Why I love juices & smoothies

July 9, 2014

Ahh, summertime. All you wanna do is be at the beach or by a pool and sipping something cool and refreshing.

A simple green smoothie

My go to for hot weather is definitely juices and smoothies! Sadly I do not have a juicer and cannot make my own juices (one day I will own a juicer!) but I do have an awesome blender and love experimenting with different smoothie combos. Smoothies and juices are wonderful as you can pack them full of nutrient dense fruit and veg. As much as I love salads and chomping away on fresh fruit, it’s really nice to have a small snack which is full of goodness and also easy to take on the road with me if I have a particularly busy day.

Healthy Juices and Smoothies

Suja ‘Glow’ juice – my fave on the go companion!

‘The Hulk’ juice from Vive Juicery, Salt Lake City – contains blue-green algae!

Although I love both juices and smoothies, there is a slight difference to the two. Juices do not contain the fiber of the fruit which can make it easier on your digestive system, but you obviously do not get the benefits of fiber (which include keeping you full, keeping your bowels moving hehe and lots of other good stuff). Smoothies on the other hand do contain the fiber of the fruit and veg, but they are a little bit heavier on the stomach, but not by much as the fruits and veggies are still easily digestible since they have been blended up. It really depends on your preference whether or not to choose a smoothie over a juice or vice versa, but both are great options. The best way to enjoy a juice or a smoothie is to of course make your own, but time does not always allow! When choosing a smoothie or a juice, the most important thing to look at is the ingredients list. Make sure that the smoothie or juice contains nothing but a dairy or non dairy base, fruits and veg. If you see something like ‘sugar, cane sugar’ or etc, run!! Many juices and smoothies are already so naturally sweet from the fruit in it that there is simply no need to add any more sugar. So avoid brands that do. My juice brands are definitely Suja Juice and Project Juice as they do not have any added sugar in them.

Greenhopping is a fabulous app that lets you locate green juice bars, so definitely make sure to download it when you can.

Turmeric Mylk is so yummy and unique!

Mmm, my fave Project Juice drink

The juice that made me loves beets again 😀

Okay soooo if you want to make your own smoothie, I can definitely help with that. Sadly, I do not have my own juicer but I have found that a lot of juice places let you choose your own blend of juice and what to put in which is really cool.

Anyway, the basics of making a smoothie are:

the base liquid (this could be water, coconut water, brewed green tea, milk, coconut milk, unsweetened almond milk or another of your choice)
fruit (I prefer to use frozen fruit in a smoothies; choose away from any fruit such as bananas, strawberries, blueberries. Dates are a yummy addition too)
vegetables (optional, but makes the smoothie so much better; choose from cucumber, leafy greens such as spinach, kale, romaine lettuce and etc)
healthy fats (optional; choose from natural peanut butter, coconut oil, avocado, flax seeds, chia seeds and etc)
protein powder (optional for those looking for a more filling smoothie, I use vanilla whey protein powder)
citrus (lemon juice, lime juice, oranges and etc)

So there you have it! Feel free to add anything else your heart desires. I have seen some pretty unique additions to smoothies such as spirulina, chlorella and maca powder. The world is your oyster when it comes to smoothies. My favorite smoothie is pictured below and is made up of frozen bananas, unsweetened almond milk, lime juice, spinach, and vanilla whey protein powder topped with fresh mango.

I hope you enjoyed this post! I love making, drinking and buying these healthy juices and smoothies, and I just wanted to share with you all why I loved them as much as I do. If you already make juices or smoothies, what is your fave combination?

Honestly yours,
Alice

Sunday Summary

Salt Lake City

July 6, 2014

I have officially been on holiday for a week now, and I am now in Salt Lake City, Utah! This is my first mini ‘holiday’ since going back to Thailand last summer, and it feels great to be somewhere new.

As most of my close friends already know, my boyfriend got accepted into the bioengineering PhD program at the University of Utah which therefore meant that he was going to move to Salt Lake City. I decided to tag along for the car trip and to stay with him in the city for a few weeks before going back to work and starting up classes again. The drive took us through Northern California (through Sacramento and Lake Tahoe area), across Nevada (the most amount of empty I have ever seen in my life), and then through the Utah salt flats. It was pretty rough though; my boyfriend drove the u-haul and I drove his car. It was a 10 hour drive overall (although we stayed overnight at a town called Elko in Nevada at the 7 hour mark) and I just cannot believe I did such a long drive, by myself effectively!

Driving through California – so pretty

Nevada during the afternoon

Nevada before sunset – same view several hundred miles later lol, but prettier now

Border of Nevada and Utah, finally!

Thoughts so far? IT’S SO HOT! Far hotter than the Bay Area, but about the same temperature as California’s central valley but quite a bit drier. I literally HAD to buy sunscreen because I was getting sunburnt from spending half an hour in the sun!! But hey, at least I finally get to tan, something which was so not going to happen in San Francisco. We went to a fun 4th of July celebration in Sugarhouse park and saw some beautiful fireworks.

I have been blown away so far by the range of cuisine available in Salt Lake City. I was kind of expecting 1 Thai and Chinese place to be honest haha. We have tried a few restaurants so far and they have all been really good. Red Iguana was an amazing Mexican restaurant with a whole range of mole’s, and Skewered Thai did a pretty good job of serving up relatively authentic and tasty Thai food. OMG and they have Rubio’s, yaaay!

I also didn’t realize this before but Salt Lake City has a really big focus on health and fitness, so happy!! We went to a farmer’s market in downtown Salt Lake City and it was honestly better than any farmer’s market I have been too in California. Although my one criticism would be that there wasn’t a big range of vegetables. There are tons of gyms, yoga and pilates studio’s around the city, and 3 Whole Foods!! There are also a few Lululemon’s here and so I attended one of their free yoga Sunday classes (which was awesome).

I think these next few weeks will be really fun and full of me exploring the city and doing fun and fit-related activities. Hopefully I can avoid holiday weight-gain 🙂

Have any of you ever been to Salt Lake City? Or do any of you live here? I would love some tips or suggestions on what to see or do!

Honestly yours,
Alice xxx

Fitness

Beginner’s Circuit Workout

July 3, 2014

What a treat I have in store for all of my readers who are new to, or at a beginner’s exercise level…a beginners circuit workout! My lovely friend Ben Coffin, who is a personal trainer, kindly shared a workout that is perfect for beginner’s. This workout will not only strengthen and tone your muscles, but because you will be performing them in a circuit style, you will get in cardio as well since your heart rate will be kept high. Ben is currently based in Newcastle in the UK so if you are looking for a personal trainer then do not hesistate to contact him at ben.g.coffin@hotmail.com 🙂

Beginners circuit workout

Circuit workouts are an extremely effective way of getting toned and fit fast because of their incorporation of fat burning cardio and muscle toning strength. Kayla Itsines workouts are all circuit based, and you can see how effective her workouts are (and her body shows it)! This beginner’s circuit workout works a whole range of muscles as opposed to just one or two. I am sure you will be feeling sore the day after you give this a go!

Always remember to do a 5 minute warm-up before you workout. This could be a brisk walk, some jump rope or even jumping jacks – something to get your heart rate up and to prepare your body for some hard work. For the workout, you will complete the full repetitions of each exercise, with no rest until you complete the circuit (if you must rest please limit it to a few seconds). Try and complete the exercises as quickly as you can with the CORRECT FORM. If you are unfamiliar with the exercises, do yourself a favor and youtube how to do them. Correct form is vital in ensuring you are engaging and working the correct muscles.

Once you complete the circuit, repeat it 2-3 times with a 1-2 minute rest between each set. Once you complete the circuit workout, please take 5-15 minutes to fully stretch out your muscles. If you fail to stretch properly after your workouts, you run the risk of injuring yourself during your next workout. Stretching helps promote flexibility and lengthens muscles that may have become very tight during your workout. You don’t want to end up with tight muscles that make you look stumpier or hunched do you?!

With all of that said and done (I hope you read it THOROUGHLY!), here is the workout! I realize that in the photo’s I am not using a weight, but that is purely because I did not have one to use during these photos. Please use a 5-10 pound weight if the exercise requires it 🙂

1. Shoulder presses with the resistance bands – 10 reps