Workout and quinoa and pumpkin, oh my!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

This morning I had a fabulous workout with a P90X dvd.

Shoulders & Arms (all moves x 2):

1. Alternating shoulder press
2. In & out bicep curls
3. Two-arm tricep kickbacks
4. Deep swimmer's press
5. Full supination concentration curls
6. Chair dips
7. Upright rows
8. Static arm curls
9. Flip-grip twist tricep kickbacks
10. Two-angle shoulder flys
11. Crouching cohen curls
12. Lying-down Tricep extensions
13. In & out straight arm shoulder flys
14. Congdon curls
15. Side tri-rises

Let's just say that it was a really good workout!

To end the workout, I continued with 16 minutes of the P90X Ab Ripper X. This includes 349 ab/core moves. It's a great workout!

Well, after burning some calories and stretching those muscles, I made myself a tasty little smoothie.

Spinach, banana, rice protein powder, hemp protein powder, coconut water, lucuma powder, vanilla stevia, dash of cayenne pepper and cinnamon. All blended with ice.

DELICIOUS and topped with dried shredded coconut.

Absolutely best way to start your day. ;-)

The rest of my day (at work) was pretty uneventful except for actually doing work. Returning home I was pretty hungry and had a craving for Indian food... or chilli... hmmm...
Why not make both?

Indian Quinoa Chili
Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium white onion, chopped
• 1 medium leek, sliced and thoroughly washed
• 1 large carrot
• 2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/4 tsp fresh ginger, finely chopped or grated
• 1 small zucchini
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1/2 - 1 cup daal or lentils
• 1 1/2 tbs curry powder
• 1 - 2 tsp marsala powder (if you have it)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 cups of water or vegetable stock
  
• 2 tbsp coconut cream (coconut meat blended with small amount of water)
• red pepper flakes to taste
• cilantro
  

Heat oil in a large pot/pan then add the onions and leeks. Heat on high heat for 5 minutes.
Add the carrots, garlic, and ginger. Heat for another 2 -3 minutes.

Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes until daal and quinoa are cooked and stock has reduced to your liking.

Serve and top with coconut cream, red pepper flakes, and cilantro.
Pretty good stuff. Mine was accompanied by an Ezekial sprouted tortilla.

And for dessert and just for fun (I loooooooooooooove experiementing in the kitchen!), AND because I had tofu and cooked pumpkin just waiting to be used, I decided to make some pumpkin mousse (inspired by Chocolate Covered Katie's brilliant recipe- aren't they all though?!).

Pumpkin Mousse in a Cup
Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh cooked or canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup tofu
• 1/4 cup coconut meat (optional)
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or combo of cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg)
• 1/2 tps vanilla extract
• sweetner of choice and amount to taste (I used 1 date, big spoonful raw honey, and stevia)

Blend, blend, blend in your favorite blender (Blentec baby!) and enjoy!




Options are to add a crust or topping, sprinkle with pomegranate seeds (or other fruit), eat with Coconut Bliss Vanilla Island diary free, coconut ice cream. I believe the last variation is my favorite for the night.

Have a great night!!!