Month: May 2014

Protein Shake Round-Up

Posted on by bodyofsunshine

Happy Monday! I hope you are enjoying a three day weekend!

Countdown to puppy is on! I just found out we get to bring him home on Sunday, June 1! How crazy that in less than a week there will be a little dog running around my house!
I just got this picture of him. He is so big now, looking like a real dog!

20140525-084950-31790496.jpg
Also, I think we are going to name him Rocco! Rocco James. We are so excited.

So, protein shakes. I have a protein shake just about every day and I realized I’ve never posted some of my daily concoctions. Obviously options are endless for making delicious smoothies and protein shakes but my favorite ones are simple and don’t add many (if any) calories.
My favorite protein these days is the Vega Protein Smoothie. It comes in vanilla, chocolate, berry, plain, and a tropical flavor too. I buy the chocolate and vanilla but here’s a tip: add a spoonful of cocoa powder to vanilla protein and BAM you have chocolate protein. Was that insightful or what?
The Vega Protein Smoothie tastes really good, is low calorie, almost no sugar, has good texture (not chalky at all), tastes good just mixed with almond milk AND it has greens mixed in with it so you get an extra serving of greens when you drink it which makes it a good one for people who don’t like veggies.

Here are 8 of my favorite blends.

Cinnamon Swirl
1 scoop vanilla protein
1/2 a frozen banana (peeled and sliced prior to freezing!)
1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons flax oil (optional but good for the joints)
Almond milk

Blueberry Dream
1 scoop vanilla protein
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
Almond milk

Peanut Butter Cup
1 scoop chocolate protein
1 tablespoon peanut butter
Almond milk
Ice cubes (optional)

Chocolate Covered Berries
1 scoop chocolate protein
1/2 cup frozen blueberries or mixed berries
Almond milk
1 tablespoon peanut butter (optional)

Orange Creamsicle
1 scoop vanilla protein
Almond milk
Ice cubes
1 teaspoon orange extract

Thin Mint
1 scoop chocolate protein
Almond milk
Ice cubes
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

Cherry Chocolate
1 scoop chocolate protein
Almond milk
Ice cubes
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Vegaccino (my favorite in the summer)
1 scoop vanilla protein
3/4 cup refrigerated coffee
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
Ice cubes

Of course, the Tropical Paradise smoothie is amazing too!

Enjoy the rest of the long weekend! Puppy pictures will be coming soon!
Laura

Advertisement

Better Body Butter + Fun News!

Posted on by bodyofsunshine

I have a new and improved body butter recipe to share today but first, big news! Can you guess?

We are getting a puppy!

We have picked out a new puppy, it’s a Miniature Pinscher (Min Pin) and he’s only 6 weeks old right now so we won’t be getting him until the first week of June some time. We got to meet all the puppies and the mom last week and they were so tiny! They were the smallest puppies I’ve ever seen. Here I am holding one. You can see the fear in my eyes holding something so small…

20140514-133243.jpg

But seriously how cute is that? He has eyebrows!

Here he is biting my husbands thumb. I would say these two started bonding very quickly!

20140514-140348.jpg

As everyone in the world knows, I loooooooooove pugs and I thought for sure I would never be able to love any pet other than a pug. The only thing is, every time I looked at a pug (and I looked at LOTS), I expected to see Lilly. And of course I never saw Lilly because she was a one of a kind. I just didn’t get any recognition and it didn’t feel right. Also, pugs have a lot of health issues! When I was researching dog breeds the synopsis of a pug has about a paragraph worth of health issues and Lilly had about 75% of those issues. The synopsis of a Min Pin for health issues is one line: Generally Healthy. Another bonus is they don’t shed much and this dog will actually be able to run and hike with us which we are really looking forward to.

This dog will grow to be 12-15 pounds which is small enough to be portable but not too small. Even though he (yes we are getting a boy dog) will be small, he will be macho! I’ve already started acquiring gear for him: camo bags, stuffed mallard. You know, manly things. No bows or light blue wussy stuff for this dog!

20140514-153028.jpg
Now we just have to wait a few more weeks. And figure out a name!

Ok on to body butter if you are still with me.

This recipe is just slightly different from the original body butter I posted a while back. I didn’t use coconut oil in this batch and I like it way more. It isn’t as greasy and it seems to soak in better. My skin is softer for days after using it so I can tell it really sinks in deep. Another bonus is, it’s more heat stable. Coconut oil is a loose cannon. Rock solid in the winter and liquid in the summer. This formula will remain the same consistency year round. It’s a little heavier feeling but absorbs pretty quickly.

The method for making it is the same as this recipe. Just melt all the ingredients together in a glass bowl over a pot of simmering water. Refrigerate for about an hour, or until no longer runny and then mix with an electric mixer until fluffy.

And then this other miracle happened. I did something crafty and actually made a printable recipe! I feel so fancy. Except there is a typo on it and it should say to refrigerate for an hour or more but I did not save this work of art because I’m not that smart.

body butter recipe card

Enjoy the rest of the week & weekend!
Laura

The Best Salad in the World

Posted on by bodyofsunshine

Hey!
I was out of town last week for a friend’s wedding and got behind on the ol’ blog.

While I was on vacation I got SO BRAVE and ate a kale salad. And it was good. Real good. So good, the next day I had another one. And then I got home and started making kale salads.
And now I just can’t stop!

Normally I don’t add much to my salads because I’m lazy and who has time for all that chopping and shredding and dicing? Well I tell you what, it’s worth it. I prepare all my vegetables ahead of time so when I’m hungry I just pull all the ingredients out of the fridge and throw it together. I know this is really ground-breaking stuff here today…

And apparently the secret to a good kale salad is to:
1. chop the kale up into tiny pieces (I used a food processor)
2. use lime/lemon juice or a citrus dressing and allow the juice to soak in for about 2 minutes to break down the bitterness of the kale.

20140511-181354.jpg

That’s a beautiful salad right there. #nofilter

This dressing is my new favorite. I am obsessed. It makes about a weeks worth of dressing and it’s so so so easy.

Citrus Vinaigrette Dressing
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1.5 tablespoons lime juice
1.5 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt

Place all ingredients in a bottle and shake.

The Best Salad in the World
Spinach
Kale, chopped small
Black beans (or other bean)
Mango, diced
Carrot, shredded
Avocado, diced

Place all ingredients in a bowl, toss with Citrus Vinaigrette Dressing and enjoy!

Have a great week!
Laura