Oooh Monday

Oh Monday, you’re here again.

A Lil' Tinkle to Start the Week

Here’s the truth, Monday: I pretend to hate you to fit in with the people at work who sigh “Ahh, Monday” in the elevators. If I’m being honest though, I don’t mind you so much. (You may see my “day of the week rankings” here. 🙂 )

I like how Mondays always reset my healthy living goals after a weekend of more indulgent eating (hello soft serve x 1,000, cookies, apple crisp, wine, etc.). I also love Mondays motivate me to have a great workout right off the bat to start my day off on the right foot.

Workout

My Monday morning workout was a good one! I began my workout by taking a BodyPump class and followed it up with 20 minutes of light cardio on the elliptical with a wedding magazine.

Wedding magazines and celebrity gossip magazines are my gym-readings of choice because they’re full of pictures so I don’t have to slow down my workout to read anything. Whenever I catch myself reading, I always notice that my pace slows and my workout suffers a bit.

Breakfast

After my workout and a quick 20-minute with with Miss Sadie, my stomach was ready for some sustenance.

I made myself a big ol’ bowl of chocolate yogurt mousse topped with blueberries and sliced strawberries.

Berries + Chocolate Yogurt Mousse

Deeelish

This chocolatey concoction was the perfect healthy start to the workweek!

Eat Up!

Questions of the Morning

• What is your favorite day of the week?
• What is your least favorite day of the week?
  

Back to the (Healthy) Grind

Clearly my bachelorette party weekend was full of fun… but it was also full of cocktails, deep dish pizza, ice cream, chips and dip, peanut butter bars and more.

I had one of the most amazing weekends of my life (thank you so much to my wonderful friends!), but it definitely does feel good to be back in Orlando, submersed in my normal healthy habits and surrounded by lots of love from Ryan and Sadie. I missed my little family! 🙂

Workout

I flew out of bed this morning excited to head to the gym and do a workout of my choice! For the first time in almost two months, my Tuesday morning did not have to start off with a 5-mile run. I loved feeling the freedom from following my half marathon training planning plan. I completed a sweaty cardio workout by spending 20 minutes on the arc trainer, followed by 30 minutes on the elliptical.

Breakfast

Breakfast was also a healthy meal, comprised of chocolate yogurt mousse and fresh summer berries.

Greek Yogurt + Chocolate Pudding Mix

Summer Berries

I made the chocolate yogurt mousse by combining Greek yogurt with chocolate pudding mix, which made the yogurt take on a sweet flavor and a thick and indulgent texture.

Spoonful of Healthy Tastiness

Thick + Chocolatey

Great Start to the Day!

This breakfast was delicious and I think it would also make a fantastic healthy dessert (possibly served with a slice of angel food cake? 😉 ).

It feels good to start the day on a healthy note after such an indulgent (and wonderful) weekend!

Also, I missed you guys!!! I’m happy to be back and back to a normal bloggin’ schedule. 🙂

Question of the Morning

Do you maintain a healthy lifestyle on vacation, or do you take the time away from daily life to indulge?

Strawberry Oatty Yogurt Bowl

This week is my final week of training before I tackle the Chicago Rock ‘n’ Roll half marathon on Sunday.

Eek!

This morning I checked my second-to-last five mile run off my training plan list.

Second-to-Last Running Blast

One five mile run down, one to go… Then it’s race day!

I think it’s interesting that my pace during my 10 mile run on Saturday was actually faster than the run I did with Sadie this morning that was half the distance. My quads felt a little sore and I kind of zoned out on this run and actually told myself to slow down and enjoy the run, so maybe that had something to do with it?

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, because pace-wise my 5k times are often a bit slower than my 10k times. I think that once I get in the running groove, I can keep going, but I struggle to get into a comfortable stride until about 3 miles in. Funky monkey.

On to breakfast!

Breakfast

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…

I love cold oatmeal!

I prepped a good portion of my breakfast last night when I cooked up some oatmeal to refrigerate overnight. When the oatmeal was still hot, I added a handful of frozen strawberries to the oats so they could thaw and disperse their glorious flavor into the oats as they cooled.

This morning, I added a cup of Greek yogurt to the chilled strawberry oats and dusted the oatty yogurt bowl with ground flax seeds for some omega-3s.

Strawberry Oatty Yogurt Bowl

So Check Me Out, Hey!

I loved how the strawberry flavor really infused into the oats and made this whole bowl taste summery and sweet.

Pink is Always Pretty

Stir, Stir, Stir

I know many of you out there swear by overnight oats, but this combo takes the cake for me. The texture of this breakfast bowl rocks my socks, while overnight oats kinda start to gross me out as I get toward the end of the bowl. With this concoction, I want the bowl to automatically refill as I approach the end. 😀

Question of the Morning

Are you better at running short or long distances… Or no distances at all? 😉

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Smoothie

Sometimes a random experiment just works.

Throughout my workout this morning (BodyPump + 25 minutes on the elliptical), I was daydreaming about a creamy, cold smoothie for breakfast.

After leaving the gym and taking a quick shower, I headed downstairs to the kitchen to get crackin’. I opened the freezer and *gasp* no frozen bananas were to be found! 😦

Instant sadness set in, but I was determined to get a little creative and still make a stellar smoothie.

I had a bunch of frozen strawberries on hand, and decided to use the berries as the smoothie’s base, rather than a banana like I typically would.

Into the blender went:

• 1 cup frozen strawberries
• 1 large scoop All the Whey chocolate protein powder
• ¾ c. almond milk
• ½ tbsp. cocoa powder
• 6 ice cubes

The result was a chocolate covered strawberry smoothie!

I'll Take Some o' That!

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Smoothie

I figured the chocolate flavors in the protein and cocoa powders would overwhelm the strawberries, but the fruity flavor held its own.

It didn’t seem like my blender was all that full until I started blending and the smoothie seemed to grow.

I filled up a very large cup and had a couple of spoonfuls leftover in the blender, which I enjoyed with a spoon.

Filled to the Brim

Time to Drink

With or without bananas, smoothies are the jam.

Me and My Ginormous Smoothie

Of Possible Interest

• Click here to check out a video Meghann posted  of us going to get our massages last night!

More Fun Finds

• How Lauren Conrad, Fergie & Jessica Szohr get beach ready (FitSugar.com)
• Flat Belly Tricks (Health.com)
• Yummy Side Dishes for Memorial Day Weekend (CookingLight.com)

Questions of the Day

Do you typically use the same things in your smoothies? What are your smoothie must-haves?

You’re So Wise

You guys are some smart cookies.

You’re right… I am baby number two. Apparently I still have the same squinty-eyed smile. 😉

Breakfast

Hallelujah for Monday.

Though I love the weekend, I think my body craves the normalcy of weekday eating.

On the weekends, I still try to eat healthy, but inevitably more treats pop up and I’m not one to turn away chocolate brownie cake,  chocolate marshmallow ice cream or movie theater popcorn (all of which I consumed this weekend).

Sunday Night Popcorn at the Movies

Even though sweets taste good, I don’t feel as energetic when I consume a plethora of sugary baked goods or endless amounts of chips and dip. My body feels better and runs more efficiently when it’s fueled with fresh fruits and veggies and whole grains.

Today I waved good-bye to the weekend treats and started my morning off on the right foot with a yogurt bowl.

Yogurt Bowl

I included freshly sliced strawberries and banana puff cereal in the yogurt bowl for added color and crunch.

On the side I had a large banana and an Adora chocolate calcium disk.

Banana + Adora Calcium Disk

I have been looking for the Adora calcium disks forever! Though I love my Viactiv chews, I read about the Adora disks and really wanted to try them because who wouldn’t love eating a calcium supplement that’s simply a piece of chocolate?

I found the disks in the gourmet food aisle of T.J.Maxx this weekend and picked up a pack to try.

The verdict? So good! They tasted like real chocolate. Rich, creamy and delicious.

Breakfast

With my breakfast, I also sipped on a hot tumbler of Bigelow peppermint tea.

I think my body will feel a little more satisfied after eating this breakfast than the cinnamon rolls I made on Friday morning. 😀

Catching Up?

If you’re a bad blog reader over the weekend like me, here are some things you may have missed:

• I fell in love with $400 shoes
• Flashback photos of me and Ryan from our first year of dating
• We spent a day on the boat and Sadie wore a life jacket

Question of the Day

Does your body feel different depending on the foods you eat?