freeing imperfections - Embracing the imperfect in every day

BANANA-LESS RASPBERRY OAT SMOOTHIE

August 12, 2019 by Melissa Leave a Comment

Last week, I bought a big bag of frozen raspberries to make some raspberry lemonade for my Mary Kay party. I have a bunch leftover, so I thought I’d use them in a smoothie.

I’m typically not a huge raspberry person, although fresh ones are delicious. It’s just a fruit I don’t buy often, I guess.

This raspberry oat smoothie turned out great, though! And it’s banana-free for those of you who aren’t bananas about bananas 😉

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen raspberries
1/4 cup oats
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder (optional)
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/3 cup vanilla almond milk
a swirl or two of raw honey

Directions:

1. Put all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.

2. You may want to add more milk, depending on how thick/thin you prefer your smoothies.

3. I found this smoothie to be quite tart, so I added the honey. How much you add depends on how sweet you like it.

4. Enjoy!

The oats definitely help give it a thicker texture that will make it more filling. I just love how pink it is too!

NEW WORKOUT CLOTHES

On a side note, I got some new workout clothes! I won a $50 gift card from some online contest (that I honestly don’t remember entering, but hey – free money!). I haven’t gotten any new workout clothes in quite a while, so I thought it would be fun to treat myself.

Does anyone else get as excited about new workout clothes as I do? I think I’m happier to get new workout clothes over regular clothes these days!

I picked up two tops and some super-comfy capris at Marshalls.

Just an FYI, I think I will be getting all my workout clothes from Marshalls/TJ Maxx from now on. SO CHEAP!

I was really impressed with the selection, except for their shorts. I was really going to get better shorts to run in this summer, but they pretty much had super tight booty shorts or shorts like I already have that ride up all the time. No, thanks! Any suggestions on good running shorts?

I also got this water bottle for $5! I ran all last summer without water, but this summer is too hot and humid to keep doing that. I’m excited to start using this guy.

Isn’t it cute?

Hope you’re having a good week so far! Just one more day ’til the weekend!

Questions for You:

What’s your go-to workout apparel store? I used to get everything at Target, but Marshalls is so my place now!
Do you run with or without water?

SMOOTHIE RECIPE COLLECTION

August 12, 2019 by Melissa Leave a Comment

As most of you probably know, I am a smoothie fanatic. My perfect breakfast is a smoothie with a piece of toast on the side. It doesn’t even have to be cold for me to enjoy smoothies – I eat them year-round for breakfast & lunch. For lack of a better word, smoothies are perfect!

Since I’ve got quite the collection of smoothie recipes on the blog, I thought I’d post a recipe roundup of all the smoothies so far, in no particular order 🙂

Enjoy!

The Perfect Peanut Butter Smoothie

Berry Protein Smoothie

Chocolate Strawberry PB Green Smoothie

Strawberry Smoothie

Orange Dreamsicle Shake

Pineapple Mango Green Smoothie

Berry Sunrise Smoothie

Banana-less Raspberry Oat Smoothie

Mmmmm!

Questions for You:

What’s your favorite smoothie recipe? Please, share!
Will you eat cold foods/meals year-round?

APPLE CINNAMON PROTEIN OAT SMOOTHIE

August 12, 2019 by Melissa Leave a Comment

Good mornin’!

Today just feels like fall to me. I slept in (oops), it’s overcast and a little drizzly out. The AC has finally shut off for the time being. I could get used to this!

I was trying really hard to hold off on putting out my fall decorations until about mid month, buuuut I just couldn’t help myself. It just felt like the perfect time to break out the fall goodies!

But to be honest, I hardly have any decorations. Everything I have fits in one really small Rubbermaid box. Most my decor is, of course, candle related. I have a few extras for Halloween that I’ll break out later, but this is about it.

I really do love my little light up pumpkin, though. It totally sets the mood for these crisp fall afternoons and evenings when I just want to curl up with a book and read.

Luckily, I might be in for getting some fun Pinterest inspired fall/Halloween decor soon as one of my girlfriends is having a Pinterest Pumpkin party. We’re all going to bring our own Pinterest crafts and snack on fall food. Literally can’t wait!

BREAKFAST

I planned this in advance, but it also fit my fall mood morning well. I made an apple cinnamon smoothie with oats for a full meal.

I’ve actually been hesitant to try putting apples in my blender since my blender is not ~~a Vitamix~~ the best. But it actually worked out much better than I thought it would. It’s definitely a little gritty and doesn’t get as smooth as other fruit, but it’s also totally drinkable.

Ingredients:

1 apple, cut into slices (Gala, Fuji, Honeycrisp are the sweet ones)
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (I use Fage)
1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
1/4 cup oats
couple of shakes of cinnamon
half scoop vanilla protein powder
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 banana, frozen

Directions:
1. Combine all the ingredients in the blender and pulse slowly.
2. Once mostly liquid looking, set to “liquefy” or high setting to really break up the apple chunks and skin.
3. Top with another sprinkle of cinnamon and enjoy!

The fiber in the apple & the oats really lasts with me. I love this smoothie because it’s very filling and hearty.

Now I’m sippin’ on some pumpkin spice tea & going to read some blogs for the morning. Have a splendid day!

Questions for You:

What holiday or season do you have the most decorations for? I probably have the most Christmas stuff.
What holiday would you never decorate for? St. Patty’s decor just doesn’t do it for me. I’m not a fan of green!

BAA 10K & HYDRATION SMOOTHIE

August 12, 2019 by Melissa Leave a Comment

Another great summer weekend has passed, but it was a great one!

We took it pretty east this weekend and didn’t go out at all due to Beans’ leg. He is doing great, by the way! He’s off his meds (they only made him super spaced out), but he’s also much more active off of them and thinks he can run and jump already. It’s going to be a lonnnng 8 weeks or more of recovery for him mostly because I have to babysit his every move now. But he hasn’t had any mishaps and hasn’t seemed to hurt himself from what I’m aware, so it’s all good.

To take advantage of the sunshine and try to keep up my “tan” from vacation, we hung out in the back yard together on Saturday.

He was quite the happy little fur man. He loves the sun

SMOOTHIE

In order to prep for my 10K on Sunday, I tried to eat pretty healthy Saturday and stay hydrated. And since smoothie season is officially back, I made a smoothie to help me out.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/3 cup chopped pineapple (can also be frozen, but fresh works too)
1/2 cup spinach or kale (or a mix of the 2)
a few ice cubes
1 tablespoon almond butter
1/2 cup coconut water

Blend together until mixed well. Try not to overblend or it becomes watery.

This is really hydrating for me because of the pineapple (filled with water) and coconut water (great hydrating in summer, lots of electrolytes!). Coconut water is my go-to for hydration pre and post-run. It makes such a difference for me!

Along with this smoothie and drinking a ton of water, I opted for a “whole foods” meal of chicken, corn, and grilled onions. Summer makes it so easy to eat less processed stuff in my opinion.

I wish every meal were like this and this simple!

BAA 10K

I did this race last year and immediately after knew I wanted to do it again the following year. It’s a lively race in pretty parts of downtown Boston. There are over 8,000 runners, so it definitely got me excited this year.

The temperature was great at the start, but it got hot fast. Miles 2-4 are an out and back part on a road with NO shade or tree coverage so it gets a little rough. I did the whole fling-water-on-myself thing again this time around too.

I took 2 GUs before the race – one 15 minutes before and one as I started. That turned out to be not such a good idea. I felt kind of crampy and anxious the whole time. My left IT band started getting really stiff halfway through too. But other than that, I pushed myself and gave it my all. I was hoping for a PR, but was 2 minutes slower than I was last year with a time of 1:00:14. Pretty good for me as that’s about a 9:30 pace!

Considering that I really haven’t run much since the marathon as I’ve been keeping it short with 2-3 mile runs 2-3 days a week, that’s not bad. I’m happy with it. I wanted to do speed training and ramp it up more, but I’ve really been enjoying not training since the marathon, so this was just a fun race

The shirt and medal this year were really awesome. Last year’s shirt was so ugly to me (bright blue and yellow). This year’s is a little more tame and the medal rocks. It says “Boston We Run As One.” Love it!

Questions for You:

How do you stay hydrated in the summer?
What’s on your summer workout schedule? Races, new workout plans, taking a step back?

TROPICAL REFRESHER SMOOTHIE

August 12, 2019 by Melissa Leave a Comment

We got another dumping of snow yesterday in New England. I think a lot of people thought we were getting lucky this year, as we had barely gotten any snow before the big storm last week. But I knew it was coming!

I grew up in Colorado, where getting 3 feet of snow was also a real possibility and not uncommon. But people in Colorado don’t seem to freak out about snow as much as people do here. Plowing definitely seems much more disorganized in Massachusetts and there’s really no where to put the snow.

So many people I know who are native to Mass act like the snow is such a big deal, though. Is it really a big surprise that an area in this climate gets a lot of snow, though? I’m sorry but I just don’t get it! I know it’s not convenient, but it really brings me down when people complain every time it snows, as if we are getting snow in Florida or something.

Anyway! Yesterday I was in the mood for something tropical despite the chilly weather.

I had also just seen a smoothie recipe that called for celery. I’d never tried it before but thought that sounded interesting.

TROPICAL REFRESHER SMOOTHIE

Ingredients

2/3 cup fresh pineapple
2 celery stalks
1 frozen banana
1/3 cup orange juice
1/4 cup almond milk
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder

Directions

1. Chop celery into 1 inch sticks.

To make this easier in the AM, I put the pineapple & celery in a baggie in the fridge the night before so it’s ready to throw in the blender.

2. Put all ingredients in the blender, adding fruit first, then liquids, & the protein powder on top.

3. Blend ingredients very well for at least 2 minutes. You cannot over blend this smoothie. You want to make sure the stringy pieces of celery and pineapple get liquefied.

Enjoy!

I absolutely loved the celery as a green addition to this smoothie. I could tell there was celery in it, but it didn’t taste weird to me at all.

Questions for You:

How do people react about snow where you live?
Have you ever tried celery in a smoothie?

CINNAMON ROLL DATE SMOOTHIE & WIAW

August 12, 2019 by Melissa Leave a Comment

Happy hump day, friends!

It’s been a while since I shared any eats, so another WIAW is in order.

A few weeks ago I picked up some dates. I read somewhere that eating at least six dates a day can decrease your chances of having a late baby, so I thought why not pick some up. Have I been actually eating six dates a day since then? No!

I was trying to eat quite a few though (because lets face it, I am ready for this baby to come out!), but I just couldn’t stomach more than about three a day raw. I thought, why not put them in a smoothie, eh?

This smoothie legit tastes like a cinnamon roll to me. I recreated it yesterday just so I could share the recipe with you. Wasn’t that nice of me? 😉

Ingredients

1 whole banana, peeled & frozen
1/3 cup plain or vanilla Greek yogurt (I use 2% Fage)
up to 2/3 cup plain milk (I use Almond)
2 whole, pitted dates
3 generous dashes of cinnamon

Directions

1. Chop dates as fine as you would like them.

Note that because the banana, yogurt, & milk are cold, the dates become hard will not get blended (unless you put them in a food processor first or have a super awesome blender). This is the type of smoothie you have to eat with a spoon since the dates will not get fully blended. Chop the dates however small or large you would like to chew them.

2. Place banana, yogurt, dates, & cinnamon in blender. Start with 1/3 cup of milk. I added a little less than another 1/3 cup more.

3. Blend well for 60 seconds or so. If smoothie seems to thick, add more milk. Too runny? Add an ice cube.

4. Pour in a glass of your choice, top with extra cinnamon & eat with a spoon.

I personally thought this was plenty sweet just from the dates. You can make it sweeter by using vanilla yogurt or adding protein powder. I liked this fine without either though.

I had the smoothie with a piece of toast topped with peanut butter and some awesome French press coffee.

Seriously loving my French press, guys. If you love good coffee, this is the way to go.

Mid-morning Snack

On Monday, I made these cupcakes for my husband’s work just because I was bored. Lemon cupcakes with homemade lemon buttercream frosting.

A perfectly acceptable morning snack, right? As long as I’m still pregnant, I’m going to go with yes.

Lunch

I was feeling particularly lazy for lunch so I grabbed a tupperware full of fruit salad leftover from Easter and a Trader Joe’s frozen bean & cheese burrito.

Gulped down with a giant seltzer water, which I am obsessed with these days.

Afternoon Snack

I had high hopes for this yogurt, but it tasted kind of funny to me.

I think I’ve spoiled myself by getting 2% or even full fat Greek yogurt lately. It has so much more flavor! The 0% ones are just not doing it for me. I put some peanut butter granola on top. The combo was not good but it made it more palatable.

I also had a handful of unpictured coconut chips with some dark chocolate chips too.

Dinner

Taco salad leftovers

I could easily eat this meal weekly.

Questions for You:

What type of yogurt do you prefer – some fat or none?
What could you eat for dinner every week?

WIAW: BUSY DAY WITH BABY

August 12, 2019 by Melissa Leave a Comment

Happy hump day!

Eats after having a baby sure have been interesting. I made some freezer meals but in general have felt like dinner hasn’t been hard to put together since that’s when my husband is home to help juggle things.

Eating breakfast and lunch have been much more challenging. I am pretty proud to say I managed to make a turkey sandwich the other day one-handed while nursing Claire. Most the time I feel like I only have one hand though since the other hand is always doing something with her. Hopefully over time I can get in a better groove with making time for breakfast & lunch a little better.

These eats are from yesterday.

Breakfast

It was warm yesterday and I had a ton of fresh fruit in the house so I finally felt like a smoothie was in order.

Into the blender went:

5 strawberries
1 kiwi
1 frozen banana
a drizzle of chocolate syrup
about 2/3 cup almond milk

Served with a piece of whole wheat toast & almond butter with a drizzle of honey. Yum!

Then mid-morning I made some coffee before we went on a walk. I’m loving walking daily to get out of the house & get some light exercise.

Trader Joe’s breakfast blend with a splash of almond milk to keep this mama running.

Lunch

Tuesday’s I go to a new mom’s group at the hospital where I delivered. It starts at one o’clock and I need to leave by 12:30 at the latest. It’s pretty hard to get out the door quickly with a baby and all I need to bring with me, though. Last week, I made said turkey sandwich but was rushing around the house eating it instead of sitting down to eat it like a normal person. Not my idea of a good way to eat lunch.

This week I packed a sandwich instead and ate it when I got to the group.

Much more enjoyable! I had a ham & cheese sandwich, a pear, & my favorite orange vanilla seltzer.

Snacks

I meant to have carrots, cucumbers & hummus for a snack, but I had to nurse Claire a lot in the afternoon. It kept getting later and later and I was only getting hungrier. The carrots and cucumbers needed to be peeled, so it wasn’t like I could just go grab it and eat it.

I opted for a snack bar and another seltzer water. #addicted

Also, you can’t tell but the snack bar is balancing on Claire’s behind… 😉

Unpictured: a handful of chocolate chips & a handful of Cheez-Its.

Dinner

I tried something new for dinner: meatloaf. No, I have never made meatloaf before! I used this recipe.

Meatloaf, sautéed green beans (in garlic and olive oil), & basic biscuits. It wasn’t the best dinner ever, but considering I made it all by myself while Claire slept is a feat in itself!

It makes me laugh that most of my food photos now include Claire in the picture too. But that’s just the nature of the game of being a mom now!

Questions for You:

What’s your favorite quick no-prep snack?
What are you addicted to right now?

Peanut Butter Jelly Time

August 12, 2019 by Melissa Leave a Comment

Last night was one of those nights that neither me or my husband were in the mood to make dinner. We decided to have a date night in, but cooking was just not appealing.

It’s also really not date night in unless there’s some kind of dessert involved, but with the sugar detox, I was pretty much out of options at home. To the store we went!

Right next to the grocery store is a restaurant called UNO that has really good pizza. It was definitely calling my name as we walked by. We picked up their “Farmer’s Market” pizza, which has carmelized onions, eggplant, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, and more.

All the slices were pretty normal sized, except this little teeny one that I had to have. How cute is it?

It took me about two bites to eat that little guy. The pizza was so satisfying, and the crust was really buttery and crunchy. Mmm!

After dinner, I was ready to whip up some no-sugar-added dessert. I’ll recap the whole sugar detox experience tomorrow, but the week has been going really great. I don’t really feel like I’m craving sweets, but I needed something.

I picked up some Polaner all natural fruit spread at the store. I get this stuff all the time, but was just out. It’s amazingly sweet for having no sugar added. Just a bunch of fruit juices.

I decided to make what I’ll call peanut butter & jelly pudding. This undoubtedly makes me think of Peanut Butter Jelly Time.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Pudding

I used…

Fage plain 0% Greek Yogurt (my fave)
2-3 tbsp. PB 2 (as powder, not mixed with water)
dash of cinnamon
a few drops of vanilla extract
1 1/2 tbsp. Peanut Butter
1 tbsp. jelly

I threw the first 3 ingredients into the Greek yogurt & mixed, and then topped it with the peanut butter & jelly. This was surprisingly satisfying & plenty sweet.

I used to think plain Greek yogurt was so sour until I started using Fage. I love Chobani, but I find that their plain version is way too sour to me. Fage is somehow better.

So yummy! Although I had this for dessert, this would make a really good afternoon snack too. Or you could even have it for breakfast.

After I had my “dessert,” we watched Argo. So good!

Organization Challenge

Again, I am so excited to be doing the Organization Challenge with some of you. However, this week I was just not motivated to clean or organize anything, which is quite odd for me.

But the hubby got me this awesome to-do list pad for my birthday, so hopefully after a list or two, my motivation will return.

This is like the holy grail of to-do lists for me. Love!

I hope you have a great Saturday! I’m off to squeeze in a work out, just chill, and then go to a Tupperware party later

Questions for You:

Are you a to-do list person? Why or why not?
Challenge participants, how has your organizing been going? Making progress or unmotivated?

PEANUT BUTTER PUMPKIN PROTEIN BITES

August 12, 2019 by Melissa Leave a Comment

Hey Guys! How’s your week going so far?

Mine is just okay. I was excited to start my sugar detox, but have been feeling a little wonky in terms of digestion all week. I’m a little disappointed because I was hoping to start feeling really great from doing the detox, especially with the Boston 10K coming up. But I’m just not. Hopefully this passes and I feel great race day.

CRAVINGS

Last night the cravings for something sweet really hit me right about when my husband popped onto the couch with a bowl of ~~pure sugary goodness~~ Ben & Jerry’s. Thank you, dearest.

I tried my hand at making a “healthy cookie.” I’m not usually a recipe experimenter, but apparently when my cravings strike, I will do anything. Last sugar detox, I came up with Peanut Butter & Jelly Pudding, which really hit the spot for me.

I attempted to make what I guess I’d call Peanut Butter Pumpkin Protein Bites. They were totally edible and fine. Just not nearly as sweet as I wanted. Since they weren’t a total flop, I figured I’d share the recipe.

Ingredients

2/3 cup pumpkin puree
1/3 cup peanut butter
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 scoop protein powder
1 1/2 cups oats
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
chopped pecans
nutmeg
cinnamon

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix pumpkin, peanut butter, egg, vanilla, and protein powder together until smooth. Add a dash of nutmeg and a couple of good shakes of cinnamon.
3. Add oats, stirring until coated with wet mixture. Add nuts last and milk if the mixture is still too dry.
4. Drop batter onto pan to form “cookie” shaped bites or roll into balls. The batter will not expand, so whatever shape you make it what you get.
5. Add a dash of cinnamon to the tops of the bites. Bake for 15 minutes.

Now – don’t get mad when you realize these are not super sweet. I warned you! That’s why I couldn’t call them cookies. Because that would just be cruel.

I found myself wanting to eat more of these because the consistency was really good. I found them extremely filling though. They’re packed with fiber with the oats and pumpkin combined.

I really thought they’d be sweeter, but the taste is not bad. It’s just not chocolate – what I’m really craving! You could definitely add some brown sugar or honey to these to sweeten them up or even some chocolate chips. I also think a mashed banana would have added a lot of natural sweetness. Maybe I’ll play with this recipe some more later.

I think they make a good healthy treat option or even a good quick breakfast with some coffee.

CAN I PACK YET?

On another note, I’m getting really excited for my trip next week! Whenever vacations are coming, I get so excited about them that I get in vacation mode way too soon.

I’ve already made a packing list, and will honestly probably start packing tonight. Because I like to plan. And it always seems that if I don’t set aside some outfits, something I really want to wear will be dirty.

And since the hubby is taking me to The Melting Pot, I definitely need to plan an outfit in advance for that. Right? I like to justify my extreme-planning. Please encourage me more 😉

Questions for You:

Do treats need to be super-sweet for you to enjoy them? Or do you like savory treats too?
Are you a pack-the-week-before or pack-the-night-before kind of person?

SUPER NUTTY HOMEMADE GRANOLA BARS

August 12, 2019 by Melissa Leave a Comment

Tomorrow the hubby & I are going away again for a weekend of camping in New Hampshire with some friends. We both love camping but haven’t been all summer. It’s about time!

I always bring snack bars for camping, especially if we’re hiking & we need quick, filling, on-the-go snacks. I was just going to pick up some healthy snack bars at the grocery store, but I really couldn’t find anything that was “healthy” enough to me.

I made some homemade snack bars a few weeks back, so I decided to experiment with them again instead of purchasing anything. The hubby specifically requested for something a little nuttier this time than just standard chocolate chip granola bars.

I have to say, they turned out really great!

Super Nutty Homemade Granola Bars - no baking required!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 1/2 cups oats (preferably quick oats)
2 tablespoons wheat germ
1 1/2 tablespoons chia seeds
1/4 cup pecans*
1/4 cup almonds*
1/4 cup craisins or dried cranberries
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Mix the peanut butter, honey, and coconut oil together until blended well.

2. In a separate bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together.

*Note: for the nuts, you can choose any kind of you like. I just happened to have pecans & almonds on hand.

3. Mix the peanut butter mixture into the oat/nut mixture until well blended and all the oats and nuts are coated well.

4. Shape the oat “dough” on a foil covered baking sheet by using a spatula to flatten.

5. Put in the fridge or freezer to set, about 30 minutes.

6. Slice it with a pizza cutter to create bars. Makes 8.

I was trying to save them all for the trip, but I just had to try one beforehand. Quite nutty indeed!

What I particularly love about homemade bars is that they are so much more filling. Pure oats, seeds, nuts, and peanut butter? I know there are a lot of calories in this snack, but it’s exactly what I’m looking for in a snack bar these days. Those little 100 calories things just don’t cut it for me. And I also love knowing everyingredient in these bars. No random syrups or extra sugars. Just goodness.

I put them in individual snack bags to take with us on the trip. I’m keeping them refrigerated until we leave, as they tend to get a little crumbly at room temperature.

Hopefully they hold up in a backpack!

Questions for You:

What’s your favorite trail snack?
The perfect granola bar for you would include what ingredients?

Skip links

Main navigation

NEW WORKOUT CLOTHES

BREAKFAST

SMOOTHIE

BAA 10K

TROPICAL REFRESHER SMOOTHIE

Peanut Butter & Jelly Pudding

Organization Challenge

CRAVINGS

CAN I PACK YET?