Marathon Training Mondays: New Chocolate Protein Shake Recipe!

Sorry this is a little late...but I have the day off! Yes!  It's MLK Day and so there is no school today.  I actually slept in (ok so only until 6:30, but still) and then I had my New Chocolate Protein Shake and ran 4 miles.

This week's mileage really starts to build.  This past Saturday was our cut-back run and it was only 5 miles.  This week I have 3/4/3 and then 9!  I feel like anything over an hour is a long run so 9 miles will for sure feel more intense than five.  I also did my 4 mile run today instead of my 3 mile run because I figured with the extra time it would be nice to do my run and then relax.

It is also crazy super cold right now.  The high today is like 9 degrees and when I walked downstairs to the treadmill in our apartment, it said the temperature outside was -1.  Yuck!  It is way too cold to run outdoors.  I have been today that it is dangerous to run if it is 0 or below.  So, don't do it :)  Find a way to run indoors or skip the run.  You run so much while marathon training that it is okay to skip a run once in awhile. If you had told me that 2 years ago when I was training for my first run it would have stressed me out, but seriously it is okay to not run once in awhile!

So, today I am going to tell you about a great protein shake recipe!  I feel like this is sort of amusing considering I am currently making some cinnamon rolls in honor of my day off.  However, for the most part I have been all about the protein shakes for breakfast and I have already lost a few pounds over the last few weeks!  Protein powder in smoothies is a great way to support muscle gain and weight loss.  You can check out this article at DbolMuscleSecret for more information and to help you choose the best protein powder for you!  Incorporating protein and into your breakfast is the best way to satisfy any morning hunger you might feel and help you get to lunch without snacking unnecessarily.  I do my workout in the morning, drink my protein smoothie and some coffee and I am good to go until my lunch later in the day!

Chocolate Protein Shake

Ingredients:
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 scoop chocolate protein powder (find one with no fat or sugar)
1 tsp almond butter
1 tsp cinnamon
5-6 ice cubes

Directions:
1. Place everything into a blender and blend until smooth!

Enjoy :)

Guest Blogger: Thirsty Thursdays by Zack

Today, I have a very special guest blogger!  I am pretty pumped about this.  It's my little brother!  When our spring breaks lined up this year, we spent some time hanging out.  I told him about how I really wanted to get my blog going again and he told me about how he wanted to be a bar tender.  I was like, hmmm....how can we combine both of these fun/fantastic ideas?  And here we are: Thirsty Thursdays by Zack!  The little bro is going to share with me drink ideas that he has and I am going to share them here! 

Z shared this recipe with me along with some cute photos.  He took this recipe from Cookin Bug, and jazzed it up into his own frozen version.  I give you: The Frozen Pineapple Almond Upside Down Cake! 

Frozen Pineapple Almond Upside Down Cake

Ingredients:

1 1/2 oz Cake Vodka

1 1/2 oz Amaretto

3 oz Pineapple Juice

1 Pineapple Slice

splash Grenadine

Strawberry Vodka Whipped Cream

1 Maraschino cherry

Directions:

1. Blend with ice: Cake Vodka, Amaretto, Pineapple Juice and Pineapple slice

2. Pour into glass

3. Add splash of grenadine

4. Stir gently to gradually combine grenadine with frozen drink

5. Top with whipped cream and a cherry

Enjoy :)

Plated! Apricot Chicken with Almond Green Beans

I had a great opportunity recently.  I was able to try Plated for free! It is a fantastic organization where you can order meals online, they send you all the ingredients, and then you cook the dinner.  All the menus are created by different chefs and the menu options change weekly.  It is so fun to look through the yummy recipes! Plus, this was a great way for me to make a non-vegetarian meal.

Bri is a vegetarian and I love coming up with yummy dinner options, but sometimes I just really want a good piece of chicken or salmon.  Whenever we go out for dinner, I order something with meat because I know that it isn't something I get at home a lot. This has also helped me always have a variety of foods and I love that.  I ordered a great salmon dish and chicken dish from Plated.  Both were amazing, but my favorite was the chicken.  It was Apricot Chicken with Almond Green Beans.  This light and healthy meal came with enough food for two meals and so I was able to make myself dinner on a night where Bri was out with his mom and I had a ton of work to do and then I had another meal for lunch one day at school! It was such a great deal and I think you should all check out this fun site!