On Being Productive

     April showers may bring in May flowers, but Fall's chill brings in warm casseroles! At least, that is certainly what I have been craving... I was happy to have the day off yesterday since I worked last weekend. Originally, I had planned to take Friday off but had to switch. It was actually kind of fun to randomly take a day off mid-week! Instead of just lounging around like I do most weekends, I decided to try to make the most of my day and be productive. So, I did a bunch of cleaning, cooking and yoga!

Source: kaliyogi.tumblr.com via Heidi on Pinterest

    First off, can I just say, I'll never be that flexible! I went to the noon Vinyasa class at Midtown Yoga since it was a cross-training day on my marathon training plan and I never get to go to mid-day classes on a normal basis! All this marathon training has really given me some tight leg muscles. (Surprise, surprise. Ha.) This class was just what I needed to get a good stretch! There were many poses where I think the instructor could have just said, "Fold your limbs up until you resemble a pretzel and breathe". Yeah, no problem. Lol. Despite leaving the class feeling like I just had a good stretch, I am very sore today! Guess I must have worked more muscles than I realized. :-)

     That afternoon I was really craving this roasted root vegetable casserole that Charis and I used to make all the time in Cleveland. Before we experimented with that dish, I don't think I had ever cooked or eaten parsnips or rutabaga! I didn't realize how badly I was missing out. They are delish! I found a recipe similar to the one we had been using (which was on a WIC calendar - haha!). I must say, this Harvest Vegetable Bake recipe from About.com turned out just as well! I followed the original recipe pretty closely, except that I omitted the nutmeg and breadcrumbs and added some poblano pepper and sage to the cheese sauce. Yum!

Just as tasty as I remembered!

I also baked these Trail Mix Cookies! I realized I had all these bags and containers of about 1/2 cup of random nuts and dried fruits hiding out in my cabinets. So, I combined them all into a cookie! I feel like these will be a handy little snack. They are chock full of oats, craisins, currants, sesame seeds and finely shredded coconut. Pairs well with coffee or tea!

Hope you are all having a fabulous week! The weekend is almost here!!! :-)