Happy New Year!

Hello and Happy New Year!
I am so excited for what 2014 holds.  Now that I hold my comprehensive Peak Pilates training I will have much more free time to share my knowledge with you.
This year holds many adventures that I can't wait to share with you.  I am planning Pilates e-courses, videos and challenges for this blog.  Personally I will  be training for my first-ever triathlon and hope you will want to share that journey with me!
For now, I would like to share an amazing opportunity that will help you lay the foundation for a healthy lifestyle.
My friend Kate at The Real Food Runner is hosting an e-course that will give you tips and motivation to create your healthiest year yet!
You may remember Kate hosting several 7 Day Green Smoothie Challenges that took part in last year.  She is so motivating and filled with tips and helpful habits to incorporate into your day.

The 28 Day New Year Healthy Habits E-Course!

Here's what's included:

• 4 Weeks of Virtual e-Health Coaching
• Daily Lessons (time released so you stay on track!)
• Actions Steps (to reach results!)
• E-mail access to Kate, your coach! 

 

If you are looking for a way to to start the new year off with healthy lifestyle changes let Kate give you the boost you need!  For $19.99 you will get to work with a trainer daily online for 28 days.  All of the details you need are on her site.   The course just started so hurry, join now!

Let me know if you join, I would love to hear what you think!

A week of smoothies

I hope you enjoyed the Green Smoothie Challenge as much as I did!
It is always fun to take part in challenges to have support from others, but you can also do a green smoothie challenge whenever you want!
I wanted to put all of my smoothie recipes in one post to make it easy to access and to give you the chance to plan out an entire week of drinks.

1  Coconut Lime Avocado

2 Pineapple Cucumber Kale

3 Green Strawberry Grape

4 Purple Dessert Smoothie

5 Oatmeal smoothie

6 Strawberry almond kale

7 Green superfood

Adding a green smoothie or green juice to your day helps you to get more fruits and vegetables in your day than you can with just eating them.

To make it easier on your grocery list (and budget!) pick one or two drinks and get enough to make those for the whole week.

I love the way I feel after drinking juice or a smoothie.  Satisfied without being overly full.  And I love knowing that I have filled my body with fresh foods!

Let me know which one(s) you try!

Thanks for the challenge!

Thanks to Katherine for organizing the Green Smoothie Challenge and for asking me to co-host.
It was such a fun week of getting to know new people, trying out new recipes, and really thinking about the foods I put in my body.  I have a month's worth of smoothie recipes now that I can't wait to try out!
Thanks also to my super-friendly and fun co-hosts:
Kristine // Ashlee // Jezz // Hope  
I noticed many friends posting on Instagram, Twitter, and even blogging right along with the challenge.
A special shout out to my bestest Eva for sharing her photos!
Strawberries, blueberries and spinach make for a purply-pink smoothie that is without a doubt GREEN!

Thanks to my hubsy-bubsy baby boo JF for sharing his recipe yesterday and putting up with photo shoots and me stealing his produce for my smoothies :)

Go check out Elle's blog!
She has a beautiful rainbow smoothie today and yesterday she posted a savory smoothie.  I had toyed around with creating a savory smoothie but wasn't brave enough to try.  I am so glad Elle posted this recipe.  I think it will be perfect for a hot summer day when a meal just is too much to fathom.


I hope that you have enjoyed the last week as much as I have!

Green Smoothie Challenge - Day 7

Wow!  I can't believe it is already the end of the Green Smoothie Challenge!
Don't worry, though, there will be one final post AND a link-up tomorrow, so there is still plenty of fun to be had :)

Today's recipe comes from no other than my JF.
He has been drinking a giant green drink/smoothie for a little over a month now. While I would like to say that he was inspired by me, it was actually good old Joe Rogan that got him to drink a blender full of green stuff.  As much as I am not UFC and especially Joe Rogan fan, his podcast and health tips seem to be fairly sound.  At least the info that gets passed on to me.  So, ladies He says that he feels refreshed and clean and he has noticed that his tension headaches have gone away.

 JF's Green Smoothie inspired by Joe Rogan
1 cucumber
1 pear
2-3 big, man-sized handfuls of baby kales
4 celery stalks
Quarter-sized piece of fresh ginger
8 ounces cold water
Blend until smooth.  This is a pulpy drink.

Saturday morning, sharing smoothie time.  I made Strawberry Kale juice.

Make sure you check back tomorrow for our final Green Smoothie Link up!

Want more green fun?  Go visit my co-hosts:

Katherine  // Hope 

Ashlee    

Jezz  // Kristine 

Strawberry Almond Kale Smoothie

I can't believe it is already Day 6 of The Green Smoothie Challenge!  It has been so fun to share my recipes with you and to read all of the awesome recipes that everyone else is posting.
Today I am sharing another hearty smoothie that would be good for breakfast or a lunch on the go.

 3 big servings of veggies and fruit. almond milk for protien and sunflower seed butter adds a rich taste along with protein and the many health benefits of sunflower seeds.

Todays smoothie:

Strawberry Almond Kale Smoothie

6 Strawberries, greens removed
6 peach slices, fresh or frozen
1 bunch/handful fresh kale
1 tbsp sunflower seed butter
1 cup almond milk
Honey, agave or maple syrup to taste

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
Drink immediately!

I hope you have an excellent Saturday!
My  Honey Stinger giveaway  ends tonight at midnight so go enter NOW!

Speaking of Giveaways, Katherine has an awesome giveaway for ENERGYbits.  You know, the superfood bits I have raved about in the past!
Enter here:



a Rafflecopter giveaway

And stay tuned for more GREAT ENERGYbits news from me in the next few weeks!

Drink your oatmeal!

It's Friday and Day 5 of the Green Smoothie Challenge!  Are you loving it so far?

From mom telling you that oatmeal is a good breakfast because it "sticks to your ribs" to the many studies that, thanks to soluable fiber, oatmeal can help lower cholesterol, there are many reasons to start the day with a bowl of oatmeal.  But maybe you are low on time or oatmeal just isn't your thing.
The smoothie I am sharing today not only has greens but oatmeal, too!

My recipe for Overnight Steel Cut Oatmeal goes great in this smoothie :)

Oatmeal Smoothie
1/2 cup Overnight Oats
8 strawberries
1/2 cup almond milk, or milk of your choice
1-2 handfuls spinach
1 tbsp sunflower seed butter or nut butter

Blend all of the ingredients until smooth, adding more milk to thin to your desired consistency.
For best results use frozen strawberries.


I really liked the flavor of this one and, thanks to the oats and sun butter I was not hungry until lunch.

Got a smoothie recipe you want to share?  Join today's link-up!


There is still time to enter to win Honey Stinger Lemon Waffles and Organic Energy Gels...head here to enter!

Make sure to stop by my co-hosts blogs for even more green smoothie fun:

Katherine /  Hope 

Ashlee  

Jezz  / Kristine 

Did I really just eat that?!

I used to despise counting calories.  I would put pen to paper after each meal or snack and it would drive me to binge eat.  Seriously.  Too much thinking about calories and what I was consuming would stress me out.  But now I have MyFitnessPal and I pretty much love it.
It is fun, at the end of the day, to enter what I have eaten and what workouts I have completed.  It is a great way to keep tabs on how much I am consuming and if I am getting enough calories on days when I teach a lot.
So what's the drawback?  Well...it's right there.  In front of my face.  The handful of M&M's.  The cookie that I popped in my mouth while cooking dinner.  And the numbers don't lie.
It also has been VERY shocking to see how many calories and fat are in restaurant items.  Hidden fillers, sodium and cooking products really add up.

I had one of those shocking moments on Sunday.

Before I begin, I would like to ask you to suspend all judgement on the food, and the name of the food, that I chose.  Take it easy on me, okay? :)

Photo from Perkinsrestaurants.com

We had a very busy weekend so when Sunday morning rolled around we headed to Perkins for brunch.  I ordered the Country Cookin' Benedict.
I am a huge fan of Eggs Benedict and this menu item is English Muffins topped with sausage patties, cheese crumbles, gravy (duh!) tomatoes (for health) and cheese crumbles.  Add a side of country potatoes to make it a meal.  I did choose fresh fruit instead of a Mammoth Muffin.  *pat on the back*
Okay.  So I knew I wasn't ordering health food.  Anything that used a dropped G in the menu name is bound to be packed with fat and calories.  However, it wasn't until I had entered it into MyFitnessPal that I really felt the pounds packing on.

1,561 calories
91 grams of fat

EXCUSE ME?!  That is more calories than I typically take in, after exercise, in a whole day.  And the fat?  That is probably about 3 days worth for me!  Turns out it is under the "Over The Top Specialties" section, so, I mean...I really should have known.


I felt horrible.  Not just after the meal, which I did have a food hangover from until about 7:00 that evening.  But for not being more aware of what I was eating.  I am a Pilates instructor.  A personal trainer.  A fitness blogger.  I should not be eating things smothered in gravy, right?

But.

It was good.

And I don't eat like that every day or even every week or month.

So what is the moral of this tale?

It is horrendous that foods like this exist.  If I wanted a big breakfast, I should have made it myself for less calories and fat and definitely less chemicals.  But it is life.  And we all have moments when we indulge, right?  Will I order that again?  Maybe.  Next year.  Did I let it ruin my week?  No way!

Monday I jumped right back into a banana and peanut butter for breakfast, a green smoothie for lunch and as many veggies as I could eat.

So.  Indulge.  Occasionally.  One meal won't make you fat.  But be aware of what you are eating and how often you are taking in the bad vs. the good.  And make sure you will really enjoy what you are indulging in so that you feel satisfied instead of just wanting more.

Have you ever ordered something and searched it later, only to find out it was a calorie monster?

Do you allow yourself to order gravy covered breakfasts?

Do you count calories?  Do you use an app for it?

It's Day 2 of the Green Smoothie Challenge!  How are you doing?

Today I had one of my favorites:

1 bunch kale

1 bunch spinach

4 strawberries

8-10 grapes

1 cup COLD water

Blend until smooth for a refreshing, energizing drink!

Green Smoothie Challenge KICK OFF + Amazing Grass GIVEAWAY

Welcome to Day 1 of the Green Smoothie Challenge!
I am so excited to be a co-host for this fun event!  Just add ONE green drink to your day and that is it!  So far over 60 people are officially signed up, but I know that there are many others joining in, so WELCOME!

Katherine of Real Food Runner blog is our lovely host, and she has some tips on making your first green smoothie. 

To get the week started I want to share a creamy, satisfying smoothie that will fill you up without weighing you down.  This would be a great breakfast or lunch smoothie.  As I share recipes this week I will also add WHY the foods in the smoothies are so good for you.  I know not everyone is crazy about gulping down a glass of greens, so I am hoping that knowing why will give the extra motivation needed!

Coconut Lime Avocado Smoothie
Half of an Avocado  Healthy monounsaturated fat + Vitamin K for skin & bones, Vitamin E for eyes!
8-10 green grapes   Thiamine for live function, Vitamin C for anti-cancer properties!
1 kiwi  Heart & bone health and so much more!
2 bunches kale   Iron, Vitamin K, antioxidants to fight cancer--truly a super food!
juice from 1/2 a lime   Vitamin C for eyes & skin, lime oil has also been shown to help with the respiratory and digestive system!
3/4 cup coconut-almond milk
dash of honey, agave or maple syrup if desired to add sweetness

Combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth.  Continue to add extra coconut milk to achieve the thinness you desire.

Y U M !

Go here to officially sign up for the challenge, and comment below to let me know that you are in it for the week!

To celebrate the Green Smoothie Challenge Amazing Grass is sponsoring a giveaway.  Enter now as winners will be selected tomorrow!  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The whole point of this challenge is to add greens to your daily diet AND to be able to share ideas with each other.

I would absolutely LOVE it if you leave me your favorite green smoothie or green juice recipe.  
I will share any and all recipes I get from readers later this week!

Be sure to check out the other co-hosts for recipes, fun and some fantastic tips like how to make spinach ice cubes! Kristine // Ashlee // Hope // Jezz