Something's gotta give.

I'm currently in a body composition physiology class (finally a class that I can apply to real life!) and recently we've been discussing obesity. One of the major contributors to the obesity "epidemic" is lack of physical activity. This happens for various reasons: lack of motivation, time, other priorities, etc.

Today, I experienced two of the above three. Sometimes, it's just really hard to fit a workout into an already busy schedule with school, work, other hobbies, and a social life. (What student doesn't want a social life?!)

Anyway, to overcome this problem, there are a few solutions. I discovered one of them today: yogadownload.com. This website has all kinds of yoga lessons--classes for beginners/intermediate/advanced, vinyasa style yoga, power yoga, yoga for weight loss--and each class is only 20 minutes long! I thought I'd give it a shot. With little time, yet lots of motivation to do some form of exercise, I found this to be a wonderful solution! And believe it or not, in those 20 minutes, I definitely worked up quite a sweat.

Physical activity doesn't have to be time consuming, nor does it have to be a chore. If you find that going on a run, for example, isn't enjoyable, don't do it! There are so many other options out there for physical activity. If you ask me, anything that gets you moving and burning calories is good enough.

That's my two cents about physical activity. If you are ever looking for ideas for different types of work outs, don't hesitate to ask me...and vice versa as well! I am always looking for new and interesting work outs to add to my collection. :)

Back to cauliflower week. It's been quite a while since I've discussed this week's veggie.

A few weeks ago, I saw a recipe by Opera Girl for cauliflower tabbouleh, in which she grated the cauliflower. This inspired me to make a Cauliflower Greek Salad. I threw this salad together with ingredients I happened to have on hand.

Ingredients:

• a few medium-sized cauliflower florets
• 1/4 red bell pepper
• 1/2 cucumber
• olives
• marinated artichokes
• parsley
• balsamic vinaigrette
• lemon juice
• feta cheese

This recipe can be completed in less than 10 minutes (depending on how quick you are at chopping veggies!)

I'm pretty picky when I chop vegetables. So it took me about 10 minutes. 

I don't know why, but I was in the mood for really small vegetables for this salad. Maybe it's because of the grated cauliflower involved in this. (I decided to include the stalks too, hence the bigger chunks).

I mixed the grated cauliflower and the rest of the chopped veggies, the artichokes, and feta cheese. 

Drizzled some balsamic and a few squirts of lemon juice, and it was ready!