Happy Monday everyone! I am so tired from this weekend, mostly because my sister-in-law and I stayed up until 3:30 this morning doing makeup, having a spontaneous photoshoot, and talking about life. It was so fun, but I am so tired. lol. This post will be coming to you later than I wanted, but better late than never. Right?
Monday was probably the most productive day of the week for me. The first part of the day was filled with housework, True Blood, and blog stuff. When Dakota got home from work we got ready to go to the gym. We recently got a few samples of pre-workout to try before we settle on one.Our problem is that because of our schedule we workout in the afternoon, and usually around that time we have no energy or motivation whatsoever. So, we wanted to try out a pre-workout. Monday was our first day using one of the the pre-workout samples and I found that it really worked for me! We started our workout by doing some yoga and core exercises at home and then went to the gym. We did about 25 minutes of cardio and then 45 minutes of weights. I had so much energy and felt amazing after! I don't think pre-workout is like a fix-all type thing, but it definitely worked for me. I got this super cute shaker cup to make my protein shakes and pre-workout.
After the gym we went to the mall and I got new tennis shoes! Mine had definitely seen better days, and I absolutely love my new ones!
To be honest, not a lot happened on Tuesday. I did make a protein smoothie using Simply Taralynn's recipe, and it was delicious! I used the Ghost protein powder in the flavor "cereal milk", frozen fruit, almond milk, and a few ice cubes. I'll leave a link to the recipe at the bottom of this post!
Wednesday morning I decided to have a bagel with cream cheese, a banana, and coffee for breakfast. Lately I have just been putting a little half and half and a sprinkle or two of Splenda in my coffee. I'm trying to cut back on sugar and start drinking my coffee black. It's definitely been a struggle because I have a huge sweet tooth! I tried to take it slowly Wednesday morning, because that particular day I was depressed. I won't go into details here, because I wrote a whole post about it that day. I will say that writing helped my depression so much, and I ended up feeling much better afterward. Since I was feeling better, I decided to cook something delicious for dinner. I went with pepper casserole, and it was quick, easy, healthy, and so so good! I posted the recipe on the blog already, so definitely check it out!
Thursday was spent hanging out with Dakota and watching lots ofBones. I started my day with coffee, of course, and took the day to relax. We did put together this new floor lamp my mom got us, and I love it! It's the little things like this that help make our house a home.
We spent the night hanging out with friends, loving on pups, and laughing a lot.
Friday I made another protein smoothie, and actually documented it this time! I used Simply Taralynn's recipe again, and yet again it was delicious. Dakota says it tastes like strawberry ice cream! A quick overview of the recipe: 12 fluid ounces almond milk, 5 ice cubes, 1 cup frozen fruit, and 1 scoop protein powder. Super simple!
For dinner, Dakota and I had sushi at our favorite sushi restaurant. I wanted to be totally present, so no pretty sushi pictures to share. But trust me, it was delicious.
Saturday we slept in. It was so. nice. For lunch I cooked lemon chicken and green beans. I really enjoy cooking and trying out new recipes, and every time I do I do my best to learn from it and see what could be better next time. Now, don't get me wrong, lunch was delicious and Dakota absolutely loved it, but I think next time I will go a little easier on the lemon. Either way, it was still so good! Let me know in the comments below if you want me to post the recipe!
We had a few bananas that were really ripe, and I wanted to use them so they didn't go to waste! I decided to use another Simply Taralynn recipe for banana oat muffins. I tweaked the recipe a bit and had to use a baking dish because I don't have a muffin tin. It's on my list, though! I also added honey and peanut butter, which changed the density of them so they turned out gooey but still really good. They are perfect with coffee, and I really want to try them again!
Dakota's sister was in town visiting, so the rest of Saturday was spent hanging out with her! We had an impromptu midnight makeover and photoshoot. It was so fun! I mean look how gorgeous she is.
As promised, here are the links to the recipes I used this week!
Protein Smoothie: https://simplytaralynn.com/2018/07/25/this-is-my-everyday-go-to-protein-smoothie-formula/
Banana Oat Muffins: https://simplytaralynn.com/2019/02/06/banana-oat-muffins-vegan-gluten-free/