Hello there!! It's definitely been a while since I've posted on here. It's funny, when I worked in advertising and I was on my phone and the computer ALL day long, and when I got home, the first thing I wanted to do was work on my blog and continue staring at screens. When I made my career switch into full time fitness, I thought it would fuel me to really work on my blog even MORE, and it actually did just the opposite. I'm truly happy going into work now and satisfied when I leave, and when I get home, I don't even want to look at the computer screen. It's very peaceful, but also kind of lazy? I love keeping up with the blog and I love the connections I've made through it, so I know that I need to strike a balance between my endeavors.  Speaking of blogging connections, I just attended Garden of Life's 2016 Blogger's Summit in West Palm Beach, FL, and it was incredible!! 

Garden of Life Blogger's Summit 2016

Garden of Life is the #1 brand in the natural products industry and I've been using their protein powders for a while now. I like them because it's very clear what you're putting into your body. All of the products are USDA certified organic, verified non-gmo, vegan, kosher, you name it! I'm not vegan, nor do I buy organic food, but I DO like to make sure my supplements and vitamins are totally clean, because there are so many supplements out there today that are not regulated and you just really have no idea if what you read on the label is what you're putting into your body. Besides that, I've been having a lot of digestive issues lately, so I've been trying to experiment with my diet a bit and making sure I get wholesome supplements is important. Anyway, I was able to tour the Garden of Life headquarters, meet with 9 other awesome lady bloggers and learn a whole lot about the products and the company as a whole! It was an incredible experience and I'm so grateful to partner with such an amazing brand. Here's a summary of our experience in photos! 

I love this inforgraphic - only 265 of the 26,000 supplement products on the market are certified organic and Non-GMO project verified. 72 of those 265 are Garden of Life products. Pretty interesting! 

All of the lovely bloggers!! From top left: Cassandra, Kathy, Moreya. Alex and Laura. Bottom left: Sophie, Angela, Karim and myself!

Traveling

This year I'm learning to take advantage of cheap flights and weekend getaways. When I graduated college last May, I literally moved to Philly that same week and started working. This summer I am taking advantage of some much needed time off! West Palm was wonderful, I'm heading home to Ft. Myers later this summer and Michael and I also have a week trip planned to DENVER. A WEEK!! SO stoked. I'm so grateful for the flexibility of my job, yet as a trainer, when I don't work, there's no income. Quickly learning the high importance of budgeting. 

Training

Just an update on my job - I love it. My clients rock and I'm amazed every day at their willingness to reach their goals! Here's a shot from a Thrive Olympics we had amongst all the trainers at different gyms. If theres one thing I've gotten a lot better at by demonstrating multiple times a day, it's push-ups! Do your push-ups, ladies. 

Have a lovely hump day :)

XO - Rach

Any travel plans coming up this summer?

YO! I have another smoothie recipe to share with you AND the giveaway winner for my Garden of Life RAW Protein & Greens giveaway!  I did NOT think this smoothie was going to taste good at all, but it ended up being probably my favorite smoothie bowl recipe to date! This smoothie has at least 3 servings of vegetables. 3 SERVINGS!! In one drank. That's pretty solid. 

I've been using Garden of Life's new RAW Protein & Greens mix for my smoothies and it includes clean, wholesome, plant-based protein along with a mixture of organic veggies. 

If you haven't tried adding sweet potato to your smoothies, you're missing out! It adds such a delicious natural sweetness and thickens the texture. 

[yumprint-recipe id='18']

 Giveaway Winner

And the lucky lady who won the giveaway....Farah from fairyburger.com! Farah, I know you're crazy busy as a med school student and I hope that this protein gives you a fast and easy way to make nutritious snacks or meals! 

Have a wonderful hump day, everyone! I'm just getting myself ready for work here and trying to pack for the next few days - I'm shipping up to Boston with my co-workers for a weekend full of training. Can't wait! 

XO - Rach

Do you like to drink your greens?

What's your favorite addition to a smoothie?