Refreshed

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. -Lao Tzu

It’s amazing how refreshed and rejuvenated I feel after spending a  few hours in nature. Everything is so calm and peaceful clearing my mind takes almost no effort at all. We finally got a break after the long, cold Kentucky winter with 60 degree and sunny weather so I jumped at the chance to spend some time outdoors and headed to Raven Run for a hike. I absolutely love hiking, it is the perfect way to get outdoors and get some exercise in without it feeling like you are actually exercising. Not to mention the breathtaking scenery along the way.

After an intense (and muddy) 4.5 mile hike I felt relaxed and refreshed, exactly what I needed. I just wish this warm weather would stick around.

Post hike Caitlyn and I decided to refuel reward ourselves with some self serve soft serve ice cream @ The Orange Leaf a new soft serve place in town I have been dying to try!

The cute little store located in a strip mall had a funky laid back atmosphere which I loved.

When we arrived the guy working there gave us little cups to sample the flavors, and we took full advantage trying as many different flavors as we could.

There were so many to choose from!

My indecisiveness prevailed and I settled on a mixture of blueberry/plain swirl, coconut, and cake batter, topped with blueberries, coconut, and sprinkles. HOLY YUM the soft serve was soo rich and creamy and had awesome flavor, not too sweet at all!

Caitlyn chose red velvet and coconut topped with bananas, strawberries, coconut, and sprinkles haha she loved hers as well! After checking out their nutrition info online I discovered all of the flavors were relatively similar with around 30 cals/oz. My cup was about 7 ounces and I was definitely beyond satisfied for around 210 calories! I cannot wait to take Dutch to try this place out.

After Orange Leaf we stopped at Sam’s Club and I picked up two things of organic spinach and a big package of portobello mushrooms, my favorite! I also picked up the final necessities for my light box (which we WILL be making tonight Dutch promised)  at Lowes and a few random little things at Walgreens.

I got Dutch some shampoo, conditioner, and face wash all SLS, paraben, and petroleum free! I also grabbed this cute little tea mug for me

After my errands I was hungry again, my frozen yogurt didnt hold me over too long, so I whipped up a green monster using Sun Warrior protein which I have been wanting to try for awhile now!

The nutrition stats for this protein are awesome. Low in calories and sugar with an awesome 25g protein and 3 g fiber. It is also raw,vegan and easily digestible which makes it the perfect protein in my book.

Sun Warrior Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 C almond milk

4 C spinach

1/2 banana, frozen

1/3 c blueberries, frozen

1 T psyllium

1 t chia seed

1 scoop or packet Sun Warrior Vanilla

1 T almond butter, raw

3-4 ice cubes

Directions: Combine all ingredients beside chia in a blender and blend until smooth. Sprinkle top with chia seeds and drink!

All my super ingredients

blended up into this giant green smoothie. Soo good, I love the flavor of the vanilla protein, its not chalky at all and adds a subtle sweetness. I will definitely be buying a large bag when my current vanilla protein runs out!

Time to get some work done and cross some things off my to do list! I’m currently curled up on the couch drinking my new favorite tea out of my NEW MUG.  I love that this tea has a mild lemon and burdock root flavor, nothing nasty like normal liver detox teas and I still feel refreshed and clean after drinking it.

Questions:

Favorite protein powders? I like life’s basics green and unsweetened vanilla protein but am definitely interested in buying sun warrior in the future!

Favorite teas? The lemon detox from traditional medicinals as well as the true blueberry tea from celestial seasonings are the two I have been loving lately but I usually change my every few weeks!

Plans this weekend? AHH I can’t believe its already Thursday! I am not working tomorrow night so hopefully cooking a nice dinner and relaxing with Dutch. I am teaching a cooking class Saturday morning and working Saturday night. Dutch has continuing education stuff all weekend so we will both be pretty busy!  Oh AND building a light box tonight woop woop!

Have a wonderful afternoon!