Stress Relief

So, do you wanna hear about yoga or Pad Thai first? 

I’m guessing Pad Thai because it comes complete with food porn.  :)

Anyone that has been paying attention knows that I love Thai food and have been on a bit of a Thai restaurant rampage around town.  In about one month, I tried three different places.  woo!  My fave dish is actually red curry, but a close runner up is a good Pad Thai.  Since I’m trying to save a few bucks, I thought I’d tackle an at home version.

Admittedly I used packaged sauce instead of collecting the ingredients to make my own from scratch…but it turned out quite good and totally hit the spot!

Easy Peasy Cheater Shrimp Pad Thai

I purchased the Taste of Thai sauce, and followed the package directions.  All you need is:

• 1/2 package wide rice noodles
• 1 egg
• 1 dozen raw, peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp
• 1/4 chopped peanuts (I toasted mine in a dry pan)
• 4 chopped green onions
• 2 cups fresh bean sprouts
• fresh basil or cilantro, chopped (or kefir lime leaves if available)
• lime for garnish

Presidents Choice has their own Thai line as well.  I bought their rice stick noodles.  These are super easy to prepare... just pour boiling water over top, and let steep for about 7 minutes.

• Heat oil in non-stick skillet.  Quickly scramble an egg into the oil, then add the shrimpies and cook until pink.
• Add a little more oil, then the cooked and drained noodles.  Stir fry for about 3-4 minutes.
• Add sauce (I used about 2/3 of package), green onions, peanuts, and basil and continue cooking until all noodles are coated.
• Add bean sprouts, stir fry until everything is heated through.
• Remove from heat and squeeze in a bit of lime.  Serve!

Not too shabby.  I got two large servings out of this, but could easily have made it into three by adding more shrimp and using less noodles per serving.  I think I might like a bit more peanuty flavour next time, and potentially it needs a bit more of a kick if you like things spicy.  But all in all, it was easy and tasty.

After dinner settled, I took myself over to the gym.  Katie and I were meeting for an 8pm Fit Flow class at Nubody’s so I decided to get a bit of cardio in first.

• 23 minute run on the treadmill (3 mins warm up & cool down, 3 x 5:1 intervals)
• 5 minute speedy row

Our class was quite full…I was surprised for 8pm on a Monday night.  I guess I’m not the only one that likes a FREE class!  I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, as it is labelled as a “yoga inspired” class but I was pleasantly surprised.

Just shy of an hour, our instructor led us through a whole series of poses hitting pretty much all important areas of the body which got our hearts pumping and bodies sweating.  She included twists, balance, a whole series of sun salutations, and a good unwind and comfy savasana at the end.

I enjoyed it and would certain go back to this particular Fit Flow class again.  I’m curious to try other classes with other instructors to see if they are all the same. 

As for my anxiety…it did help to distract me.  I’m pretty bad for letting my mind wander when I’m supposed to be relaxing, but I made a real effort to not think about the house crap while I was there.  I think I did OK! 

Not sure where to go tonight, but I’ll pick something!