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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! :)
Power Breakfast Smoothie
Mornings around here start at 4:30am. Actually about 4:33, when the coffee pot finishes brewing ;) So far the 5am gym workouts have been going great! By the time I arrive at work, I’ve already been awake and active for hours and starving for breakfast! A healthy breakfast does more than quiet a growling tummy: it keeps you alert and focused, kick starts your metabolism and helps you say no to temptations like the break-room donut box. But you’ve heard all that before!
Yesterday’s breakfast-to-go was a homemade smoothie. Throw some fruit in a blender and you can’t go wrong:
On this particular morning I did a strength workout, so protein was important. That came from the yogurt, spinach and flaxseed! Flax seed also contains Omega-3’s (the good fat) and fiber. Spinach adds some iron to mix, and cinnamon helps curb your appetite. It also acts as an anti-inflammatory! Basically, you can rest assured you’re getting a quality breakfast with these goodies in the blender. :)
*This smoothie combo is a favorite of mine from the original post here.
Power Smoothie & Raquetball
All the spring break days are blurring together and I’m not ready for it to be over! Every day has included a trip to the gym to try out something new like the Boot Camp and Kickboxing classes. Yesterday: Raquetball.
Disclaimer: Aside from running and “workouts” I am not athletic. Throwing, catching, hitting, kicking, or dribbling? Weak. (Dodging? I can do that!)
Raquetball was purely for fun, and I think my abs got the most of the exercise from constant laughing. It’s just the natural instinct to AVOID anything that is rapidly approaching my face, so we didn’t get much of a rally going ;) Fetching the ball around the room counts as exercise too, right?
(Any Gilmore Girls fans out there? I couldn’t find the whole scene on Youtube but I am probably as terrible at Raquetball as Lorelai.)
*Edit: found the clip I was looking for. The last 15 seconds are really all you need :P Gilmore Girls Raquetball
Such an exhausting silly workout warrants an extra nutritious smoothie lunch. My strawberry banana smoothie had two extra ingredients to give it a healthy boost: Spinach leaves and Ground Flax Seed.
A.) Spinach in smoothies is totally undetectable. You can see tiny green specks but they have no flavor, just lots and lots of vitamins. It’s a freebie!
B.) Flax Seed has lots of Omega-3’s, and blends in perfectly with the fruity smoothie.
Other sneaky smoothie ingredients for added health benefits:
- cocoa powder
- cinnamon
- protein powder
- wheat germ
- Kale
- Oats
- Ginger
I can’t get over how perfect it is outside, so a run around the park is next on the agenda. With a recovery smoothie to follow (chocolate banana!)
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