Forced Break. Darn it!

As I was afraid of yesterday, I had to cancel my date with Murph this morning. Unfortunately, I feel incredibly sick. I went to the doctor today and received a subsequent cocktail of meds  to make me feel better by tomorrow morning (fingers crossed). Ordinarily, I wouldn't even think of running a race sick, but I am holding out hope that I will feel better tomorrow morning. Yes, I know, I can see the disapproving looks already, but after the week that I had, a nice, exhausting run is the only thing that will make me feel better.  I guess vodka could also make me feel better, but I hear that abs and vodka don't go well together.

Since I clearly can't workout right now, I want to talk about nutrition.  If you are like me and can't even think of eating food when you get sick, I recommend trying to drink it. I usually have three or four antioxidant and vitamin packed smoothies a day when I am sick since the thought of chewing food makes me even sicker then I already am. Here are my favorites:

RASPBERRY SMOOTHIE

8 oz. Coconut Water or Orange Juice* or both

1 Cup Raspberries

1 Banana

1 tbsp. Flax Seed Meal

1 tbsp. Almond Butter

½ cup Baby Spinach

2 tbsp Lemon Juice

Blend until smooth. If you want your throat soothed, I recommend adding a few ice cubes and  some fresh mint leaves into the mix. Not only will it add an enticing aroma to your smoothie, it is also high in potassium and manganese.

GREEN GODDESS JUICE

4 12" Stalks of Celery

1 Cup Kale

3 Large Carrots

2 Medium Green Pears 1 Lemon Pealed

1 Large Cucumber Pealed

Juice and enjoy. I add ice cubes and blend the juice in the blender to get more of a slushy consistency.  Be warned this will make roughly 4 glasses of juice. I generally use this juice to swallow my pills and in the morning to get an extra boost of vitamin C, beta keratin, and  antioxidants. Also, if added to the aforementioned Raspberry Smoothie instead of Coconut Water or Orange Juice it makes for a more vitamin enriched breakfast smoothie (also has more calories)

ORANGE EXPLOSION

1/2 Green Apple

2 Oranges Pealed and separated into slices

1 Cup Mango

1 Cup Pineapple

1 tbsp Coconut Oil

I think this one is my favorite of them all. Sometimes I add 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder to make sure that I get enough protein during those "hard to eat moments".

BLUEBERRY BLISS

1/2 Cup Mango

1 Cup Blueberries

1/2 cup Kale or Spinach (your call)

1-2 Tbsp Lemon

1/2 Avocado

1 Cup Pineapple or Orange Juice*

Blend and enjoy.

Keep in mind that these shakes are calorie reach  on purpose. They are meant as substitutes for entire meals not accompaniments. Each of the shakes are roughly 400 calories depending on how heavy handed you are in cutting up your fruit and vegetables.

*When I refer to Orange Juice in this recipe I mean freshly squeezed juice from real oranges. I don't recommend buying processed versions of fruit juices as they are packed with sugar and other preservatives that are more harmful then helpful.