Green Elvis Protein Shake

In honor of St. Patrick's Day this coming weekend, Pretty Little Pantry is going GREEN! Well, I mean all green food that is. Wish me luck in my quest to come up with ideas for green food all week.

To start the week off I've decided to share my favorite after-gym treat. I like to call this delicious protein shake the "Green Elvis". As we all know, Elvis loved peanut butter and banana sandwiches and for good reason. Peanut butter and banana is possibly the greatest combination to ever be invented. So in honor of The King and his delicious sandwich I've named my favorite smoothie after him.

Now this smoothie is obviously much better for you than Elvis' favorite treat but I believe it tastes even better. Seriously. 

Ingredients:

1  Banana (it's even better if it's frozen)

1 Scoop Chocolate Whey Protein Powder

1/2 Cup 0% Greek Yogurt 

1 Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk (Or whichever you prefer)

2 Tbsp PB2

~4 Cups Spinach (I just fill the blender almost to the top with spinach)

Take all of the ingredients and just dump them in the blender and press the smoothie button. 

That's it. Enjoy. 

It's really really good. It makes about 2 large cups and it keeps you full for hours. 

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 641 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories  388 Calories from Fat  66

% Daily Value*

Total Fat  7.4g 11%

Saturated Fat  0.7g 4%

Trans Fat  0.0g

Cholesterol  20mg 7%

Sodium  666mg 28%

Total Carbohydrates  49.2g 16%

Dietary Fiber  9.7g 39%

Sugars  25.4g

Protein  40.1g

Vitamin A 237% • Vitamin C 73% Calcium 198% • Iron 67%

Nutrition Grade A

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

               What do you enjoy after a good workout?

My Happiness Project

I began writing this post yesterday fully ready to talk about my happiness project so far but I was having such a bad day. When a client yells at you so loudly in the hall that another client has to come out and calm him down you don't really feel like talking about being happy. Yesterday was just a bad day and I just didn't want to be happy, so instead of going to Zumba last night and getting a good workout in I decided to stay home, drink wine, and eat Chinese food (not the best choice). When I woke up this morning, mad at myself for skipping Zumba and consuming far too many calories instead or burning them, it hit me. I could allow my  bad day to continue and then just let it get worse or I can force myself to go to the gym, perk up and ultimately be happy.

  So as I continue my Happiness Project that I started in my last post, I began organizing my cluttered life. In Gretchen Rubin's book The Happiness Project January is all about vitality, becoming more energized and therefore getting more accomplished. I started this week off by tackling a couple of organizational issues around my apartment that have been bothering me. 

First I started off by cleaning up my vanity. I had recently seen a pin on Pinterest about using an ice cube tray for earring storage. Well I don't have an ice cube tray but I do have a clean, empty egg carton. I cut the top part off and slid it in my drawer. I sorted all my stud earrings and placed them in their own compartment of the egg carton. I also took all bobby pins and small hair clips and placed them in an old Altoids tin.

Then I began to "tackle a nagging task." I gathered all of my important documents, from my birth certificate, to anything required for tax season, to my monthly bills and filed them away in a milk crate from Office Depot. I even included a calendar so that I can mark my paydays and the days that all bills are due. 

In The Happiness Project Gretchen created twelve commandments to follow to increase her happiness. I might just want to add one. "Live in the now." Too many times I look back and think "Wow! Last year at this time I was having so much fun and now my life just isn't as great." But when I really think about it, that's probably not true at all and right now is pretty great. I just need to appreciate things as they are happening, rather than months later missing it. 

New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful, wild & crazy New Year's Eve!

I know that everyone is talking about what they are doing for their resolutions. Weight loss, quit smoking, walk more, they're all common resolutions people make every year. What I need this year is a complete shake up. A total 180 overhaul. As I mentioned in my last post, I've been reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. It has inspired me to start my own Happiness Project as my resolution.

I am in desperate need for a Happiness Project. I am rapidly approaching a quarter life crisis. I am terminally single and all of my friends are getting married and having kids (on purpose). I swear if I see one more engagement announcement I might go lose it. 

Having recently moved 3,000 miles from my hometown, I don't know anyone and working 8+ hours a day (realistically it's more like 9.5 hours) I hardly have time to go out and meet new people.

(For a better explanation of a quarter life crisis check this out. He's hilarious and completely spot on. In fact, I just recently bought myself a new Jeep without having any idea that it had anything to do with the fact that I am experiencing a quarter life crisis.)

Isn't she beautiful? I can't wait to take her to Lake Tahoe.

Gretchen Rubin outlined The Happiness Project by using each month as a different goal. January is probably the easiest month to follow, at least I think so.  

            

Go to sleep earlier.

Exercise better.
Toss, restore, organize.
Tackle a nagging task.
Act more energetic.

 I started by tackling my sleep process. There are far too many things that light up my room at night so I've started using an eye mask.  

I feel so very Audrey.

As for exercising, I'm off to Zumba tonight. I absolutely love Zumba and kick myself every week for skipping it but I resolve to make at least one class a week. As for organizing I will post all my pictures of the crazy OCD organizing that I've begun this week. The only negative I've had so far is that when I tried to accomplish the "Act more energetic" resolution I decided to down an extra large coffee this morning and now I'm all jittery and hyper. 

Are you planning on using some of Gretchen Rubin's Happiness Project Resolutions this year? Is anyone else feeling the crash of a quarter life crisis? Girl, keep me posted and maybe we can get through it together.