Green Juice & Workouts

Hey friends! Sorry its been a few days since I posted - I've been busy with life and school! I'm currently watching Cupcake Wars on Food Network as I type this - there's nothing better, right? Sticky Fingers Vegan Bakery is competing tonight!!

Today was Day 8 of my 30 Day Shred challenge. Although I can't tell you if I've lost weight or not (I hate weighing myself), I can tell you that I have gained a LOT of ab and arm muscles. My arm muscles are looking great! I actually have shoulder muscles now - who knew? I've also now moved on to Level 2 - which is much, much harder than Level 1. Mostly because everything in Level 2 is plank based - and planks are hard! I usually take multiple breaks while doing this level. I need to work my way up to being able to complete it all the way through without stopping, much like I did with Level 1. Over the weekend I have been doing both Level 1 and Level 2 back to back since I have more free time than I do during the week. I'm feeling great!

Yay for working out!

I also made my first green smoothie yesterday - which I am sharing the recipe for below. I geared it towards beginners, like myself, who are still getting used to the flavor of green juice and smoothies. If you want this to be a little sweeter and not as "green" tasting, add the full banana instead of just half.

Yummy green smoothie!

Beginners Green Juice
Makes 5 cups

Ingredients:

2 c. Goodbelly Mango Juice (or any fruit juice - pineapple would work well here)

2 small pears, diced

1 large grapefruit, segmented and diced

1/2 banana

1 t. chia seeds

1 large handful spinach leaves

4 medium florets broccoli

Directions:

1. Add juice, pears, grapefruit, chia seeds, and banana to blender and blend until smooth. 

2. Add spinach and blend. 

3. Add broccoli florets and blend. 

4. Enjoy! 

What do you think of green juices/smoothies?

Much love, 

New Years Resolutions 2012 and Funfetti Cookies

Happy New Years Day, everyone! What did you all do for New Years? Did you party hard? Did you drink the night away? Hang out with friends? What are you resolutions?!

So many questions! Here are my resolutions for the year!

1.      Drink 1 glass of green juice every day

2.      Spend 15 minutes with God every day

3.      Work out 3x a week – even if only for 10 or 15 minutes

4.      Passing Daisies – 10,000 views a month

5.      Eat 2 pieces of fruit daily

I'm not sure exactly how some of those will work. For example, green juice. Since I live in a dorm, i don't have a juicer. I have been buying bottles of Bolthouse Farms Green Goodness fruit smoothie recently, but that can get expensive. I'll buy a large bottle before returning to school, but what happens when that is gone?! 

I did get my own Cuisinart Compact Portable Blender/Chopper for Christmas, which I plan on using frequently in my dorm room to make smoothies. Perhaps I can simply swipe some spinach and broccoli from the caf and throw it in with some fruit and juice or almond milk for a smoothie!

Working out will be a little sketchy too... but hopefully I can keep up! 

Now... time for a delicious cookie recipe that is colorful and full of fun... funfetti, that is! This cookie tastes just like funfetti cake mix! Try it out for yourself! 

Funfetti Cookies

Makes 2-3 dozen

Ingredients:

1/2 c. Earth Balance Buttery Spread

3/4 cup evaporated cane juice

1/4 c. rice milk

1 3/4 c. all purpose flour

2 t. vanilla extract

1 T. cornstarch

1/2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

3 T. sprinkles of choice

Directions: 

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

2. In a large bowl, cream Earth Balance and sugar. Add rice milk and vanilla and combine. 

3. Add remaining ingredients and mix until just combined. 

4. Divide dough in half and place each half on a large piece of plastic wrap. Form dough into logs and cover in the wrap. Place in fridge to firm up for at least 2 hours. 

5. Remove logs from plastic wrap and roll in more sprinkles if desired. Coat every part of the log with sprinkles.

6. Slice dough into 1/2'' slices and place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. 

7. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the bottoms are a light golden brown. Allow to cool completely.

Much love,