Good morning!
…and welcome back to work or school. This morning was really hard for me to wake up and feel like doing anything. But once I hit the gym, got my blood pumpin, I was ready to start being productive. I even typed out my grocery list on my phone while I was exercising. 2 birds 1 stone.
Training Day #2 is 30-40 mins of cross training. I did 25 mins on the elliptical, then I got bored and switched to incline interval speed walking. Just trying to up the endurance! Tonight I will be doing 1 hour of vinyasa yoga.
After the sweat session, it was time for protein. Although it didn’t sound that appealing because I had the same smoothie yesterday, I knew my body needed it. (1 scoop chocolate Complete + 1 TB almond butter + 1 banana + handful ice + almond milk).
Creamy and delicious. I am trying to use up the last 2 cans of chocolate protein powder before the month’s end (before expiration), so tonight I might try to make chocolate protein balls. We shall see if I have enough energy.
Another exciting part about training for a race? New gear! I headed into Luke’s Locker and left with lots of new stuff.
I’ve read a lot about compression socks, and I think it’s going to be a good idea especially for my Saturday long distance runs. They were $60 just for one pair. You read that right.
It’s quite a project to get them on, but once they’re up, they help keep the muscles warm and promote blood flow while preventing injuries. With 8 months til my wedding (eeeee!) I can’t afford an injury in my future. Not sure how cute these are going to look, but I promise I’ll get a photo of me in them up here sometime.
New Saucony running shoes!! I loved the service at Luke’s Locker and the close attention to detail. I tried on about 4 pairs starting with the least amount of support to greatest amount. I explained to the sales guy that I had surgery on my foot almost 9 months ago (can you believe that much time has passed?!) so I needed something with support. He had me running around the store (literally) and although I felt like an idiot, he was able to evaluate the way my foot strikes at each step, leading us to this shoe!
If you have a Luke’s Locker near you, I highly recommend it.
I also purchased a few pairs of running shorts–an especially cute cut by North Face. That’s it for now. More food photos in the next post!
Bon Appétit,
That Foodie Girl
(drinking a protein smoothie as I type this)
I usually have a quick protein snack each day mid-morning. 1/2 scoop of Vega Vanilla Sport Performance Protein, and 1/2 scoop of the Jay Robb Vanilla Egg Protein. That combo tastes the best of the all the other protein powders I’ve tried, and as a snack it is about 120 calories with 24 to 25 grams of protein. Once a week I’ll splurge and add in a tablespoon of PB2 Powdered Peanut Butter, and a cup of 2% or whole milk rather than water. That version comes really close to tasting like an ice cream milk shake, and that boosts the smoothie to about 260 / 300 calories and 35 to 36 grams of protein depending on the type of milk you are using. I’ll admit I haven’t tried it with almond milk.
Since you‘re trying to use up the last of your existing protein powder, both Whole Foods and HEB Central Market (or Xanadu as my wife and I call it) both usually carry single serve packets of both the various flavors of the Vega and Jay Robb powers if you want to try them before committing to one of the larger canisters.
Also, twice a week on the days I do my weight lifting workouts, (like today,) I’ll also have a protein smoothie for lunch. With those I’ll usually go with a full scoop of the egg white protein, and some
frozen fruit. For the milk portion I’ll add in one of the 8oz Lucky Layla drinkable yoguts. I’ll also add in some probiotic supplements so I can help on my muscles and my gut at the same time.
Lately the fruit I have been using is roasted bananas. I‘ll peel and cut-up a bunch of bananas, roll them in cinnamon, (usually Penzy’s house blend,) and then bake them in a 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes in a Silpat covered pan. After they cool, I’ll put them in a container and freeze them. [Don’t miss eating any of the banana / cinnamon juice that is left in the pan. That’s a really yummy treat!
] I was inspired to do this with the bananas after I had what may have been the best milkshake I‘ve ever had when I had a lunch at 24 Diner in Austin – their Roasted Banana & Brown Sugar Milkshake. (almost worth the trip just for that.)
Speaking as a Dallas Ex-Pat recently moved to San Antonio, it is nice to read things about the old home town, especially when it involves food.
Thanks for the blog.
The roasted bananas sound delicious! Thanks for the idea. Thanks for reading too! You should give Juice Plus Complete a try. I can share some with you! You can just go to my website to check it out: http://www.nblankenshipjuiceplus.com
Thank you for the offer, but I have a mild soy allergy, (excepting soy lethicin strangly,) and based on what I’ve been able to see on the web, Juice Plus Complete has lots of soy in it, and in more than one form.
The two brands of protein powder I mentioned are among the few I can have, and the better tasting of the ones I was able to try.
If you get the chance to try roasting some bananas, please let us know how it turns out.
Cute shoes! And, yummy looking smoothie!
Why thank you mother!