Turn it up Tuesday

Maybe it’s the changes that I see in my body, energy, state of mind, etc. that motivates me or maybe it is all of you wonderful fellow bloggers that just gave me the extra push, but I have NEVER been so motivated in my life.

My workouts have changed so much and I am eating crazzzy delicious, healthy, foods.  It is crazy because my body literally cravesss this food. 

Food today:

• Grapefruit, blackberries, and 1/2 a banana for breakfast.
• Coffee w/ coconut milk.
• Egg white omelette filled w/ spinach and light mozzarella.
• Green tea w/ tbls of Apple Cider Vinegar.
• Lunch was a smoothie w/ plain Chobani, mixed berries, coconut milk, flax seed, 1/2 a banana.
• Dinner, 1/2 a turkey club on whole-wheat (no bacon, add avocado)
• Green tea w/ tbls of Apple Cider Vinegar

Workout:

• Ran 15 minutes
• Walked at an incline of 9 for 15 minutes
• Squats & tons of other leg exercises in the studio
• Then, I worked for 5 hours (cocktail waitress).  This is my part time job for some extra cash while I student teach & what I did through out college. I count it as a little light cardio :)) 

[Breakfast this morning]

[Me, cheering on my boyfriend’s baseball team! I added this in here because he is a HUGE source of my motivation. Go Irish!]

What motivates you all?!

Berrrrry delicious post-workout smoothie

-mixed berries
-coconut milk
-plain Chobani yogurt
-Truvia packet
-topped with pomegranate seeds

Delicious & packed with protein (Chobani), fiber (fruit), calcium (coconut milk), and tons of other vitamins :))
YUMMM.

Grocery List

If you haven’t been able to tell, I LOVE to plan/make lists/schedule things. The only good thing about Monday is it is the day I go get groceries for the week.

Now, keep in mind I am on a budget and try to get as little ingredients as possible but have lots of choices for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (& snacks).

This weeks grocery list total: $11.76! But, I have some things still from past grocery trips that I can incorporate into my recipes.

Already in the fridge:

• Flax seed
• Carrots
• Pumpkin spice
• Bananas
• Green, yellow, and red peppers.
• Cheerios
• Milk
• Egg Beaters
• Plain Chobani
• Kale

Today I bought:

• Spinach
• Apples
• Avocados
• Finely Shredded Mozzarella
• Hunts pre-diced tomatos (oregano, garlic, parsley added) in a can.
• Whole-wheat spaghetti noodles

Possible Recipes:

• Egg white omelette w/ spinach, mozzarella, avocados (or tomatoes)
• Whole-wheat spaghetti w/ pre-diced tomatoes, spinach, mozzarella, olive oil
• Cheerios!
• Chobani, milk, ice, apple, flaxseed (or banana) smoothie
• Kale (or spinach), apple, ice, chobani, water smoothie.

With a budget & not a ton of time, I tend to double up on recipes.

Therefore, for breakfast I will most likely have one of those smoothies, or cheerios.  For lunch, I will have an omelette or a smoothie. For dinner: an omelette or pasta. For snacks: fruit or veggies.

[& I am sure that for a few meals I will be out to eat, so it is important to stay strict so I can enjoy it to the fullest. Therefore, a snack might be a skinny hazelnut latte or dinner might be salmon or lunch might be a veggie sandwich from Subway]

Relaxation & a delicious [healthy] bedtime drink.

One of the pivotal moments of my day, is the time I get into bed & relax.  My muscles have worked hard & I have thought consciously about every thing I have put into my body [the coffee, the mass amts of water, & the nutrient filled foods].  All of this has taken a mental toll on my body, not including everything else that happens in a day.

Now it is time to relax, fall asleep, and let my body recover.  After all, a KEY point to weight loss AND health is getting LOTS of sleep.

My night time snack:

+ 1 green tea bag

+ steamed milk

+ 2 Truvia packets

Directions: heat milk & boil water. Let green tea bag steep. Add steamed milk and Truvia packets.

This not only curbed my sweets craving, it relaxed, warmed, and gave me some wonderful green tea benefits.

Good night fellow bloggers.

Have you gotten your Vitamins A & C today?

I tend to choose recipes that have minimal ingredients, implications to my budget, and take little time to make!  Instead I choose recipes with maximum health benefits & flavor.

My new obsession are omelettes.  You can literally throw anything you want into them any VEGGIE into them & they will taste delicious.

Along with other groceries, I bought a carton of eggs, a package of peppers (green, yellow, & red). Spinach & shredded mozzarella. & for lunch the past few days I have been eating this omelette, FILLED with Vitamins A & C !!

[LOAD up on Spinach, it shrinks once it is cooked.]

[TIP: I like to cut my peppers up into very small pieces and throw them into the egg and milk mixture. I’m not a huge fan of peppers but love the benefits, so this way I can barely notice I am eating them.]

[After the egg and pepper has cooked for a little bit, add cheese and spinach, then cover with a lid so the steam can cook the spinach.]

[Fold over & enjoy this wonderful meal FULL of Vitamins A & C, and approx. 250 cals.]

The Skinny on Cocktails.

My question, for anyone who comes across this, what are your favorite “skinny” cocktails?! (OR cocktails in general) or what do you think of cutting out alcohol to lose weight fast?

’tis the season for friends, food, and family! & if you have friends and family like mine, there will be plenty of drinks involved.  I love my share of cocktails but since November 1st I made a vow to myself. Limit drinks & implement a healthy way of drinking. I seem to go out and wake up with the worst stomach ache EVER!

My SKINNY favorites:

1. red wine
2. vodka/water (I LOVE Stoli O, Stoli Blueberry, or various absolut flavors). If they, don’t have flavored vodka, I ask for a fruit garnish
3. vodka/soda (same flavors as above) with fruit garnish, lemon lime or orange (as shown in the bottom picture!)

2 Ingredient Pancakes

I came across this recipe last night and I thought it would be the perfect recipe to start the blog off with!

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1 banana

Directions: mash bananas in a bowl, and beat eggs in a separate bowl. Mix together and cook the same way you would make regular pancakes!

*I added flax seed & pumpkin spice to mine for some fiber & flavor.  I dipped mine in homemade Blackberry jam.