Early morning wake up

 

I have a busy weekend ahead of me...

 

 

...so I got up early to get a head start on my homework. Aside from my usual green smoothie and yoga practice, I've started beginning my day with a mug of warm water with lemon.

At first I found it extremely pungent, I've grown to find it extremely refreshing...(dare I say, even more so than my morning cup of coffee).

The digestive benefits have been incredible! Bye-bye heartburn and bloating. My skin has been amazing. I can't complain. It's almost like it glows.

Some people go the whole nine-yards with juice straight from a lemon, but going to university, I don't always feel like making a big mess in my room cutting stuff up. I just use bottled lemon juice. I still see incredible benefits. Just make sure it's 100% lemon.

 

 

You will need:

1 cup boiling water

1 cap of lemon juice or juice of half a lemon

 

 

Good luck! Try it as part of your morning routine and see how amazing you feel!





Afternoon Walk and Veg Session

After classes the weather was just too perfect not to go for a walk...

 

 

I have been sooo tired lately. Early semester readings have had me bogged down, but I couldn't help but take advantage of this beautiful day. This time of year I feel like my exercise regime kind of plateaus...or drops. School becomes all consuming.

We had to take a trip to the post office, so we decided to detour down through a small community and then took a short walk down a nature trail (I forgot my phone so I didn't get any pictures).

It was sooo hot by the time we got back to campus so I stopped at Second Cup for a sugar-free sparkling green tea lemonade and came back home to veg with some mindbodygreen.com

Sounds like a pretty good afternoon to me. :)



Chunky Monkey Smoothie

 

This is an excellent smoothie for a quick and lasting energy boost and a healthy alternative to a sweet treat.

 

 

 

You will need:

1 medium to large size banana

1 heaping tablespoon of peanut butter (or nut butter of your choice)

1 cup chocolate coconut milk (or chocolate milk of your choice - also works with regular milk if you add  teaspoon of cocoa)

1/4 oats (cooked or uncooked)

1/2 cup of ice

 

1. Add milk and ice to blender and blend until nearly smooth

2. Add banana, oats and peanut butter to the mix (and now cocoa if you are choosing to use non-chocolate milk) and blend until smooth

3. Serve and enjoy!



Guiltless Iced Chocolate

Today I had a terrible caving for chocolate (surprise...), but I didn't want to indulge so I managed to come up with this super low-cal, low-fat, dairy-free...but delicious treat!

 

You will need:
1 cup of ice
1/2 a cup of unsweetened coconut milk (or milk of your choice)
1 rounded teaspoon of cocoa
1/2 a packet of Truvia
1 dollop of light Cool Whip

1. Add ice and milk to blender and blend almost completely.
2. Add cocoa and Truvia to the mix and finish blending until desired thickness.
3. Pour and add a dollop of Cool Whip to the top and voila! Chocolatey deliciousness without the guilt!

Low Fat, Low Cal, Dairy Free Mocha Frappe

Sure. It might not sound so appealing at first because how can anything so good for you really taste that good? Well, it's possible. I was just messing around the other day, and was trying to create my favorite frozen beverage dairy-free for lactose intolerant me.

You will need:
- 1 cup of ice
- 1/2 cup of coffee
- 1/2 cup of chocolate coconut milk
- 1 pkg. Truvia or Stevia

In a blender mix all ingredients until desired consistency. Taste test (as I had to do this to make sure I got the desired bitterness of the coffee or sweetness of the Truvia) to personal taste.
Pour and enjoy!