Le petit déjeuner

Happy Saturday everyone!

Just sipping on a green monster smoothie post-spinning.  I didn't originally have plans to work out today, but my nephew decided he wanted pizza last night and, well, the rest is history.  I decided a morning of cardio was just what I needed to lessen the late night pizza guilt :)
My quads were killing me so I didn't do a great job with the sprints, but nevertheless I made a great healthy decision and walked off the soreness on an incline for fifteen minutes afterward.  It is mornings like this when all that motivation talked about here really comes in handy!

I'd like to take the time to mention to y'all a couple of my favorite healthy foods.  Sometimes we are stuck in a rut and can't figure out what to snack on, or what to have for breakfast.  I typically workout before I have an actual breakfast and so my pre-fuel for my workout typically consists of either 1) an apple, 2) peanut butter toast, or 3) a banana.  I think I'm going to start adding a cup of greek yogurt to that list though, because of the fat burning benefits.  Gotta tackle that belly fat.  When I get hungry between meals and I DO (I take this as a great sign that my metabolism is high and those workouts are paying off), I typically grab some of the Emerald Cocoa Roasted Almonds.  If you typically don't eat nuts and get thrown off by the fat content, well, don't. Yes, it may seem like a lot of fat for such a small baggie, but remember that nuts are a good fat.  These have minimal sodium (15mg) and are lightly and naturally sweetened by the cocoa powder that covers them.  Almonds help to curb my apetite and make me feel full until my next meal.

YUM! You can also purchase simply roasted with no cocoa.  

Other snacks I might consume are pieces of fruit (apples, cherries, strawberries) or the low sodium tiny V8 vegetable juices.  I like to keep my sodium intake to a minimum considering salt retains water and no one wants to look bloated, especially in the summertime.  I might have one or two V8's a week.  Some say the low sodium ones are not as tasty as the regular sodium, but you get used to the difference in taste.  For breakfast (mmmm best meal ever) I am a huge fan of the Green Monster that I mentioned above.  If you have not tried this before, do NOT be discouraged by the looks of it, I swear it tastes AMAZING.  There is a whole Green Monster cult-like fan club out there, I promise I'm not a part of this (sort of).  There are just so many great benefits to drinking these regularly.  Appearance in skin, energy, and even a decrease in cravings for sweets (SO TRUE).  Check out the Green Monster Movement that I hope inspires you to try it out.  The Green Monster makes a great breakfast on it's own, or a snack.  If you'd like to make one now, here's a basic recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of milk of choice (I usually use regular milk or almond milk)
• 1 ripe banana
• 2 handfuls of fresh spinach (you can add more or less)
• Ice cubes (1-4)

Optional Items:

• Greek Yogurt (I find that it makes it creamy and dreamy)
• Chia seeds or flax seeds
• Nut butter (peanut, almond, sunflower seed)
• Berries

Instructions:

Start with the liquid, add milk first, then spinach followed by the banana on top.  Top with ice cubes and blend until smooth (typically about 2 mins).  Serves 1-2 cups.  

Don't be like me and put your ingredients in the correct order ;)

The more spinach, the greener.  The less, the more brownish it will look.  But regardless, it'll be tasty

Another breakfast favorite of mine is something light, but protein-rich.  One that I keep coming back to lately is an egg sandwich on pita bread with goat cheese or salsa and spinach.  I should probably tell you that spinach is one of my favorite foods, I can eat it every day and with almost anything.  My third dream job is to become the next Popeye.  I use a poached egg rather than fried, scrambled, or other cooking methods.  With a poached egg I don't have to use any additional oils and I love how pretty they turn out.  If you'd like to scramble yours and make it just egg white, I'm sure this would work too.  I love yolk, and I like my eggs runny.  I don't eat them every day and therefore I'm not too concerned about eating the yolk.  I use whole wheat pita bread pockets because it is low in calories, low in fat, and it doesn't have the sugar that regular bread contains.  You can replace pita bread with basically any sandwich recipe, it's awesome.  Lastly, goat cheese.  Best cheese ever!!! I seriously adore goat cheese, with almost anything.  If you haven't tried it with eggs you absolutely should go do that right now.  The combination is flawless.  I usually pair this meal with some fruit on the side.  Mmm mmm mm.

This one is missing the spinach because I was out.  Make sure and put some in there,  it makes it look colorful.

In regard to how much I eat, I don't really count calories.  I find that excruciating and because I'm a control freak that probably wouldn't be good for me.  I typically know how many calories my food is and I try to keep the meals lower in calories so that I can truly see the benefits from my workouts.  That doesn't mean I eat less.  I definitely don't, just healthier.  Smaller meals, lower in calories and rich in protein at times to keep me feeling full.  That's enough foodie stuff for today.  I promise I will share more another day.  Feel free to ask me any questions about the food.  Enjoy! 

Did you try the green monster? Love it, hate it, not sure how you feel about it?  What's your favorite healthy breakfast?