Wow, could the weather be any more incredible for ringing in the first day of spring? It’s supposed to hit 75 today!

I just had a very early wake up call.  Michal and I signed up to do  a 5k race in Manchester aptly titled, “Finally Spring,” and since the event was an hour away (and since we both like to eat three hours before start time), we were up at 6:30am. I’m pretty excited for the race, so waking up wasn’t much of a problem, and knowing that we were going to be eating grilled banana and peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast made me practically fly out of bed.

Grilled Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich

(a.k.a. modified Elvis sandwich)

• 2 slices whole wheat bread
• 2 tbs. peanut butter (I use a brand called Naturally More)
• 1 banana
• Honey or Agave Syrup (optional)
• Cinnamon

Directions: Just make a sandwich out of everything and then grill it in a pan or on a George Foreman for a few minutes.

We also paired a green monster shake with our breakfast.

Basic Green Monster Recipe

• 1 large banana
• 1 cup almond milk (I use Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla, but you can also use skim milk, soy milk, or hemp milk)
• 3 cups Spinach (don’t get grossed out, I SWEAR you can’t taste the spinach at all)
• Some ice

Directions: Add all ingredients into a blender. Blend for a few minutes until it’s thick and frothy. Enjoy. This recipe serves one, but Michal and I split this recipe because we didn’t want to have too much stuff in our stomach before the race.

I’m not kidding when I say that this stuff is so good that there are whole websites dedicated to the mystical powers of this drink. Instead of caffeine, I drink a green monster at work every morning, and it packs some serious energy in just 8 ounces. Proof is that my boyfriend now drinks one to two of these a day, and he is not the type to drink something green unless it tastes like candy.

Ok, I’m off to the race!