Day 9: Move! And ch-ch-ch-choose Chia

 “Recognize that anything worth having is worth fighting for. Good health, vitality, more energy, more confidence, better sex, great abs, a tight ass- you either want ‘em or you don’t. You can continue plodding along in your life feeling like you’re not living up to your glorious potential or you can dedicate yourself to creating the life you want.”   Skinny Bitch

As I’m sure you know, exercise has many benefits. It is better than an antidepressant, sending pleasure hormones to your brain. According to Dr. Neal Barnard,

“Vigorous exercise not only gives you an opiate effect of its own, but also helps you sleep, boosting your resistance to cravings.” 

And of course, I’m sure you’ve heard by now that most every study ever conducted on health proves that regular exercise (30 – 60 min, five times a week) can help reverse and/or prevent nearly all health problems, from diabetes to high blood pressure to depression.

I’ve also noticed that I have much more energy the day after I’ve exercised. Honestly, I believe regular exercise to be one of the secrets of life. It makes me feel more efficient, my brain processes better, my body hums as energy moves more freely. I can get exceedingly more accomplished in a day if I’ve been exercising. Being sedentary makes life feel more like molasses. If you have missions and adventures that you would like to accomplish in your limited time on this earth, then get that momentum going and keep it going!

To be honest, I’ve been guilty of hibernating this winter. Working on this blog post today is actually my motivation to get active. That and reading Light on Life, where Iyengar discusses the importance to keep moving:

“If we break off our practice, inertia reasserts itself…it takes more energy to overcome inertia than to pick up speed. For instance, it is more difficult to push a stationary car up to one mile per hour than to push it from one mile per hour to two miles per hour." 

 Yep, I’ve definitely been feeling like a “stationary car” lately. Or maybe even a truck. But this is a great reminder to jump back in now, knowing that it will get easier once I get moving and that if I only make it easier on myself and keep going this time, perhaps energy and balance will join me!

NingXia Nitro and chia seeds help me with that extra push of energy when I need to get going. Have you tried chia seeds? In Born to Run, Christopher McDougall calls chia seeds “Home-brewed Red Bull!”

He continues, “In terms of nutritional content, a tablespoon of chia is like a smoothie made from salmon, spinach, and human growth hormone. As tiny as those seeds are, they’re superpacked with omega-3s, omega-6s, protein, calcium, iron, zinc, fiber, and antioxidants. If you had to pick just one desert-island food, you couldn’t do much better than chia, at least if you were interested in building muscle, lowering cholesterol, and reducing your risk of heart disease; after a few months on the chia diet, you could probably swim home.”

According to Dr. Todd Pesek in Eat Yourself Super, chia has more calcium than cow’s milk.  Also, an excellent Superfood, chia can stabilize blood sugar, contributing to the prevention and reversal of diabetes.

You can eat the seeds raw, sprinkle into soups or whole grain dishes, or add them to baked goods.  The best way for your body to streamline the nutrients, however, is soaked in liquid for at least 10 minutes.  It forms a gel.

As you can see, the gel is not the prettiest or the most pleasant drink, but it makes a HUGE difference if I chug a glass right before a run. I find a bit more endurance. Try it.

If you are sore after a tough workout, marjoram oil is an excellent muscle relaxer. I find I have much less muscle pain for the days following, especially that brutal first week, if I rub myself down with marjoram oil or take a bath with a few drops sprinkled into the water.

Now for a treat! This is the perfect after-exercise snack (or a great way to start the day as breakfast.) The banana in this smoothie will nourish your muscles and replenish your carbohydrates. 

Fun banana fact: When running long distances (over an hour,) a banana is a perfect snack for refueling – the high water content keeps you hydrated and the carbohydrates keep you going.  It’s very popular with marathon runners. “Is that a banana in your pocket…?”

Bananas for Peanut Butter “Milk” Shake
1 Frozen banana, in small chunks
¼ cup chia gel
½ cup almond milk (unsweetened vanilla for now – the chocolate almond milk is wonderful in this but contains sugar)
1 ice cube
1-2 Tablespoons of peanut butter (depending on if you plan to snack on nuts later, if so, have just one)
2 scoops protein powder, like Power Meal or Balance Complete

Blend together. I pulse a few times, then blend for 30 seconds straight, pause and blend another 15 seconds, then check consistency. If it’s too thick, add a little more almond milk and blend for 15 more seconds.

You can also add cacao powder.

*In today's picture, I added a heaping teaspoon of cacao powder and 2 teaspoons of steel-cut oats. I put the oats in first, then poured the almond milk and chia gel over so that the oats could soak for about 5 minutes, then started adding the other ingredients. It was delicious! If I had more time, I would probably use more like 1/4 cup oats and soak in boiling water, then let cool (or make a bunch to keep in the fridge?) The raw oats surprised me by disappearing though - I barely noticed them.

It tastes like a milkshake and is my favorite smoothie of all! You are welcome!

Stay tuned- tomorrow I will be sharing another amazing recipe with chia seeds- contributed a couple of weeks ago as a response from the recipe request shout out! Is it yours?

Day 15 – Better than Ever and Better than Most

Yesterday, I ran 4 miles for the first time in almost two years.  I did not really ramp up gradually – I ran 3 miles a couple of days ago, slowed down and just went for 4.  And I feel GREAT!  In the past, I would really be hurting (ice, motrin, hours of stretching) after adding an entire mile out of nowhere, but I feel perfectly fine!  I’m wondering if it’s the cleanse diet or the chia seeds or all of the extra vegetables or the yoga?  Maybe it’s everything.  There really is something to this.  I can’t believe my after-run recovery.  I’m testing what I’m preaching and it’s TRUE, brothers and sisters!

Though we have been told that we need to eat meat and drink milk for optimal performance in sports, there are many incredible athletes who prove the contrary.  Scott Jurek & Brendan Brazier are both vegan and Ultramarathon runners – that means they typically run 50 – 160 miles per race, without stopping the clock like in the Tour de France for sleep.  More often than not, these ultramarathons are 100 miles.  To say that’s hard core is like saying it’s warm on the equator.  And they do it with plants and whole grains!  There are also many bodybuilders and Olympic athletes who are vegan or vegetarian.  Their muscles are just fine without animal protein and they are going on not just to compete, but to win.

Being a vegetarian is not a trendy fad.  These were some early and contemporary trend setters: Plato, Ovid, Leonardo da Vinci,  Voltaire, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Henry David Thoreau, Leo Tolstoy, Abraham Lincoln, Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi, Rosa Parks, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Mary Tyler Moore, Oliver Stone, Alec Baldwin, Deepak Chopra, Prince, Lenny Kravitz, Alanis Morrissette, Ellen DeGeneres, Shania Twain, Reese Witherspoon, Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman, Nelly, and Anthony Kiedes. 

Olympic medalists include: Lizzie Armistead, Edwin Moses, Bode Miller, Carl Lewis, Ruth Heidrich, Chris Campbell, and many others.  Other athletic superstars include 4 time Mr. Universe winner and bodybuilder Bill Pearl, football player Joe Nameth, basketball star Robert Parish, baseball’s Prince Fielder, and David Scott (who holds the record for most Iron Man World Championship wins).  Now tell one of those guys that being vegetarian “isn’t cool, man.”

I did not share these lists for the sake of saying, “Look at the cool people who are doing it!” Think of how much these people have accomplished in their lives.  Think of the focus, endurance, athleticism, brainpower and/or energy required.  They’ve managed not just fine, but far better than most while eating veggies and granola.

I’m currently reading Scott Jurek’s book (Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to UltraMarathon Greatness) and he talks about how he noticed better performance in sports from eating vegetables and whole grains in high school.  He went away to a camp for cross country skiing and they fed him vegetarian fare.  He realized on his own that his sports performance was better than ever, resulting from the new diet. 

I’ve never before run in conjunction with a vegan diet and I'm shocked by the difference I feel personally.  I’ve also started experimenting with more interesting grains, like kasha (included in the recipe below.)  I think the kasha had an effect on my endurance.  This is really exciting!  There’s no going back for me.

To quote my Teta (Aunt) Kata, “Try it- you will like it!”

I’ve just discovered kasha – it is cracked buckwheat.  It has a very nutty, earthy taste and is amazing in this salad.

Dijon Brown Rice & Kasha Salad
½ cup kasha (prepared according to box)
½ cup brown rice (prepared according to box)
1 red bell pepper – diced
1 yellow bell pepper- diced
1 avocado – diced
3 green onions, sliced
1 large tomato, diced
½ cucumber, diced
½ cup walnuts (bite-sized pieces)

Dressing
¼ cup rice vinegar
½ TB Dijon mustard
1 tsp agave nectar
½ tsp salt
½ tsp fresh ground pepper
2 cloves garlic- minced
¼ cup olive oil
(whisk together before pouring over salad)

Cook rice and kasha as directed on the package.  Let cool for at least 1 hour.  Add the rest of the ingredients.  Pour dressing over the salad & mix well.  Serve cold.

This serves about 8-10 people (or will make you tons of leftovers for lunches.)  It’s great to bring to a family gathering and delicious.  Someone always asks for the recipe.  Enjoy!

Note:  You can use any other veggies that you like, but the avocados, peppers, and nuts are very complimentary with the dressing.  Also, I used half olive oil and half pumpkinseed oil, along with fresh grilled corn in my recipe.  It was delicious.

Day 14- How are YOU?

Since it is Sunday and a day of rest, I will give your brain a break, as well as my fingers.  Please take today to feel the glow of pride for the amazing things you are doing for your body.

I've been blogging and sharing how I am feeling, but I would like to know how you are feeling! 

Do you have any questions?

Have you adopted any part of the cleanse and want to share your experience?

Have you discovered some new recipes or go-to foods?

Is there anything that you would like me to add on the blog as we approach the last week of our cleanse?

This cleanse is an exciting journey so far.  I've learned even more about myself  and nutrition by sharing the information with you.  Thank you for reading!

Below is a recipe from Vegetarian Times magazine.  It's a raw breakfast recipe created by an Ayurvedic lifestyle counselor.  That means that it balances all six tastes, which in Ayurveda is how you know you are getting everything your body needs.

Note:  It was much tastier when I cooked it on the stove.  If you like it raw or know you have a busy morning the next day and prefer to make it overnight, the cold recipe is decent.  But when you warm it, it's really incredible.  I could eat it every day!

Overnight Chai Steel-Cut Oats

1 cup steel-cut oats

1 cup almond milk (or soy, hemp, any non-dairy milk)

2 TB chia seeds

1/4 tsp. ground cardamom

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp ground ginger or 1 TB crystallized ginger

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1 pinch nutmeg

1 pinch black pepper

1 TB maple syrup

1 TB shredded coconut, optional (but delicious!)

1 TB chopped pistachios, optional (delicious!)

1. Combine oats, almond milk, chia seeds, cardamom, vanilla, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper, and maple syrup in a glass jar with lid.  Stir, close lid, and refrigerate overnight.

2. Open lid, stir, and sprinkle with coconut and pistachios, if using.

I made this a couple of days ago and it's very portable.  I took my jar with me today.  It stretched to 3 breakfasts for me.

I usually like my oatmeal warm.  I think I'm going to try it on the stove tomorrow.  Take your pick!  It would be good to make overnight if you know you'll have a busy morning and need something to grab and go.

Day 11 Makes the Cheese Monster Cry and Say Goodbye

Free yourself from dairy and animal products.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my nickname used to be “The Cheese Monster.”  My sister and I could polish off an entire 24 pack of Kraft singles in two days.  Judging by the fact that I was at a hefty 140 pounds in 5th grade, it was probably more me than my sister… When I was diagnosed with dairy allergies in 6th grade, I listened to the doctor and stopped eating dairy products for 6 months.  I lost 30 pounds!

Unfortunately, after about a year, I rediscovered my love of cheese and suffered from constant sinus infections, headaches, never being able to breathe through my nose, and…well…a constantly uncomfortable tummy.  I thought it was normal.

Dairy is NOT normal.  We are the only species that drinks milk after infancy and the only species that drinks the milk of other species.  And why did we pick cows?  Cows produce the largest quantity of milk and it’s more economic to house them than elephants.  (“Lucky elephants!” say the cows.)

“Cows’ milk, by design, grows a 90 –pound calf into a 2,000 pound cow over the course of two years.  It allows calves to double their birth weight in forty-seven days and leaves their four stomachs feeling full.  Sounds more fattening than human milk, right?  It is.” – Skinny Bitch

According to Freston, “So-called ‘2 percent’ milk may be 2 percent fat by volume, but it’s about 33 percent by calories, which is what actually matters.”

Remember all those nasty pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, and steroids I mentioned yesterday that are in your meat?  By eating dairy products, it is just as bad as though you ate the meat directly.  As a matter of fact, Eggs have 10 times the hormone content of meat and dairy, along with a hefty dose of cholesterol and very possibly, salmonella.

Dairy products have been linked to osteoporosis, allergies, acne, anemia, anxiety, arthritis, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, fibromyalgia, headaches, heartburn, indigestion, irritable bowel syndrome, joint pain, poor immune function, ear infections, colic, obesity, heart disease, diabetes, autism, Crohn’s disease, breast and prostate cancers, and ovarian cancer.

Dairy can have a strong, crazy hold over us.  This picture was not taken during the cleanse!



I know that you are still saying, “but CHEEEESE!  What would I do without cheese pizza?”  That’s because you’ve been drugged.  Casein, present in cheese, eventually breaks down through digestion to become casomorphins.  Yeah, like “morphine.”  So casein is an opiate, sending pleasure to your brain, soothing you and making you want more.  You had no choice but to equate cheese with love.  Not only are you drugged, but casein and milk proteins have been shown to “dramatically increase blood cholesterol and its associated lesion that leads to heart disease.”  Not bad enough for you?  It also promotes cancer development.

T. Colin Campbell is responsible for the China Study, one of the most significant studies on the pitfalls of animal products and their link to cancer and other diseases.  After one of his clinical experiments, he wrote, “Even when huge doses of cancer-causing toxins were given to study subjects, tumors grew only when they were fed casein.”

The American Cancer Society recommends eating mostly plant sources and to limit high-fat foods, especially from animal sources, if you want to reduce the risk of cancer.

But your doctor said that milk “does a body good,” right?  Did you know that medical doctors receive less than 3 hours of training in nutrition, according to a Senate investigation?  So they are buying the garbage that those who profit from our drinking milk are spending millions of dollars to advertise.

As a matter of fact, milk actually leaches calcium from the body!   Where are the lowest incidences of osteoporosis on earth?  Surely America, since we drink all that milk, right?  WRONG.  Dairy –free countries. “The more milk a population consumes, the weaker its bones get.”  Yes, milk has calcium, but at the same time it also releases even more of it.  According to The Kind Diet, “Meat and dairy are the chief causes of osteoporosis, not the cures.”

So how to get your calcium?  Easy!  Eat fortified grains, kale, collard greens, mustard greens, cabbage, kelp, seaweed, watercress, chickpeas, broccoli, red beans, soybeans, tofu, seeds, and nuts.

Calcium Milligrams per 100-gram serving:


Butter
20
Whole Milk
118
Chickpeas
150
Collard greens
203
Parsley
203
Soybeans
226
Almonds
234
Sesame seeds
1160

“The Chinese, throughout their long and complicated history, have never included milk or cheese in their diets.  It’s only in the very recent past that dairy has been introduced as a daily food, and with it has come a rapid rise in health problems like obesity and breast cancer.” – The Kind Diet, Alicia Silverstone

Where women consume high-fat, animal-based diets, the American Dietic Association reports incidences of breast cancer at the highest.  In fact, “in countries where dairy is not consumed the incidence of breast cancer is so low as to be almost nonexistent.  Once women in those countries begin eating Western diets, however, their breast cancer rates increased eightfold.” – Kind Diet

So if you drop all animal products, these are the long-term benefits:
1.    More energy – Liver and kidneys work harder to digest – you are testing this right now!  Do you feel lighter?
2.    Clearer skin – Animal meat contains hormones
3.    Alleviation of chronic conditions, like arthritis – “80 percent of milk protein comes from casein, and casein is believed to aggravate arthritis.” –Freston

Not to mention, much lower risk of all the other diseases listed above.

When sugar is back on the menu, check out SoDelicious ice “cream” bars.  They are made with coconut milk and they are, well, SO DELICIOUS!  I make “Tofutti” cheese sandwiches (best if you combine with veggies – the taste isn’t exactly cheese) and pizza with Daiya shreds (still looking for a tastier brand, but it melts like cheese and holds the veggies on my pizza.)

Kathy writes:

Yes, this is a lot of information, “but with awareness comes resolve.  The more aware you are of why it’s so important to change the way you eat, the better you will be able to stick with the program.  With this knowledge under your belt, the cleanse will feel less like a restriction and more like the upgrade that it is.  And should you decide to maintain these upgrades after the completion of the cleanse, you will do so with the awareness that you have made a profound lifestyle choice with far-ranging, life-long positive benefits.”

Carrot Ginger Smoothie – Refreshing!

1 large carrot, cut into chunks
1 small apple, skin and core removed, cut into chunks
½ avocado
½ banana
Juice of ¼ to ½ lemon (depending on how lemony you want it)
About ½ inch fresh ginger
¼ cup chia gel
½ cup water

Blend together.  Add more water if too thick.  Enjoy!

Day 5: Move! And ch-ch-ch-choose Chia

 “Recognize that anything worth having is worth fighting for.  Good health, vitality, more energy, more confidence, better sex, great abs, a tight ass- you either want ‘em or you don’t.  You can continue plodding along in your life feeling like you’re not living up to your glorious potential or you can dedicate yourself to creating the life you want.”   Skinny Bitch

As I’m sure you know, exercise has many benefits.  It is better than an antidepressant, sending pleasure hormones to your brain.  According to Dr. Neal Barnard, “Vigorous exercise not only gives you an opiate effect of its own, but also helps you sleep, boosting your resistance to cravings.”  And of course, I’m sure you’ve heard by now that most every study ever conducted on health proves that regular exercise (30 – 60 min, five times a week) can help reverse and/or prevent nearly all health problems, from diabetes to high blood pressure to depression.

I’ve also noticed that I have much more energy the day after I’ve exercised.  Honestly, I believe regular exercise to be one of the secrets of life.  It makes me feel more efficient, my brain processes better, my body hums as energy moves more freely.  I can get exceedingly more accomplished in a day if I’ve been exercising.  Being sedentary makes life feel more like molasses.  If you have missions and adventures that you would like to accomplish in your limited time on this earth, then get that momentum going and keep it going!

Lately, I’ve been running, bicycling, and attending yoga classes.  I am training for a 10K (6.2 miles) in October and to help me climb back up to athletic endurance, I have been turning to chia seeds.  In Born to Run, Christopher McDougall calls chia seeds “Home-brewed Red Bull!”

He continues, “In terms of nutritional content, a tablespoon of chia is like a smoothie made from salmon, spinach, and human growth hormone.  As tiny as those seeds are, they’re superpacked with omega-3s, omega-6s, protein, calcium, iron, zinc, fiber, and antioxidants.  If you had to pick just one desert-island food, you couldn’t do much better than chia, at least if you were interested in building muscle, lowering cholesterol, and reducing your risk of heart disease; after a few months on the chia diet, you could probably swim home.”

According to Dr. Todd Pesek in Eat Yourself Super, chia has more calcium than cow’s milk.  Also, an excellent Superfood, chia can stabilize blood sugar, contributing to the prevention and reversal of diabetes.

You can eat the seeds raw, sprinkle into soups or whole grain dishes, or add them to baked goods.  The best way for your body to streamline the nutrients, however, is soaked in liquid for at least 10 minutes.  It forms a gel.

As you can see, the gel is not the prettiest or the most pleasant drink, but it makes a HUGE difference if I chug a glass right before a run.  It makes running easier.  Try it.

If you would like to learn more about chia, as well as recipes and how to make chia gel, the following is a great resource:  http://www.rawreform.com/content/view/345/127/.

If you are sore after a tough workout, drink some chia.  It reduces muscle soreness, which I have not read yet, but my sister-in-law, Jessica, swears by it and I've experienced it myself. 

Now for a treat!  This is the perfect after-exercise snack (or a great way to start the day as breakfast.)  The banana in this smoothie will nourish your muscles and replenish your carbohydrates. 

Fun banana fact:  When running long distances (over an hour,) a banana is a perfect snack for refueling – the high water content keeps you hydrated and the carbohydrates keep you going.  It’s very popular with marathon runners.  “Is that a banana in your pocket…?”

Bananas for Peanut Butter “Milk” Shake

1 Frozen banana, in small chunks

¼ cup chia gel

½ cup almond milk (unsweetened vanilla for now – the chocolate almond milk is wonderful in this but contains sugar)

1 ice cube

1-2 Tablespoons of peanut butter (depending on if you plan to snack on nuts later, if so, have just one)

Blend together.  I pulse a few times, then blend for 30 seconds straight, pause and blend another 15 seconds, then check consistency.  If it’s too thick, add a little more almond milk and blend for 15 more seconds.

You can also add cacao powder or protein powder.

*In today's picture, I added a heaping teaspoon of cacao powder and 2 teaspoons of steel-cut oats.  I put the oats in first, then poured the almond milk and chia gel over so that the oats could soak for about 5 minutes, then started adding the other ingredients.  It was delicious!  If I had more time, I would probably use more like 1/4 cup oats and soak in boiling water, then let cool (or make a bunch to keep in the fridge?)  The raw oats surprised me by disappearing though - I barely noticed them.

It tastes like a milkshake and is my favorite smoothie of all!