Smoothie Recipe & New Workout routine

I have a habit of throwing everything but the kitchen sink into my smoothies with no advanced planning.  It always seems like a good idea at the time but I have gone wrong so many times with this method (but you'd better believe I still drank those smoothies.  I hate wasting food; I may or may not have been known to turn myself into a human garbage can if my kids leave food on their plate on occasion).  The past several days have been nutritional failures.  This morning, I was ready to get back on track, so after I took the kids to school, I decided it was time to torture myself with a Jillian Michaels' workout.  

In January, I started working out 3-4 days per week at home with Jillian's 30-day Shred, Level 1 of course.  Ho-ly Mo-ly was that tough!! The first week, I just felt like dying, puking, and passing out!! I knew I was out of shape but this was quite pathetic!  But don't let that scare you because after the first week or so, it did get easier.  I started off only completing about 80% of the workout and by the end of January, I could do the whole workout and finally, at the end of last week, I moved up to Level 2.  Moving up to Level 2 made me feel like I was starting all over again because Level 2 was much more challenging for me.  But the great thing to keep in mind here is that Level 1 got easier after a couple of weeks, so Level 2 will probably feel the same in that way.  And BTW, these are only 20 minute workouts; you can do just about anything for 20 minutes!  

This past week, I switched to Jillian's Ripped in 30 video.  This one includes a 30 day meal plan and the workouts are broken up into four weeks/levels.  In this video, Jillian recommends working out 5-6 days per week, so I'm upping my game!  Again, Level 1 is tough, but has gotten easier to complete with each new day.  I have one more day of Level 1 and then I'll be moving up to Level 2.  I feel like I'm getting stronger already from this past month of working out. 

After these high intensity workouts, I felt like I needed a super-nutrient packed smoothie afterwards.  So, I looked through my pantry and again just started dumping fruits and fillers into my Ninja blender and some were better than others.  I like that I can play around with different healthy foods for different tastes and textures.  

Last week, I discovered a new smoothie recipe using my dumping method and thought I would share it with you because it really was tasty and super-packed with good stuff.  I like this because it has a significant amount of protein and fiber, but the sugar content, albeit all natural, is probably higher than the ideal amount.  (Warning: If you don't like texture to your smoothie, you may want to change it up slightly.)

I'd love to hear what you guys think of this smoothie. I'm also curious if you have a favorite smoothie recipe, particularly a post-workout smoothie.  I'm always looking for new, yummy mixtures!

SMOOTHIE RECIPE

This recipe is for a single serving.  It can easily be doubled or tripled as desired.

Ingredients

1 c	Strawberries
1/2	Banana
1/2 c 1/2 1 1/4 c 1 tbsp 2 tbsp	Baby spinach leaves Gala apple, small Avocado slice, small Almond Milk, Unsweetened Chia Seeds Water soluble, pure protein kosher gelatin powder

Directions

1.     Cut the fruits into quarters or smaller.

2.     Blend all of the fruits together in a blender until liquid.

3.     Pour in the almond milk, spinach leaves, chia seeds, and gelatin. Blend until desired texture.

NOTE: The chia seeds and small bits of spinach will add a texture to this smoothie.  Halve them if a smoother consistency is preferable.

Also, you can add ice if you prefer smoothies more chilled.

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