Yoga was WAY OVERDUE. I was so stiff!!! I had been going once a week for the longest time and got busy and my I could tell today. The class was great – super sweaty and hard – and I feel like I got a new body. My leg didn’t hurt at all except for Half Moon on the right side. When I locked my knee for the pose it hurt. I had to keep it slightly bended. Odd…
Things I Am Required To Do Once A Week
- Eat sardines (for the essential fatty acids – For the mind!)
- Hot yoga (For the body)
- Have a nice dinner with family (For the soul)
After yoga I considered the food groups I had covered already and decided to have a vegetable rich, hydrating snack: juice!
Brought out the Breville Juice Fountain
And filled it with celery, carrot, apple, spinach, lime and an additional 3 kale stalks for more green volume
Post-yoga perfection!
At 5:30, Karen showed up for a family dinner!!! She always makes the night more festive.
Matt and I poured a little wine – because it was a perfect spring evening and we needed something to de-glaze the pan!
We all sat out on our patio and chatted for a while. It was so pleasant!
Meanwhile, Anson Mills Grits cooked in the crockpot! A famous South Carolina specialty!
We cooked some fresh Carolina shrimp with mushrooms and bacon and lemon and white wine on the stovetop to smother the grits. Karen brought up the shrimp just this week from the low country!
I only made it through about 75% of my portion and gave the rest to Matt. But MY were they good!!
We also prepared a green salad, inspired by a salad Karen had had in Charleston
Arugula, frisee, dates, parmesan, a light vinaigrette, and toasted pistachios, pumpkin seeds and cashews
It was incredible!
Bevs
I had a splash more wine with dinner 😳
Karen was nice enough to bring onions on the side to add to her dish!
They did make it look pretty 🙂
For dessert, I brought out the Chocomize for Karen to try. She liked it juuuuust fiiiine.
I had a taste of each. Like the butterscotch toffee the best!!
Guess who has a Nuttzo addiction!? Karen is totally addicted!!! She actually bought a CASE of four jars! Matt and I joke that we have to find her an even more expensive jar of nut butter to become addicted to (say $50!? haha). I had her taste the new Nuttzo PF kind tonight and she was totally relieved to find that she likes the texture of the original more (since it’s slightly less expensive than the PF). I was surprised because I like the PF more!! Tomorrow morning the KERF Shop is having a 10% off discount on the PF if you’ve been wanting to try it.
This girl is going to finish this book once and for all!!
This weekend was AMAZING, and I’m sad for it to end. But the good news is only 5 days until the next one begins!!! I can’t wait!! I’ve already planned a pedicure for next weekend with a gift certificate I’ve had since Xmas! It’s that time of year…
KatieTX says
I just spent a whole weekend at a yoga certification/workshop! 20 hours of talking about yoga or doing it. Amazing. We practiced half moon ALOT! It is so tough! Comment about locking the knee: It is advised that we don’t lock joints in yoga, instead there is something called root lock of the pelvic floor. Try locking the muscles of the inner thighs/pelvis/transverse abdominals next time and see how different it feels. You should feel stable with no pain. Happy yoga-ing!
Kath says
Thanks Katie. I guess I should say that I don’t really lock my knee – but complete extension (compared to slight bend) did make it hurt more than not.
I’m almost sure it’s my popliteus muscle after some research!
Carrie @ I See Monsters says
That is basically my perfect dinner. Wow and yum. 🙂
Megan @ The Oatmeal Diaries says
What a great picture of the shrimp & grits; so Southern Living-esque!
jen trinque says
Looks live a lovely spring evening….
Jaclyn says
Yum those shrimp and grits look outstanding, seriously craving them now!! Love the addition of lime to your juice, never thought of that!
Glad you had a good weekend!!
Daniel says
Sounds like a great evening! I love the grits idea, it sounds really tasty. 🙂
Kerry says
I like your 3 things for body, mind, and soul! And I tried sardines for the first time last night and they were great. Definitely less fishy than tuna, and much tastier.
Bridget says
Your dinner looks amazing! Thanks for always sharing such great recipes with unique ingredients!
Jessica @ How Sweet It Is says
I have never had grits! The dinner looks so yummy.
Julie @savvyeats says
Me neither!
Heather says
Kath, great tip about using kale in the juice – the leaves don’t have much juice in them but the stems do. So when I trim up a bunch of kale, I keep the stems in a ziploc bag and save them for juice. I get to eat my kale and drink my juice, too! 🙂
Kath says
Nice idea!
Lisa says
Wine is good! It’s healthy too–antioxidants! 😀
Heather says
I still haven’t bought any of that chocolate! I keep forgetting. yum yum!
Food Makes Fun Fuel says
Eating with family is a great goal. And I love that you think on a weekly level! That’s so good; I try to think daily and then get caught up if I miss something. It’s just not enough time in the end
jenna says
is karen your mother in law, right?!
dinner looks delish as well as the chocolate 😉
jenna
Kath says
Yes! Matt’s mom.
jenna says
no your friend!
theemptynutjar says
What book are you reading? Lovely meal.
Kath says
Just finished The Last Song. It was just OK.
Hannah says
I love that Karen brought her own onions. That’s true comfort-in-the-family. I think I’m getting more glad I can’t access Nuttzo… need to save my moolah 😛
Lauren @ eater not a runner says
I totally want a juicer!! Do you like the one you have?
Kath says
Yep! It’s the only one I’ve ever played with, but I have no complaints and I think Breville is the premier brand
Jil @ Peace, Love & Munchies says
Ahhh those grits look amazing…and I really want a juicer!!
Jessica @ The Process of Healing says
Your shrimp dish sounds amazing, and so easy!!! I will have to try that because I LOVE shrimp and grits!
Heather (Heather's Dish) says
what a fun time. i think that those 3 things are definitely SO important, especially spending time with family! you guys have inspired me to try shrimp and grits sometime soon! surprisingly i’ve never had it before 🙂
kate says
I love that Karen brought her onions in a baggie!
Midgetkeeper says
Family dinners are a must.
My friend from SC made shrimp and grits for me and it was delicious. Yum!
Melissa @ For the Love of Health says
wow- that meal looks so perfect! mmmm shrimp!
I like your weekly must-haves 🙂
I am so looking forward to reading your blog daily again!
Take care!
Wendy says
I’m midwestern, not southern, but those grits look really good!
I like the way you think – only 5 days til next weekend! 🙂
Jenn (www. j3nn.net ) says
Those are some beautiful shrimp! Your dinner looks lovely. Great company enhances the taste of everything. 🙂
Jenn
KL says
Hey Kath,
I don’t comment often but I wanted to respond to the notion of “locking your knees.” You should actually never be locking your knees in yoga. When you lock your knee what you are really doing is hyperextending, and when you do that your body is resting on the bones and you’re not really using your muscles. I used to hyperextend (i.e., lock) my knees ALL the time, and when my yoga teacher showed me what I was doing it made a HUGE difference in my practice. Your practice will be much deeper if you keep a microbend in your knee (note that for us hyperextenders, a microbend feels like our knees are SUPER bent, but in fact they are just actually straight!). Plus if locking/hyperextending your knee is hurting the back of it, I bet you are overstretching something back there by locking. Try keeping awareness of how often you are locking your knees in daily life and keep a microbend in your knees on a daily basis and in yoga and I think you will be amazed by the results!
KL
Kath says
Thanks for the tip. I know not to lock my knees – I was just conveying how I got the pain to come. But thanks!
KL says
Yes sorry, I saw that at the top after I commented (I came through Google Reader and it just took me to the end of the post). I think I’d stand by the recommendation though that if you find it hurts from straightening out your knee you may still be overstretching something back there. One thing to do is to really engage the muscles around the knee to support it while you are in the poses, so you don’t strain whatever is already straining. I have some hamstring strain and engaging all the muscles of the legs really strongly ALL the time a) feels almost impossible but b) is really helpful. 🙂
Michelle @ Give Me the Almond Butter says
I’ve never had grits, but I’ve always wanted to try them 🙂
Erin (Travel, Eat, Repeat) says
I need to try some Nutzo — yum!
Veggielady4life says
I’m glad you had such a nice weekend! Hopefully this week will be pretty interesting at your internship… and before you know it… Friday afternoon will be here! 😀
Wei-Wei says
Haha I love how the apple has a bite chomped out of it! I totally do that when making stuff… 😀 Your dinner looks fabulous! Loving the shrimps 😉
Cheers to a great week ahead! 😀
Wei-Wei
Andrea (Tastebud Approved) says
I always feel soooooo wonderful after doing yoga to cure a stiff body!
lynn (The Actors Diet) says
this post reminds me i should drink from wine glasses more!
Maddie says
Long time lurker…but finally commenting because I CAN RIDE MY BIKE to Edna Valley Vineyard!! Yay I love seeing CA Central Coast wines 🙂
Kath says
SO JEALOUS!!!
Anne @ Food Loving Polar Bear says
Great dinner, I love shrimp but rarely prepare anything of them at home because my boyfriend does not like seafood, but maybe I could try one more time to change his mind with that recipe 😉
I had a lovely yoga filled weekend too and I wanted to thank you for introducing YogaDownload! I read about it in your blog for the first time months ago and now finally had the courage to try it at home 🙂
Camille says
I heard that they are closing the last sardine factory in the US! I don’t know what that means for sardine distribution… they can’t completely stop selling the, right?
Kath says
I know – I linked to that last week or so. I don’t know what it means for sardines!/
Louise says
dinner looks fantastic, and your smoothies always look great!
If only I could find a vita-mix here.. *sigh* 😀
Freya @ Brit Chick Runs says
Ahh a pedicure – that is definetly something to look forward to!
I like your three things to do once a week – the family one is a very good idea 🙂
If you were vegetarian, where would you get the omega 6(or is it 3 in sardines?) from?
Kath says
It’s omega-3 and that’s precisely why I’m not a vegetarian 🙂
You could get them from nut + seed sources like flax, walnuts, chia seeds but the conversion rates are thought to be very low so it’s not nearly as good of a source. There are also algae sources of omega-3s (where the fish get them!) but getting them in supplement form is a more expensive choice than eating the sardines once or twice a week.
Julie says
I love how you set that goal of once-a-week! Have to do that myself.
I have to have me some shrimps tonight i think. I’m thinking polenta with garlic shrimps and salad. Your food always looks so appetizing! I love how salad and vegetables are usually the base, with grains, meat and fish being the side-dishes. I think a lot of people could learn from that…
Christie {Honoring Health} says
Nothing beats a green juice after yoga, I swear! It is like your body is screaming for it after becoming that hot sweaty puddle!
lisa says
Sounds like you had a great weekend. Don’t you love the ones that are so good you never want them to end? I find the more I slow down on the weekends, the longer they feel and the more I enjoy them.
I was trying to eat fatty fishes once a week last year, but then read information on the amount of pesticides in fish. I know all information is biased, but the book I read made the point that the pesticides overrule the benefits of fish. What are your thoughts on this? (I miss my sardines, so maybe I could eat fish twice a month…)
Kath says
Do you mean toxins? My understanding is the smaller the fish, the better because they don’t build up as much, so I think sardines are one of the best fish choices.
lisa says
Yup, I meant toxins. Early morning writing sometimes leaves me struggling for words…thanks for posting about Dr. Weil. I always like to read his health advice, so maybe I’ll get back into my fish eating.
Lauren says
Looks like a lovely family dinner :). I love adding dried fruit – such as dried crans, raisins, and dried cherries – to my salads, but I never though to add dates. Fabulous idea!
Have a great Monday, Kath!
Lauri says
Your S&G look YUMMY!! We were actually gonna make S&G last night too!!! But Earthfare only had shrimp from a land far far away, so we went with chiken instead 😀 Have a GREAT week!
Kath says
Good synopsis on fish by Dr. Weil. Interesting that he went from vegetarian to adding them back after 15 years for the nutrition!
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02049/facts-about-fish.html
Paige (Two Runners And A Brown Dog) says
Oooh…those shrimp and grits look A–MA–ZING!!!
Tracy says
I agree with you: I like Nuttzo PF more, too!
Amanda @ Cakes and Ale says
Being from Chicago, I had never had grits until about a year ago when I visited my sister who’s in Law School at Duke. I can’t believe I’ve been missing out on them for so long! Lately, I’ve been making em in the morning… they remind me of the cream of wheat I used to eat as a kid!
Carolyn @ lovinlosing says
OMG…looks liek shrimp and grits to me!! If you ever feel like being a bit decadent I have an amazing recipe for you: http://www.spicelines.com/2008/06/recipe_snobs_spicy_shrimp_and.htm.
Rebecca @ How the Cookies Crumble says
I haven’t been to yoga in ooooooh so long. Oh how I miss yoga and how it relaxes my mind. I’m still waiting on my little surgery I had under my arm to heal. Anytime I accidentally lift my arms above my head for a deep stretch it still [after 3 weeks!] causes excruciating pain!
Your dinner sure makes me miss the South! Shrimp & grits looks amazing! and the salad too!
Cynthia (It All Changes) says
Hunni saw that juicer while we were buying a wedding present on Friday and totally asked me to buy it so he could make his own apple juice. Made me think of your blog.
Carrie (Love Healthy Living) says
How did you like the wine? Edna Valley is right by where I live! It was exciting to see it on your blog. 🙂