Thursday, April 4, 2013

My First Green Smoothie

Nearly a year ago I started working out with a personal trainer. It was also about a year ago I began trying to talk myself into drinking "green" smoothies. And no, I'm not talking about juicing, which is even more disgusting to me than blending a bunch of vegetables together and drinking them, but I get that a lot of you people (especially in LA) are really into that, so uhh, good job.

I've lost weight, gained muscle, taken up tennis again, quit drinking coffee, and the list goes on, but one the things I had not yet tackled was ingesting vegetables in liquid form.

With the introduction of Champ's Coconut Yogurt, I discovered a great recipe for a healthy fruit smoothie that I love to drink after a hard workout. I though this would help ease me into the green thing, but it really didn't I liked the look and taste of what was basically a virgin pina colada (without the simple syrup).

Maria's Post-Workout Smoothie:
1 cup Champ's Coconut Yogurt
4 large strawberries
1 banana
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1 teaspoon hemp seed
Ice

But today my life has changed forever. I finally talked myself into the GREEN SMOOTHIE.

It was amazing.

After months of buying spinach, kale, and cucumber and just watching them go bad in the fridge, I finally put some of it to use. Although I am taking it one vegetable at a time, I was more than pleased with the outcome and taste of my first green concoction.

Here's the recipe: 
Handful of Baby spinach
Handful of sliced Cucumber
Teaspoon of Hemp Seed
2 Strawberries
1 Banana
1 Sambazon Acai frozen package
2 large spoonful's of Champ's Coconut Yogurt
And a dash of fresh apple juice
(I also usually add a couple ice cubes because I like things cold, but it's up to you)
My first green smoothie! It looks like
dirt but tastes like health!
Each week I am going to try and add a veggie, and alter the recipe just a bit so I can get adjusted to the taste, but so far I enjoyed it!

Most of the time, I would rather eat the actual vegetable than put it in a blender, but recently my body has been pretty tired from the tough workouts I've been doing so I wanted to create a way to give myself more energy and faster recovery. That combined with a great hot tub session today has me feeling like a million bucks!

So forget the juicing, try something that will really make you feel good. I encourage everyone to try a veggie smoothie at least once, so at least you can say you did it!



Monday, April 1, 2013

Officially a College Basketball Fan

I've never been much of a college basketball fan — I was always more drawn to the NBA growing up, but this year I've changed — college basketball has become of interest to me thanks to the West Regional tournament I volunteered for through Pepperdine University.

At Staples Center after all the excitement ended.
With the experience I had working March 27-30 at the Staples Center, I can say with great pride that I have come to understand the hype of college basketball and will commit to fully embracing it next season — something I've never done as an Oregon State alum.

An Oregon State fan from birth and eventually attending for my undergrad, I was never impressed by the basketball team, making it hard to get into the culture of college basketball. I've never found a way to relate to the team or get into the season. It's just been hard for us Oregon State fans.

But for me, it's hard to pay attention to a sport if I don't have a grip on a team or player that I feel like I can follow. Oregon State hasn't made it to the tournament in 23 years (last appearance was in 1990 when they lost to Cal State Fullerton in the opening round, I was a year old), so they're due for a winning, nationally ranked team and rebirth of a great program, and we as fans are ready for it too. I love an underdog story, but it's hard to root for a team who has all the makings of greatness and can't seem to pull it together to produce a winning season.

That being said, I have nothing against the Oregon State men's basketball team, I'm just explaining why my allegiance to college basketball has been weak. I hope that Oregon State head coach Craig Robinson and his squad can make some magic happen next year now that they have a brand-spankin' new practice facility. I know I'm not alone when I say it'd be great to see them make a run for the tournament next year.

Watching teams like LaSalle and Wichita State come out and practice March 27 at open practice day was special in itself. I watched one of the LaSalle players line up for a three-point shot, and right before the ball left his hands he grinned and said, "Man! This is where Kobe plays!" Even though LaSalle lost to Wichita State, nothing can ever take away that experience that LaSalle player had. It was his own little moment.

Teams like LaSalle, Florida Gulf Coast University, and even Wichita State, get to experience the possibility of making it all the way and that is special all on it's own. It gives the team and the school more visibility. They're not thinking about brackets or TV time, they just want to get as far as they can.

I made a bracket for the first time this year and basically filled it out with my eyes closed. I didn't watch much of the regular season outside of Sports Center highlights and sports tweets. I favored the PAC-12 throughout my whole bracket, putting Gonzaga and UCLA in the finals with 'Zags winning (obviously my bracket went six feet under very quickly). My bracket had a short life span, but it helped me get warmed up for the four days I spend at the West Regionals — I felt a little more dialed in.

What I can say after living at Staples Center, watching the teams go through the motions of practice, press, and games, the bracket became meaningless to me. I still found myself rooting for the underdog, LaSalle. After they lost, I rooted for Wichita State even though they were not in my bracket (neither was LaSalle). These teams took each day at a time, trying to stay as focused and rested as possible. Forget percentiles, seeds, who had Kobe's locker, it was anyone's game.

Wichita State made that very clear during their Elite 8 game against Ohio State. With a 20-point lead early in the second half, it was clear they were here for a reason, and have since earned their spot in the Final Four.

All that being said, I want to throw a big shout out to all the media who attended the West Regional as well as the volunteers and Pepperdine staff that spent countless hours putting it all together. It was a great experience for me and has only broadened my knowledge and passion for my sports media career.