Nuts

Good morning & HAPPY July 4th!

I’m not exactly the most patriotic person you’ll ever meet, but because I love colorful eats, I definitely rocked a red, white & blue{berry} breakfast today.

1 c. Barbara’s Shredded Spoonfuls, 1/2 (white) banana, organic blueberries + strawberries, 1 T walnuts + sprinkle of toasted pecans, 1/2 tsp. chia seeds, unsweetened vanilla almond milk

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But before I enjoyed my cold bowl of cereal, I headed outside for my easy 2-mile run. I learned my lesson Saturday, so today I was out the door by 7:00am. I ran for 24 minutes, roughly ~2.8 miles, and finished with a bit of strength training at the complex’s rec room. It wasn’t much, but a sweat sesh first thing in the morning is a great way to start any day/week!

I think today will be another relaxing day with more poolside reading (I’ve got a lot between my internship and prepping for the AFAA certification exam).

What’s on your holiday agenda?

Stay cool,

Hillary

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Additional Reading:

The neat thing about blogging is being able to read old posts and see how much life has and has not changed in 1 entire year: JULY 4, 2010.

The second day of October kept the good vibes of yesterday alive. The blue October skies say it all.

I enjoyed sleeping in this morning and getting woken up by my MOM :) Because we both wanted to get outside and enjoy the lovely fall day, we decided to leave the waffle iron for tomorrow; instead, I made a cool, creamy concoction in my new blender for breakfast in a jiffy.

Saturday Special: proudly sponsored by Pumpkin.

2 frozen bananas
1 c. almond milk
1/2 c. organic pumpkin
2 T flax
1 T agave – I’d suggest using less
pinch of cinnamon

Top each with 1/4 tsp. coconut + 1 T toasted pecans.

Serves 2.

Neither my mom nor I finished our serving, as the smoothie was surprisingly rich. However, the not-so-sweet Pepita Pecan Pumpkin Muffin balanced out the meal quite nicely.

We did our best not to let the morning get away from us, so we scurried on downtown to the market and filled our basket to the brim with produce.

We admired the Sweet Cottage iced teas and local almonds

… but saved our appetites for a light lunch at Tea Bar & Fusion Cafe.

We shared a ginger tofu wrap accompanied by a whole wheat tortilla, brown rice, avo, fresh veggies, and miso dressing… plus a side of sea salted edamame. Fresh – yes!

Oh, and of course tea was to be had: ginger peach [unsweetened] – mmmm!

Our food-filled day continued on as we made our way to Trader Joe’s. Again, we loaded our cart with a lot of healthful eats – some staples, as well as a few new finds.

It was a hair past 5 o’clock by the time we unloaded at home, which meant a refreshing spirit was to be had before the cooking got under way. There was a solo Blue Moon beer that had been hiding out in the back of the fridge for far too long – like May! – so, I pop off the top and stuck a ~~fork~~ orange in it!

Dinner was scrumptious, as it always turns out to be when I dine with my mom.

Mixed Greens, HumCo Tomato, Peppers, Scallions and a French vinaigrette
Whole Wheat Pasta tossed with Olive Oil, Garlic, Arugula, Green Beans, Lavender Chevre, Toasted Walnuts & Fresh Pepper

Coffee ice cream was the ultimate way to cap the tasty day.

I’m tired, sticky, and a bit stressed about the schoolwork that’s to be done. There’s a lot of excitement coming to NN on the Run in the near future though, so stay tuned!

Hillary