Protein, vegetables, and more protein.

I did another HIIT workout on the treadmill today, but this time my run was longer and I added some incline! Needless to say, afterwards I was ready to eat anything. So I thought it was a perfect time to experiment with my post-workout protein shake.

Good thing it turned out to be one of the best tasting protein shakes I've made!

Rice milk, 1 scoop vanilla protein powder, 1/2 ripe banana, and frozen spinach.

Have I mentioned I like to experiment with non-dairy milks? This was my first time trying rice milk--I really liked it. And I am no longer afraid of using vegetables in smoothies. The spinach hardly even has a taste, but it definitely gives the smoothie a fibrous texture. Fun fact: I'm all about fiber.

For dinner, I made nutritional yeast coated brussels sprouts.

Hooray for more protein! (Explanation at the end of this post).

I used frozen brussels for this recipe, and heated them over the stove with some Smart Balance. Then I covered the pan and let them brown a bit.

Then I added about a teaspoon of nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, and lemon juice.

Covered and heated for a little longer...

And it was done! This is definitely a side dish but after my monster of a protein shake, I was having problems finishing even these veggies.

The nutritional yeast gives the brussels sprouts a nutty taste. I enjoyed this! Another fun fact: nutritional yeast is a protein beast (1 tablespoon contains 8 grams of protein--WOW!). This stuff can be incorporated into any recipe quite easily--I highly recommend it.