Good Eats!

**Post from Wednesday, Nov. 4th that accidentally did not get posted... Oops!
Here you go, better late than never.**

*From Wednesday* Today, again, the sun is shining. Oh how I love it. Let me count the ways...

1. Woke up at 5:50 AM
2. Blended together a super delicious smoothie for my breakfast at work
3. Drove to the Los Gatos Creek Trail and raw in the brisk morning air with the sun warming me; the wind adding some resistance
4. Finished my 6.42 mile run and headed to the gym to shower
5. At work devouring enjoying my smoothie

Chia Berry Smoothie

• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup blackberries (or other berry)
• 1 Tbsp Chia seeds
• 2 cups fresh spinach (favorite ingredient!!)
  
• 1-2 cups young coconut water
• 1 heaping Tbps protein powder (I used a vegan vanilla rice protein mix)
• dash of Stevia
• 1-2 cups ice

Blend until smooth. Drink from a mason jar at work, or wherever you may be.

Well, that is my morning so far. The run was fantastic. ;) I should run more. I missed it!

Last night I got to have a cooking date with my boyfriend. He's a fantastic cook and a meat-lover, and that is putting it lightly. Culinarily, he is a genius (but don't tell him I said that!). It must be those hours of watching Alton Brown on Good Eats.

He sauteed some veggies and steak for himself and chopped mine.
(Pardon the messy kitchen, there is cooking going on...)

While I made the salad and a Chickpea Flour pizza for myself,
topped with cauliflower, red peppers, zucchini, spinach, cilantro, and a "cheese" sauce.

Cheese sauce was a mixture of nutritional yeast, nama shoyu, water, tahini, salt, cayenne pepper, whatever else sounded good. Secret ingredient is MISO! (I was out of Miso but this is a must)

Then onto dessert! Bliss Coconut Ice Cream (some of the best stuff on Earth!) with a raw brownie bite.
All sprinkled with cinnamon and vanilla rice protein powder. It was pretty darn good.

Chickpea Pizza Crust:
1 cup chickpea flour (also known as besan)
1 cup cooked (or sprouted) quinoa
1 1/2 cups (or depending on how thick/thin you want the consistancy) water
dash of soy sauce or nama shoyu
Add-ins:
salt, cayenne pepper, cumin, paprika, green onions
or
salt, pepper, fresh rosemary, other Italian spices

Mix all together in a bowl or process in food processor. You can bake (at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or so), dehydrate (a couple of hours), or pan fry with coconut oil (since coconut oil works better with high heats!). And then enjoy by itself or top with a creative mix of culinary genius. I know you have it in you!

Chow.

The P90X... and actual results

Happy Tuesday! For some reason, maybe it's the (extended) warm weather, but I am in the best mood today! No complaints here... about anything! I even started my day with a little P90X action. Today was 58 minutes of Legs & Back. Lots of lunges, squats, and pull-ups with an aerobic band- I have yet to actually try a real pull-up (couldn't do them before.. maybe I should try...).

After the workout I made myself a smoothie filled with one of my favorite flavors; Mint! They are never really aesthetically pleasing but they taste amazing!

Coconut water, coconut meat, LOTS of spinach, half a banana, handful of fresh-from-the-garden mint, spearmint extract, 1 scoop of chocolate hemp protein powder, 1/2 dropper of liquid vanilla Stevia, raw cacao powder and nibs, and lots of ice (Sheesh! So many ingredients!).
Needless to say, I was in Minty Heaven.

I have had some people ask about the P90X program and if I think it is worth buying/trying/etc. This is a huge YES. I love it. I am an avid fitness-freak and love a hard workout. I also like to have a life outside of the gym, though. The P90X program consists of 12 DVDs. You do 1 hour-long routine 6 days a week, 1 rest day. The videos are entertaining, go by quickly, and you get a great workout. No spending hours at the gym. No buying expensive weights and accessories. I love it. The only thing that you need is dedication. And there are some days when I don't want to get out of bed and I don't want to push play but I do it anyway. And I'm always happy I did.

And now I am at the last week of my second month (3 months in all), and I feel stronger and look stronger, and have official results to share!
But, back up 1 month and 3 weeks, at the start of my P90X venture. Tony Horton (host/trainer) tells you to take pictures, take measurements, write down all of your exercise sets so you have a comparison. Well, I did none of those things until the start of my second month. This was not out of laziness, it was more out of being fed up with my little weight gain and feeling not so fantastic in the body department. My weight fluctuates no matter how much I exercise or eat. So, I took no pictures and I did not take measurements.

Today, however, I used the body fat analysis machine we have at my work and here some results that I will use, instead, to judge my progress.

May 2009
Weight: 128.8 lbs
Lean body mass: 99 lbs
Percentage body fat: 23.2%

November 2009
Weight: 134.5 lbs
Lean body mass: 103 lbs
Percentage body fat: 23.4%

So, looking at that (I can't believe I am posting my weight), even though I gained weight, I have the same percentage body fat. That means I gained muscle! I am going to take that as an achievement. I would like to "weigh" less but that is by scale standards. I feel good. My pants are a little snug, but I also now have a butt, which was not as "perky" a couple of months ago. So, forgoing the dogmas that are placed on women, I'm feeling pretty good about these stats.

It is hard to find that balance for your body. Like some of those reading this, we have tried to obtain optimal health through nutrition, like eating raw foods. Yes, I eat a mostly raw diet, loaded with veggies, fruits, whole grains, those deemed as Superfoods, and little to no processed foods. I cut out meat and dairy and gluten. Lately, I have been adding in goat yogurt and small amounts of chicken and fish. I'm eating more cooked foods such as sweet potatoes, quinoa, sauteed veggies. Eating mostly raw is by far the best for me but I'm letting myself eat a more rounded, less restrictive diet. And my body is thanking me for this.

Anyway, enough about me. How do you feel? How are your exercise routines going? Are you able to find a balance in food and exercise? Share your comments and stories!

Enjoy your Tuesday. :)

Little Miss Red and a Coconut Smoothie

Ah, Mondays. Some are good. Some are busy. Some are not so enjoyable, as today's is. We have been so busy this morning at work. Phone ringing off the hook, patients coming in, day flying by. But at least it's gorgeous outside! I cannot believe how lucky we are here to have the sun shining and the warm air in November! Love it!

This morning, before work, I got my workout in with a little P90X routine of Back and Biceps and the 16 minute Ab Ripper X. I love getting my workout done first thing in the morning. I always feel like I've rev'ed up my metabolism for the day and stretched out my muscles. Good feeling.

After my workout and shower I made a little superfoods smoothie.

Young coconut water (about 1.5 cups)
Young coconut meat (from 1 coconut)
Handful of Goji berries
1 Tbsp Chocolate Hemp Protein pow
1 Tbsp Raw cacao powder
1 tsp Raw cacao nibs
1 tsp Chia seeds
dash of cinnamon and cayenne
1/4-1/2 tsp Almond extract
1 dropper of Stevia extract or a good pour of agave
Lots of ice

Blend away and enjoy! Sprinkle with raw cacao nibs and dried coconut.

Look at those coconut-opening skills! Pro ;-)

And I was a little slow on getting a few Halloween pictures up so here you are. I'm Little Red Riding Hood, minus the red hood (my sister's costume and not exactly a complete one).

The boyfriend and I (above)

We'll just call it magic "health" juice. haha! Looks cool though!

I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their Monday!!

Productive Day

Happy November 1st! My favorite month... it's a change of season, it contains Thanksgiving, and it's the month of my birthday! November 13, Friday the 13th this year. ;) I'm a lucky charm.

I hope everyone's Halloween was good. There were some great costumes this year! Love this holiday. I definitely had fun and maybe a little too fun (along with a little too much wine and "punch"- headache today). And I have to add that I was exceptionally motivated and productive yesterday. I did an hour of my P90X Plyometrics, cleaned the kitchen, vacuumed the entire house, plus stairs (not my favorite), did 3 loads of laundry, made some raw brownies, gathered the last bits of my Halloween costume, and showed my love of that pink loop by participating in Making Strides Against Breast Cancer 5 K walk through downtown San Jose, California. This was put on by the American Cancer Society and runs throughout the United States to raise money for breast cancer awareness and patient/family support. Great cause! And a great photo-op.

















Then I made some dinner for myself and the boyfriend. A delicious salad with spinach, microgreens, heirloom tomatoes, cucumber, olives, and miso tahini dressing (miso, tahini, lemon, water, cayenne, and tamari) and Chickpea flatbread. The flatbread is a MUST try. I tried this recipe from Mark Bittman's Easy Whole Grain Flatbread.

Yuuuuuuuumy :)

Have a great Halloween night!