I feel like I’m trying to solve a rubix cube on a slip-n-slide these days! I see no sign of the crazy clearing anytime soon. In fact it’s just different stages of ongoing-craziness, would you agree? It’s messy and fun, frustrating and wonderful, brutal and rewarding. All. At. Once. I don’t care who you are, this wild-life thing is happening to you too, isn’t it?

For me right now this chaos, this gargantuous momentum-build, is a blended concoction of parenting, business ownership and grape harvest. That’s right, Riesling grapes are a-headed this way TODAY! Let the crush and hard labor reign! A few days from now our Syrah grapes will also be ready and our limbs will be purple for weeks to come. On top of these laborious days we’ve got wine events, the farmer’s market, the release of our pumpkin wine, label designs and peppers rolling in waiting to be processed. Between Von’s full-time city gig and my days at the studio, we’re trying to eek out some quality time with the kiddos and still eat dinner at home together. This weekend is also the FitOne fitness event here in Boise which the women in my family have been participating in for over a decade now, so there’s lots of fun going on and many of my favorite people in town for the 5K on Saturday.

There’s not enough coffee or hours in the day, my friends! This should all start slightly calming down around Halloween and then ramp back up in time for our Thanksgiving Open House event. And I won’t even get started on the (super exciting) projects we’ve got lined up to take place in the weeks before Christmas. Yes, I just said the ‘C’ word. Which brings me back to the point I wanted to segue into…

Right now it seems everyone’s back at the studio trying to get fit for the holidays or trying to stay fit to survive their own crazy lifestyle (because I do know I am certainly not alone in the juggling journey). So how are we expected to stay healthy, workout, and eat right through it all?

My own solution: You fit it in where you can. Hence the 15-Minutes-a-Day Challenge I posted a few weeks back. 15 minutes may not seem like enough to make a difference but when 15 minutes is all you’ve got it sure feels a helluva lot better to your body than nothing. As for the eating right aspect – the way we pull it off at our house is to get back to basics. This time of year there are no fancy dinners, a lot of soups, store-bought whole roasted chickens, fall-type salads, slow-cooker meals and we take advantage of the local in-season produce from the market as well as from our back yard (I’ve eaten so many cherry tomatoes lately I think I’m bleeding beta-carotene). Also, I make sure to get in a green smoothie or two every week to give myself peace of mind that I’m at least getting some vegetables and a big source of iron in my blood stream early on in the day.

So this post is two-fold today. I bring you my quick (22 minutes!) Treadmill HIIT Workout and a recipe for a Pumpkin Banana Smoothie!

For those who aren’t familiar with the super-easy concept of HIIT training, check this post out. If you’re new to green smoothies, don’t be scared. There are a lot of reasons why they rock and why I rely on them and one day I will perhaps write more on the benefits. But for right now all you need to know is this: Green smoothies are brilliance in a blender. For another fun recipe and to use up some of that basil you may still have left in your garden, try this recipe I posted over a month ago!

First, the workout. It’s a mix of jogging, inclines, sprints and fast-walking hill climbs. It’s quick, it’s a boredom-buster and it’s effective.

Next!

Pumpkins are about to be everywhere, why not in your breakfast too? I embrace the pumpkin fever. Who knew pumpkin had the potential to start your day off right AND wine you down in the evenings (yep, we do both over here). This recipe is super simple because I was feeling like a smoothie purist when making it the other day. You can add in some of the optional things if you’d like, I just found it tasty and refreshing all on its own. By the way pumpkin and spinach are cleansing foods when eaten in raw form. So, uh, fair warning on that one…

Pumpkin Banana Smoothie Recipe

The Ingredients:

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 cup milk of your choice (I use unsweetened almond milk)

1 banana, frozen if you’ve got it but an unfrozen one will work too

Big handful baby spinach

1 to 2 tablespoons honey, pure maple syrup or brown sugar

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

3-4 ice cubes, more if not using a frozen banana

Optional add-ins: Vanilla protein powder, pumpkin pie spice, coconut oil, flaxseed, chia seeds

The directions:

Blend. Drink. Go.

What tips have you found work for you when trying to stay healthy whilst your life schedule has you barely remembering to brush your teeth?