Smoothie Bowl Recipe + A Few Changes

Hey guys! Happy Almost Friday Day!!!

Do you guys have any plans for the…

Okay I’m sorry I can’t. How in all heck is it almost Friday when the weekend basically just ended? Trust me I am NOT complaining, but it’s just making me so confused haha. Normally by Thursday I more or less know what I’m doing on the weekends, but this week, I’m like heh weekend? That’s dayzzz away…

But nevertheless, it’s Thursday, so let’s have a little chat.

First of all, we need to begin with my breakfast today. I made an amazing smoothie bowl that I NEED to share.

I know I’m probably late to the party, but has anyone else tried throwing frozen riced cauliflower into smoothies?

IT’S AMAZING! Makes the smoothie nice and thick and creamy, while also packing in an extra serving of veggies. WIN!

 

Chocolate Banana Green Smoothie Bowl

Ingredients:

-half a banana

-scoop of chocolate Vega protein powder

-1/2 cup homemade cashew milk

-teaspoon each chia and hemp seeds

-half teaspoon maca powder

-3/4 cup frozen riced cauliflower

-cup frozen spinach

 

Now BLEND, and pour that baby in a bowl ‘cause this is floating spoon material. And let’s face it, smoothie bowls > smoothies. Right? Right.

 

I didn’t pack a lunch today because I got home super late yesterday from Cold Spring, so I wasn’t about to cook. So instead I hit up a healthy fast food type place, one of many in NYC, that’s very conveniently located two doors down from where I work.

I wanted veggies galore, so I had some paprika salmon with roasted broccoli and onions plus roasted zucchini and corn salad. Hit the spot.

So this brings me to the topic of today’s conversation.

I’m doing something kind of new with my diet right now because I don’t feel like it’s been the best for basically all of June.

I’ve been eating a LOT of treat meals, and while I never for a second regretted them or felt guilty, I know that having three treat meals a week PLUS eating a serving (or two) of granola for a snack daily isn’t called fuelling my body properly, even if I do tend to splurge on healthier items and usually know exactly what goes into the foods I eat.

I know that for me personally, I feel best when I am eating moderate carbs, with an emphasis on fruits and veggies instead of grains.

I’d never cut out grains (I love oatmeal too much!), but I definitely can limit them to just one or maybe two servings a day, depending on my workout that day.

 

So starting today I am fine-tuning my diet, cleaning it up a bit, and bringing things back to the basics.

 

I’ll be staying away from all processed foods, avoiding added sugar, and making sure my meals are high in proteins, fats, and fibers and low in grains.

However, I am definitely going to give myself full freedom to have a treat meal once a week if I want it.

I should also clarify one thing. This is NOT about eating less. I definitely don’t need to eat less, and I’ve made that mistake before and paid for it with a myriad of health problems. I’m just slightly modifying the KINDS of foods I’m eating so I can feel my personal best.

Another note.

Carbs aren’t the devil.

Grains are not evil.

Some people thrive off carbs, and eating three servings of grains a day is what fuels them for their workouts and helps them function optimally.

For me personally, most grains bloat me. Always have. I always feel just a little more weighed down after eating a grain heavy meal than after eating a salad.

 

So what does this mean for my meals?

 

Well like you saw today, breakfast was a loaded smoothie, and lunch was a nice portion of protein with some veggies, roasted in oil to provide some fats.

For a snack between lunch and dinner, I had a Quest bar.

Since all those meals were devoid of grains, and I did pound out a HIIT workout today, which requires more carbs, I did a repeat of that brown rice pasta with shrimp and cauliflower alfredo sauce for dinner. It made for a great post-workout meal and left me satisfied and my muscles fueled.

Here’s the interesting part.

Whenever I make the conscious choice to step away from extra carbs in the form of grains or sugars, and instead bulk my meals up with healthy proteins and fats, I find that I stay fuller much longer, and just feel less snacky throughout the day.

When each of my snacks involves fruit or granola or a homemade cookie, I never feel completely satisfied and start scavenging for another snack 30 minutes later.

 

As for working out, I want to be much more intuitive and less robotic about it. I used to go pretty dang hard six times a week, which led to a minor injury and a pretty burned out body. Now, I’m focusing on listening to my body and giving myself extra rest days when necessary. I still do HIIT and weights, but only twice a week, and the other days are much, much more low-key workouts, such as Pilates and light cardio.

I am also trying to walk a lot more, which is actually a great way to incorporate some me time into the day, explore my city, and tune in to some of my favorite podcasts.

Basically, I’m chilling out with my workouts and trying to turn to more low-key natural forms of activity, just to make sure that my body isn’t getting too stressed out.

 

Please enjoy this flattering post-workout picture of me from right after my HIIT workout today. I was high off endorphins and wasn’t in the totally right state of mind. 😉

 

In that same vein, a major goal for this month is to prioritize sleep. I mentioned in an earlier post that I noticed a dramatic difference when I was skimping on sleep and that I felt worlds better once I really paid attention to the amount of shuteye I got.

 

So I’m really focusing on sleep, ignoring my inner overthinker who’s telling me that I NEED to get five more things done today, and just letting myself go to bed. Currently aiming for at least 8 hours a night, but I really need to try to get 9 because that’s what I personally need to feel my best.

 

So just to recap, the changes I am implementing are a cleaner diet with limited processed foods, sugars, and starchy carbs and additional proteins, fats, and veggies; a chiller workout routine that focuses on more sustainable, less stressful activity; and at least eight hours of sleep a night.

 

I will definitely update you with how this little project goes, and please let me know if you have any questions about my eating/exercise habits!

 

 

Xoxo,

Nicole

 

 

Are you someone who thrives on high-carb diets or do you prefer more proteins and fats? Do you prioritize sleep?

Linking up with the wonderful Amanda at Running With Spoons!