I can sure feel the effects of Monday’s zumba class.  And I’m glad that it feels good.  My muscles are waking up, their memory is coming back.  They’re hungry and they want more.  But maybe not more zumba.

I had a busy day on Tuesday so didn’t make it to the gym as I had hoped.  I did deal with a huge burden that should make it easier to sleep at night and stay focused during the day, but no, I didn’t make it to the gym.

I did, however, go shopping for a blender.  For smoothies.

A few days ago I downloaded a few smoothie recipes from the Women’s Health website.  I love this site.  It’s so motivational and I appreciate that they offer so much free information and fitness routines.  I bought one of their exercise books last year, The Women’s Health Big Book of Exercises. That was shortly before I hit the roadblock thrown up by daylight savings time.  I’m now looking for any and all sorts of inspiration and this book is packed with it.

But back to the smoothies.

I don’t like to cook.  I like to eat, but the step between buying the food and putting it in my mouth is the one I find problematic.  So I tend to eat not-so-healthy foods, ones that you can rip out of packages, or spread between two pieces of bread (ymmm…peanut butter).  And then there’s that sweet tooth I keep biting….  I’m thinking that smoothies could be a good way to make sure I get my nutritional requirements without me eating my face off.

Ray came blender shopping with me.  We decided that Canadian Tire would have the biggest selection in our area, and I suppose that was true.  I only shop to buy, so I don’t look around a lot, but we hit the jackpot, there was a blender sale on, I kid you not.  Almost every blender was at least 20% off and just like that, my budget got bigger.  After much discussion and debate between whether I should get a hand blender or a counter blender, then what model of counter blender, I walked out with the only blender NOT on sale.  How funny is that?  It was still the best deal for my money.

I was tempted, oh so briefly, by the Cuisinart supermachine with its multiple attachments, but how practical is that for someone who doesn’t cook?  But it was almost $100 off – maybe not the model shown – but one similar, in case anyone’s looking.

My model is one of the modest, mid-range Oster models.  Plain Jane – in fact, as I look at the box I wonder if I haven’t had this model before.  I haven’t opened the box yet, I’m not sure where I’ll put it there’s no space on the counter.  I gave away my last blender because I hardly used it and it took up too much space.  Make it easy to use and keep it handy, rule number one and two.

I wanted more than just the 5 recipes that Women’s Health gave me so I went online to Chapters and downloaded a ebook of smoothie recipes, Low Carb Smoothies, by Donna Rodnitsky and a couple of more to come in the mail in the next day or so.  It doesn’t seem to be as raw-food as I’d like but maybe I’ll give a couple of them a go over the next day or two.

What about you?  Do you have a fave smoothie recipe you’d like to share?