Peanut Butter and Jelly Protein Shake

Who doesn't enjoy the childhood go to sandwich: PB & J?? 

Other than my insane weirdo of a husband. (I know, right?)

Well, here is a twist on the classic PB&J

A PB&J Protein Shake.

Admit it, I blew your mind a little.

Ingridients:

1/2 Almond Milk

1/4 cup Pure Peanut Butter (Not processed, no sugars, just PB)

5 strawberries

1 scoop Vanilla Whey Protein powder (I used 1/2 a scoop of Body Fortress)

Blend and enjoy!

One of my first responses to this shake was "uhh isn't that unhealthy?" Alas, it is not.

329 Calories, 22 g Carbs, 17 g Fat, 22 g Protein, 6 g Fiber, 9 g Sugar

Peanuts are a healthy fat and have so many nutrients as well as it being a great source of protein. It is also considered to be a 'designer' antioxidant. Next to grape skins, peanuts are the richest source of resveratrol, a supplement known to extend life and have been known to produce better endurance. 

Sources:

Nutrition Diva

Lean Green Smoothie

This smoothie was made using an app from the Google app store called Smoothie recipes.

I'm on a fruit and veggie fast today, mostly in smoothie form, so prepare for 4-5 smoothies today.

For breakfast, I chose to have a Lean Green Smoothie. Anything green is a great way to start the day!

Ingredients:

 1 cup Honeydew Melon

3-4 Ice Cubes

1 cup Green Grapes

1/4 Cucumber, peeled and shopped

1/4 cup Broccoli Florets

1 sprig Mint Leaves

Blend, serve and enjoy!

Strawberry Orange Sunrise Smoothie

This smoothie was inspired by my favorite yogurt, Yoplait's Strawberry Orange Sunrise.

I wouldn't recommend this smoothie as a protein smoothie, but more as a dessert. I added in some carrot juice, which you can't even taste, because Carrot juice is so healthy for you and I can't stand the taste. 

Ingredients:

Squeezed Orange Juice

1 cup halved Strawberries

1-3 halved frozen Strawberries

1 Banana, slightly frozen and cut into 4 pieces

a dash of carrot juice (optional)

Blend, serve and enjoy!

Cinnamon Roll Smoothie

Inspired by FitSugar

This is so great when you're craving something sweet, especially since there is only 157 calories. What?!!? Heck yea! You save like 800 calories by having this instead of a Cinnamon bun. 

Ingredients:

1 frozen banana, cut into four pieces

1 cup Almond Milk

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/2 tsp pure maple syrup

Cinnamon stick for awesomeness 

Blend and enjoy!

Best part of this delicious smoothie is the benefits:

Almond milk- great cholesterol lowering-effects from Vitamin E, magnesium and monounsaturated fats.

Cinnamon - aids digestion, recommended for treating loss of appetite and upset stomach, prevents bloating and treats heart burn and nausea.

Banana - help with depression, from traces of tryptophan which converts into serotonin, a neurotransmitter that makes one feel happy. Helps against leg cramps during workouts. Reduces PMS symptoms. 

Sources:

FitDay

Annie's Remedies

Food Matters

Green Monster Smoothie

Green smoothies are a great way to get a lot of nutrients from broccoli, spinach, kale, celery, etc.

I know it's hard to drink it when it's so green! But not only is it delicious, but it's so good for you. I've even started replacing my coffee for this green smoothie.

Ingredients:

6 oz Naked Green Machine

1/4 cup frozen Pineapple Mango mix

1/4 cup Broccoli

1 handful fresh raw Spinach 

Blend and enjoy!

Strawberry Burst Smoothie

This was possibly the best smoothie I have made yet!

I picked up some of this stuff

from Dillon's yesterday. They were buy one get one free!

I highly recommend these or Naked drinks for smoothie bases.

So I decided to make a delicious strawberry smoothie with the Strawberry C Monster as a base. 

Ingredients:

Odwalla Strawberry C Monster

1-1.5 cup Strawberries (Depending how big your blender is)

1-2 pieces of pineapple

Vanilla Whey Protein Powder

Blend and enjoy!

Turkey and Zucchini Sliders

I got this idea from Living Crunchy. So cute, so easy and so good!

I didn't look at the recipe, I just saw the photo from pinterest and I just did my own thing. 

Moist ground turkey, burst of garlic and basil and a tasty crunch of perfectly grilled until tender zucchini.

What you need:

1 Zucchini

1/2 lb ground turkey

1 tbsp fresh cut basil leaves

1 tbsp fresh cut parsley

1 tsp salt

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tbsp garlic powder

1 egg white

1. Heat a little bit of olive oil in a pan or in a panini machine.

2. Mix together ground turkey, leaves, salt, powders. 

3. Crack your egg in a separate bowl as to not add any shell into the mix. Separate egg yolk from whites. 

4. Add egg whites to turkey mix and thoroughly mix together. 

5. Drop small spoonfuls of turkey mix onto heated pan or panini machine and flatten.

6. While turkey is cooking, chop your zucchini vertically. 

7. When your turkey is done, set aside. 

8. Place zucchini onto panini machine or pan and cover. Heat for only about 2 minutes, or until lightly tender. 

9. Stack together and enjoy!

The original site added in avocado (yum) but I added Litehouse's lite Jalapeno Ranch. Enjoy!

Strawberry Raspberry Banana Smoothie - Jamba Juice Copy Cat

Raspberries are amazing. I recently stated liking them, myself, and I can't get enough of them!

Raspberries are so rich on Vitamin C. 1 cup of them has 32 mg, which is about 54% daily value (based on a 2000 calorie diet), Manganese (Mineral important in forming bones, connecting tissues, blood-clotting factors, sex hormones, and is involved in fat and carbs metabolism, calcium absorption, and blood sugar regulation. It is also important for the brain and nerve function) 41% daily value, and dietary fiber (32% daily value).

The list goes on and on for vitamins and minerals. And they are so great in smoothie, salads, pastries/desserts, again, list goes on and on.

I bring raspberries up because I was craving them today.

I was craving a raspberry smoothie. 

This is my own attempt to make Jamba Juice's Strawberry Raspberry Banana Smoothie.

(I went there once thinking that they would make beyond amazing smoothies. They were good, but they didn't add in any secret ingredient to make it their own and super special, so I make my own now.)

Recipe:

1/4 cup Pure Orange Juice

1/2 cup Raspberries (I like frozen)

1/4 Strawberries (again, frozen)

1/2 Banana

1/2 scoop Vanilla Whey Protein powder

And presto. I gotta say, mine was better than Jamba Juice. 

(I like frozen better because the smoothie's aren't as liquid-y and obviously, makes it colder)

This was my recovery smoothie. I only used a half a scoop of protein powder because I plan on having another smoothie later after I run when the set starts setting. 

Blog Parties:

Miz Helen's Country Cottage

Sources:

Wikipedia

LiveStrong

My Day!

For breakfast I tried something new. Special K's Nourish Multi Grain Blend with Quinoa Maple Brown Sugar Crunch flavor. 

I gotta say, I wasn't impressed. 

I feel like I can make better, myself, for a less expensive price. 

But for one who is on the go, maybe you should try it out. All you do is heat up some water and pour to the line in the cup and let soak. 

My workout was tough today. I was sweating cats and dogs. I tried out some CrossFit moves my mother taught me while she visited and holy. cow. lick. My lungs, heart and quads were working! I wish I had someone to take pictures, but I'll describe what I did in as best detail as I can.

Warm up:

1 min Jumping Jacks

1 min skips across room, back and forth

1 min side skips across room, back and forth

Workout:

Push Press, Squats, jumping over weighted bar. 

Start off doing 10 of each. Then 9, then 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

No breaks, no rest, no catching your breath. 

In the words of Jillian Michaels "Unless you puke, faint or die, keep going!"

Once I was done with this, I did some ab work:

Lay on your back, knees up, feet down. Hold a 10 lbs weight above your head, arms straight. Sit up ALL THE WAY, keeping yours arms above your head at all times. This works out your abs and shoulders. You better believe me, it works you! 2 sets of 25 of these

2 sets of  25 flutter kicks

2 sets of 25 scissor kicks

2 sets of 25 Russian Twists with 10 lb weight

Then a little bit of arm work:

I mostly added this in because I haven't worked out my arms in a while and I wanted to wake them up

25 bicep curls, slow

25 kick backs

25 shoulder raises

25 fly's

25 rows

Stretch:

I added a few yoga moves here. I did a full sun salutation sequence and some muscle stretches. 

All this took me less than 40 minutes, warm up and cool down included and I burned 437 calories. I feel like I burned way more though. But even if my heart rate monitor is lying and this is the minimum, than awesome!

 I was craving a raspberry smoothie. 

This is my own attempt to make Jamba Juice's Strawberry Raspberry Banana Smoothie.

(I went there once thinking that they would make beyond amazing smoothies. They were good, but they didn't add in any secret ingredient to make it their own and super special, so I make my own now.)

I gotta say, mine was better than Jamba Juice. 

This was my recovery smoothie. I only used a half a scoop of protein powder because I plan on having another smoothie later after I run when the set starts setting. 

Recipe will be posted soon.

Lunch!

I made Turkey and Zucchini Sliders. How adorable are they?!?!

Recipe will be posted soon.

Also, I had a dessert:

Half a Gala Apple, 1/3 a Banana and This -->

Have you tried this deliciousness yet? You need to.

Around sun set I went for a small 2 mile run. My shins were killing me and I felt like I worked out enough so I cut it short. But I had to take advantage of the weather. 

I'm not proud of dinner. Ladies, TOM is here (Time of month) and I was craving a burger so bad. And I justified it by saying I ate good all day and I worked out like a beast. Normally I would say, okay a cheat meal or a small indulgence isn't bad, but I went on a road trip and was eating horribly the whole time. So I can say that I really didn't need a burger. But I got one. From Five Guys. And my husband and I split a regular side of fries. It was greasy and delicious. But that was it. I have dinner planned for tomorrow and I'm not giving into temptations. 

That was my day! I'll try to figure out a way to take some pictures or a video of what I'm doing.

CrossFit... What is it?

A couple of years ago Zumba was all the rage. You couldn't watch TV without a commercial selling videos. Xbox Kinect also made a few Kinect video games for it. It was a huge new revolution! Now it's died down. I still do Zumba for many reasons. 1. The rage had died down, it's not nearly as jammed packed in classes now. 2. It's great cardio 3. it's so much fun 4. It has given me so much more confidence with my husband ;) and in the very rare times I go to a club. Zumba is a great workout, I do it a few times in the week, I highly recommend it for anyone. I'd even recommend it for those who want to CrossFit but are still a little overweight or are scared to try it out. It's great for working out your heart. Plus, Zumba is starting to do songs that are just about your arms, legs or abs! so you get to start working out those muscles as well. I digress. 

But now I feel like the new thing is CrossFit.

What exactly is CrossFit?

Well, according to Wikipedia, CrossFit is a "strength and conditioning program designed to help people gain a broad and general fitness". CrossFit incorporates a lot of different exercises together. I have been to a class and I gotta say it was pretty intense. It's not something you can jump into expecting to come out feeling like a champ. That class kicked my ass. In the classes defense though, I was very overweight. If I tried to do what I do now I would have had the same reaction. 

The above hierarchy is basically what CrossFit is about. CrossFit has the same concept of Zumba: keep moving. "Constantly varied, high intensity, functional movement" You want your heart rate to keep going, never giving it a rest, working those muscles to get stronger. In CrossFit you're involving your own body weight (also like Zumba) or using heavy weights.

When I was the class, we did a lot of squats, lunges, push ups, high intensity cardio moves. Some with weights some without. I did most of it without weights just because it was my first time, which I recommend for anyone. 

The point of CrossFit is to work out every single muscle, in a different way. A lot of workouts aren't just squats or lunges. You could also work out your shoulders as well or your back while doing squats or lunges.

I highly recommend this style of exercise for those who are a bit more fit, those who have lost a lot of their wight already and want to tone and tighten. Your heart rate is going to go through the roof and if your heart can't handle it, it could be dangerous. Also, make sure you're doing these workouts properly. If you do a simple move the wrong way, you could seriously injure something or pull a muscle.

What are your opinions on CrossFit? Do you have any workouts that you do and love?

I'm Bragging a Little...

I'm back from my mini vacation! I had to go back to Washington to pick up my moms car and to get my licence renewed. And I just want to brag a little! 

Ok, I know it looks like a mug shot, but it's not. On the left is my previous licence. I took this photo with I was 19, I was around 160 lbs and not looking to work out and get healthy at all. On the right is my current photo, I'm now 25, 170 lbs and I feel I look a whole lot thinner. My face looks more ovular than round, you can see definition around my neck and shoulders and I just plain look happier!

I also saw my childhood best friend at her wedding. (I'm actually not ashamed of showing myself in this photo! I'm so proud of me and my body. It's slow, but it's coming along!)

We saw each other for the first time in about 6 years, from the last time I visited and 13 years from when we were kids. 

 

I did workout a bit. My mother showed me some cross training moves that I will show you guys and will be incorporating into my workouts.