Holistic-Health-Junkie

Meet Me Halfway

2011-11-21T17:00:00.001-05:00

On Sunday I finished my second half-marathon. It was bittersweet as the anticipation of the race (race days feel like Christmas to me) was coupled with a fear that I was setting myself up for a possible injury. I had signed up for the race back in the summer before experiencing several set-backs to my training. I needed to take antibiotics in September for an infection, which left me weak and in bed for ten days. I was instructed to change my food plan to a low-carb diet and reluctantly re-introduced meats. I hated my new diet as it left me further weakened; I lost a bit of weight, which for my frame was a big deal. I subsequently stopped exercising because I couldn't increase my calorie intake to accommodate running. My energy was nonexistent and running became the furthest thing from my mind. But I couldn't completely rule out the race.

I managed to get a couple runs in that included an 8-miler about a month before the race. Given that I hadn't really trained for 8 miles and finished fine, I figured doing a half marathon wasn't that unreachable. And in the days leading up to the race I cheated a bit on my diet and added some lentils and beans for extra carbohydrates. It would have been impossible to run without proper glycogen stores. I learned this during one of my longer training runs where my muscles completely cramped at mile 6 and I had to walk home. A week before the race, and still recovering from fatigue, I had images in my head of someone having to scrape me up off the pavement. But the carb-loading over the weekend paid off and my energy increased quickly. I decided on race day that I would go for it and run. In the back of my mind I still wondered if I was doing the right thing.

My friend Robert gave me tremendous support, running the first two miles with me and surprising me at different mile markers. I only started to struggle during mile nine. It's amazing what crowds, fun signs (Zombies Are Behind You, Run!, My Mom Runs Faster Than Your Mom, On a scale of 1 to 10, You're a 13.1), and high-fives from kids can do to keep runners energized. For not having run much lately, I was impressed by getting to mile 9 and feeling great. And then painful side stitches, presumably from the gu energy gel, and severe cramping in my one calf set in. There were two moments where the pain almost forced me to stop. My pace slowed. I was gearing up for the final stretch and felt it would be silly to stop after everything I had done. "Why walk? I'll get to the finish quicker if I run" I thought. I kept thanking my body for giving me this experience and believed that it would sustain me to the finish. It was like I was bargaining with it. "Please get me to the end. I just want to finish. I promise to be nicer to you in the future."

The crowds at the finish line were amazing and I had never before experienced such energy at the end of a race. I usually feel as if my shoes are filled with lead and typically struggle to cross but my body just wanted the race to be over. It gave me a much-needed jolt to finish quicker. I was proud of finishing given the circumstances of my health and diet in recent months. But I wondered if I had done more harm than good to my body by running yesterday. While I've given up many things (mostly food related) for the health of my body, on race day I put love of racing before it. Maybe the cramps would have happened regardless of my training. Who knows? Runners suffer injuries even when training properly.

After the race I decided to put those worries out of my mind and celebrate with friends; I vowed to train better in the future knowing that this experience was informative and will make me stronger. But Sunday evening my worries resurfaced and my heart broke to hear that two runners, one half marathoner and one marathon participant, died at and near the finish line. I wondered what was going on in their minds during their journey: their anticipation, their hopes of finishing, the signs they might have enjoyed seeing on the course, the high fives they gave, the family members they saw or visualized cheering them on, their highs and lows, and if they were wishing away warning signs to stop, bargaining with their bodies, as so many runners do, to get them to them to their destination.

Plenty of Fish

2011-10-20T00:01:00.000-04:00

Give a [gal] a fish and you feed [her] for a day. Teach a [gal] to fish and you feed [her] for a lifetime.
Chinese Proverb

Today I was given an amazing gift. My friend Robert, a macrobiotic counselor, made a house call this morning to go over my diet and make some revisions. Currently my doctor has me on a fairly strict diet to starve a slight overgrowth in my GI tract. This meant going off of all sugar and most starches and taking a hiatus from my vegan diet. It also meant eliminating any foods that might be triggering a leaky guy - soy, corn, caffeine, alcohol, fermented foods, and gluten (dairy was already out of my diet). Daily meals have consisted of small amounts of non-gluten grains (like brown rice and quinoa), lots of green vegetables and salads, select nuts and seeds (sesame and almond for the most part) and some organic chicken, turkey and wild fish.

Despite eating foods with higher amounts of protein and eating more greens than I had been as a vegan, I was low on energy and not meeting caloric intake requirements for my half-marathon training. So I eased up and was only running once a week. Robert, being an avid runner, wanted to get me back on the running trail, on track with health and with just simply feeling vibrant again. And what an inspiration he was.

He rolled up to my street with three bags of goodies: a tailor-made list of 7 different breakfast recipes, generous samples of various grains to try, supplements to consider, samples of protein powders, and a couple new brand products to add to my diet. We went over all the recipes and samples and then started to cook. He made 5 recipes in less than an hour:

Pressed Salad
Millet Porridge
Veggie Stew
Blanched Greens
Mochi Melt

The foods were delicious and the lessons were invaluable. There's something so special about a person sharing his time, knowledge, and experiences to help improve someone's quality of life. And it came at a much needed time. I felt like one lucky duck today. Thanks Robert!

From Here to There

2011-10-08T22:12:00.002-04:00

Whenever someone is facing a health issue, be it large or small, chronic or acute, a question that quickly comes to mind is "How did I get here?"

*Was said health issue courtesy of the gene pool?

I had a family history of a GI immune disorder. Although it's currently been ruled out, it's not clear as to whether or not this disease will develop. Everyone is born with a certain body constitution. There's no way to know if my current issue will change. It might improve but it might never completely go away.

*Was it a result of my food choices and, subsequently, from sensitivities to certain foods?

That's a "Was it the chicken or the egg?" question. A weak GI system can lead to food sensitivities; food sensitivities weaken the GI system. No finger-pointing was going to erase the fact that I had to cut out dairy, sugar, caffeine, starch, yeast, and gluten until conditions improved. Zero tolerance for now. I've read that once a GI system is healed and attended to, issues like lactose intolerance might actually be reversible.

*Was it my body's way of saying "f you" and "wake up" to the antibiotics that doctors had prescribed?

It still amazes me, looking back, that doctors never suggested taking probiotics after a round of antibiotics. And I'm still kinda pissed that one of these doctors nonchalantly wrote a prescription for a "low grade" three month supply of antibiotics for a couple blemishes on my face. I took them for a month before realizing, low grade or not, it was a bullshit move for my body. There was never any talk of repopulating the good bacteria that ultimately got wiped out with antibiotic treatment. And guess what? My recent test results that actually got to the root cause of my symptoms showed that I was lacking a lot of good bacteria. In fact, one important strain was nonexistent in my system.

*Was it stress related?

What stress? :P Stress and stress management play a HUGE role in wellness. When your body goes into "fight or flight" mode digestion stops so the body can focus on the fighting or "flighting." This always happens when my nerves get the best of me. Not healthy. The nervous system is also shaped from birth, which affects one's body constitution.

At the end of the day finding answers to these questions doesn't change where I am. It would be nice to know the cause, to know that what I'm doing will improve my condition and to know how to avoid issues (if they are preventable) in the future. But for now, I am here, eating a highly restricted diet and hoping my next test will show signs of improvement. I'm particularly eager for insight into what my food future holds. I'm pretty sure a vegan pizza is waiting for me there.

Club C

2011-09-20T22:41:00.000-04:00

I'm two weeks into a three month venture of cleaning up my gut. It took five years to get to the root of my symptoms and I think I'm finally on my way to healing and finding a balance. It has been really helpful to know people who have gone through similar experiences. Enter one groovy health nut rock star named Jane. I turned to her immediately for resources on what to eat on an anti-candida diet. I was also curious about how she got her diagnosis and what recovery path she followed. Did she struggle like I had to figure out what was going on (as the symptoms can really apply to a plethora of health issues)? Were doctors knowledgeable and receptive? How did she heal her body? Knowing that she was trying to live a raw foods/vegan lifestyle, how did she reconcile with having to eat meat?

Her story was very helpful to me and I have no doubt that it can help others who may suspect they have candida or are already diagnosed and dealing with it.

When did you first receive a diagnosis for candida? What were your symptoms and how long did it take to get the diagnosis? Who diagnosed it and how?

I received a diagnosis for candida in March of 2009. I met with a holistic nutritionist, Ben Briggs, at Lionville Natural Pharmacy. I was at the end of my rope with dealing with migraine headaches. I was making the decision of whether or not to enter a doctoral program, but I was worried that given the frequency of my migraines (4-5 times per month) I would be unable to keep up with the work load. My husband was missing a lot of work to take care of the kids when I got a migraine. I started to have a lot of anxiety because I was in constant fear of when the next migraine would hit. My energy was low, which I attributed to having two young children, I had frequent headaches, sinus issues, low sex drive (again, attributed that to the kids), and was feeling out of sorts. I wasn't really depressed, but I wasn't feeling like I was on my A game either. I had been to medical doctors, chiropractors, homeopathic doctors, but never received any relief. Before I went in to see Ben, he gave me a questionnaire to fill out. Based on my symptoms, he gave me the diagnosis. He said that the candida probably came up after a long term course of antibiotics I had been on for Lyme’s Disease the previous summer. I got the diagnosis at my first appointment. It was 1.5 hours (unheard of for a regular health care professional) and did not have to have any intrusive testing to get the diagnosis. We went over the history of my symptoms and discussed the game plan in depth.

Did you have any support (literature, meal menus, tips, etc) from your nutritionist (and/or others) when you had to make the transition to an anti-candida diet?

Ben gave me a ton of information about what I could and could not eat. At the time, I was eating the Standard American Diet (SAD) and the thought of cutting out sugar was horrifying to me. That night when I got home, I polished off the end of a pint of ice cream and said, "Fuck it. I'm done feeling like shit. I quit. Whatever he says, I will do." My husband was an amazing source of support. He was my number one cheerleader. He would run to the store and get me whatever candida-friendly snack would pacify a sugar craving; he helped me come up with recipes, kept the junk out of the house, and was a total hero during the transition. I felt horrible for the first two weeks. I felt like I was a crack head. I was constantly pacing the kitchen trying to figure out something I COULD eat that I actually WANTED to eat. I remember the first relief I got was when I mixed 2 packets of Sweet Leaf Stevia with some fresh lemon and lime juice. It tasted like heaven!!! Then my symptoms started to clear and I was feeling so much better.

What was your eating pattern like prior to the diet and during the diet when you changed the foods you ate? Could you provide a typical week or days’ worth of foods you ate on both diets?

I thought I was eating healthy before my diagnosis. That was laughable. I ate a lot of healthy food, but I also ate a ton of crap too. I loved sugar. Sugar was a serious issue for me in general. I ate lots of homemade organic brownies, breads, grain-based foods, protein bars, meat, cheese, cereal. Pretty much the SAD diet but organic.

An anti-candida diet day might look like this:

Breakfast foods: Eggs with spinach and onions cooked in organic butter, Fage Greek yogurt with blueberries, or an egg white protein shake.

Lunch foods: Chicken on a salad with olive oil and avocado; Applegate farms lunch meat; leftovers from dinner the night before; celery with almond butter;

Snacks: nuts and seeds (no cashews or peanuts).

Dinner: Usually a meat and a veggie. Last night we ate grilled Salmon and Chicken with broccoli slaw dressed with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

How long were you on the anti-candida diet? Did you have antibiotics as well as probiotics? What was your doctor's prescription for wellness?

Ben’s prescription was to follow the diet and a supplement regime. I took probiotics, but not antibiotics. At first, because I was so nutrient deficient as a result of the candida, I had to take a ton of supplements, but we eventually weaned off of most of them and now I'm down to a multi-vitamin, iron B12 supplement, and Migrelief (for migraines).

Have you had any recurrences of candida? Have you had and do you test for it or just intuitively go back on the anti-c diet?

I intuitively go back to the diet. I have been experimenting with the raw vegan lifestyle because I want SO badly to follow it, but my candida symptoms always come back after a few months. Once I became in tune with my "health baseline," I can tell almost immediately when symptoms are starting to reemerge. It will usually manifest itself emotionally with me. I will get anxious, sad, and depressed. Then I know it's time to clean house again.

Did you have any "die-off" symptoms that followed the cleansing diet? If so, was there a time frame on that? Did it last through the entire diet or just at a certain point in time?

I had TONS of die off symptoms: fatigue, irritability, weight loss (a happy symptom for me, but not for others), and just generally felt like shit. It lasted for a couple of weeks. I really started getting relief when I purchased a Needak Rebounder and started rebounding. My nutritionist and I both agreed that doing that really helped move the process along.

Have you eaten quinoa, brown rice (rice and pasta), or amaranth as part of the cleansing diet? I've seen them listed as "ok foods" because they are non-glutenous. I'm so confused as some sites say yes to them and others say no. Conflicting info is so frustrating! :)

There is SOOO much conflicting info! I cut those foods out for about 3 months when I first started, then gradually added them back in. I still can't eat a lot of them, though. I don't really eat grains at all unless it is in the form of brown rice protein powder (Sunwarrior brand). I had to cut out almost all fruit too. I ate grapefruit, berries, and granny smith apples and in very limited amounts (like 1/2 grapefruit a day) which sucked.

Reactions are so individual; I think that is why the info is so conflicting. What heals one does not seem to heal another. What worked for me is cutting out all of the crap completely and eating meats, veggies, nuts, seeds, and a little bit of dairy (Greek yogurt and butter). I did a little fruit too. Then, as my symptoms started to clear and after a couple of months of being symptom free, I started playing around with things. When I would notice symptoms coming back, I would fine tune things again. I'm still kind of in that phase with my bouncing back from raw to meat. I end up eating too many fruits when I am on raw and seem cool for a couple of months and then my symptoms come back.

But it's a weird, strange journey and you start to become very in tune with your body.

What is one piece of advice or nugget of wisdom you'd impart to people going through it or those who think they have it?

Change your diet and do NOT look back. You will get over sugar. As a former sugar addict and dealer, you think you won’t be able to walk by desserts and not think about it, but you will. You will get over it and it takes time, but stick with it. It is well worth the results. From personal experience, I also need to be constantly reminded by my decision making that the diet works and to stop messing with it. Even if my personal ethics don’t align (wanting to be raw/vegan but having to eat meat for my health), I can’t live my life feeling like shit. Sometimes I have to be my #1 priority.

Well said! Thanks for your contributions, Jane!
Editor's Note: That last sentence is now my mantra.

Judgment Day

2011-09-14T16:16:00.001-04:00

With a new diagnosis to inform my health concerns, I was instructed by my doctor to cut out all sugar, grains and beans this past Saturday. I emptied my cupboards, which surprisingly had some extra-sugary foods I had talked myself into buying. It's funny how even when I read labels I sometimes overlook sugar. I had been eating more of it, mostly by way of fresh fruit, when I gave up coffee again last month. Everyone needs a vice. But my new vice was making my condition worst. And now, I had full proof that sugar was one of the culprits.

After cleaning out the kitchen I set up a free grocery "store" in my house and asked friends to haul off the pineapple, oranges, the peanut butter and jelly, oatmeal, wheat pasta and other starchy foods. I saved some of my favorite non-perishables for the future, with fingers crossed.

But a few days into the diet, I realized it was going to be hard for me to get all my calories met with the now very limited options I had in front of me. Life as a vegan was do-able but restrictive enough. And now, for the sake of repairing my body, I had to cut out my vegan staples of most grains and beans. Fermented foods were out too. Deep down I felt I was going to have to do something I thought I'd never do again. Eat animals.

My doctor, a vegan herself, even asked me on my first appointment if I was opposed to meat for ethical or health reasons and if I would consider eating it under any circumstances. She asked this before any testing was done but I think she suspected I would have to eventually consider it. I said no. Some fellow vegans I told took offense to this. "How could she ask that? There are ways to get your nutrients without eating meat." But I knew what her point was. If it was a matter of improving health and restricting foods that I commonly ate, which were only making my health matters worse, would I consider eating meat for a short-term period? After going through a few days of making my meals and trying to plan a variety of dishes and thinking of all the food scenarios (raw diet, etc), I made the decision to put meat back on my plate.

Instinctively for health reasons, which is ironic given that I don't believe it's healthy food, I came to the decision fairly quickly. Emotionally, it was difficult. When you choose not to eat meat partly on account of ethics and seeing horrible footage of cruelty to animals, it makes a walk down the meat aisle that much more foreign. I started getting teary-eyed at Whole Foods as I stared at the meat for a few minutes, reluctantly picking out turkey and chicken, types that I never fancied back when I ate meat. Poor birds. I was sure to get the meats labeled "antibiotic and hormone free" because otherwise it would probably mess further with my situation. The label said they were raised humanely but who knows? I certainly hope that was the case. But can you really ever trust a sticker or a company?

Earlier in the day I considered trying the chicken at Chipotle, given their statements on "Food with Integrity." But even their website wasn't giving a guarantee that all their chickens were antibiotic-free. Oy!

I keep thinking that this meat-eating stint is only supposed to last for three months and when all is said and done I can resume my vegan diet. For now, there's a little disappointment and self-judgment. Perhaps yet another thing I need to cut out.

The Last Hurrah

2011-09-10T18:33:00.001-04:00

For the past six years I've been on a mission to improve my health, especially my energy levels and my skin. Both, when less than stellar, can show signs of an imbalance and mine certainly were indicating a health issue. I visited many doctors, took countless notes, ran a bunch of tests, changed my diet several times, embraced a regular fitness routine, and procrastinated on a mind/body practice. And on Friday I finally got my answer.

I recently started seeing a new doctor in the city who specializes in functional medicine. I had a health care specialist in FM a few years ago but she moved her practice after my first visit. And these doctors are hard to come by. My current doctor ran the test that confirmed what I believed was ailing me.

This story, told in the non-TMI version, is meant to inform in general and be a resource for anyone facing similar issues. It is not meant to offer advice on a means of diagnosis nor treatment (that is always to be determined with one's doctor). With that said, my test results confirmed an overgrowth of not-so-great bacteria in my gut. Everyone has this particular strain in their system but the "how much" is what can make or break health. It never helped me to see what I call "mainstream" GI doctors because none of them that I met recognized Candida overgrowth as a possibility. But practitioners with a focus on functional medicine do.

So what did I need to do in light of this recognition and my test results? I'd have to starve this overgrowth...by refraining from sugar...all sugar. Period. This would include large staples in my diet: glutinous grains like wheat and oats, all fruits, and beans. And it would include removing alcohol and caffeine. The plan today is to keep these items off my table for a minimum of 30 days. Supplements will also be used to help accelerate removing the bacteria from my system and building up the good bacteria (one important strain was completely missing from my system - YOWZA!).

I woke up today feeling a little bummed by having to do all of this. First of all, it's isolating. Everyone else eats fun food while I'm chugging a green juice or salad. I'll miss most of my comfort foods. I also expect to go through some sort of withdrawal phase from not having sugar in my system.

The good news is that all my friends are supportive and they are on full alert that I might, from time to time, get jealous of their food and look like I want to punch them. Many people who have detoxed have attested to these feelings. Some of my gals have also gone through this specific detox and diet, so having them as a resource is a HUGE plus. I'll be getting more vitamins and minerals because the foods that are "allowed" on this diet are mostly veggies and tofu and nuts. Prior to this diet, when I had the option of eating out and having a vegan pizza or Chipotle over loads of veggies or home-cooked meals, I always picked the former. With this diet, the veggies finally win. Yay for them.

The timing on all of this is perhaps perfect as I just started a nutrition course and the class resources will help down the road. All good things.

After reviewing the results on Friday morning, I decided to have a last hurrah before starting my diet on Saturday.

Favorite vegan pizza for lunch.

Dinner at my favorite Vietnamese restaurant.

YUM!

More on the diet later. Good eats to you!

P.S. Here's a great video that describes Functional Medicine:

Heavenly Greek Salad

2011-09-06T22:22:00.000-04:00

Thanks to my roommate Claire, I've been inspired to try out more new recipes. She is always cooking up a storm in our kitchen and luckily that motivation has started to rub off on me. My return to the kitchen has also been aided by Abbey and Susan, friends who are a constant source of free rides to Whole Foods. Translation: no 15 minute walks with heavy grocery bags. Score!

I didn't know it could get better but I recently stumbled upon a salad dressing that changed my life. Yes, it was that profound. It has an amazing blend of herbs that reminded me of the flavorful pizza dough of my ex-favorite pizza place, which doesn't serve vegan pizza :(. When coupled with tofu, this dressing also reminds me of feta. It also masks the tofu taste! Here's how you can healthfully rock your Greek salad.

Heavenly Greek Salad

6 Romaine Leaves, chopped
Handful of small tofu cubes, crumbled
2 tbsp. Herbes de Provence Vinaigrette
4-5 marinated artichokes
Small handful of kalmata olives, halved
Small handful of red onion, chopped

Toss, enjoy, make more salad.

Indian Summer

2011-09-03T19:36:00.000-04:00

Walking around Philadelphia today was grand. I love when there are days with no agenda and no appointments. You can just simply be. The weather was great too! It was fairly cool and breezy this morning and then the temperature warmed up a bit, leaving a feeling that we were somewhere in between summer and fall. Pretty yummy. When I got back home I started working on my own blend.

Indian Summer Smoothie

*Handful of organic strawberries
*1 cup vanilla soy milk
*1 tsp. cinnamon
*a double dash cardamom
*1 tbsp. maca root powder

Blend and find bliss.

Bliss

2011-08-25T12:11:00.003-04:00

About five months ago I hosted my first juicing party with girlfriends. It was a simple concept. Bring your favorite fruits and veggies; brave some new ingredients too. Throw all contents in a juicer. Drink and be merry. We had such a blast creating new flavors and vowed to do it again.

Juice party #2 yielded an amazing new drink, thanks to the gals. It tastes like an orange creamsicle with a hint of peach. Fabulous.

Mandy, Claire and Jen's "Bliss" Drink

3 oranges, rind removed
1 organic white peach
3 medium-sized carrots

Juice. Make yum-yum noises. Make more juice.

Tastebud Retreat

2011-05-15T14:53:00.022-04:00

It's no secret or mystery that humans are creatures of habit. Some are moreso than others...whether it's having a certain dish for a corresponding night of the week (Monday is pasta night, Tuesday is Mexican foods night, etc) or resorting to a combo of food staples. I am definitely a part of the majority.

I tend to stick to what's familiar, easy to make, easy to transport (if I'm staying away from home and need quick vegan meals/snacks), and usually something that doesn't spoil too easily. Such familiarity eventually gets boring and when that happens I venture out...out to restaurants with friends, into my dusty cookbooks, and onto the Internet for inspiration.

The past two weeks have been full of new tastes and treats:

My co-worker and I decided to make one of our off-campus work projects a bit more fun with a lunch break at Blue Sage, a vegetarian and vegan friendly grill in Jenkintown, PA.

Crispy falafel fritters in a warm gyro wrapper with cucumber yogurt, carmelized onions, smoked tomato relish, roasted garlic aioli. Served with baby greens in chile lime vinaigrette.

http://www.bluesagegrille.com/

Later that week my co-workers and friends went to a raw foods restaurant where you can try three or five recipe samples for $10 or $15. Great desserts too! You have to call ahead to place your order.

http://www.alllivefood.com/

Decadent Carob Cake

My boss took me to a Philly restaurant that serves locally grown food. With a fair amount of vegetarian and vegan options, I tried their tofu cappelini in an effort to broaden my tastes and get into a place of "like" with tofu. I didn't know it could taste so good! The combination of flavors was fantastic!

Farmicia

http://www.farmiciarestaurant.com/

My Attempt at Farmicia's Cappelini and Sauteed Tofu

Another try at tofu. Delicious! Sabrina's has two locations in Philadelphia. Both provide vegan friendly options. The dish below offers a rainbow of treats - avocado, mango relish, savory soba noodles, and crispy tofu. Friends have also tried this and raved.

Sabrina's Cafe
http://sabrinascafe.com

Crispy Tofu

Tasty, fresh, flavorful. Enough said.

Nam Phuong

http://www.namphuongphilly.com/

Papaya Salad with Tofu

Spring Rolls on Rice Vermicelli

Bring It, Broad Street!

2011-04-24T21:15:00.011-04:00

If you're a runner living in Philadelphia then I imagine you are gearing up to cheer or run in this week's Broad Street race, the largest 10-miler in the country. This was my first 10-miler and had been a milestone race for me last year. Thank the Universe that this year is not my first time doing it.

Yes, I completed BSR in good time in 2010. Yes, I completed a half-marathon a month ago. This left me feeling really good about the BSR which would soon follow. High off my 13.1 mile success, I started reading Runner's World magazine on the bus to work, getting giddy at the thought of doing more races this year. I found myself coming home from work exhausted but nonetheless psyched to lace up my shoes and hit the trails. I even got motivated to work on my inclines and speed, secretly racing boys to improve my timing.

But as I was discovering a new-found love of running, I was rapidly experiencing a loathe of my current work situation. I was not taking the best care of myself in the process, resorting to lots of coffee and processed foods to "carry" me through the roller coaster ride. And where did running fit into all of this? Well, it didn't. I tried to run on the weekend but ended up feeling the way I did all week...like I needed to hurl. After spending the day in bed with a throbbing headache and hot and cold flashes, I decided to refrain from any running during what was then the upcoming work week (and the worst work week of my life)...which brings me to the here and now. And my first run in a week...a week before BSR, which, knock-on-wood, went amazingly well.

My roommate asked me if I was nervous about this week's race, given my unexplained illness (likely stress related but not completely sure) and lack of running in the past two weeks. This isn't going to be my first BSR, so I've got that much going for me. I know what to expect, course wise (and it's flat; another bonus!). I don't need to wonder if I can do this race. It's been done before. Completing a half marathon at a decent pace a month prior to an upcoming race was a big check mark on the motivator list too. If I have to rely on muscle memory, dammit, I'll do it. I might feel sick on race day. But I always feel sick on race day!

Here are some extra TLC goals this week for my "Bring It, Broad Street" preparation for both the physical and mental aspects of my recent departure from my running routine.

*Hydrate - the temperatures this year are not likely to come close to last year's record (thank goddess). But going easy on the Joe will help regardless. This week I'll try to refrain from coffee and hydrate with chia frescas. And despite a fun date last week that happened to involve some alcohol, I will try and forgo said spirits at any upcoming date nights. It might have been what instigated the health situation last week.

*De-Stress - leaving work at 5:00 p.m. should definitely help. (most nights I am there until 7:00). Making plans to meet up with friends for dinner this week is a must. Their company makes life more scrumptious.

*Visualize - my dear friend Robert sent me an email last week with a detailed visualization about kicking asphalt at the BSR. In one paragraph, he took me through the course and got me successfully from start to finish. Training is essential but even with a detour in my running plan, I am confident that I can complete this race. Picturing a run across the finish line will help me meet the goal. My only concern at this point is setting a personal record. But I'll figure that out on Sunday. So many factors can affect timing on race day. There's no reason to worry about that now. In the meantime, I'll imagine a fast and solid run.

*Enlist helpers - adding a couple new artists/songs to the iPod gets me groovin'. Latest downloads include Lady G's Born This Way and Adele's Rolling In the Deep. Having friends or family come to cheer is the best. Susie might be making an appearance at the finish line. But even if friends or the fam can't come, picturing them there (add this to the Visualize list above) is a fantastic mood-booster. I did this during my half-marathon. I knew my parents were coming to the race but I had no idea where they'd be. So I pictured them at every mile marker. And this no doubt contributed to my fast finish time.

*Lastly, keep things in perspective - When it comes to terrain, temperatures, training, and timing, any race you or I will run is nothing like this one (sorry). When I was nervous for my first race last year (a 4-miler), a friend popped this documentary in the old DVD player. Watch the trailer. Enough said.

What helps you get ready to rock race day?

Guest Blogger: See Jane Save

2011-04-19T06:00:00.001-04:00

As I visited with family last weekend, my aunt looked at my $16 worth of groceries - a big tub of organic lettuce, two cans of protein-packed lentil soup, one cucumber, a bag of carrots, and a big tub of amazing kalamata hummus - and asked me, "How do you afford this?" I turned to her and said, "Ask me how much I spend on health care. Zip."

Now I know that was smart-ass of me but it was also the truth. I knew, however, what she was getting at. She's got a family of five after all.

We all know that shopping organic and "healthy" is often perceived as more expensive and in some cases it is. If you were to compare my receipt at Whole Foods (dubbed by some as "Whole Paycheck") to someone shopping at an Acme, there'd likely be some difference. But then again, I'd argue comparing the ingredients and processing of the foods, their origin, and contribution or lack thereof to the consumer's health should also be tallied in the "costs." It's not all about buying exclusively organic. As Jane will tell you, there are ways to save and still be healthy.

In any case, I was curious what the food shopping receipts looked like for families. I definitely feel I invest a good amount of money in food, but it's a little different as a single gal when I don't have to put funds towards childcare expenses. Enter Jane - fellow health junkie, wife, grad student, blogger, and mother of two. I don't know how she does it all! But that's for another blog. Here's how Jane makes magic at the grocery store!

Whenever I go through the check out at the grocery store, there is always a comment.

“You are the healthiest person that comes to this store!”

“Who eats all of this, it certainly isn’t you!” (I wasn’t quite sure if that was a compliment or not)

“What is this? I have never seen this before in my life!”

“Dandelion greens????”

And just today, “Man, you eat a lot of coconuts!”

We are a family of four and my daughter Lilah and I have the appetites of 300 pound men. My husband and other daughter Molly are a bit more conservative with their food intake, but can still throw down with the best of us. We spend about $200 a week on groceries.

I don’t make apologies for feeding my family tons of fresh, organic produce, Lara bars, organic meats and eggs, and the occasional bag of pirate booty. Two hundred dollars a week is a sacrifice for us. We are by no means wealthy. My husband is a construction worker and in a band; I stay at home with the girls and am working on my doctorate. We do not have an exorbitant amount of excess income. Some weeks it is really tough, but healthy eating is something I believe in whole heartedly. I often sacrifice other things to make healthy eating work. I traded my designer wardrobe for designer bananas a LONG time ago.

Healthy eating has to be a top priority if you want to make it work. Sometimes I feel a little overwhelmed with the amount of money that we spend on food, but my family and our health is my hobby, my passion, and my love. I am willing to pay for it ;)

Here are some tips to save:

Buy in bulk- I buy my protein powders and Lara bars in bulk and usually end up saving quite a bit of money compared to buying them one bag or one box of bars at a time. Here are some fantastic sites for discounts on health foods and supplements:

www.sunwarrior.com
www.nuvalife.com
www.iherb.com

Keep It Clean - If organic is the goal, but the budget is tight, focus on the “dirty dozen.” There are so many lists online of the best foods to buy organic. The general rule of thumb is that anything with a thin skin, like grapes, blueberries, and leafy greens, is best (re: safest) when bought organic. Bananas, avocados, etc…? Buy regular (conventional/non-organic). Even places like Produce Junction are a great locale to snag lots of fruits and veggies for super cheap!

I always recommend buying organic meat. I don’t eat meat or dairy anymore, but unfortunately the big guy (hubs) is resistant to giving it up. If you want cheap, you can buy chicken legs and thighs organic for usually 3-4 bucks a pack.

Join as CSA, a Co-Op, or both - Find a CSA near you! You can't get much healthier than locally grown food. If the committment seems too much, divide the share between your household and a fellow healthy neighbor!

Do-It-Yourself -For those of us who go meat-free, I have always been a fan of making my own tomato sauce with a can of crushed tomatoes, fresh garlic, and spices. You can put it over the noodles of your choice (preferably for us, gluten-free). Hummus is another nutritious, filling meal. Cans of chickpeas are often on sale 10 for 10. Buy 10 cans and 1 jar of organic tahini and boom! Hummus. Two cans of black beans, 1 can of organic crushed tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, some salt- bam! Slice some fresh avocado on top and you have vegan chili.

There are so many great ways to eat healthy and organic on a budget! Get creative, look less at the receipt and more at the bottom line - your family’s health is priceless.

Jane Rosenzweig is a wife, stay-at-home mom, and is working on her doctorate in Clinical Psychology. She is passionate about health, balance, and living a full, happy life with a heavy dose of humor. Check out her blog at: http://optimalhealthmama.blogspot.com/

One Enchanted (Macro) Evening

2011-04-11T21:13:00.000-04:00

I recently got to visit with two of my favorite people over dinner and get a glimpse of the benefits of what is their day-to-day diet. Christina and Robert Pirello have been living the macrobiotic lifestyle for over 26 years. Christina was introduced after receiving a cancer diagnosis. Robert was her macro counselor. She adopted this diet under his supervision and guidance to heal but got more than she probably expected. She not only got better; she acquired a super cool man friend and husband.

Together, Christina and Robert have brought their love of this healing diet and way of life to hundreds of thousands of people. They take travel enthusiasts with them on trips to Italy and Israel and soak in the sun with fellow cruisers in the Mediterranean and Caribbean. Christina hosts cooking classes in Philadelphia and shows viewers, through her PBS show Christina Cooks, how good the macro life can be.

I had attended some of her classes and read her books. But it's a truly awesome experience to share a meal with this power couple, who are two of the most genuine and giving people you could ever meet.

And I have to say that this meal, prepared by the pros, couldn't have come at a better time. I eat a plant-based diet and try to prepare as many meals as possible. But my work schedule had become more hectic in recent months, I was down on my number of daily veggies, and training for a half marathon had consumed what little free time I had left. Hence, no cooking. Hence, I desperately wanted a home-cooked meal. And presto! Here it was...

I would imagine that when people hear the word "macrobiotic" the following associations might come to mind:

*Hippie
*Radical
*Expensive
*Is that, like, Biology?
*Nutritionist Science Jargon

A macrobiotic diet focuses on the energetics and quality of food...avoiding or reducing the amount of foods that have an overly yin (expansive) or yang (contractive) quality to them. Extreme foods on the body include caffeine, sugar, animal products and alcohol. But every food has an energy. Balance is key...eat a proportion of foods that are yin and yang without going to one extreme or the other (coffee, sugar, etc...will get you there quickly).

While I took a stab at some Macro Monday recipes in the past (and found them to be very soothing and balancing) - Miso Soup, Blanched Vegetables, Burdock for Breakfast, and Parsley Tea, I must say Christina and Robert's dinner menu was much yummier in general and would appeal to a wide variety of palates.

Menu

Pickled Eggplant Crostini
Creamy Parsnip Bisque
Farro Salad
Raddichio, Grapefruit and Arugula Salad
Chocolate Chip Cookies

Do you get your macro on? What are your favorite recipes or sites?

For more great recipes, visit www.christinacooks.com.

Aside from Christina's books (my favorite is Glow), I recommend Jessica Porter's The Hip Chick Guide to Macrobiotics, and Simon Brown's Modern-Day Macrobiotics.

Crazy Sexy Life

2011-04-05T22:01:00.000-04:00

We all know life can be sexy (YUM) and crazy (OY)...so how do we keep the two in balance?

Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Life wellness hub delivers daily tips of goodness to keep you feelin' groovy!

And I was beyond thrilled at the opportunity to contribute to the discussion.

Here's my article 6 Steps Towards Emotional Wellness.

Enjoy and be well!

xo

Green Goodness

2011-04-03T19:22:00.005-04:00

Just finished a super fast run and found myself brainstorming ideas for dinner. I realized I had a bunch of veggies in need of some attention and decided to keep dinner light. I opted for some life-affirming green goodness.

That's the great thing about juicing...you can pop all your produce into a little machine and bam! Maximize your nutrients for the day. Yum! Here's what I made:

Green Goodness Juice

One head of romaine lettuce*
Two cucumbers, peeled
Two small gala apples*
1-2 Tbsp Lime Juice

Juice the romaine, cucumbers and apples. Add lime juice and stir. Wonder why you haven't made something like this sooner.

*Buy organic. Apples and lettuce are on the Dirty Dozen.

Par for the Course

2011-03-28T18:09:00.001-04:00

Me and Mom, Post-Race

It's official. My brother and I successfully completed our first half-marathon! I must note my brother also kicked asphalt when he served in Iraq, finishing a 20-mile race in extreme heat. So this was probably a piece of cake by comparison.

The weather was a perfect 40 degrees (only perfect for the runners; for the spectators...that was another story) and the sun started peaking through the trees as I ran past the Washington Monument to the tunes of Sara Bareilles. Scrumptious sites and sounds.

We had had a momentous start to our race, just barely getting there on time; the D.C. metro is lovely and clean but not the place you want to be 20 minutes before a race. But, strangely enough, it built on the anticipation of the run, and when we finally made it to our destination, we were ready to get it on.

Supporters lined the streets with signs. Favorites included:

*Chuck Norris never ran a marathon.

* Toenails are temporary, medals are forever.

* You guys are really good at exercising.

My brother and I completed our race fast and strong, with my parents and sister-in-law (his wife-to-be) looking on. It was an awesome day! While I had this expectation in mind (I highly recommend picturing success in the weeks and months leading up to a race), the day-to-day training sometimes had me in a mental slump.

The cold windy weather that was winter had been getting on my nerves. We had seen a lot of snow and ice, treacherous conditions indeed, and I watched as daredevil runners ran right over sheets of slippery ice patches on Kelly Drive. I did not have such a death wish. I tried to run outside as much as possible but had to resort to the treadmills much more than I cared to. While I had no control over the weather, I had a few tricks up my sleeve...they got me through and helped my performance in D.C.

Dates - great little fuel bites, pre-run...compliments of Brendan Brazier's book on vegan nutrition for athletes.

Vega Whole Food Health Optimizer, Chai Flavor - vegan protein powder, perfect in smoothies but can stand on it's own too...just add water. Perfect for prepping on the go and an overall great recovery drink. It's pricey but worth it. You can find a discount with free shipping on Amazon.com.

Chia Fresca - a recipe the Tarahumara tribe uses to hydrate during 50-100 mile runs in the desert. Check out Born to Run for more on the fascinating story. My friend Robert, a vegan macrobiotic marathon runner, swears by chia fresca and introduced me to it. I started out by putting chia seeds in water and adding some honey and lime. Now I can just take it with chia and water. While the cooler temps definitely kept me going, my morning chia fresca was just the thing to minimize my water stops during the 13.1 mile run. It was so hydrating!!!

Daily Mile - I like to run solo but it doesn't mean I don't need motivation and running friends to keep me honest. Think Facebook for runners. Splendid.

I'll add the signs above to this motivation/fuel list as I work to increase speed for the Broad Street Run in May.

What fuels you?

A Year of Not Eating Animals

2011-03-10T23:51:00.009-05:00

Ok, it's been a bit longer than a year. 387 days to be exact. Many of those days were without milk, eggs and cheese. Occasionally I had some cheese pizza or ate a cookie/cupcake someone made that likely had egg in it...that was pretty much it.

Why did I go veganish*?
*a term I use because on rare occasion I eat cheese.

I had never been a huge lover of animal flesh, especially when it came to cooking it myself. I enjoyed cow tush and pig skin on occasion. But with unexpectedly high cholesterol and a friend who needed moral support for Lent last year, I gave up animal products with him until Easter. Easter came and went and my friend and I got competitive. We decided to see who would go without meat the longest. And we'll be vegetarian for life given our strong wills and egos.

But the road to vegan was much more than that. There was definitely substance and thought that came about over the course of a year...and my decision to not eat animals evolved to include several reinforcements.

1) I did it for health.

I decided to continue forgoing animal products to keep my cholesterol down and arteries clear. I did it to avoid antibiotics and hormones and corn-fed beef (I used to primarily eat meat in restaurants and presumed much of it came from factory farms where these drugs and feeding practices are used). The payoff: I got slimmer, I had more energy and my headaches ceased. I can't remember the last time I had one.

The most frequent question I've gotten in regards to health and an animal-free diet has been, "Where do you get your protein?" I get it from living and plant-based foods...lentils, beans, nuts, green vegetables, peas, broccoli, nutritional yeast. I take a B-12 shot monthly and supplement with Vitamin D.

2) I did it as a concerned consumer.

If you have seen the footage in some of these slaughterhouses, I imagine you are appalled. You might not even care to eat meat again. Not a quality product in my mind. And the companies that produce this meat, judging by the videos, care very little about consumer health. Congress has only recently passed a bill that would give the FDA the authority to recall dangerous food products. Before a company could voluntarily recall bad meat. Seriously. A young boy died because a company delayed a recall of beef. His is just one story of contamination and death.

3) I did it to remove myself from a system that disrespects animals.

The majority of meat in this country is produced in factory farms. Video documenting conditions of livestock is sickening, saddening, and infuriating. Chickens are shown being kicked and thrown around, cows are cursed at and poked and prodded. Dairy cows are not given the right to mother their young. Downed animals (those too sick to stand or disabled) are dragged to their death (this last act has only recently become illegal). Everyone decides what foods are best for them. But I would argue that at the very least, the animals that we consume be respected before their death. Does the thought of chicken or cow chock full of stress hormones sound appetizing?

I wrote on this topic in more depth after viewing the documentary Earthlings.

What's Next? The Year Ahead.

The documentary Earthlings, in addition to revealing factory farm conditions, also raised the concerns of using animals for fashion, whether it be fur coats (there is graphic footage at a fur farm where animals are skinned alive) or feathers for down comforters. It made me look at these products differently...the hand-me-down UGGs I own, the down comforter I sleep under at night, my wool coat.

I haven't gotten rid of any of them yet...But I now seek products that look just as great but are free of animal cruelty.

Latest finds:

*Old Navy Polyester Puffer Coat (but in gray) - Yummy and Warm

* Vegan UGG-Like boots without the UGH

Got any favorite vegan finds?

Ready to Run

2011-01-24T21:54:00.006-05:00

Nope, it's not what you think. Although there was a lot of intrigue to working and living in the U.S. capitol for a short period of time, the hustle and bustle proved to be too much to become a permanent nesting spot. But I can take D.C. in smaller doses and love visiting for the history, the monuments, and the people. I couldn't think of a better way to experience it all over again than with a run through the streets of the capitol. Check out the course!

After completing last year's goal of running the largest 10-mile race in the country and my longest run to date, I figured it was time to commit to a half marathon. I had wanted to do one sooner, particularly one of the races in Philly this past fall, but by the time I rationalized paying out the wazoo for it, registration had reached capacity. And to think of how convenient it would have been! The race started within blocks of my apartment! I happened to be walking near the course the day of the Philly half and full marathons, feeling all the energy and excitement of the runners. It made me miss race days. I searched for upcoming races but none were being offered locally within the next few months. I checked out the scene in NYC, realizing that you had to have won the lottery AND completed a half just to enter an upcoming half. Yowza!

But the D.C. race had everything I needed...scenic course, no lottery, and previous race time standards for which I qualified. Yay! Did I mention that I'll have a special running buddy with me? Mum's the word for now.

After a rocky start to the January training (ie the flu for 2 weeks!), I'm back on my feet and gearing up for the big day!

T2C: 8 Servings of Fruits & Veggies - Can You Do It? (We Didn't)

2010-12-17T07:50:00.002-05:00

Olivia recently proposed an exercise in our veggie-full life: eat 8 fruits/vegetables a day (with a heavier focus on the vegetables) for one week. The plan seemed simple enough because, in my mind, I was eating lots of them already. I signed on and got excited. Then reality kicked in.

The challenge was to start within a few days of our discussion and I was not prepared. Sometimes I have to psych myself up to make the walk to Whole Foods and walk back with the weight of my nutritious goods…only to find I have enough for two days’ worth of meals. The excitement of the challenge was, sadly, no match for my lethargy and newfound interest in being more frugal with my dineros. I had been working late nights as it was and never quite felt like going to the store thereafter…and walking home in the cold. Ok, enough moping. Wah.

I started a few days late with about 5 days to eat a fine array of the earth’s bounty. First, I ate what was left in my fridge…some fresh orange juice and corn with amaranth in the morning and a pear for a snack. Throughout the week I bought a banana for my smoothie, looked for any veggies in the cafeteria (green beans/zucchini/onion and rice for lunch), made yum-yum noises to fresh Whole Foods hummus with carrots and cucumber, and enjoyed edamame at a restaurant for dinner (I added some tator tots to the mix…the only other vegan thing there).

I had intentions to juice the heck out of my lettuce, celery, cucumber and apple, but I busted my hand and couldn’t use it for two days…and hence, didn’t use my juicer either. Note: Juicing is a GREAT way to maximize on your veggie intake. You can cover, at the very least, 4-5 servings…easy peasy.

I confessed to Olivia yesterday that I had come nowhere near my quota. Maybe it was my crazier-than-usual workweek. Whatever the reason, I decided to blog about the experience anyway…even if I came up short. I was definitely more conscious this week about eating vegetables and I snagged them at every opportunity. Carpe vegetabilis!

On weeks where the stars magically align and I’m at my healthiest, I cook several times a week and have healthy snacks on hand. This is what my week would have looked like in that case:

Pasta Fagioli and Minestrone Soups
Braised Carrot and Potato Soup
Miso soup with lots of vegetables (=4-5 veggies in at breakfast! = “I Feel Great” days!!)
Fruit Smoothies (in moderation to avoid too much fruit sugar)
Green Juices (hello, gorgeous!)
Beans and Rice with Salsa (plus corn, onions, and zucchini)
Marinated Veggies on Salad (to put the sexy back in salad)
Hummus and Veggies (this never gets old)*
*Add kalamata olive tapenade to this and you will have an orgasm (that is, if you like kalamata olive tapenade).

Olivia's Experience:

When Jen and I were brainstorming possible topics for this week’s T2C post, we both seemed pretty jazzed by the idea of chowing down on eight servings of fruits and vegetables each day and documenting the process. After all, we’re health nuts who love our veggies—how hard could it be?

Umm, it’s hard. In fact, we didn’t do it. There were one or two days when I hit all eight (or at least got close), but for the most part I fell short of my goal. So this isn’t a pat-ourselves-on-the-back ego-stroking post, it’s a This a What We Learned post.

On that note:

1.Planning helps, but it isn’t foolproof. I love going out to eat. Food might as well be one of my love languages, so when a friend suggests brunch or my husband wants to take me on a date, you know I’m going to say yes. During this challenge, I took extra care to review menus and make sure they had veggie-ful gluten-free options so I could have my greens and eat them too. The problem? Sometimes you don’t realize until you arrive that the shiitake mushroom rolls have soy sauce (wheat) or the that the restaurant for some frustrating reason adds what to their spinach risotto. I can’t compromise on the gluten, which meant my options suddenly shrank to those containing very few greens. In the future: Make sure to eat more greens during the day if I’m going out to dinner; have a giant salad for dinner if I meet friends for brunch. And make an extra effort to chug a smoothie on restaurant days.

2. Green smoothies are the key. Ok, ok, I knew this already, but it really hit home during this week. On the days that started with green smoothies I almost always hit my goal. It helps when you get five servings by the time you finish breakfast. The thing is, it’s winter. And I don’t really want to start every morning with a giant icy drink. In the future: Find more breakfast choices that are nice and warm while packing a nutritional punch.

3. Check your hunger level. Part of my difficulty was that this past week, I had an uncharacteristically small appetite. I feel like most days I’m eating non-stop, and yet, during this challenge, I rarely even wanted a snack. What gives? For starters, when my snack options were carrot sticks, clementines, and apples—all of which I love, by the way—I was (surprise, surprise) less inclined to chow down. While I didn’t eat as many plant-based snacks as I’d expected, I did get a better sense of how much I would eat for boredom or to satisfy a craving rather than because I was really hungry. In the future: Try to stay tuned in to my true hunger level.

Given our less than stellar report card after this attempt, we’re going to give it another go in January. Want to join us? What are your favorite ways to make sure your day is chock full of fruits and veggies?

T2C ~ The Incredibles

2010-12-10T09:00:00.000-05:00

T2C Returns! Except this time Olivia and I are both blogging from the US. She came back in the fall to get hitched to a wonderful fella and I’m thrilled to have her stateside where I’m more likely to run into her and have quality face time. Having swapped countless tales of our health and food ventures, we knew we had to share with our readers a few of our favorite food products. We call them the incredibles.

Jen’s Faves

Daiya Cheese – I had been sending sad vibes to the Universe that my favorite pizzeria (ok, any pizzeria) wasn’t making vegan pizza. I was ready to write a request when I learned they had recently discovered a great-tasting faux mozzarella. It was love at first bite. Within a day’s time I found that Whole Foods carried it as well in both mozzarella and cheddar. Best news yet: it was free of soy and casein. Score! I use Daiya on homemade pizzas, in pastas and on my killer grilled cheesus sandwich. While I don’t miss cheese anymore (a “food” I ate with every meal of every day), a little substitute every now and then is heavenly.

Brown Rice Pasta – I was introduced to this tasty treat while doing an elimination diet with Olivia. Among the culprits that trigger food sensitivities, we eliminated all foods with gluten. I had no idea there was a pasta so yummy and easy on the digestive system…and gluten-free! My only caveat with this product is it’s best to eat fresh…leftovers are a little tough (literally) unless you have it as a pasta salad with some sort of dressing for it to soak in.

Yogi Tea – When you’re a holistic health junkie cutting back or removing caffeine entirely from your diet, you’ll likely fair better to replace it with a new liquid love. Herbal tea is a great way to go. Thai Delight and Chai Rooibos are new favorites. Another little perk? Yogi teas come with quotes to contemplate while you sip and unwind. Om so good.

Chia Seeds – These little wonders certainly found ways to entertain (remember those chia pets?) but who knew they could be good for your health? They can hold 10 times their weight in water (hello hydration!) and provide you with fiber, protein, calcium and omega-3. They are a staple of the Tarahumara tribe, who take a chia fresca before their 100-mile runs. They work great before and after workouts. You can also use them in baking and puddings!

Don’t Mock This Mayo! – While I don’t use this often (the vegan label does not equal healthy/eat it on a regular basis), it’s mighty handy (and delicious) with potato and pasta salads and my grilled cheesus.

No Need to Fake It – I was never a huge fan of animal flesh to begin with and never really understood the appeal of fake meats. I get that they can help with the transition to a vegetarian or vegan diet but why would anyone want something that reminded them of cow tush or chicken breast? I love that there are burgers on the market that don’t taste like cow. Sunshine Burgers makes a kick-ass medley of veggies (without loads of mushrooms – a common “replacement” to beef and a fungus I’m just not fond of) and mom turned me on to Trader Joe’s Masala burgers. You won’t need any condiments…comes perfectly flavored and seasoned.

Remember the Lentils – Last but not least, I make sure to have a couple of Amy’s soups in my pantry…for days when I’m lagging with home-cooked meals. Her lentil soup is my favorite for taste and for the nutritional punch I get from the lentils (protein and iron, baby!).

While my diet consists of veggies, fruits, nut butters and milks, brown rice, and lentils/beans and many of the products listed are “sometimes” foods (with exception to the chia and tea) they are worth the shout out for giving the vegan life that much more pizazz.

Olivia's Finds

When I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease five-and-a-half years ago, I didn’t spend too much time finding gluten-free versions of many of the foods I’d relied on until then. Rather than hunting down the perfect gluten-free cereal or bagel or bread, I just moved beyond those things, a decision that I believe made me much healthier overall. [That said, I now indulge in gluten-free pizza and pancakes on a semi-regular basis.]

Now that I’m trying to eat a high-vegan (though still pescatarian) diet, I find myself in a similar situation. Fake meat weirds me out, and soy cheese just can’t be nearly as creamy as the real thing. Nevertheless, there have been a few substitutions from vegan pantries that have made my taste buds very happy while keeping my eats (largely) cruelty-free. Here are some of my favorites.

Purely Decadent Soy Ice Cream - As someone with Hashimoto’s Hypothyroiditis (that’s a mouthful), I feel it’s pretty important to limit my soy intake. That said, sometimes a girl needs some ice cream, and Purely Delicious Soy Ice Cream doesn’t give me an upset stomach, so I mark it a win. (It’s also available with coconut milk instead of soy, but I haven’t tried that…yet.)

Hemp Dream Hemp Drink - I always hated milk. Hated. My parents quickly gave up on trying to make me drink milk with meals (what’s with that, anyway???) as it became clear that my stubborn streak would win every time. But when I make my smoothies or want the rare bowl of cereal, hemp milk is my liquid of choice. Rice milk seems a little thin on the nutrients, and while almond milk can be a nice change of pace, I prefer the texture, taste, and health benefits of hemp milk. When I make my own nut milk, however, I go cashew; the hubs loves it, but we haven’t found it available commercially.

Red Star Nutritional Yeast - Sometimes I joke about being a cheegan. (I know, I know—but I’m a work in progress.) I’m pretty sure I could do the vegan thing without too much trouble if I could still nosh on a good goat Camembert or sheep Gouda. I dream of the day I can cut my ties with cheese with the level of success Jen has achieved. Until then, I have found one occasion when I can swap out cheese for a vegan alternative without sacrifice: nutritional yeast on tacos. It’s creamy and has just the right tang. If you’re looking for a place to start, tacos are it.

Black Beans & Mushrooms - Speaking of tacos, try this meat replacement: sauté some diced onion, then add a can of (rinsed and drained) black beans, a diced red pepper, and a whole ton of diced mushrooms. Sprinkle in taco seasoning to taste and let it cook down. Bomb. You could also puree this combo for a creamy nacho dip.

Hummus - I don’t eat sandwiches (pesky gluten), but if I did…I’d use hummus in place of mayo. And I used to love mayo. I just love hummus more. When I’m trying to prove to family how delicious gluten-free/vegan life can be, I often whip up some hummus and smear it on some romaine leaves for an easy and tasty wrap. Or plop some in a bowl, drizzle with olive oil and paprika, and serve with carrots and celery. At our family reunion, the hummus lettuce wraps disappeared, and there were potato chips left over. I’m just sayin’.

What are your favorite vegan food products and staples?

Happy New You - Part I

2010-12-03T14:06:00.001-05:00

We are in the midst of the holiday season and it feels grand...well mostly because I like seeing twinkly lights and the warm and fuzzy feeling that accompanies them. Although I must admit the usual stress of gift-giving is creeping up and the temptations of treats and sweets will be ever present in no time at all. Which leads me to my newest health initiative. Get healthier now. Why wait until New Year's?

After spending several years focusing on feeling well everyday I've found that a pretty stict diet, sleep, and exercise works wonders for me. And steering away from this plan on occasion has shown me how much I'd rather stick with it, even during the holidays. Moderation is a great plan for most people and I think if you can feel great with a little wine or sugar...go for it!

But I learned that even a little sugar, without supplementing with lots of healthy food (veggies, brown rice, etc) does me in. Case in point: Thanksgiving. I kept it as vegan as possible and my family was very supportive...but ended up eating all white food and sugar: mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry relish, dinner rolls, and apple pie. I had the best of intentions to bring home some healthy greens and colorful veggies but at the time I couldn't justify doing the cold walk to Whole Foods and schlepping them to the boondocks of rural Lancaster County.

When at home, I also am more succeptible to slipping into old habits. While I didn't touch a lick of dairy, I did partake in some legalized addictive stimulation (coffee) and non-dairy creamer (bad shit). While I was loving my family's company, I was loathing the swan dive my health had just taken; I retreated to my apartment in the city the following day to reboot.

The upcoming holiday parties will be the biggest hurdle...that's where my weakness for cheese and wine and desserts comes out in full swing...especially since so much of the socializing this time of year revolves around food. I'll be scouring the Internet for vegan goodies that are also veggiful, minimally processed and low-glycemic.

First source: Christina Pirello's site for healthier holiday cookies. I've made some oh-so-good biscotti (minus chocolate plus orange essance with clove and cinnamon). Next up: Linzer bars! Try the Asteroids, Coconut Macaroons, Italian Nut Cookies, and many more!

Second site: VegNews for holiday tips.

Third times the charm: Pure2Raw - tons of mouth-watering recipes. Can't wait to try some!

Any tips for a healthier ho-ho-ho at the holiday party?

Earthlings

2010-11-03T20:18:00.000-04:00

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."

This past weekend I watched Earthlings, a film documenting the ways we use animals for profit and consumption. The video, which is available for free on this website, is raw and chilling and violent. It was difficult to watch but I feel that every adult should view this for health, consumer, and ethical reasons.

While some people will feel that this movie's agenda is to convert meat-eaters to vegetarians and vegans, I feel that its purpose was to raise the following question: do we have the right to mistreat animals? Although there are many examples of animal cruelty today in the names of research, entertainment (think bull fights and dog fights), and beauty (cosmetic testing and fur "harvesting"), factory farming has received much of the attention lately...because of it's health effect on us. (egg recalls, beef recalls, etc).

Sure, this is an important issue for us. I originally gave up animal flesh for health reasons...to lower my cholesterol... and to avoid tainted products (you want a side of hormones and antibiotics with your BLT?). But when I learned about what actually goes on in these secluded and extremely guarded factory farms, I wondered what they were hiding. Why couldn't the factories be made of glass, if not for commercial transparency, to let some light in on the animals? Why couldn't we visit these "farms" the way people visit other food-making establishments (like Hershey's Chocolate or Herr's Potato Chips or the local farm close to where I grew up)? If we are willing to eat animals, why can't we see what goes on there? Because if we did (in the current conditions), we'd likely never eat their "product" again.

Now I'm not going to get all don't-eat-meat on you. I respect the fact that food choices are deeply personal and cultural and that many people eat meat. I do hope to generate interest in questioning the current meat-producing system and the effect it has not only on people's health but also on that of the animal. I believe the two are inextricably linked.

If animals are to be eaten, shouldn't they be treated respectfully? Would anyone want to eat something that has been stressed out during its life and who suffered needlessly during its death? It would be lovely if baby pigs could nestle with their mother or if chickens could run in a field and see the sun. But in the current "food" system very few animals see daylight and they are restricted in their movement, sometimes lying or standing in their own waste. Undercover footage has revealed workers kicking animals, bludgeoning them, cursing at them, burning and skinning them alive...and for what?

Since watching Earthlings, I have wondered how I would go about getting meat if I was not a vegetarian. Ideally, I'd reduce the amount to consume and find a local farm where animals see sunlight, are given their natural right to mother their babies, and not be pumped with drugs and hormones. This sounds very happy-go-lucky but if an animal was going to become a part of me (as all food I take in does) I'd want it to have lived a happy and healthy life. Is that so much to ask?

If you have seen the segment of Earthlings that shows the hellish conditions of factory farms, you'll appreciate the following clip from Polyface Farms even more. Wouldn't it be great if we could abolish factory "farms" and have respectful and trustworthy farmers like this?

Ixnay on the Expohay?

2010-11-01T20:22:00.000-04:00

That's pig latin for "I diss the expo"...the 2010 Philadelphia Food and Wine Expo to be exact. Now I know what you're probably thinking. Why on earth would a vegan non-drinking gal go to a meat, dairy, seafood, beer and vino showcase? I had to go and see the vegan superstar that was making an appearance there.

The expo had two things going for it: Desi Village cuisine (I ate several servings of stupendous vegan Indian food) and Christina Pirello, host of the PBS show Christina Cooks. This wasn't my first time seeing her cooking demonstrations. But there's always something new to learn from her. She's funny, down-to-earth, has a great stage presence and is a walking encyclopedia on all things food. Most importantly, she's uber passionate about holistic nutrition and is continuously creating new recipes to encourage people to take back their health in a tasty way. And it's always a treat to see her make healthier versions of, well, treats.

At the expo, Christina showed the audience how to make zeppoli, an Italian fried dough. She put her own touch on it, creating an aromatic honey and orange zest glaze that covered the balls of doughy goodness. Simply scrumptious. Heavenly. I wish this had been the ending to my expo experience given what followed.

My friend and I were perusing all the tables and I, as expected, had found little to eat. No biggie. But when I found a pesto pasta action station I thought I had hit the jackpot. Wrongo. Mr. pasta maker, a caterer from the area, didn't like vegans. When I asked if he could make the pesto and not throw in some parm cheese he got irritated. When I noticed a pitcher of colored liquid, I asked what it was (I thought maybe it was melted butter). I took myself out of the running for pasta when I learned that he was going to add chicken stock. No judgement...just didn't want it anymore. He hadn't even made it yet. But mr. pasta maker got pissed, throwing his arms up and saying, "You're not a VEGAN are you?" I was taken aback by how loud (at least it seemed) he got and I left his booth.

Maybe he thought I was judging him. Maybe he was disgruntled that I was asking him to tweak the contents of the pasta action station (but those usually involve choices anyway, right?). It was weird enough feeling out of place in general but to be called out for food choices was just unexpected. If there is to be an expo in my future, it will surely be vegan or natural foods (like this). But I would go to the expo all over again to see Christina cook.

Practicing Extreme Self Care

2010-10-14T19:33:00.000-04:00

It's been an uber crazy month so far and not without some stressors. Fall is my favorite season but it's also the time when work gets really busy and includes evening and weekend hours. As a result, my food plan generally goes south this time of year. But the more hectic the work schedule, the more important it is to practice what life coach Cheryl Richardson calls "extreme self care." There are various components that contribute to our well being...cultivating and fostering meaningful and healthy relationships, nurturing our physical/emotional/spiritual/mental selves, and creating a harmonious living space and living within our means. For now, my focus has been on maintaining physical health...through food and fitness.

Staying late at the office always had me craving greasy or sugary comfort food...and coffee. When the pumpkin spice flavor would come in I'd be all over it. It actually came early this year...and I consumed it daily (with other pumpkin spice lovers) until it was gone.

Now I know what you're thinking. Everything in moderation. Unfortunately I don't have the will power to do that. I end up drinking one cup of pumpkin spice coffee. The next day I'm adding cream to it (stuff I shouldn't be drinking). Coffee seems to be my gateway drug. Next thing you know, I'm eating a cheese sandwich or grabbing a cappuccino once or twice a week (for the first time ever I watched someone make it and had no idea they put so much milk in it - damn). I am not supposed to even be eating dairy but when the going gets busy at work I find excuses for these foods...foods that are not part of my regular diet.

Luckily these digressive phases don't last long and I quickly get back into the routine of a clean diet. But I'd prefer to never get off track because I tend to go to extremes (even if it's only for two weeks at a time) and then suffer the consequences (breakouts, headaches, and lethargy). So I gave myself a clean slate and re-committed to doing a clean diet during one of the busiest work weeks of the year...partly because I wanted the week to be as stress-free as possible (and a clean diet goes a long way with that) and because I have a super fun event next week that I want to look good for.

Aside from clearer skin, I'm motivated to maintain a clean diet because it keeps my energy levels high (good if you must work long hours) and lessens the amount of stress I put on my body (ie no caffeine, mucus-producing dairy, and acidic effects from sugar, salt and processed foods). Yum!

So what did I consume this week?

* Daily probiotic
* Hemp, banana, honey, peanut butter, almond milk, and cinnamon shakes
* Black bean burritos with salsa, quinoa, onions and roasted red peppers
* Brown rice pasta with artichokes, tomatoes, onions and peppers
* Braised carrot soup
* Brown rice with pinto beans, corn, and sauteed onions
* Panang curry with tofu from Chabba Thai
* Yummy sweet potato lentil and minestrone soups from Couch Tomato
* Peanut butter and banana sandwiches (on days I didn't do the shake)
* Two 16 oz green juices daily (romaine, mint, grapes, apple, celery, cucumber, broccoli stems)
* Caffeine-free herbal teas
* Exercise (weekend runs and bike rides; 20 minute yoga or circuit training)
* 7-8 hours of sleep

And I still found a way to have some comfort food this week...inspired by this rainy day in Philly. I recently found an online recipe for a peppery grilled cheese and made some vegan tweaks with new add-ons for a super scrumptious treat.

Grilled CheesusIngredients:

*1/2 organic red bell pepper
*2 thin slices of yellow onion
*2 tbsp Vegenaise
*1/2 tbsp minced garlic
*1/2 cup Daiya cheddar style shreds
*4 slices whole wheat bread

Saute onions in a little olive oil until golden. In a blender combine the pepper, garlic and mayo. Brush a little olive oil on bread slices and add the cheese, onions and pepper mayo. Grill until you see the goods in all their glory. Wonder where Daiya has been all your life.

Side note on the green juices - I recently bought some Ball mason jars, inspiration courtesy of Kris Carr, at my hardware store. They are inexpensive, super cute, and nifty for bringing your juice with you wherever you go! I got the 16 oz jars...the perfect portion size with an air-tight lid to keep the juice fresher longer. I typically juice around 32 oz at a given time and store them to have as snacks the next day.

What do you do to practice extreme self care?

Blissful Bikram

2010-09-07T22:03:00.002-04:00

Ok...as you may have read, I hated Bikram yoga when I did it last Thursday. But today I was feeling the love of my love-hate relationship with it. That love was followed by a sense of achievement and feelings of clarity and calm that I normally only experience after a day of fasting. Yay!

What a difference this day was! - not as much dizziness, no bitchiness, a sense of control and ease at the same time, and I was able to hold the poses longer and really get into them more fully...It helped that I hydrated more throughout the day (and resisted an urge for coffee), that Heath force-fed me watermelon before class (typically, you're not supposed to eat several hours before class...but I figured watermelon was probably one of the only foods that would count as an exception), and it also made a difference that I warmed up with a quick lymph brushing (with a warm washcloth) and a bikeride to class.

And did I mention that, this time around, I had the best instructor ever? Megan at Bikram Yoga of Philadelphia was kind and encouraging, with just the right amount of strictness to keep me honest. I actually worked better and harder in this atmosphere. She was very good at explaining how to have correct posture and how to properly get in and out of poses. And Megan also made a point of telling us what each pose was doing to our organs, spine, muscles, and systems. She'd say, "this pose is good for the pancreas...that pose is good for the intestine"...etc. This motivated me to really work the poses. She scored big points for reminding us to get out of our minds and to use them only for positive thoughts related to our practice - "Stretch." "I am strong." "I'm going to rock this pose."

I made it to the end feeling so much stronger than I did at Thursday's class. I have to remember that some days will just not go as well as others. According to Bikram Choudhury, when you are feeling less like being at yoga, that's when you need it the most.

And as we laid on our mats, soaking up all the benefits, Megan asked us to reflect on why we come to Bikram. Her reason? To move her body; it feels better after movement. My reason? To engage not only my muscles in a workout but all organs and systems as well...to detoxify....to get out of my mind...to get out of my comfort zone and focus on my breath.

There are only three things you can control in life:

*Your Breath
*Your Mind
*Your Body

What activities help you in attending to these parts of you?

P.S. Another brownie point for this Bikram studio, aside from an awesome instructor, is the kick-ass vegan snacks they gave out for FREE. When you don't eat as preparation for a class, it's possible you'll be starving afterwards. The snack was a godsend.

Macro Monday ~ Miso Soup

2010-09-06T21:32:00.000-04:00

I used to think miso soup was weird, gross even, mainly because I tried a soup-in-a-box once that had an over-powering fishy taste. I assumed all miso soup had this quality...and tofu, of which I'm not a big fan. But my friend recently made me miso soup and it was delicious. It's a common dish within a macrobiotic diet and is often consumed for breakfast. You heard right...soup for breakfast!

My friend practices macrobiotics and has miso every morning alongside a grain (like amaranth) with veggies (like corn and cauliflower), a green (like blanched kale or watercress) and a sea vegetable (in the miso soup and/or in the form of dulse flakes on the cooked grain). I've tried this several times with great results...feeling grounded, calm, centered, and ready to start my day. It's also very hydrating (the best diet is one where you are hydrated by your food and don't need to down lots of water, which is taxing on the kidneys).

Here's my variation on the morning stew:

Me-So-Happy Miso Soup

1/4 cup yellow onion, diced
1/4 cup carrots, match-stick slices
Several slices of lotus root
1/4 cup daikon, half-moon slices
2 tsp brown rice miso
2-inch piece of wakame, sliced into small pieces
3 cups filtered water

Soak wakame for 10 minutes in some filtered water. Heat onion, carrots, daikon, lotus root and 3 cups of water and bring to a boil. Add wakame and let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove some of the water and mix the miso in it. Add the dissolved miso into the pot. Don't boil once miso is in the pot; it will destroy the digestive enzymes.

Note: Miso soups typically include a sea vegetable for their high mineral content but I have made several soups without them. I just started using wakame, which can be purchased at a natural food store or Whole Foods. Nori is also commonly used.

Dry Wakame

Soaked/Cooked Wakame

Bickering at Bikram

2010-09-04T20:56:00.002-04:00

On Thursday night I got to hang out with my friend Katie. We planned to catch up and sweat our asses off...courtesy of Bikram yoga. It wasn't my first time doing it but I was nonetheless nervous. Bikram yoga calls for its participants to engage in an hour-and-one-half session of 26 poses, done twice, in a room heated to 105 degrees. Each time I do Bikram I wonder if I'll make it through. Will I faint? Will I hurl? My mind races a bit too. What have I gotten myself into? And why the hell am I doing this...again?

My interest in trying Bikram started with Oprah. I was flipping through a friend's old O Magazine at the beach, reading about some chickadee who was using Bikram as the jumpstart to her life makeover. I don't remember what about that article made me look into it. Perhaps it was an interest in seeing what all the hype was about or pushing myself to the extreme. Mark my words. It doesn't really get more extreme than Bikram.

Normally when I do yoga it's as chill as can be. My favorite yogini was sweet and soft-spoken, encouraging her students to "play" on their mats. It was a great feeling...like I was in kindergarten. We were only to focus on ourselves and not compare our skill set or poses with those next to us. The room was dimly lit with candles and gentle music and the temperature was comfortable. In fact, when this particular yoga studio started heating up their rooms, even to 70 degrees, I stopped going. It made me nauseous.

So why on earth would I try doing yoga in 105 degrees? Why would I pursue a yoga practice without music, with stern instructors, in a bright room that makes me feel like I'm melting and a room that reeks of people's sweat? I still don't know the answer to that. And yet I go back.

Bikram Choudhury founded this style of yoga on the principle of health; the hot temperatures are meant to increase flexibility throughout the various poses, which engage all of the muscles, veins, glands (you name it) in the body. One of the Bikram teachers I've experienced said it best: "Suffer for 90 minutes, live for 90 years." And trust me, it is a full 90 minutes of suffering. I go to Bikram on occasion, thinking that eventually it will get easier. But it doesn't. And I find myself bitching about it in my head. Why am I here? Why does the instructor seem so mean?

I think about running out the door within 10 minutes to the start of each class (I've confirmed that other people think this too). I pray the instructor hasn't noticed that she left the window opened...or that I've gotten out of some of the poses before she has said the magic word "change." I get bummed when the instructor has noticed that the window is indeed opened...and promptly closes it. When all this has passed (30 minutes into the session) I hear select words in my head. "Breathe" and "focus." "Breathe" and "focus." And "I'd kill for an iced tea right now." Part survival mode, part what I'm going to do if I survive (minus the killing).

But despite the attempts to settle my thoughts and focus and breathe, my bitchy feelings have not quite dissipated. I'm frustrated with the person at the front of the room, the person keeping me here. Still sweating...still a little dizzy. I'm ready to be done. The instructor jokes about the clock being 10 minutes fast. She tells us not to worry...she'll make sure we don't miss those 10 minutes. I'm not amused at this or her feigned attempts at soothing us, telling us to look up at the soft periwinkle ceiling. "You're almost done."

And then it's done. Amen.

I immediately down 32 ounces of water as fast as I can, spray the mat, peel off the clothes, and bada bing, bada boom. My skin and lungs are clear. I feel like a new person. I entered the studio in the midst of a heat wave and left that studio feeling like I was in air conditioning. And I slept like a baby. I will have to remember all the positives (including those unseen) the next time I venture into the desert. It might be a while before I want to feel the heat again. But one thing is certain. I will feel the heat again.

My Favorite Mistake

2010-08-31T08:51:00.000-04:00

I did a major detox last week and was also really diligent about eating lots of vegetables and salads and abstaining from caffeine, dairy, alcohol, etc. etc. I was feeling pretty great; my skin was clear and I was sky high from my regular workouts. Then I got some news. The cupcakes were coming! And not just any cupcakes.

If you haven't already heard about them, Georgetown Cupcake is rolling in notariety and dough (well, pastry flour) for their gems of sugary goodness. Oprah put them on her list of favorite things, the White House has served them, and TLC produced a show called DC Cupcakes, which follows the two owners, Sophie and Katherine, on their quest to bring gourmet cupcakes to the masses. On any given day at their Georgetown and Bethesda shops you will find a line of customers that extends around the block, sometimes with an hour-long wait time. Luckily, one of my co-workers had a connection and, better yet, was bringing the cupcakes to us!

So you can imagine where this is going. I had an indiscretion. I made a mistake...and one of my favorites to date. I jumped off the health junkie wagon and had me a little taste of heaven. And I mean little. I sampled slivers of the coconut, red velvet and key lime cakes. And I had to go back for the 1/4 lime cupcake that was left. It would have been too sad to throw it out, right? Yum. Yum. Yum.

Of course, the sugar, eggs, and cream cheese caught up with me quickly (headache!) but I got to see what all the hype was about. And they were worth trying; I highly recommend them. Now if only they could make a vegan cupcake. Hmmmm......

In the Raw, Part II

2010-08-22T14:27:00.000-04:00

Here is the second part of my interview with the Live Food Chef. In part I we discussed how he got interested in raw foods and what led him to pursue it not only as a way of life but as a career as well. Here he explains the benefits of a raw foods diet and his experience at the 105 Degrees Academy.

How do you feel on a a raw foods food plan in comparison to other ways you've eaten? Any noticeable changes? How long have you been going raw?

Until now, I hadn't really ever eaten according to any specific meal plan, so naturally eating raw has been very different for me. Given the history of my past food consumption, I can say that I do feel much better about the criteria that I have designed for determining what I will or will not eat. It feels good to be able to have some guidelines in place so that it makes my choices easier too. Its sort of a form of elimination. I can say that when it comes to decisions that one is forced to make on a daily basis, i.e. what foods to consume, I am glad that I am no longer overburdened by an unnecessary pad load of choices (most of them completely unappealing anyway). There is a certain sense of elitism associated with the choice as well. Not necessarily a feeling of supremacy towards others, but a liberation from bombardment by products. I feel that I've gained an attitude that claims myself too good to contaminate my system with corn syrup-laden and chemically conglomorated food stuffs.

From a physicality standpoint, the changes that I've noticed in regards to heightened energy and general mental sharpness have been affable as well. Eating nutrient dense foods as opposed to just dense foods seems to free up some of the energy that the body was using for digestion and processing. Its an interesting concept and one that has eluded me until recently; you don't have to be and probably shouldn't be tired after you eat! Food should be used as a source of energy, not just as a source of sustenance.

How was your experience in Oklahoma with the raw foods culinary program? Could you describe a typical day in the program?

The raw foods program that I enrolled in was the Fundamentals of Living Cuisine Certification program at the 105 degrees academy in Oklahoma City. It was a wonderful learning opportunity for me. The program is designed and modeled after other classic culinary arts programs and intended for individuals seeking the opportunity to learn from experienced raw food chefs in a real kitchen environment. As it is designed for the aspiring culinary professional, class days were full and typically ran from 9am-3pm. Each day included a mix of lecture and hands-on learning.

A typical day in the program included demonstrations by the instructor and subsequent execution by the students. There was often opportunity for the students to experiment with flavors and develop their own ideas for implementation into their recipes. Most days we would prepare one dish in the morning so that we could eat what we made for lunch (sometimes great, but often times enlighteningly distasteful). Often times we would sit down for lunch in the cafe so that if your efforts for that day were less than palatable, you could order from the restaurants menu which was always good. We would prepare another dish in the afternoon so that we would have something to take home for dinner. The program was designed to first teach basic skills and then culminate with each student planning and presenting a three course meal of their own. Knife skills, recipe-building, and presentation were all emphasized throughout the curriculum.

What is your favorite recipe?

I really like kale salad as it is a go-to meal for me and something that I feel is easy to prepare and extremely delicious too.

Kale Salad with Miso Dressing

Serves 2-4 people as a main dish

For the salad:
1 head of curly leaf kale rinsed
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp olive oil (first cold pressed)
Salt and pepper (be liberal)

Pull the leaves of the kale from the ribs and shred it finely with chef's knife. Place chopped kale in a large mixing bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add olive oil and lemon juice and massage into kale with your hands (important to use hands to integrate ingredients into greens - salt will open pores of the greens and allow flavors to penetrate). Massage thoroughly until kale has wilted. Set aside.

For the dressing:
2 Tbsp of sweet white miso
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/4 c sesame seeds (soaked)
1/4 c raw cashews (soaked)
1 thai chili (optional)
1 Tbsp agave
1 Tbsp nama shoyo
spring water (sufficient enough to thin to desired consistancy)

Blend all ingredients in blender until smooth and transfer to bowl. Incorporate into salad and mix well. I often like to add some sesame sticks for crunch and other vegetables such as carrot sticks or julienned peppers or snowpea shoots for color and contrast.

For more information about Greg's journey and his raw foods business, check out his website, The Live Food Chef.

In the Raw, Part I

2010-08-21T14:10:00.000-04:00

Not too long ago I got to catch up with my friend Greg, a.k.a. the Live Food Chef. He recently got back from 105 Degrees Academy, a raw food culinary school based in Oklahoma, and I wanted to learn what piqued his interest in this program and how he got on the road to raw. Here's part one of my interview with him.

When did your interest in raw food begin? What prompted you to explore and pursue it?

I feel that it is difficult to distinguish when exactly the raw food journey began, because in some ways, it feels like a culmination or a final destination that I have unconsciously been seeking since the time that I began to prepare my own meals. More accurately and less ambiguously though, I guess that I first started to explore raw food last year in the fall. Previously, I had always found employment as a line cook in traditional restaurant kitchens. I put in alot of time on the various stations in the kitchen, favoring to work on the saute side. I really enjoyed having all of my burners fired up and heating my pans to the perfect temperature. I honed some real skills over the heat and enjoyed being succesful at feeding large numbers of customers on a busy Saturday night. I liked the science behind it and the relationships that developed with the other cooks. It felt good, but ultimately, I couldn't see the future in it.

My discontent with that type of work was always somewhat apparent and I felt that I needed to get out of the kitchen heat and try a different path. I worked for the summer as an archaeologist until the work ran out and I was forced to make a decision regarding which direction I would go next. After some introspective time, I concluded that perhaps my discontent in the kitchen did not stem directly from the fact that I didn't enjoy preparing food. In fact, quite the opposite was true. I spent alot of my free time in my own kitchen preparing meals working with different flavors. I knew I could feel fulfilled by creating beautiful and delicious meals for others; I was discontented simply because of the stresses that I thought to be inherent in a kitchen environment (i.e. heat , grease , noisy equipment , shouting chefs).

I had been eating more conciously for a couple of years previously. I tried vegetarinism for a couple months (not fully committed), but was more focused on organic and local foods. All the while I was becoming increasingly aware of the dark side of where most food in this country was coming from and how it was being produced. (I think that Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer may have been the last book that I read before going 100% vegan). I realized that the path commercially-produced and processed food takes to get to the plate prohibits it from being truly nourishing, even if it is prepared with love. I wanted to be a part of the good food movement. I began to think that if I found the right kitchen that was making the food I wanted to make, then I could be happy. I began to search for opportunities. Through my research, I found some restaurants that were on the page that I was looking to be on.

What had your eating habits been prior and how did they evolve to a raw diet?

Prior to raw foods I had been raised, like a majority of individuals in this country, on a traditional american diet. It's funny to think back on the comfort foods of my childhood and wonder how in the world my food choice evolved to where it is today. To name a few, egg on toast (cut into squares), fish sticks (Mrs. Paul's of course), grilled cheese (with velveeta orange only, please), macaroni and cheese (kraft powdered packet), hotdogs, bacon (four or five pieces microwaved was a typical breakfast before going to school), chicken nuggets, cheeseburgers, Ellios pizza, and bagel bites (the only thing I ate in 1996), were among my favorites. Needless to say, vegetables had less than a starring role in any of my go-to meals.

As I grew older and began to cook for myself, I frequently made chicken in various applications (entirely unaware of how screwed the poultry industry was and is) . . . taco taco, burrito burrito, quesadilla, cheesesteak. When I went to college, I took a job as a dish washer in a classical French restaurant. This opportunity opened my eyes to a whole new world of food and flavors that set me on a path of culinary experimentation that was only in its infancy.

The more restaurants that I worked in, the more the range of dishes that I could make greatly widened. I loved food and the opportunity it created for me to showcase my ability. I would eat anything without much regard for how it got to me. The only criteria that I established for the food that I created and ate was taste. It was always easy to eat the food that I was working around all day and night and my diet subsquently changed with the restaurants that employed me. A sampling, with nothing off limits: cassoulet, calimari, cappicola, corn beef , cubans, club sandwiches and eggs, potatoes, and bacon slathered in ketchup on a plain white toasted English muffin with white square celophaned cheese packets for a Sunday morning brunch service on the saute station.

Pizzas were always easy when tending the wood burning oven; oysters too and clams, both top and little neck (perhaps my first experience with eating raw food regularly). Prosciutto-wrapped shrimp horseradish mayonaise, barbeque pulled pork carolina style either north or south, vinegar or mustard. I guess that truely anything that I could wrap up in a tortilla and seal with pepperjack cheese became the normal choice while running ragged back and forth between walk-in coolers.

With all of that being said, I suppose that out of that mindset and mentality of considering taste as effective criteria for food choice, my bend towards "real food" naturally illicited itself forth out of the mess of convenient garbage. I can accurately say that my diet has currently become completely consistant of whole, un-commercially-processed plant-based foods...not always raw, but usually so. A sampling of my current cravings in consideration of the staples primarily include kale salad (in various styles usually containing miso), green smoothies (also forever variable but usually with homemade almond or other nut milk), sprouted buckwheat granola (also contained within a flavored nut milk matrix), anything fresh from Cali's garden ... cucumber, onion, potato, mellon, swiss chard, pepper, and tomatoes in any variety (purple cherokee and green zebra are best), and coconut ice cream (any flavor).

Stay tuned for In the Raw, Part II where Greg shares his experience at the 105 Degrees Academy and a raw recipe!

Back in the Saddle

2010-08-06T22:28:00.000-04:00

There's no hiding the fact that I've been away from the blogosphere as of late...ok, it's been a long while. And I've missed it! The last month has been filled with twists and turns (all fun and all good!) and I'm glad to be back into the swing of things. Well...almost. Here's an update on what I'd been up to, sans blog.

In mid-July, I got to attend a vegan macrobiotic cooking intensive program with Christina Pirello, chef and host of Christina Cooks. I met up with 15 other health nuts for a weekend of lectures on chinese medicine and the energetics of food, cooking demonstrations, yummy meals, and a Top Chef-like experience where we broke up into groups and were challenged to make four recipes (from scratch) in two hours. Amazing time and fun people!

The fruits (well, mostly veggies) of our labor...
Check out this dessert recipe - pictured above.

I got to meet vegan elite athlete Brendan Brazier. YUM-MY.

I ran a 6.2 mile military style mud race (complete with six obstacles) with my friend Ed. I was worried about the heat that day and the fact that my training had run its course (ie I wasn't doing much of it) but Ed pulled me through.

I got to see my best friend get married.

And learned an indian dance in an hour to perform at the reception; and danced the night away.

I moved out of the suburbs and into a nice little nest in the city. We were too tired to document this adventure with photos. :) But our move did mean that we had to say goodbye to Laila (whose daddy, Heath's roommate, was moving out of the city). :(

And I turned the big 3-0!

Vegan Pie from Mom

I got lots of vegan and health-nut goodies, including a gift certificate to Whole Foods and a fabulous Make Juice Not War t-shirt from the lovely Olivia (she is the best gift giver. Ever.).

Vegan Pancakes from Heath

Stay tuned for new posts, including an interview with a raw foods "cook", the scoop on dumping toxic cosmetics and beauty products, and the regular reads - macro Monday and T2C!

Back on the health junkie horse with a kick-ass green juice.

Cheers!

Dining Dilemma ~ by Lauren

2010-07-02T17:53:00.000-04:00

I'm sitting at my boyfriend's parents' house staring at a meal of mostly meat. I assume this is common in most households. While most mouths would water (and mine certainly wasn't repulsed) for a big hot pan of bubbly fresh (meat) lasagna, which unfortunately for me appears homemade, my eyes scan for the side dishes - salad and bread. That works for me! That is, until my nagging manners and pressing concern for others' feelings kick in.

My thoughts return to a dinner table on my Kazakhstan trip years ago when the meat prepared was a "very special" Ukrainian meat, made of pure fat and love, a dish served in honor of my arrival. If I could "swallow" that with a smile on my face, I could certainly handle lasagna...OR I could turn it down because, after all, this was not a meal made to reach out a hospitable welcome. No implications here, right? No slaving in the kitchen to watch your guests smile as they savor your dish? Wrong. At least in my mind.

In many cultures food is tied to love, fellowship, hospitality, pride, and peace between people. Food is more than food. Food is a symbol. And with that, rejection of food prepared for you can be considered more than rude. Rejection of food can even be equivalent to rejection of friendship.

So I'm kind of stuck. I've thought about avoiding dining in others' homes altogether, but that's not possible if I want to have relationships. I know, I know. I should probably just get over it, be myself, and stop worrying about offending others, but I want to be sensitive, grateful, and kind, especially to people of different backgrounds who are trying to share a piece of their culture with me.

Any ideas?

T2C ~ Mantra Musings

2010-06-25T22:49:00.000-04:00

Jen ~ Philadelphia

When I think of mantras, two types come to mind ~ words/phrases that are commonly repeated (usually in my head) – both positive and negative – and the sacred and mystical utterances that are capable of creating transformation. It seems that the latter would help with the former, at least as far as clearing the mind and creating a loving and non-judgmental space. After all, negative “mantras,” the repetitive and undesired self-talk, need to be put in their place…and not given so much weight.

In an earlier post I blogged about The Power of Now and an exercise I tried on watching the mind and monitoring one’s thoughts. Sometimes one negative thought can lead to another and soon enough there’s a chain of them and you can find yourself in a downward spiral, feeling not-so-great and wondering how the heck you got to that low place. “I’m not good enough”, “I could work harder on x, y, z…” etcetera, etc. But if you can observe and identify these thoughts early on, you’ll save yourself from a toxic nosedive. And adding some reaffirming mantras will do the trick too!

I remember vividly the time that this worked best. I started to seriously doubt a person I had deemed a “special someone” and believed, based on his actions, that it was only a matter of days before things were going to unravel. And there was nothing I could do about it. I found myself waking up in the middle of the night on the verge of a panic attack, consumed by fear and anxiety. When I couldn’t get back to sleep I sent out vibes, begging for everything to be ok and asking the Universe for “peace, serenity, and calm.” I repeated these words over and over and over again…until I drifted off to sleep. It was the only thing that worked.

Luckily, I haven’t seen another situation like this to warrant that kind of mantra. I now use them when running ~ “You will get there. You’ll make it to the finish line” (this mantra goes on for long time) ~ and when I’m at the office ~ “Make it Work!” Note: the Tim Gunn “Make it Work” bobblehead helps with this one.

What mantras work for you?

Olivia ~ Seoul

I used to feel ambivalent about mantras. On the one hand, they seem like New Age hocus pocus–even to my New Age loving self. On the other hand, mantras have helped me through difficult situations since I started using them in the past year, which makes me inclined to keep up with them in the future.

Om Mani Padma Hum

When I first began exploring this mantra thing, I turned to Google for some research. (Because nothing says “inner peace and contentment” quite like the world’s largest search engine, right?) I was curious about what mantras people have been using for centuries, and figured that if it was good enough to help thousands of others center themselves, it was good enough for me. I eventually settled on two classics: Ham-sa, which means “I am that,” and Om mani padma hum, a classic Tibetan Buddhist prayer. I love the former because of how perfectly it fits with free-flowing breaths; when I really need to focus, I think ham on the exhale and sa on the inhale. The little effort required to invert what might feel the “natural” coupling ham/inhale and sa/exhale helps me really bring attention to the moment. I have a little yellow post-it tacked up over my desk with this mantra on it, and it serves as a gentle reminder a few times a day that I am what I am, and I am what I do, which helps me refocus my attentions on what truly matters. Om mani padma hum is a mantra I use less often, but find springs into my mind from time to time when I’m feeling…off. I love the sound, even though I likely say it incorrectly, and find the script beautiful.

Lately I’ve been branching out into other mantras I can use in more targeted situations. In a recent email exchange, my friend Liz shared what gets her through difficult workouts, be it a long run or a challenging yoga class: “I choose to do this.” As soon as I read those words, I was struck by their power. I could write a page on that mantra alone, but what really strikes me is the truth that if you choose do something, you can choose not to do it, so if you choose to continue, you might as well accept the gifts the challenge is offering you. Angela, over at Oh She Glows, has shared her race mantra, which she pins to her shirt during events: “You are so much stronger than you think!” I have definitely appropriated this for some of my own runs when I felt like quitting. And you know what? It’s always true!

Lanterns with prayers for Buddha's birthday.
Mine would have said: "I am healthy. I am strong."

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to put a new mantra of my own making to the test: “I am healthy. I am strong.” Somehow, and we still can’t figure it out, gluten sneaked into my diet, the hows and whys of which I want to explore in a future post. On Saturday I was presented with the situation of needing to go to work (luckily, it was only a five-class day instead of eleven or twelve) while suffering from intense pain through most of my body, though, thankfully, my right leg was spared. I do have one narcotic pain pill that I carry just in case, but taking it would have made it impossible to teach (it puts me to sleep), so I was forced to rely on Motrin and my stubborn disposition. Lucky for me, I can be really stinking stubborn. But it still took most of my power to sit in class–standing and writing on the board were out of the question–and lead a coherent discussion; I couldn’t help but think of the pain pulsing through my muscles, joints, bones, and skin. Clearly, thinking “It hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts” wasn’t helping; in fact, it likely fed the pain, or at least my consciousness of it. So I chose to spend my energy on what it was I wanted to manifest. I am healthy. I am strong. I am healthy. I am strong. Only the good stuff was allowed to cycle through my thoughts. When I told Michael that I was trying to mantra my way through the pain, he immediately “got it,” and filled in for me when I seemed to be wavering. There’s something incredibly powerful about having someone you love adopt your mantra for you: You are healthy. You are strong.

Do you use mantras? Do you use time-tested phrases or your own creations or a mixture of both? How have they helped you? Have you ever invited anyone to join in you mantra with you? I would like to official offer myself as mantra-supporter. If you need a little extra nudge of support and faith from someone, drop a comment or email with your mantra of choice, and why you’d like me (and your fellow readers) to come along for the ride. Let’s support each other in every way we can.

T2C: A Day in the Life...

2010-06-18T13:00:00.000-04:00

This week, Olivia and I decided to tackle the subject of temptation. What does a typical day in the life of a health nut look like? Here's how we make it through a regular (which often means stressful) day while still staying in the nutritional black.

Olivia ~ Seoul

For a long while, I attempted perfection. I would pledge myself to weeks or months of…whatever I thought I should focus on next. Yoga every day. No sugar. Not surprisingly, this approach almost always backfired as I burned myself out and went clamoring to the cupboards or the couch.

So now I’m learning to balance virtue and temptation. Oh middle path, you’d make Buddha proud. Treats are awesome and perfection is boring, but it all needs to be balanced. This means that a treat must truly be a treat; I have to enjoy it, savoring every moment.

When virtue and indulgence meet:
A pause during a long bike ride to enjoy some wine (and yes, it's wine in a can).

Curious as it may sound, this means planning. How many times have we been tempted by Starbucks/a Snickers bar/insert-craving-of-choice because we were exhausted or hungry or just having a snack attack? I don’t want to waste my treats on situations on like this. I want my indulgences to be about pure pleasure, not a lack of preparedness.

To help make this happen, I try to set up my life to make the healthiest options the easiest ones.

• At work: I keep healthy snacks that are likely to satisfy cravings at my desk: packets of toasted & salted seaweed sub in for potato chips, a bag of apples helps me combat a sugar slump, and a container of homemade trail mix gives me a protein boost when I need it.

• At home: Our fridge is (almost) always organized with the good-for-you stuff easy to grab. A salad lives on the top shelf with a freshly made bottle of dressing. Everything I need to make my green smoothies is corralled into one part of the fridge door so I can whip it together when I’m still half-asleep.

• For fitness: Running shoes are left out, and I try to do a load of laundry when I’m down to my last sports bra or pair of running shorts. The yoga mats stand at the ready against the wall of the living room. If I’m on the fence about going to the gym during a break at work, I bring the sneakers.

Does this mean I always make the healthful choices? NO! In fact, the last 24 hours have been particularly indulgent. But when I splurge, it’s because I want to, not because I’ve left myself without any other option. So today when I left my hummus-topped salad in the fridge at work and headed to Kraze Burger with my fella, it’s because I really wanted to split some damn cheese fries (and drink a Coke, a very rare occurrence), not because I scampered out empty-handed this morning. And I did still get a salad.

I’m not perfect. But I am pretty darn healthy while still leaving wiggle room for some of the less virtuous parts of life.

How do you handle temptation? Do you plan for it? Are you able to resist cravings?

Jen ~ Philadelphia

Although I’ve gotten used to going without coffee (for the most part), processed foods, alcohol, dairy (for the most part), and meat, I still feel tempted on a daily basis. Perhaps it’s the fact that for many people, these elements are commonplace in their diet…and I’m surrounded by subsequent opportunities to cave. It starts the minute I get out of bed when I’m visiting the folks and smell the coffee brewing (and see the non-dairy creamer in their fridge). On a workday, it starts when I reach the office waiting area. Co-workers can be found mingling around the coffee maker while I find myself sometimes pining for joe. If I’ve made it to 10:00 a.m. without succumbing, it’s just a matter of hours before the next hurdle approaches. Lunch is only hard when I haven’t prepared food in advance. There are a few options (emphasis on few) otherwise; my university has great vegetarian options but most are laden with cheese. 3:00 rolls around, the hunger hits, and the bad snacks at work call my name. Dinner is good if I have the energy to make food or if I’m not tired of take-out burritos, salads, or tomato pie (and that’s if the pizzeria has made any that day).

So far I’m not really doing a good job of selling this vegan lifestyle thing, huh?

Thankfully times have changed (since last week). I’ve gotten a buddy on board with food shopping and prepping on a weekly basis. We now meet up with vegan and balanced recipes to vote on, money to split the grocery bill, and sculpted biceps to whip up batches of food to get us through the week. Why didn’t we think of this before?!!

The temptations for coffee and dairy still continue and occasionally I partake. But with support of a fellow health junkie, I’ve got plenty of scrumptious meals on hand that are not only meat and dairy-free but my antidote to gratuitous indulging as well. Once you start eating whole plant-based foods on a regular basis (even in just a few days), you’ll notice your tastebuds and body wanting more!

How do you keep temptation at bay?

Battle in Seattle ~ by Ed

2010-06-17T20:40:00.000-04:00

The quest for good food wasn't nearly as serene as this lake.

My sister earned her masters degree in public health last week from the University of Washington, and that called for a celebration. Ten family members and one family friend headed out to Seattle to congratulate her. This was my first week away from home since I had dropped meat and many dairy products. Traditionally, vacations have meant a license to eat junk food and lots of meat. I was determined to be healthier this time around, going so far as to pack a blender; but as anyone who travels knows, it is not easy eating green in a new city. This was going to be a fight against old habits amongst carnivorous relatives who have a voracious appetite for meat.

The trip didn't start out well with a long flight out West. Airport "food" just flat out sucks, moreso if you are vegetarian. Not even the salads are appealing. I grabbed a pretzel from Auntie Anne's, hoping against hope that I could get something better during a layover in San Francisco. But my flight left late and I ended up spending the night at the airport with all the eateries closed. The best I could do the next morning was to get some crackers and water from a convenience store for the flight to Seattle. After my arrival and a long nap, my sister took us to a gourmet pizza place in the city, which was tasty, but decidedly unhealthy. For dinner at a seafood restaurant, I had a salmon burger (I still dabble in fish), which I couldn't finish since I was falling asleep at the dinner table. So travel and Day 1 in Seattle seemed to be a complete bust.

After taking a long run the next morning, I felt completely regenerated. For lunch, I resisted junk food urges and picked up a quinoa salad instead, which was a little too salty but good. My sister's graduation was that night, and mercifully, it was catered with plenty of vegetarian food. I enjoyed rice wraps, salad, and Greek spinach quiche. Unfortunately, I continued the cheese-eating the next day at lunch (and drank too much beer) on a boat ride in Puget Sound. Dinner was better that night, as we were treated to Salmon with diced tomatoes and onions and asparagus.

The next day was by far the healthiest eating wise. I put the blender to good use and tried the excellent recipe for Sweet Strawberry Pie that Jen recently blogged about. I had trouble with the crust, but it was an overall success. My cousins loved it and even my Allegedly Healthy Aunt, who is in many ways healthy but doesn't believe that meat and dairy could be bad for one's health, couldn't believe raw pie could taste so good.

One of the highlights of the trip occurred that evening, as I took my sister out for a meal at Cafe Flora, an award-winning vegetarian restaurant in Seattle. The design alone was amazing, as we were seated next to a fountain in an atrium. The menu featured all vegetarian options, many of which were also available vegan. I opted to enjoy some of my sister's avocado salad as an appetizer and selected the portobello wellington, the house specialty, served with outstanding mashed potatoes and asparagus. The mushrooms were cooked to taste as though it were meat. It was incredible and I highly recommend the restaurant should you ever find yourself in Seattle.

The next few days were not as good on the food front. My aunt took the cousins to a Seattle fast food joint appropriately called Dick's. When I was asked what I would be getting, I replied without thinking, "I don't know, I can't bleeping eat anything here." Alas, my pleas for them to give up meat had fallen on deaf ears. I did get a laugh when a cyclist shouted out, "Eating at Dick's is like putting poison in your body" while they were eating their meat. I went home and packed some fruit and a pb&j sandwich for a hike scheduled the following day. Too tired to make anything as my sister went out, I had some more strawberry pie for dinner. On the flight home, I had a couple of protein bars since, again, there was nothing but poor food options at the airport.

Overall, I was pleased with how I ate on the trip. If I had to do it again, I would have packed better food for the flights and worked harder to make food at my sister's place. However, things could have been a lot worse. I'm happy to say the meatless challenge is still going strong for me. I was less successful in convincing relatives to drop meat and dairy. One cousin even remarked that if milk is so bad, why do the sell it in schools? Good question. But that's a story for another time...

If you are traveling, be sure to consult the Eating Well Guide for local organic goods and VegGuide for vegetarian and vegan cuisine. Happy Eats!

Meatless in Seattle

2010-06-17T20:20:00.000-04:00

The proof was in the luggage...

My friend Ed recently traveled across the country to visit family in Seattle. I was both shocked and giddy when he texted me in route to say that he had packed his blender (I needed proof)! We had made a raw strawberry pie days before and he wanted to share the treat with family. He had shown so much commitment to nutrition since starting the meatless challenge (and now with packing a freakin' blender for a long-distance flight!) that I wondered how he'd fare being away from prepared meals for a week. Would it be anything like my bust in Baltimore? Fortunately, Seattle has lots of great eats for no-meat health junkies. Read more about Ed's experience in the blog post Battle in Seattle.

Macro Monday ~ Parsley Tea

2010-06-14T18:15:00.000-04:00

I used to think of parsley as a garnish and I had not developed a liking for it until recently. My friend Emek used to make us fabulous Turkish dishes, many of which had parsley in them. But when replicating her masterpieces I left the parsley out. It tasted too bitter to me. I was a picky eater.

Fast forward years later and to an introduction to macrobiotic cooking. With the right combination, parsley fast became a fantastic and complimentary ingredient in dishes. My palate had readjusted and, dare I say, developed feelings for this leafy green. But when I found a recipe for parsley tea, which only consisted of parsley, I wondered if it could stand on its own.

Parsley has been the main star in juices and other elixirs for various ailments and health benefits. If anything, I thought, drinking parsley tea on occasion would be a good contribution to health. It also turned out to be tasty!

This recipe comes from Simon Brown's Modern-Day Macrobiotics:

Bring 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley and 1 cup water to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes. Strain and enjoy!

*Note: Parsley and other select leafy greens may not be suitable for people with certain health conditions. See the first link above for more information.

T2C: Losing Our Minds

2010-06-10T09:47:00.000-04:00

A photo from Olivia's old apartment in Philly.

Your two favorite (wink wink) green health junkies are at it again. I’m teaming up with Olivia to launch a new weekly feature, A Tale from Two Cities (T2C), which will document various health and food adventures from our respective corners of the world: Philadelphia, PA, and Seoul, South Korea.

Our first blog title is not meant to announce an onset of psychosis or to imply that we have indeed gone bonkers. It’s true that our lives have gotten pretty darn busy (but extremely exciting) in recent months –an engagement and long-distance wedding planning from Seoul and a part-time gig with an awesome nutritionist in Philadelphia – and with such events naturally comes some stress and a need to unwind and just “be.” With that said, we’re focusing our first post on the very important topic of meditation and relaxation.

Jen ~ Philadelphia

I have always been a fidgety person. I still can’t manage to, well, sit still. My mind easily wanders and is cluttered with to-do lists, worries, thoughts of the future, and more menial wonderment of things like what’s going to happen on the next season of Dexter. And I imagine it’s this way for a lot of people. How can it not be? We live in a fast-paced culture with never-ending workdays, fast food at every corner, 24-hour news cycles, incessant tweeting and facebooking, and an urge to bring our blackberries with us on vacation. Oy! Where does all of this get us and what kind of world do we create for ourselves in the process? We need some room to breathe, people! And the only person who can help you is you.

Everyone will choose a different path to get to that breathing space. I’m not one for traditional meditation on a regular basis…not yet. I’ve tried it and it doesn’t appeal to me right now. In the meantime, yoga is serving quite nicely as my meditation and “me” time. I deem twenty minutes of it a day to be an accomplishment. My other current “go-to” inspirations for centeredness are passages from Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now and Kris Carr’s recent vlog on taking mini-vacations every day.

I highly recommend Tolle’s chapter “Freeing Yourself from Your Mind.” Newsflash! You are not your mind! He recommends monitoring your thoughts as an outsider (without judgment) to observe thought patterns, especially those that are repetitive, negative, and subsequently destructive. In doing so, you can practice being fully present in the “now.” When I last did this exercise I felt as if a weight had been lifted…no worries…just happiness…just being. As for the mini-vacation exercise – that starts tomorrow. Got to start planning. Might simply entail a 15-minute break/walk during the workday or a 30-minute “check-out” at Starbucks with a girly magazine. How do you unwind? How do you get centered?

Olivia ~ Seoul

If someone told you they knew of something that would help you be more productive at work, sleep more soundly at night, and improve your overall happiness, you’d probably be clamoring to find out their secret. Especially when you found out it was free, could be done anytime, anywhere.

Meditation, of course, is all of this, and more. So why don’t we all sit down and let go every day? Or, more precisely: why don’t I have a daily meditation practice yet, even though I’ve been practicing off and on for over five years and love love love the benefits?

The honest truth? I don’t know. So I’m letting this little write-up serve as a reminder for some of my favorite meditation tidbits. With any luck, this will inspire you to take five or ten minutes in your day to check in—or check out.

• Even five minutes a day can make a big difference

• If you exist, you can do it. You don’t need any props or special knowledge. You don’t even need a secluded space (though it can be nice).

• When in doubt, close your eyes and focus on the breath as it passes through your nose. If your mind is being particularly uncooperative, go ahead and count to a given series of numbers as you inhale and exhale. (For example, inhale to 5, exhale to 7.)

• If you do it before bed, it will help calm what I call “hamster brain”—that incessant racing of thoughts that you don’t want to be thinking.

• If (when) a thought keeps popping up, go ahead and acknowledge it, thank it for coming to the party, and tell it you’ll give it your full attention to learn from it later. But now is not the time.

• It provides many of the same benefits of a glass of vino (relaxation, a ritual for letting go of the work day, an increased likelihood of cracking a smile) without those pesky price tags/calories/toxicity.

Check Green Junkie Living next week for more resources and techniques to take your meditation practice to the next level.

Namaste!

Strawberry Seduction

2010-06-07T15:02:00.000-04:00

Warning:
Consuming this dessert will elicit incessant
"ooh-la-las" and multiple orgasms!

Sweet Strawberry Pie
Courtesy of Christina Pirello at Christina Cooks

2 pounds fresh strawberries, tops removed, quartered
Juice of one half lemon
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup brown rice syrup
Sea salt
2 cups raw almonds
1 3/4 cups pitted dates

Combine strawberries, lemon juice, vanilla, rice syrup and a pinch of salt in a bowl and toss to combine. Set aside while you make the crust. Place almonds in a blender and pulse on high until they resemble bread crumbs. Empty into a 9-inch pie plate. Place dates in blender with about a teaspoon of water and pulse on high until well-chopped...it will be a little clumpy.

Combine almonds and dates until they hold together and then press evenly onto the bottom and sides of pie plate to form a crust. Spoon berries generously into the crust, discarding any remaining liquid. Refrigerate for 2 hours before slicing into wedges and serve.

Makes 6-8 servings.

State-Dependent Running

2010-06-06T15:22:00.000-04:00

I finished (emphasis on finished) my second 10k trail race of the season this past Saturday in beautiful Wissahickon park. But it was by far my toughest run for several reasons: despite a good night's sleep, I was exhausted after a jam-packed workweek, my regular practice runs had subsequently taken a backseat to work, it was hot on race day, and there were inclines on the course I hadn't really trained for. All of these factors led to a less-than-desirable (ok, outright shi**y) situation: I almost passed out in the woods.

When I started feeling sick, desiring an IV or someone to whisk me to the finish line where I would have appeared to have beaten Ed, I was nowhere near a road. I was, in fact, half-way up a steep hill, which probably made matters worse. The only thing I could do was walk it out...walk towards help. My head was pounding and I was nauseous. Any minute now, I thought, I'll blackout. I wasn't too worried. There were plenty of runners around if I absolutely needed assistance and I knew I'd see a volunteer soon. I remember thinking that the feeling would eventually subside. But all I wanted to do was be done with the race and I was only about half-way through at this point.

I started putting out vibes to the Universe. "Please let me reach someone who can help me" and "Please let me get out of here as quickly as possible."

While I had pictured the help being a person with a walkie talkie, I soon met a fellow racer who had also taken a break from running the trail; we walked 1/4 mile together, commiserating about the heat, the course, and how baffled we were to be experiencing trouble after having finished the Broad Street Run just a month ago.

Surprisingly, I started to feel better after this talk. We both began a light jog and a 1/2 mile later I was running full-steam ahead. I couldn't believe that the pain/nausea has ceased and that I had any energy left. I had never run faster in the final stretch towards the finish line. Thank you, Universe!

In the end, I completed the trail with a time of 1:21. At the start of the race I had hoped for a time of 1:07 (the time of my last 10k trail run) but all things considered, to have just finished this race was an accomplishment. And I fared much better than the guy last year, who needed to go to the ER and get paddles to jumpstart his heart because he didn't hydrate during the race.

Ed ran fabulously on race day, finishing with a time of 52:35 and placing 72nd out of 449 runners. Congrats, Ed!

Next up: a military-style 10k, complete with mud and obstacle courses. Things are going to get dirty.

Macro Monday ~ Blanched Vegetables

2010-05-31T14:04:00.000-04:00

Every Monday I'm trying a new macrobiotic recipe and posting the results at HHJ. I'm looking to incorporate macrobiotics into my dietary plan but am not sure if I'll go 100% with it. I've definitely felt better since adding macro dishes to my plate so we'll see where it leads...

Last Monday I checked out a recipe using burdock root and kept it even simpler this week with blanched vegetables.

Blanching is a great way to enjoy your veggies; this technique keeps them crisp and tender at the same time, providing a perfect balance in texture. I find them easier to digest this way too, although this result will likely vary from person to person.

Take your favorite veggies (I used cauliflower, broccoli, snap peas and carrots) and immerse them in a pot of boiling water. Remove after one minute and transfer them to a bowl of ice water, letting them sit for another minute. Strain and enjoy!

I eat blanched vegetables without a dressing but you can experiment with seasonings or sauces if you need a little something something. Black pepper, olive oil and lemon is a refreshing concoction to add to veggies and salads.

Interested in exploring macrobiotics? Click here for a cliff notes version to get you started

Burdock for Breakfast?

2010-05-24T19:54:00.000-04:00

My latest addition to the healthy books nook at my nest is devoted to macrobiotic living. I first learned about macrobiotics while watching Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Cancer documentary, which aired on TLC in March 2007. Macrobiotics was one of several different healing diets that Kris explored during her journey through cancer and it's the diet that saved my boss' life.

The word macrobiotics means "large life" and is a diet consisting mostly of grains, vegetables (including sea vegetables), and beans. Dairy, meat, caffeine and refined or processed foods are out due to their stimulating (and thus exhausting) effect on the body. Seeing that I had cut most of these foods out already I wanted to add some variety to my food plan with more healing foods and recipes.

Modern-Day Macrobiotics by Simon Brown provides a great introduction to the principles and benefits of a macrobiotic diet as well as a variety of recipes and menus. And when I decided to be adventurous and buy some burdock root without knowing what the heck I'd do with it, I knew Simon's book would come in handy.

A popular use for Burdock includes a macro recipe and style of cooking called Kinpira.

Simply cut one burdock root and 1-2 carrots in matchstick pieces. Saute the burdock for a few minutes with some olive or grapeseed oil. Add the carrots to cook for an additional minute. Glaze the pan with some mirin rice wine and stir for an additional 5 minutes or until tender.

Why eat burdock?
It is said to be a blood purifier and can help with skin issues including those of the scalp (like dandruff) and acne (among other things).

It's healing, but does it taste good?
Carrots and burdock root were not foods I had expected to eat for breakfast but I felt the meal grounded and balanced me; it was a perfect feeling with which to start the day. I've made it several more times for it's healing effects, particularly the effect on my skin. And burdock tastes earthy like potatoes. It kinda reminded me of breakfast potatoes I had in college. Totally do-able for breakfast. Just took a little getting used to.

I make Kinpira a few times a month. I'm not totally committed to macrobiotics but am finding that the recipes I make definitely make me feel more energetic and centered.

What's next?
I'll be posting a new macrobiotic adventure every Monday as I continue to explore this way of eating. My fingers are crossed that the sea vegetables are palatable. Oy.

If you're in the Philadelphia area and looking to check out macro cuisine, visit Essene's Natural Foods Market for their buffet of prepared foods. Yum!

One Tough Broad

2010-05-05T23:01:00.001-04:00

There was hype.

There was heat.

There were open fire hydrants.

And there were two holistic health junkies...

rocking the Broad Street Run.

The running guru and I met up in the wee hours of Sunday morning, as per the advice of the organizers, to make plenty of time for the expected crowd. The Broad Street Run is the largest 10 mile race in the country, consisting of 30,000 runners. Broad Street was also going to be my farthest race, and run for that matter, to date. Yikes!

In the three weeks leading up to BSR I had been majorly slacking with running; my weekly routine consisted of two 2-4 mile runs with a 7-9 mile weekend run. I was counting on adrenaline and the cheers of people who lined the streets to get me to the finish line. Little did Ed and I know that it would be the hottest race day on record since 2001 with humidity and a high of 89 degrees.

The race was very well run (pun-intended), especially in light of the weather. Organizers upped the supply of water and gatorade and opened fire hydrants to spritz runners. Ed got sick and towards the end I felt pretty weak but surprisingly I experienced none of the usual issues during practice runs (cramps, knee problems, etc...). We passed a number of people who needed medical attention; some were less than 1/4 mile from the finish line! Ed and I did cross the finish line...and with decent timing too!

Ed's time - 1:18:12 - placed 1995 out of 26251 runners.

My time - 1:38:17 - placed 11749 out of 26251.

I want to give a big thank you to Ed for being my running guru and helping me meet my goal! And if you're thinking of doing a 10-miler, Broad Street is the race to run! You'll get pumped. You'll want to do it again.

What's next? A half-marathon in Philly, of course! Stay tuned.

Photos courtesy of Ed and Rose, the iPhone.

Subway Ride to the Starting Line

The Crowd at the Starting Line

View from the Finish Area - 5 miles from City Hall

Health Hiatus

2010-04-30T19:52:00.000-04:00

For the past three weeks, life has been pretty busy. My regular 9-5, which is actually more like 9-7 most days, has been kicking my butt. I've also been very fortunate to find a freelance gig that is a part-part-time version of my dream job. I get to write, review others' articles on health issues, and work for an organization and its founders who are as passionate about holistic health as I am. So it was strange that my health routine started to veer a bit off course in the midst of this new health-centered adventure.

First, my training for the Broad Street run went to the back burner for a few weeks. Food preparation was also lacking. I didn't prioritize trips to Whole Foods and, as a result, I started eating a lot of burritos. Chipotle had become my default destination when I needed vegan food (ie beans, rice, peppers/onions, guacamole burrito) because I hadn't cooked my own food. It's not that these burritos were "bad" but my food plan had started to lack the variety and fruits/veggies and juices I used to consume regularly.

Aside from the break from exercise I've felt guilty about my return to regular coffee-drinking with as many as two cups per day. I even debated this with myself in my head on the way to work one morning. It went something like this:

I'm planning to have coffee today.
You really should not drink coffee today.
I like the taste.
But it's not good for you.
It's one little vice. Can't I have one vice?
First, you've got more than one vice right now. One vice my a#%.
Second, this vice is acidic
And it will negatively effect your immune system right now.
And what about your kidneys?
You are having it every day these days.
I thought we negotiated having it once per week.
Yeah, but I need it to get through the long work days.
Ok but it's got the potential to make you jittery.
Do you want to gamble with that?
Can't I just have some gd coffee today?
Everyone is drinking it and I want to too.
Seriously? The "Everyone is doing it" excuse?
Ok, ok. I'm out of excuses...
But I'm still having the gd coffee.

While I've been beating myself up over what I consider to be a divergence from my health plan, I have remained committed to several important things.

* I have not entertained any soda urges. I find it odd that I crave soda at all, seeing as I never really drank it in the past.

* I have not touched meat since the start of the Lenten challenge.

Ed and I are engaged in a pseudo "sudden death" match to see who will go the longest without meat. We are in this challenge for the long haul and for serious reasons (health, animal well-being, health). But the competition aspect has reinforced the commitment during those rare occurrences of temptation.

This challenge has subsequently made for several hilarious dreams. I've had two so far involving me accidently eating meat, which felt similar to the real-life slip-ups I'd had regularly on Fridays during Lent when I was a kid. I was eating chicken salad in one of the dreams and my mom quietly reminded me, in her New York accent, "Um you are a vey-gan [vegan]." Shocked that I had forgotten the challenge, I proceeded to spit out the meat.

In the second dream, Ed and I were lunching at a picnic table and I was eating a McDonald's chicken nugget (this would never happen in real life). As I ate it, Ed elately shouted at me, "Ah ha! I win the challenge, sucka!" I screamed a stereotypical slow motion "Nooooooooooooooooo!" and woke up.

I recently shared the dreams, the coffee dialogue between me and me, and my frustrations with my fellow holistic junkie. Interestingly enough, she had been experiencing a hiatus from health around the same time! We both agreed that it's completely fine to take breaks so long as the health plan gets back on track eventually and doesn't do any major harm (ie eating a food that's really non-negotiable). So how long will our hiatuses last? My friend believes that getting back into a routine will be somewhat easy; she's attuned to how great her body responds to better health practices and how cranky it gets on vacations from them. She shared some talk back she got from her body as a result of recent indulgences. It asked, "Where did the smoothies and yoga go?" It also mentioned a preference not to play with sugar and dairy in the future because "They are mean bit*%es." :P

So far my body has been ok with the hiatus ~ the coffee, the many scrumptious burritos, and the short break from working out. She says she is happy I started running again, although I always get this feedback when the run is over. :)

Geekin' Out

2010-04-25T15:56:00.000-04:00

During her visit to Philadelphia, Olivia and I vowed to exchange booklists on health topics - partly out of curiosity and for recommendations and for future reference so that we would know which books not to give to each other in our care packages. Here's what you'll find sitting on my shelf.

Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World
by Isa Chandra Moskowitz
Great cookbook with 75 dairy-free recipes (uses soy as an alternative). Favorites include smores and chai latte. By the above opening paragraph, I'm not meaning to imply these are healthy. It's a great resource to people with intolerances to dairy who still want their sweet something somethings.

Modern-Day Macrobiotics
by Simon Brown
Just picked this book up as I'm experimenting with macrobiotics. Very informative and includes recipes and charts for explaining different principles behind the theory. It also includes charts on adequate foods for protein, iron, calcium and vitamins/minerals.

Vegetarian and Vegetable Cooking
by Christine Ingram
My dear friend Debbie found this one for me and it's got an encyclopedia of all vegetables and lots of great recipes (with pictures!).

Living Foods for Optimum Health
by Brian Clement
I bought this after watching Kris Carr's documentary, Crazy Sexy Cancer. Clement is the director of the Hippocrates Health Institute in Florida.

Kristen Suzanne's EASY Raw Vegan Smoothies, Juices, Elixirs & Drinks
I bought this to put in a care package to Olivia and liked it so much that I picked up another copy.

Check out this sample recipe ~ My Mocha Latte Fix.

Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition, and Health
by Marion Nestle
Scary, scary, scary. But reading it will make you feel empowered as a consumer!

The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
by Michael Pollan
Pollan traces four meals back to their origins. Great reporting on all that goes into our food.

Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips
by Kris Carr
Informative guide for young women dealing with cancer. I bought it for the section on nutrition. Her next book will be devoted entirely to that topic!

Becoming Vegetarian
by Vesanto Melina and Brenda Davis
BEST BOOK on the topic of nutrition and vegetarianism. They also have a book for vegans.

Raw Food Made Easy For 1 or 2 People
by Jennifer Cornbleet
This was one of many lovely gifts from my fellow health junkie Olivia. I really like this book for its simplicity and small portions (ie no leftovers).

Everyday Raw
by Matthew Kenney
Another gift from Olivia, this book is packed with great recipes! There are many mouth-watering juices, smoothies, snacks, ice creams, desserts, spreads and dressings, and main meals. Yum. Yum. Yum.

The China Study
by T. Colin Campbell
The most important book I've read all year (or maybe ever). It's the most comprehensive study assessing how nutrition plays a key role in health and disease. Olivia picked this one out for me too. She has great taste, don't you think?

This Crazy Vegan Life: A Prescription for an Endangered Species
by Christina Pirello
If you want to know how to take control of your health, read Christina's book. She has an inspirational story of recovery from cancer. She's been practicing a vegan macrobiotic diet for over 26 years and hosts the healthiest cooking show on TV! She has lots of other books that will also strike your fancy. Check her out!

Ani's Raw Food Desserts
by Ani Phyo
Tasty treats that are oh-so-easy to make! I recommend the cashew ice cream bars. mmmmmm.

You Are What You Eat
by Gillian McKeith
Gillian's book encourages a back-to-basics approach and a return to eating whole foods. She is host of the English TV show, You Are What You Eat, and has a thriving practice that empowers her clients to live a healthier life. The only thing I'm weary of with this book are the recommendations for supplements to treat various ailments. The food tips are great!

Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life
by Brendan Brazier
Brendan proves that you can be a vegan, an athlete, and be a high energy performer all at the same time. I haven't tried his recipes but like the chapters covering preps for and recovery from workouts and races. I drink the lemon/lime water after every run and it's helped a lot!

What to Eat
by Marion Nestle
Good read for anyone confused by what we should be eating (um, that's everyone, I think!)

Here is Olivia's list!

What are your favorite books on this subject?

The Whisk and the Spoon

2010-04-18T00:19:00.000-04:00

The past two weeks have been uber busy and the reason for absence from the blogosphere as of late. Work, preparations for a weekend work event, more work, and some health-related projects that have me on cloud 9 have gotten all my attention. I haven't even attempted running/exercising, food preparation, or adequate sleep this week; it's in busy times that my body needs these things most. I've even been drinking coffee on a daily basis! Yowza. But I know that by the end of the week I'll get back on track and return to my health routines.

Despite the hectic schedule this week I did manage to carve out some quality time with me, myself, and I. On Tuesday I left work promptly at 5:00 (ok, 5:20) to check out a vegan cooking course at the Whole Foods in Princeton, NJ. You can do a search right now for classes at a Whole Foods near you! I felt so relaxed in their cozy kitchen and amongst a small group of women, all of whom were interested in picking up some new healthy cooking tips for their respective kitchens.

This particular course, titled Kitchen Pharmacy: Home Remedies, was led by Joyce Rosenblum, a Natural Kitchen chef/instructor and graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She took us through a complete macrobiotic meal plan, explaining all ingredients and their nutritional benefits. The recipes were simple but full of color and texture. We learned how to make a Vitality Stew with millet, blanched vegetables with a pumpkin seed dressing, and kuzu tea. The tastebuds definitely had a grand ole time! And when the class was over there was still plenty of time to grab the ingredients in the store to replicate the recipes. Score!

The following recipe from class is being posted with permission from Natural Kitchen. The picture is from my first batch of Vitality Stew!

Vitality Stew

3 cups canned black soy or black beans (or 1 cup dried beans - see cooking directions below*)
1/4 tsp sea salt
4 shiitake mushrooms, soaked in water to cover 30 minutes until mushrooms are soft
2 tsp grapeseed oil
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup corn (best to get organic; I used frozen corn)
White cooking wine or mirin rice wine
1 tsp dried thyme
4 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 tbsp kuzu, diluted in 1/4 cup cold water (kuzu is in the macrobiotic aisle at Whole Foods)
2 tbsp shoyu soy sauce, or to taste (*or sea salt to taste for soy-free)
1 bunch parsley, de-stemmed and minced

*To cook dried beans: (Skip this step if using canned). If cooking dried beans from scratch, put the kombu on bottom of a heavy pot. Drain beans. Add enough water to just cover the beans. Bring to a boil without a lid, skimming off any foam that appears. Allow to boil uncovered for 10 minutes, continuing to remove foam. Cover with pressure cooker lid. Bring the pressure up and cook for one hour. Turn off heat and allw the pressure to come down. Open pot and add sea salt. Cook and cover over low heat for 10 additional minutes.

Drain and reserve shiitake soaking water. Dice mushrooms.

In a fry pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Cook and stir the onion and mushrooms for five minutes. Add the carrots, celery and corn, and cook for another 5 minutes. Add splashes of wine or mirin to "deglaze" the pan and prevent the vegetables from sticking. Add the thyme and the cooked beans. Add vegetable broth and the reserved shiitake soaking water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer on medium or low heat for 20 minutes. Add diluted kuzu and shoyu or sea salt. Simmer an additional 5 minutes, or until thick and creamy. Serve hot, ladeled over a molded serving of millet and sweet vegetables, garnished with parsley.

Feel the energy!

To Market, To Market

2010-04-06T12:03:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago the running guru and I finished a challenging trail race. We always celebrate races with food and particularly food that's healthy! The latest post-race destination: Essene's Natural Foods Market for vegan macrobiotic dishes. Essene's provides a fabulous hot bar with plenty of choices and a colorful feast for the eyes. A juice bar makes this place extra special. They even have a Friday happy hour with 1/2 off prices of your favorite elixirs!

Below is a shot of what I sampled. It included a yummy bean stew that tasted kinda like a cacciatore (minus meat or meat substitute), a delicious coleslaw with eggless mayo, and earthy vegetables. Ed was super nice and bought me a stellar almond raspberry thumbprint cookie for dessert.

Did I mention you can find awesome products here too? Or that some of these products are more reasonably priced than Whole Foods? And that you can find actual honey comb here (pictured below)?! If that's not exciting enough, add the fact that Essene's also hosts cooking classes and workshops on a host of health topics.

I can't wait to move into the city and visit this place on a regular basis. Yum!

We Did It!

2010-04-04T10:05:00.001-04:00

Ed, Olivia and I have completed our 46 day meatless challenge!! Stay tuned for our wrap-up blog!

In the meantime check out recent posts discussing the challenge and the book that got us thinking and talking about the effects of animal proteins on health. Revisit our friend Lauren's post on the abundance of choices in a veggieful life!

Take a look at the recipes created during the meatless challenge:

Green day

Green Goddess smoothie

Tastebud Tango

Curried Veggie Stew

Cashew Coconut Pudding

If you're thinking about trying a meatless diet/food plan but not sure where to start, consider easing into it with Meatless Mondays.

Go veggies!

Olivia Visits Philly!

2010-04-03T21:30:00.000-04:00

I was super psyched to get some quality time with Olivia, HHJ contributor and dear friend, during her visit to Philadelphia! As you may know Olivia and I met while working on the board of a young women's organization in the city and became friends over a shared passion for nutrition and wellness. We've guest-blogged on each other's sites (VitaMix Love/Balancing Act) and have experimented together with elimination diets and a no-meat challenge. After exchanging countless emails over the course of her year abroad, I was elated to catch up with her in person!

We met up on Friday for yoga in Rittenhouse. We had some giggles as we made our way through a 90-minute vinyasa class. Olivia and I had been practicing yoga regularly (check out her blog post on this incentive) but for 20-30 minutes per day at best. This particular yoga class was hard-core with many balancing acts and contortions. We exchanged several funny looks but in the end the practice was om so worth it.

Famished from the class, we quickly headed to an italian restaurant across the street for yummy veggie dishes and an outside dining experience. We were so lucky to have beautiful weather too!
We caught up on the usual topics (work, man friends - she just got engaged!!!) and then got into our latest news on our nutrition goals/experiences. We've both felt really good after excluding meat from our diets but we occasionally struggle with foods that don't like us (gluten allergy and sugar sensitivity for her; dairy sensitivity for me).

We commiserated over our efforts of spending months of time away from trigger foods and how our bodies have negatively responded with even the slightest bit of transgression or divergence from our food plans. Why can't we have a glass of wine or a bite from a boyfriend's chocolate bar from time to time without having a breakout? We both also noticed that, ironically, we allow ourselves these trigger foods when celebrating or eating for comfort when the wisest thing would be to do the exact oppositge: celebrate and comfort with foods that are not detrimental to our health! We still want to tell our bodies to cut us a freakin break but they've gotten so accustomed to good nutritious food that they don't really appreciate the alternatives. They get really sensitive about this issue. :P

So after dinner when we headed to Rum Bar to meet up with her friends, we grabbed some club sodas with lime (YUM!). A fresh juice (pineapple, carrot, cucumber, lemon, lime, and orange) in the morning got us jump-started and pumped for our day - a long run on Kelly Drive for me and travel and family time for her. I wish I could see her more often but she'll be back in no time for her Fall wedding. Yay!

Seeing Olivia, fellow wellness warrior, and celebrating good health was the highlight of my week!

The Last Temptation

2010-04-02T20:10:00.000-04:00

About a week ago my boss and I ended up talking about food, particularly meat. I can't remember how this discussion started. Maybe he saw The China Study on my desk or asked about the green smoothie I had been chugging throughout the day. I proceeded to tell him about the meatless challenge I was doing, which subsequently prompted the question, "why are you doing a meatless challenge?" My response? As diet directly effects one's health, I was forgoing meat for 46 days to see if there were any noticable changes in my own health (my friend who was also doing the challenge picked a goal of 46 days as related to the time frame of his Lenten practice). The challenge was also serving as a test-run towards my commitment to a whole-foods plant-based diet.

A die-hard omnivore, my boss debated with me on the subject and we exchanged our opinions in response to the following questions: Is it healthy to eat meat? Are our bodies naturally designed to consume and digest meat? Are there populations that fare well on a meat-eating diet (ie the Inuits)? Neither of us convinced the other. I planned to continue on without meat and he was going to bring on the bacon.

In an effort to challenge me further and see if I'd cave, my boss said he'd bring some bacon to work on my second-to-last day of the no-meat trial. It was one thing to face challenges in finding vegan dishes at restaurants or in making time on a daily basis to prepare homemade vegan cuisine but it was another thing to have someone put meat in front of me. I was nonetheless optimistic and said, "add some cheese to it too! Let's see what happens."

The temptation: bacon and gouda on grilled pita.

While I have blogged in the past about my love affair with bacon, it only took one look at its "nutritional" profile to conclude that it would have no place on my plate. I won't deny that I find it to be delicious but I personally feel that, other important reasons aside, the sodium content alone was worth steering clear of it. And while we're on the subject of flirting with old flames, I was confident I would reject the gouda too. Surprisingly, I don't crave cheese anymore! It took several months to get to the point. Do I still wish I could have it from time to time? Certainly. But my body's response to it reinforces the importance of keeping it out of my diet. Research in The China Study, which documents the relationship between milk proteins and cancer, further encourages me in keeping this goal.

So did I succumb to the last temptation? Did I wreck my 46 day goal?

Nope! I was a gouda girl.

Tastebud Tango

2010-03-29T20:46:00.000-04:00

Just got back from a run and started making pasta when I realized I needed to spice things up. Instead of resorting to my usual marinara I decided to give my tastebuds something new to sing about.

1 cup cooked whole wheat pasta

1/4 cup cooked quinoa

1/2 yellow pepper, sliced/diced and sauteed in olive oil

1 slice of white onion, same fate as the pepper

1 cup black beans

1 cup salsa, heated

Mix ingredients. Devour. Wish you had made more.

Out of the Woods

2010-03-28T09:11:00.000-04:00

This week was particularly challenging on the running front. The 6-mile practice run last Saturday was invigorating but towards the end of a 2-3-3-2 mile sequence this week I was at an all-time low. Throughout the crazy work week my stomach had gotten cranky. I became dehydrated as a result. Working out every day felt great but probably wore me out more than I had realized. By the end of Thursday's run something was wrong. After a short high I got a killer headache with a side of nausea and blurry vision. Yowza!

On Friday I took a break from all physical activity, drinking lots of water with electrolytes and making sure to get enough protein. Our 10k was scheduled for the following day and, up until the morning of, I was unsure if I'd be up for the race. Thankfully, I felt better just in time! The guru and I headed to the Tyler Arboretum for the 6.2 mile trail run. My goal was simple: finish. Given the hectic week leading up to the race, I just wanted to complete it (I still kept my fingers crossed for a relatively good pace/finish time).

It was a chilly but sunny morning with a great turnout of runners and their good vibes. The race started out slow with people walking; the trail couldn't accommodate a quick dispersement. About 3 or 4 minutes in we were able to pick up the pace and it felt like the race was finally underway!

The trail was beautiful and I was pumped! We were all flying down the hills, the sun was shining, and I felt better on this run than I had all week. Then I saw my first steep incline. Yikes! It would be one of many throughout the course and one of several that I would walk up. I figured as long as a bunch of runners ahead were doing it, I could follow their lead.

Aside from the inclines, the run was really enjoyable. The steep hills nevertheless had me spent by mile 5. I ran the rest of the race on empty but reached the finish line with a time of 1:07! The guru finished with an impressive time of 48:50!

Now it's on to the Broad Street run! Ed and I are really digging the races and might do another one or two before the May 2nd 10-miler. The Bryn Mawr Running Club's Out and Back is a fun run for sure ~ 4 mile race along scenic Kelly Drive with a tomato pie (and beer) party following on Boathouse Row. I think another trail race will be in order too.

Does anyone have races to recommend?

Happy Trails!

P.S. Trail pictures are from the Delaware County Pennsylvania Road Runners Club site.

Green Goodness Smoothie

2010-03-21T13:02:00.000-04:00

After experimenting with many greens and fruits I found a lovely blend:

1/2 cucumber

3-4 romaine leaves

1 avocado
1 pear
1 1/2 cups of coconut water
3-4 ice cubes

Mix all of the nutritious goodness in a blender. Yields enough to share with a buddy.

Note: Keeping this smoothie all to yourself will make friends green with envy. Spread the love.

Springing into Action

2010-03-20T20:50:00.000-04:00

This picture doesn't do the first day of spring any justice! There were hundreds of people out on Kelly Drive with lots of sunshine and a great breeze. I couldn't think of anything more motivating to complete my first 6-mile run! For running enthusiasts, this distance is a small feat but for me it was a huge deal. It was an even bigger deal that I felt really great after it. The gorgeous weather played a major role. Now if only it could be this scrumptious every day!

The next race, a 10k trail run, is right around the corner. And the Broad Street run is fast approaching as well. Yikes! Thankfully, the food plan, the pilates and yoga, and newly added weight training/cardio, are all improving the running. Hopefully Ms. Sunshine and 70-degree weather will grace us with their presence at the upcoming races. Fingers crossed.

What helps you meet your running goals?

An Inconvenient Truth

2010-03-13T09:23:00.001-05:00

I just finished Dr. T. Colin Campbell's The China Study, a book that my dear friend Olivia sent to me as part of a fabulous care package from Korea. I put off reading it for a few months, mostly out of laziness and because I wanted, for a little while, to avoid the advice that lay within the pages of research: consider saying "So long" to meat and dairy.

The author, with almost 30 years of research under his belt, concluded that consuming a whole foods, plant-based diet is one of the most important contributions one can make to his or her health. The China Study, dubbed the "Grand Prix of Epidemiology," documents the most comprehensive study conducted on nutrition and its relation to cancer and chronic illness. Campbell also includes prominent studies by other researchers who have similarly focused on the connection between diet and health on multiple sclerosis, autoimmune diseases, osteoporosis, and heart disease.

Bottom line: when it comes to health, Campbell advocates a diet without meat and dairy, influential "foods" that play a role in chronic illness. Despite the telling research, I wondered about The China Study's reach into the mainstream. How convincing is this book and would it inspire people to give up meat? I'm not entirely sure of the answer. I would guess that most people reading the book are uber health nuts, researchers, doctors (fingers crossed), or people facing a serious illness. It's usually in sickness that people will seek such books, researching and committing to lifestyle changes in the hopes of healing their bodies and reversing and preventing future illness.

It's frustrating that a book with so much to offer people hasn't gotten more attention. There are many explanations for this, of which I'll name a few. First and foremost, the meat and dairy industries have done a good job of marketing their products and are steadfast when it comes to lobbying and protecting their financial interests. Meat and dairy are pervasive and they are not going away anytime soon. It subsequently makes a diet without these products seemingly peripheral or even radical. Secondly, food is political. People with ties to various food industries, with much to lose or gain, have held seats on advisory panels and positions within government organizations. Case in point: Six out of eleven members on the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee had ties to dairy, beef, egg, and even Slim-Fast companies! Conflict of interest? I think so!

Lastly, food is cultural, emotional, and personal. Accepting a whole foods plant-based diet means, for many people, letting go of traditions, comfort food, and a way of eating that is commonplace and natural to them. A change in diet seems most likely to occur when health is compromised and it becomes a necessity to remove certain foods. For me, removing dairy was such a necessity. And while I started a meatless challenge to support a friend's Lenten practice, the research on animal proteins has convinced me to permanently abstain.

Regardless of your orientation to meat and dairy, I recommend checking out The China Study. It's an important contribution to the literature on the relationship between diet and health.

Check out Kris Carr discussing her cancer journey as influenced by The China Study. Note that she discusses several different food plans (macrobiotic, raw, alkaline). They all involve whole foods plant-based diets with different preparations.

Have you read the book? What do you think about Campbell's research?

Run Girl, Run!

2010-03-09T12:19:00.000-05:00

Brag Alert!

A few months ago I started training for a 10 mile race in Philadelphia, which takes place in early May. My running buddy signed me up for some shorter races to get my feet wet and, on Sunday, I completed my first competition of the season. While I have gotten much more confident with running I was uber nervous for the race, particularly when minutes prior to the start of it I heard two ladies talking about the hills that we'd encounter. I hate hills. I curse them. My running guru promised me there'd be no #$%@*&^ hills on this course!

I started strong, mostly because the race started downhill and I had the Ting Tings blaring through my earphones. But halfway into mile one, my breathing was so shallow from the inclines that I thought I'd have to stop. As time passed I was able to breathe more deeply. It helped that the crowd had dispersed; soon it was just me, the open road, and scenic farmland.

The guru and I had worked two nights prior with speed exercises at a local track. We did two 1/4 mile and one mile runs as fast as we could. I thought my heart would leap out of my chest. But the exercises paid off in Saturday's race. I was shooting for a 38-minute finish but completed the race in 35:50, a personal best!!! Overall I finished 38 out of 102. Ed finished in 12th place! Yowza!

It gets better...

I was completely satisfied with my speed and placement in the race and was ready to leave when Ed and I learned that we had finished at the top of our age groups! This called for a lot of celebrating!

We stopped in Allentown, the next town over, to grab the vegan Nepenthe at Cali Burrito.

My darling friend Susan cooked us a victory dinner: whole wheat pasta with tomatoes, spinach, garlic and an amazing soy cheese topping. While she and Ed had some vino and beer I relished in a yummy non-alcoholic ginger brew. (Both products are available at Whole Foods).

Me and Ms. Medal

On to the next race, a 10k! If we continue this calibur of celebratory rituals I will be racing indefinitely.

P.S. Thanks to Ed for the awesome HHJ running shirt (pictured above).

Making it without Meat

2010-03-08T22:00:00.000-05:00

Here's the latest on our meatless challenge, with 19 days completed and 27 to go!

Update from Ed

Here's a little background info on why I gave up meat for Lent. I started to become more conscious of the food and drink I put into my body last year when I gave up soda. Around the same time, I also stopped eating fast food. While I'm still off soda, I did begin eating fast food again over the holidays late last year. I was also preparing steak and pork for dinner multiple times a week. In order to get more creative with my cooking and to save some money, I decided to rid myself of meat for 46 days.

After 18 days sans meat, I'm happy with my progress. While I still crave a giant cheeseburger from time to time, I'm not giving in. Experimenting with different foods has also been fun! Instead of getting that aforementioned burger at a restaurant, I tried a delicious shrimp quesadilla. Instead of putting sausage in my spaghetti, I tried grilled peppers and onions on top, and it tasted better. After trying Chipotle for the first time, I was inspired to make my own burrito. There was also a tasty lentil soup in there somewhere, but I can't take credit for making it (Editor's note: Jen can :).

Going forward, I hope to introduce more greens into my diet and prepare a more diverse menu for breakfast and lunch at work. Reading The China Study has even given me second thoughts about going back to meat. Some hilarious excerpts from Skinny Bitch have reinforced those doubts. Admittedly, I'm still eating more junk than I'd like. Meat is out, but french fries are still in. I have more work to do, but I'm pleased that kicking meat to the curb has been almost as easy as ditching soda.

Update from Jen

I started going meatless in moral support of Ed. He had been helping me improve my running and I felt I could help him out with his latest food challenge. I had been vegetarian a few years ago and knew I could do this challenge. While Ed has been embracing the pescetarian lifestyle, which includes dairy, eggs and fish, I am exploring la vida vegan.

I had never really been a big meat eater but had resorted to it as a protein source when I developed sensitivities to dairy and eggs. As an almost-vegan, I consumed mostly fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans and several servings of meat per week. I must say that going completely vegan has been a challenge when dining out or eating at work. But, overall, the change has been quite positive. And after reading several books on factory farming, the health risks of eating meat, and the benefits of a vegan diet, I plan on leaving meat out well beyond this 46 day challenge.

Like Ed, I've been experimenting with recipes and new foods and have been cooking daily. This has proven a little more cost-effective than regularly eating out, although Whole Foods is still expensive (but worth it). My only concern at this point is a lack of energy, which I think has more to do with a need to up my caloric intake. I haven't yet added enough food to compensate for all the running that I've been doing. Just need to eat more. That shouldn't be a problem :)

Update from Olivia

I went on a bit of an information binge this winter in response to a renewed sense of urgency to learn more about my food—and how my body reacts to it. I read Eating Animals, The China Study, and Revive: Stop Feeling Spent and Start Living Again. My man and I spent many nights watching documentaries like The Cove, Food, Inc., and Food Matters. I scoured the Internet and joined health forums. All of it led conclusively to one decision: I had to work on this vegan thing.

To give you an example of what a big deal that is for me, my second date with my partner was a bacon safari, during which we toured Philadelphia looking for tasty pork products. So, am I vegan? Nope. But I haven’t had land-dwelling meat since the first days of 2010. I’m not ready to end my love affair with sushi and shellfish, but I have reduced my fish intake drastically. Eggs never really did it for me, so that’s been an easy omission. And during my latest health cleanse, I realized (read: finally admitted to myself) that, like Jen, I have a pretty serious case of lactose intolerance. Headaches, digestive issues, the whole bit. All in all, I would say I eat a vegan diet at least half of the week, and when I do consume animal products, it’s in greatly reduced quantities: butter used to sauté mushrooms, a small slice of Brie, or a bit of crab pad thai.

As much as my heart, my body, and my brain want to be vegan, my taste buds haven’t fully caught up. And I’m ok with that. Because this transition is so important to me, I’m content to go slow. I want the changes to stick, so slow and steady it is.

A Veggieful Life ~ by Lauren

2010-03-07T18:03:00.000-05:00

Okay, I'll be honest. I started off the new year with a new deep fryer, frying everything from chicken to twinkies. Remember my fried oreo quest, Jen? Can you believe that I can now create the fabulous fried oreo in the comfort of my own home?! Gratefully, a deep fryer wasn't the only thing I got for Christmas. I also got a book called Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer.

One review boldly predicts that "the everyday horrors of factory farming are evoked so vividly...that anyone, who after reading Foer's book, continues to consume the industry's products must be without a heart, or impervious to reason, or both." It's true. And I haven't even finished the book yet!

Before I decided to stop eating animals for moral reasons, I wanted to stop for health reasons. Or more accurately, to start for health reasons. I simply wanted more room on my plate for fresh vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. I also found it very exciting that this change would allow me to explore new recipes. I think vegetarianism causes you to be more creative in the kitchen. Everyday I ask myself "what recipe (out of so many) can I create today?" While some people view vegetarianism as limiting, I see it as expanding. My meals are not just without meat. They're with everything else I was missing out on before.

Today I ate a black bean burger with baby spinach in a whole wheat wrap, sweet potato carrot soup, edamame, refried bean enchiladas with mole sauce, avacado, salsa, and carribean rice. My favorite new indulgences are hummus, three bean chili, butternut squash soup, hot and sour soup, and vegetarian reubens.

I now look forward to tasting these delicious foods and enjoying the rejuvenation I feel after consuming real nourishment. I encourage others to try vegetarian eating, even if it's not every minute or every day. Don't think of your diet as meatless, think of it as full of everything else! Add some vegetarian dishes into your week and you might just love the veggieful life!

Babes that Blog II

2010-03-07T11:00:00.000-05:00

During my first week into a no-meat challenge, I started connecting with vegetarians and vegans on food matters. My friend Lauren started sending me awesome recipes and was telling me about her journey as a vegetarian. Her outlook on this way of eating is inspiring and I've asked her to share her story with HHJ readers. Welcome, Lauren!

Puddin' Time

2010-03-06T16:36:00.000-05:00

I was making nutmilk this afternoon when I realized I still had not found a good use for the leftover pulp. I had tried a few online recipes but never really fancied any of them. Today, however, I experimented and found me some creamy goodness. The following measurements yield one serving of pudding from almost one cup of pulp.

3/4 cup cashew pulp
3 frozen strawberries
2 tbsp of shredded coconut
1/2 cup filtered water
2 tbsp flax meal
1/2 banana

Mix in blender until smooth. Store in fridge until cool or add ice cubes while blending for an instant treat. Feel like a kid again.

Starting a Revolution

2010-02-28T16:44:00.000-05:00

Some very exciting developments are going to get national attention in the area of nutrition education and advocacy.

Michelle Obama recently launched a campaign to address childhood obesity, which will include a focus on school food reform, education on better food choices in general, and promotion of physical activity!

Jamie Oliver has a new show, Food Revolution, which airs in late March on ABC. He will be challenging people to rethink everything they know about food, particularly in schools. I cannot wait to see this program! Check out the preview below and visit Jamie's website for his ongoing campaign with school lunch programs in the UK.

Last month, Oprah shed a spotlight on the current food industry/system and featured clips from the Food, Inc. documentary as well as interviews with Alicia Silverstone, vegan and author of The Kind Diet and Michael Pollan, who has written extensively on food issues and has a new book out called Food Rules. My favorite Pollan rule is "Eat only foods that will eventually rot." See other food rules in his interview here. You can catch my review of Food, Inc. here.

Health and consumer advocates have worked tirelessly for years to make inroads and progress on the issue of food safety and nutrition. It is my hope that with the recent national attention their efforts will pay off big time.

Changes are coming to the table! Yum!

In Living Color

2010-02-27T11:05:00.000-05:00

I played with my food today, experimenting with colors and flavors and came up with a yummy concoction.

Curried Veggie Stew

1/2 onion
1 organic red pepper*
3/4 cup broccoli
3/4 cup potatoes
1 cup aduki beans
1 tbsp muchi curry
1/4 tbsp powdered ginger
14 oz of light coconut milk

*Conventional peppers are on the Dirty Dozen list and are one of 12 of the most contaminated produce items. Buying them organic is best (look for peppers with stickers that start with a #9).

Heat the coconut milk, ginger and curry. Add the potatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Mix in the broccoli, onions, and peppers until tender. Toss in and warm up the beans. Serve over brown rice. Say "oh" and "ah." Ask for seconds.

Green Day

2010-02-26T15:51:00.000-05:00

With the company of two fellow holistic health junkies I have been sans meat for almost 10 days, with 36 days to go. Giving up meat hasn't been too difficult because I wasn't eating much of it before the challenge. BUT it was hard not having it as a back-up when restaurant menus or the food line at our work cafeteria lacked a dairy-free option. I've noticed that most vegetarian cuisine comes with cheese. Technically I always have salad as a "go to" but that can get old quickly and a lot of the green leaf fixins at work include meat, shellfish, or cheese.

Damn!

At first glance it seemed that forgoing all animal products would be limiting. This has only been the case when picking from a list of pre-prepared food as mentioned above. I knew this meatless challenge would require a different approach to food, calling for creativity, time, attention, and preparedness in my own kitchen.

The first week's food plan has included nut butters, hemp seed smoothies, nut milks, beans with rice, and a homemade kick-ass lentil soup (I've never enjoyed leftovers so much!). While I have been eating more greens as of late I felt I could do better. So I threw on my apron and got jiggy with them.

Kale + Celery + Pear + Cucumber

Pesto + Brown Rice Pasta + Cucumber + Hemp Seed

Greens with homemade dressing: Sauteed red peppers, onion, olive oil, basil, black pepper.

Got to go and work on meal #3!

The broccoli will be joining the onions, potatoes, and aduki beans in coconut milk and curry for dinner!

What are your favorite greens?

Livin' on the Edge

2010-02-21T02:00:00.000-05:00

What is more fun than finishing a 3.6 (hilly) mile run in Valley Forge Park? Completing an hour-long ice skating session after it! It was probably the olympics ice dancing (minus the hokey costumes) that put me in the mood. And my running guru thought his birthday celebration would best be spent competing with me on one of my more familiar turfs. He's got the running. I've still got the skating. Phew!

Now if I can get 1/4 as good as this I'll be really thrilled....

A Special Announcement

2010-02-17T19:53:00.000-05:00

Today and for the next 46 days, three holistic health junkies are going meatless! The challenge was inspired by one HHJ who is giving it up for Lent. Another junkie is doing it for moral support and health, while a third is doing it in moral support of the supporter (and her health too). :)

If you're interested in joining the challenge, let us know! Or if it strikes your fancy to go meatless on a weekly but not daily basis, consider doing Meatless Mondays, a project of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Their website has lots of great resources!

Stay tuned for rants and jumps for joy as we accomplish this goal!

And if you have any tips or recipes please pass them on!

Let Her Eat Cake

2010-02-15T18:55:00.000-05:00

Valentine's Day 2010. Two fabulous ladies. One awesome city. One mission: vegan sweets.

My friend Susan and I made a pilgrimage to NYC to give homage to some out-of-this-world vegan establishments.

Stop #1: Babycakes Vegan Bakery

Is there anything more welcoming than a cupcake stoop?

Or cute pink walls and cute people in cute pink uniforms?

Or creamy berry spelt cake?

Stop #2: One Lucky Duck

After loading up on killer berry cream spelt cake, scrumptious mediterranean bread with olives, tomatoes, onions and zucchini, and some take-away cupcakes, Susan and I headed over to One Lucky Duck for smoothies. Sitting next to a Jake Gyllenhall look-a-like (hello, gorgeous!) we engaged our tastebuds in some seriously savory slirp action. The banana nut smoothie was, as always, divine. The Spanking (a drink, not the action) I got was a little strange. Like an actual spanking, it was kinda enjoyable but weird at the same time. It lacked a distinctive flavoring, reminding me of chicklets gum after all the flavors have combined to make a new ambiguous taste. It was still worth drinking to get all the nutrients from the fresh coconut, blueberry, banana, almond milk, and cinnamon.

After the cakes, after the smoothies, and well after dinner, Susan and I retreated to the hotel for some olympics-watching and Babycakes cupcake festivities.

Red velvet romp! My tastebuds were frolicking.

When part of my cupcake with all the icing fell on the floor, I decided to rescue it...well beyond the 5-second rule. It was totally worth it. Actually, it was necessary.

I recommend checking out these sites the next time you're in NYC. You'll fall madly in love!

If you know of any other yummy vegan or raw spots, please post in the comments section!

Balancing Act

2010-02-11T07:55:00.001-05:00

My dear friend Olivia, health junkie extraordinaire, invited me to blog about ways to stay motivated with exercise. Check out her site, A View from There, here!

Snowed In

2010-02-10T16:32:00.000-05:00

Sometimes there's nothing more fun than being snowed in...for a day. But after that I get ancy. I managed to get a 3 mile run in last night before our latest wintery mix. But today was just too darn cold and windy for any outdoor activity. It was, however, the perfect time to resort to the DVD collection:

Crazy Sexy Cancer ~ comes with a 25 minute yoga routine with Colleen Saidman and Rodney Yee. Also features a 12 -minute guided relaxation.

Ballet Body ~ includes 5 workouts combining pilates, yoga, and ballet moves. Play separately or all together!

Jil lian Michaels - 30 Day Shred ~ will kick your you-know-what! Who doesn't have 20 minutes a day to work out?

Shiva Rea: Daily Energy - Vinyasa Flow Yoga ~ offers a variety of short yoga routines that you can mix and match. Some of the moves seem very advanced but it's fun to have something to aspire to, right?

10 Minute Solution: Dance and Tone Kit ~ gets your heart pumping quickly with three ten-minute dance sequences and two 10-minute segments for legs and arms. Resistance band included. If you don't have 20 minutes for Jillian, surely you have 10 minutes for Jennifer.

What workouts do you pop into the DVD player?

A Day in the Life of an Almost Vegan

2010-02-08T17:20:00.000-05:00

This is a snapshot of a day in my food journal focusing on my elimination diet. I cheat a little bit with some processed snacks but they are healthier options when it comes to a case of the munchies. Note #1: I'm including exercise/movement on this list because it nourishes the body. Note #2: I'm classifying my day as "almost vegan" even when there's no sign of meat on today's list because each week I do eat a little meat. I am considering cutting it out altogether. Although when I've had to give up alcohol, caffeine, dairy, eggs, chocolate, and most processed foods, I feel a girl's got to have at least one vice. For me, it's bacon.

* 7:00 am - Yoga!

* 7:30 am - Smoothie - almond milk, hemp seeds, peaches, flax, maca, vanilla, and cinnamon.

*7:40 am - Dry brushing before the shower

* Morning, Noon, and Night - Orange herbal tea with a little bit of honey

* Lunch - Salad w/ veggies & beans; dressing: olive oil, lemon, black pepper or tahini; Lentil soup.

* Snacks - Bear Naked granola, hemp/flax oatmeal, or Go Raw products.

* Pre-workout punch - peanut or almond butter and crackers

* Running

* Dinner - Leftover panang curry (coconut milk, veggies, and rice) from Chabba Thai.

* Yoga/Stretching

YUM!

Note to self: get more H2O and veggies on this list.

Response to self: OK

An Ode to Allentown

2010-02-07T10:27:00.000-05:00

Aside from the Billy Joel song and the fact that my beloved Buja lives there, I had had little affection for Allentown (sorry). But my friend, a steadfast ambassador to her city, recently discovered the perfect marketing tool for her little holistic health junkie. Vegan treats.

With the same excitement I once had for school field trips, Nirali and I visited Vegan Treats Bakery in Bethlehem for a sampling of mouth-watering confections: Spice, Mocha, and Brownie Fudge cakes. To a girl with a sweet tooth who cannot have dairy, this place is Mecca.

My friend and I nibbled on the spice and mocha delights and saved the brownie cake for her co-workers. The verdict: We loved loved loved the spice cake but thought the mocha was missing something. It also seemed too sugary. But then again, my co-worker raved about the piece of it I saved for her. To each her own. One palate does not fit all :)

While we are on the subject of non-dairy food in Allentown, I want to mention another vegan gem: Cali Burrito's Nepenthe Burrito. I get a bit frustrated with burrito joints these days because I am always tempted to add sour cream or cheese, two things over which I still easily salivate but cannot have. As a result I never feel quite satisfied and my burritos seem half-assed. When Nirali and Ambrish wanted to grab some dinner at Cali's this past weekend I was hesitant. I even picked up some tomato pie slices beforehand to avoid it altogether. But, to my surprise, there was one vegan item on the menu and it happened to be very tasty in it's own right.

If you're going dairy-free and happen to be visiting or passing through Allentown, grab yourself a Nepenthe burrito with falafels, rice, black beans, pickles, and tahini dressing. We recommend getting extra pickles. Yum. Yum. Yum. We all liked it so much we went back for seconds on Sunday.

And when you do make your way to Allentown, tell Ms. Ambassador that I sent ya! ;)

The Fun Continues...

2010-02-06T11:53:00.000-05:00

I never thought I would say that running is fun. I just figured the headaches, coughing and knee pain were part of the deal; I wanted no part of this. The side stitches were not appealing either. They would come about almost instantly at the start of a run and last pretty much throughout the routine. But last night there were no negatives!

Ed and I met up for weekly run #2. I did some solo running in between our meet-ups but was looking forward to keeping up with the speed demon...in a snow storm! Aside from all the snow on my eyelashes, the run was seemless. Ed was naturally many paces ahead but made some stops to write encouraging messages in the snow. "Go Jen, go!" "You're 1/2 way there!" "Come on already!"

The run back after Starbucks also felt great and I even picked up my pace! I've never finished this strong before. The core strength I'm getting from yoga and pilates is making all the difference; it was my first run without flank pain. I'm hoping my pace and endurance will gradually improve in the coming weeks. Ten miles (my goal) seems far off in the distance; I'm worried that running it will feel like an eternity. And my guru is making run #3 a straight shot without breaks. But, he tells me, there will be a surprise at the end. It appears he is willing to bribe me to my ten mile goal. I'm totally ok with this :)

I wish for every runner a friend like Ed.

Kicking Asphalt

2010-02-05T10:09:00.000-05:00

All the yoga I've been doing lately has had my energy levels soaring. I have never felt better physically. On my way into work on Monday morning, after a scrumptious yoga practice and an uber delish smoothie, I felt the urge...to run. Without missing a beat, I texted Ed, my running guru.

Ed tried to get me to like running a couple months back but it didn't stick. I didn't give it a chance. After one attempt I threw in the towel. I had dabbled in running for a season about three years ago, completing a 5k and a 4 mile race along Kelly Drive. That was it. I was afraid of knee injuries. I had trouble breathing after runs. Yada. Yada. I also didn't get much excitement from it, aside from the tunes blaring through my iPod. During my first race I considered running off course, jumping in my car, and going back to bed. This is something that Ed, zenmaster, will help me with.

As for the physical concerns I'm thinking and hoping they will fade away this time around. The yoga, ballet, and pilates I'm doing are strengthening the muscles around my knees and helping me breathe easier. All of these activities were not part of my routine when I originally took up running. In my second go at it, the exercise routines have made a noticeable difference.

Ed and I did meet up this week and hit the ground running. The thing about running with Ed is that it's super fun. He jokes around a lot and runs really really fast (see picture below), which is always interesting to watch. We have also taken to running at night. This makes me feel like a kid again, especially because it seems out of the ordinary to run so late on a week night. Aside from playfulness, did I mention that he is all about breaks? He mapped out a stop along the way for juice and mint tea.

While I did experience tightness in the lungs and a throbbing head, the mint tea alleviated most of the pain. I think Ed also tried to distract me from my hacking cough with talk of how great running is...the history of running...how humans can outrun dogs and horses and bears (although, he says, it depends on the type of bear).

Bottom line: If you are seeking inspiration in the running department, call Ed!

I'm thankful to say our run back was pretty seemless (yay!) and pain-free (yum!). This alone was an improvement from runs past. And I felt more agile and flexible. Thank you, yoga.

As for more running, I'm planning to do the 10 mile Broad Street run in Philadelphia. It will be my version of a marathon. True to form, Ed has already signed me up for an earlier race to get my feet wet. And while he'll be light years ahead of me on the course, I know he'll have my back.

Stay tuned...

Ladies Who Lotus

2010-02-04T10:35:00.000-05:00

My relationship with yoga has recently transformed, morphing from something that was once a rare and casual encounter to a practice that is seriously steady. And this relationship offers an equal exchange. I show up to my mat and reap many benefits in return.

I wanted to connect with friends on the subject and asked them to send photos in their favorite poses and/or snipits of why they yoga.

Melinda
Lotus Pose

Olivia
Crane Pose

Despite my on-again-off-again love affair with the practice, yoga is one of the things I am most grateful for. This is because yoga:

* helps me practice patience, something I sorely need to work on.

* allows me to improve my flexibility - not only physically, but in how I interact with others and react to the world around me.

* makes me feel sexy. It's time to focus on how my body feels and how my breath moves through it, which makes me feel alive. And I think we can all agree that vitality is sexy.

* energizes me when I'm tuckered out.

* calms me when I'm wired, especially before bed.

* provides me with time to reconnect with myself and set intentions.

* improves how I feel about my body. This is partly because, let's face it, yoga does help tone the bod, and who doesn't want a yoga butt? But it also gives my body the opportunity to do some pretty cool stuff, and that helps me refocus my inner monologue. I can shift from concerns mostly about appearance to being proud of what my body is able to accomplish.

* is portable. I am a travel nut, and I don't have to worry about finding the right equipment or studio. Having a mat is ideal, but really all I need is myself.

Jen
Triangle Pose

I agree wholeheartedly with Olivia on the variety of benefits that yoga provides. I'll add that yoga helps me manage and prevent stress of the body and mind. It engages me to be mindful and present and to breathe deeply. It is my "me" time.

Archna
Tree Pose

I really enjoy meditating, preferably in the morning. It's hard for me to get into a deep meditative state while seated indian style on the floor at 6 in the morning though. I just end up falling back asleep! ;) With this pose I find that I'm able to concentrate. In the beginning its mostly so that I don't fall! Once I make it through that I can get into a deeper state of concentration. Physically I find that this pose helps me to elongate slowly and wake my body up in a thoughtful and gentle manner. I usually start on my right leg because I have better balance. By the end of it both my mind and body are awake and ready to face the day!

Why do you yoga? Add your favorite pose in the comments section!

Live and Learn

2010-02-03T10:45:00.000-05:00

Just saw a great post on the Crazy Sexy Life forum. It's a fun and reflective exercise, focusing on lessons one woman learned over the past year. People are sometimes keen on making resolutions for the year ahead without looking back at the past actions that are worth repeating or forgoing in the future.

I completed a similar exercise last year, though it mostly centered on goals, when I felt that I hadn't done much in 2008. Only when I put pen to paper did I realize how much I had accomplished. Felt good! This week I'll be mindful to journal and look back on the lessons I learned in 2009.

For inspiration, check out Rory's 25 lessons!

D Minus

2010-02-03T02:00:00.000-05:00

I recently had some routine bloodwork ordered and was shocked to learn how low my Vitamin D levels were. They were WAY out of range, almost as low as they can go. I went in thinking my test results, particularly my cholesterol, would be great and I'd get a lollipop or something :P. Over the course of three weeks I had been steadfast with diet and exercise and I was expecting an equally impressive blood test result. Turns out the doctor forgot to check for cholesterol but ordered a Vitamin D screening, unbeknownst to me. But I sure am glad she ordered it!

While vitamin D is normally associated with the role of building healthy bones, research shows that it is also a key factor in balancing hormones and maintaining a healthy immune system. A vitamin D deficiency situated within the context of my other health issues may just mean my doctor found the missing link.

So what's next? Supplements and sunshine! I won't post the daily doses I'm taking on HHJ. They are quite high and only to be ingested at such levels when under medical supervision. I'll be able to tell if it's working in about one month when I get more bloodwork. Fingers are crossed for a D+!

For more information about vitamin D, it's role in health, and whether or not testing might be right for you, check out this article from Women to Women.

Good Vibrations

2010-01-29T15:32:00.000-05:00

Over the past year much of my health and wellness focus had centered around food. I successfully cut out caffeine for extended periods of time and, for the most part, let go of all dairy (eggs included). While these goals have been very important, I knew that I needed to balance diet with some sort of physical activity. Stress management was also an essential component to wellness but I found excuses not to incorporate it into daily life. I was busy! I was putting in many extra hours at work, planning lots of get togethers with friends, and meeting a range of characters through an online dating site. I had no time to exercise!

Then I found myself in an emotional tizzy, which forced me to reconsider my lifestyle choices.

I will spare the details that caused the upset with exception to say that it involved a boy and resulted in emotional-turned-severe physical symptoms that lasted for almost a week. I was in limbo and felt isolated. I let my thoughts, feelings and emotions take over my body to the extent that I thought I'd have to go to the ER. I couldn't believe how sick I got from the stress. This extreme bodily response was my wake-up call, prompting me to seek a mind/body balance and to take ownership of my health.

During that week, while still very unsettled, I starting doing yoga and guided relaxations. Every day and night I set time aside to be calm, centered, and present. My mind still wandered about the situation that instigated my condition but I was nonetheless regimented in activities geared towards stability and my body's well-being.

It's only been three weeks since the start of my regular yoga practice. I am hooked! In the first week I saw noticeable differences including increased flexibility, improved muscletone, and most importantly, feeling happier, healthier, grounded, stronger and more at peace. I am typically on my mat for 25 minutes every morning and night. Doing a little to begin and end the day leaves me feeling more awake, energetic and centered throughout the day and more relaxed and calm in the evening.

My favorite yoga routine thus far can be found on the DVD Crazy Sexy Cancer, a documentary about one inspiring woman's search for a cure. Bonus features include the 25 minute yoga practice as well as a 15 minute guided relaxation with Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidman. I highly recommend this yoga routine for it's simple instruction, compilation of poses, accessibility and for its effectiveness.

One of the statements in the film that stuck with me and motivates me to continue my yoga practice (and other forms of movement) comes from Yogeswari, a world-renowned yoga instructor. I presume she had said this during a class that specifically addressed symptoms of serious health conditions and the effects of yoga on these conditions.

"One of the major factors which cause disease has to do with lack of oxygenation to certain body parts. Everything in this Universe is vibration. Molecular cellular atomic particles vibrate."

Movement is vibration.

Movement is medicine.

Movement is life-affirming.

Yoga is my mode and it's got me high on life and good vibrations!

For more information on yoga and its effects on health, check out the National Institutes of Health.

Namaste!

When Life Gets Nutty, Make Nut Milk!

2010-01-24T11:37:00.000-05:00

I'm into week two with one more week to go of an elimination diet, which entails exclusion of some pervasive food items - milk, eggs, yogurt and cheese. But these culprit foods have, for the most part, been off my plate for months. The elimination diet is definitely making me more diligent and committed, prepping me for the next 365 days sans-dairy-challenge. The good news is that I've consistently, and rather seemlessly, stuck with cutting out cow's milk. Uber yummy nut milks have been my salvation!

I began purchasing processed nut milks, mainly almond-flavored, at Whole Foods. It wasn't love-at-first-sip but in a week's time they became a staple item in my smoothies. Aside from their great (one-week's time acquired) taste, nut milks offer a healthy alternative for people dealing with dairy sensitivities. Until my doctor had advised removing cow's milk from my diet, I had never stopped to think how humans came to regard it as an acceptable and healthy beverage. The milk industry is good at marketing! It is a bizarre notion to think that mother's milk from an animal would be good for anyone other than that mama's baby. Not sure nature intended that it be ours to consume. But then again, agreeing with this wholeheartedly would mean that cheese goes too. That's another topic for another time.

Have I mentioned that nut-milk-makin' is cheap and oh-so-easy? Give it a go!

1) Grab a cup o raw nuts and soak them overnight
2) In the mornin', excitedly rush out of bed
3) Blend the nuts with 2-4 cups of water
4) Strain with a nut milk bag* or filter of sorts
5) Add some sweetener if the mood strikes you

I have yet to experiment but honey, agave, cacao powder and vanilla extract are on my list to add to the nut milks. Some recipes I've seen also recommend pitted dates (pre-soaked and blended in with the nuts and water). I tend to use the milk for smoothies and don't feel the need to sweeten.

Note: If you want to add to the repertoire of milks, check out rice, hemp, and oat. (oat may be an issue for people with gluten allergies).

*A nut milk bag is worth the $10 investment if you don't have a juicer. My friend, who couldn't get her juice-maker to Korea, uses her bag for nut milks and for making veggie and fruit juices.

Time to soak the cashews and macadamias! Go nuts!

Time for a Shout Out!

2010-01-21T14:20:00.000-05:00

I want to give a big THANK YOU to my dear friend Susan, the creative goddess responsible for my new Holistic Health Junkie logo!

Life without Joe

2010-01-18T11:12:00.000-05:00

Letting go of Joe and all things caffeine has been a piece of cake... so far. Caffeine withdrawal is usually one of the first issues to surface during an elimination diet. Thankfully, I had started using more herbal teas a few weeks ago as a replacement for the daily cups of coffee. So while I wasn't expecting to be on an elimination diet, I'd inadvertently gotten a head start on the new food plan and had bypassed the migraine stage!

Here's what I've been drinking in place of coffee:

Herbal teas are my new liquid love ~ Twinings makes a kick-ass orange blend (pictured above). Peppermint is another refreshing option!

Dandy Blend, Roma, and Caffix are instant mock coffees, with blends of dandelion, chicory, or barley. I liked Caffix the best. You can usually find these brands at Whole Foods. To add a flavorful twist I use cinnamon or orange essence, which can be found in the spice aisle.

Teeccino also offers instant "coffee" blends. Still waiting for my trial pack to arrive but I have a feeling this will be the best one yet. The Teeccino site also hosts information on the benefits of reducing or eliminating caffeine from your food plan. Check them out!

I've saved the best drink for last!

I'm very excited to share with you a recipe from Raw foods chef Kristen Suzanne! She has generously given permission to publish it on HHJ. Thanks, Kristen!

My Mocha Latte Fix

Yields 2 Servings

2 cups water

3/4 cup Brazil nuts, unsoaked

1/2 cup cashews, soaked 1 hour, rinsed and drained

2 soft dates, pitted

1 tbsp raw chocolate powder
2 tsp raw agave nectar

3/4 tsp coffee extract

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 vanilla bean (I used a little vanilla extract)

pinch nutmeg

pinch cayenne (gives it some "heat")

pinch sea salt (optional)

Blend ingredients and feel a latte love!

For more delicious drink recipes, check out Kristen Suzanne's EASY Raw Vegan Smoothies, Juices, Elixirs & Drinks: The Definitive Raw Fooder's Book of Beverage Recipes for Boosting Energy, Getting ... or Cutting Loose... Including Wine Drinks!

Also check out Kristen's Website and Blog for all things raw!

Gr-Attitude

2010-01-17T18:42:00.000-05:00

I'm three days into the 3 week preliminary elimination diet and, despite starting it with a less than positive attitude, I quickly found many things to appreciate:

A sister who spent 15 minutes with me in the soup aisle reading tons of labels to choose quick meals with approved ingredients.

A friend in Korea who is implementing a similar diet. We'll relive old times from our previous elimination plan and offer lots of support to each other.

A date who, upon news that I couldn't partake in wine-drinking, offered to buy me as much water and tea as I'd like. :P

A girlfriend who cooked me a fabulous tuscan meal that took into account my dietary restrictions.

A friend who had smoothies delivered to my doorstep.

Life is abundant and good!

The F in Function

2010-01-15T14:15:00.000-05:00

Yes, that's the F word of the day. Function. Although I'm frustrated as well, mainly on the subject of food and the elimination diet I'm to undertake, as per my new doctor's orders, for 3 weeks starting today. Elimination diets consist of fruits, vegetables, grains and a few select meats. That's it! Alcohol, caffeine, and dairy, among some other vices, are not allowed. If all goes according to plan and the next three weeks show signs of improvement, I'm to keep up the plan for one year. ONE freakin' YEAR.

After months of research, consideration, procrastination, and even a blog post on the topic, I finally booked an appointment with a practitioner trained in Functional Medicine. There were only a handful of them in the area and I quickly ran into issues: some doctors were not accepting insurance and another couldn't even put me on a waitlist! A prominent Philadelphia practice required a $575 consultation fee. Another in Montgomery County was charging $250 but believed my insurance would reimburse me at least partially. Yikes! I scored big time when a doctor in my little town of 3,000 Narbs happened to have a dual practice, which meant that I'd only need to make a co-payment. $20 for a functional medicine consult? And I could walk to the doctor's office! Cha ching!

I've often been asked about the differences between functional and traditional medicine. Here's the cliff notes version:

FM looks at the person (work, environment, relationships, nutrition...) and how the body systems function as a whole. Conventional medicine generally involves a diagnosis and treatment of symptoms and is typically broken down into specialties (liver doctor, heart doc, etc...). FM looks for underlying causes of symptoms. FM also explores balances/imbalances within the body. Is a vitamin/mineral deficiency the cause of a symptom in a patient? Would he/she benefit from a probiotic? Is their diet making them sick? Etc...Etc...

I have my own case in point. I had been breaking out for several months for no apparent reason and my dermatologist, without asking anything about diet or considering hormone testing prescribed me a 3 month supply of antibiotics. I wanted to know why I was having this problem and felt the antibiotic would simply mask the real issue(s). My primary doctor at the time (who was not an FM doctor but happened to think and test like them) ordered a blood test for food sensitivities and found that I was producing antibodies to certain foods. Eliminating foods required more work on my part but was much safer than taking an antibiotic.

My current elimination diet is pretty similar to the one Olivia and I did in August 2008 but this one will last much longer. And I won't have anyone to commiserate with. While this new food plan will be good for me, I couldn't get the other F word out of my head as I strolled through the aisles of Whole Foods this morning. I was thinking of the not so great parts of the plan:

* It's hard to go it alone

* Eating out won't be as easy
* Dates will probably look at me funny

Then I thought about the good parts:

* I've done this food plan before and know what to expect (hello temptation!)
* I'll rebuild my intestinal wall (this might be the sexiest thing I have ever written) :P

* I'll strengthen my immune system, which has been compromised, and prevent bigger health issues down the road (fingers crossed).

Alright, that's enough negativity for one day. I'm off to find my friend Will Power. :)

Into Fruition!

2010-01-10T22:29:00.001-05:00

Over the past two weeks I have been thinking about both everyday and long-term goals I want to accomplish this year. My friend Melinda has a great tradition of doing this every new years day. She inspired me to complete a similar reflective and intention-centered exercise.

I brainstormed and recorded specific goals related to work/career, relationships, health, and financial stability.

As a visual learner, I found Kris Carr's idea of vision boards to be particularly exciting! Basically the point of the board is to represent your set intentions, remind you to do your homework towards realizing these intentions, and put good vibes out to the Universe. Ms. Universe usually delivers in abundance!

Kris' link above references some specific and seemingly out-of-reach goals she achieved with her vision board. I had mentioned this project to a colleague whose mother had a similar successful experience. Her mother had needed $17,000 to cover some unforseen expenses. She wrote a fake check to herself, posted it on her wall, and looked at it daily. Six months later, she received a raise...for $17,000. Bottom line: intentions are powerful!

Here is my pictoral collage of goals, which will serve as a daily reminder of where I'm hoping to go with them! The Circle of Life holistic model, which advocates balancing 12 main life themes, is the wheel pictured below. Not pictured are the Dalai Lama's Instructions for Life, which are posted in the corner of the vision board.

Here's to lots of juicy fruit in 2010!

Kicking the Habit ~ by Ed

2010-01-02T19:45:00.000-05:00

First off, I'd like to thank Jen for giving me the forum to share my story. I'm a man of few vices. I don't drink much, don't smoke, etc.... Well, there was one drug I was addicted to, but fortunately, I've recently beaten my addiction to caffeine.

A little background is needed to demonstrate how bad the problem was. I'd been drinking soda for most of my life. Bless my parents, but they did not have any problem letting us drink it. Coke was a staple at any family gathering, readily available to any child who wanted it. Through no fault of their own, my parents weren't able to make dinner many nights, so we often had Happy Meals, complete with a small Coke. Later on, my father kept his refrigerator stocked with root beer or Dr. Pepper.

Dr. Pepper was my go to drink whenever I felt the need for caffeine. I was fond of this lame line when drinking it: "I'm sick and the only one who can write me a prescription is Dr. Pepper." Before I successfully gave up caffeine, I would drink as many as 60 oz. of soda a day. At the minimum, I was drinking 40 on a consistent basis. One 20 oz. soda at 9:30 a.m. would get me through the morning and another at 11:30 would get me through the afternoon. Occasionally, I would get a full liter bottle. By occasionally, I mean three or four times a week. Even after long runs, I would have a soda to "replenish" my body.

Enter Jen. Or Jen's blog post about caffeine to be more specific "Crash and Burn (Then Get Back Up)." I knew soda was bad for me. Who doesn't? I'd been blessed with great metabolism so all the bad calories I was putting in my body weren't showing up. It allowed me to brush off my addiction. Seeing how good it made Jen feel to go without caffeine filled me with a new resolve. After reading that blog posting I went to my car and poured the bottle of soda I'd been saving on the ground. It was just the symbolic, cliched gesture that I needed to finally get soda out of my life. I only put water in that Dr. Pepper bottle now.

Since reading Jen's post, I haven't had a sip of soda, the longest I've ever gone without it (3 months and counting). I don't plan on going back, either. To fully kick the habit, I needed to replace the soda with something else. Water did the trick for the fluids, but I still needed a boost to get through the mornings. My soda habit was costing around $15 a week. With that money freed up, I began to invest in more fruit and vegetables, packing carrots, grapes, a banana and apple every day. I no longer got tired shortly after arriving at work and I generally felt better throughout the day now. I even eat less junk food since I'm not going to Wawa as much or stopping by the cafe at work. I even lost seven pounds after cutting out soda, as my workouts have gotten more effective.

Since cutting out soda, I've seen two documentaries that made me even happier to have given it up. Both Food, Inc. and King Corn touch briefly on how awful consuming it can be. In the former, an impovershed family laments how cheap soda can be while fruit and vegetables cost more. They realize it's making them unhealthy but their meager budget only allows them to buy so much and soda can be filling. In the latter, a formerly obese man in NYC shows a picture revealing how much he used to weigh. He attributed a loss of one hundred pounds just to giving up a certain soft drink.

Governor David Paterson (D-NY) was ridiculed for proposing a tax on soda last December, and the plan was met with much opposition. It never panned out and his low approval ratings made it even unlikelier to pass. President Obama toyed with the idea recently but nothing's come of it. It's hard to understand why this wouldn't be an easy sell. Making soda more expensive is not a silver bullet to solving the obesity crisis facing this country, but it could go a long way towards helping the problem. Politicians have no problems with sin taxes on cigarettes or alcohol, but we're not there yet with carbonated beverages. It's not even banned from all schools yet, which should be a given. Los Angeles backed off a soda ban in schools due to economic pressure just last month (check out the ignorant quote from Mr. Finch). Americans already consume more soda than any other country so weaning people off of it and giving them incentive to think healthier could reap untold benefits beyond one's health. Selling fewer plastic bottles could help the environment in addition to our diets.

After the first week without caffeine, it was easy to kick my soda habit. I crave it a bit every now and then, but I don't plan on buying any. It looks like I'll be giving something else up for Lent next month. If anyone else out there has a similar problem with their vice, take heart. If I can kick my habit after drinking upwards of 200 ounces of soda a week, anything is possible. The only prescription this doctor fills now is for H2O!

New Beginnings

2010-01-02T18:07:00.000-05:00

As 2010 had been fast approaching I spent some time reflecting on 2009. Despite all the national trials and tribulations, it was personally a good year! I reconnected with an old friend, traveled to Basel and Rome with family/friends, took up baking (hello, cupcakes!), and met some inspiring people along the way. Over the past year I have been most thankful for good health and great friends; I have felt fortunate to be able to combine the two here at HHJ. Melinda and Olivia recently shared their stories on food and living abroad ("What the World Eats"/"VitaMix Love"). And now it's time to hear from my friend Ed, who was first featured in the post "Getting Off on the Right Foot." His story is inspiring and timely for those of us with health-centered New Years resolutions. Take it away, Ed!

Eat Your Trees

2009-12-28T11:36:00.000-05:00

I can't remember where I heard this phase, though it was probably a line in a movie. A mother or babysitter had recited this to a little girl who didn't want to eat her broccoli. I found the line amusing. Like the little girl I don't always want to eat my trees...so I usually juice them when possible.

My new year's resolution list is not yet complete but a high priority is, as was last year, to eat more fruits and veggies. This year I will focus on more green additions. Since I have this week off from work I am planning to get on the right track before the new year. Here's what I worked on today:

5 kale leaves
1 pack of celery stalks
2 cucumbers
1 red apple
1 green apple
2 small punches of parsley
1 lemon
3 handfuls of baby carrots

In just 15 minutes I made 42 oz of moderately yummy but majorly good-for-you green juices, cleaned the juicer, and more than covered the 7 fruits/veggies a day recommendation. Hot damn, that's efficient! And productive. And healthy. Yay!

P.S. Here's what the juicer left behind. This would have taken all day to chew!

Research Methods and Bar-Hopping

2009-12-15T23:19:00.001-05:00

What do these two things have in common? Research and bar-hopping are tons of fun when:

a) They are combined for the purpose of rating smoothie and juice bars.
b) You are a holistic health junkie and are subsequently turned on by such research.
c) You are a geek (for being turned on by any research).
d) You are conducting the research with an uber cute fellow geek, a man we'll call "C."*

We met up on Sunday to hash out the details. We plan to visit a variety of randomly sampled Philadelphia blending establishments and evaluate them on the following variables and merits:

Flavor
Quality of ingredients
Atmospherics (Friendliness of staff - Ambiance - Clientele)

Note 1: "Company you keep" will not be factored into the equation as a cute man friend would surely confound the results.

Note 2: We haven't entirely decided if juice concentrate automatically lowers the quality rating. Your thoughts?

Here's the scale we are working on to rate the bars. These will likely require operationalization.

1) Orgasmic

2) Dreamy
3) Average Joe
4) Buyer's Remorse

The equation for final calculations is currently under review of a trusted mathematician and will be published here shortly.

We welcome your input before implementing this very important research project. We got so excited that we forgot to do a literature review.

*Editor's note: It is with sadness I inform you that "C" is no longer with HHJ. He had an unfortunate accident involving some rabid flamingos and Tina the polar bear at the Philadelphia Zoo.

Cute research partner "S" will be completing the project with me (Yum!).

Stay tuned...

Be Prepared

2009-12-15T00:28:00.001-05:00

That's the girl scout motto. "Be Prepared." I chuckled to myself tonight as I recalled my girl scout days and this saying. I can be meticulous when it comes to preparedness. But such attention to detail and follow through have, for me, always been dependent upon the topics or tasks at hand. I've come to realize that my ever-changing food philosophy and my food plan could use some predictability. They needed to get better acquainted and live together in harmony. The missing link? Preparedness. With a bit of leeway for transgressions.

O's blog post (VitaMix Love 12/7/09) documented her own food philosophy and it also summed up mine. When reading her entry I thought, "That's it! That's what I am!" I'm a raw foods hopeful who on occasion will dabble in vegetarian and vegan foods but has "omnivore guilt." I'll add that I love enriched pasta and I am still in love with cheese and coffee. Shhh. Don't tell the kale.

When I last blogged about food plans I was attempting 50% raw and 50% cooked meals. But for the past few weeks I've slipped into a funk with food. A busy work schedule hasn't helped it. I tend to eat the worst when I have to put in longer hours at the office. The weather is also effecting the food plan. Summer and Fall were great seasons for juices and smoothies galore but now that it's getting colder I'm reluctant to blend even lukewarm elixirs on a regular basis. Sudden drops in blood sugar have also left me leaping for the nearest food-like item, which is usually pure crap (candy, cookies, etc).

Aside from these being bad excuses for poor food choices, I realized that these situations had other things in common: a lack of preparedness and a need for balancing consistency with creativity. Here are some goals I'm working on to fix my food plan and prepare the way for better health:

* Compile juice recipes; research and experiment regularly
Kristen Suzanne's blog is chock full of them.

* Have some quick fix meals or shakes that are always ready at home - Frozen berries, fresh fruit and vegetables, homemade soups, nut butters, and nut milks will have me covered.

* Store healthy snack options at work
Herbal teas, nuts, fruit bars (Larabars rock!) should do the trick.

* Explore healthy variations on less healthy food cravings - Anything involving cheese substitutes hasn't held up - if you have recommendations please send them! The search continues (as does my love affair with the real thing).

* Make weekly goals for health contributions - This will motivate me to focus on food preparation.

This weeks goals include:

1) 2 green juices
2) 2 leafy green salads
3) flax meal/seeds, chia seeds, or hemp seeds daily
4) make 1-2 smoothies this week

I'd love to hear suggestions and tips that work for you and keep you motivated!

Happy prepping!

Adventures in Blending

2009-12-08T17:36:00.000-05:00

Christmas came early this year thanks to Olivia! Her enthusiasm for health is infectious (in a good way, of course) and it was awesome to have her literary contributions at Holistic Health Junkie. What's not to love? Handsome man friend + top notch blender + adventure abroad!

Olivia's blog post got me thinking about what I've been feeding my Oster (that's not an elaborate word for "mouth" - just my blender). Here are a couple new items I've included in recent smoothies. I'm going to try some of O's suggestions as well!

Pictured from left to right:

Hemp Seeds (from Nutiva via Whole Foods) - provides a nutty taste and 2 tablespoons will get you 11 grams of protein!!!! Added bonuses: omega 3, zinc, magnesium, and iron. It also tastes great on pasta and salads!

Flax Seeds - Essential. Fatty. Acids. (and fiber).

Chia Seeds - 2 tbsps offer 10% of daily calcium needs, omega fatty acids and 6 grams of dietary fiber!

Maca Root Powder - (contents not pictured) helps with stamina, libido, and fighting stress and fatigue. Yum. Yum. Yum.

Whole Foods sells flax seeds in bulk and they are very inexpensive. You can also snag your hemp supply there for around $10/8oz bag. I store the hemp and flax in the fridge. The chia seeds and maca powder are available at Nativas Naturals online store. A health food store in my area happens to carry their products (Yay!). The Navitas website includes a store locator.

My favorite blends to date:

Blueberry + raspberry + strawberry + frozen acai + chia and flax seeds

Banana + hemp seeds + oat milk

Any smoothie can get old over the course of time. If you find yourself in this predicament I recommend the Smoothies Bible. It contains over 300 recipes and they are organized by health topics. Hung over? Have a headache? Want to boost immunity? There are specific recipes for them all. No excuses for boredom either! The smoothies in this book are mighty tasty!

Next adventure: Smoothie and juice bar-hopping...with a cute and saavy research partner.

Keep in touch!