Hot Run, Cold Smoothie

Woo-wee!

This morning’s five mile run with Sadie was a toasty one!

5 Mile Stats

I’m not going to complain about the heat because I am too happy for negative thoughts, as today’s second attempt at running following my bruised heel also proved pain free! Woop woop! 😀

Since Florida heat doesn’t believe in dissipating throughout the night or in the early morning, I returned from my run looking awfully sweaty.

A cold breakfast was the only way to go.

Breakfast

This morning I busted out the blender to make myself a strawberry banana protein smoothie.

Strawberry Banana Protein Smoothie

Into the blender went:

• 1 frozen banana
• 3/4 c. frozen strawberries
• 3 ice cubes
• 1 tsp. xanthan gum
• 1 scoop All the Whey strawberry protein powder
• Enough milk to get everything movin’

Spoonful of Yummy

J is for Julie!

Quite a few of you have asked about this fancy-schmancy “J” cup. It is made by Tervis Tumbler and you may find them at Bed Bath and Beyond. The cup is virtually indestructible and the double-insulated walls greatly reduce condensation which is perfect for when you make cold drinks on a hot day.

Topped with a Straw

I love drinking a ginormous smoothie after a sweaty run.

It’s just so darn refreshing!

Happy Birthday to My Mama!!!

Today is a big day in the world of PBF!

Today is my mom’s birthday!

Mother-Daughter Love

Happy birthday to the most amazing mother in the whole wide world.

So Much Love

She Makes Me Happy

Happy Girls

Smilin' Over a Homecooked Meal

My mother is truly a remarkable woman.

Happy birthday, Mama. I love so many things about you:

• I love your unwavering optimism
• I love how I can always go to you for love and support
• I love how a bowl of your chicken noodle soup makes any sickness go away and any sad feelings subside
• I love that you shoot a basketball “granny style”
• I love how you always have a “Welcome Home Julie” sign on the door every time I come to visit
• I love that you now include Ryan and Sadie on that sign
• I love how you’re always up for anything
• I love that you said that you were thinking of your granddog when your doctor told you to think of something that made you happy
• I love how Aunt Laurie said she knew I was your daughter when she caught me eating cake for breakfast
• I love how unbelievably loving, giving and caring you are
• I love how strong you are and how you faced breast cancer with courage and a sense of hope and faith unmatched by anyone
• I love you for being the woman I strive to be every day

I can’t wait to celebrate your special day with you soon!

In honor of my mom’s birthday, feel free to share something you love about your mother below!

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?

Green Monster Couple

Ryan has officially come over to the dark side.

As I was making a green monster smoothie for myself for breakfast, Ryan requested a smoothie for him to enjoy as well. When I asked if he wanted spinach in his, he said “Sure, why not?”

All systems go! 😀

His & Hers Green Monsters

I made us his and hers smoothies that contained:

• Lots o’ spinach
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1 frozen banana
• Handful frozen strawberries
• 5 ice cubes
• ½ c. blueberry yogurt
• 1 tsp. Bob’s Red Mill xanthan gum (for thickness)
• Cold water

It's Officially Impossible to Make a Green Monster Look Tasty

The verdict from Ryan?

Exact quote: “This is good. Like really good.”

I think that means he liked it. 😉

Green Monster Duo

(Yes, that is Mario Bros. on in the background. On our last trip to visit Ryan’s mom, he snagged his old Super Nintendo set and fell in love all over again.)

Workout

Our green monsters were the perfect post-workout fuel. I decided to sleep in a bit this morning (if you call waking up at 6:15 a.m. sleeping in…) and did my own total-body weights workout instead of my typical BodyPump class.

My workout looked like this:

Total Body Weights Workout

(Note: The weight noted in the chart above is the total weight used. Ex: For biceps I used two 15 pound dumbbells, totaling 30 pounds.)

I super-setted (did two exercises in a row before repeating them) deadlifts with shoulder raises and bicep curls with tricep dips which kept my heart rate up and made my workout fly by!

Though I’m such a huge fan of BodyPump, I think I may try to start working in one day of my own total-body workout to challenge new muscles and keep my body guessing.

Question of the Day

Have you ever coerced anyone close to you into trying a green monster or other odd healthy recipe? How did it go over?

Paaay-ink Breakfast

Is it just me or do you feel a littler happier when you consume a breakfast that is pink?

I think my love for the color pink goes all the way back to my childhood when, according to my grandma, I used to pronounce the word “paaay-ink,” with a slightly southern accent.

My breakfast this morning was Pepto-pink from to the strawberries I blended up in my strawberry shortcake smoothie.

Pre-Blended

Into the blender went:

• 1 c. frozen strawberries
• 1/2 scoop All the Whey cup cake batter protein powder
• 1/2 scoop All the Whey strawberry protein powder
• 5 ice cubes
• cold water
• 1 tsp. xanthan gum

Blended

This made a whole lotta smoothie and I ended up eating a bunch of the smoothie straight from the blender with a spoon.

The rest was poured into a tumbler and garnished with a neon straw.

Smoothie and a Spoon

Fun Straw!

Breakfast

Pretty ‘n’ pink!

Workout

Today’s workout began with a BodyPump class. The chest track on release 73 is killerrrr.

After the ‘Pump, I headed upstairs for a 45 minute power yoga class… my third yoga class within the past eight days! This is crazy for me since I’ve never really been able to get into yoga.

The Wednesday morning power yoga class is right after BodyPump, so the timing is perfect. I enjoyed the class a lot and can’t get enough of the pigeon pose! I love the way it stretches out my hips!

Save the Date Thank You

Thank you all so much for your sweet words about our winning save the date picture!

I feel a bit relieved to have a picture to use that I think looks kind of professional since we didn’t take engagement pictures. Hopefully all of the paper I ordered will come soon so I can get a lil’ crafty this weekend!

Question of the Day

Do you prefer to drink out of a straw or straight out of a cup?

For me it totally depends on the beverage, but I really love straws! I think they’re so fun!

Keepin’ Breakfast Cold

Today’s the big day!

Ryan and I are leaving in 45 minutes for the 3rd Annual Baldwin Park Doggie Derby, where Sadie will race to uphold her title as Doggie Derby Champion. 😀

Since the high in Orlando is 91 degrees today, I wanted to keep my breakfast cold.

A strawberry banana smoothie sounded perfect-o! 

Blended

I was in the mood to eat, not drink, this morning, and made sure to make the smoothie extra thick so I could enjoy it out of a bowl with a spoon.

Strawberry Banana Thickness

Eat Up!

My strawberry banana smoothie bowl contained:

• 1 c. frozen strawberries
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 scoop All the Whey strawberry protein powder
• 2 tsp. xanthan gum
• Cold water
• 5 ice cubes

Ice Cold Breakfast Bowl

While my smoothie was blending, I also made a batch of apple cinnamon pancakes for Ryan.

Pancake Mix

Of course I save one little ‘cake for myself!

Apple Cinnamon Pancake + Syrup

I’m off to get dressed for a day in the sun with lots of dogs!

Question of the Day

What is your favorite kind of smoothie?

My favorite kind of smoothie is definitely a strawberry banana smoothie. I also love tropical smoothies that taste like piña coladas. 😉