Happy Saturday,

Wooohooo it's Saturday! I am off to a work Easter Egg Hunt and then back to my Pilates workshop, but I wanted to leave you with a new smoothie recipe. This was the first time I have ever tried avocado in my smoothie, and it was delicious. It added a silky texture to the smoothie and I loved it!

I seriously can't wait to have this one again soon! The combination of healthy fat, protien, and fiber kept me full for hours! :)

Are you tring to increase your greens intake? Go check out Katherine's giveawy on the Real Food Runner! She is giving away Amazing Grass energy bars which are packed with green nutrition!

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What are you up to this Saturday?

Have you ever tried avocado in your smoothie?

In health,

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Happy Friday!

Can you believe it is already Friday? This week flew by at lightening speed. I subbed quite a few extra classs, so to say I'm a tad sore would be an understatement! I have my 5th of 6 Pilates Instructor Trainings this weekend, and this weekend we are back to the reformer!

I LOVE quotes. They are like little reminders, that often pop up at just the right time. I love how Pinterest is a never ending source of inspirational quotes! Here are two of my favorites from this week. .

I'm still going strong on the 7 day green smoothie challenge, and loving every minute of it! This morning I think I officially made my favorite smoothie of all times! It combined some of my favorite things - Chobani, peanut butter, coffee, and greens. You can literally drink your coffee and breakfast out of the same straw! What more could you ask for in one drink? This recipe is what you call life changing. I was planning on doing a different smoothie everyday so I could share 7 new recipes with you guys, but now all I want is my peanut butter coffee dream! :) I'll try to resist the urge to drink one every single day and branch out!


Let me know if you try it out. I know the combination sounds kind of weired but it tastes like the smoothest most delicious frappachino you've ever had. Plus it's full of fiber, protein, and tons of vitamins. Sounds like a win-win to me!

What is your favorite smoothie combination?

What are you up to this weekend?

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Howdy!

How's your week going so far? Usually, by Thursday I am already looking forward to the weekend and counting down the hours until 5 o'clock on Friday when "the fun begins." However, that's not really fair to Thursday or the better part of Friday. That is a lot of time that I spend wishing away and not enjoying the moment. I came across this quote on Pinterest the other day and it really reminded me that I shouldn't wish any moments away, but appreciate every single one I get. Even if those moments are spent in meetings, working on budgets, or stuck in traffic. It's a moment I can never get back so I should enjoy it while it's there.

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This morning I definitely enjoyed every single moment I spent drinking my green smoothie. It was day three of the green smoothie challenge, and I decided to stay on my roll of trying out new mixtures. I used to be a straight strawberry banana kind of girl, but not any more. Check out what went into this bad boy!


I am absolutely loving the green smoothie challenge. It feels great knowing that I am starting every day with a super food packed breakfast that leaves me satisfied and energized for the day. I have to admit that I was a little worried about committing to 7 days straight of green smoothies for breakfast since I LOVE my eggs in the morning. I was afraid that drinking my breakfast wouldn't be as satisfying or that I would be hungrier throughout the day. This was so not true! I stayed just as full as I do when I eat eggs for breakfast, and haven't missed chewing my food one bit. Trying out new smoothie combinations have kept things exciting, and I find myself really looking forward to my liquid breakfast! :)




Mmmmm Mmmmm Good! Don't let the icky look full you, this guy was sweet, delicious, and satisfying. The perfect breakfast!

What moment are you especially thankful for today?

Are you a chewer or sipper for breakfast?

In health,

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Howdy!
How are you today? Did your Monday go pretty smoothly? Mine was pretty good, minus the fact that E had to go out of town on business. I taught three fun and sweaty classes - Cardio Barre, Piloxing, and strength training. I also got to have dinner with my amazing friend Kelli!

Katherine over at the Real Food Runner is doing a 7 day Green Smoothie Challenge, and I decided to join! Today was day 1, so I decided to go green for breakfast (well kinda brown). I used blackberries in my smoothie so it turned my smoothie kind of brown instead of green even though I used 4 large romain leaves. No matter what the color was, it turned out delicious!

So I try to eat pretty healthy 90% of the time, but sometimes a girl just needs something salty! Am I right? One afternoon last week, I was sitting at my desk and I could barely concentrate because I was so stinking hungry. I had at least 3 more hours until I would be home and I knew my brain would shut down before then. We just installed some new vending machines in our clubs lobby that are suppose to be filled with only healthy snacks so I decided to see if I could find anything I could eat. There usually aren't too many gluten-free options in vending machines. :/ I was pleasantly surprised when I saw these guys staring back at me from behind the glass.


I wasn't completely sold on the healthy part at first (some "veggie chips" are no healthier than regular potato chips they just make you feel better by saying veggie), but at least I knew they were gluten-free. I reached into the bag and pulled out one of the chips for inspection.


I popped one in my mouth, and they were absolutely delicious. Crunchy with a slight potato chip flavor plus a kick and they definitely satisfied my craving for something salty. After devouring a couple (I was starving remember), I flipped the package over to check out the nutrition stats. They were equally as impressive (they are chips after all)! The whole package contained only 140 calories, 6g of fat, 150mg of sodium18g of carbohydrates, and 2g of fiber. That blows your regular potato chip out of the water! :)
The ingredients list wasn't too shabby either! Ingredients: Potato flour, potato starch, expeller pressed sunflower oil, tomato, salt, potassium chloride, spinach powder, turmeric, beet powder.

Overall, I was very impressed! Next time I'm throwing a party or just having a chip craving these guys will definitely be what I reach for!

Have you tried any of Snyder's new Naturals line? Apparently, they have tortilla chips, cheese curls, and pretzels that are all gluten-free too! I haven't tried any of those yet, but they sound delicious!

Anybody want to join me in the 7 day green smoothie challenge?

What is your favorite green smoothie recipe?

In health,

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Happy Hump Day!

How are you today? Have you squeezed in a few sweat sessions this week?

I have told you guys multiple times how big of a fan of Chobani I am, especially the Chobani Champions yogurt. I was already a huge fan of the very berry flavor, so I was beyond excited when the nice people at Chobani offered to send me some samples of their new flavors: orange vanilla, and vanilla chocolate chunk!!!

Although Chobani Champions are technically designed for kids, I think they are the perfect size for me, and I love the yummy flavors. The are creamy, the perfect amount of sweetness, and packed with protein!


I love to eat a yogurt along with my salad at lunch so the fact that these guys only have 100-120 caloris and between 12-14 grams of sugar make them the perfect mid-day treat without a ton of extra sugar or calories.



The Chobani Champions are also the perfect size to add to your green smoothie to pump up the protein! I used the orange vanilla flavor in my smoothie this morning, and it was absolutely delicious! It was the perfect addition to day 2 of my 7 Day Green Smoothie Challenge.


Has anyone else tried any of the Chobani Champions flavors?? What's your favorite? Have you tried them in a smoothie yet. You should! I hope you all have a fabulous day!

In health,

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Happy Monday Everyone!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend! I spent most of the day Friday and Saturday at my Pilates training. This weekend was Pilates Apparatus level 3, and it was a blast. I really felt like this weekend tied everything together and we got to do some of the really cool moves like this one.

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My hands are a little raw and my back is definitely sore, but it was a blast! :) I can't wait to start practicing everything I learned! :) Sunday was spent running errands, doing laundry, and of course more flag football. It is really warming up here in the Big D, so I was very excited to soak up the sun at the football field. Unfortunately, my pasty self hasn't seen very much sun over the past year so it went into a bit of shock. I definitely resemble somewhat of a lobster at the moment! :)

Can you believe March is almost over??? I sure can't! I feel like it flew by at lightening speed! We are in our last and final week of the Lean Legs March challenge so lets finish strong.



Bridge Lower/Lift




The name is pretty self explanatory here. Simply lift hips up into a bridge position, lower until glutes barely touch the ground, and then return to start. Really focus on pressing through your entire foot and squeezing your glutes as you lift.

Wall-Sit with weight - Again, pretty easy, just slide down into a wall-sit holding dumbbells a weighted plate, or your dog (depending on how still he/she will stay). You can really hold anything you'd like that will give you a little extra challenge!

Crock and kick donkey kicks



Cross your working leg behind your stable leg with your knee bent. Then kick the working leg directly out to the side trying to keep it level with your hip. This move really works your entire leg! If you want an extra challenge, lift and lower your leg 8-10 times while holding it out to the side! :)

You only have one week left of the challenge, and I know you are all going to finish strong! I hope you have an amazing Monday!

How was your weekend?

How is the challenge going for you?

In health,

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Happy Saturday!

I am off to the second day of my Pilates training, but I wanted to leave you with a few wise words from the ever inspiring Marilyn Monroe!

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Make it a great day!

In health,

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Happy Friday Friends!!

I hope you all had a wonderful week! This weekend I will be attending a Pilates Apparatus III training! After this training, I will only have 2 trainings left until I can take my test to become a fully certified Balanced Body Pilates trainer!!! Whoop!!! I have absolutely loved every training so far, and I am looking forward to learning some really advanced moves this weekend since it is a level three training! :) We start at 2:00pm today, so it will be a busy day, but I wanted to leave you with a few jams for the weekend.
I absolutely love dancing and therefore some of my favorite classes to teach are Dance Cardio Party and Zumba! :) There are a few songs that I have been using lately that I just LOVE so I thought I would share them with you. Maybe you can use them in your class if you teach, or you can just jam out to them on your own. After all we all need to.......

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from time to time right? So here are my current faves! :) Enjoy!









Anybody dancing in their living rooms yet? What is your current favorite JAM? :)

Have a fabulous Friday and weekend!

In health?

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Happy Hump Day!

Who needs a good laugh to start their hump day off right? I do! Ok, here you go!

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Is that not the cutest thing ever??? LOVE IT!! :)

So some of you might have seen the A to Z survey created by Janetha that has been floating around the healthy living blog world lately. I decided it was too fun not to participate in! Here it goes:

 
A is for age: 24

B is for breakfast today: Egg whites and gluten free toast with peanut butter and half a banana

C is for currently craving: coffee frozen yogurt (that is pretty much a constant craving)

D is for dinner tonight: a salad from Jason’s Deli (that’s my go to meal when E is out of town for work)

E is for favorite type of exercise: barre classes, Pilates, or running (Sorry, it’s a tie!)

F is for an irrational fear:  Fire! I’m absolutely terrified of fire! L

G is for gross food: Chicken Spaghetti – I think it is some kind of mental block, but I can’t stand the taste or texture!

H is for hometown: College Station, TX aka Aggieland

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I is for something important: God, family, & friends – Really what else is there?

J is for current favorite jam: blackberry I really thought for 2 seconds it meant jam like for toast. Let me try that again…. I’m loving Descontrol by Daddy Yankee

K is for kids: none, sadly

L is for current location: Dallas, TX aka Big D

M is for the most recent way you spent money: Groceries. I went shopping at 7:00am on Sunday morning to get it out of the way before the busy day ahead. Let me tell you, it was amazing! No one was in the store. I flew through my list in no time!

N is for something you need: Time to rest. I feel like I always fill my rest times with things on my to-do list.

O is for occupation: Group Exercise Coordinator, fitness instructor, and Pilates trainer

Yep, that's what I do all day! Dress up in 80's clothes and jump around like a mad woman. Ok, so maybe I don't dress like that every day, but I would if I could!

P is for pet peeve: When people are late.

Q is for a quote: “Life’s a dance, you learn as you go. Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow. Don’t worry ‘bout what you don’t know. Life’s a dance, you learn as you go!” – John Michael Montgomery

R is for random fact about you: Watermelon is my all time favorite food!!

S is for favorite healthy snack: Peanut butter and banana

T is for favorite treat: Coffee Fozen Yogurt!!!! I’m drooling just thinking about it!

U is for something that makes you unique: I am peppier at 5am than I am at 5pm, and by 10pm I'm a grandmother in bed and worthless! :)

V is for favorite vegetable: Zuchinni

W is for today’s workout: Today I taught Piloxing, cycle and a core express class. I also practiced some new barre choreography! J Sweaty and happy!

X is for X-rays you’ve had: Kneecap- I broke my kneecap doing a back handspring in high school 2 days before cheerleading tryouts. I tried out on one leg, and with God’s help, still made the team! Sacrum (lower back) – I got a stress fracture from running too much while teaching a ton of high impact classes. Moral of the story – listen to your body!

Y is for yesterday’s highlight: Teaching my amazing participants at noon. My Monday Piloxing class always has a ton of energy and starts my week off right!

Z is for your time zone: Central Standard Time

Now you know me a little bit better! Can you pick one letter and tell me what the answer would be for you??

Check out this cool read: Top 10 U.S. Cities for Well-Being. Do you live in one of these? If so, tell me why you think it's so fantastic!
In health,

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Howdy!
How was your Monday? Fun, I hope! Things were pretty calm around here, minus the threat of a storm that never really came didn't show up until 3 hours after it was projected to. The weather channel kept saying there was going to be hail and possibly tornadoes and nothing! I'm not complaining, I just wish I wouldn't have worried so much! ;)

Yesterday's post was all about the Lean Legs march challenge so I didn't have time to give you a weekend recap. This weekend I ran a bunch of errands with my friend Kelli, hung out with the hubby, watched some March Madness, and a little flag football, and of course did a little cooking.

Check out E's flag football team!

I was so proud of how well they played in their tournament. The next season starts next weekend, so the football fun really never ends around here! :)

Weekends mean pancakes to me, so this weekend I decided to try something new. I had heard good things about almond flour, and decided it was time to give it a try. Almond flour is a gluten-free, high protein, low carb flour that offers a sweet and nutty flavor to your baking. It also provides the same health benefits as regular almonds. It is high in monounsaturated fats which are associated with a reduced risk of heart disease. It is also packed with the antioxidant vitamin E. Almonds also contain magnesium and potassium. If that’s not enough for you, almonds have also been shown to decrease after-meal rises in blood sugar. Ready to try it now? Here you go!


I promise these guys will not dissapoint! They are so delicious, packed with protein, lower on carbs than normal pancakes, and super filling! :)

Have you ever tried almond flour?

What did you make with it?

In health,

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Hello There Friends!

How are you this wonderful Monday? How was your weekend? Mine was pretty busy but a ton of fun. I'll have more on that tomorrow, but for today I want to introduce you to the next exercises for Lean Legs March! How is the challenge going for everyone? Do your legs feel stronger? Mine definitely do! :)

Warning! Blinding White Legs Ahead!! I must apologize in advance for my white legs in the pictures below. They have not seen the sun in many many months! :) What can you do?

Bridge on toes


Simply lift your hips up into a bridge position and then raise your heels as high as you can. Hold for the specified amount of time. If you want an additional challenge, lower and lift your heels while holding your bridge. Hello booty burn!

Wall-Sit on toes


Lower into a wall-sit,  then lift your heels up as high as you can. Enjoy how this takes the burn in your quadriceps and calves to a whole new level! :) It was hard not to shake while Eric was taking the picture. I know, you can't wait to try it now right?

Fire hydrant (yes, it's as beautiful as it sounds)


Start on all fours with knees under hips and wrists under shoulders. Keeping right leg bent lift the leg directly out to the side and then return to the starting position. Perform specified amount on each leg. I know it may not be the prettiest move, but your glutes and outer thighs will thank you for it- I promise!!

I hope you enjoy these this week. We only have two weeks left of the challenge, and just in time for shorts season. I hope you all have a wonderful Monday!

How was your weekend?

Is it shorts weather where you live yet?

In health,

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Happy Friday & Happy St. Patrick's Day Eve!!

Woohoooo it's Friday, and the day before St. Patrick's day! Do you have any big plans for the green holiday? There is a big parade that goes on in Dallas that I'm hoping to watch. It goes right by my house, so I'm super excited.

The weekend is a special time to catch up with family and friends, recharge your battery, try out new hobbies, run errands, etc. Sometimes we have good intentions to workout, but simply run out of time. Today, I thought I would share with you some of my favorite express workouts that can be squeezed into the busiest of weekend schedules! Thank you Pinterest and the world wide web for helping me find most of these. :)

source: Fitvillans

source: RunningAroundNormal

I know this one is Christmas themed, but if you changed the name to the 12 clover leaves of St. Patrick's day, it would work perfectly. I love this workout so much I had to share. Paige at Running Around Normal knocked it out of the ball park with this one! :)

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source: The New Healthy

Stefani over at The New Healthy created this super fun and challenging workout that is great when you need a quick workout on Saturday morning!

So now we don't have any excuses not to workout this weekend, even if we only have 15-30 minutes. We can get our sweat, party, and errands on all in the same day! :)

I hope you all have a wonderful Friday.

What is your go to quickie workout?

Any big plans for St. Patrick's day?

In health,

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