Pilates, oh how I missed thee

This morning I was reunited with Pilates at my gym. I can’t remember how long it had been, and to be honest, I don’t know what took me so long to go back. I.Love.Pilates.
I don’t know if it’s because I was trying to pay more attention to Yoga, but I put my beloved Pilates on the back burner and now that we’ve been reunited, I will not let it happen again.

Obviously not me, but just one of the moves we did today.

Our instructor, Aylin was amazing. She was hardcore, bad-ass ripped, and she blew my mind with the things she was able to do on a balance ball. Now, I love the balance ball, so when she said we’d be using it, I was really excited. But shortly I was cursing her when I realized I have A LOT of work to do. A lot.

We did a lot of hip work and I was sore 10 minutes into class. My plan was to run afterward but I promise I will be sure to get my cardio in BEFORE class next time. For reals. This was hard.

I got on the treadmill (reluctantly) after our hour long class and my legs felt like Jell-O. I ran about 2.5 miles before my legs started to give out on me, so I walked for 5 minutes and called it a day.

PHEW!

And although I was cursing Aylin and that damn balance ball during class, when approached by one of her co-workers afterward (McKenna!), I found myself immediately saying I loved her class and I will be back. Ha!

After my workout I came back to make an awesome lunch. For those of you who read HEAB’s blog, you’ve already seen that she had a meal with Kabocha squash and apples after receiving two emails from readers telling her how amazing the combo is. I was one of those readers. My concoction was a little different than hers, and I’m completely in love with this new sammich. I present to you:

Nicole’s KBA sandwich

I toasted up an Ezekiel English muffin (any kind of bread or English muffin will do) and topped it with peanut butter, squash, and apples. That’s it. And let me tell you, this is DEVINE. Yum. I’ve eaten about four of these over the past week and I will be so sad when the Honey Crisp apples go out of season because they are perfect for this sandwich. (Although I suspect Braeburn apples will work too) Honestly, between HEAB’s Kabocha Squash pancakes, Kabocha squash butter (although I’ve been making it with pumpkin) and this recipe, I’m really not sure how I haven’t turned orange yet. Seriously.

Wednesday is Veteran’s Day, so everyone remember to thank those whom are or whom have served in the military to make our country safe and free. Remember, we would not be enjoying the freedoms we do every day without those courageous men and women who have put their lives on the line for us. Thank you!