Author Archives: Happy Hippie

About Happy Hippie

I'm a 21 year old student at The University of Central Missouri. I have a huge interest in music, fitness, healthy living and most importantly, making the most of each day that I'm given in this beautiful, crazy life.

Swai, You Ask? :)

Swai, You Ask? :)

Dinner tonight was fabulous!!  Why, you ask?  Or should I say; Swai, you ask? Well, we will get to that in minute.  First off, Tuesday!

I have to admit that my early morning wake up was something that I am going to turn into a habit.  Completing my workout first thing this morning was great for so many reasons!

  1. I had more time and was able to really focus on what I was doing
  2. I had more energy than I do in the middle of the afternoons, which is when I typically workout
  3. The gym was pretty empty, so I didn’t have to fight any meat-heads for the benches in the weight room
  4. My attitude towards the day became significantly more productive

Morning workouts are CLEARLY a must for this girl.  :)

 

After showering and getting ready for class, I made up a quick protein smoothie to take with me in hopes that it would fend off any hunger during class.  It did just that, and it was the BEST smoothie I have ever made.  Instead of using a frozen banana, I decided to try using a plain Greek yogurt mixed with sweetener and it gave the smoothie a perfectly thick and creamy consistency.

In my cute pink tumbler :)

In this smoothie, I used:

  • 1 scoop organic vanilla protein powder
  • a handful of frozen strawberries
  • 1 container of plain Greek yogurt mixed with Splenda
  • a little bit of water

After class and a little bit of studying in the library, I headed back to my room and made up a quick and easy lunch of a grilled chicken breast and roasted brussel sprouts.

 

Want to know something funny?  I only love roasted brussel sprouts because of the leaves that fall off and get burned in the oven.  I love burned brussel sprouts.  Yep, I’m a weirdo!  They remind me SO much of kale chips, so I’m thinking that one of these days I may just take the time to pull apart each brussel sprout and burn them all haha!

Get in my belly!

 

Well, luckily I completed my workout this morning because after lunch my cold was fighting me with FULL FORCE and it won.  I felt super crappy, so I curled up and fell asleep for awhile unaware that I would wake up feeling even more crappy.  I made a quick trip to Walmart before my duty shift began at 5 to pick up the miracle drug…

I only resort to medicine that I have to drink (Theraflu or Alkaseltzer) when I REALLY feel sick because they typically trigger my gag reflex really bad.  I don’t know what it is… maybe the fact that Alkaseltzer is disgusting and bubbly and tastes like barf, or maybe it’s due to a new little fact I learned today.  Let me explain first that there is nothing I hate more in this world than a cough drop.  I literally will NEVER take one.  I would rather have a raw, swollen and bleeding throat than suck on a cough drop.  Well, I made one of the daytime Theraflu teas and was hopeful that the berry flavor would taste decent.  I must have completely missed the little text on the front of the box saying that it was MENTHOL INFUSED.  Oh my gosh.  Long story short, I rewarded myself for each sip of the tea with a huge drink of diet mountain dew because it each sip of the tea made me gag.  Literally.  Well, it is what it is, but I’m sure hoping that the nighttime tea will clear my head up so that I can sleep tonight.

Now… onto my dinner surprise!!  :)

 

While at Walmart, I remember that I was out of Tilapia and when I went to grab some, I noticed that Swai was the same exact price.  I had never heard of Swai, but it looked delicious so I decided to give it a try!

This is what I ate! (except not this big. obviously.)

Swai is a catfish-like fish that’s found in Vietnam.  It has a very mild flavor.  VERY mild.  It honestly didn’t taste very fishy at all, but I was ok with that!

I sprinkled it with a little salt and pepper and paired it with a serving of Alexia’s Sweet Potato Fries to make a delicious meal!  :)

 

The rest of the night is going to be full of homework, research and watching Jane by Design!  Pretty darn perfect, if ya ask me.

 

Hope you’ve had a wonderful day!

 

 

Here’s a Thought:

 

 

Talkatchalater,

Happy Hippie

Better Than Those Kardashians…

Better Than Those Kardashians…

Good morning!

 

This morning began quite early (7am..EEK) due in large part to the stupid cold that has taken over my body.  You know when you have a cold and you wake up all snotty with a dry throat and pounding head?  Yeah, me too.  Well, upon waking I made a very quick decision to scour my room for some sort of cold medicine, figuring that I must have something on hand from past colds.  Colds/ Bronchitis are pretty common for me around this time of year, so luckily I had some left over Mucinex and Day Quil stashed away in my nightstand! :)

Before I went to sleep last night, I was browsing around Pinterest and found a picture that stuck with me and kind of set the tone for today, so I figured I would share!

 

Well, that was the exact thought that popped into my head after taking my medicine this morning and, after chugging a bunch of water I decided to take advantage of the few extra hours that waking up early gave me!  I brought back the Jamie Eason 12 Week Live Fit Trainer today!!!  Hallelujah!!  I’ve decided to just start the program all over, because I want to do it right and life has kind of jumped in the way for the past week.

This morning’s workout was the exact same as my first one on the program, so I will just use a recycled picture.  Go green. I began with a twenty minute warm up on the elliptical to get my heart pumpin’ before completing a great (and tough!) chest/ triceps workout!

Today's workout!

 

I left the gym much sweatier than the first week that I attempted this program, but I feel like that’s probably due to the fact that I did do a cardio workout (bad girl.) and that I’ve been out of commission for a few days.  It felt SO great though!  Oh my goodness.  Upon leaving the gym, I ran by the grocery store to pick up a carton of eggs and returned home to make a delicious breakfast of 5 egg whites and two pieces of Healthy Life toast.  I kind of mixed it all up and put two of the egg whites on the toast with a dash of ketchup to make a sandwich and enjoyed the other three on the side with a little bit of garlic sea salt.  Maybe I’m weird, but I seriously love LOVE LOVe egg whites on toast.  It’s quite possibly the most bland meal imaginable, but it does it for me!

 

Breakfast was eaten while watching Dr. Oz, of course.  I feel like of like my mom in that I’ve developed a love for random morning television, but Dr. Oz ALWAYS has something interesting on his show that I didn’t know before watching, so I consider this educational television.  Better than those Kardashians…. (Sad to say… but I’m a sucker for them, too.)

 

Well, it’s time to shower and try to look a little less haggard today.  I don’t wear this tired/ sick/ stressed look well at all and, quite frankly, I would be perfectly alright with it leaving RIGHT NOW.  :)

 

Here’s a Thought:

 

Talkatchalater,

Happy Hippie