Give It A Whirl

Hi again! Lucky for you, I can’t complain about a lot at the moment as I am blogging from my comfy bed [which now is bedded…after two days], with the soothing sounds of James Morrison. I enjoyed my Tuesday just like any other Tuesday Saturday. After my banana berry waffle, I was craving a Green Monster for lunch, so I pulled out the blender…and it stayed out the remainder of the day; I ended up using it a total of three times today!

Blender Round 1

Mmm…Dark Chocolate Milkshake. Fooled ya! That would be my delicious Green Monster a la: 1 banana, 1/2 cup frozen berries [raspberries, blueberries, strawberries & blackberries], 1/2 cup almond milk, 1/2 T ground flax, 1 humongous handful of fresh spinach, and ice.

I then got an intense craving for p.nut buttah:

Whole Wheat Toast a la PB & Raspberry Jam

After lunch and running a few errands via Green Monster energy, I came home and rinsed out the blender for round two.

Blender Round 2

After working for a hummus company [summer 2008] and being spoiled by both my mom and dad’s homemade hummus, I am never amazed by any tubs I bring home from the store. Today I decided to give making my own a go. I basically made the recipe up as I went, so it didn’t turn out to be blue ribbon quality [I’m thinking more tahini, more acidity, more zing!]…but it’s definitely edible : )

Healthy Hill’s Hummus

1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed & drained

2 T tahini [sesame paste]

1 T olive oil

1 T seasoned rice vinegar

4 T water

juice of 1/2 a lemon

1/3 cup chopped parsley 

3-4 minced garlic cloves

salt to taste

I gave my hummus a taste test with half of a huge carrot for an afternoon snack and then I was off to the gym. Today’s time spent at the gym was a complete 180* spin from yesterday’s weak workout:

• 1 hour spin class
• indoor track run [1 mi.]
• arms + stretching

2 x 12 lat pull downs @ 40 lbs.

2 x 12 seated row @ 40 lbs.

4 x 12 “weights to chin” w/ 12 lb. bar

4 x 12 bicep curls w/ 12 lb. bar

2 x 12 tricep extension w/ 12 lb. bar

Dinner was Sunday’s leftovers: stir-fried tofu, brown rice, broccoli & carrot + sesame seeds & sesame oil [sesame 3x in 1 day!].

Blender Round 3

That you might ask is banana soft serve! I know it doesn’t look like much, but holy yum! For those of you ice cream/fro yo lovers, like myself, you must try this ASAP.

To make: Freeze your overly ripe bananas – the longer the better – that didn’t get invited to your most recent oatmeal party. Place however many bananas into a blender – I’d say 1 per serving – and blend away! You don’t have to add a thing! I didn’t freeze the banana for long enough tonight, hence the runnier texture, but with a dollop of PB&Co. Dark Chocolate Dreams, I couldn’t find a spoon fast enough.

Talk about a healthy dessert. This soft serve would be delicious with an encyclopedia’s worth of toppings.

There ya have it…today’s blender excursion. I hope ya’ll will give these recipes a whirl in your blender! Well, my contacts are getting drier by each word I type. Must turn off my light. I’ve got classes a holiday to prepare for!

Night,

Hillary