Dip, Stir, Enjoy!

Le Pain Quotidien Bâtonnets Chocolatés au Chocolat Noir Belge
(Hot Chocolate Sticks with Belgian Dark Chocolate)

Dip in hot milk...

Stir... and enjoy!

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 21

Le Pain Quotidien Bâtonnets Chocolatés au Chocolat Noir Belge

Organic, delectable, and plain awesome. Le Pain Quotidien Bâtonnets Chocolatés au Chocolat Noir Belge (Hot Chocolate Sticks with Belgian Dark Chocolate)

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 21

Oops Post

I didn’t get to do my Day 20 post on this date. I got home from work and did about 40 minutes of yoga…and fell asleep! So I also didn’t get to do Nadi Shodhana. Oh well, another day, another night. ;)

I’d meant to post this song, “Cross The Line” by First State ft. Relyk. I heard it over the weekend at SoulCycle—the spinning session, a whole other post altogether!

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 20

"Be kind to your body… Do what you want to do, not what you think you should do." 

—heard in yoga class earlier; sound advice also applicable to life! :)

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 19

Linguine con le Vongole

Linguine con le Vongole made easy, thanks to Trader Joe’s Steamer Clams :) 

Recipe from Tyler Florence on Foodnetwork.com.

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 18

Norwegian Benedict at Smörgåschef

Norwegian Benedict at Smörgåschef, Scandinavia House 

58 Park Ave New York, NY 10016

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 17

CCKT One-Minute Chocolate Cake, Revisited

Yes, you can make a messy, gooey, single-(or double)serve chocolate cake in your microwave!

Back in August, I blogged about vegan dessert blogger Chocolate Covered Katie’s One Minute Chocolate Cake recipe, over at my food blog, All My Sugar. It’s unbelievably easy and you actually make it in a microwave oven—a-mazing!

I think Katie has a note about not reposting her recipes verbatim, so please click on the link above if you’re interested in the full recipe.

My modifications:

• regular 2% milk instead of almond milk

• 2 tbsp spelt flour and 1 tbsp of all-purpose flour (instead of spelt all the way)

• melted butter instead of vegetable oil

• added a splash of coffee to the batter

For the frosting, I poured a handful of chocolate chips into a small microwavable glass bowl, added a splash of milk, and microwaved it for a minute. This served as my instant-ganache frosting. Again, super-duper easy!

Oh, and I doubled the recipe to make two little cakes in two little ramekins. :)

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 16

Meta Kindness

At my previous job, I had the following inspirational quote from Dr. Wayne Dyer running along the bottom of my daily task sheet, which I blogged about back in September:

SUCCESS IS AN INSIDE JOB. 

Being relaxed, at peace with yourself, confident, emotionally neutral, loose, and free-floating—these are the keys to successful performance in almost everything you do.

At my current job, I have the words META KINDNESS on my Copy Project List on Excel.

According to Wikipedia, “Mettā” translates to “loving kindness,” which means, I have to edit my note to correct the spelling :)

Kidding aside, this is a wonderful type of meditation wherein you start by radiating ‘metta’ toward yourself, and then passing it on (in thought) to someone close to you, and then to a person you know, and then a stranger, or even someone you’re at odds with—expanding the ‘circle of kindness’ outward. [“The cultivation of loving-kindness (mettā bhāvanā) is a popular form of meditation in Buddhism.”]

First, you say the following phrases to yourself. Or, if I understood this correctly, any positive, loving and kind thought would also suffice:

“May I be filled with loving kindness. May I be well. May I feel peaceful and at ease. May I be happy.”

Then, think of someone you love.

“May you be filled with loving kindness. May you be well. May you feel peaceful and at ease. May you be happy.”

And then keep going as you ‘radiate’ out, wishing people kindness and wellness along the way.

Try it! See if you like it :)

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 15

And then I bit into it ;) 

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 14

Too cute to eat! @moroccanoil cookie. 

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 14

80’s Flashback

80’s flashback: Hershey’s Miniatures, Mr. Goodbar and Special Dark :) 

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 14

"In life and in yoga, we can choose to adopt an accepting, in-the-moment outlook that lets us flow through any challenge or discomfort with grace; breathing smoothly and staying rooted in our peace, knowing that everything happens for a reason."

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 13

The Seventeen Tofu Stir-fry

I learned this recipe during my early days working at Seventeen Magazine. One of my former editors, now great friend, Lille Bose, came up with it.

Red pepper flakes, garlic, cilantro, and chili powder create a spicy-savory kick to this dish. I haven’t made it in years…so I forgot that it also called for tomatoes. Luckily, I had leftover canned tomatoes from when I made Puttanesca :)

You’ll need:

• a 14-oz pack of tofu (397 g)
• lots of garlic, roughly chopped (ideally, you get a piece of garlic with every bite)
• red pepper flakes (as much or as little as you want, but do not skip it)
• chili powder
• one large tomato, sliced into bite-size pieces (or more, if you like)
• bunch of cilantro, lightly chopped (this originally called for our native kintsay)
• olive oil and butter
• salt, pepper, and sugar to taste
• lemon juice, optional

Directions:

1. Slice tofu lengthwise so you can brown all sides on a non-stick skillet. Use a tiny bit of oil and butter for this. Once tofu is firm and browned, slice into cubes. (Alternatively, slice tofu into cubes right away and bake in a 350-degree F oven for about 10 minutes or until firm.
   
   Note: Do your best to buy organic tofu. The GMO stuff is creepy.
2. Heat a teaspoon of olive oil and a slice of butter on medium low. Add the red pepper flakes until warmed through, then add garlic.
   
3. When garlic is nearly browned, add tofu. Toss in hot oil and sprinkle with chili powder. Season with salt, pepper, and a little bit of sugar. Squeeze a little lemon juice, if desired.
   
4. Add tomato pieces and sauté to desired softness. Add half of the chopped cilantro. Turn off heat, and add the remaining cilantro and toss.
   
5. Transfer to a bowl and serve with hot rice. Enjoy!

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 12

"Find a job you love, and never take one solely for the money. Do what you love and the money will follow." 

— William The Henry a.k.a. my Papa! :)

 Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 11

Puttanesca, Revisited

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 10

Yoga Saturday

Flow 1 observation, then Flow 2 “solar/fire + earth” yoga class: My batteries are officially recharged. :) #yoga #energize #stressbuster 

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 9

Veggies!

Gorgeous greens (and reds) at #WholeFoods :) #nofilter

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 9

Minutes with Lola

I just got off the phone with my grandma, who, at 89, is still wit, wisdom, tenacity andpositivity, personified.

A mere five minutes of talking to her yielded these lovely snippets:

1) On her upcoming birthday: “My birthday wish? Reaching this age, what more can I ask for?”

2) On going to the movies: “Yes, you should enjoy, while you don’t have kids.” (Note: She said this in genuine reference to the going-out-together part and not the childbearing part.)

3) On health and rest: “Eat well, so you’ll grow old healthy… You guys should already eat so you can rest and sleep.”

4) On lunch: “I want to eat fried chicken. I hope my caregiver can get even just one piece.” :)

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 8

How to worry less about offending people:

"All you can do is keep your motives pure. If you do offend, you’ve likely hit on something they need to look at—in which case you’ve done a good deed."

—Joy Behar, host of Current TV’s Joy Behar: Say Anything

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 7

(Source: oprah.com)

From Lululemon:

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 7

How to let go of anger

I’ve been reading O Magazine’s “101 Best Pieces of Advice” and #65 is a mighty long quote, but makes great sense:

“Anger is like a storm rising up from the bottom of your consciousness. When you feel it coming, turn your focus to your breath. Breathe in deeply to bring your mind home to your body. Then look at, or think of, the person triggering this emotion: With mindfulness, you can see that she is unhappy, that she is suffering. You can see her wrong perceptions. You can see that she is not beautiful when she says things that are unkind. You can also see that you don’t want to be like her. You’ll feel motivated by a desire to say or do something nice—to help the other person suffer less. This means compassionate energy has been born in your heart. And when compassion appears, anger is deleted.” 

—Thich Nhat Hanh, Buddhist monk and author of Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 7

Believe it or not, it took me a good two years (or even more) to finally "fly" into Bakasana, or Crow Pose the other day. I can now do it for about three seconds—versus not being able to lift both feet off the ground at all, or collapsing on my wrists. I've also never fallen forward, because I scare myself pretty easily and get into my head that I never fully go for it.

This video is what sealed the deal for me. What she said about going "in a horizontal plane" and "swimming in a lake" (1:22), instead of looking down, unlocked the pose for me. It was that one final element and tip that clicked, so now I am working towards truly embodying this pose and being able to spend more time to BREATHE into it.

Here's what she said:

"It's mostly a posture for your mind… because your arms will be sort of trapped from underneath you, and you have to lean forward to find the balance of this pose and sometimes that is the biggest hurdle to get over for this pose."

"As you come forward it is important to find a flat back in a horizontal plane. A lot of us get into Crow Pose and we think 'get your hips really high and set yourself down into this pose' …which is a lot of pressure going down. You want to be able to find, like you're swimming on a lake, or [going on] a horizontal plane.

"Keep your gaze up, keep your eyes up, and let the heart lead you forward. You will coast forward and you have to lean past the part that feels safe. You gotta lean like an inch past your fear and that's the part where your body will balance, and you'll see."

(I tried finding the name of the teacher in this Howcast video but it wasn't available. Sending many thanks to her, nonetheless!)

Interestingly, the same advice also applied to my rock and sportclimbing days: When I was afraid of heights, I found that looking up and focusing on the route—and not looking down—helped me get to the top of a wall.

Don't you guys think that this applies to life as well?! :)

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 6

Food for Thought

"Apologize when you are wrong; stand up for what is right. And (this one is from inspirational author and speaker, Dr. Wayne Dyer) when you have a choice between being right or being kind, choose kind."

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 5

Best. (Fish) Sandwich. Ever.

To make a really good fish sandwich, you’re better off making at home. (Check out my D.I.Y. Fish Fillet Sandwich post.)

But then again, enter, Dishes NYC’s sandwich special of the week, Filet of Sole

“Beer batter filet of sole with tortilla chips, kale jalapeno coleslaw, chipotle lime mayo, brioche roll.”

Best. Sandwich. Ever!

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 4

"You are what you think. Think positive, do not feed yourself with rumors, and things will work out."

Heard in our company meeting earlier :)

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 4

Shopping, Streamlined

See those purple pumps from Zara on my Instagram feed? They’re among the last few ‘recreational’ purchases I’ve made before embarking on this 30-day spending halt of sorts. Adding to that is an iPhone case I ordered that’s on its way, along with an iPad Mini case from Etsy.

Why am I doing this?

Out of sheer curiosity—really, that’s it. Well, and I thought it would be a nice addition to my 30-day personal sadhana for my yoga 200-hour RYT certification.

I’d like to see if I can resist online shopping (and anything-shopping) for the next 30 days, or possibly, more. Honestly, I’m not too worried. I truly feel and believe that I have everything that I need :)

That said, here are some other items on my ‘want’ list that would have to wait:

1) Doc Martens

Because I was cash-strapped in my early teens—when grunge and DMs paired with floral baby doll dresses became all the rage—I never got to own them. Now that they seem to be back in fashion and I live in commuter-friendly NYC, I’m curious how they’d fare as winter boots and everyday city footwear. I want these very tall boots (model 1B60), but isn’t the above style cute too?

2) A Roomba?

But then we already own a fabulous Dyson DC35 Digital Slim cordless vac that perfectly picks up pet hair and whatnot. So if we do eventually get a Roomba, that would be a serious (home) treat. 

So wow, that’s all I can think about for now! As long as I don’t go on Zara’s website or step into a Lululemon store, I think I’ll be fine! :)

Here’s a mantra I’d like to share. It’s actually a note I wrote to myself/typed into my phone a long time ago. I’m not sure if it’s verbatim or if it’s actually a quote from someone else (although I am pretty convinced I came up with it). Anyhow, it works:

"I have everything that I need. And if I need more, it will become available to me."

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 3

Purple Heels

I’m not buying anything unnecessary for 30 days… These sky-high purple heels from #Zara made the cut before I started :D #30daychallenge #personalsadhana


Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 3

Yoga pants are the new jeans

I so agree: Yoga pants are the new jeans :) #lululemon #wunderunder #weekendwear http://t.co/TGqYQdpP

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 2

New Moon, New Blog (Repost)

As part of my 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher certification, I am embarking on a 30-day personal “sadhana”—or practice.

According to bluesage-sanctuary.com:

A sadhana can be any one of a number of rituals that you personally feel drawn to and are comfortable committing to on a daily basis. Sadhana, known in yoga as the “Path to Self-Realization,” is time taken each day (usually in the morning) to meditate, practice asana (yogic postures) and/or mantra. However, a personal daily sadhana needs not adhere to only these activities. Even a simple contemplative or meditative walk each day can be a sadhana ritual. 

It’s ideal to start one’s personal sadhana on a day that is quite meaningful: that could be the start of the month, a significant personal day, or the start of a New Moon (hence, why I chose today). 

In my original blog, NyMinuteNow.com, I did a 30-day Blog Challenge every year from 2009 to 2011. I didn’t do it in 2012 because of a hectic work schedule. Work is still pretty busy these days, but having studied and embraced yoga for three months straight, what better way to jump back into the blogging game AND fulfill one of the last few requirements towards being able to apply for the certificate than starting a 30-day Blog Challenge once again.

And this time, I’m doing it here on Tumblr, as a spin-off of my home blog! [And I'm reposting everything here on Ny Minute Now as well ;)]

I’m curious to see what the features here are and how the interface works; hoping the new space will inspire me to stick to the plan.

Blogging for 30 days straight is only one part of my personal sadhana. I also plan on doing the following:

1) At least 10 minutes of meditation daily and doing Nadi Shodhana or alternate-nostril breathing—a ‘cleansing’ and ‘purifying’ pranayama or breath.

2) Wait for it…

30 days of NOT BUYING ANYTHING!!! 

Bet ya didn’t see that coming, did you?:)

Of course the essentials such as food, groceries, and basic necessities do not. I am talking about my Zara-online-shopping habit and buying random things.

I still have to fill out the personal sadhana form from one of my teachers at Sonic Yoga here in New York (the sheet should include a personal intention and other aspects). Will most likely talk about it in further detail as I go along.

For now, here goes: I hope the next 30 days of blogging, meditating, and not-buying-anything prove to be meaningful and fulfilling!

Cheers!

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 1

New Moon, New Blog

Hi, friends!

I'm testing out Ny Minute Now over at Tumblr: http://nyminutenow.tumblr.com, check it out if you like :)

Just curious what the interface and blogging experience over there would be like, and—drum roll, please—I'm doing a 30-day Blog Challenge this year!

Some of you may have noticed that I didn't do one in 2012. It was a hectic time at work and my job these days still involves a full and busy workweek. But I'm finally embarking on a 30-day Blog Challenge once again as part of my 30-day personal sadhana, or "practice," which is a requirement to complete my 200-hour RYT certification...and then I can officially call myself a yoga teacher(!). Although of course, the yoga journey doesn't end there.

For more on this year's Challenge and personal sadhana, check out my new Tumblr page! (Note: I am still testing out templates and tinkering with the settings so expect some tweaks.)

Oh, and tonight is a new moon, which is one of the suggested times when one can start a personal sadhana.