Great Family Sunday, But Time To Clean

Good Monday morning!

First, I will recap my Sunday.  Yesterday, I woke up bright and early and started my day with a delicious strawberry banana smoothie.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

• 1 scoop Sunwarrior vanilla protein powder
• 1/4 Fage Greek Yogurt
• 1/2 cup Almond Breeze
• 1 cup chopped strawberries
• 1/3 medium to large frozen banana
• 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup ice cubes

Directions

Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth.  Drink up!

Nutritional Information

Calories: 228.9g  Fat:  3.1g  Carbohydrates:  34.1g  Protein:  23.5g

It was a delicious way to start the day…boy did I miss smoothies while I was on board the ship!

Sunday Day

After my delicious smoothie, my mom, Brian and I got a dressed and ready head to church.  After a refreshing church service, it was time to load up the car to head back to Indianapolis.  Loading up the car was fine, but I will say that I was a tad bit hesitant to drive since I have barely even ridden in a car let alone have I driven in the past 5 months.  Once I got behind the wheel it did feel a little bit strange, but for the most part, it was just like riding a bike!  I got back to Indianapolis safe and in one piece!  Brian and I had to drive separately since we drove up to Fort Wayne in his car and were taking both of our cars back, so before we headed out I made us a brand new CD of some songs that we are both in love with currently.  This mix of music is high energy and fun, perfect for wasting time on a car ride, singing along with, and working out.

Brian and Tara’s Driving Home, Singing Along, and Working Out Playlist

1. Countdown–Beyonce
2. Earthquake–Labrinth ft. Tinie Tempah
3. Glad You Came–The Wanted
4. Love on Top–Beyonce
5. Part of Me–Katy Perry
6. Princess of China–Coldplay ft. Rihanna
7. Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)–Kelly Clarkson
8. Take Care–Drake ft. Rihanna
9. Turn Me On–David Guetta ft. Nicki Minaj
10. Turn Up the Music–Chris Brown
11. Wild Ones–Flo Rida ft. Sia
12. Without You–David Guetta ft. Usher
13. You da One–Rihanna ft. Beyonce

Sunday Evening

After arriving home and unloading all of my things from both my car and Brian’s car, we then headed to Brian’s for a family dinner and little welcome home celebration.  It was great to see Brian’s family!  His dad loves experimenting in the kitchen and has most recently been experimenting with macaroons.  Not only are they pretty, but they are delicious too!

Brian’s family had been working on a little surprise for me.  While I was gone his mom had found a ton of clothing items at consignment shops that were great quality and barely ever worn!  So, I spent the evening trying on all of the clothing items and giving everyone a little fashion show 🙂  I must say, I left with a dramatically improved wardrobe!!!

This Morning

This morning, I slept in for the most part and started my day with some oats and coffee.

For Christmas, my mom made Brian a homemade Chai tea mix and she got us a Keurig, so I mixed a little bit of that mix in my coffee for a Chai Latte effect and it was delicious!!  Thanks, Mom 😉

With my oatmeal I mixed in some pea protein for added protein and about 2 tsp of peanut butter for some healthy fat.  Lately, I have been using pea protein as my main protein supplement because it is a plant based protein that my body digests well, it is not a genetically modified crop, and pea protein has virtually 0 carbohydrates and 0 fat, which means that I am literally only getting protein form the powder and I can get carbs from fruits and veggies and fat from healthy sources like nuts, seeds, avocado, and fish.

Using the powder in my oatmeal makes is thick, creamy and delicious!

When it comes to purchasing health foods such as protein powders, natural cacoa, fish oil, chia seeds, flax seeds, buckwheat, and virtually any natural beauty product that you can think of I ALWAYS use iherb.com.  This site is amazing because of the quality of their ingredients, the speediness of delivery, and the low cost and constant discounts that they are offering.

Right now, they are offering a special deal for March.  If you visit the iherb.com between now and Tuesday, March 12 at midnight and enter in the code OGA946 then you will receive $8 off of your first order.  Not a bad deal if you ask me!

Cleaning Day

Now, that I am fueled with a good breakfast and coffee it is time to get to work and unpack everything from my 5 months abroad and reorganize the apartment…wish me luck!!

Things of Possible Interest:

• 10 Diet and Exercise Tips from Athletes—fitsugar.com
• Prevent Rotator Cuff Injuries with this Exercise–sparkpeople.com
• Save $8 on Your First Order at iherb.com–iherb.com