My Go-Go Juice

So, if you’ve followed along on Facebook, you’ve heard how I’m not a big fan of vegetables this pregnancy (or last one, though the things I do like are completely different!).  I like to be healthy though, so I’m finding ways to sneak them in on myself, especially now that even fruit doesn’t sound great.  If you know me, you know that that is just plain crazy for me!  I adore fruit!  I know they say no one is obese because they ate too much fruit, but I do have to (usually) reign in how much I’d eat otherwise…it is nature’s candy after all!

Enter my new Shakeology recipe (if you can call it that!).  I’m usually a plain Shakeo, ice and water kind of gal (because I’d rather eat my fruits and vegetables separately…love volume!), maybe with a flavor extract.  But now that I’m just not eating them, it’s been a great way to sneak them in!  And when I finish it…oh boy!  I feel refreshed and rejuvenated with so much more energy than before I drank it.  This is a true testament to fueling your body WELL, with the right foods.  Something I’m having such a hard time stomaching right now.

AGF’s Go-Go Juice

Ingredients:
– 1 scoop chocolate Shakeology (vegan chocolate would work well also, in fact this could go well with almost any flavor!)
– 1 cup spinach
– 1 cup frozen cherries
– water

Then…blend!!

The frozen cherries work as ice too here…which is why if I do put fruit in my shake, it’s frozen!  It can be hard to fit fruit and ice in a single serve blender cup!  I love this shake, and the way I feel after it.  It’s become my daily go to, at least until I feel up to more variety in my foods.

Do you have a favorite shake recipe?  Share it!

What I ate yesterday

I run groups for accountability doing fitness programs.  Yesterday, I gave the task of food pictures for everything they ate…yes, on a Saturday!  Accountability doesn’t mean just when you’re on…it’s all the time.  Though i think I was the only one who posted most everything, I think just the reminder is a good thing to keep you making good choices!

So then I had pictures of everything I ate.  And planned to post them up here.  But my dinner was questionable,  We went out to eat and changed places last minute.  I wasn’t ready and took a chance.  And the dish came out with vegetables covered in a cheesy tomato based sauce.  And my thought was to skip posting.

But that isn’t real life.  This is.  And accountability is for all the time.  So, here we go!

I started a new program on Thursday that I’m super excited for.  I’ve been using the streaming service to get started and plan to post more once my package arrives.  I’m able to do the full plan with just the online materials, but i like them in hand too…I’m a bit old school like that!  It’s called The Master’s Hammer and Chisel and mixes the trainers from two of my favorite programs, 21 Day Fix and Body Beast.

Some test group results!

I’m trying to rock this program, and I know that the nutrition is the magic!  So I’m all in nutrition-wise, but sometimes you do your best.  I think that the key to my day yesterday was not throwing in the towel like I messed up.  Because I didn’t.  I made choices, and when they didn’t go as planned, I did my best!

Let’s get to it!

First up is my pre-workout combo, made at 4am most days!  I have 25oz of water with cayenne pepper and lemon along with Energize, which gives me the energy to get a good workout that early!

 

Energize and Water with Cayenne Pepper and Lemon (drank a bunch first!)

Then for during my Hammer and Chisel – ISO Strength Chisel workout (strength training with isometric holds…tough, fast, fun…just how I like it!) was Hydrate and plain water. This stuff keeps you hydrated (you never would have guessed!) and replenishes electrolytes without all the sugar of other sports drinks

Hydrate and water

Post workout is my new BFF, Recover, that tastes like hot chocolate, mixes so easily and helps with soreness and muscle recovery…which helps me push more in my next workout than if I was hurting!

Post Workout!

After that, I had my usual coffee with stevia in the raw and coconut oil.  I was in between workouts, so I look a bit nutty, but the coffee was good.

After that, I taught PiYo Live.  Super fun. When I got home, I’d been up about 6 hours and was hungry!  So I made my typical breakfast of hard boiled eggs with smoky southwestern seasoning, steel cut oats with cinnamon and grapes.

Lunch came once it was naptime!  I had spinach, ground turkey and some dairy free cheese.  I would have liked it best if I chopped up the spinach, but I was a bit lazy!

We head out for the rest of the day after my daughter never actually napped and played with some cream instead (as the 3 year old set likes to do!).  So I took some food on the go!  Shakeology to help with fullness and keep me away from picking something up at the mall or brewery we went to, carrots, grapes and walnuts.  I did try a bit of a soft pretzel at the brewery because I was told they were delicious.  But I stayed away from more than a taste, and kept to my water and snacks.

And we eventually get to dinner (over 4 hours after leaving the house).  We’d planned on one place with great salmon and salads, but that didn’t work out.  So I tried this salmon at the place we went to.  It was supposed to have even more cheese.

Salmon, with roasted vegetables and potatoes in a tomato cheese sauce (not the menu text!)

I ate the salmon and what vegetables I could manage to scrape sauce off of.  The salmon was good, but the rest wouldn’t have been worth the calories!  At least not for me.

I finished out the day with vanilla Recharge, not pictured because I drank it quick and forgot!  But it’s delicious and helps your muscles reboot while you sleep.  It’s slow absorbing so it works through the night and attacks inflammation so you can be all set in the morning.

I know I have added a bunch of supplements in here…they’ve helped my intensity so much recently!  I don’t use them every day, just when my workouts call for them, and they have helped so much, especially with soreness.  Which means I can push harder and move more throughout the day.  Definitely helpful for intense programs!  This is the whole line that I use (there’s also creatine!).  You can read all about it and more of the science here!

Energize, Recover, Hydrate and Recharge

So there it is!  A Saturday with me.  Not perfect, but within my calorie plan and mostly on plan for Hammer and Chisel…which you can get discounted with Shakeology or the combo of Energize and Recover…and an additional $20 off in December!  Get it and join in my next group (must have me as your coach or not have a coach!  If you have one, I’m sure they’d love to have you!) so you can have additional accountability…and do fun things like post pictures of your food all day!

 

 

Salted Caramel Shakeology

One word for you…yum!

I saw a recipe for this that turned out well, but wasn’t perfect for me.  The crazy thing is…I took out the milk!  And I liked it much better.  Plus, that means that it counts as just a red on the 21 Day Fix!

Salted Caramel Shakeology

1 serving chocolate Shakeology
1tsp caramel extract
pinch sea salt
water & ice

Just put them together and blend…and enjoy!

 

Greenberry Shakeology Balls

When I found a bunch of Shakeology  the other day, some was Greenberry.  I take that back.  A good amount was greenberry!  So I went searching for some Greenberry recipes to try.  I really like the chocolate Shakeology balls because they’re quick to make and a good bite size snack.  So I made Greenberry ones!  I think I may tweak them a bit next time.  They were good, but a little sweeter than I’d love.    Here is what i did this time…

Greenberry Shakeology Balls

1 packet Greenberry Shakeology
1/2 cup oats
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup ground flaxseeds
1/3 cup natural peanut butter
1/3 cup natural honey

Add all ingredients to bowl and mix well.  I made 15 balls that were a good size (similar to the size of my chocolate ones that make 12 in the recipe).  Freeze and enjoy!

 

Want to know more about Shakeology?  You can check out the page above or go here!

Shaking it Up

I get a lot of questions about how I mix up my Shakeology each day.  I’m a creature of habit, so most days it’s chocolate Shakeology with frozen berries and water in the Magic Bullet.  I bought larger cups for it on eBay, like these with the lids so I can easily take my shakes on the go.

The benefit of the bullet is easy clean up…we have 3 cups so we don’t have to wash them right away and it’s easier than washing a blender! I love the single cups so we can each make our shakes (my husband has his with a banana and water) in our little cups! The problem is that it isn’t great with ice and the small-ish cup doesn’t allow much wiggle room for overflow.  We are still working on the right water/fruit/space leftover that makes a shake that doesn’t cause an overflow issue!  But the pros outweigh the cons for now (plus we already have it!  not sure if we’d buy it again).

Sometimes I do just the Shakeology and water or almond milk in a shaker cup.  I used to have this nifty Shakeology shaker, but it was dropped at the supermarket (luckily having just water in it at the time!) and cracked 😦  The Blender Bottle works well here too!  Just shake…it mixes really well!

How do you mix up your shakes?

Why I drink Shakeology

I get this question ALL THE TIME!  So I made a little video about my reasons.

You can read more about Shakeology on the tab above or by clicking here!

60 Day results

I can not believe I haven’t shared these yet! You saw the before pictures but they are also here with the afters.  The pants are the same but in a smaller size.

I see some decent results and also had bunches of fun working out. I did mostly TurboFire by the schedule, adding some Turbo Kick round practice and walks and then couch to 5K in the last week or so. Plus Shakeology, which I completely think gave me the energy to workout and be a new mom, along with being a healthy meal replacement. I feel so much more physically like myself, even if I’m still above my pre-pregnancy weight. Exercise makes me happy!

So now I am doing Les Mills Pump, which has mostly Pump workouts but also has walking on the schedule. So I have been walking, running and Turbo Kicking. I can’t wait to see my next round of results. I love the Pump workouts I have done so far and working out with a barbell at home is giving me a great workout without needing to go to the gym. Excellent stuff.

I am going to stop listing my workouts here. I started it for my accountability when I was struggling, and I have been able to be fairly consistent lately. If you miss it, speak up!

Workout update

Wow, I haven’t updated much and haven’t updated my workouts in a week!  So here is that…

Wednesday – TurboFire Fire45 and Stretch10
Thursday – HIIT20 and Sculpt30
Friday – Fire55EZ
Saturday – Core20 and Stretch40
Sunday – Fire45 and Stretch10
Monday – Fire55EZ and Stretch10
Tuesday – Fire30 and Sculpt30

I have moved on to a new month of TurboFire.  These weeks have more straight cardio and strength training and none of the HIITs (though the cardio workouts usually have intervals of higher intensity – the Turbos).  My toe still hurts, but I don’t notice it much in all but one pair of sneakers.  So I don’t wear them much now.  Good thing I have others.

I’m also enjoying my Shakeology so much.  I had it for dinner today (I may have dropped the crockpot lid into dinner and didn’t want lid chips with my chicken) and I am EN-ER-Gized!  My husband is drinking it mostly daily too!  Sometimes I think he forgets that he has it until I mention it.  He had salad and Shakeology for dinner.  He goes straight Shakeology and water plus a little Coffee Mate.  I usually do frozen berries, almond milk and water.  So good!

My mommy and baby workouts came yesterday and I hope to try them tomorrow.  We have a very busy week with lots of appointments and friends.  Fun stuff!  And it’s all after nap time.  We like nap time.  Zoe has one good nap a day most mornings and everyone is happier when that happens.  Happy baby = Happy mommy!

All clear!

A of Friday, I’m cleared to exercise. They said to ease into it, and I don’t feel completely comfortable with some of the more ab-focused moves so that’s been okay. But I can now get a good sweat on, and good sweat I did! I have a picture to prove it. This is after Friday’s workout.

So I will start back with each day’s workouts to end my posts. I have two challenge groups that I will be running and participating in (sign up here for details on my challenges) and I’m so glad to have some friends joining me. It will make it much harder to decide to skip a workout because of a tough day learning with my baby. Accountability!

It seems that I will need to become a late evening exerciser though. This baby is not a napper so I will need to wait for bed most days. Even today with my husband home, I have had to ditch my workout twice. Only once was for the baby. So far, I’ve done 10 minutes of kickboxing and burned 140 calories, so better than nothing!

Workout Friday – Turbo Kick round 45
Workout Saturday – TurboFire Sculpt30

Recipe, Food tip, Picture…what else could you want?

Yesterday was a tough day. No need to get into it as infants are unpredictable and some days will be better than others. I got nothing done other than eating, showering and some one handed facebooking. And of course quality time with a little lady!

Today was more productive with an extra set of arms. I was able to both shower and get ready to an amount of normalcy I have missed. I wrapped any gifts that are ready to be wrapped. I finished up some laundry and tried a new recipe. I have a bunch left to do before Christmas Eve and Christmas, but I’m doing much better than yesterday! I also changed up the blog…how do you like it?

The new recipe was Shakeology based. I wanted to have it for dessert, so I figured I would find something more indulgent than a shake. It was delicious, and perfect for post-wrapping!

Shakeology Peppermint Sorbet
2 scoops Chocolate Shakeology (I used vegan)
1 cup skim milk (I used almond)
4 to 5 drops peppermint extract
6 to 8 ice cubes
PREPARATION: Mix in blender until it’s really thick. Pour into container and freeze for 1 hour. (Makes 2 servings.)

I halved the recipe because it was just me and I knew I would eat the whole thing if I made two servings. It’s all about portion control and pre-portioning so you know you won’t over indulge! If this was something I could make and eat tomorrow (it would be too frozen then), I would have split it into two dishes to freeze. Putting it in one is just setting up for failure. A tip from me to you.

Here are our wrapped gifts beneath the tree. Also, our only holiday decorating this year. Next year, we will rock it.