smoothie Archives -

November 13, 2014

Baby it’s cold outside!

Brr… Winter has finally hit Mississippi! I went to Java Jog yesterday morning and it was one of our very first cold runs. Thankfully I just got some leggings in that I wanted to try out. They worked great and I look forward to wearing them this Saturday at my 5K. I gave myself a sub 30 goal for the 5K because I’ve always wanted to do one that fast and just haven’t yet. Granted, I haven’t done a lot of 5K’s the past few years since I’ve been running more heavily, but I still consider myself a very slow runner and my motto is usually “Slow and steady wins (or at least finishes) the race!” I know sub 30 would be awesome to do though, so let’s hope I can pull it off. For Java Jog, I met up with my usual running partner, Louise. Her husband is the Marketing Leader at our local Whole Foods. After running into Mary Lindsey the other night at Lucky Town Brewery, she decided to give Java Jog a try as well. I finally feel like I’m finding my running buddies in Jackson. I’ve had some great ones in the past, but it doesn’t always last long because of people moving or getting too busy to keep it up. Mary Lindsey offered to run with me during my marathon training and all 3 of us stayed together throughout the run yesterday morning. They’re the perfect pace for me – slow enough for me to keep up, but fast enough to keep me challenged.

After my run, I got my free coffee & I had a smoothie waiting for me in the car. This smoothie is delicious and it has some great fruit & veggies. One tip I learned from this recipe is to blend up your spinach first and then you won’t have an issue of your blender getting clogged. Sometimes I get smoothie happy and throw a ton of stuff in the blender without realizing how it will all mix together and that I should have blended part of it beforehand. I blended 2 cups of spinach with water, then added 2 bananas, pineapple, and mango. It makes one large smoothie, but this was the perfect post-run treat on my way to work.

WEEKLY MENU

This week’s menu has been pretty good. I’ve been trying to cook more of my Health Starts Here approved dishes and not eat out so much. So far I’ve made vegetarian chili (still have some leftover), pad thai (didn’t turn out as good as I expected, but I’ll have to work on the recipe some), morning glory muffins (which have been a lifesaver in the morning and for snacking), the beginner green smoothies (pictured above), and I have plans to make a hummingbird cake on Friday. I meant to make the cake earlier in the week, but just never got around to it. Yesterday I did have lunch with my boss’ wife since he’s out of town the rest of the week and I’m having lunch with a friend today who is leaving for China next week to do missions for a year or so, but other than that, I’ve been very devoted to eating at home and eating healthy.

MARATHON TRAINING

Training isn’t going stellar, I’ll be honest, but it’s going…. On Monday, I did a 3 mile run on the treadmill at the gym. On Tuesday, I did my favorite HIIT class. On Wednesday, I did the java Jog which on my training is suppose to be 4 miles, but we did right under 3. Today, I’m suppose to do 3 miles, but depending on how I feel, I may go for 4 since I missed that yesterday. Friday I’ll rest to get ready for my long run on Saturday which is just 6 miles. I have a 5K to get me through the first 3 and then I’ll probably go and do the course one more time to get through my second 3. Overall, it’s going okay, but I have a lot of room to improve! I need to better plan my eating schedule so I can be properly fueled for when I do my runs. I also might talk to my boss once I get into longer runs about switching up my schedule some so I can either come in early and leave early or come in late and leave late so I have more time to get my longer runs in during the week. Honestly, I’m not sure how he’ll take it, but I might as well give it a try.

What are your weekend plans?
What is your favorite smoothie?
Do you have any plans for a race? Are you training for anything?

November 7, 2014

Thin Mints + Mercedes + Conscious Box

Good Morning! Happy Friday to y’all! I’m typing this post while munching on some Thin Mints that I just came across in my freezer. I love it when I’m craving something sweet and I find a surprise! These Thin Mints are hitting the spot. This week has been rough on the health front – I’ve been craving so much chocolate and I have NOT been in the mood to run, which is not going so well for my marathon training. By the way, I guess I haven’t mentioned this yet, but I officially signed up for my first marathon. I’m so nervous!! I decided to do the Mercedes Marathon over the Mississippi Blues Marathon because the Mercedes will give me more time to train than the Blues at this point. I’m excited about the race, but please pray for an injury free or at least injury limited training & race!

Another thing I prefer about the Mercedes Marathon is who it benefits. I don’t even really know if the Mississippi Blues Marathon proceeds benefit a good cause, but the Mercedes Marathon benefits the Bell Center Children. Please take the time to read this beautiful story about how the race got started. I’m so excited to be a part of this race and knowing that my money is going towards a wonderful cause gives me peace of mind. If something does happen during training and for whatever reason, I can’t race, then my money is still being useful.

To sum all of that up, I’ve been eating terribly this week with no motivation to train and that probably will not end well, so I need to kick my butt into gear over the next few days.

Have y’all heard about Conscious Box?

Conscious Box (<— Affiliate Link!) is a subscription box, but I love that it comes filled with healthy, non-GMO items. You can select between a Classic, Vegan, or Gluten Free box. The items vary from food to beauty products to pet friendly items. You never know what you’re going to get!

In this box I got a wide variety of items – everything from fitness to beauty to dog treats to food! I haven’t tried the shampoos and lotions yet, but I have a feeling they’ll make the perfect travel companion. I used the Kool ‘N Fit on a run one day and I noticed that I didn’t have any joint pain, it could have been a fluke, I haven’t been able to use it enough to tell, but if it becomes my favorite fitness product, you’ll find out! I really enjoyed the side of pasta and the protein mix. Unfortunately my pasta recipe didn’t turn out as well as I wanted.

I was grounding up my Morning Star “meat” in the skillet and it was smelling good y’all. I was getting really excited about the lunch I was going to get at work this particular day. Then I go to pour the tomato & basil sauce into the pan to finish cooking, right after I douse my perfectly good “meat” with the sauce, I notice that there are pops of mold along the can lid. It didn’t look like there was mold in the actual sauce and I was so excited about this meal that I almost chose to forget that I even saw the mold and believe that by cooking the sauce, the germs would all be gone. Whether or not that’s true, I’m not really sure, but I couldn’t really get past it. Sadly, I threw out my “meat” sauce and went with Italian dressing. It didn’t turn out as good as it probably would have, but the pasta was delicious and super easy to make. It made the perfect portion size for one person too!

Another item I was excited to try was the protein powder. It’s vegan and they sent me the milk chocolate flavor – it’s as if they researched me first (they probably didn’t, but it felt that way.) I made a nice little smoothie, but I didn’t have any good veggies to throw in, so I opted for some frozen veggies I had on hand. Not my brightest idea, I tell ya!

The smoothie turned out good, but next time I’d go with the typical spinach to add that veggie boost.

Not pictured was a can of Zevia, but that’s another story for another day! I already drank it when I was working on these pictures.

The last item I want to point out from my Conscious box were the puppy treats. Cappie LOVED these treats! Loved them so much that he got sick on them haha. I didn’t think about them being sweet, but I think he begged for too many after his first one that it gave him an upset stomach similar to when we eat too much candy. Now we just give him one at a time as part of his dessert each day. He jumps up to my hand to grab it from me! I was so impressed with how much Cappie liked them because he tends to be high maintenance and picky.

I had previously gotten a Conscious Box a few years back, but they’ve greatly improved since then. I was extremely pleased with this month’s box and I look forward to using them in the future. They also make great gifts in my opinion. You don’t have to choose the Vegan one like me, you can choose the one that best fits your preferences.

**I was provided this particular conscious box free of charge in exchange for my honest review, all opinions are my own. Affiliate links are within the post, as always, I appreciate your support!**

Have you tried Conscious Box before?
What is the one item from my box you would have enjoyed getting?
Do you ever have a cooking mishap like I did?

July 12, 2014

Who am I?

Good Morning!

How was your Friday night? Mine started out with a really great WORKOUT when I got off work. I originally planned on doing a Kickbox class, but I got off later than expected. I’ve really enjoyed circuit workouts lately to help get me back to the gym! They’re challenging and always different! Today I warmed up with a 25 minute treadmill walk. I did the walk before realizing that it was created by The Skinny Student who I actually met at Blog Elevated this past year! We didn’t get to know each other very well, but she was so sweet and I enjoyed following her blog when I got home!

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When I finished that, I had worked up a nice little sweat. I went on to do another Peanut Butter Fingers circuit workout {NO surprise!} This one was TOUGH though. I was a little nervous going into it because she said it was a workout to “kick her butt and leave her dripping in sweat.” Well if you have read even half a post from Julie, then you know this girl is fit! I’m working my way there, so I figured it’d be a tough one. I was entirely correct.

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I only completed one set, even though it says to complete two. I wasn’t exactly “dripping” in sweat, but I “dripped” sweat. Which is a huge accomplishment for me because sometimes I don’t think I sweat enough – compared to others who workout anyways, then again… I shouldn’t be playing the comparison game!

There’s the proof.

I’m hoping I’ll be comfortable enough to create my own workouts soon so I won’t be using everyone else’s! haha Right now, it’s nice to have these resources though!

Yeah, I know it’s not much, but it’s a start. While I was at the gym, my mom asked me if I wanted to get pizza with her and my dad. Originally I said yes, but then I thought about it and realized that I didn’t make great decisions about my food throughout the week and I really wanted something healthy, so I changed my mind and made a smoothie. WHO AM I?? Really, pizza is my favorite.

The smoothie turned out great though! One of these days, I’m actually going to make a pin-able recipe for y’all w/ legit measurements. After all, that’s what a good blogger does… *sigh* Let’s cross our fingers for that very soon!

a cup or so of orange juice
3 handfuls of frozen blueberries
2 large handfuls of spinach
couple dashes of flax seed
3 big scoops of honey vanilla greek yogurt
1 big scoop of almond butter
1 little scoop of cocoa powder
1 little dash of milk for extra liquid

When I made the decision to skip out on pizza, my first thought really was… WHO AM I? It got me to actually answer the question for myself… which could have been really scary and unpredictable!

There’s the person I am and then the person I want to become. The person I am is constantly changing in order to find the person I want to become. I want to become a person who cares more about my health and long-term living, than that large bag of Reese’s. I want to become a person who chooses integrity and class over outbursts of anger. I want to become a person who lives to be 100. I want to become a better friend, family member, blogger, girlfriend, fitness guru, and healthy/vegetarian eating expert.

Surprisingly, I’m becoming the type of person who turns down pizza for a smoothie. The smoothie is a lot better for me in the long run. That doesn’t meant to not indulge from time to time, believe me, I did this past week. That’s why I felt a smoothie was in my best interest. I’m noticing small decisions I make that are helping me become the person I want to be. I think the ideal person I want to be will continuously be evolving as well. You don’t want to get to a stopping point, realize you’re where you wanted to be, but then make no further goals. I want to constantly be learning, growing, and improving!

It was important for me to join a gym because I knew I wouldn’t take my fitness to the next level if I didn’t. I need that motivation on a daily basis. It was important for me to become a vegetarian in January because I knew the leap I wanted to make, but continuously provided excuses. It was time to stop making excuses and just do it. It was important for me to change my blog because I lost interest in my old one. If I wanted to be a better blogger and potentially use blogging as supplemental income, I needed to stop waiting and finally make the change.

So the question: WHO AM I?

I’m usually the person failing at one thing or the other, but I’m also the person striving to succeed, striving to learn, striving to grow, and striving to become a better version of me than I was yesterday.

I hope to do that through this blog, through fitness, through healthy eating choices, through service, through love, through compassion and understanding.

I am not always the person I want to be. I look back at a particular instance and I’m ashamed of the choices I made or the anger I let control me, but every day is a new day and I’m so thankful for the opportunity of forgiveness and a fresh start!

The questions are always optional, but especially today. This is more for you to think through for yourself. If you want to answer and share, I’d love to hear it! If you’re not comfortable doing so, that’s alright too!

WHO ARE YOU?
ARE YOU WHO YOU WANT TO BE?
WHAT CHOICES ARE YOU MAKING TO BECOME A BETTER VERSION OF YOURSELF?

This morning I woke up to an excellent yoga class at my local gym (wish I could find an outdoor yoga class!) and then headed home to sip on coffee while I finish up this post. Today I’ll be studying for my Series 6 test (bleh, investments!) and doing some yard work. My sis is coming to town, so that’s always exciting! Have a wonderful weekend!

Baby it’s cold outside!

Thin Mints + Mercedes + Conscious Box

Who am I?

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