Hello, Hello… and a Chocolate Cherry Smoothie To-Go!

I know the title is super-cheesy but I couldn’t help rhyming it :)Anyway… I can’t believe I haven’t posted anything since July 11th! Argh! Things got super busy with multiple trips down to NYC on the weekends for races, and schoolwork and my internship took a chunk of time too…Excuse, excuses, I know.

Well I’m back with a quick update and a new smoothie recipe! (Are you sick of them yet??!)
Highlights of the last 2 weeks:

– Went to NYC a couple of weekends, ran 2 races with friends and caught up with them (Always love being there!)

– Finished my On Ramp sessions of Crossfit and now have a 1 month trial period to go 3x per week (included with the Groupon I bought. It was really an awesome deal…probably the best Groupon I’ve ever bought!). So far, I’ve enjoyed CrossFit but I still don’t envision paying for it after my trial period ends. It’s just out of my budget at the moment, and I can do many of the workouts and exercises on my own (which I have been doing!). Things like burpees, air squats, Kettle Bell swings, pushups, Split lungs etc. I also want to keep my gym membership for the pool, the bikes, the treadmills and the rowing machine, plus the weights.

I definitely think that CrossFit has made me stronger, especially with incorporating a lot of the plyometric moves (think jump squats, air squats, burpees, wall balls etc). My hips don’t hurt (yeah!!!!!!!) so I’m hoping that as I keep up with the plyometrics and weight training on my own (and, note to self:  I WILL do it!!!), I’ll keep my hips injury free by maintaining the strength in the surrounding muscles (knock on wood). I’m definitely glad I tried CrossFit, even though I was so intimidated for the longest time.

Another surprising outcome is that I think it also boosted my self-confidence around weights and with pushing myself at the gym. I can’t do a pull-up on my own, but I’ll bust my ass working on it! I find that I feel more confident in general since starting CrossFit – and I’m not exactly sure why or how that happened…but it’s a good thing! 🙂 Maybe it’s that feeling of accomplishment after getting through a tough workout? Maybe I just need to mix up my workouts more often, and take more challenging classes sometimes…

Anyway, on to the recipe….I know it’s another smoothie recipe, but these are great in the summer, and especially as post-workout fuel. I typically use frozen bananas in my smoothies to give them a creamier texture, but you can also use avocados or almond butter instead. In this Chocolate Cherry Smoothie, I used raw almond butter (which is absolutely delicious if you haven’t tried it!), and it not only added a nice, creamy consistency to the smoothie, but it also made it more satisfying with the small dose of healthy fat. Plus it’s delicious!

Chocolate, Cherry Smoothie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

3/4 cup almond milk (unsweetened or vanilla)

5 pitted cherries

1.5 Tbsp chocolate protein powder*

1 tsp raw almond butter (can use more if desired)

4 – 5 ice cubes

Method:

1. Add all ingredients in a blender and blend till smooth. Use additional almond milk if necessary.

* I use a protein powder as a post-workout recovery component, and to add some protein to my smoothies. However, you can substitute with yogurt, silken tofu or additional almond butter if you prefer.