Blog Archives
Recent Inspirations #2
A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog post that compiled some ‘Recent Inspirations.’ The format was different than my usual, and I liked the alternative to coming up with my own original content. So I bring you a second dose of things that are currently inspiring me.
Life Inspiration: Empowering Quotes
I’m sure my fellow graduating seniors can relate to how stressful of a situation it is to be 12 weeks away from the end of our college career without a clue as to where our next chapter will take us. Pinterest has some calming quotes for that!
And this wonderful reminder for any senioritis sufferers:
One more thoughtful reminder before we move on to something more colorful (because I know sometimes those winter blues/hormones/stress/whatever creep in and temporarily cloud our perspective. In reality, we are pretty lucky souls to have a life with so many possibilities. And yes, I have to remind myself this all the time.)
Style Inspiration: Dressing the Part
You will never find me in class in a sweatshirt. Nor will you catch me with leggings as pants. In fact, I avoid pants as much as possible because I find dresses and skirts so much more flattering. It takes a little bit of extra time and effort but I believe that putting together an outfit is an important representation of ourselves. Some people joke that only freshmen wake up at 6:30am to “get ready” for their 8am class…..but I’m in my 8th semester of class and I do this twice a week. What we wear and how we present ourselves can impact our attitude and confidence for the day. To me, it’s a worthwhile habit. My style inspiration (if only the weather here would cooperate…..pencil skirts and parkas kinda clash!):
The shoes! <3
(So many more outfits on my Career Path board!)
Health Inspiration: Nutritious Recipes
Some of the food photography on Pinterest is amazing. They make pictures of granola bars look so fancy! A few recipes I’ve been inspired to add into the weekly rotation:
Cinnamon Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Honey Coconut Apples from Simply Taralynn:
Raw Banana Bread Shake from The First Mess:
And this bouncy workout for a little extra exercise:
So what else is inspiring?
The series finale of Parenthood.
The song ‘Pretty Good Day’ by Lonestar.
A winning streak by your school’s basketball team.
Hearing a friend talk about falling in love.
Finding a new running trail.
Seeing some pretty big moments coming up on your calendar.
Earlier this week I mentioned by affinity for Echosmith’s album, and after over-playing ‘Bright’ I’ve decided that this is my new favorite:
Feel free to add your own recent inspirations in the comments section :)
Saturday Night + Dark Chocolate Avocado Cookies
My Saturday evening was a low-key night at home. Sometimes, when the weekend comes around I am ready to dress up and go out with friends. Other times I’m so ready to spend time at home in comfy clothes and messy hair. Last night was one of the latter. It was a perfect compilation of making a healthy veggie-filled dinner, sipping on Sprout’s coffee, listening to new music (Echosmith’s album obsession), watching the latest Grey’s Anatomy episode, reading some of 50 Shades of Grey (more on that further down) and spontaneously creating a vegan-ish, gluten-free, and (most importantly) super-chocolately dessert.
Last weekend was full of craziness; next weekend I have all sorts of fun plans. So I really didn’t mind a casual Saturday night at home this weekend. It was so relaxing :)
Before last night, I hadn’t watched any television shows (including the news or Sports Center *gasp*) in over two weeks. Too busy playing catch-up from missing a week of school due to my internship! But now that I’m getting back on schedule, I had the series finale of Parenthood and the return of Grey’s Anatomy waiting for me in my Hulu queue.
In between though, I was struck with inspiration to raid my kitchen cupboards and create something for dessert that was still semi-healthy. Also….Sprout’s had avocados on sale this week so I bought 5. Then all 5 proceeded to ripen at the same exact time. This is my alternative to guacamole:
That adorable mug is from one of my best friends, Miss Chelsea! It is too perfect for me. (Chelsea and I are no strangers to baking with avocados, either!)
Chocolate Avocado Cookies:
Makes 20 soft cookies
- “meat” of 1 very ripe avocado
- 1/4 cup stevia (or substitute regular sugar)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup Chobani Greek yogurt (0% fat, plain flavor)
- 1 egg
- 1 tps. vanilla
- 1 Tbs. instant coffee granules
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 cup dark cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup oat flour (ground oats)
- splash of almond milk (approx. 3 Tbs)
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mix the avocado, stevia, and sugar with a mixer until smooth.
3. Add in the yogurt, egg, and vanilla.
4. In a small bowl, combine oat flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and coffee granules. Add this dry mixture to the wet mixture. Stir to combine.
5. Add in almond milk as needed to thin out the batter.
6. Use a spoon to place batter on baking sheets. **Note: this batter will not flatten out or expand, so the “shape” it goes on the pan is the shape it will come out in.
7. Top cookie dough with chocolate chips. Bake for 10 minutes, and allow to cool before enjoying with a steaming mug of delicious coffee or a cold glass of milk. Sharing is highly recommended.
The recipe really was just an experiment, and thank goodness it turned out. My roommate and I polished off that place seconds after this photo was captured ;)
Now on to my reading material…. I love to read. My book shelves at home are completely filled with novels I’ve read but can’t bare to get rid of, mostly fiction. When I received a book for Christmas that I had already read, I decided to exchange it for 50 Shades of Grey and finally see what all of the hype is about.
Guys…… the writing style and the conversations between the characters are so weak, it ruins my interest in the plot! I know this book has millions of fans and maybe it improves? I wanted to finish reading the book before the movie comes out next week but honestly, I’d rather just read some blog posts instead :)
What’s your ideal Saturday night?
Virgin Pina Coladas for Breakfast
Gooooood morning!
My breakfast today was as bright as the morning sunshine. My best friend came over for a HIIT workout together in my apartment’s gym. She is following Kayla Itsine’s Bikini Body Guide, and I like to join her on Friday’s to sweat together. Body weight exercises and strength training is something I skip many times when I’m by myself because I’d rather jam out on the treadmill. But Kerri’s workouts always leave me dripping with sweat and grateful for a workout buddy.
I requested a non-leg workout and she delivered with an ‘Arm & Abs’ routine that murdered our shoulders. The workout consisted of 8 different exercises, completed through 4 rounds of 7 minute intervals. The exercises included alternating mountain climbers and pushups, squats to cleans, and weighted jackknives. We got through it with some country music and recovered with this beauuuuutiful breakfast smoothie:
Virgin Pina Colada:
Serves 3
- 1 ripe pineapple, cut in wedges
- 3 bananas
- 1 cup ice
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1/2 cup coconut water with pulp
- pineapple for garnish
Just add everything to a blender, and serve in a chilled glass! Can’t go wrong with pineapple, coconut and banana. We sipped on our smoothies with a side of hazelnut coffee. It was a well-deserved relaxing morning after such an intense fitness session.
And some fun nutrition facts for you:
- Coconut water is tapped from young, green coconuts. It has simple carbohydrates (sugar) and electrolytes, along with more potassium than a banana.
- 1 cup of pineapple provides more than your daily requirements for Vitamin C. It also contains beta-carotene, and it’s enzymes have been linked to decreasing inflammation.
- Americans consume more bananas than apples and oranges combined.
And because it’s SO sunny and warm in February I think I’ll take a little run outside as soon as I hit ‘publish.’
Oh and one funny story! Kerri and I have had many strange cases where we think/say the same thing at the same time. We also like to immediately share our new favorite songs with each other. Today, I said “Oh I Shazam’ed 2 new songs! There’s one I thought you would like.”
Kerri said, “So did I…..”
I said, “Wait….is one of them” and at the same time we both said “BRIGHT?!”
Ahhhhh best friend telepathy. We had both heard the same song, both used the Shazam app to find out what it was, and both wanted to share it with each other. <3
Happy Friday! :)
