Meals, a Quick Review, and a Smoothie

What a busy week, and weekend for that matter! I apologize for the lack of updates, but between busy nights at the gym, Mark's birthday on Friday, and lots of work on our house this weekend, I just haven't had the time. I have been cooking though. A few things I made this week are stir fry with bell pepper, broccoli, shiitake mushrooms, and edamame, pasta with artichokes, arugula, and white beans, and black bean tostadas (I'll have to post this recipe one of these days). I have some tasty meals in mind for this coming week so I'll be sure to have at least one new recipe for you all soon!

Earlier this month I posted about my new Nathan water bottle for running. Yesterday, on a positively gorgeous 65 degree morning, I got a chance to give it a test drive on a 6.5 mile run. Overall, this is a really good water bottle. First and foremost, it holds more than enough liquid (about 20 ounces) for really long runs. The sport top is easy to use, even while running. The fit around my hand was snug and comfortable, and the sweat wicking strap worked well. My only complaint was that the inside of my hand (around the bottle) got pretty sweaty. Over the course of the run I had to remove the bottle twice to wipe the sweat off my hand so the bottle wouldn't slide (sorry for the gross details). However, to be fair, I'm not sure how any water bottle would really deal with this issue. Overall, the bottle was comfortable, didn't negatively affect my running at all, and I was really happy to be able to have a swig of water every couple of miles.

I will leave you with a quick recipe tonight. After a strength training workout or a long run, it's really important to get a hit of protein and carbs to help your muscles recover. This smoothie hits the spot with just 3 ingredients. Feel free to add other supplements that you like to include in your diet. Flax oil or maca powder are my additions of choice.

Chocolate Banana Protein Smoothie
-1 cup vanilla almond milk
-1 serving chocolate flavored protein powder (any kind will do; rice, soy, hemp, etc.)
-1 frozen banana

-Add the ingredients to a blender and blend on high until well combined and smooth. Add any supplements you like and blend to combine. Serve right away.