Happy first Monday of 2016! Here's to coming back to reality, right? I'm excited today to kick of this year on a strong note and feel more than ready to after about 2 months of some hard core indulging! I think that as I get older, the holidays seem to become longer. Not complaining, but I'm definitely ready to get back into the swing of things and rid my body of the unnecessary pounds of sugar and alcohol that was consumed!  I started today with my 6 a.m. spinning class. My participants were awesome, as always, and I could just feel the excitement of a brand new year. Stick around till the end of this post for my spin playlist if you need some music motivation! 

I'm heading to work now for a full week ahead, but I do feel very refreshed and ready to tackle it, especially after a packed weekend full of cooking my meals ahead and getting a lot of chores done around the apartment. Before I go I wanted to share this amazing winter soup recipe for those who are starting to feel the cooler weather! 

Warm your soul with this hearty vegetable barley soup. It is packed with filling vegetables, barley and a flavorful tomato broth. 

[yumprint-recipe id='13'] Enjoy!! And here's a new spin playlist for ya...

XO - Rach

How do you feel on this first Monday of 2016?

This Sweet Potato, Kale & Chicken Stew is an Indian-inspired stew that packs in tons of veggies and protein from the chicken, peas & black beans. All the flavors are brought together with the aromatic Garam Massala spice.  

I've really been into Indian food lately. There's a tiny little place right next to my apartment called Jyoti that has a different menu every day. I've only tried a couple of dishes, but I love love love how Indian food combines such wonderful flavors that are both sweet and spicy. So far my favorite dish included chicken & peas in a tomato sauce - just had to recreate it!

I wanted to make a big batch of something that can be easily reheated and eaten throughout the week, but last week I got real sick of plain old chicken and rice. On Sunday morning Michael made us a delicious breakfast with a sweet potato and kale hash - SUCH a good combination. So sweet potato and kale were the stars of this recipe. 

[yumprint-recipe id='9']Now I'm getting ready to leave for work - could not be looking forward to this weekend more!! It's been a super busy, crazy, hectic etc. couple weeks at work. Very excited to have a couple days off!

And on another note, I just got news that I was hired at Body Cycle Studio! BCS is a boutique cycling studio here in Philly. I'm SO pumped about this new teaching job. It will be a bit different than my other teaching jobs because it's so niche. So if you're in the Philadelphia area and love to cycle - check out Body Cycle Studio. Seriously ALL of the instructors are amazing. 

And that's a wrap! Have a GREAT Friday, everyone! 

XO- Rach

Let's Chat:

What are you looking forward to this weekend?

Do you like cycling?

Do you like Indian food?

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. I've got a great fall recipe to share today - Turkey Black Bean Chili!  Before I share I'll talk about my weekend a bit (because I know everyone just cares so much ;].) It was low key over here. After a month as busy as October it felt GREAT to relax and reset a bit. I taught my super circuits class on Saturday at Sweat Fitness in Old City - missed that class so much because I haven't been able to teach for the past two weekends! I will share a similar workout here in the next week. The rest of Saturday consisted of some Trader Joe's shopping, chili-making & a whole lot of chillin'. 

Yesterday was the first Sunday since the end of August that I didn't have a long run on my schedule and it felt AMAZING. I slept in (until 7:30...) and then Michael and I grabbed coffee and a rugelach from High Point Cafe before coming back to make pancakes. I took advantage of my time and headed to the gym for a long workout. I didn't have a plan, I don't really remember what I did, but it felt so good to move my body and not have to be in a rush to go anywhere! Ah, Sunday's I love you. 

Getting on to the fun stuff. This chili recipe is real easy to make. I don't like to do complicated. It's got a lot of hearty protein & fiber and it's very delicious. A little fiesta for your taste buds.

My favorite part about chilis like this is that there are a lot of ways that you can dress them up. I have the dish pictured here with cheddar cheese and cilantro, but later on I added greek yogurt, avocado and hot sauce. SO good. Give it a try! So excited to eat the leftovers for lunch in my very 'chilly' office. 

[yumprint-recipe id='5']