ashley avenue

a journey to healthy balance

Be Inspired To Try Something New January 3, 2011

Hey y’all! Snack time came with the smoothie that I was too cold to have this morning…a Green Monster!

I garnished with cacao nibs in honor of my self-names “super foods day” 😉

Into the blender went:

  • a big handful of organic baby spinach
  • mixed frozen fruit (strawberries, peaches, mangoes)
  • 1 cup almond milk
  • 1 Tbsp Twisted Powder Protein SuperMix
  • 1 tsp light agave (this really helped make it sweet)

It’s been a super foods kind of day 😉

I taught Zumba to my lovely Club 59 ladies tonight. They are such a blast!

For dinner, I decided to go with my goal to try new recipes or food everyday that are “out of my comfort zone.” I’ve been reading a lot about quinoa and some fun recipes lately, so I decided to tackle this “challenge.” Now, for you quinoa pros, this probably is just a baby step (all I did was put 2 parts water to 1 part quinoa in the microwave for 8 minutes, stirred, let it sit for 8 minutes, then heated it for 2 more minutes), so please feel free to offer advice! I garnished it with a few Craisins…great fruit flava!

My dinner plate tonight…the quinoa with Craisins, Brussels sprouts with Garlic Gold nuggets, and a turkey burger with Moroccan hummus and mixed seasoning.

The last of the Malbec (about 1/2 a glass)

Dessert time!

Angus Barn chocolate chess pie with almond milk and half caf. It never gets old!

Annnnnnnd….today was spend working on the 2011 Inspiration Board. Ta dahhhhhhhhhhh!!!

Let me explain…

  • Unlock your full potential and To find your strength, stretch your comfort zone – I don’t know what I’m capable of if I don’t push myself to try new things or things that scare me a little. I really want to stretch my comfort zone this year!
  • Take a deep breath – enough said.
  • Beauty from the inside out – more to come on this on Wednesday!!! Get excited!
  • nourish – this is one of my friend’s favorite words. She put it on a notebook for me for my birthday. It’s a word that inspires me.
  • Balanced fitness – I’m praying through that I don’t idolize fitness and exercise but see it as a gift and luxury with my body as God’s temple and take care of it. I just feel better mentally when I get a good workout in, especially with eating.
  • 100% natural – I want my food to be all natural. My body feels so much better when I feed it what it’s supposed to process. I’m going to make this a goal, even if it’s difficult sometimes.
  • Decadently wholesome – While eating natural, I also want to eat wholesome foods, not processed stuff, and I hope to have decadence in my food, to splurge once in a while.
  • Take the guilt out of pleasure. Sometimes the thing your want most is just what you need. – As I said in my Goal Post, we have to listen to our bodies and give them what they need. Don’t feel guilty! (I’m talking to myself here!)
  • Relearn what your body can do – Yoga poses have pushed me to realize that I can try poses that I’m scared of. In BodyPump, I try going up in weight when I’m not sure I can. I’m not exactly sure what this looks like yet other that these two examples, but it’s only January 3rd 😉
  • lululemon mantra in the background – because I really like all the quotes on their bags, etc. and it’s red…a power color

I framed it in a pretty silver, pearl-rimmed frame, and put it up in my room. Also, I taped everything down instead of glued it. For me, it’s good to leave some flexibility in case the Inspiration Board needs some additions or shifting around 😉 hmmm…

Thanks for the idea, Gina!

My Mom sucked me into watching the Bachelor (what do y’all think about Brad? are y’all watching the Bachelor this season? I’d like to hear your thoughts!). Mom’s trying to get me to apply for the next season (WHAT?!). Now we’re watching Castle! Woohoo!

Send me links to your Inspiration Boards! I’d like to see ’em!

 

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Detox and Refuel January 1, 2011

Hey y’all! I hope that everyone is feeling great this morning (or afternoon).

I loved yesterday’s breakfast so much that I figured it was the perfect way to start off 2011.

Plus a little inspiration for you this morning…(background plate)

However, as you may notice, there’s a new tumbler in town. It’s my “inspiration tumbler” from 2010. I drink coffee every morning, so I figured why not make my tumbler into an inspiration mug. 2011’s inspiration post is coming soon 😉 (It got some moisture in it over the year 😦 )

All I had to drink last night was a bite of a raspberry jello shooter and half a glass of champagne at midnight, but there was a 2-hour detox at One Heart Yoga this morning, so I went.

It was 2 glorious, strenuous hours of 88 degree-temperature, stretching, breathing. Thank-you, Mira! She is such a wonderful teacher, so calming and challenging. I tried some new poses and pushed myself. Mira was really helpful for adjustments on a few poses. She really helped me feel the poses more. Isn’t the blue and green so inspiring. I’m going to start teaching Zumba in this space in January, and I got to meet some other yoga instructors at the studio today as well.

Home for a light lunch…

On my drive home, I began craving a green monster, so I went straight for the blender (wish I had a VitaMix!) when I walked through the doors.

In the blender:

  • 2 big handfuls of organic baby spinach
  • 3/4 cup frozen mixed fruit (strawberries, mangoes, pineapple, peaches)
  • some almond milk for desired consistency (not sure how much I used)
  • 2 Tbsp flax meal
  • 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder

Plus a snack plate of carrots with roasted red pepper hummus, celery with Naturally More and Angus Barn cheddar.

The perfect fuel after detoxing…protein, fat, and carbs!

Now it’s football time…Gators (Coach Meyer’s last game) vs. Penn State. Go Gators!!!! I have to be loyal to Tim Tebow’s team 😉

How’s everyone recovering doing this morning?