Friends & Indulgences

    About a month ago, I wrote a post about getting back on track after an indulgent weekend. I went to the beach with friends, and we drank and ate and ate and drank. So I wrote about my "process" of getting back into the swing of healthy habits.
    Today's post has a similar theme: indulgence. Isn't it great? Good food, good friends, and Trader Joe's wine! My friend Sarah came to visit, and we very much enjoyed local happy hour deals and wine and chocolate :)

Happy Hour, Day1 @ El Real Tex Mex: Delicious Prickly Pear Margaritas and Queso with Chorizo

Happy Hour, Day 2 @ Benjy's: Lychee Fizz, Blood Orange Margaritas, Hibiscus Daquiri. Goat Cheese Cakes

Day 3: Green Juice!

    We're all smart enough to know when we're going to stray from healthy eating habits. We know which circumstances cause us to indulge and which don't. So instead of focusing on how to "get back on track," I'm going to briefly talk about the things we can do in preparation for fun times :)

First, get in some great workouts before and during a trip. Sure, I went to two happy hours two days in a row. I also knew this would happen, so I planned my workouts accordingly. I planned two longer, challenging workouts in the few days right before Sarah came in town. I chose this placement because I knew this kind of workout wasn't going to happen while we were visiting! Over the past few days, my workouts were mostly cardio based, which is perfect because who wants to lift anything the morning after happy hour fun?

Second, keep moving! Sarah was here for about three days. I was able to workout each day and the two of us went on two walks around the neighborhood. This morning, we walked to breakfast to get green juice! (We also had the opportunity to walk a mile home after being stereotypically splashed by a large truck driving through a large rain puddle. It was a classy moment.)

Third, eat accordingly. We knew celebrating the end of Sarah's crazy study & work schedule would involve sugary drinks and not-so-great-for-you food. And that's fine. What we didn't do was make poor decisions the entire trip. Breakfast in the mornings was an apple with almond butter. Then it was time to go to the gym. Lunch was salad, loaded with lots of vegetables. Dinner wasn't great, but we definitely mitigated damage by making smart choices most of the time!

Fourth, know when it's time to be good. So many times, those of us trying to get back on track get stuck in a funk. We think Well, I ate so much crap yesterday that I can have another crap day today. I'll get back on track tomorrow. No excuses. Get back on track immediately. Like I mentioned earlier, Sarah and I walked to Juicy in the Sky this morning before she had to go to the airport. She had a juice made with spinach, kale, parsley, cilantro, apple, carrot, ginger, turmeric, and lime. I had a juice made with carrot, apple, ginger, lime, and mint. With a walk and vitamin & nutrient packed breakfast, our "back on track" day was already off to a great start!

I was inspired by the juice we had this morning, so for lunch I made a green smoothie! Well, green plus some bonus foods :) Ryan works late tonight, so I wanted this smoothie to actually hold me over between lunch and dinner 7 hours later. After looking through what ingredients I had available in the fridge, I came up with this Almond Avocado Green Smoothie, paleo friendly, of course :)

Ingredients:

1/2 avocado

1 small banana

1 cup frozen spinach

2 tablespoons almond butter

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/4 cup almond milk (I had unsweetened almond coconut milk on hand)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Blend with immersion blender and enjoy!

The avocado and almond butter in the smoothie will guarantee keep me full for a long time!

Next time, I might add some mint or ginger. I really enjoyed them in my juice this morning.

Question to readers: Do you have any strategies going into an indulgent meal or trip? I'd love to hear about them! Scroll all the way down to comment.

Good night!