I can feel my muscles growing

I found the best new protein powder, and I just had to tell you about it because I’m nice and generous like that.  Here it is:

Doesn’t he look like a man who knows good protein powder?  I thought so too, which is why I took a chance on him and spent nearly $3 on this single-serve packet at Whole Foods when the stuff I normally buy is only a buck.  I am not sure I meant to buy egg white protein, because the sound of that freaks me out and I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have gone for it, but now that I have it, I’m in love.

In. Love.

It makes the best smoothies.  Look at what I just had for lunch:

It’s all thick and milkshake-y, right?  That’s because of my man Jay Robb.  I only used half the packet, too, which means I still have some left for another smoothie tomorrow.  A $1.50 smoothie is better than a $3 smoothie, right?  They also sell it in big canisters for upwards of $30, but I wasn’t ready to commit. I’m still not, actually, because I’m kind of cheap, but I’m slowly talking myself into it.

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I promise I eat solid food.

Coffee:

I never thought I’d see hot coffee again after the massive heat wave, but I think we may be on our way out. It is much less humid today and I think – think – I may have even felt a breeze. Mother Nature is getting crazy.

Peanut butter and banana smoothie for lunch:

And that’s that. Back to work.  I may continue the liquid theme of this post with some yogurt in a little bit.  Or, I may have a Z Bar.  I’ll leave you in suspense…

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A smoothie story

Obviously you can use all kinds of fruit, and even vegetables if you’re weird like that (kidding! No hate comments, please!), to make a smoothie, but in my opinion, the banana is key.

As is peanut butter. Obviously, because peanut butter makes everything that much better.

And flax, well, texturally it’s a little weird but suck it up for the health benefits.

So the key players are:

Plus milk and ice, but I think we all know what they look like.

And then I like to add half a scoop of protein powder because I think it thickens it. This is the brand I buy, because it’s the cheapest, but also because it’s America’s #1:

I think the fact that it’s whey and not soy makes a difference. My hypothesis here is that the whey from the protein powder is already friends with the whey from the milk, and so they get along well together and that makes a good, thick smoothie. Whether this is true, I have no idea. I’ve never tried soy because Chris told me that whey is better. And because I consider protein powder to be one of the few things boys know about, I listened. But if you’re vegan, I’m sure soy would work.

I don’t really measure, because that makes extra dishes and extra dishes make me unhappy, but I’m pretty good at eyeballing, so here’s the rough recipe:

4 – 5 ice cubes

1 banana

3/4 cup skim milk

1 T peanut butter

1 T flax

1/2 scoop protein powder

So you start with the ice, banana and milk in the blender and give that a whirl. Then, put the speed on pretty low and use the little opening at the top to add the peanut butter, protein powder, and flax while it’s blending. Then walk away for a few minutes and let it go, like this:

I think that if you let it blend for a few minutes, the air will incorporate, making it thicker and more voluminous. Also, sometimes I like to add cinnamon, and if the banana isn’t very ripe, I might add a squirt of honey or maple syrup.

And there you go. THE END.

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I am nosy

I’m not ashamed to say that I’m one of those people who eyes the stats on neighboring cardio machines (I also eavesdrop in restaurants, to the point that Chris makes me sit where I’m facing the wall so I don’t get distracted, but that’s beside the point).  A little competition never hurt, and if the person next to me is going faster or harder than me, it gives me incentive to turn it up a little.

This morning, I got on the arc trainer (that weird-looking elliptical) next to a guy, and naturally looked over to check his data.

He was going at resistance 100.

Did you even know that those things went up to 100?  Because I sure didn’t.  I go at 55 and that, more often than not, has me contemplating suicide.

Well, once I saw that, I couldn’t stop staring.  No way.  I was waiting for him to pass out and fall off of the thing.  But he didn’t.  In fact, I’m pretty sure he went for an hour that way, because I was on for half an hour and he had a little less than that left when I got off.

Yeah, I was looking pretty hard.  But really. 100??  That man is in shape.

Anyway.  Tomorrow I might try to turn it up to 60.  We’ll see.  Probably not.

I also made a smoothie today with my homemade almond butter:

Pretty good.  Not as good as peanut butter, let’s be real, but still not bad.

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Long weekend

We are back from our trip and I, for one, could have used one more day to relax.  I can only imagine how Chris feels, considering that I did not get behind the wheel once all weekend.  Not that I didn’t volunteer, but last time I drove there was a little incident involving a red light and a wandering mind.  Let’s just say I’m no longer trusted in the driver’s seat.

We had fun, though.  Jack did a little of this:

And a little of this:

And, when we got home, a lot of this:

Chris and I, we mostly did this:

So this morning, I got back on track with a banana and peanut butter smoothie:

It’s a really nice day today, and I think I’m going to work outside on my stoop and let Jack romp around in the 4ft by 4ft bed of rocks we like to call our “yard.”

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Bottomless pit

I don’t know why but I am so hungry today.  Can’t stop eating.

I decided to give the old hemp milk another try for breakfast in a smoothie with banana, flax and peanut butter.  It was okay, but for the amount of peanut butter I put in there, I was not full for very long at all.  I like the ones I make with protein powder and regular milk better.  Sorry, I didn’t take a picture.

So around ten I was starving again so I had some grapes:

And then at 11:30 my stomach was honestly growling AGAIN, so before Jack started growling back, I figured I should go ahead and eat my lunch.  I had the leftovers from last night.  Eh.  I still hate leftovers.  These were okay.

We had to leave our laundry at the place that does it overnight because we didn’t take it in until late last night.  Needless to say, I have some funny pants on right now.  Because, you know, I can’t wear jeans when I’m working from home.  Don’t be absurd.  I have to be comfortable.  And I am, but they are way, way, WAY too short, which is very strange because I haven’t grown in probably ten years.  Jack and I just had to walk to the mailbox because he forgot to mail the rent check like I told him to, and he was totally trying to act like he didn’t know me.

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A little kick

I added paprika to my smoothie today by mistake.  I thought it was cinnamon.  Because, you know, they look the same, except that paprika is red and cinnamon is brown.

Anyway, it tasted pretty good actually, so really I’m a genius.  This is how recipes are created, you know.

I also had some yogurt, figs and flax this afternoon:

I would say that I am a-okay on my dairy intake today.  I might have to have broccoli and lettuce for dinner to even things out a little.

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Flax is your friend

I decided not to tempt fate by having three scary bacon sandwiches in a row, so I made a smoothie:

I love closing my eyes and pretending I’m having ice cream for lunch. Specifically, a Wendy’s frosty. I even eat it with a spoon, which I pretend is a French fry.

Also, I wanted to officially announce that I am now a fan of flax. I know I said it tastes fishy. That’s because it does. But you’re not supposed to eat it with a spoon straight out of the bag. You mix it into things, like yogurt, or sprinkle it on things, like this peanut butter and honey toast I had for breakfast this morning:

These two little pieces of bread kept me full this morning for like five hours.  This coming from someone who is often ready for her next meal after two hours.  Sometimes one.

So flax is a keeper. I’ve already figured out a way to incorporate it into dinner tonight. I know Chris will be quite pleased.

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