Hi hi hi!! Wow, today was an exciting day around the blogosphere.

First, it started off with Caitlin’s amazingness on The Today Show. Wow, did that girl rock it. I was 100% impressed. Just lovely.

Second, the Healthy Living Summit chatter was non-stop today! Emails, chats, tweets! I’m getting so excited :)

Third, I was talking to ThenHeatherSaid about packing for HLS and somehow we got to talking about height. I had NO CLUE that she is 5’10”!! Did you know that HealthyAshley is 5’10” as well?? I got a LOT of “height” tweets today and it was fun to learn how tall everyone really is. How tall would you guess that I am? A lot of people thought I was 5’7”…nope, I’m just over 5’4”!

Okay, time for food.

I am entering the Stonyfield Smoothie contest for the Healthy Living Summit. This is my favorite 5 ingredient smoothie, for a few different reasons.

I started with 1c of Stonyfield Oikos Greek Yogurt [plain] to pack in a good amount of protein to start off my day. I love how low in sugar Oikos is. Then I add 2T organic [whole foods] peanut butter. This adds healthy fats, more protein, and a little fiber. Adding nuts or nut butter to my breakfast, really helps keep me satiated.

I like fruity smoothies, but they can be really high in sugar. Even though it’s all naturally occurring sugars, I try to keep my sugar intake low in the morning. If there was one fruit I had to put in every smoothie, it would be a banana. They provide a decent amount of fiber and potassium and are more filling than other fruits.

What better way to start your day than with a vegetable. Spinach is FULL of health benefits and will leave you feeling clean + energized. Perfect for the morning! The best part is, you can’t taste it at all.

Add some ice + let ‘er rip!

Disclosure: This entry is for the Healthy Living Summit Stonyfield Smoothie Contest. Stonyfield is a sponsor of the Summit, but not this contest.

Peanut Butter Banana Oikos Green Smoothie

2 handfuls ice [~1+ cup]
1c plain organic Stonyfield Oikos Greek Yogurt
2T organic creamy peanut butter
1 organic frozen banana
2-3c organic spinach

Add ingredients in this order. Yogurt + Peanut Butter + Banana + Ice + Spinach
Blend away until creamy + smooth.

*You can also blend the yogurt + spinach together first, until smooth. Then blend in all other ingredients.

Enjoy in a bowl.

Or in a mug.

Fresh + delicious. Healthy + filling. What could be a better way to start your morning?

Smoothie Stats:

cals – 350
sugar – 26g
fiber – 7g
protein – 33g
fat - 15g

Green smoothie bloopers!

I should have poured it from the mug –> bowl instead of bow –> mug. FAIL.

Two extremely generous blog readers, sent me packages of the new Larabars today!!

Andi + Miriam, thank you ladies SO SO much!! I really appreciate it!

I dug into the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough first. They were a little melty and at first I loved the chocolate chip gooeyness. However, overall the flavor was on the bland side + after eating half I had to stop because of how sweet it was! I have heard a few others say these have been too sweet as well. I can’t wait to try the rest though.

I made a summery lunch today and had Ann over to share it with.

Are these not the more adorable things ever?

Even their shadows are cute. hehe

Here is the recipe. Nothin’ fancy.

Couscous + Roasted Veg

1 pint cherry/grape tomatoes
1c dry couscous
1 green zucchini
1 patty pan squash [or yellow squash]
4 stalks of kale, washed + de-stemmed
2 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil
s+p

Roast zucch + maters at 350* with a little olive oil, s+p. ~25min
Add in chopped kale for another ~15min.
Bring 1.25c water to boil with 1T olive oil.
Add in 1c dry couscous, turn off heat, cover + let sit for 5min.
Heat a sautee pan over medium with olive oil. Add in 2 cloves minced garlic + baby shrooms. Cook about 5min.
Fluff couscous with fork.
Combine in a bowl and top!

Toppings:

goat cheese
pepitas
equal parts: olive oil + fresh lemon juice + red wine vinegar

Then Ann and I did a little shopping over on Broadway, but I found NOTHing. Shopping fail! However, the ice cream from Sweet Action made up for it!! They have the most amazing flavors.

Blackberry Lavender!!! I know that sounds kind of intense but the lavender was subtle. I can’t even explain how delicious this was.

When I got home, I finally got to video gchat with one of my FAV’s!!!

Ashley!! <3 We had sooo much fun chatting. It was exciting to actually talk with her, rather than just email. I admire her for all that she does with her blog, while maintaining a full time job and training for marathons. She astonishes me. Her recipes are stellar, writing is superb, and photography is amazing. I just love her style. Wish we lived closer!