Happy FRIDAY!!!
I’m sorry to say, we have a little cold bug going around at our house…..and, I think I’m becoming the next victim. Auuughh! It’s not terrible, but I’ve just been feeling tired, achy, run down, scratchy throaty and sniffly nose-ish.
Sooo, I’ve been trying to get more sleep and load up on vitamin C. I also decided to make myself an Immune Boosting Smoothie this morning! It turned out yummy and made me feel a little better, even if it was just a placebo effect. The cold liquid soothed my scratchy, sore throat too.
Immune Boosting Smoothie
- 2 cups liquid (I used unsweetened Coconut Milk)
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1/2 banana
- 1/2 orange; peeled
- juice from 1 lemon
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/2 Tablespoon chia seeds
- 2 cups spinach
- Ice (optional)**
**All of my fruit and spinach were already frozen, so I didn’t use any ice. If you use fresh fruit/spinach, then you can add 6-10 ice cubes depending on how thick you want it to be.
Mix everything very well in the blender.
Enjoy!
All fruits and vegetables naturally boost the immune system, but there are some that are especially good at doing it. Citrus fruits, berries, sweet potatoes, spinach, kale and carrots are some of the best. Yogurt and chia seeds are also great immune boosters.
I may be having this smoothie every morning for the next week!
My poor daughter has been fighting a cold too, so she wanted me to make her one as well!
Because I’ve been feeling so blah-ish, I’ve been putting off my workout all day long! I still may fit in a quick weight lifting workout tonight….we’ll see.
I DID get in a great workout yesterday though! I ran 3 miles on the treadmill and also got a killer Bicep/Tricep workout in.
I first ran 1 mile on the treadmill and then did the first circuit of my Tight Arms Workout. I then ran another mile, did the second circuit, ran the last mile and then completed the last circuit. I finished up the workout with 50 pushups (I’m still doin’ them on my knees. Gah!) and five 30-second planks.
It was great! It got the blood pumping and my muscles felt fatigued. Such a good feeling!
I’m especially happy because I’m starting to be able to run a little faster. I kept it mostly at 6 mph (10:00 pace), but I kicked it up to 7 mph (8:34 pace) part of the time and even ran at 8 mph (7:30) a little bit!! It made me feel sorta kinda like my normal self.
YAY!
I also had my “professional” 4-year old photographer take a pic of me on the treadmill.
There ya go….
Beautiful.
My sweet baby enjoyed laying on his Boppy Lounger next to me and was happy as a clam…
He’s recently discovered his hands and I think it’s the cutest thing in the world!!! I LOVE him!
After my workout, I made myself a yummy Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Protein Shake. It hit the spot.
I’ve been having a lot of protein shakes/smoothies lately. I love that I can throw a bunch of healthy things in the blender, mix it up and have a healthy, filling meal in no time! I also love how portable they are.
Score.
********************
Well, I wanted to tell you guys that my Healthy Chocolate Mug Cake Recipe was featured on Today.com this week!
That made me so happy! It was included in an article about how the microwave can help you lose weight. It was a really interesting article with a lot of great tips. You can click here to read the article or click on the picture above.
I also thought I would share a DARLING video of Garth Brooks performing a new song called “Mom” on GMA this morning. It’s from his new album, Man Against Machine that will be released next week.
It is SUCH a beautiful song! I love Garth, I love my mom and I love my kiddos so so much!
I am so grateful I get to be the mom of these cute kids + my baby (not pictured!) I love them SO MUCH and can’t think of a more humbling, fulfilling, difficult, yet rewarding job. I wouldn’t trade it for the world!
Well, I gotta go enjoy the rest of my Friday night. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
I think your four year-old has quite a career ahead of him in photography! Thanks for the smoothie recipe. My 12 year-old and I love smoothies and are always on the lookout for new ones.
And, by the way, my normal pace is 10:30, so you would kill me right now. Congrats!
Ha ha, my cute four year old tried so hard to hold my phone steady while he snapped that pic, but it just didn’t work. It made me laugh. I love smoothies too and am always looking for fun concoctions! Even though my running is slowly starting to pick up a bit, it still feels SO HARD to me! I’m looking forward to it becoming a little bit easier.
Oh- bummer that you are feeling a bit sickly – I hate when the cold bug goes round and round in our home.
So glad you are getting in some workouts again!!!
Take care and rest as much as you can this weekend – hopefully with some rest and your smoothie you can kick those germs!!!
BTW – when Hunter was a baby I was training for a marathon and he spent many hours in his little bouncy seat watching me run – now he is a runner himself!!
Thanks Kim! I’m hoping this cold bug will be short lived. We’ve had a nice relaxing night tonight and I’m hoping to chill a bit tomorrow as well. I LOVE that both of your boys are runners! So far, only one of my kids have been interested. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for my little ones!
I love the smoothie recipe, thanks for sharing! And congratulations getting your chocolate mug cake recipe published on Today.com!
Holy Moly, you’re getting back to very fit so quickly! Sorry to hear you’re fighting that cold.
This may sound strange, but it really is true. My kids and I rarely get colds anymore because of FluMist. After a horrible flu “epidemic” at my house ten years ago, I got the FluMist for myself and my kids to make sure it would never happen again. We’ve been getting it every year since then, and one of the “side effects” is that it seems to fight colds as well. Bonus.
I had to go back and look again at your previous post with the picture of your cute little ones and your dog in costume. Oh, my gosh, your dog’s costume cracks me up! So cute!
Thanks so much Deborah! I’m happy to be losing some weight, but I still have a long way to go! I get the flu shot some years, but I now want to look into that FluMist! My kids have gotten that, but I never have. Thanks for the tip! Oh, and I laugh so hard every time our dog wears that costume. It’s so funny, especially since he has no idea how darn cute/funny he looks!
I love that you always acknowledge your blessings. It’s so positive and uplifting! I love my mom too. Congrats on the feature on the Today Show. Your food and posts are wonderful so I can see why you would attract such great things. Love your blog, friend!
Oh you are the sweetest, Charlotte! You are always so positive and uplifting too!! I am always so grateful for your kind comments and support. I’m so happy we can be “friends” through blogging even though we live thousands of miles apart!
If we’re ever in the same city we must meet up for a smoothie and a workout 🙂
I would LOVE that so much Charlotte! I’m sure we would have a ball!
OMGGG CONGRATS on the featured recipe!!! THAT IS TOP NOTCH!!! Did they just email you asking if they can feature it or was it a surprise?
I am sorry you’re getting sick too. I’ve told you about QUERCETIN right?! It’s my miracle CURE! You should take it every day, especially since all your kids will constantly be bringing in those germs!
Thanks so much GiGi! The “Today” people just sent me an email and asked my permission and for me to send them a hi-res pic. It was such a fun surprise!
Oh, that Quercetin sounds awesome. I’m totally going to look into that! I’m always looking for immune boosting stuff, since I’ve always suffered in that department. When I eat 100% healthy, get my sleep and stay away from sugar, I do fine. But, if I start slackin’ AT ALL, I always get sick. Gah.
I am enjoying the Immune Boosting Smoothie, now! YUM. I tweeked it a little, using things I already had in the house – but used the same base ingredients that you have. YUM! Thank you for sharing. 🙂 The orange flavor in it (since I added some vanilla protein powder) gives it that 50/50 bar taste! Plus, the lemon…. all of it, SO GOOD. Thank you.
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe Jeanne! I always like hearing about how you change things up too!
Wow. You are getting some awesome speed on the treadmill.
Running so fast you are a blur, or that could just be your photographer. Seriously though great speeds.
Thanks so much! I don’t feel like I’m very fast and it definitely feels harder than it should, but at least I’m running, right??? I definitely think the “blur” was more “operator error” and less “fast runner.” Ha.
Congrats on your mug cake being featured on Today! I love Today!! That is amazing!!
I hope you feel better soon. I recommend taking a daily vitamin D supplement, it is one of the best things you can do for your immune system and I haven’t had a cold since 2013!
Oooo, thanks for the Vitamin D tip! I usually take it daily, but since you said that, I now remember my doc said I could take it 2-3 times a day when I feel like I’m getting sick!
WAHOOOO way to be featured on Today.com!! SO awesome. I love the running shot.
Oh no, my girls and I have been sick all weekend! It has been just yuck. I hope your house is on the mend and it doesn’t get worse. Thanks for the smoothie recipe- I am kind of obsessed with them lately too- so easy and good for you! And how awesome about your recipe being featured- Congrats!