Good morning!
Today is hot and sticky in Orlando. Just walking to the gym got me sweatin’ this morning and the sun wasn’t even up yet!
Workout
Today’s workout began with 20 minutes on the elliptical. I talked with Ryan while watching the weekly weather forecast on the news and it looks like the heat will be unrelenting for the next couple of days. At least I prefer hot to cold!
Following my time on the elliptical, I took a BodyPump class. I was one lucky lady today because the woman next to me was a grunter and counted the reps aloud in a gruff, breathy voice. So I threw a six-pound dumbbell at her and she knocked it off. 
Walk
After our time at the gym was done, Ryan and I walked home and I leashed up Sadie for a walk around the lake near our apartment.
Doesn’t it look muggy? The air is thick today!
As Sadie and I were walking, I saw sprinkler after sprinkler watering the sidewalks around the lake.
Sadie treats sprinklers like they’re hot lava and goes waaay out of her way to avoid them, pulling me along with her.
I’m not sure who declared it National Water the Sidewalk Day in Orlando, but I’m pretty sure this particular holiday should be vetoed ASAP.
Breakfast
When Sadie and I arrived home from our walk, the air conditioning in our apartment didn’t do much to cool me off, so a smoothie bowl for breakfast was my Plan B for beating the heat.
In today’s smoothie:
- 1 1/4 c. almond milk
- 1 large frozen banana
- 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
- 2 handfuls fresh spinach
- 1 1/2 tbsp. cocoa powder
- 1 tsp. xanthan gum
These will never get old!
Clearly smoothies have been my go-to breakfast for the past month, but previously I was all about bagelwiches, yogurt bowls and egg sandwiches. My love for different breakfast foods comes and goes… often with the seasons!
I can’t wait for Christmas when I eat only Christmas cookies for breakfast throughout the month of December.
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I never understand why sidewalks need to be watered. Or why lawns need to be watered when it’s just rained. Occasionally I’ll see sprinklers on in the rain…such a waste!!
Totally agree with the seasonal food thanggg – I always crave colder things in the summer and smoothies are definitely my go-to 🙂 I’ve actually been peeking at your smoothie recipes! Do you have a fave combo of all time?
Enjoy your morning and stay out of the nasty weather, bleh!
That park in Orlando looks beautiful–I made your exact smoothie yesterday and I can’t wait to make it again today…it’s so good!
I love your smoothie recipes. I’ve been looking for Xantham Gum at the supermarket, but I can’t find it. What aisle is it usually in?
i find it with the organic products or near gluten-free goods.
Haha cookies for breakfast are a must at Christmas! 🙂
I need to re-try putting spinach in my smoothies. Last time I did I felt like there was a funny after taste- kind of bitter…any suggestions?
oh no! really? hmm… did you use protein powder or greek yogurt (flavored NOT plain)? those usually help to mask the flavor. the only other thing i can think is to UP the portion of fruit/protein/yogurt and decrease the spinach portion (maybe to one SMALL handful) to see if that helps. i honestly never taste even a hint of spinach.
Actually I don’t think I used either because it was for a snack…probably not one of my best ideas haha. I’ll definitely have to try it again because anyway to sneak in more veggies = awesome
I would go with the protein powder over the yogurt – the calcium in the yogurt interferes with iron absorption and can stop you getting all the yummy nutrients from spinach!
Good luck with smoothie-makin! 🙂
I plan to get my body pump class in tonight. I hope it’s a good one!
It’s a bit cool here this morning, so I’m soaking it up before we’re back up into the 90’s!
Koda is scared of sprinklers, too 🙂
i think it’s so funny! sadie is the world’s biggest baby though, so i guess it shouldn’t surprise me.
Our weather last week was like that. Very muggy, humid and insanely hot. This week it’s cooled down quite a bit. Stay cool! 🙂
ohh it does look muggy – reminds me of growing up on the east coast!
Hope you have a great day! 🙂
im such a seasonal bfast eater too!!.. over the winter it was oats and now its toast with a banana and pb!.. crispy and light- and yummy!
I’m glad you shut that woman up. 🙂 Grunters scare me.
Smoothies are a perfect summer breakfast!
I think smoothies are a must in the summer months! Luckily we can make them at home, or else you and I would be broke from buying them at restaurants all the time!
I usually have smoothies in the afternoon, but now you have me craving one this morning! Plus it’s been hot here in northern California lately – it will be perfect. 🙂
Ugh.. hate thick and muggy weather. Fortunately, it hasn’t been that bad here THIS week.. unseasonably cold actually. We went from 100 degrees last Thursday – to a high of 58 yesterday! Weird.
You are inspiring me to get my mornings started earlier! Goodness, I’m 5 hours ahead of you and have done probably half of what you’ve already accomplished, haha.
Sadie is so cute, I just love the photos of her. 🙂
Although I am from south FLorida originally and I love it, sometimes I am glad I escaped and moved up to NYC to escape the thick humidity! We still get pretty crazy humidity up here too though, yuck.
Good thing you have a delicious smoothie bowl to cool ya down!
I have been enjoying smoothies too! I have been sipping on a delicious coconut almond green smoothie for breakfast and the past couple nights, had the same thing for dinner! I love summer time smoothies & I agree, they never get old..there is always a new flavor to make!!
Have a wonderful day!
Mmmm that smoothie looks like the best way to cool off! It’s a little warmer here today too, but not too hot. I hate it when the air feels thick or damp!
Hey Julie.. I had a quick question. When you don’t put your protein in your smoothies, what are some other ways you use it? If I don’t drink a smoothie in the morning, I won’t use it. Any ideas would be wonderful!
As always, I LOVE the blog… I have awkwardly read back to the days before you and Ryan were married 🙂
Have a great week!
stir a bit into oatmeal! it’s SO good that way and adds even more flavor to a bowl of oats!
Oatmeal and soup were my foods of seasons past. Now it’s on to cereal, yogurt bowls and salads!!
Despite them getting the sidewalks unnecessarily wet, those sprinklers could be very refreshing!
I do like the heat too but I cannot stand muggy, That’s why I’ll probably never live in the south.
I was wondering the same thing.. Why on earth do sidewalks need sprinklers.. such a wast of water :s
I have been noticing sidewalk-watering lately in my neighbourhood while I’ve been out for a run. So annoying! Not only is it totally unnecessary and a waste of water, but having to avoid them is annoying as well.
I go through phases with my breakfasts too! Right now I am on a PB + banana bagel kick…last week it was oatmeal!
Hmmm . . . as a structural engineer, the only time that concrete needs to be watered is as it’s curing and setting. After that, I mean it could still dry out and crack, but watering the sidewalk seems a bit excessive.
Every time I see one of your smoothies, I want to leave my office and run home so I can use the blender to make one that looks exactly like yours. They never get old!
Hey Julie – Quick question as I attempt to recreate one of those amazing smoothies… What brand/type of protein powder do you use?
Loove smoothies on a hot day!!!! 😀
Haha! Way to toss those dumbbells girl. There’s a guy in my yoga class that sounds like he’s snoring when he takes deep breaths. Too bad there’s nothing to throw in yoga! :p
Just wanted to say thanks to you and Courtney on Sweet tooth, Sweet life, I finally got my xantham gum, and chia seeds, and have been putting them into my smoothies! 🙂
Now, I’m searching for the right smoothie straw and cup!
My dog hates sprinklers and usually just stands there wimpering when he can’t figure out how to get around them. It’s so pitiful!
Coincidentally, I had one of those smoothie bowls for breakfast too! Definitely a nice treat with the muggy middle TN weather, too. 😉
Gym grunters are the worst!!! I sometimes think they are funny for awhile but then they just get obnoxious..
Reading of the heat makes me just a little bit warmer in my ice cold office. Maybe I’ll describe in detail so you can feel the cool as well…. It was a mere 54 degrees when I left the house this morning, cold dew covered the grass and chilled my toes, my office was set at 70* when I walked in, I promptly upped it to 73* and snuggled in at my desk which just happens to reside directly under a cooling vent. The water in the cooler is just much too cold to consume. I just made some tea to warm myself up….any cooler yet? Its like that episode of Recess when they imagine being in the blizzard on the super hot day? Yeah, maybe not.
Oh Julie, that smoothie looks like it’s begging for a lil peanut butter granola action on top!
That smoothie looks fantastic!!
I have a fairly new blog and I’d love if you could check it out and maybe add me to your blogroll?
Let me know and I will add you too (:
xo
Em
http://pureglowsixteen.blogspot.com
I also think you’d like this! =)
http://pureglowsixteen.blogspot.com/2011/06/homemade-nutella-wait-i-mean-rawtella.html
I have also been on a hard-cord smoothie kick lately! It’s so funny how we go through these phases. Sometimes I’m all about oatmeal, sometimes smoothies, sometimes…well, those are the only two things, actually 🙂
That’s right! You show that grunting bodypump-er who’s boss!!
Hahaha, the rep-counter. I HATE that. Messes up my mojo!
My dogs would have loved National Water the Sidewalk Day! They love water but are total wimps when it comes to walking in the heat.
Okay – i’m sure i’ve missed this but what time do you wake up?! I feel like you have such full mornings before work!
i wake up at 5 a.m. 🙂
I have totally been eating a spinach smoothie every morning for b-fast too! best way to cool down 🙂
That’s so strange to see sidewalks being watered… what a waste of money! Crazy people!
You have such nice, long mornings! So jealous 🙂
New commenter! Aghh I lived in Miami for a period of time for college, I don’t know how you deal with the humidity. I HATED being sticky all of the time. Brutal!
Awe everytime I hear your stories about Sadie it makes me want to go buy a puppy :). I just had an awesome smoothie bowl for lunch since my sweet tooth was screaming at me lol. I added “walnut flavoring” whoever created that stuff was pure genius I gotta say!
Your smoothie look delicious! You say Sadie hates the sprinklers, but doesn’t she love the water? My dog loves the water/swimming and has her own kiddy pool she will lay in for hours if it’s hot. Yet she is the biggest baby if she gets sprayed with the hose for a bath or even if you are just filling up her pool. Makes no sense!
When we lived in Florida that would drive me nuts with all the broken sprinklers pointed in the wrong direction! The water wasted must be immense! It also bothered me there was no way to manually stop the sprinklers if it had just rained!
ok so you are changing my life! I love doing an interval treadmill workout everyday b/c of YOU! (i run about 30 – 35 miles a week) I love making smoothie bowls everyday b/c of YOU! This morning’s “yo-bo” contained banana; blueberries; c&c protein powder; spinach; guar gum; sunflower butter!!!; and almond milk! and Now I’m enjoying some sweet tater fries and a salmon sandwich b/c of YOU! lol!!!