Getting ready for a re-vamp

Did I show you my new toy?

banana blueberry

The Ninja Blender.

Holy cow.

This blender is so incredibly powerful. Its just what I needed after my smoking blender fiasco. I got a great deal on it at Costco, and I am in LOVE!

I've also found a great blog thanks to S, The Gracious Pantry.

She makes clean eating easy with simple, clean recipes.

Tonight I made Mexican Shepherds Pie.

Amazing. 

Thumbs up from Kevin & the roomie.

Check out the recipe HERE.

Do you have a favorite kitchen appliance?

Do you have a recipe blog you love?

RnR DC is right around the corner. When I get home, I'm revamping my nutrition thanks to the re-spark program at Bia Fitness. I'm brainstorming how to maintain the guidelines (no sugar, no booze for 2 months. no combining food groups for a month). I'm studying up, but more on all that later!

Back to packing!

Three Things & a giveaway winner!

1. Yesterday I gobbled up the leapyear savings. I registered for not one, but 2 half marathons! 

Aug 19, 2012

S & I had been debating this as a girls weekend away. Its 3 weeks before Pumpkinman 70.3, so it will be good to get a half marathon in. We saved $29, and spent only $61 on the race. Score!

October 13, 2012

Race price increased today, so I signed up yesterday for a sweet price of only $55 for the half marathon. If it weren't for Pumpkinman, I'd consider the full, but I know it will be too soon.

2. My green smoothie today was delicious, and I actually remembered to put greens inside! Grapefruit, oranges, kiwi, banana, spinach, a scoop of protein powder, and flax seeds. It made so much that I had enough for a morning snack and lunch. Its funny that I feel so satisfied and refreshed having this for lunch. I feel like maybe my old lunches were weighing me down. 

3. We got snow. Not a ton, but enough to make driving a pain. I hate waking up early, cleaning off a car, and shoveling, all before getting to the gym. So I decided to have Kevin do a hearing test with me last night to see if you could hear me on the bike trainer downstairs while in the upstairs bedrooms. Lucky for me, there was no noise, and I was able to pound out 70 minutes in the morning while reading a magazine.  I also counted points all day today. Yay!

The winner of the Immucell?

Lauren... at no blog I can find. I'm shooting you an email Lauren!

Who else is glad its Friday tomorrow?

Did you sign up for any races this week?

Sometimes Good intentions lead to Margaritas....

So for day 2 of my smoothie detox...

I had my regular breakfast, minus the banana. This means 1 slice of organic whole wheat toast, 1 egg, 2 egg whites & spinach scrambled together with a little organic cheddar cheese. Green tea with Truvia on the side.

I made my lunch smoothie.

banana

apples

raspberries

1 scoop natural vanilla whey protein

chia seeds

I forgot to add the greens! I seriously was planning on adding some spinach in, but after I poured it into my glass, I realized the mistake. Too late. Taste test? YUM. problem? The consistency got thick & gooey after letting it sit until lunchtime. I think the culprit is the chia seeds, so I omitted them this morning when making today's.

My plan was to make a tomato based one for dinner, but I forgot about a coworkers going away party. Which lead to 3 of these..

Skinny Margaritas at least! Tequila, agave, lime juice.

I had only a half flatbread pizza @ Uno's with a side salad and a taste of a few appetizers. I felt less guilty of indulging a little after my healthy lunch I had.

Today we are scheduled to get a decent size snow storm, so yoga may be cancelled. I did make it to TRX this morning, and talked to my trainer about Girls on the Run, yay!

Do cocktails throw you off track?

How do you avoid temptations?

Food is not the enemy

Source: letsmakeahealthiertomorrow.tumblr.com via Sam on Pinterest

Today I am working to get on the right track with healthy food. I'm going to put effort in making all that unhealthy food the enemy. Today I begin my green smoothie detox. A green smoothie is essentially a smoothie made with leafy greens, fruits, and water. They pack a huge nutritional punch, especially for people who have difficulty getting in their fruits & veggies. The roomie has decided to do it with me, so in yesterday in preparation we hit the store for our goods.

Took up almost the whole island!

Look at all the yummy food!

Bananas, apples, oranges, spinach, romaine lettuce, parsley, mangoes, pineapple, kiwi, cilantro, cucumbers, tomatoes, swiss chard, scallions, frozen berries. All to set the stage for my detox to better heath. It honestly all looked so good sitting there on the counter, I wanted to make one right then! 

The morning's smoothie is..

1  cup frozen raspberries

1 cup frozen strawberries

2 bananas

2 cups collard greens

chia seeds

I planned on showing a picture of a delicious smoothie here, but disaster struck this morning. My blender started smoking, and smelling like something caught fire. In my morning rush, I drove to my mom's house for her blender, then rushed home to make mine & the roomie's smoothies. I left the house disaster, but armed with my breakfast & lunch smoothies.

Disaster in the kitchen!

How did it go?

Well, lets just say I am used to eating a protein packed breakfast. Eggs, egg whites, cheese. So by 10am, I was so lightheaded and nauseous I could barely focus. Thankfully a coworker had some goldfish crackers. At lunch, I ate a sandwich, then stopped at the store on the way home for a little more "real" food. I am still ridiculously nauseous.

My revised plan?

I will replace my lunch with a green smoothie, followed by a protein bar in the afternoon. I just can't go all in. At least I tried!

Looking forward to trying more smoothies!

Don't forget my immucell giveaway HERE, it ends TONIGHT!