Smoothie Operator....

I spend ALOT of time on twitter, and reading health related blogs during my commute everyday. One person that I absolutely love to follow is this guy... who I have mentioned before in a previous blog.  I have been really thinking about juicing vs. blending the past few months.. and I think this short 1 minute blurb pretty much answers my question... in a round about way.

According to MayoClinic.com, there is no sound scientific evidence that extracted juices are better for you than eating the fruit or vegetable itself. Juicing can be used as a tool to get more fruits and vegetables in your diet, though, so to that end it is beneficial if you don't normally eat whole veggies. One of the benefits of both vegetable juicing and vegetable blending is that you can mix in vegetables that you would not ordinarily eat alone.

I contemplated buying a juicer... but then decided to stay with my friendly little blender I purchased.. and get the most from my fruits and vegetables that I can.   I love blending, mixing.. and coming up with new ideas for my smoothies.   If you prefer to juice.. that is great!  I know alot of people who juice and enjoy it.  Beats the heck out of store bought juice....

I just found this smoothie recipe on one of my favorite blogs I follow.. http://lindawagner.net/blog/

Strawberry Mango Green Smoothie:

• 2 bananas
• 1 10 ounce bag of frozen strawberries
• 1 10 ounce bag of frozen mangoes
• 2 large handfuls of baby spinach
• 1.5 cups Almond Milk –
• 2 droppers full of Vanilla Stevia (Optional)

This will make about 64oz.. so I recommend cutting the recipe in half.. or more.   I actually add protein powder to mine (Vegan protein powder)  to keep me satisfied longer. 

Today is my BFF's Birthday... she is a personal trainer in the Denver area... so in her honor I am now going to proceed to the floor and do a plank for 1 minute.

.. as this is going to be my new nightly routine...

Coming off the Cleanse...

Coming off this cleanse has been interesting.  I find myself now wanting to go back to the strict habits I just formed over the past 30 days.   I am craving fresh fruits, vegetables, and my gluten free bread.  I have been drinking coffee only 2x a week... but have found it is giving me headaches.  The one thing I absolutely craved for 30 days.. is now making me sick.  Unbelievable....

Here are a few tips I found online from Dr. Oz about going on a cleanse....with some of my feedback as well....

Dr Oz’s Cleanse Tips:

Don’t go cold turkey.  Try to wean yourself from some of your habits prior to the cleanse, such as cutting coffee and sugar. This will soften the detox symptoms.

Don’t starve yourself.   Many people are fearful of cleanse programs because they hear about things like drinking only lemon water with cayenne pepper for weeks on end. A cleanse spends a lot of time educating clients on how to create hormonally balanced meals that include carbohydrates, proteins and fats in every meal (or even liquid shake meals as did my program)

Drink plenty of water.  Between the recommended protein shakes, detox tea, colon cleanse drinks, herbal tea get plenty of water to aid the body in flushing toxins. Try to shoot for 1/2 your body weight in ounces. 

Research your detox plan.    It is always recommended to check with your personal doctor to make sure you are cleared to make better diet habits. 

Don’t reward the end of the detox with a food binge (Like I did).  After the cleanse, you may want to journal the foods you incorporate back into your diet.  Some foods may cause bloating, and upset stomach..

By starting a journal,  you may be able to determine what foods you might want to refrain from eating.   Living a 80/20 lifestyle.  Eating cleanse friendly 80% of the time and allowing some “treats” 20% of the time is a good rule of thumb. 

Toxic Food Shock

So I have been on the road the past four days, and traveling while trying to eat healthy is a huge challenge.   The airport is probably the hardest place to find something (safe) and healthy to eat.  But I happen to stumble across a small little shelf full of Gluten Free/Dairy Free food at the Oakland airport during my trip to Nebraska.... here is what I found.. and it was actually really good?

Gluten Free Tortilla Chips and a Coconut Bar

The trip started out well.. but I then proceeded to eat this....(maybe twice during the weekend)









and then

Casey's Pizza.. oh so greasy...(I actually took all the cheese and meat off)

Next.....

My mom (who happens to be the best cook ever) made peach pie!  It was heavenly!

I completely blew every healthy eating habit known to mankind... not to mention I drank Bud Light as well on Saturday night.   So... tomorrow I plan to get back on the health wagon.. and get real.  

Do you all know what this week is.....it just so happens to be "National Egg Salad Sandwich Week"

I absolutely love Egg Salad Sandwiches...even though they make your house smell like a sewage treatment plant.   There are soooo many ways to prepare egg salad... and I plan to try out my veganaise as an alternative to mayo.. and see how it turns out.   So use up those Easter egg's.. and make egg salad!

Looking at the stat's .. I still have some readers.. so I will continue to blog more on the cleanse.. and also on more clean eating....







Good.. Good Friday :)

Come Back on Monday... I am boarding a plane as we speak for here....

I will be back with lots of pictures.. and tell you all about my headaches from incoporating coffee back into my life... this is not good!   I also have a few tips from Dr. Oz.. on the Cleanse as well.... Stay tuned!!   Happy Easter/Passover my friends.....

Zevia

I was soooooo excited to receive this in the mail last night at my door step....

Zevia was so gracious to let me try ALL 12 of their flavors (24 cans in all) and provide me with literature on their All Natural Soda.. that I have grown to love!!  After reading up on each and every ingredient in this soda.. I am sold.  I am not saying I am going to slug down this soda everyday.. but I will award myself with this after a run.. or what not. 

I can hardly wait to try each and every flavor and decide which one I will purchase next.  So far.. I am in love with the Dr. Pepper flavored one... and anything grape!!    If you would like to know more about this soda check out their cool website www.zevia.com   .. or seem me for a coupon :)   

A New Start

Did anyone happen to catch this segment on 60 minutes last night on "Is Sugar Toxic?".  Of course I LOVE 60 minutes.. and last night they featured a well known doctor from the San Francisco Bay area by the name of Dr. Robert Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of California, who  believes that high amounts of sugar in the American diet, much of it in processed foods, is killing us.   For the most part.. he is right!  I was able to sit in on one of Dr. Lustig's seminars out here.. and found it very intriguing.  

The next time you go grocery shopping.. start to pay attention to the amount of sugar in food... especially the low fat food!!   Consumers are sooo misinformed with the food on today's grocery shelves.   I wish I could gather the world and take them on a grocery store tour.. and point out the facts behind the labels and food products.  

You cannot believe the amount of people who think that because they are shopping at an organic grocery store.. or picking up unprocessed foods, that all of those items are healthy.. and going to contribute to their weight loss or healthy lifestyle.  Keep in mind a lot of those foods are high in sodium.. or sugar.  I mean come on.. they had to make it taste good some how. 

During my cleanse I was urged to switch to an all natural sweetener.  I have been using Stevia.. which I have grown to love.  I will admit that it can have a bitter aftertaste.. but after using it for a while.. that went away.  A few others have complained that it upset their stomach a shade... but that could be a result of the erythritol (a sugar alcohol widely used in Japan).   If you suffer from IBS.. I would avoid it.  

A fun little activity you can do in your head.. or out loud if you live where I do... as everyone talks to themselves out here as it is widely acceptable, is to keep this little formula in your head.. 
(4 Grams of Sugar = 1tsp)  next time you are in the store.. start paying attention to the sugar content in the food.  For instance.. really take note in the beverage section.
Arizona Iced Tea: 16 ounces = 48 grams sugar, 180 calories  (WOW!!)   Now that's alot of Sugar!!
Oh.. and while your at it.. check out those "All Natural" soda's you thought were ohhhh sooo healthy!!

I could really take this post further into my own little book... but we will keep it short and sweet for you all!  

P.s  Guess where I was just at....

Ahhhhh yeah......for my Non-Fat Cafe Latte... with no whip cream.  
Calories:  130
Sugar:  18 g (little over 4 tsp of sugar)

Wait for my upcoming post on Coffee....

Day 29

So if your curious... this is how I spent my Sunday afternoon with the girls.....

It started with a flight of beers at a Gastropub with my friends... and then we ordered this:

A Grassfed Beef Hamburger.. with fries.   Ahhhhhhhhhhh!   I was careful with the fries... as I didn't know what all that fat and grease would do.  
If you can believe this... I got up this morning.. and was all excited to have coffee... and then discovered I had no creamer... so I ended up pouring my coffee out.  I cannot drink black coffee.. yuck.  So I had a nice cup of green ginger tea (Exciting)

I have had alot of questions about the smoothie that I was drinking everyday... I will give you some of the details:  The particular protein powder I was using.. was vegan (not disclosing brand).. and had no dairy, or soy.   I would usually add 2 scoops of that (160kcals/20g Pro) with a scoop of the fiber powder I had purchased (12g fiber) to keep me satisfied longer.  I would then add a 1/2 cup of Strawberries, mango's on occasion, cup of Kale or Chard, a cup of Almond Milk, or Rice Milk, along with 2 Tbsp of Ground Flax seed or 1tsp or so of Sunflower Seed Butter as my fat.   I would change it up on occasions with different fruits, and vegetables.. as I prefer my smoothie to be not as sweet.  It would usually make around 12 oz.  Total kcal's was roughly 400 from the smoothie.. seems like alot.. but this is the only thing I was consuming for my breakfast.. up until lunch.   There are a billion ways you can make your smoothie...I like to change it up.. try different frozen fruits.. and might even try coconut milk at times.  One must be careful not to add too many items.. as that will increase the calories in your smoothie.   About 3 months ago.. I purchased this little Cuisinart blender.. its compact and comes with 16 oz cups that you can travel with.. so you just blend.. and place a lid on it.. and go.  The best $70.00 I EVER spent.  This thing will cut, chop, and puree through anything.... I also like that it is 16oz so I can control the size of my smoothie. 

Happy Sunday !!!!