October 2024 City Life VLOGS: I Return Like Autumn & He Falls Every Time

FITNESS: 

10 years practicing yoga 🧘🏾‍♀️ 😌 🙏🏾 22 years for Pilates. 

It's been a rough year after I hurt my tale bone last Summer doing absolutely nothing! It took so long to heal! I was still doing light workouts and after the flare up I had last December, I knew my body was telling me I had to reduce yoga practice to almost nothing and focus on getting better. I can say I haven't had any insane flare ups since February. In fact, I feel like my tale bone is healed, even though now, I still use a Donut to sit on at restaurants. 

Sitting in a flat hard chair at a restaurant was how I injured my tale bone in the first place so I keep it with me so I don't take any chances.

So, now I can resume my regular practices and still be careful to not mess it up again. Tale bone pain is no joke! 

I am just a little stiff in my hamstrings and so I will need to go back to using my resistance band consistently which I need to do anyway. I seem to have great muscle memory though and have retained almost all of my limberness. 

The light workouts I did the last 8 months consisted of upper body and core asanas, I steered clear of most yoga poses that involved bending or flexing my legs and tale bone. Prior to that, I was doing yoga poses t to help heal and strengthen my tale bone, but they were infact, making it worse.

HOMECOOKED GLUTEN FREE MEALS

I cooked a lot the last few months so here are more recipes and things I cooked this Fall.

Smoked chicken with Southern Style Succotash & Hennessy Honey Butter

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil (I use Brightland)
• 1 Tablespoon salted butter
• 1 medium onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 container cherry tomatoes 
• 2 medium red bell peppers, seeded, deveined, and cut into 1/4-inch dice OR 2 medium vine-ripened tomatoes, cut into small dice
• 2 ten-ounce packages frozen Butter beans (Publix brand), rinsed under warm running water and drained
• 4 cups fresh (5 ears) or frozen corn kernels
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a large skillet, heat oil and butter over medium-high heat. 
2. Add onion; cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. 
3. Add lima beans and corn. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. 
4. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

We spent the whole day to smoke a whole chicken.

Amazing omelet with Boursin.

Chipotle Chilli

Ingredients

• 1 

  medium yellow onion

• 3 

  cloves garlic

• 2 

  (about 15-ounce) cans dark kidney beans

• 2 tablespoons 

  olive oil

• 3 tablespoons 

  tomato paste

• 2 pounds 

  ground sirloin, preferably 80 to 85% lean

• 2 teaspoons 

  sea salt (to taste)

• black pepper 

  (to taste)
• 4 tablespoons 

  chili powder 

  (to taste)
• 2 tablespoon 

  ground cumin 

  (to taste)
• 1 tablespoon 

  unsweetened Chipotle powder

• 2 teaspoons 

  dried oregano

• 1 teaspoon 

  paprika

• 1/4 teaspoon 

  cayenne pepper 

• 1 

  (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

• 1 

  (14.5-ounce) can low-sodium beef or chicken broth (scant 2 cups) (I used beef for this recipe)

Airfryer chicken tender cobb sslad

Gluten Free Gumbo (with tomatoes, I will be making a recipe with no tomatoes soon!)

• Cook time and prep 4 hours
  Make the Roux*: In a large, heavy bottom stock pot combine flour (I use gluten free flour) and oil. Cook on medium-low heat, stirring constantly for 30-45 minutes. This part takes patience--when it's finished it should be as dark as chocolate and have a soft, "cookie dough" like consistency. Be careful not to let it burn! Feel free to add a little more flour or oil as needed to reach this consistency.
  

  • Brown the sausage. In a separate skillet on medium-high heat place the sausage slices in one layer in the pan. Brown them well on one side (2-3 minutes) and then use a fork to flip each over onto the other side to brown. Remove to a plate.
    

    • Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for 5-7 minutes, or until the vegetables are slightly tender. (Skim off any foam that may rise to the top of the pot.) Stir in cajun seasoning, to taste.
      Add remaining 5 ½ cups of chicken broth. Add veggies, parsley, and roux to the pot and stir well.
      
      

      • Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for 5-7 minutes, or until the vegetables are slightly tender. (Skim off any foam that may rise to the top of the pot.) Stir in cajun seasoning, to taste.

        • Add meat. Add chicken, sausage, and shrimp.
          1 heaping cup all-purpose gluten free flour
          2/3 cup evoo (I use Brightland)
          3 celery ribs, diced, leaves and all
          1 green bell pepper , diced
          1 large yellow onion , diced
          1 bunch fresh chopped parsley , finely chopped
          2-3 cloves garlic
          cajun seasoning to taste
          salt & pepper to tastegarlic powder2 cans Chicken broth12 ounce package andouille sausages , sliced into "coins"
          2 Chicken thighsLouisianna hot sauceWorstishire sauce1 diced carrot4 fresh okra spears slicedThyme2 bay leaves1 can of Delmonte diced petite cut tomatoes
          cooked white rice for serving and green onion

DATE NIGHTS IN THE CITY:

HURRICANE MILTON VLOGS

Limited menu due to the hurricane