Smoothies!

One of the things I really enjoy while being off Whole30 is smoothies! I've gotten super tired of eggs, salsa, and spinach in the mornings for breakfast, to the point where I didn't even want to eat. The past two weeks have been great with a smoothie on my way to work! It doesn't keep me as full as physically chewing and swallowing my food, and it also has less protein, but it's tasty and quick.

I do my best to keep the ingredients in my smoothies as Whole30 as possible. I've never liked milk, so I don't put yogurt or milk in. I was just using water until I came across my favourite pineapple coconut water from Vita Coco! Pictured here is: Banana, almond butter, pineapple coconut water, spinach, frozen strawberries. Not pictured: cinnamon and unsweetened coconut (generally used as a garnish, but sometimes I'll blend it in).

It usually turns out a weird brown colour, but don't let that fool you! The smoothie pictured above has more strawberries than spinach. I found I wasn't getting enough spinach in the Magic Bullet cup if I blended the fruit first, so now I shove spinach in first with the almond butter, coconut water, and strawberries before I add the bananas (yes, plural). As you can see in the right hand picture below, I put the spinach in first and it's more green than brown!

I'm probably going to start venturing into eggs for breakfast again, but I need new recipes! The quiche that I make is really yummy, but it's over stayed it's welcome here. I've seen some recipes for n'oatmeal (it's not actually oatmeal, so it's gluten free and the recipes are generally Whole30 ingredient friendly), and I think they'd be great to try out. 

What are your favourite breakfast recipes? Even if they aren't exactly Whole30 friendly, I can alter some ingredients so don't be afraid to share! 

xo. Nicole

MFJ V.05 || An Update

Since January 2, I've been on and off doing Whole30 rounds. You probably already knew that if you've read my previous posts, or follow me on Instagram. To date, I've completed 3 full rounds and am currently doing my 4th. It's crazy sometimes to think of how far I've come! I remember being so anxious before I started round 1. I also remember thinking I'd for sure mess it up and not complete a full round, but look at me now! 

My life has changed for the better, and everything is coming together. Whole30 honestly makes me feel amazing, and I'm definitely working hard to make this a lifestyle change. It can be tough some days to distinguish the difference between a diet and an actual lifestyle change, especially when there's donuts and candy at work. 

I started to incorporate exercise in April. I started with a spin class, but that's over now. As of last month, I now do stairs, hills, running, and 30MinuteHit. My secret is having a workout partner, haha! It holds me accountable, it helps me to encourage her and myself, and it makes it a lot more fun. My goals for myself include:

• Drinking at least one of my giant green jugs of water, every day. (I have yet to measure how much water is actually in it...)
• Exercising in some form at least 4 times a week.
• Finding balance with Whole30 and regular day-to-day life. I'm not sure what balance means for me, but I'm figuring it out.

A huge motivator for me was when Healthy is The New Skinny reposted and shared my photo. I treated myself to one of their tank tops and wore it the day after it arrived. I always get "wow I love your shirt!" when I'm wearing it while at work and when I'm working out. I used their hashtag, #healthyisthenewskinny in my photo and then they reposted it on their Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter! It has over 1,000 likes and the comments are amazing. I never thought that I could be someone else's motivation or inspiration. It's...motivating! 

I am excited for what the future holds. In just 5/6 months, I've lost 35 pounds and I've become more active than I've never been. I constantly think about where I'll be next January and I get so excited every time!

Seriously, if I can do it, you can do it. Just get rid of your excuses. I MAKE the time for exercise and meal prepping now. If you want something, you make it happen. 

I love the quote, 

"If you think you can or can't, you're right."

It is SO true.

xo. Nicole

SBGOS -Yum!

Hi again! It's been a little while since I've posted, but as I said in my last post...we've been pretty busy! I wanted to pop on here to share another smoothie recipe with you. It's been my go-to breakfast for the past couple weeks, and it really does keep me full until my 10:30 am break.

I call it, SBGOS - Strawberry, Banana, Grape, Oatmeal Smoothie. Is it ever delicious! I also put it in my cute mason jar tumbler from Wal-Mart and then it makes me happy, on top of also feeling full. It's the little things, right?!

Here are the ingredients listed in the order you put them in your magic bullet (if it's a blender, do it in the opposite order, as you want the frozen fruit to be the first thing blended):

• One serving of any flavor yogurt (I use Activia or whatever's on sale)
• 1/3 cup of quick oats
• 1 tsp of honey
• 1 tbsp Chia seeds (optional)
• 1 overripe banana, broken in to small chunks
• Fill the rest of the cup with frozen strawberries and grapes
• 1/3 cup of vanilla almond milk 

If your smoothie isn't blending very well, shake it up a bit (with the lid on, of course!) If that still isn't working, add some water or more almond milk!

Next grocery shopping trip, I'm going to pick up some different varieties of frozen fruit. I used up the last of the strawberries this morning, and I only have peach and a pineapple left. I also think adding some peanut butter would be tasty with just banana. So many options!

I hope you enjoy your smoothie!

And let me know if you tried this recipe out, or if you would like to share your own!
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xo. Nicole

Change for The Good

January has flown by! It's already the end of my second week of work, and I'm loving it! I'm very happy that I found this workplace, as it's helped me achieve something I didn't think I could do - eating healthy! I really didn't think I could change my eating habits, but working in a school has shown me otherwise. 

I hadn't planned on making any New Year's Resolutions, as I never keep them and it brings disappointment, but this year I might. My husband and I are both doing a money saving challenge so that we can finally go on a honeymoon, and I'm packing my lunches every night. So far so good!

It helps that I can't just drive away on my break and grab McDonald's. One, I don't have enough time, and two, I work in a different city so I have NO idea where anything is! I don't plan on finding out, either. 

I used to get super shaky and cranky if I didn't eat at work. At my current job, I have 3 breaks and I have time to relax and pay attention to my food, rather than scarfing it down. I admit that I've missed breakfast twice and the way I felt made me realize how important that meal is! Both times, I felt really low energy by the time it was my first break, and ate my meat and cheese so fast that I didn't even taste it!

I've tried participating in Jessica's #jigglefreejanuary calendar and it's fun! She's starting her own business and is posting 3 times a week with a yummy recipe, a post where she answers your questions, and she posts a workout on Fridays! I plan to do today's workout after work!

After I saw Christy's post on 10 things that she likes about herself, it sparked the little fire under my butt to get out my feelings on body shaming! (You can read that post here) I'm so happy that she shared a post about loving herself. We should all do one! 

And speaking of change, I'm going to be working with Allison on a blog redesign in the next couple weeks because...

I'm changing the name of the blog! 

I'm no longer a broke bride, and I've really always been more 'lifestyle' than 'wedding' here, so I'll reveal the new name in a fun giveaway when I reach 100 followers (only 1 more to goooo)!!

How has YOUR January been so far?

xo. Nicole