Today was gorgeous. I took advantage of the weather and took Olive out for a nice walk this morning. Then didn’t take advantage of the weather and hit up the gym. I’ve decided I really need to shake up my routine- especially since I’m trying to get more toned, not necessarily lose weight. I guess I’m still in the mind set that if I don’t do tons of cardio I don’t get a good workout, when in reality I probably need to focus on strength training more. So today I did strength training before cardio. I felt like this helped me to do more than I normally would. Usually I hit the treadmill, arc trainer, or stair master first thing for 30-45 minutes, then walk around the gym and do a few reps here and there – arms, legs, abs. I get bored and end up leaving. Today, I really focused on doing 3 reps of each exercise and I jumped rope in between to keep my heart rate up. I think I will try this routine for a while and see how things go. What do you do first, strength or cardio?
After the sweat sess I came home and whipped up a smoothie. I kind of just threw all the things I had in mind into this smoothie and it turned out to be thick, creamy, delicious and VERY filling.
Power of the Purple Smoothie
- 1/2 frozen banana, 1/2 unfrozen banana
- 1/2 cup spinach
- 1/2 tbsp. ground flaxseed
- 1/2 cup Living Harvest Hemp Milk
- 1/2 cup Trader Joe’s Organic blueberries
- 1 scoop Designer Whey French Vanilla Protein Powder
- 1 tbsp. Better n PB
- 10 Almonds
Approx. 400 calories, 14g Fat, 40g Carbs, 27g Protein
I loved the bits of almonds and the fact that it was protein packed. Smoothies/drinks as a meal doesn’t usually keep me full but this baby kept me full all afternoon as I helped Isaac’s sister get ready for prom!!! We went to get her hair done, then makeup, then headed home to get dressed. She looked gorgeous.
In the midst of beautifying I started to get a little hungry so I had an apple as a snack.
After the prom date arrived I went out thrifty shopping to Marshall’s and DSW. It was successful, however I spent too much $…oppsy. I don’t go shopping often so I think this little trip wasa deserved, plus it was at discount stores so I was actually SAVING while spending- saving being the key word here 
. I wasn’t home around dinner time so to hold me over I thought I would try a new bar: Zoe’s Peanut Butter Paradise.
The nutritional facts for this bar seem good, but I wasn’t impressed by the taste. It was pretty dry and the flavor was a little too protein powderish to me. I actually ended up throwing the reamaining peice in the picture away. I still have two other flavors to try so maybe those will be better. We shall see.
When I got home from shopping I quickly roasted an eggplant that I had been marinating in Newman’s Own Organics Balasmic Vinegar. Once roasted I continued with my salad kick and placed the eggplant on a salad of romaine, lettuce, white shrooms, sprouts, tomatoes, and hearts of palm.
I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend. I’ve got a fun day planned for tomorrow!!
Brittany Mullins, HHC
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Your smoothie is gorgeous! Mine always come out looking brownish…what’s your trick girl?!?!
i love how you threw in a couple whole almonds into that smoothie. sounds like a great idea to me! and i def wish i had a smoothie now too!
prom prep sounds fun. I missed my prom because of skating! boo
happy Sunday! and I couldn’t give you any gym tricks… i ALWAYS get sooo bored. i need a trainer to push me, or people to be competitive with…..otherwise I am usually pretty useless. jumping rope in between reps sounds great
whoa this comment was a little off. sorry, im exhausted.
Your eggplant salad looks soooo good!
I do cardio first, but I definitely am trying to focus more on my strength training too. Sometimes I’ll alternate strength and cardio days, just because I know I work harder with weights if that all I’m doing that day.
Delicious smoothie!!
That smoothie is so colorful! I totally want to jump on the smoothie bandwagon!
Yum! I am totally jonesin’ for eggplant now.
I’ve really been focusing on increasing strength the past few months. I’ve noticed a big difference in my body composition. But it’s sure hard to mentally get away from cardio.
i love how purple your smoothie is! and awww! how sweet that you helped isaac’s sister get ready for prom.. that’s so adorable
I have found the same thing as you, if I do the weights first, I put more umph into it and probably get more out of it.
Can’t wait for today!
I don’t do ANY cardio, so it’s just pumping iron for me – and yoga
GORGEOUS smoothie!!
Love the purple smoothie! Enjoy your Sunday!
I really don’t like cardio so I just use it as a quick warm up and then pump some iron! Sorry about the PB bar – PB flavored things are so hit or miss!
You know, we haven’t seen Olive in a while
I always do my cardio first, because I need to warm up anyways before starting in on strength training, so it seems more efficient to me
I think I am the only person who likes those Zoe bars. If you have more and want to do a bar exchange let me know.
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