I love spring. Sometimes i can’t decide whether it or fall wins out as my favorite season of the year. I can’t wait to feel those warmer temperatures. The sense of a fresh start everywhere invigorates me. Getting back outdoors makes me smile. I think the only reason fall may stand as my favorite season is because of all the fun activities and traditions I love about fall. And pumpkin. Of course. Spring still holds a special place in my heart though and there are certainly signs of spring popping up all around here.

We went on a walk yesterday in beautiful 70 degree temperatures where many spring-like sights greeted us along the way.

I think Makenzie and Braedon enjoyed the flowers, green grass, blue skies, and lack of jackets as well. Or, I just find any reason to slip in some pictures of their cuteness. 😉

Today, spring continued..but the nastier side of spring. The showers! We had quite a bit of rain up in here this morning. Thankfully, it cleared out before the afternoon. I was left with just some cloud cover and a slight bit of chill (50s) for my run this afternoon.

Now that I know I can easily cover 30 minutes of running, I’ve honestly kind of scrapped the C25K plan and just go with how I feel and keeping things steady with my runs. Today, I happily jogged along for just under 30 minutes and covered 3.13 miles for a 9:24 pace.

About 2 hours before my run, I fueled with a quick snack – a raspberry Chobani and a lemon raspberry muffin.

These little suckers are d-to-the-e-to-the-l-i-c-i-o-u-s. I cooked some up on Sunday, which I healthified and adapted from this recipe. They’re so good, I have happily eaten one a day for a snack. Alongside things like Chobani and green monsters.

And since I’m such a good friend and all, I will now share this recipe with you. Enjoy!

Springtime Lemon-Raspberry Muffins

• 1 lemon
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1/2 c Lemon Chobani Greek Yogurt (or plain if preferred)
• 1/2 c Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze
• 1/3 c Unsweetened Applesauce
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 c whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 c fresh raspberries

Preheat oven to 400. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the zest from a lemon in long strips.

Add the peeled zest and 1/2 c sugar to a food processor. Pulse until the zest is chopped finely and blended into the sugar.

Combine the wet ingredients – yogurt, almond milk, applesauce, egg, vanilla – with the lemon sugar mix in a medium bowl. Mix until combined.

Mix the dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt – in a large bowl.

Make a well and pour the wet into the dry.

Fold together until a thick batter forms. Add the raspberries and fold them in until spread evenly throughout the batter.

Allow your helper to consume the leftover raspberries in 2 seconds flat.

Distribute the batter evenly among a 12 muffin pan. Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes.

Keep an eye on them. When the tops turn golden they are done. Take them out and allow them to cool. Then admire your handiwork.

These came out better than I could have hoped. They were slightly chewy, moist, and full of flavor. They aren’t overly sweet and have the perfect amount of tang from the lemon. The bursts of raspberry throughout pull it all together for a very “spring-y” muffin.

Now I can’t wait to try a blueberry version of these low-fat, healthy muffins. I hope you give them a try too!

Question of the Evening – What’s a flavor that always reminds you of spring?

Evening, friends! How goes it? Things are dandy here. I started the week off right with a spin class this morning. So happy M is no longer sick. Not only because I hate seeing her not feeling well, but I admit that I love getting to utilize the gym daycare again. Later in the afternoon we had baby B’s two month check-up. As expected, the boy grows like a weed with all well on the health front. I can hardly wrap my mind around the fact that two months have already passed by for him! But then, it feels like it has been forever since I did my last progress post. Odd how that works. Well, its time for me to show you the ch-ch-ch-changes. Last month is on the left; this month is on the right.

Closer shots of the main areas I’m working on…

If you go to my Body After Baby page, you can view the difference from the start to now.

To hold myself accountable, I will share my weight loss and measurement stats in this one post a month. I saw some great changes, especially in measurements this month!

Weight: – 4.8 lbs
Stomach (smallest part): – 1.5”
Stomach (at belly button): – 1.5”
Hips: –2.25”
Butt: –2”
Thighs: –.75” (Rt) / –1” (Lf)

Almost 5 pounds and a total of 9 inches in 4 weeks. Not too shabby at all, my friends. 😀 I do still have progress to make but I’m not doing anything drastic to get there. Just living healthy overall and letting my body do its thang.

I firmly believe that the best way to get results is to make changes you can stick with consistently. Consistency is the key to progress in my mind. For this reason, I make sure I don’t view anything as off limits. Take this weekend for example.

You all already know about my beer, portabella sandwich, and sweet potato fries dinner I had at the blogger meet-up. I believe I made a moderately healthy dinner choice for eating out. I chose something delicious that I truly wanted and tried to keep a balance. Fries? Ok! Beer? Fine! Still got in a bit of veggies and lots of water too.

Earlier in the day, I enjoyed some more fine eating as well. The family and I took advantage of the gorgeous weather with a picnic in a local town center.

Gorgeous, I tell ya! We watched the train pass by. Took in the blue sky. Cherished the foot freedom. Admired a fellow’s kite flying skills. And ate.

I recreated my last picnic meal because I loved it so much. A Morningstar Farms veggie burger on a sandwich thin with hummus, spinach, and tomato. On the side, I nibbled some grapes, baby carrots, and grape tomatoes.

I fully enjoyed this well balanced lunch. Then, I had no qualms going to pick up a special treat with the family afterwards. A new bakery opened up called Gimme Some Suga and we wanted to try it out. I am on a mission to find a delectable cupcake place in the Atlanta area after all.

Gimme Some Suga was such a cute shop and had tons of mouth watering choices. The cupcakes weren’t large at all so Peter and I decided to get a few to split.

A peanut butter, red velvet, and brown buttered caramel trio. Are you drooling yet? I was.

The cake itself was meh, but the icing = I want to just buy a tub of it and go to town with a spoon. Good thing there seemed to be more icing than cake with these. So decadent! But back to my point…

I fit in things like this, but balance it out with numerous healthy meals – like my oats I had for breakfast and the green monster I had for a snack that day. That way I never feel deprived and I can continue with the choices that will bring me the results I hope to see. Trying to go all gung-ho and be “perfect” only backfires for me. In my opinion, it’s not realistic. You still have to live and have fun.

Making progress does take hard work and I do have to stay mindful of my choices. The most important thing, however, is making choices that will keep my momentum going. Every little bit adds up. Keeping the bigger picture in mind helps me stay on track with healthier decisions because I don’t feel like I “blew it” from eating some cupcakes. It’s what I do most of the time over an extended time that counts. And I would say it’s working out pretty well, don’t you think? I know I’m happy! And not starving. 😉

Question of the Evening – Do you prefer salty or sweet indulgences?