healthy laps

I completely overslept this morning!!  I hate being rushed, so this was not a good way to start my Friday.  But, TGIF!!!

I love having ‘me’ time in the mornings.  Usually, I like to get a good workout in, but lately I like to have a day or two per week when I just have some time to sit, watch the news and eat my breakfast before my busy day gets started.  I have been training for marathons and half marathons non-stop for the past few years, so I was always using a training schedule.  Now that I am not training for anything inparticular, I feel kind of free (even though I do miss it)! 🙂

I still love my workouts because of the way they make me feel, but I do not feel as pressured to get them in before work.  I am still a morning person, and definitely prefer my morning workout routine because sometimes leaving it to the evenings means that a workout does not happen.  However, I was always rushing out the door to get in a run, even on the weekends.  It was the only thing I could focus on when I woke up, and if I missed my morning run, I would think about it all day long – it was awful!  I felt guilty all the time.  And, I rarely sat down to eat my breakfast, since I was always on-the-go and just rushing from place to place.  I would eat in the car or just scarf it down in 2 minutes flat.

It feels nice to not be rushing, and honestly, I have been enjoying my workouts more.  I am not frantically trying to get ‘X’ number of miles in per week, but instead taking some time to cross train and focus on weight training (all combined with running, of course, because I really do love it!).  I feel stronger and happier.  It is wonderful.

Anyways, I didn’t get as much ‘me’ time this morning, but there was enough time to make a good on-the-go breakfast!

I felt like a really simple smoothie today.  Normally, my smoothies are jam packed with stuff, but today I kept it low-key with more of a shake!

Choco-Cinnamon Banana Shake

• 1.5 frozen bananas (1 just didn’t make it creamy enough for me)
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 heaping tbsp cocao powder
• 1 heaping tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• pinch of salt
• squirt of agave (adjust to taste)

This shake was unbelievable!  The chocolate and cinnamon were wonderful together.  I slurped it right down.

I used my new straw today.  It is not just any straw, but a spoon-straw!

You can get this super cool spoon-straw at Crate & Barrel.  It is perfect for a thicker smoothie, so that you have the option to slurp or eat.  Love it!

Along with my smoothie, I kept it simple again with wheat toast and homemade Choco-Cinnamon Hazelnut-Pecan Butter.  Apparently I was in the mood for chocolate and cinnamon this morning…

And, some tea.

All to-go for my trip to work.

The morning flew by, but when lunchtime came around, I was ready to eat!

I packed a salad and yogurt today.  Simple, yet filling and delicious.

My salad contained baby spinach, chickpeas, hazelnuts, 2 turkish figs, 1/2 an avocado, cheese-y quackers and pear infused vinegar.

Yogurt with homemade granola and fruit was my second course.

For fruit, I finnished the rest of my kiwi berries and a champagne mango that I picked up at Whole Foods this week.  The sign said that a champagne mango is sweeter and less stringy than a normal mango – perfect!

It is also much smaller than a normal mango – super cute.  I peeled this mango because I find that it wastes less of the fruit.  Many people peel mangos by cutting them in half and using the cube method, but I find that I waste so much fruit that way.  I just took my normal peeler to this guy.

And, cut it up.

Mmmmmm…this was so good!  Juicy, sweet and not stringy at all.  I think I found my new favorite summer fruit.

Off to finish the workday – then time for the weekend!

Filed under: Eating Laps, Product Reviews | Tagged: mango, salad, smoothie, yogurt |