Sunday Happenings And a QUICK money saving tip

Hope you're all having a great day thus far. My sunday is rounding out to be quite productive. However, I must confess that yesterday there was whole lot of "leisure" time spent at my apartment just lounging around. I managed to do some cleaning/organizing and did pay some bills but a lot of time was also spent watching pretty useless TV (aside from a couple of somewhat interesting lifetime movies ha!). I downgraded my cable to save money so I am missing a couple of channels that I really loved :(. I am considering bringing back those channels or just finding a way to get them and still make my cable bill cheap enough. I made a quick stop at my aunts house but then came back home and relaxed some more.

Today, however, is going pretty well. Woke up with running on my mind and so off I went for a nice 3.47 miler around my neighborhood. I must admit it was windy and somewhat cold but it was quite a gorgeous day thanks to the sun.

  
There was also a TON of geese just "chilling". Wish I would have taken a photo. It was quite the view. Anyways, here is the run down of my run/walk (I had to stop and walk at certain times because of the wind):

 My first mile was ran in less than 10 minutes which surprised me because last time I checked my average time was around 10-ish so, I am excited that I am getting better (either that or the wind shall be credited for pushing my assets me forward). Post run I immediately took a shower, changed and made a pretty satisfying breakfast:

 

On the plate: 2 eggs (1 with yolk, one without), scrambled with white onions and spinach. I added a little bit of organic ketchup to the eggs, post pic. On the side-- one whole wheat English muffin, toasted w/ a little bit of butter. Plus my cafe and milk on the side (no sugar) on one of my absolute fave cafe cups!

I decided to get ready before breakfast because that way I knew I would need to get out of the house as soon as I was finished. Sometimes I just lounge around in my pajamas and ultimately decide to stay in. That wasnt happening today! (interesting how much we can learn from carefully observing our behavioral patters).

Before leaving the house I noticed my gazillion bananas sitting on top of my fridge (which I had purchased for about $1.29 at the supermarket about a week ago). They were getting extremely ripe (borderline going bad) so I had to rescue them!!!! I mashed up the ones that were the most "mushy" and put them in containers (I see delicious banana bread and muffins in my future). The rest I split them up in to pieces to make smoothies-- put it all in the freezer and you're good to go!:

So here's a money saving tip (you may or may not know this, but here it goes): Next time you're in the supermarket around the vegetable/fruits area, see if the have a section where they place things that are about to expire or "go bad" according to their standards. (I am pretty sure there is an official name for this which I cant remember from the top of my head). You can find all kinds of fruits and veggies but I usually just grab bananas from there. I get a TON for about 99 cents or $1.29. Is pretty crazy. I make smoothies and banana bread from that. Some of the bananas often times arent even ripe yet so I can eat them right away.

By the way--- Aside from my love for health and fitness I am also a HUGE fan of personal finance. My undergrad degree in finance, my MBA pursuit and my dad may or may not have something to do with that ;). I am thinking of starting a series on the blog where I'll share tips on personal finance, and anything else on the matter than may seem interesting. We'll see if I can gather enough material. Let me know if you have any questions or anything you'd like to see on the series regarding money matters.

Anyways, now I am visiting my parents and sis and taking advantage of their washing machine. Sometimes is awesome having family so close :)


Question: Do you have any supermarket "money saving tips" you can share? What do YOU do with ripe bananas?

Barnes and Noble, Homemade Banana-almond Smoothie Recipe

I cannot write my regular post without first acknowledging and addressing the tragedy that happened in CT yesterday. I cannot even imagine the amount of sadness and sorrow the parents of those poor angels are going through. How can someone be that cruel and out of their minds (to say the least because there are no words) to shoot little innocent children and their teachers?! I think the worse part of this whole thing after loosing so many innocent lives is the fact that this monster was able to kill himself and not suffer the consequences of his actions. There is a God up in heaven who always has the last word and I hope that this person is paying one way or another. Also, that gun control laws are revised and changed drastically. It sucks that it had to take such a insane tragedy for drastic changes to be made. Rest in Peace to those little angels.

Hey everyone!

Just making a quick pit stop to share that I've spent the entire day at my local Barnes and Noble and its made for quite a productive day. I was reminded of the following FACT:

I am far more productive and more focused at a local Barnes and Noble, Starbucks or even local library in comparison to staying in my apartment.

I LOVE being at my place. However, I also need to understand that there is a place and a time for everything. The main issue with staying indoors when I REALLY need to focus: too many distractions (food, television, phone) and no one around me to "keep me accountable". Although the people at Barnes and Noble are perfect strangers; I feel that they somehow keep me 'accountable' as all I really feel like doing is focusing on the stuff in front of me rather than wondering around and loosing focus. So, thank goodness for places that allow me to sip on overpriced coffee yet offer me a desk and chair where I can practically sit the whole day, if I wish.

I just got back in to my apartment pretty much starving to say the least (all I ate was my breakfast from this morning, coffee and a snack I took with me). I couldnt really make a big meal because Im actually going to go eat at my parents house. So, the simplest thing to make to hold me over until then, a delicious and satisfying- VERY SIMPLE almond milk-banana smoothie:

Ingredients:
1 ripe banana, frozen if available
1 cup almond milk
Drops of Vanilla Stevia, to taste (I use NuNaturals brand)
1/3 cup quick oats
Cinnamon to taste

**Blend all ingredients until smooth, ENJOY!

How's your Saturday going so far? Any smoothie recipes you'd like to share?

:)