Tropical Bloat Blaster Smoothie

Iam currently in the middle of week 3 of my 12 week workout and I am amazed at the changes in my body! I literally don't care what the scale says anymore because all of my muscles feel strong and my body looks toned! I have slowly begun to introduce clean eating into my diet I can eat as much as I need of clean whole foods like vegetables, poultry, fruit, grains etc... it has seriously been life changing and I am loosing weight while having a full stomach... YES! Oh and that whole trick about shopping on the outside of the grocery store totally true that is where all of my meals are coming from these days! (I am kinda of proud of myself lol) All this being said and there is still one sensitive subject that I am dealing with... bloat, yeah it's for reals. There are many causes of bloat but for me I think it is dairy products, and sodium that bother me the most. If you experience bloat here are some helpful remedies. I never really paid attention to this aspect of my health until I started noticing that my body was beginning to look toned except for my stomach. Certain foods can help with bloat, here is an awsome tasting smoothie blend that I have found extremely effective! 

• 1 Banana
• 1 Orange
• 1.5 cup Frozen Pineapple Chunks
• 2 cups Light Fit Yogurt

Twin Falls // Northbend, WA

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esterday was a beautiful day in the Northwest so Paul and I decided to take advantage of it and go for a hike. I am not sure how much longer we will be living in Bellevue so we want to go on as many hikes as we can in the area. We headed over to Northbend and decided to go on the Twin Falls hike! I really loved this hike, the only thing I didn't really enjoy was the freeway noise on the first part of the hike but once you get deeper into the woods it starts to fade away. Also I should mention that the path that takes you all the way to the bottom of the falls is closed however, there is a bridge and an outlook that we were still able to get to. Like I have been mentioning I am trying to put more of an emphasis on my health and fitness this year, and going on hikes is a great way to achieve this. Today is the last day of my workout routine week 2 and I am moving on to week 3 and I am so excited! I feel so much stronger already! I am hoping that by the end of my routine Paul and I will be able to hike Mount Si we did the Little Si hike a few weeks ago and it was gorgeous! What are your fitness goals this year? If you are a fellow Pacific North-wester(?) what hikes do you love? 

Healthy Strawberry-Banana Smoothie

I started a new workout routine, and I have made it to my second week! I feel stronger and healthier already but last night I got a little crazy during my workout and pulled/strained my calf muscle. I think it is fine, but it feels like at any moment I am going to get a major charlie horse in my leg. I was looking up home remedies and of course it was suggested to eat a banana. I HATE bananas! To me they taste mushy and gross so I had to get creative. I decided to try to make a somewhat healthy smoothie using 1.5 bananas, cause honestly muscle cramps are the worst! Here is the recipe for my smoothie. 1.5 peeled banana, 5 whole strawberries, and 1 cup of honey-vanilla greek yogurt. Blend until liquified and there you go! It wasn't bad at all and I could totally stand the banana taste. The main reason I went a little nuts during my workout last night is because I have discovered some great music check out my top 10 workout songs below!

My Top 10 Workout Songs!

Animals - Martin Garrix

Chandelier (Plastic Plates Remix)

Feelings - Maroon 5

Five Hours (Deorro) 

Heart on Fire (feat. Elisabeth Troy)

Hideaway - Kiesza

I'm an Albatraoz (AronChupa)

Prayer In C (Robin Schulz Remix)

Some Chords (Dilon Francis Remix) - deadmau5

Sugar - Maroon 5

Coastal Time-Out | Pacific Beach, WA

When life gets rough I find myself wanting to press a nonexistant reset button unfortunately life just keeps moving forward, so what I find helpful is ducking out for a breather. This year has been very challenging in a number of ways and it has started to bog both Paul and I down. We decided that if we could find an affordable place to stay on the coast for a weekend that we would run away from life for a day. My family spends our holidays in Seabrook, Washington and we love it there so much! I gave Seabrook a call and was able to find a smaller inn they manage closer to the coast for an inexpensive rate SCORE! We loved it! It is called "The Sweet Alice Inn" The weather in Seattle has been AMAZING for February and although I am concerned what this means for the rest of the year in terms of a pending drought, we could not have picked a nicer weekend to runaway to the coast. 

This year I am trying to re-focus my attention on my health, spirituality, fitness, and emotional state. I think sometimes we can take for granted our emotional and mental health thinking that if our bodies are fit and healthy then everything else will just fall in line. I do not think that this is necessarily true and want to re-focus on my inner health and state of mind. So when things got a little crazy taking some time to reflect, cope, and reconnect was the healing that I needed. I would urge you to step back for a moment from your busy lives and take note of your inner health. Everyone has different ways of coping with stress, change, and this roller coaster called life but I would suggest the healing power of the Sea. When you get to the beach you may want to take a reflective quiet approach to your activities  but in case you are stumped on what to do with your time at the beach check out my beach bucket list below! 

My Beach Bucket List

antiquing

beach fire pit

bike riding

bird watching

clamming

coffee and conversation

exercise

fireworks

hiking

horse back riding

kites

looking for shells

photography

pick up driftwood for DIY's

puppy play-time

quads or sand dunes

rest and relaxation

s'mores

sketching

spa

sparklers

star gazing

yoga

*Links provided are from our two favorite beaches Yachats, OR and Pacific Beach, WA

Little Si // Northbend, WA

The last few weeks have been challenging to say the least! I will leave it at that and move on. (Although that is why there have been no posts lately) Anyway, lets just say all of my expectations were shot down which is my own fault for even having them in the first place right? right. So today Paul and I decided to get out and enjoy the sunshine while it lasts. It has been so wonderful here in Seattle lately it was 61 degrees today! It's January seriously. We decided to hike Little Si in preparation for "one day" climbing Big Si. It was a fun hike about 5 miles round trip and if you have ever hiked Rattlesnake Ledge it is only a little more complicated with a just as gorgeous view from the top. I think that this is a great hike for beginners as long as you are prepared. It was pretty slippery and very treacherous in term of rocks, sticks, and debris laying in the path. So although I saw many people jogging, that's maybe not the best idea due to all the trip hazards. There were many dogs on the trail and plenty of opportunities to veer off and take a quick break. I totally recommend this hike for your next weekend outdoor adventure! 

* Little tip I am pretty sure we were supposed to have a Discover Pass for this hike you can purchase that >>> HERE

The Happiest 5K

I am so proud of my dad and I. We did our first 5k Run ever today and we survived. We are not in the best shape as of right now but we made a decision to try to live healthier life styles and well, The Color Run was one of the most recent outcomes. We had so much fun! I highly suggest doing The Color Run if you are a beginner it was challenging but totally do-able.

I am really excited to add new experiences to my life and now my dad and I have something we can do together again. It always revolved around the farm and horses in the past but now we have this.

I cannot wait until our next run, and I am just praying that I can stick to a better training routine to prepare. Some of the next races I am thinking about are:

NFL Kickoff Run

 Zombie Race 5K

The Neon Run

*** If you have any suggestions for beginner runners feel free to comment! ***