Fit, Fabulous, 40's Friday

Choices & Smoothies

"I like to eat my calories" is one of my favorite sayings.

In fact, if you have ever been out with me

or give me the opportunity to eat something vs. drink something, 

I will choose to eat or chew food 99% of the time. 

Usually something along these lines..if possible.

or

 or

or

Lots of choices, but notice any similarities?

Ha, ha!

Ahem, that is just ME.

I do occasionally drink smoothies.

Again, not my favorite, 

but it is nice to change things up a little.

One of the gals I am working with on nutrition likes smoothies for breakfast and her mother asked for some recipes so I thought I would share them with you.

They are healthy, easy and there are a variety of choices!

They are also great for meal replacement or as a healthy snack.

WAAAAY better choice than eating cookies, crackers, popcorn, etc.

Start with any kind of blender:

I got one of these guys for Christmas.

 

1. Start out with a liquid.

Water, coconut water, almond milk, soy milk, etc. I usually add about 1/4-1/2 cup

I just use water, easy!

2. Add a scoop of protein, or eggs or egg whites.

1/2 of a scoop for the kids- 

we use this from GNC

 I thought I would try a new flavor- LOVE it, but very expensive!

 or you can get a less expensive one from the market

3. Add fruits

I cut up pieces of fruit and freeze them so it makes a nice cold drink, 

and it is super convenient to have it all ready.

Bananas, blackberries, strawberries,pineapple and blueberries.

You can add whichever you like!

Approx. 1/2 cup

4. Add vegetables

I use spinach 95% of the time, again, EASY!

The rule of thumb is that the veggies take up 1/2 of the cup-

also, you'll know if you need to add more next time depending on the color of the smoothie.

If it isn't green, you don't have enough!

 Found this on Pinterest: 

you can click and visit my Pinterest page under 

"Cleanish Eating"for other ideas/recipes

5. Add nuts or supplements,

chia or flax seed or even oatmeal! 

I would recommend 1/2 cup of oatmeal 

if you find yourself hungry within the hour of drinking one!

(Meagan :-))

The choices are endless!!! 

Here are some other options for you -

One from one of my favorite blogs: StuftMama

Lazy Mama Mocha Spinach Smoothie

1 frozen banana

handful fresh spinach

1 scoop protein powder (I used Designer Whey Vanilla Almond)

2 tablespoons cocoa powder (I used my favorite cocoa powder)

1 tablespoon instant espresso

1 1/4 cup milk or non dairy alternative (I used unsweetened almond milk)

These are from BodyBuilding.com where this link will take you right to the page.

Berry Good Shake

Ingredients

• 2 scoops of raspberry yogurt and protein powder
• 4 strawberries
• 15 blueberries
• 16 ounces of nonfat milk
• 1/2 cup of ice cubes

Banana Protein Shake

Ingredients

• 30g protein powder (plain or vanilla)
• 8 oz light soy milk
• 1 tbsp linseed, soy and almond mixture
• 1 tsp golden syrup
• Few drops vanilla essence/extract
• 3-4 cubes ice
• 1 tbsp low fat natural yogurt (optional depending on diet)

I hope these recipes and tips helped!!

REMBER:

"And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change

and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

Matthew 18:3 (NIV)

TRY something new, CHOOSE to make a small change and then TRUST the process!!

What NEW THING are you going to TRY today?

Love ya!

Fit, Fabulous 40's! (on a Monday!)

Ever have a week that is just all over the place?

Last week has kind of like that and I'm so glad that I'm like this guy-

FLEXIBLE!

I actually worked on a post for Friday, 

but decided it wasn't ready.

It is kind of a random, 

odd post

about Bruce Lee-

I know- totally random, right?

So, I decided to go to the gym

and while I was there,

I ran into my friend, Gina,

who I hadn't seen all week.

(excuse the grunginess of our picture)

She looks GREAT!

Her trainer said she had lost 4% body fat

and 

two inches in her waist!!!

Check her out!

WOOOT WOOOT!

I was so excited for her and 

of course, 

stopped what I was doing 

and

gave her a high-five!

Then she said,

"your blog was the catalyst".

I was shocked.

I didn't know she even followed it-

I don't know who would, really-

or who does?

(LOL- my mom does, but she's my mom, so she has to!)
(oh, then there is my blog buddy, Sharon who faithfully visits and comments :-))

Gina talked about eating better 

and 

if you have done any research or reading,
you know,

"you can never out-train a bad diet".

Sorry.

If you are eating poorly,

you will never get healthy,

let alone

FIT!

(but if you eat pretty well, you can splurge on HOT TAMALES or chocolate once in a while)

So in honor of Gina,

I am putting my favorite 

Protein Muffin Recipes on myblog.

There are quite a few recipes out there,

and variations:

A Banana Muffin HERE

An Oatmeal Muffin at Fit Foodie Finds
A Chocolate Mug Muffin at Sparks Recipe by April

and
this guy, Michael, showed me on his YouTube video-
he adds protein powder in his-



They all have some great recipes

but this one is MY favorite.

Janet's Protein Pumpkin Muffin

(the bowl on the right)

1/2 Cup of organic pumpkin (mix it up a little)

1/4 Cup of egg whites 

2 Tablespoons of Wheat Flour

2 Tablespoons of artificial sweetener (I use Stevia)

1/2 Teaspoon of baking powder

1/2 Teaspoon of vanilla

sprinkle some cinnamon,

or  pumpkin spice

Chocolate Muffin

(the bowl on the left)

ADD 1-1 1/2 Tablespoons of Chocolate powder (dark)

omit: cinnamon and/or pumpkin spice

Mix all together and put in a bowl or mug-

microwave for 5+ minutes

depending on your microwave.

Pop it out and enjoy!

You may notice that the pumpkin muffin may become spotted after a couple of days,
while in the refrigerator,
but don't keep it in there for much longer than that-
remember that there are NO preservatives
so eat it with a few days of making it!

I usually eat it as a snack,
either after breakfast or between lunch and dinner.
I have also been known to eat it for dinner if I have "strayed" from my eating plan during the day-
add (low-fat) greek yogurt, fruit and chia-
roughly about 230 calories plain,
250 calories w/chocolate
and approximately 7/8 grams of protein
and
approximately 12/14 grams of carbohydrates.

YUM!

Hope you enjoy your healthy treat!

Got a good recipe to share?
Let me know if you try one of the other recipes!

Remember,
you are what you eat!