Snack-o-rama

First off, let's all just take a breath and thank the gods above for weekends. This past weekend was needed more than usual, and I didn't waste anytime messing around. I got straight to the killer workouts, good cooking, and...oh yeah...some time drinking some good wine, some good beer, and then some good tequila. It took a day or two for my body to recover back to its healthy self after that, but it was well worth it. No question.

My newly discovered snacks this week?

Over Morning Oats (get it?! instead of overnight oats? ok I'll stop now...I was up late last night).

When packing my lunch in the morning, I throw 1/2 c. oatmeal, 3/4 c. almond milk, and some toppings in a tupperware (usually chia seeds, fruit, cinnamon, and stevia). By the time 3pm comes around and my raging hunger hits, I've got a delicious treat awaiting me. No microwave necessary!!

Creamy Peanut Butter Apple Dip

1/2 c. vanilla coconut milk yogurt
2 tbsp. powdered peanut butter

Directions:

Mix.

Dip.

Indulge.

I had a little leftover after my apple was gone, and yes - I did just eat it with the spoon. If you've ever had cream cheese fruit dip, this tastes remarkably similar, but is much healthier.

Chocolate Peppermint Protein Shake

In the holiday spirit, I picked up some peppermint extract at Trader Joes a while back. Although my intentions of baking up a storm were good, it never happened. Feeling wasteful, I decided to put it to good use and discovered a new obsession.

1 c. almond milk
1 scoop chocolate protein powder
3 drops liquid stevia
1/2 tsp peppermint extract

YUM.

In other news...

My love affair with Indian food? Still alive and well, although a new place we tried takeout from this weekend wasn't the best I've had. I tried the Chef's Special, which was vegetables in a spicy coconut tomato sauce. I thought the flavor could have been a little richer, but it was good. And hey - I could survive on naan from now until the end of time.

To old staples and new finds,
Avocado Athlete

(ps) By several popular requests, I'm going to have to bring back today's mantra! Make sure the people who inspire you know it. I was killing it at the gym this morning. I did back and biceps with sprint intervals:

1/2 mile warmup run

Circuit x 3

Bent over rows
Lat pull-downs
Barbell T-rows
Bicep curls
Cross-body curls

1/2 mi. sprint

But as I was running I looked over and saw this woman on the elliptical. She was probably about 300 pounds, but she was hauling ass. She was breathing so hard, grunting, and powering through hill climbs. She didn't care that a few other people around her were staring and wondering if she was going to pass out any minute. I knew she'd be fine because I see her at the gym almost every day. I thought to myself: wow. She is working so much harder than I am. I felt so inspired that I seriously upped my running pace and blasted through my 1/2 mi. sprint faster than ever. I didn't see her after that today, but I thought to myself, she probably has no idea what an inspiration she was to me. So, I'm determined to tell her. I would love it if someone said that to me, so I'm gonna pass it along.