I woke up this morning still giddy from yesterday. I am pleased to announce that my legs feel GREAT! The muscles in the front of my thighs (my adductors maybe? somebody needs to explain muscle groups to me!) and my neck was a little stiff when I got up but it feels more like I got in a good workout from Physical Training Tuesdays, rather than experiencing an ‘I just ran 21k yesterday’ kind of ouch.
No complaints! All I can do is be grateful, and proud that I have gotten strong enough that I can run that far and get up and go about my day the next morning like it’s no big deal!
Treat your body right (by fueling it properly, exercising it well, and stretching as much as possible) and it will return the favor, right?
I did my best to continue the ‘treat my body right’ theme.
I let myself sleep in.
I actually woke up, sans alarm, at 5:55 (I guess my body has gotten used to the 5:30 wake up calls?) feeling like I had overslept. Still half asleep, I looked at my phone, saw the time, panicked at why my alarm hadn’t gone off, tried to remember the day of the week, then finally remembered that while it IS a monday, I get an extra hour of sleep today! Yay! I promptly passed back out for another half hour before my alarm finally got me out of bed.
Today’s exercise is brought to you by http://www.doyogawithme.com! 20 minutes of Yoga For Runners later, my tightness in my neck was completely gone. I’m really inflexible so I always struggle with poses, but I definitely felt EXTRA stiff today. Proof, in my opinion, that I really need this morning yoga! Good thing I am taking the time to try and stretch my muscles out!
Reverted my old FAVORITE breakfast: Yogurt Cereal. When I went to the grocery store this weekend, the organic store was completely out of one of my favorite cereals, Barbara’s Puffins. I usually like to put this in with my Nature’s Way cereals for an extra little puffy crunch. It mixes well with the others and provides an extra texture that I like. I was looking for something that had that same both the puffy crunch,high fibre and low sugar as Barbara’s Puffins. It was hard to find something. I eventually settled for Kashi Heart to Heart Warm Cinnamon. Thinking back on it, the high sugar content should have been a warning that this might not be my cup o’ tea…
I don’t think I am going to buy Heart to Heart again, at least, not for my morning cereal. I might try it as a dry snack and see if I like it better that way, but in my cereal, it didn’t keep its crunch and just absorbed the yogurt. The cinnamon flavor was a bit overpowering. It was too sweet. If the cinnamon flavor was more subtle, I think I would have liked it better, but even then, the texture was all wrong. Cereal was still good, but just not it’s usual ‘I would eat a bucket of this if my stomach would let me‘ good.
The morning FLEW by and before I knew it, it was already lunch time!
I needed to pick something up from my dad’s office, so we decided that we would have lunch together while I was visiting. I wish our offices were closer! It was nice to get together for lunch, and there are a lot of great places to eat nearby. Betty, a colleague of my father and fellow member of our organic social entrepreneurship team, joined and took us to World Peace Cafe.
This was an ADORABLE vegetarian cafe that only served food made with ORGANIC and LOCAL produce. The place is really bright and open, with a simple, clean layout. They have a menu up front, and containers of ready made dishes that you can either take away or ask them to heat up. All the employees are volunteers. All proceeds to go world peace.
The cafe is right next door to a meditation centre and has a second floor where they offer free meditation classes several times a week. There is a bookshelf by the counter with books on buddhism and meditation, and a lot of flyers for upcoming meditation and buddhist activities.
I thought it was really cool that there were a couple of buddhist monks relaxing at one of the tables. It had a unique mix of patrons, both foreign and local. Everybody was united by their common desire for a simple but tasty meal in the happy and relaxing atmosphere the cafe exuded.
We all got the vegetarian bimbimbap. Apparently the recipe is by a korean monk who volunteered at the cafe. She was a very good cook who came up with most of the items on the menu.
And after it’s all mixed up..
I DEFINITELY believed them when they said she was a good cook. The bimbimbap was REALLY good, as was the carrot and coriander soup that Betty and I split (the bimbimbap was the best though, thanks Betty for the great recommendation!).
Say HI to Betty!
The tea had little flowers in it. Isn’t it pretty?
Organic, local produce…great atmosphere…tasty food… AND all the proceeds go to a good cause?! I think I’m in love! I wish this was right next to MY office! I would come here all the time!!
If anybody reading this goes to or lives in Singapore, you have to stop at World Peace cafe (Bukit Pasoh Rd).
Okay, lunch break over! I gotta go back to work.
Blossom Runs Organic 