7 Miles

Yes, yes, yes! This is the longest I've run this year...and I'm so happy (and a little tired, lol). Because these next few days will be very busy and I'll be mostly away from home, I won't be able to do any runs for a while too...so I'm glad I got an extra good workout in.

Once it hit past the 6 mile point, that's when I start thinking of extra nutrition I need for running. During a 3-5 mile run, I don't need any water during or any form of sports snack...it doesn't take too long and I just drink up before and after...but once I'm past 7 miles...then I have to be a bit more prepared.

Right now, I'm reading Brendan Braizer's "Thrive" book (head on over to Rawdorable's site and check out her last two posts about Brendan Braizer and his books/recipes) and I'm really looking forward to trying some of his sports gels/bars...but today, since I don't have it all figured out yet...I just grabbed a couple Medjool dates and had one at the 5 mile mark and then one at the 6.

I've kind of fallen away from my green smoothies and been doing more protein/fruit based smoothies, so I'm trying to get back into it. This week I've committed to one every day. I fueled up after with a green smoothie for lunch. Here it is:

7 MILER SMOOTHIE

1/2 cup orange juice

1 peeled orange (with white pith)

1 cup or more of parsley

1/4 avocado

1/2 banana

4 ice cubes

BLEND. BLEND. and BLEND. I ate it with a 1/4 of an avocado with herb salt. An all green lunch...but I may go and get something else because I burned a lot of calories (like 828!) so I can afford to have something else, lol.

For those who workout, what's your favorite recipe/mid-workout snack or hydration drink?

Cinnamon Strageties

The other day we were out of cinnamon and my sister was making cinnamon buns...and as everyone knows, you can't make cinnamon buns without cinnamon. What to do? The rolls were already finished, save the spice.

I thought, cinnamon comes from...cinnamon sticks. Of course, so if we have the sticks...

Turns out, we did. So I broke them into as tiny pieces as my fingers could manage and stuck them in the coffee grinder. It worked...and I ground and ground until I got the powder as fine as I could.

Plus, I like the thought of freshly ground cinnamon...sounds fresher, doesn't it?

Next time you're out of the powder...maybe give this a try! Hint: Next time you make a banana shake add some freshly ground cinnamon...it's an amazing shake!

Cleanse Day 2 + 3

Wow, it's almost over...I'm sorry I didn't post yesterday. The computer was being used so I didn't have a chance at it.

My juicy cleanse definitely had it's tougher points, but I'm glad I stuck it out. I know I'll feel better for it. Right now I might feel on the weaker side, but tomorrow I won't, BECAUSE tomorrow I eat, lol!

Tonight I had the most amazing juice ever! Seriously, it tasted like grape pop. It was seriously the most delicious juice ever. So I'll share it with you.

MOST DELICIOUS JUICE EVER!

2 apples

small knob of ginger (keep it smaller)

1 cup red grapes

1/2 lemon

Juice it up! I added 1 TB. of white and black chia seeds because today I wanted to introduce a soft fibre into my diet, to help my body prepare for tomorrow. I did that for every "meal" I had. It was a beautiful juice that reminded me of cotton candy. Totally try it!

Another juice I really enjoyed during this fast, was a delightful concoction of grapefruit, orange, and lemon! Yup, that's it. Just squeeze 1 whole grapefruit and 1 orange, and then half of a lemon! Absolutely perfect for the morning. It looks like sunshine. I added raw, organic blue-green algae to mine for some added minerals, vitamins, and nutrients. Grapefruit and lemon especially, are know for their amazing detoxifying benefits. Some people even swear grapefruit will reduce cellulite. :)

Even if you aren't doing a cleanse, you can do a super easy, "mini" cleanse by swapping your daily breakfast with a fresh, raw juice. It's incredibly healing and cleansing after a good long night's sleep. Anyone can juice!

Mini Cleanse

I'm doing a mini cleanse! So I'm reading a book we recently purchased and after reading a few chapters of that, I was even more inspired to clean my body and give a break for a bit. So I'm doing half a juice fast and half a master cleanse. I'll do this for 3 days. Then I'll taper off for 2 days....and so goes it. SO far, going good. It sure makes you appreciate food more too...and not take it so for granted.

SO today I had:
5 "lemonades" (master cleanse recipe)
6 waters
2 organic, homegrown peppermint tea
1 electrolyte vitamin C supplement in water (after my workout)
1 carrot/celery/apple/ginger fresh juice
1 freshly squeezed grapefruit juice with superfood powder

FITNESS:
ran 5 miles (tomorrow I'm going to take it more easy... a little hard without food, lol)

a DVD workout

I think my favorite "recipe" of the day was the grapefruit juice I had at dinner. If any of you are familiar with raw food guru Sarma, this is one of her favorite recipes I got from her book. Simply mix freshly squeezed grapefruit juice with your raw, organic blue-green algae and guzzle away. I added a packet of Truvia to it, so it wouldn't be so sour. Mind you, it doesn't look pretty, BUT it tastes fantastic. You could do this with any green superfood powder if you don't have the algae powder.

Although I half-way enjoy these types of fasts, in an odd sort of way...I'm already looking forward to something that I can actually chew. Till tomorrow...

Running Update

Hey guys...I got news...I've mostly been keeping this to my little self, but here it is...

I'M DOING ANOTHER HALF MARATHON this spring! Woot! I'm excited, but I'm nervous. I may call myself a runner and I do run a lot, but really I'm pretty sure I'm not built for it...and I actually don't even like it all that much, lol. But I love how it makes me feel and how strong it makes me.

Today I ran the longest AND the fastest I've run probably since my last half...6.5 miles! I did it in 68 minutes, and that includes my 1 min. and 30 seconds warmup and beginning of cooldown! (I know, I need to cooldown better, lol) That's pretty much half the marathon right there. I have quite a few weeks left to train for it too, so I'm stoked.

I'm reading Brendan Brazier's book "Thrive" right now and it's super inspiring. I love how he has a super healthy lifestyle, food and fitness wise. The whole book is just fantastic and I completely recommend it to EVERYONE who has the least bit of interest in fitness (hey! You never know, maybe you can win them over to a more healthy lifestyle with it!)

I'm using quite a lot of my Nutiva Hemp Raw Protein powder lately, as well as my organic, raw maca powder, local bee pollen, and blue-green algea. For the most part, I've had a lot of energy training for this half, except for a couple runs. So I guess this stuff is working. I'm hoping to bump up my greens consumption and have more protein, muscle building foods in this next while. If you're a runner, comment below and let me know what helps you in your running lifestyle!

Btw, my Merry Hempster's vegan lip balm is all gone and it sure lasted me a while. While I loved that stuff, I'm using Burt's Bees a friend gave me right now and I LOVE that just as much!

Pass on the Carrots

Never thought you'd hear me say that, did you? But don't worry...I don't mean for good. I just mean CHANGE IT UP. Recently, what we've been doing is putting jicama or turnip on our veggie trays. We cut it into long, peeled strips and dunk away in the dip. I like them good and plain.

Seriously though, I just love raw jicama (hica-a-ma) and turnip. It sounds a little strange, I know. The first time I saw raw a turnip on a crudites platter, I thought that it was extremely odd, but then I tried it. So just for a bit, replace the carrot sticks and celery...you might be pleasantly surprised.

Treats for Valentines

Happy Valentine's Everybody! Since tomorrow is the big day I'm just re-posting a special post I did a year or two ago...with loads of delicious recipes and pictures to drool over. Hope you enjoy and can make a recipe or two for yourselves tomorrow! Perfect for two!

These are raw chocolate Turtles (you can see the caramel peeking through on the first one) and around it are "Chocolate Carmel Bites". I originally found a caramel dipping sauce at Gone Raw by Mish. I tweaked it a bit and made it into just plain caramel.

Caramel
about 4 TB of tahina
about 4-6 medjool dates (depending on how sweet you like it, but this will make it thicker too)
a wee bit of vanilla
and a few tablespoons of maple syrup until the consistency you desire...but you want it thick, like a dough almost)
Mix it up in the food processor.

Dipping Chocolate
about 3-4 BIG heaping tablespoons of melted coconut butter
a few TB. of organic cocoa powder (you can use carob or cacao, if you have it on hand)
equal parts of agave nectar and maple syrup
You want this to be a bit thicker, not a sauce, but just a nice, smooth dipping chocolate. Because coconut oil is such a stable cooking fat you can melt it by warming it over the stove on the lowest setting. It's still raw. ;0)

RAW TURTLES
Make little balls of the caramel and slide a pecan in the middle of it. Flatten it a little and with a fork, dip it into the chocolate mixture. Put on wax paper. Do this with all of them and then put them in the freezer to harder.

Caramel Bites (above)
With the caramel mixture make little balls and with your finger make a deep dent in the middle. Fill with liquid chocolate. Freeze till hard.
Caramel Chocolate Bites
Do the same as above, but just mix in some carob/cacao/cocoa powder in the caramel.
These are nice little nibbles when you need that little "sweet" during the day.
Caramel Almond Smacks (the picture below, left) Just make flat, thin circles in the palm of your hand with the caramel. Place on wax paper. With a spoon drop on some chocolate and garnish with an almond.

And now for my favorite of ALL! Oh, these are to die for! (drumroll, please!)

Dark Truffle Fudge (the heart above)
4-5 TB. of melted coconut butter
enough organic cocoa till it's a very thick fudge consistency
equal parts of pure maple syrup and agave nectar to sweetness
And then...thin it out with Coconut Milk for a creamy, milk-ness. It should thicken more when it's been in the fridge or freezer for a while. Place in a small square container and when more firm, score or slice into little fudge bars.

Oh, I could go on and on about the fudge. And I've tried lots of different fudges, or at least some, and I liked it, but this TOPS it! The ingredients may seem simple, but this really just melts in your mouth. It's so creamy and silky smooth (one fudge I can think of, seemed a bit granular, you know). If you're crazy about dark chocolate like me, this if for you! My mind spins when I think of all the incredible things you can do with it. Make balls and cover with a different type of glazing chocolate sauce or use as a layer in a sweet pie...sigh.

As you can see, I topped one or two of them with raw cacao nibs. It's funny, in the picture to the left you can see me (or at least my lips) taking the picture in the reflection. I was drooling over the chocolate, lol! I shaped the fudge into hearts and put a little bit of caramel into the middle of it.

Valentine's Day is a fun family tradition here. We always have a family banquet together, wear red or pink (it's a rule!), and decorate the kitchen table. My Mom always writes out a Valentine for each of us on a red or pink heart and leaves it on our plate, along with a whole pile of chocolate treats for us. This is always special, because she always writes out character qualities that she sees in each of us and tells us how much she loves us. I always save those hearts, they are definitely a dear treasure!