Going Raw – Days 3 & 4

Apr 12, 2012

I had all the best intentions to blog last night, but Wednesdays are my  longest days & by the time I got home & got myself settled for the next day, it was nearly 11:30.

My next few days of eating raw have gone relatively better, except that I’ve incorporated Shakeology into meals each day since.  I also have realized that I cannot go 100% raw, but it’s ok if I don’t want to.  I just need to listen to my body and give it what it really needs.  Here are some things I’ve been eating the past few days…

Today’s kale salad thanks to PUREmamas blog.  I didn’t have some of the ingredients, so I modified as necessary, and it was pretty good!

Raw cacao shake with avocado, banana, some raw honey, and a little water.

A little surprise heart as a result of some water I spilled on my desk (I’m also taking this is a sign that love & romance is on the way for me) 😉

Some yummy Tropical Shakeology.

Strawberries, blueberries, & raspberries with hemp seeds.

I also started doing Tai Cheng, Beachbody’s latest, newest workout program, which I’m super excited about.  As I was doing it, I started thinking about how this might really help me with my health issues.  I’m planning on doing it as I go through The Beachbody Ultimate Reset and then continuing it afterwards when I go back to my Chalene Johnson worksouts.

I won’t be blogging again until Saturday night, because I’ll be heading up to Philadelphia tomorrow night to go see Carl Daikeler, Beachbody’s CEO, for one of Beachbody’s Super Saturday events on April 14.  I can’t wait!  Not sure I’ll stay raw, but I’ll definitely be eating as cleanly as possible!

Going Raw – Day 2

Apr 10, 2012

I’m not going to lie – today’s been rough.  I woke up from a restless sleep feeling jet lagged, a feeling that’s lasted throughout the day, and a strong tension headache.  I know that I was definitely grinding my teeth last night.  I was super hungry too.  I threw together a green smoothie for breakfast, but decided to have a banana afterwards too, to keep me satisfied.

I was starving again a few hours later, so I had an orange.

And then a few hours after that, I had my raw Spanish rice and an apple.

And then a few hours after that, I had a plum (noticing a pattern here?)

I’m sure that I’m having way too much fruit, especially for someone like me who has insulin resistance issues.  Oh and did I mention that the butternut squash made me super bloated & looking about 4 months pregnant?  I noticed it last night when I ate, but chose to ignore it, especially since I didn’t feel like making anything else for lunch at that point.

Since I had to mail off some Shakeology samples but was too hungry to wait for dinner, I had a banana.  And then when I got home, nothing appealed to me, except for maybe a Chipotle veggie burrito bowl or some homemade pancakes thanks to Chef Chloe Coscarelli’s amazing recipe from her book Chloe’s Kitchen.  So I kind of broke my raw food rules & had Shakeology!  Ok I know that Shakeology isn’t technically raw, but it’s pretty darn close.  I blended it up with some coconut milk, strawberries, raspberries, and what else, but a banana, my chosen fruit of the day.

Unfortunately, I’m still starving, & need to go figure out what’s on tomorrow’s menu.  I’m feeling very much like I did when I did my juice fast back in September.  Miserable, constantly hungry, & with no relief for my headaches.  I’m not sure I’ll last the 10 days eating raw foods, but I’m definitely going to try my best.  I might do 90% raw with 1 cooked meal, but we’ll see.  For now, I need to rest!

Blueberry Basil

Apr 3, 2012

Good evening everyone!  It was a gorgeous day here in the DC area!  For a few days there, it seemed like Spring had disappeared and like Winter was ready to come back.  I’m hoping these warmer temperatures stick around for a while!

Even though I’m off this week, I spent a lot of yesterday working on my Beachbody business & on my Institute for Integrative Nutrition coursework.  I’m so excited about both of them that after doing my awesome ChaLEAN Extreme workout, I had to pull myself away from the computer today to go out & enjoy the sunshine!  I decided to venture into Clarendon in Arlington to use a LivingSocial deal that I purchased a few months back, for South Block Smoothie & Wrap Co.

I enjoyed a delicious Baja Lime bowl with a veggie burger.  The dressing was a little tart, but the veggie burger was super delicious!

I also got a blueberry basil smoothie.  Even though they have lots of amazing smoothies on their menu, I was intrigued by the blueberry basil combination, and I’m so glad I got it.  Who would’ve thought those two could taste so good together?!

I walked around for a little bit & then ventured into Trader Joe’s to stock up on some things. Of course I bought blueberries & basil because I want to make the smoothie for myself!

I’m so thankful that I’m off the rest of the week & keep getting to work on things that I love! Have a great evening!

Fruits & Veggies Rock

Jan 26, 2012

Think eating vegan is expensive?  Think again.  Check out all the fruits & veggies I bought tonight.

The grand total?  I was estimating somewhere between $10 – $15.  I only spent

And I have enough to make several green smoothies and eat snacks!

Speaking of which, I used my Vitamix tonight to make my very first green smoothie.  I’m in love with the Vitamix!!!

Tomorrow’s Friday!!!

 

Winter Wonderland

Jan 9, 2012

It snowed this afternoon in the DC area, which means that everybody panicked and traffic came to a complete standstill.  I had to cancel a 4:30 appointment that I had and missed going to yoga with Katy and it took me nearly an hour to get home, when my job is 10 minutes away.  The snow wasn’t even sticking and rain would’ve been worse, but that’s Northern Virginia for you!

As much as I love TurboFire, my body just wasn’t feeling it today, so I did a Rodney Yee Yoga for Beginners sequence to channel my frustration.  I bought it a year ago since it had been several years since I’d practiced yoga, but didn’t even end up opening the DVD until today.  It was a little too easy for me, but definitely some great quick yoga when I’m not feeling the need to do something as vigorous.

 

I also have his Yoga Burn DVD and am curious to try it out one day and see what it’s like.

Some eats:

Blueberry Peach Skinny Smoothie.  I made it last night and the chia seeds gelled into a sort of pudding overnight, so I had to eat it with a spoon.

No time to take a picture of lunch, but I had some leftover millet “potatoes” and some carrot red pepper soup.  Snack included some dates and a Shakeology drink.

Since it was a cozy sort of night, I decided to make soup once again, this time courtesy of the Whole Foods 28 Day Healthy Eating Challenge that I’m taking part in.  The Healthy Eating Specialist emailed us a fantastic chicken and brown rice soup recipe, which I of course modified to be vegan friendly by adding a little tofu.  I had all of the ingredients on hand except for the celery, and decided to add a little bit of miso to give it a little extra kick, which I think made it taste even better.

Time for some relaxation and meditation before bed!

Soup and Salad Day

Jan 8, 2012

My day started in the best way possible.  I was up early, ready to work out to TurboFire.  I haven’t done TurboFire in a few days and was ready to get back into the swing of it.  When I saw that the DVD I had to do today lasted nearly an hour though, I was wishing it would go by fast, if only because I wasn’t sure I was THAT pumped to do a workout.

 

I’m so glad that it went better than I could’ve anticipated!  Chalene Johnson keeps you pumped as you exercise and halfway through the sequence, I was more energized than ever. The hour went by extremely fast and I was feeling so good at the end of it, envisioning what my body will look like if I keep this up along with regular yoga workouts.  The choreography isn’t too complicated and Chalene uses positive language to keep you motivated towards your goals.  I also usually hate working out, so the fact that Chalene can get me so pumped about this workout is saying something.  I’d usually much rather be doing yoga than any other workout, especially since I don’t see yoga as a workout, but I’m so excited to do the entire TurboFire program and reap its benefits.

Breakfast:

Being a BeachBody Coach, I want to try the products out for myself so that I’m able to tell people how amazing they are.  Shakeology is a great drink to have either for breakfast, lunch, or as a snack.  It’s super delicious and filled with amazing superfoods!

Lunch:

Blueberry Kale Spinach Salad with a Black Bean Burger

Snack (this tasted exactly like carrot cake – I was pleasantly surprised):

I went out grocery shopping for some things I needed and got some great stuff, including Kombucha…

which inevitably always reminds me of this video and my friend Diana:

You’ll see why about 3 seconds into the video 😉

I also couldn’t resist buying this great little Whole Foods bag.  When the guy told me it was only $0.99, I had to get it!

Dinner was more soup and salad.  I didn’t even intentionally mean to eat soup and salad for both lunch and dinner, but it’s what I ended up making, and it came out great.

Kale salad.  I “wilted” the kale with half an avocado.  Thank you Whole Foods for the amazing recipe!

Carrot Red Pepper Soup

And finally, I had a little dessert.  Usually I try not to eat dessert, but I was flipping through my copy of The Beauty Detox Solution earlier today and noticed an amazing recipe for Chia Seed Delight.  Kimberly Snyder was a very positive influence for me at the beginning of my vegan journey and I love that she’s so knowledgeable about so many plant-based superfoods.

I accidentally put a little bit too many chia seeds in there and ate maybe 1/6th of the bowl, so I saved the rest to eat for another day.

My goal is to go to yoga at least twice this week and work out to TurboFire the rest of the time.  I’m off to relax before going to bed!

Fun-Filled Saturday

Jan 7, 2012

Today’s weather in the DC area was gorgeous with highs in the 60s.  I don’t think I ever recall that happening, especially when it was freezing cold earlier this week, but I loved it.

The day started early by going to a Vinyasa Yoga class, where I met up with my friend Katy.  Breakfast before yoga was a green smoothie, made with some Sun Warrior vanilla protein powder.  There are lots of myths surrounding protein requirements which I’ll blog about at a later time, but I was curious about this protein powder, especially since it’s raw vegan.

The protein powder flavor was a little bit strong in my smoothie, but I’m going to keep experimenting with it in different recipes to see what happens.

Yoga was invigorating and a great way to start the day. I really felt its effects throughout the morning and in the late afternoon, I even had the urge to do some more yoga!  I used to do yoga all the time when I lived in London and I’m so happy that I finally found a great yoga studio close to my house where I can practice.

After yoga, I had to rush back home and get ready to meet my friend Diana.  We’ve been talking for months about how we each wanted to get a George Mason University hoodie.  George Mason University is where we met and became friends (in a Jane Austen class!) and we both had great experiences going to school there.  It’s been almost 10 years since we graduated!

When I got to campus, I couldn’t believe how much the school had changed since I’d gone to school there.  So many new buildings that I got lost finding my way to the familiar bookstore!

After over an hour of browsing around, trying on the different sweatshirt styles, laughing and joking that George Mason should hire us as their designers because every time we’d find a style we liked, it would be ruined by something that didn’t need to be there, and debating what to buy, I bought myself a beautiful gray sweatshirt and a green t-shirt.  (I realize that sentence is a mouthful, but decided to just go with it) 🙂

Showing my Mason pride.

By the time we were done we were starving, so we headed out to find something to eat and found a cute little Thai restaurant, where I ordered what I always get: pad thai.  No matter how many times I want to try something different off of any Thai restaurant’s menu, I always get the same thing.  What I do love about Thai dishes though is how easily so many of them are already vegan or can be made vegan.

After lunch we decided to walk around a little bit, window shop, and have some tea before heading home.

Of course the yoga bags sign caught my attention.  🙂

When I got home, there was a nice surprise waiting for me.

My mom had been out earlier in the day and bought me this sweater that she thought I’d like.

I also came home to find that my blood type test had arrived.  I’m on a healthy eating group on Facebook and we’d recently been talking about the Eat Right 4 Your Type Diet and how your blood type affects the foods that you should or shouldn’t eat.  From all the conversations and information that was posted, it sounded like I was a type A, but I wanted to do the test to confirm it.

Sure enough when I did the test, it showed that my blood type is A positive.  I loved that the test was able to show me immediate results without having to send anything off to a lab.  I’m kind of curious to get the book now and see what else it recommends, especially since I’m going through some health issues, but I do know that it states that my blood type fares better on vegetarian type diets.

For dinner I had black bean burgers and millet mashed “potatoes.”  Two of the easiest recipes I’ve ever come across, simple, delicious, and nutritious for you too!  I was amazed at how well the millet mashed up into “potatoes.”  I did make a few substitutions in the ingredients and made sure to add nutritional yeast to my “potatoes,” which give it a cheesy like quality.  It was so good, I could’ve eaten that alone for dinner!

My veggie burger crumbled right before I took this picture, but you get the idea.

Tomorrow I’ll be sleeping in, working out, meal planning, and seeing what else the day brings.  Hope you’re having an amazing weekend so far!