Happy Friday everyone! I will be heading to Mohegan Sun this weekend for a friend’s 25th birthday…I’m excited to have some dinner, drinks, and fun with friends 🙂 Sometimes you need to splurge a little, and that’s ok! I used to get down on myself for eating an unhealthy meal out or not being able to hit the gym. But I’ve come to realize that you need to live your life and not let these things worry you (thanks to the AA Bikini Body program for further emphasizing that!) Just plan the rest of your week around it – go to the gym on the days you can, eat well during the week, make your own meals at home, and then enjoy a night out. We all deserve it!
Speaking of the AA Bikini Body program (which I raved about here), there is now a Facebook support group for anyone who is part of the program. I’m obsessed with it! Every day I go on and see tons of motivating posts, recipe ideas, and successes/struggles from real girls. I can ask questions or advice from others and even Amanda and Ander will respond, as well as post workout selfies like the rest of us! I just love it. I’m not saying that you need to buy a workout/nutrition program to see results, because I know you can do it all on your own. But I have to admit that having a workout guide to follow, a nutritionist and fitness expert on hand, and a boatload of motivated ladies only a click away helps me when I need motivation or advice. These girls are so POSITIVE and I love it (clearly)!
The other night I was having a serious sweet craving. I don’t even think I was hungry, but I wanted something. And it needed to be chocolatey and delicious. Clearly my first thought was “ice cream! cookies! candy!” but I somehow convinced myself to put my thinking cap on and come up with something delicious and chocolatey yet also semi-healthy. So a protein shake it is! I had bought these yummy chocolate grahams to eat with my Arctic Zero, so I decided to use them to make a cookies and cream shake. It took some taste-testing and tweaking but the end result was yummy! It made a big glass and was under 300 calories…success 🙂
Cookies and Cream Protein Shake
Ingredients:
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1/2 cup plain/vanilla Greek yogurt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (omit if you use vanilla yogurt)
- 20 chocolate snack grahams (I like Horizon Organic)
- 1/3Â scoop vanilla protein powder (I like Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey Protein – Vanilla Ice Cream flavor)
- 8-10 ice cubes
Directions:
1.) Add ice to a blender and top with the rest of the ingredients. Then just blend! Add more grahams or protein powder to taste, depending if you want it more cookies-and-cream-y or more vanilla-y. Enjoy!
Nutrition Info (Per shake, from My Fitness Pal):
Full Permission Nutrition 