Workouts, Sushi, and Easter!

Happy Monday!

I’m looking forward to a productive week full of running, strength training, and healthy eating. This is the last week in March (can you believe how fast it has gone by?!), so it’s time to really get into a strong pattern before summer hits.

The weather was gorgeous this weekend, so I spent a lot of time outside talking Peanut on walks. Nick and I both had off work on Friday, so after walking Peanut, I went on a run. It wasn’t my best, but it was better than nothing!

Friday night, Nick and I headed to Asian Mint.  I hadn’t ventured out to try this place yet, but the reviews for gluten free options were awesome!

The menu has a TON of gluten free selections. Sushi, fried rice, pad Thai, chicken satay, salads, and soup are all options. I’m not a huge sushi fan, but I keep giving it a try.

Nick and I split the salmon avocado roll to start. I ate two pieces, but still am not a fan of raw fish. Nick however, is kind of obsessed with sushi now.

We also split an order of the chicken satay. It was grilled marinated chicken with a peanut sauce and cucumber sauce on the side. I loved both sauces! The soy sauce (gf available!) also came with these adorable little dishes to pour a portion into.

For my main course, I tried the house fried rice. This was a Thai style fried rice and it was AMAZING. If I hadn’t been so full from our starters, I might have eaten all of it. Overall, we will definitely eat here again, even if I might not have the sushi. It’s great to have alternative options other than PF Changs if I’m craving Thai or Chinese food.

On Saturday, Nick and I got up and took Peanut for a walk around the neighborhood. Our neighborhood was hosting their annual Easter Egg Hunt and it was fun to see all the people out. I chopped up some fresh strawberries to top my cheerios for breakfast. This has been my go to breakfast lately.

After our walk, I sat down to enjoy my cup of coffee while watching Pioneer Woman. Even though many of her recipes are not healthy, I love watching her show to see what I can adapt.

I then peeled myself off the couch to do some sets of  free weights, push ups, and planks. I’m trying to build up the number of push ups I can do each time without loosing form. My upper arm strength is seriously lacking, so right now I’m only at 10. My goal is to do a little more each time.

On Sunday morning, I got up and made myself a smoothie with frozen berries, vanilla Greek yogurt, half of a frozen banana, and a cup and a half of spinach. I wanted to get a healthy breakfast in before I headed to Easter lunch at my parents house.

Peanut was very interested in the Turkey my dad was carving up. They had a leftover frozen turkey breast in the freezer from Thanksgiving so we had turkey and ham. It was a feast.

There were plenty of fresh veggies, homemade potato salad that my Mom made, and deviled eggs.

A year ago, I seriously didn’t like deviled eggs. Not sure what happened over the last 12 months, but they have grown on me. I had four!

After lunch, we let the pups play a bit while we all relaxed. I also made the frosting for my Mom’s lamb cake she makes every year. This year she used the Pillsbury Gluten Free Funfetti Cake Mix. She added some lemon flavoring and it was amazing.

Don’t judge, his ears fell off! The dangers of making cake animals. For the frosting I mixed one container of Cool Whip, one package of fat-free vanilla instant pudding mix, 1/4 cup powdered sugar, and 1 cup of low-fat milk. The result is a creamy, lightly sweet frosting that is addicting!

We were all tired and ready to rest by Sunday evening! It was a productive and long weekend.

Hoping your Easter was relaxing and wishing you a healthy and happy week!

Ashley