A Winning Combo

Ever wonder how to fuel your body after a great sweat session? Allow me to take the guessing away because I've got a delicious solution packed with good-for-you ingredients that is sure to restore those muscles and put some pep in your step!

Each month I expectantly wait on my Oxygen magazine to arrive and almost immediately flip to the shake of the month for some new smoothie inspiration. This month's may be my favorite yet! Behold, this simple 5 ingredient creation~


Peach-Ginger Recharger
Recipe courtesy of Oxygen

1 peach, pitted and chopped
1 1/2 tsp grated fresh gingerroot
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
ice cubes

Place all ingredients in blender and blend thoroughly. Makes 1 serving.

Good to know: Buttermilk has probiotic qualities, which help aid in digestion, nutrient absorption and also increase your body's defense against disease.

image/secretsauce

Simple Weekends

As much as I love fun, lively and activity-filled weekends, I also relish the simple ones. A few days of taking things as they come and leisurely breakfasts that include a full pot of coffee are always welcome in my book!

The only real plans we have for the weekend are to attend a Dinner Auction tomorrow night to help raise money for a youth missions trip to Mexico, which should be quite fun! And of course, there are always those early morning workouts. I know it sounds crazy, but weekend mornings have become my favorite sweat sessions. Not only are there no time constraints put on me, but my husband enjoys sleeping in so it works out nicely for both of us. By the time he is waking up, I have already started a yummy breakfast for the two of us. It's quite perfect, really!

Have a delightful weekend and enjoy the last few days of February!

"The stuff dreams are made of"

Football season is officially in full swing and you know what that means...it's almost Fall! The weather is even cooperating and staying nice and crisp:) All I wanted to do yesterday was ignore the laundry and enjoy a relaxing Sunday afternoon while Chris and Brad enjoyed football...ALL DAY:) I did get my wish, however, it came with a price. I was sick all night last night and it spilled over to this morning, forcing me to call in sick to work, which I don't like doing:(

Abby, showing her love for the Raiders:)



When I woke up, Chris was getting ready to leave for work and he told me it had rained last night!! I just had to get a glimpse of the wet ground so I took Abby outside and couldn't believe it when I needed a sweatshirt!. Oh Fall, you are almost here! Just one week from tomorrow! I was almost tempted to start my annual tradition early and make Chris a pumpkin pie today, but I decided to hold of until Fall is officially here.

When I was finally able to get up without feeling nauseous, I decided to go to the gym. It seems everyone else has the same idea at 9:30 in the morning! Of course it was mostly swarming with young moms! (Not gonna lie, I was a little envious:) I remembered how much I love working out at that time of day!!

Then I made my way to Whole Foods, which was basically deserted compared to a Saturday afternoon! As I usually do while I grocery shop, I treated myself to a latte. It tasted especially good and strong today! When the guy handed it to me he said, "This is the stuff dreams are made of!". It seems this crisp, Autumnesque weather has everyone in a good mood today!

And I'd just like to say that Jonagold apples are back! Can't wait to bite into one with some fresh almond butter later today!

And finally, I just pulled my Walnut Blueberry Banana Bread out of the oven, which smells amazing! The combination of that and my L'Occitane Crème Caramel Candle is enough to make me swoon!


Unfortunately, my tummy is feeling woosy again, so I think I'll rest a bit and hopefully get some studying in before Mom and I go to a knitting class this evening!

Walnut Blueberry Banana Bread ~
1 ripe banana, mashed
3/4 c. ground flax seed
2 egg whites
1/3 c. agave
1 c. nonfat buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
3/4 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 c. spelt flour
1 tsp orange rind, grated
1 c. blueberries
1/2 c chopped walnuts

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine banana, flax seed, egg whites, agave and buttermilk. In a separate bowl, mix baking soda, salt, flours and orange rind.
3. Combine dry ingredients into banana mixture. Gently fold in blueberries and walnuts.
4. Pour mixture into loaf pan and bake for 40 minutes.

Happy Monday!

So Much Anticipation

You know what I love about Thursdays? There is so much anticipation for Friday and the weekend that I end up looking forward to them almost as much as Friday! They're great because I don't have to make coffee for the morning since I treat myself to SB's on my way to work and I don't have to do any dinner prep for Friday because it's date night!! Bottom line, Thursdays are a relief!

Even though I still have a grueling workout to get through this afternoon, somehow I can push through because Fridays are also my rest day from working out:)

Sorry for the absence of an AIGH post today! I'll get back on track next week!

I also plan on baking up some yumminess from the Babycakes NYC cookbook tomorrow afternoon and naturally, I will post the (hopefully) delicious results of that:)

Hope it comes out looking as tasty as these!


And finally, the turkey burgers from last night were pretty good, but my standby Clean Eating recipe still holds first place in my heart and my kitchen! They were tasty, but didn't have any spectacular flavor for all the time they took. Sorry Cooking Light, you can't win em' all:)

And for your cooking enjoyment, here's the Clean Eating turkey burger recipe:

Kate's Favorite Turkey Burgers
1 lb extra lean ground turkey
3 Tsp chicken bouillon
3 Tbsp chopped onion
1 cup high protein cereal (Weetabix works really well!)
1/3 cup nonfat milk
2 egg whites

In bowl, mix milk and cereal. Allow cereal to sit in milk for 5 minutes.
Add bouillon, onion, and eggwhites. Mix well, then add turkey.
With clean hands, mix it all up, and divide into 6 burgers.
They will probably be a little "wet" - I prefer to cook on my grill pan. Cook both sides evenly and enjoy!

I sometimes add a little shredded cheese and top with fresh avocado slices for some extra pizazz!

My Inner Nerd and a Quick Recap

Hi all! Merry Monday! I hope you had a wonderful weekend and are feeling completely rejuvenated for this upcoming week:)

For a little recap on the events I attended this weekend~

Mid Life the "Crisis" musical: Absolutely hilarious! Although I should tell you I was by far the youngest person there, and the show was my idea! It was held at a really small theatre and had a very local feel to it, but all in all, well worth my Friday night!

State Fair: What can I say? The fair always seems to meet my expectations and this year was definitely no exception! I don't know what it is: the food, the exhibits, the cute little animals, the new products for sale in the expo, the general merriment and crowds of people enjoying themself? It's probably a combination of it all for me. And this year, opening weekend had gorgeous weather! Some would still call it hot, but the low 90's is pretty good for mid-August and considering we have been in the 100's lately!

So I got some new workout clothes this weekend! Nothing too exciting, just some running shorts, yoga pants and some new socks, but it's amazing how just a few new pieces can invigorate you to get your bum in gear! Chris and I worked out both Saturday and Sunday. I love getting it in on the weekends because you feel ahead of the game come Monday! It satisfies my inner over-acheiver:)

And probably the most exciting news I've got today is that my ACSM study materials came this weekend! I know I'm gonna let my inner nerd come out here, but I don't care! I am ridiculously excited to start studying!! It feels like I'm starting school again. And depending on how you view that, you're either jealous or you think I'm completely crazy:) You see, the beginning of a new school year was always very exciting to me. Peeking through my new books before my first class and embarking on an adventure of learning new things, especially when I got to college and was learning things I was particularly interested in! Although the information isn't new to me, studying for this new certification means I am taking a step forward for my career! That gets a double yay! I have even set up a study schedule to keep myself on track. And I'm going to tell you all now so I can have some accountability, I am planning on taking the test the week of October 12th. And now that you know, I have no excuse for slacking!

Some pics from the fair:

As soon as we got to the fair, Me and Mom bought these hats! Cute and practical:)



My husband or a beaver?


Getting ready to watch Splash Dogs! Abby totally could have been in this show!


A baby calf only a day old:)


And newborn pigglets! Why are they so stinkin' cute?!


Awesome dress made out of animal feed sacks. Crazy!


And of course Arnold made out of Jelly Belly's...naturally!


Oh the crazy things we see! This is a replica of San Fransisco made out of hundreds of thousands of toothpicks!! Who does that?!


Have a wonderful day!

Inspiration of the Month!

Okay, so I say inspiration of the month, but I actually think I will stay excited about this for a long time to come! I have known about Lululemon for a while now, but because we don't have one close, I've never actually shopped there, besides online. That is until very soon, since we have one coming to the Galleria in a few short months!!

I truly am inspired by the company as a whole! Their mission, the culture and values each employee seems to embrace and most of all, the fact that they really seem to inspire others to the very lifestyle I aspire to engulf every single day! (I've been doing some research!)

It's true, I love fitness and everything that seems to go along with it: the training, the pain, the reward when you accomplish something you've been training for and, well, the clothes:) I think it's safe to say that Lululemon will quickly become a favorite place to furnish my workout wardrobe!

This is their manifesto. Tell me that doesn't inspire you!


And how cute is this gym bag?!


Happy Tuesday!