretty much blah, especially for a Monday. I was seriously contemplating ditching all workouts. The weather was just really bringing me down. But I mustered up some energy and got biceps and triceps done during lunch. I'm really glad I did. I felt so much better after the workout. I followed the same rep/set pattern as last week only doing as super sets. The workout really flew by actually.

SS#1 - 3x6
Dumbbell curls
Overhead triceps extension

SS#2
Hammer curls
Lying triceps extensions

SS#3
Incline curls
Kickbacks

SS#4
Cross-body curls
Weighted dips

It was a pretty good workout I must say. On the first set of curls, I did feel a bit weak, but once I got going, it was all good. This gave me a nice energy boost to get me through the rest of a blah Monday.

After work I opted for Cathe's Imax 3. I was only looking for about 30-40 minutes of cardio tops so I just did 35 minutes of this one. There are a couple of the blasts that I really don't like, so if I'm not doing the entire workout, I'll sort of skip over those and pick and choose as I go. 

Cleaning Out the Fridge
After my workout, I started trying to pack for Seattle. I have no idea what to pack. The temps are about 30 degrees cooler and that's hard to imagine. I really really really do not want to break out turtlenecks, sweaters, cardigans. We're going to make every effort to use carry-ons only, but I'm really not sure how to make it work with bulkier clothes. Did I mention I find 70 degrees a bit chilly?
Suggestions are most welcome for packing efficiently with bulkier clothes. Though I'm probably over-estimating how cool it is going to be.

While packing, I started thinking about what needed to be used up food-wise. We have some emptying of the fridge to be done since we're about to head out of town. My sister will be coming up part of the time to watch our dogs, so there are some things I can leave, but she can't possibly go through all the produce and such. I had asparagus to use, leftover red quinoa, and half a container of silken tofu.

I ended up making Red Bean & Quinoa Burgers to eat either tomorrow or Wednesday (leftovers will be frozen). I'll post the the recipe when we have the burgers. For tonight I roasted sweet and russet potatoes with salt, pepper, garlic, parsley, and rosemary along with roasted asparagus finished off with a lemon salt. I used up the tofu by making a Creamy Honey Mustard Sauce to go over Quorn patties.


Creamy Honey Mustard Sauce
Ingredients:
1/2 package firm silken tofu
Almond milk, to desired consistency
Approximately 3 tbsp Dijon mustard
Approximately 3 tbsp honey mustard
To taste: splash of lemon juice, dried, parsley, dried onions and squeeze of agave nectar (or honey)


Directions:
Puree all ingredients in blender until smooth.
 
 
This sauce was super tasty. Not overpoweringly mustardy like it might sound.

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