**Fitness Friday, Week #15!**

TGIF! I am so excited for the weekend and am hoping we get out to the lake again tomorrow. The weather will be a bit cooler out here by the shore, but the lake should be about 80! I'd just love to anchor out the sailboat and bask in the sun allllll day.

<center> <a href="http://sweettea-lemonade.blogspot.com"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq1uAYw7I8SopyaTFw-WjNGx4Z71i0oPidChSZGfP5vxFstcmMbdXmjY1IYuBSHSQLJEq0GYOGZ3G2pMX6c9ZuQyh8LnOzKIf83ehbNwYjGqqVwsrMJymn6Y46EJVz_vBSgzGjhrMxDgI/s320/running3.jpg" /></a></center>

Hope you all had a healthy week, I'm feeling pretty good about mine! Let's go -

Monday - Body Pump

Tuesday - Body Attack

Wednesday - Body Pump

Thursday - off

Friday - Run

The past couple days have been a little crazy so I haven't had a chance to complete my meal planning for next week, but I will definitely post it later today when I have a chance.

One thing that I've been wanting to post about for a while are Protein Shakes. I start each morning off with a delicious fruit smoothie and I always add about one scoop of vanilla whey protein. I used to drink OJ every morning with my breakfast, but I find that by having a fruit smoothie, it satisfies my craving for something fruity and sweet and it can serve as a whole healthy breakfast as well. 

Here are a couple of my go-to recipes for my morning shakes:

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Strawberry Mango Vanilla Protein Smoothie

1/4-1/2 cup frozen mango pieces

1/4-1/2 cup frozen strawberries (or raspberries)

1 cup light vanilla soy milk

1 scoop vanilla whey protein

Strawberry (or Raspberry) Banana Vanilla Protein Smoothie

1/4-1/2 cup frozen strawberries (or raspberries)

1/4-1/2 banana

1 cup light vanilla soy milk

1 scoop vanilla whey protein

Mixed Berry Vanilla Protein Smoothie

1/4-1/3 cup frozen strawberries

1/4-1/3 cup frozen raspberries

1/4-1/3 cup frozen blueberries

1 cup light vanilla soy milk

1 scoop vanilla whey protein

(all measurements are approximate, I usually just eyeball it. once you make them a couple times, you'll know how much you need to add of each ingredient :)

I sometimes pop the frozen fruit into the microwave for about 20 seconds then add the soy milk and protein. It makes it a lot easier to blend (I used a hand mixer and it fits perfectly into the Tervis tumbler that I mix it in :)

Protein shakes are a great way to get some extra protein in your diet especially when you are working out a lot during the week. I also find that one shake will keep me full until about 11:00 am; at that point, I'll have a small handful of nuts to hold me over until lunch. This little plan of mine has been working out great and I've also noticed that since I get in a good breakfast, I don't overeat at lunchtime.

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Between S and I, our favorite protein to use is Optimum Nutrition. I use the Natural Vanilla flavor for my fruit smoothies, but we also have the Double Chocolate flavor as well. They are both awesome. I am very picky when it comes to this kind of stuff because I can taste artificial sweetener a mile away. Some of the Optimum Nutrition flavors do have Sucralose, but others do not have any artificial sweeteners (including the Natural Vanilla and Double Chocolate.)

The trainer that I worked out with previously also highly recommended this brand of protein. He said when choosing protein, whey is best and to make sure that it has at least 20+ grams of protein, low sugar, and low carbs. You don't want to be adding any unnecessary sugar or fat into an otherwise healthy shake.

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Recently, Optimum Nutrition sent me a couple samples to try out. The flavors are new and delicious! I tried the Cinnamon Graham Cracker flavor and I let S test out the Chocolate Peanut Butter flavor because I'm not a huge PB fan. I figured he would be a better judge for that one. We loved them both although I wasn't really sure what to mix with the Cinnamon Graham Cracker besides just plain water or soy milk (I usually never use water, bleh.) S LOVED the Chocolate Peanut Butter flavor as well and I see him buying more of that in the near future.

You can find ON protein powders everywhere including GNC. I usually order from Amazon, but you can also order from Bodybuilding.com or the online store at OptimumNutrition.com.

Do any of you drink protein shakes regularly? What are some of your favorite flavors and smoothie recipes???

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