Hi, friends!

So now that I’m home, I’m thinking of ways to stay motivated to workout.  At school, I took fitness classes, worked out with friends, and had a gym right down the hall.  Now that I’m home for good (so sad…) I am excited to re-do some of my old go-to home workouts.  Like…last weekend I went for a 6 mile run through my old stomping grounds.  It was 79 and perfectly sunny, which made for a beautifully sweaty workout!  Want to know what’s been motivating me to get out there and get in a good workout?  The TAN that comes with an hour-long workout outside.  I’ve been asked by multiple people “where did you go on vacation?” since I have a “bikini tan”.  Little do they know, that’s a tank top tan from long runs and Nike Training Club workouts outside.  Hey, motivation is motivation.  For the next few weeks, I’ll probably do some fun workouts in the backyard, go on runs with friends to catch up, and of course, make it to the gym.  This summer is dedicated to training harder, and better!  And in order to do so, I need to #fuelmybetter.

Anyways, backing up to last Sunday.  Once I got back from my run, I was hungry, sweaty, and tired.  I was recently sent Vega Sport Recovery Protein to try out from the good people at Vega Sport.  I’ve been eager to give protein powder a try for a long time because after my workouts, I usually eat whatever’s around, instead of something to build my muscles back up.  Protein powder can be expensive, and as someone that doesn’t like gritty protein, I didn’t want to shell out the mulla for something I wasn’t going to use.  When I got offered some samples of their protein powder, I jumped on the opportunity!

I was sent 12 packets of vanilla protein powder, which has 131 calories and 26 g of protein per packet.  That’s pretty significant, especially with only 2.8 g of sugar- a HUGE bonus!

I tried to drink it with just water, but to be honest, I just couldn’t get over the texture.  My friend tried it and he said that’s just how protein powder is, so I can assure you it’s no different than standard protein powders.  I’m just a big baby 🙂

Not wanting to waste the mixture, I blended up a strawberry, banana and yogurt smoothie and added the vanilla protein powder.

Muuuuuch better, and definitely up my alley!  It was still gritty, but the vanilla flavor added a nice touch and with 26 grams of protein, I definitely can’t complain.  I liked that it was quick and easy to make after a workout, and provides my muscles with the protein they need after a run + NTC workout.

Strawberry-Banana Protein Smoothie

Blend everything:

• 1 frozen banana
• 3 strawberries (about 1/2 cup)
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 packet/scoop Vega Sport Recovery Protein
• 1 Tbs peanut butter

I’ve made a couple more smoothies since last weekend, so I have about 9 packets left, so I’m thinking protein oatmeal, peach-strawberry protein shakes, and protein energy balls.  Maybe I can work myself up to drinking it plain?  Until then, Vega protein-packed snacks is the way to go!  It’s how I #fuelmybetter.  How do you?