Cherry Chocolate Protein Smoothie + January Workout Log.

I love the combination of cherry and chocolate together. My all-time favorite cookie is cherry-chocolate-chip-almond-oatmeal, recipe from Epicurius. If you review this recipe, there are lots of ingredients going on into this cookie - sliced almonds, dried cherries, chocolate chips, oatmeal, almond extract... but so worth it! K and I made hundreds of these cookies to give away as sweet snacks for our wedding 'welcome bags,' since we got married in a destination spot in the Midwest.

This smoothie is a healthy alternative to that cookie! Lately I have been trying different types of protein powder to add to smoothies, purchasing small sample packs at Whole Foods. My favorite so far is chocolate whey protein, which was an awesome combo with frozen cherries in this smoothie. You don't really need the almond butter since the flavor is masked by the cherries and chocolate powder, but I wanted a bit of extra staying power and healthy fats. This was a great meal replacement for lunch earlier this week when I was working from home during the cold snap.

Cherry-Chocolate Protein Smoothie
1 cup frozen tart cherries
1 single packet or scoop of chocolate protein powder {I used whey}
1 cup original almond milk
1 banana
2 handfuls spinach
1 Tablespoon almond butter

Since today is the last day of the month, I'm trying something new and sharing my workouts for January. I have nothing spectacular to report this month, but I'm hoping sharing this monthly calendar will keep me honest and motivate me to continue regular workouts for the rest of the winter. I want to start running 3x a week, which I only met during one week in January. I'm still putting together a running training schedule for my spring races so that will definitely be a goal. On to February!

{calendar image from oh so lovely the blog}