Hey 2018! We’re back from our holiday break and looking forward to lots of fun to come this year! The beginning of the year always starts out with a lot of planning and we’re really excited about some of the projects we have on the calendar this year!! But we’re easing into this first week with a little healthy motivation for you – because that’s what’s currently happening in my life, so you get to hear about it.
So I’ve decided to do a (mostly) no-(refined) sugar January again! Far too many indulgences over the holidays have left me feeling pretty bleh. And I’m kind of an all or nothing girl, meaning I’ve got to go pretty strict with restrictions or I end up just not doing anything. A generic, I’ll eat healthier means I’ll eat healthier for a couple days and then drop it. But for some reason, saying no-refined sugars helps me to not just avoid those foods, but also eat a lot healthier overall, for a longer period of time. I did this a couple years ago and tracked it here on the blog and that was really motivating for me, so I thought I’d do it again.
Basically working on three things:

• no refined sugars (I have tiny cheats here or there, not desserts, just occasionally some salad dressing or something like that that has a little bit of sugar in it that I don’t get too worked up about).
• healthier eating – low carb intake, low greasy food intake.
• exercising – umm, that’s been tough the last couple weeks for me. It’s been single digit temps, and I’m not good about indoor exercising, so that hasn’t been happening a lot.

It’s pretty much exactly what I did a couple years ago, so you can read back on those posts if you’re wanting more details. Feel free to join in on making some healthier changes – I’ll try to check in weekly with where I’m at and how I’m doing with my eating & exercising.
And now on to the recipe. My usual breakfast is 2 eggs. And coffee. But sometimes I gotta shake that up and have something different, so smoothies are a good option. I loved this one, mainly because of the cinnamon, but after Caitlin & the boys tried it, I realized that my obsession with cinnamon is not everyone’s thing; so I reduced the amount or you can just leave it out entirely if it’s not your thing. This smoothie is an easy, healthy breakfast or afternoon treat!Blueberry Spinach Smoothie

1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup spinach
1/2 frozen banana, cut into slices
3/4 cup milk
1/2 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Drink immediately.
If you’re looking for more healthy breakfast options, here’s a couple good ones to try: Chai Berry Smoothie | Frozen Greek Yogurt & Fruit Bark | Strawberry Banana Popsicles | Blueberry Mint Green Smoothie.

-Manda

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