My Perfect Green Smoothie!

I love this smoothie!  It’s light and has so much good nutrients.  I love to make it for myself and my husband.  Kids totally freak out with the green color.  They don’t know this, but I do add a little bit of green stuff in their smoothie, just enough so it does not turn green on them :).  Crazy mom!

I add strawberry, banana and water into the smoothie tumbler.  We recently bought the Ninja (blender/smoothie-maker/food-processor).  I’m loving the fierce speed of this machine – 1500 watts, and the box says, “Total Crushing Technology.” 🙂  

I add the GREENS!

I use my fingers to push the greens below that -MAX FILL- mark on the tumbler.  The blade-lid unit does not screw in otherwise.

I close the top with the blade-lid.  This top will be the bottom on the Ninja machine.

And, here it goes…the “Total Crushing Technology” at work!    

I take two deep breaths and voila!  The smoothie is ready for my husband.  He drinks it right out of the tumbler.  I love this part too; no extra cups or drinking glass to be washed.  I’m all set to make mine, now. 🙂  I love this drink!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Direction:

(1 – serving; Prep time: less than 5-minutes; total time: less than 5-minutes)

1/2 of  6″ Banana

1/2 Cup Frozen Strawberries

2 Cups Olivia’s Organic mix (can use any other spring mix, spinach or kale)

1 Cup water (more if the smoothie is too thick)

Place all four ingredients in the tumbler.  Close with blade-lid.  Blend.  Blend for 10 seconds and it’s done!  Enjoy.

Nutritional Information:

Calories: 80 gram;  Carbohydrate: 21 gram;  Fiber: 4.8 gram;  Protein: 2.55 gram;  Sugar: 10.7 gram;  Fat: 0.17 gram;  Cholesterol: 0 gram;  Potassium: 281 gram

The salad gives me – Vitamin A 110%; Vitamin C 50%; Calcium 6%; Iron 20%.  The Strawberries give me – Vitamin C 45%, Iron 2% and Calcium 2%.  Banana and Strawberries are high in potassium.

(I eat lean meat/fish for my protein to balance my meal.  Sometimes I add protein powder in this smoothie and get protein that way).

…thank you for visiting my blog…until next time 🙂

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No Pain, No Gain. Oh, Not This Pain!

Workout finished.  Not exactly the way I wanted it to.  I hurt my lower back.  Excruciating pain.  No idea how it started.  It did not happen during my workout, but right after.  Maybe while I was putting away weights, steps or risers…who knows.  (I heard that)…it has nothing to do with my getting older! 🙂

Having low threshold for pain, I immediately hit the websites –  read, and read on lower back pain. Started treatment.  Iced the affected area, then used heat.  Alternated that for a good couple of days.  Took ibuprofen as well.  Consulted my dear websites, again.  Next step – added some stretch exercises.   (I heard that, too)…I’m not going to the doctor!  And, stop telling me what to do!

After two days, I felt well enough to try my Body Pump class.  Using my body weight for squats and lunges; and low weight (about 5 lbs) for the rest of the class; I finished the one hour class.  For the rest of the week – I kept low weight and focused on my form.  The week ended well. Pain level, in control!  (Heard that)…Awe, that’s sweet!  Thank you for believing in my research and treatment. 🙂

Source of my back pain – who knows!  But I do know that nursing that pain, helped.  I’m happy now –  that much I definitely know.

…thank you for visiting my blog…until next time 🙂

 

Weight(less)

My friend and I were nearing the end of our moderate rated (on scale of difficulty), 4-mile trail, on a nice cool day.   These rock steps were the last hike.  Climbing against gravity to conclude our trail was a heavily weighted challenge.  Here, my friend is reaching the end.  Keep going friend, few more to go … you can do it!  (She did do it.)

Today’s Workout!

I have, recently, realized that I motivate people at my workout.  And, I didn’t even know about it, until now. My workouts have been mainly for me.  I do have to push myself!  Every workout that I complete motivates me for the next one. I self-talk; I do that a lot.  And, that helps me get to the gym, 99.9% of the time!  I have become, what you would call, a “Regular” at the gym. And, that has motivated some gym goers. They have come up to me to tell me that. That really feels good.

Reasons I workout… It just feels great all around! I am able to deal with the demands of the day so much better.

This brings me to the next step, which I think involves my wanting to help others get motivated. Motivate them to not only workout, but create a sustainable routine for a healthy lifestyle.

My goal:  To get certified in workout/healthy lifestyle field. I am writing this on my blog because I think this will keep me motivated to remain focused in achieving my goal.

My ultimate goal:  To help make a positive change in people’s lives, who need a little push in the direction of leading a healthy lifestyle.

….thank you for visiting my blog…until next time 🙂

Healthier and Happier – Working to be Fit Everyday!

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My cheat sheet:) I love it.

My one page note!  My little helper:)

Small consistent changes to eating healthier and living an active lifestyle is what I did to get the results that I wanted.  And, I am still doing it.  I’ve been doing this for almost 15 years now.  I still motivate myself and do lots of self talk.  It has led me to live a healthier and happier life for me, my family and my friends.

Walking in nature is a great exercise. Here my husband is walking our dog Dixie. I walk with our other dog, Sir Thomas, as you may know him.

People ask me if I can help them.  But I don’t have any certification.  I do, however, know how I did it! My little note certainly helped.  I would love to help others, I’m thinking of getting certification in Personal Training so that I can help others.  In the meantime, I still wanted to share  my little photo-note in this post:)

I made this yummy meal! It was filling and healthy, too.

I am regularly reading and learning from different websites.  I educate myself and filter information to fit my body and my given genes.  I fight and beat a few bad genes on a daily basis; but the rest I accept, and continue to move forward.  I, recently, read a good article on fighting bad genes titled, “6 Ways to Beat Your Bad Genes.”  You can read it on, http://www.prevention.com/fitness/fitness-tips/how-your-genes-impact-your-physical-fitness

Can’t emphasize enough – Being consistent and patient is what worked for me!  Small consistent changes to eating healthier and living an active lifestyle is what I did to get the results that I wanted.  And, I will continue doing it!

…thank you for visiting my blog…until next time:)