Tag Archives: sushi

Monday Things {10-29-2012}

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1. After an incredibly chaotic week at work, Ian and I went out to sushi on Friday evening. We decided to try sushi x in River West [again] because neither of us could remember if we really liked it the first time we went (over a year ago and I think pre-blog).

We both really enjoyed it! To start I had their salad with ginger dressing and Ian had hot spinach with peanut sauce and then for our actual sushi, we split a caterpillar roll and an order of white tuna and hamachi nigiri, I had an avocado roll, and Ian had their omega roll. It was delicious!

2. Saturday morning I woke up super early and got my long run on. Before I headed out I had a rice cake with sunflower butter, raisins, and chia seeds and then during my run I had a mocha clif gu shot (1/4 at mile 10, 12, 14, & 16). This way of fueling really seemed to work for me and I could see the difference in my mile splits! Most importantly, it was absolutely gorgeous out and I had a wonderful run. I can’t wait to get out there next Sunday!

3. When I got back from my run, I refueled with an amazing smoothie. I blended 1 frozen banana with 1 scoop protein powder, 1 cup almond milk, 1 big spoonful of chocolate peanut butter, and maybe 2 T oats to thicken everything up. It was awesome!

I also made a veggie hash to hold me over until book club at 2:30. I pan-fried a sweet potato, onion, and mushrooms and then added lots of spices and tomato paste. I topped the hash with TJ’s fat free black bean dip.

4. We had our book club meet-up on Saturday afternoon and Diana was sweet enough to host this month. We feasted on lots of fall dishes: maple butternut squash casserole, apple butter, hot cider, and pumpkin hummus [...to name a few] and attempted to actually discuss last month’s book Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (author of Gone Girl). We all really liked it and some of us liked it even more than Gone Girl. It’s definitely worth reading!

5. After book club, I met Ian at Hackney’s to watch the Michigan-Nebraska game. I don’t have much to say about the game but we did enjoy a nice, light dinner.

I wasn’t too hungry after book club but I figured I should eat something to help my muscles recover so I ordered a glass of wine and a garden salad. Ian also ordered a wedge and some fries for us to split. Fries covered in ketchup seriously have to be my favorite “junk” food. Yum!

6. Sunday morning I woke up early to eat breakfast before heading over to the Thriller in Schiller. I had two buckwheat & chia waffles topped with sun butter, pumpkin mixed with pb2 and pumpkin pie spice, and a drizzle of maple syrup. This hit the spot and was easily digested before the 5k (10 am).

7. The Thriller in Schiller was an absolute blast! Our costumes were silly (Kelsey, Emily, and I dressed as coneheads) and the course had just enough obstacles to make it challenging but not too intense. I’m going to do a race review/recap tomorrow but all I can say is that I had so much fun and I am seriously considering running the Schiller Chiller 10k on December 1st. Hey, maybe I’ll even wear a costume to that :) .

8. I didn’t have coffee before the race and I felt awful/tired/sick afterwards. I went home, ate some soup, and parked my butt on the couch for a few hours. Much needed!

9. After running some errands (including grocery shopping!), I made this awesome salad for dinner.

I’ll admit it would have been better had I made the tofu included in the recipe but as I don’t do soy I skipped it. Next time I’d make the tofu glaze and use it on salmon or something else to add another flavor/texture to the dish.

10. Ian and I spent our Sunday night catching up on our DVR. It was just what I needed!

11. My appetite has been off the past few days (and my throat hurts so I hope I’m not getting sick!) so I decided to keep breakfast light today and have some cereal. I mixed 1 cup puffed millet, 1 T walnuts, 1 T pepitas, and 1 T raisins and topped it with about 1 cup almond milk, 1 small banana, a sunflower seed butter spoon, and a little honey.

Delicious!

12. Ian just told me the market is closed today because of Hurricane Sandy and he has the day off. Everybody on the East Coast keep safe!

What did you do this weekend?

Monday Things {10-08-2012}

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1. First of all congrats to the Chicago Marathon runners. You guys did great!! Now it’s time to relax, recover, and sign up for your next one :) .

2. On Friday night, Ian and I tried out a new sushi place, Union Sushi + BBQ Bar. We were both hungry when we arrived, so Ian was happy when our server brought us complimentary edamame just after sitting down.

I passed on it and ordered their roasted cauliflower salad instead. The salad was awesome, I could have eaten a larger version of it for dinner and been happy.

We also ordered their oysters on the half shell. They were pretty good and came with a japanese cilantro ponzu sauce.

And lastly we had some sushi. Ian ordered half of the old city market roll (big picture – spicy tuna, seared salmon, spicy ponzu, cilantro, green onion, crispy onion + wrapped in collard green), we split a tsukiji market roll (albacore, salmon, red & green onion, cilantro, burdock root, wasabi tobiko, ponzu sauce + wrapped in radish sheet), and then we ordered fluke + super white tuna nigiri.

3. I totally messed up my weekend by doing my long run on Saturday morning. It just felt so weird. I know a lot of people like getting their long run out of the way on Saturdays but I’ve always liked running long on Sundays after a day off from work and hopefully two nights of good sleep. Fortunately, I got to see a lot of marathoners and wheelchair cyclists out along the lakefront which kept me motivated to keep running and not curl up in a ball along the path and take a nap.

4. Ian wanted me to show you all his breakfast on Saturday morning. It’s pretty much a monstrosity that is sweet enough to give Bongo Room’s menu a run for it’s money. It is a waffle stack with marshmallow fluff and sliced banana in the middle and it’s topped with a pumpkin pie glaze and a few left over banana slices. So. much. sugar.

5. Kelsey and I decided to go to the Chicago Marathon expo on Saturday afternoon to check it out and see if we could score any free samples. Unfortunately, we each only walked out with a bag of chips and a few mini Larabars- BUT we did see Hal Higdon and request a picture with him. I don’t think he was nearly as excited as we were.

6. After the expo I met up with Ian and some other Michigan transplants to watch the Michigan vs. Purdue game. I’m always happy to see Michigan look awesome and they ended up beating Purdue 44-13. Woohoo! We also tried out a new Michigan bar and I got to shove my face full of complimentary chips and salsa. I was a happy camper.

7. Unfortunately I never got to sleep-in this weekend because on Sunday I had to wake up early check in at my volunteer spot for the marathon. Knowing that I was going to be on my feet for almost 6 hours, I made a breakfast that would hold me over for a long time- cinnamon apple oats.

8. Volunteering was fun? I really liked seeing the elites come by along with cheering for all the runners and the people I saw that I know BUT I felt kind of useless as a volunteer. I was basically spectating in a super sexy getup and hat. It was also freezing. I think it could have been better if the volunteer system was more organized but I really felt like I was thrown out there with no idea what to do.

9. When I got home from volunteering, I scarfed some lunch, attempted to make bagels (flop), and then headed back into the cold to go shopping. I really should know better than to walk into lululemon and expect not to spend money. I ended up only buying two things because the store was pretty picked over from the marathoners. I bought the run swiftly tech short sleeve shirt in grey and then the aphrodite crop. I’m wondering if I should take the crops back and exchange them for something run-specific. Has anyone run in crops from lulu that were designed for something else?

10. Last night, I met up with Kelsey, Kim, and the running legend Skinny Runner to grab dinner and drinks at Bar Toma. We chatted, noshed on salad (for me), a goat cheese spread, and margarita pizza. I can only speak for the salad but it was delish.

It was definitely a fun way to end the weekend and it was so nice to meet Sarah!

How was your weekend? Did you run the marathon?

pl8 Sushi

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Last Saturday night, Ian and I did something different, we drove from the city to the suburbs to grab dinner. We went to pl8, a sushi and Chinese restaurant in Barrington, IL. I’d honestly never heard of it before but the head chef was a friend of a friend of Ian’s and I love to eat sushi the night before a long race so I was down to try it.

I was just going to stick with water, but after trying a sip of Ian’s house made ginger ale, I knew I had to order some myself. I’m not usually a big calorie-drinker, unless it’s wine or almond milk in my coffee, BUT this was totally worth it.

We also split the tuna tataki salad.

We asked for the dressing on the side and I never touched it. Soy has ruined too many of my runs and I knew better than to risk it the night before a 16 miler. Ian really enjoyed it though!

For dinner, we split a crazy roll (assorted fish, avocado, cucumber, and masago), Ian had a fireworks salmon roll (spicy salmon & cilantro roll topped with Scottish salmon, lemon segments, bbq eel sauce, mayo, and chili oil), and we split a piece of toro and an order of hamachi nigiri.

I was still hungry afterwards so I ended up ordering a veggie lovers roll (pickled radish & cucumber, shiitake mushrooms, kampyo, and tamago). I totally didn’t realize that tamago is egg (BIG fail), but luckily I could just poke it out of the sushi and go on with my business. Despite my allergy to egg, I really didn’t experience any horrible symptoms.

Ian even tried a piece and he liked it!

We declined on dessert in order to swing by Black Dog Gelato on the way home but unfortunately we got stuck in major traffic along I-90 and decided to just go back to our apartment instead. Bummer.

Overall, I really enjoyed pl8 and would recommend it to anyone who is out in the burbs looking for somewhere to eat. I’m not going to say the sushi is better than sushi in the city or that it was even less expensive. What I will say is that the fish was really fresh, the rolls and other dishes were really creative, and the restaurant even had a gluten-free menu for their Chinese dishes. Those little things always win me over!

Do you have a favorite sushi spot?

Ian’s 27th

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Hey guys! Sorry I’ve been MIA the past few days, life has been incredibly busy. Between moving my blog over to a self-host, Ian being sick, starting my new job, and Ian’s birthday, I’ve hardly had time to sit still. I promise to be back tomorrow with a longer update but for now I want to do a picture recap of Ian’s birthday dinner at Sunda.

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1. Veggie Q Roll from the gluten-free vegan menu: cucumber sheet, shiitake, oshinko, avocado, asparagus, spring mix, ponzu.

2. Stuffed Avocado (for Ian): hand-cut spicy tuna covered in avocado with japanese salsa, ponzu, and crispy shallots.

3. Mushroom and Asparagus Salad: arugala, mushroom medley, ginger vinaigrette.

4. Kani Smoked Salmon (for Ian): lump crab, chives

5. Escolar and hamachi nigiri

6. Blueberry Cobbler with vanilla bean ice cream for the birthday boy

7. Avocado Mousse: avocado mousse, raspberry sauce, lychee granite, fresh raspberries (omg!)

*I have no idea why my pictures are teeny tiny, maybe I have to resize them to be bigger on my new host (suggestions? insight?).
*Also, sorry that I forgot my camera and these are iPhone pictures -> like I said, life has been crazy hectic.
*We really liked Sunda and agreed it was one of our favorite sushi places in the city!

I will see you all tomorrow with a more in-depth post!