Run 13.1 miles? Yes please!

Back before the wonderful life of parenthood began, I started running after making a New Year's resolution to get heart healthy. When Chase and I got married, I realized I needed to do something about my high cholesterol levels (220 yikes!). Between running and taking a fish oil supplement daily, I was able to drop my cholesterol 100 points within a few months. I even ran in the Nashville Country Music half marathon with my love. Here is a picture from that day - it was a blast!

About to start running...we were nervous...

Now that I have my two precious angels, I see how important it is for me to be disciplined enough to maintain a healthy lifestyle. So...when my good friend Katie asked me if I would run in an upcoming race, I decided that was just the motivation I needed to get back into a healthy routine. Boy, running is not so easy now that I have two kids and a whooole lot less sleep! I hope fellow moms are taking time each day to take care of their own health so that we can be our best for our families. If you choose to not go the 13.1 mile running route, I won't blame you ;-)

Raspberry Smoothie

Summer always seems to be the time that we focus on getting in shape so we can look our best. Sporting my summer with a new baby means that I definitely have some shaping up to do! Shortly after HR was born, I started working on a healthier diet for myself. My inspiration came from The Biggest Loser recipe book that I borrowed from our library. Not all the recipes are great but there are some good ones and just reading it was motivating. Since sweets are my weakness, I started making this raspberry smoothie to help curb my cravings. I'm not a huge smoothie fan but I've been drinking this just about everyday for the past month and I love it! It only has around 160 calories and everything in it is healthy! It is also great for making and taking on the go when I'm too busy too eat or when I don't feel hungry but I know I need  to get something in my system so that I have energy!

What you'll need:

1/2 cup *Vanilla Almond Milk
1/2 cup Fat Free Plain Yogurt (Greek yogurt is even better for you to use but I don't keep it on hand)
1 cup frozen raspberries (I throw in a couple frozen strawberries too as a natural sweetener)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

*In a pinch I've used regular milk but it isn't nearly as good and you'll need to add sugar and extra vanilla.

Blend for about a minute until smooth. The cocoa in this makes it taste so rich. Yum!

 I put my smoothie in this clear glass so that you can see how pretty and yummy it looks but normally it goes in a lidded cup with a straw so I can take it on the go...and better guard hide it from Ellie :)

Oh and here is a random tip - You know how yogurt tends to separate in the refrigerator and look like this:

 The liquid contains the sugar so I just pour it out each time before using the yogurt (instead of stirring it back in). This allows you to get more protein from your smoothie and less carbohydrates. You could also strain your yogurt but I'm not that crazy ;-)