Tired In Different Ways

I think it’s funny how our bodies can be tired in totally different ways.

Sometimes my body is physically exhausted and other times I feel mentally drained.

Today my mind feels shot!

Apparently date nights and bridal showers are more draining than I thought!

Fortunately my body felt totally rested, so this morning’s BodyPump class went well! The teacher incorporated the  bicep track  from the newest release into today’s class and I loved it. Our class will do the new release in its entirety next week and I can’t wait!

Breakfast

After BodyPump and a walk around the lake near our apartment with Sadie, I was ready to eat!

I made myself a peanut butter and pumpkin sandwich using the PB2/pumpkin ratio I used for last week’s pumpkin peanut butter French toast.

PB2 + Pumpkin

I spiced up the sandwich a bit with some nutmeg and coconut shavings.

Oh La La!

Open Faced

I purchased the unsweetened coconut shavings at The Fresh Market yesterday and can’t seem to keep my lil’ mitts out of the container.

Coconut

I am a huge coconut love-ahh!

Smooshed Together

Question of the Morning

Do you ever feel like only one part of your body is tired? Just the bod or just the brain?

I Won’t Grow Up

This morning started off on the right foot with a five-mile run.

5 Mile Stats

I leashed Sadie up for our usual loop around the lake near our apartment and really enjoyed this run. I had a lot of things to think about which kept my mind busy and prevented me from thinking too much about the actual run itself. A full mind = A fast run!

Note: Save all your thinking for long runs. 😉

Breakfast

Though I really enjoyed our run, my breakfast was definitely the highlight of the morning thanks to the inclusion of two new ingredients in my breakfast smoothie.

Coo-Coo for Coconut

Since Ryan and I are heading south to the Keys around lunchtime today, I wanted to start my vacation a little early with a tropical smoothie. Coconut screams tropical, so I figured adding a little bit of coconut flava would immediately transplant me to a beach. 😉

My smoothie included:

• 1 frozen banana
• 1/2 c. frozen strawberries
• 1 scoop strawberry protein powder (vanilla would also work)
• 1/2 c. light coconut milk
• 1/2 c. cold water
• 1 1/2 tsp. coconut extract
• 4 ice cubes
• 1 tsp. Bob’s Red Mill xanthan gum

Blend baby, blend!

Island Pour

Spoonful of the Tropics

I filled my mega-huge “J” cup with the cold and creamy smoothie and slurped away.

J = Julie's Cup

I enjoyed this smoothie en route to the FedEx store because I had a package awaiting pickup.

In Transit Breakfast

Can you tell I hit several red lights and got bored on my way there??? 😉

Package Pickup

When I picked up my little package, I opened it immediately (as I do with all gifts…unless the sender is smart enough to write “don’t open until Christmas” or something to make me feel guilty for opening it early).

Check out the goods!

Chewy Vitamins

The kind people at Northwest Natural Products sent me two jars of gummy vitamins to sample after they read about how much I enjoyed their L’il Critters Gummy Bear vitamins. Apparently I need to grow up a bit and enjoy some “adult” vitamins. 🙂

Before taking gummy vitamins (I take a multi-vitamin and a calcium supplement every day), I would always forget to swallow a pill. Now that I’ve switched to gummy vitamins or chocolatey calcium supplements, I look forward to consuming something tasty and always remember.

Somethin’ to think about if you always forget to take  your vitamins! 😀

Since I had already taken my L’il Critters multi-vitamin before picking up this package, I decided to sample the VitaFusion calcium gummy.

Calcium Gummy

Two of these chews contain as much calcium as two 6-ounce glasses of milk, and as much vitamin D as 3 ounces of salmon. I’m a big proponent of added vitamin D to my calcium supplements because optimal levels of the  vitamin can aid in the prevention of breast and ovarian cancer. Gotta keep those ta-tas safe!

This gummy vitamin appealed to my candy-loving sweet tooth and tasted delicious. I think I could have eaten half the jar in one sitting, but since it’s a vitamin, I exercised some self control and only enjoyed two.

Question of the Morning

Do you take any vitamins or supplements every day?

“If You Like Pina Coladas…”

“Getting caught in the rain
And the feel of the ocean
And the taste of champagne”

(Great song!)

Aaand, coincidentally enough I do like piña coladas (and the feel of the ocean, and the taste of champagne)!

My breakfast this morning was inspired by the above song when it came on my iPod at the gym.

I thought a piña colada sounded pretty fantastic at around 6:30 a.m., but since hanging out by the pool and sippin’ an umbrella drink wasn’t exactly on the menu today (silly full-time job…), I nixed the rum and added some protein powder to make myself a piña colada smoothie.

Smoothies Make Me Smile (And Stand Awkwardly With a Spoon in My Hand)

Into the blender went:

• 1 frozen banana
• 1 scoop vanilla Aria women’s protein powder (Which tastes like butt hole on its own, but is decent in shakes)
• ½ tsp. coconut extract
• ¼ c. canned pineapple
• ¾ c. almond milk
• 1 tsp. Bob’s Red Mill xanthan gum (the thickener of angels)

Totally Real Coconut Extract 😉

The result was a creamy, fragrant, stark-white smoothie.

Spoonful o' Smoothie

Sip, Sip, Sip

Though the smoothie was good, it put me in vacation mode. I want to be in the middle of a Corona commercial right now.

Questions of the Day

1. What is your favorite tropical drink?

I love piña coladas, strawberry daiquiris and mojitos.

For those of you unsure what qualifies as a tropical drink, I’d say just about any alcoholic drink with exorbitant amounts of sugar (think mai tais, bahama mamas, bay breezes, etc.).

2. If you could be anywhere on vacation right now, where would you be?

Rainy Day Baking

Before heading out to run some errands, I fueled up with a ricotta-based lunch.

I seriously love this cheese!

I topped a big bowl of roasted veggies with two very large spoonfuls of ricotta cheese, marinara sauce and Parmesan cheese.

Veggies

Lotsa Ricotta

Lunch

It was delish!

After lunch, I headed out to run some errands and by the time I headed home the weather took a turn for the worse and it was poooouring outside!

Rainy Day Coconut Meringues

Rainy days make me want to bake!

Something about baking and the smell of something sweet in the oven makes a home feel oh-so-cozy.

I didn’t have too many quality baking ingredients on hand, but I had the essentials to whip up a batch of coconut meringues.

Whip It, Whip It Good

I whipped up egg whites, cream of tartar and coconut extract until soft peaks formed.

I then added Splenda (Yes, I use Splenda… Gasp!) and continued to whip the mix until the Splenda was fully incorporated.

Pre-Cooked

Within 12 minutes, I had soft, fluffy coconut meringue cookies!

Coconut Meringues

The meringues were a light, sweet and tasty snack!

Dinner is almost ready… Gotta run!

Coconut Meringues (Sugar Free)

Ingredients:

• 2 egg whites
• 1/8 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1/2 tsp. coconut extract
• 1/3 c. Splenda

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix egg whites, cream of tartar and coconut extract until soft peaks form. Slowly mix in the Splenda until fully incorporated. Place spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray and bake for 10 – 15 minutes. Enjoy!