I'm a beasttt

Hi kiddos,

I hope you're having a fantastic Saturday! It's HOT-HOT-HOT here in Washington, DC. I'm talking 103F and HUMID! AKA investing the time to do my hair is a no-go. What's your weather like this weekend???

Yesterday was a lazy day for me. The weather was SO hot it was pretty much unbearable to be outside. I woke sweaty and itching for a refreshing Green Monster smoothie:

^1 scoop vanilla whey (Designer Whey brand), 1/2 banana, frozen strawberries, frozen pineapple, handful fresh spinach, ice H20, ice, 1 tsp xanthan gum (to thicken), dash stevia.

Heavenly.

After my smoothie digested, Kelsey (sistah) and I tried the TurboFire workout series for the first time. I saw how much Gina (from Fitnessista.com) liked it and needed to give it a try! Here's a clip of Gina doing the workout and this pretty much got me hooked. The series is made up of 11 DVDs that range in various times, intensities, etc.

It's heart pumping and so fun! For those of you with two left feet like me, I still felt like I was in a dance video. Ok not so much, but I could still follow along and seriously break a sweat.

After sweating like a BEAST, I had a huuuuge craving for Kombucha:

^Ah, I luuurve this stuff.

Then whipped up Big ole' salad. Romaine, turkey, tomatoes, cucumbers, grapes, cranberries:

Topped with nutritional yeast (noosh) and Trader Joe's Goddess Dressing:

*Click here to read about the amazing health benefits of Nutritional Yeast.

And this new FAVORITE:

^Garlic Gold Nuggets. SO GOOD. They add amazing flavor and some crunch.

*Tip: To reduce calories in your favorite dressing dilute 1:1 with balsamic vinegar. It 'thins' out the dressing so you use less but still get the flavah

Later in the evening we met my uncle (who is in town for a conference) for dinner and drinks (unpictured, sorrrry). I had taco salad and two Pineapple Mixers.

^Uncle, me and Kels

This morning I woke staaavin' and despite the heat, I wanted PANCAKES:

I found a recipe for low-fat protein pancakes from the girls at Tone it Up.com

(You can view their original recipe here)

- 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
- 1/3 cup egg whites

- 1/2 mashed banana, 1/2 diced banana

- 1 tsp flax seeds

- 1/2 tsp cinnamon

- *Optional ingredients: Dash seasalt, maca powder, apple pie spice, frozen blueberries (I add all of these)

I microwaved 1/2 cup of frozen cherries, strawberries and blueberries added a dash of stevia and blended to make a DELISH fruit topping (I also dipped them in a little bit of organic maple syrup).

The pancakes were great! They only took 5 mins and I still can't believe they are made from protein powder, egg whites, and banana. Next time I may add a whole banana (1/2 mashed and 1/2 diced) and a pinch of baking soda. Give em a try!

OK folks, I'm off to the gym then back to clean the apartment, do some reading, and then meet friends for dinner.

Have a great night!

XX,

Lauren

Here's a pic of me and my niece from my birthday last week: