Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Smoothie

So one of the things I picked up last week during my Trader Joe's splurge was the mini oatmeal raisin cookies which are one of my favorite cookies they have there. They're nice and crunchy with just the right amount of sweetness to satisfy any sugar craving I might have all while being good for my macros! 

I'm a firm believer in treating myself but I still like to do it the right way with IIFYM. Yes, I eat Oreos on a regular basis but I also fill up on whole and organic foods the other 95% of the day. 

Saturday morning I decided to make my usual protein smoothie after training legs. Sometimes it depends on if I have a protein smoothie before or after working out but after training a large muscle groups like my hamstrings and glutes, I like to have my protein smoothie afterwards. I've found that for arms or shoulders it doesn't necessarily matter in terms of muscle recovery. I can also go much much heavier on my legs with weights than upper body right now so that also plays an important factor. It's all about what works for your body!

I decided that it might be fun to add in the cookies with my smoothie for extra taste and as a reward to myself. I hit two new PRs that day with the weights and I was pretty proud! My next goal is to be deadlifting over 100lbs and over 250 on the leg press. I know it still might not be a lot to some people but we all start somewhere! 

So this smoothie had: 

1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I use Designer Whey since they use stevia not sucralose)

1 tbsp homemade honey roasted peanut butter

6-7 oatmeal raisin cookies

2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk

I first blended the almond milk, protein powder, half the cookies, and peanut butter together until it was smooth. Then, I added it the rest of the cookies and gave it a quick couple pulses. I still wanted large enough bites of the cookies but you could always add it all together to make the whole thing smooth. 

Enjoy!

New Trader Joe's Finds

By now you've probably put two and two together and figured out that Trader Joe's is my favorite place to shop. I love their products and I love the service there not to mention the free samples they always have at the back of the store. I've found out about so many different products and recipes that way! 

Usually when I go grocery shopping I just stick to my list and don't wander around much because that's how I get into trouble with buying wayyy too many things that I don't need! On Friday, though, I didn't really have much of a list in mind, and wanted to shop around for more ideas. Call me weird but if I had my choice of a shopping spree then I would definitely pick a grocery store! Grocery shopping is my favorite kind of shopping. 

My mom made a special request of more snacks so I took my time just looking up and down each aisle for anything that I haven't tried before. I'm glad I did because a lot of things I haven't tried before caught my eye!

I found these bars as a healthier snack for my mom since she loves anything with chocolate or brownies but I mean who doesn't right?! She absolutely loved these bars and I took a bite out of hers too for "quality control purposes" as I like to say ;) 

In other words, it's just my excuse to mooch off of people! These bars were great and very soft but still moist for being packaged. I think one night for dessert this week I'll heat one up in the microwave. I've done that with other bars before and it's seriously ah-mazing!

I also picked up these honey wheat pretzel sticks that I've seen before but never really tried either. Another great snack to keep handy for when you're on the go! Someone else was rather interested as she heard the crinkling while she was "helping" me to unpack the groceries. I let her have a little sample and she approved of them as well! 

There's more of a story that goes along with this find. Originally, I wanted to get the ice cream which was the sample of the day-- Cookie Butter Vanilla Ice Cream which was a blend of their cookie butter spread and vanilla ice cream. It was honestly amazing but when I went to get a carton I took a look at the nutrition facts and they made me sad. It was pretty high in carbs and calories even with my flexible macros. I didn't trust myself just yet to keep it in the house when I knew I'd only be able to have like half a serving. So I picked up this vanilla ice cream to have for Treat Yoself Friday as it was much more macro-friendly! I wasn't disappointed at all as it was incredibly delicious and made me forget all about the cookie butter one, well almost forget. 

I've had these before plenty of times but just wanted to share them in case anyone else hasn't heard of them before. Trader Joe's has an awesome selection of cookies that are very macro-friendly. You can have 12 of these little buggers for a decent amount of carbs that won't wreck your waistline! It's all about moderation of course but I love being able to treat myself to small things like this every day without guilt. 

On Saturday morning I made a protein smoothie with these cookies and it was a nice change from my usual post-workout smoothie. 

Hands down my favorite find was this guacamole! Low price and quality taste, what more could you want?! As soon as I saw it was made with Greek yogurt I couldn't turn it down. I couldn't believe the nutrition facts because it tasted just like regular guacamole! It was so creamy and flavorful with chunks of avocado and fresh tomatoes. I put this on our turkey burgers that we grilled yesterday but I ate plenty of it with fresh veggies all weekend! My favorite combination was dipping cauliflower or carrots in it instead of chips. 

I got a bunch of other things as well but they were part of my usual list. I just wanted to share some of the new stuff I've tried in case anyone else needs new ideas! The best part was that I filled three of their huge paper bags with groceries but spent less than $50!! I was honestly surprised when the total rang up because I felt a little guilty that I might have been going overboard with the groceries. Since I usually stick to a strict budget and list when I shop it was awesome to find out I didn't even really splurge. If there's any other Trader Joe's fans I'd love to hear your suggestions about products to try! 

Hope you're all recovering from the long weekend! :)

Long Weekend Recap!

Happy Labor Day everyone!

I hope you're all enjoying your long weekend, and having fun with friends and family! I have some down time this afternoon before dinner so I thought I'd squeeze in a quick post about what I've been up to this weekend. As I was going through my pictures on my phone I realize I have quite a few things to post but I'll get those recipes up later. For now, I just do a quick recap and hopefully have the rest of the stuff up by tomorrow.

I went to lunch with my mom on Friday and I just took her to the Panera since it's right down the street from my house. I was originally going to meet my best friend on campus but she wasn't feeling too well. So it worked out since my mom and I don't always get to have time alone!

I got one my all-time favorite salad which is the Greek salad with chicken on top. I always get the dressing on the side because the portion it comes with is way too much! I usually only use about 1/4-1/2 of only one of the little cups they give you. This saves me plenty of fat and calories! 

After lunch I made a quick run to Trader Joe's to stock up on some stuff for the weekend. I found plenty of new snacks to try out so I'll do a separate post on those! I found this new guacamole made with Greek yogurt that I'm unofficially obsessed with at the moment.  

Then of course since it was Treat Yoself Friday I whipped up quite the delicious dessert for myself! I used a new vanilla ice cream I found at Trader Joe's, and a random assortment of goodies that I found in our pantry. 

This sundae had Trader Joe's Light Vanilla ice cream, toasted oat flakes, crumbled mini oatmeal cookies, dark chocolate vanilla caramels, and sprinkles of course! 

Saturday morning was Leg Day (a.k.a. the best day) and after training hamstrings and glutes, I whipped up a protein smoothie as my post-workout! Only this time I turned it up a notch on this one and added in some oatmeal raisin cookies that I had bought on Friday afternoon. It was delicious and I'll get that recipe up soon! 

Later on Saturday evening my whole family went up to my grandma's house to see our family friend from Georgia. I brought along my Roasted Vegetable Salad because I knew my aunt would be there and it's her favorite. They had gone to a surprise party beforehand so they claimed they were all too full to eat anything, but she eventually caved and ate some of my salad as I knew she would! 

In addition to the roasted brussel sprouts and carrots, I added fresh blueberries, heirloom tomatoes, arugula, red bell peppers, feta cheese, and chopped pecans. 

This morning I made a giant protein pancake to fuel up for my run. I've still been squeezing in about one run per week just to keep up with it and because I honestly love it. Nothing makes me happier than logging those miles! 

After my 5 mile run, I did abs and called it a day. This has been a great week so far with training!

After working out I was too sweaty to sit on the couch but also too lazy to go upstairs and shower yet so I was just hanging out to watch the ending of a movie. I'm not sure how this happened but one minute Layla was laying on the couch and then the next she rolled over so she was sitting across my shoulders. She just kept rolling around happy as a clam. Until she fell completely off the couch. It's never a dull moment with this dog around! 

 The best find of the weekend though? COOKIE DOUGH OREOS. 

I may or may not have gotten some stares in Target when I finally got my hands on these. I've been seeing them on so many people's pages that the jealousy I've felt is very real. When I finally saw them today I made a beeline for them while making quite the commotion. Good thing no one was in the way! I originally was going to grab the Halloween ones but dropped those like it's hot once I saw the cookie dough ones.

I immediately recalculated my macros for tomorrow and they fit perfectly! I'll take that as a sign from God that it's meant to be :)

Later for dinner we're grilling turkey burgers that may or may not have the guacamole I mentioned before involved, and I plan on trying out a new snack recipe tonight!

What plans do you guys have for the holiday?!

As always, I had my little buddy around to keep me company while I blogged!