Adventurous Weekend and A Giveaway!

 Hi There! It's been a whirlwind Easter weekend! Micah and I headed to SC on Friday to celebrate my brother's birthday! We had lots of fun! We even went to this great indoor rock wall climbing center that friends of ours own, called Climb Upstate! Click here for their FB page: Climb Upstate.

I would have never attempted bouldering a few weeks ago! Bouldering is climbing without a harness...you only use a crash pad at the bottom of the route. This was huge for me, since I'm not a huge heights person, but by the end of our time there, I started to get the hang of....pun intended - of how to use my body weight in a different way! I will definitely be making Australian pull-up bars from PVC pipe. :-) Had I not done so much upper body training recently, I would have fallen on my tush...plyometrics help too. Bouldering is empowering, and I can't wait to try it again! This pic is of me half-way up a vertical climb!

I'm so excited about this week! I'm doing my first test group for a 7-day Sugar Shake Off! It's a challenge where we'll be replacing 1 meal a day with Shakeology, and doing at least 15 minutes of physical activity every day! I like to use vegan chocolate in a blender with avocado or a nut butter and almond milk. The Shakeology in the giveaway has whey in it, just to make you aware of the protein source. I've been on this meal replacement for 60 days, and have noticed a major difference in the health of my skin, and my energy levels and my muscle tone, so I decided to share it with you! Someone will win 3 packets of shakeology this week, 1 vanilla, 1 strawberry, and 1 chocolate. This stuff makes my tummy happy too, and has alleviated my IBS symptoms. I'm not a doctor, so make sure you check with your healthcare practitioner before you take shakeology. Anyway, sharing is caring, so here I am! What is your favorite smoothie recipe? I'm always looking for new ideas, and I'd love to share mine with you!

Here's my favorite! You can use any chocolate protein powder you like! :)

 a Rafflecopter giveaway


Thanks as always for listening! Tell me what your favorite smoothie recipe is! :)

Julie 

Smoothie Heaven: Red Velvet smoothie

Hi there!
So if your week has been anything like mine, there have definitely been some ups and downs... Fortunately, I can sip a comforting Red Velvet smoothie! You might think, " But isn't Red Velvet a cake?" Well, yes it is but this smoothie recreates the taste of red velvet without all the sugar. It's one of my all time favorite smoothie recipes and my clients love this recipe! And with Christmas and the holidays around the corner, we could all use a little desert that will help us keep a healthy waistline...right? Well without further ado, here it is, my raging Red Velvet smoothie!

 Red Velvet Smoothie    (Serves 2)
1 c. mixed berries or raspberries.
1 tbsp. unsweetened baking cocoa
1 scoop chocolate or vanilla protein powder
1/4 c. greek yogurt
1. cup almond milk
1/2 c. water
2 tbsp. stevia

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy!

Raspberries have vitamin k.and lots of other antioxidants. try this fruit in oatmeal with almonds and greek yogurt too!

What to do with a 10+lb. pumpkin...Eat it!

Ok, so I really didn't have time to go to the pumpkin patch this year. I teach a class for a corporate fitness program to a group of wonderful ladies who love to bring me something from their latest garden/farm crop and their latest homemade salsas and sugar-free preserves. (Can you say "yuuuummmmy"?) So when one of my students asked to bring me a pumpkin, I didn't know she was going to bring me the biggest pumpkin in the state...just kidding, but this pumpkin was well over 10 lb. I would've paid a FORTUNE for this at the grocery store, and it was organic!!! After I got over the shock, my hubby and I had to decide what to do with this beast...I named it Himey...(I'm really dorky, ok..?) Well, the pumpkin sat and ripened for a little while...but I must confess. I had no idea what to do with this giant!...well, other than roast the seeds. So, I decided to embark on a new culinary adventure, with extreme thankfulness that I bought a new chef's knife recently. So I cut my very orange pumpkin friend into pieces, scraped out the seeds, and roasted him in the oven, while I roasted seeds in my toaster oven. After I cut the flesh from the pumpkin, I then separated pumkin I would freeze from pumkin I would puree'. It took up my two largest tupperware containers and then some. I thought to myself, great the pumpkin is prepped, but what do I do next?
That's when my great friend's at IDEA inspired bloggers were more than happy to lend a helping post or two of their pumpkin recipes. So thank you ladies, there were so many wonderful post to choose from! Friends, please check out their blogs for these great pumpkin recipes! Meanwhile, here's one of my own:(This recipe has been endorsed, by my husband, Micah Auler.)

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie (Serves 1)
1/4 c. greek yogurt (plain)
1/2 c. pureed pumpkin
1/4 c. unsweetened almond milk
1/4 c. oatmeal
1 tsp. honey
2 packets of stevia
1 dash ground ginger
2 dashes nutmeg
2 dashes cloves
2 dashes cinnamon
Put all ingredients in blender and blend, and enjoy!

Link Love:
Pumkin Protein Granola
Pumkin Pie Greek Yogurt
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Pumpkin Lentil Tacos
Pumpkin Protein Pancakes
Pumpkin Pie Quinoa
Pumpkin Cupcake
Pumpkin Pancakes

As always, let me know your thoughts! Leave a comment or email any time!