The Dark Side ;)

Good Afternoon!!

Today has been an interesting day weather wise.  It's been so inconsistent today, you never know what to wear on days like today. :(

Did a little planking today....

After the gym today I made SUCH a delicious smoothie, and it was so easy and simple to make. 

Banana Peach Green Monster I like to call it!

1/2 Frozen Banana
1 Frozen Peach
2 Handfuls of Spinach
Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk

Blend that in your blender and you have your self a delicious smoothie!!
(I like to blend my liquid and leafy greens before I add the frozen fruit. If need be i add more liquid as i go, also to make it 'lighter' you can add ice. I like mine on the thicker side)

Smoothie in a bowl

***

Pretty much right after that I had to go to my Hair Appointment at 11:45...I was planning to go dark, but i had no idea I would end up going THIS dark...I truly went to the Dark Side on this one :P

Back at it!

Good afternoon everyone out there! :D

I hope you have all been having a great Monday so far! Its my first full day off of work in a week! It feels good to be able to just relax and not constantly watching the time, you know how it is?

(Exactly! :P)

This morning I had my usual oatmeal for breakfast. I wish I had taken a picture, it was one of the prettiest oatmeal bowls I have ever eaten...that's saying a lot considering oatmeal usual look gross!

In my bowl I had:
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 cup mixed raspberries & blackberries
1 egg white
*Topped it off with 
2tbsp FF cottage cheese
1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

So yummy. Oatmeal is such a great option for breakfast. It is so healthy, nutritious and versatile with what you mix in it. Keeps my tummy full and happy for hours!

After eating breakfast and getting ready for the morning, I took my pup out for a walk & then head to the gym. I had nothing particular in mind of what I was going to do today. I thought I would do a quick 1 mile warm up around our indoor track and then skip. After skipping, i ended up heading on over to the treadmill and ran another 5 mile HIIT! It felt so good to be running today.

I've taken some time away from running cause it was just causing me to feel exhausted and it was starting to feel like i was forcing myself to run. But its been a month since I last ran 10 km, it felt SO good to be back at it today.

(Must be the motivation from getting new runners the other day ;))

I was starving by the time I got home from the gym. Doing HIIT takes a lot out of you! It is such a great form of cardio if you are crunch for time. It's has more benefits in a shorter period of time then you standard "steady pace" does.

I made myself 3 egg whites with some Mrs. Dash "southwest chipotle" spice on top and microwaved it for 1:30 . I put the eggs on top of 1 brown rice, rice cake with hot sauce and spinach. On the side for a little sweetness I had an apple sprinkled with cinnamon.

Lunch time came around pretty quickly afterwards! I decided to try something new today for lunch! My first time ever trying Tilapia! Tilapia is an amazing lean white fish protein! I seasoned it with Mrs. Dash 'onion & herbs". On the side I had a colourful salad filled with veggies & fruits.

(Instagrammed ;))

Veggies: (celery,green pepper, red pepper, yellow pepper, carrots, sugar peas & spinach)

Fruits: (blueberries & a sliced up peach) topped the salad off with some balsamic vinegar! 

Have a great rest of your Monday! =)

Healthy Baking

Busy day today,

How was your sunday? Last night I had an awful sleep, and was completely exhausted for work this morning. It happens...what can you do right?

Anyways onto different things...I did a little tid bit of baking this evening after supper. I made some High protein Low carb banana bread as well well pumpkin bread. I'm so excited for the fall and all of the pumpkin flavored items that come out. Starbucks pumpkin spice soy latte <3 love it!

(so cute! I want to make them this fall!)

I know I'm a few days late on "Throwback Thursday" but I just went through my journal from a year ago...if you ever need a good laugh...I highly recommend reading through your old journals if you have them! So animated. I Love it...great way to cheer yourself up in a pinch ;)

(One year ago, when I got my Aria! <3)

Hope you all had a relaxed day and refreshed to start of the week tomorrow!

Last Full Weekend!

Hello out there! Happy Saturday to you all! :D 

Let me start by saying...

Can you believe that this weekend is the last FULL weekend of August. September is right around the corner and the start of a new school year is quickly approaching.

I know so many people  just dread this time of year...gearing up to go back to school, the end of freedom, the start of homework and endless assignments, papers, and deadlines to make. For me the return to a structured routine is exciting. I look forward to having more discipline and routine in my life again. =)

I've always LOVED enjoyed the shop for back to school supplies, organizing my book bags, binders and preparing my schedules. It's almost as good as Christmas ....o.k maybe not THAT good, but it comes pretty close to it in my eyes. ;) 

If you were to ask me what my top 5 favorite things to shop for are, school supplies would definitely make the cut. I love school.

(Insert cheesy photo of I <3 School here) ;)

***

Onto other things, I did a quick workout at home today which got a little Insane, in the form of pure cardio with Shaun T! Hes BANANAS ;)

I also did 20 minutes of jump rope! Jump Rope is probably my new favorite cardio exercise! It doesn't even feel like your "working out".

**Rewind a bit back to yesterday...

An exciting day in my books it was...you might be sitting on the edge of your seat dying to know WHAT could have possibly been so exciting :P...well wonder no more! All my excitement was cause by a little shopping trip with my mom and the purchase of a new workout bag & running shoes! Whose with me on this one, new gym clothes always makes a workout more exciting!!

I've always loved getting new workout clothes (another one of my top 5 favorite things to shop for!)

***
Enough about me! I have some questions for YOU =)

1. Are you looking forward to the start of a new school year?

2. Did you fit in a workout to your last Saturday in August?  If so, lets hear about it!

3. Top 5 favorite items to shop for!
Mine are:
->Food
->Gym Clothes
->School Supplies
->Books
->Clothes & Shoes for everyday life

Enjoy the rest of your weekend! I hope the sun is shining wherever you may be!! =)

 

My Blog

On my blog your likely to find bits and pieces about how I balance my life, family & this beautiful dog of mine! 

Blog world...meet Aria, a playful 1 year old chocolate lab. She is FULL of spunk and energy, she loves to go swimming, play ball, go for runs, meeting new friends... and of course EAT (much like me her owner :P ). She is such a beautiful dog and truly is my princess. <3 

A New Chapter

 

Hello to the blogging world!

My name is April, I am a university student passionate about healthy living, fitness and food!

With a new school year quickly approaching, and a new chapter in my life. I have been juggling the idea of starting a blog for myself! I have chatted with family & friends about the possibility and have also had some great support/feedback from fellow Instagram-ers. :D
So with that being said... let this be my first official post of many more to come... I hope ;)