After Thursday’s boxing class and Friday morning’s cycling, my body was feeling pretty beaten up. One of the nicest things about Class Pass is they offer such a wide variety of workouts that you can make the choice to take care of yourself with some restorative classes in between the more brutal ones. This weekend was MY weekend for some of that!
It all started Friday evening with this incredible myofascial yoga class. It sounds all woo-woo and hippyish, but it was incredible! The instructor, River (I know, right?!?), led us through a variety of poses which we held for several minutes each. There was a combination of some traditional Vinyasa yoga poses like Downward Facing Dog and Camel and new poses that I had never seen before, all designed to create a deep opening in the connective tissue, especially around the shoulders and hips. All I could think of was how beneficial this would be for our junior tennis players, especially the ones who suffer from chronic pain in their elbows, shoulders, hips, low back, or knees.
Saturday morning was another yoga class, this time using the hammock and a hard rubber ball to create the deep releases. Instructor Emily had us use the ball like a foam roller, once we were good and warmed up, to loosen the fascia. Then, we used the hammock to deepen the stretches in our lunges and twists. Finally, we got in the hammock and went upside down for this incredible spinal release and to increase blood flow to the brain. So yummy!
And today’s class was one more yoga class designed around releasing the hips. Sounds restorative, right? Wrong! This was one of the toughest yoga classes I’ve ever taken. The instructor, Marie, took us through some of the most complicated poses I’ve ever seen. Yes, they were all hip openers, but my 53-year-old body wasn’t ready for this. I did the best I could, and definitely got the intended opening in my hips, which I suppose could be defined as “restoring” my body, but I left there ready for a nap!
But, alas, no nap for me! As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, we were in dire need of some major grocery shopping in order to finish out our Challenge, so my afternoon was spent doing some time at Whole Foods and my local neighborhood shop, Oakhurst Market (in addition to some household errands).
Trout all ready for the grill
Our dinner menu was originally supposed to include salmon. But, my daughter, Savannah, joined us, and she’s not eating salmon right now (long story that I promise you don’t want to hear!), so we did a quick switch to trout instead.
When Emma and I were at Oakhurst Market earlier this week, a neighbor told us how good the trout was. Of course, we were excited to try it. So, since one of the household errands included buying a new grill, this seemed like the perfect opportunity. The trout definitely lived up to the hype! Keep reading for our take on grilled trout and the delicious greens we ate with it.
Day 17 Menu
Pre-Breakfast: 8-12 ounces of water plus 8-12 ounces of Green Juice
Breakfast: Smoothie (for my husband: fruit, smoked salmon, sliced avocado)
Matthew prepping his yummy breakfast
Mid-morning snack: Organic Pineapple
Pre-Lunch: 4-6 ounces of Green Juice
Lunch: Queen of the Kitchen’s Roasted Butternut Squash Salad (& Grilled Chicken Breast for Matthew)
Afternoon snack: Organic radishes, baby carrots, and green beans
Pre-Dinner: 4-6 ounces of Green Juice
Dinner: Grilled Trout with Cumin Black Rice and Sauteed Greens
Grilled Trout
Ingredients:
24 oz fresh trout fillets
Olive oil
Sea salt
Fresh-ground black pepper
Fresh lemon juice
Lemon slices
Directions:
Cut a large piece of foil then coat lightly with cooking spray. Place trout skin-side down on the foil. Brush lightly with olive oil then sprinkle with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Place thin slices of lemon along the length of each fillet. Put the foil with the fish on the grill and cook about 8 minutes or until done. Serve with additional lemon slices/wedges if desired. Note: We used an actual charcoal grill for this one and added some mesquite and pecan chips to the coals for added flavor.
Ingredients:
Large handful of beet greens (the tops of the beets you have been using in our other recipes!)
Large handful of mustard greens (we used the leftovers from Saturday’s soup recipe)
Large handful of baby kale
2 tsp Olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste
Directions:
Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add greens and cook until wilted and heated through. Sprinkle with salt and pepper before serving. Note: You need way more greens than you think because they really cook down as they lose water, hence the need for a large skillet!
Helpful Links
Click here for Chef V’s website
Click here for the Queen of the Kitchen website
Click here for a Google list of Green Juice recipes
Workout of the Day
Warm Hip Opening at onlYoga (Lisa & Emma)
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