What’s up, buttercups? It’s been a day! Let me just tell y’all about it…
First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY LINDSAY!!! Thanks for your friendship…it’s been a blast!
Now onto today’s eats…check out the morning-after Blueberry Muffin “Larabars®”. Looks good to me! They were a little “wet” still, so I’d definitely recommend rolling with dried blueberries, but I could not find any that weren’t sweetened in our little grocery stores in town. (Note to self: buy at Whole Foods next time, or make some myself!) I liked the texture though. Perfect for crumbling 😉 hehe (insert sneaky smirk here)
I crumbled 1/6 of the “Larabar (R)” container on top of pumpkin oats with some real blueberries…
Check out this mug shot 😉 + Naturally More dollop.
Then I topped that with some Trader Joe’s Superfruit Spread. It was one of those days when I kept going back in the refrigerator for toppings.
Workout today: BodyPump, RPM, BodyFlow. I got “called out” today for overdoing it, but I truly felt great and had a great mix of cardio, weights, and flexibility training. When you’re a fitness instructor as a job, it’s important to keep up with your own fitness to be a good example for your participants. I would have left if I felt tired or sluggish…promise! I told the man who stopped me that he needed to check out my blog to see that yes, I do eat. It just really stuck with me today.
I came home to make this beast of a lunch in my baby plate ;)…Ashley Nicole Avenue salad beast and 1/2 sweet potato “Clare” style 😉 (I tried it FINALLY, Clare!)–with black beans, fresh salsa, and some ripe avocado. It was different for a change, but my tastebuds like baked beans on top better.
Dessert lunch: 1) Celestial Lemon Zinger hot tea (if you can’t say something nice, don’t! I miss my Yogi tea), 2) a square of 85% cacao chocolate…not as good as 100%, but it did the trick, and 3) the BEST smoothie! It tasted like ice cream + I added 3 slices of frozen banana…
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup raw unsalted almonds
- 1 cup ice
- 1/2 banana
- 1 tablespoon honey
Directions
- Place ½ cup water and the almonds in a blender.
- Cover and refrigerate until the cashews have softened, at least 6 hours (and up to overnight).
- Add the ice, banana, and maple syrup.
- Blend until smooth and frothy.
After 3 hours of studying about metabolism of glucose and insulin, my tummy said: “Snack time, please!” So, went with 1) organic pink lady, a Ball of Energy (with Maranatha raw almond butter, Twister Power Powder from Whole Foods, unsweetened coconut, honey, rolled in some more coconut), and some Green Juice…
Ingredients
- 1 cup seedless green grapes
- 1 cup packed baby spinach
- 1/2 cup ice
- 1/4 cup coconut water
Directions
- Place the grapes, spinach, ice, and coconut water in a blender.
- Let it fly!
I went to chat with my friend Mira who inspired tonight’s dessert ;), practiced for Zumba and getting ready for my Zumba party at One Heart Yoga!!! If you’re in town, please come by for some or all of it. Here’s the deets…
Dinner was a grain bowl!!! Oh, how I have missed these. I just wanted something really clean!
In the bowl:
- 1/2 cup brown rice
- black beans
- edamame
- green beans
- steamed mixed veggies (carrots, cauliflower, broccoli)
- seasonings: nutritional yeast and Garlic Gold Nuggets
Soooooo yummy and super quick!
Dinner dessert: Mira-inspired Single Lady Spicy Hot Chocolate
- 2 tbsp + a little more 100% cacao powder
- 1/8 tsp Truvia
- sprinkle of sea salt
- a
littlelot of cayenne pepper ( you pick your spicy!)
I have never tried one of these before. It was different. Definitely not sweet, but the cayenne complimented the cocoa well. Hmmm…I may need to play with this one some more (or go to Mexico and get a Mexican hot chocolate 😉 )
Plus, some grapes, a black bean brownie topped with some cookie dough hummus 😉
I’m fully satisfied! Definitely not stuffed but content.
Have you ever been “called out” at the gym? How do you handle it? I can’t wait to hear what you have to say.
*******************************************************************************************************************
Reader’s Request: If you could look back at yourself at 16 years of age, what would you say to yourself/What advice would your give yourself?
( I have to indulge the birthday girl today!)
Well, for starters, I’d say…
- Lose your dreams! Open yourself up to what God has for you. It’s so much better than what you had planned for yourself.
- GET HEALTHY! and enjoy eating REAL food…go get some raw nut butter NOW!
- Start saving for a VitaMix ; ) hehe
- Get out of your comfort zone at least once a day!
- Get off the couch and go outside, take a walk, dance barefoot in the grass, life is too short. (I used to come home from school, eat way too many snacks and watch TV until dinner while doing homework.)
- Outer beauty is not everything, but a healthy balance is important.
- Love who you are and embrace it. Don’t roll with the “popular” thing your friends are doing or who they want you to be.
I’m sure there’s a lot more, but that’s what came to mind first. Thanks for the request, Linds!