Hello everyone! It's been almost a month since my last post, I have just been so busy! I seems I have had tests upon tests with papers and presentations in spatterings throughout. Things won't let up for a few more weeks, but I think I can manage a little time to share a few thoughts...
I am still just as obsessed with yoga as I was last time you heard from me. Maybe even more so! I would like to talk a little bit about inversions with you today. Handstands, tripod headstands, shoulderstands that sort of thing. I read an article on MindBodyGreen today about just this topic. You can find the article here. The author was slightly critical of the way handstands have been made mainstream in yoga classes. Her argument is that you have to build from the ground up. Without proper alignment and breathing with two feet on the ground, you risk maintaing the proper form which is so crucial to an inversion that does your body good rather than harm it. You have to be grounded before you can fly. And she does add at the end that she loves the handstand, not saying that we shouldn't do it, but that you need to create a foundation first.
I agree with what this author is saying. However, this article really got me to thinking about why it is I love my yoga practice these days so much. And one of these things is inversions. They are one of the most exciting parts of my practice. And if you ask my family members, they will probably tell you that in the past few weeks I often spontaneously flip upside down. And while the author argues that you need to be grounded before you can fly, I think it is exactly the fact that I get to be ungrounded that is so appealing. I feel like such a kid again when I fling my legs into the air (and yes, I think sometimes in handstands it is definitely a fling rather than a graceful lift). I spend the greater part of my day being grounded. I am serious about my studies and spend a great deal of time preparing for my future. So when it comes to yoga, I spend time on poses such as chair and warrior, but if a class doesn't have some sort of inversion in it you will find me seriously disappointed (which is one of the reasons why I didn't like Bikram...no inversions!). Sometimes it feels good to not be so serious, and when you are falling on your face 50 times for one successful attempt its hard to not laugh!
So go and try out an inversion tonight. It will bring out your playful side and you will realize that your childhood dream of flying really can be had! (and its just as spectacular as you always imagined it would be)
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Healthy Italian
When we think of Italian food, we don't usually think healthy right? Well, maybe Giada's Italian could be, but not your typical Americanized Italian food. You know what I'm talking about...Spaghetti and meatballs, eggplant parmesan, chicken parmesan, etc. Basically what you get is lots of pasta or breadcrumbs, meat, and tomatoes. Of course, these tomatoes are usually boiled and look a large amount of their nutrients. Not to mention the sugar that is added to tomato sauces! Now, I do love the comfort of Italian food, but sometimes I am just looking for something that is healthier and won't weigh me down!
That is where Sarma comes in. I decided to make Sarma's healthy lasagna for dinner tonight, and it was not a disappointment! Layers of fresh zucchini and juicy tomatoes with basil-walnut pesto, tomato sauce, and pignoli ricotta. And yes, all raw! Take a look:
On another note, I am working on my crow (or crane) pose. Ideally, your arms should be almost straight. But I am pleased with the progress I am making so far. Notice I am wearing a new shirt in the picture! It is one of four in the same style that I bought from American Apparel specifically for yoga. I love them!
Have a great night!
That is where Sarma comes in. I decided to make Sarma's healthy lasagna for dinner tonight, and it was not a disappointment! Layers of fresh zucchini and juicy tomatoes with basil-walnut pesto, tomato sauce, and pignoli ricotta. And yes, all raw! Take a look:
On another note, I am working on my crow (or crane) pose. Ideally, your arms should be almost straight. But I am pleased with the progress I am making so far. Notice I am wearing a new shirt in the picture! It is one of four in the same style that I bought from American Apparel specifically for yoga. I love them!
Have a great night!
Friday, April 1, 2011
Blooming Lotus
I did a 90 minute yoga practice today, that in all honesty was one of the roughest practices I have. I am convinced that Bikram yoga messed with me yesterday. I am going to give it another shot still and try to not be close-minded, but Bikram yoga and I are not friends right now. But we are not enemies yet and I will explain why.
The first...oh maybe 50 minutes of my practice my mind felt weird. I am going to put it into words as best I can. During forward bends my mind felt frazzled. It felt overwhelmed like it had something to shake but just couldn't. My poses weren't painful, but for some reason my mind was all jumbled up. I finally seemed to calm down with the beginning of hip openers, and I was able to find serenity in my practice. Is it possible that Bikram yoga had pulled up all sorts of toxins that were leaving me feeling edgy and mumble-jumbled? And it took a little extra twisting and exhaling to rid myself of these conflicts and unstable emotions? This is why I say Bikram yoga and I are not quite friends yet, nor are we enemies. I may give it another shot.
The second half of my practice I had a very exciting achievement: full lotus! It was a very exciting moment for me, and I would like to share a little background on the symbolic meaning behind the pose. The lotus pose is named for its resemblance to the petal of the lotus blossom. The lotus blossom is a symbol of breaking from the physical body to the spiritual world. It rises up from the mud, and lifts towards the sky and the heavens, as it seeks the light of the sun. It blossoms into a pure white flower, and symbolizes the four virtues: true self, eternity, contentment, and purity. Through the achievement of these virtues it overcomes selflessness, impermanence, suffering, and impurity. I hope that I can one day achieve the virtues associated with yoga.
On that note, have a great weekend!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Not My Cup of Tea
Well, I tried Bikram yoga for the first time today. I had bought an awesome month unlimited earlier this year from groupon, and finally decided to put it to use. Here is my experience:
The building is shared with and Endoscopy office, and I was walking into this door when someone spotted me with my yoga mat and told me I would be surprised if I was hoping for yoga if I went into that office! I redirected, and was pleased with the friendliness of the the Bikram yogis. They were very welcoming, which is definitely important. Now, to the yoga part.
I walked into the room and hit a wall of humid heat. Think about the hottest day in the summer when it is just about the storm. That is what it felt like. The poses were not foreign to me, having experienced many of them in my Vinyasa practice. However, I did not like the lack of a smooth flow between poses. I also greatly missed the sun salutations that I am growing to become so fond of. My second peeve was a big one: the girl who was leading the class kept telling us that if it doesn't hurt we aren't pushing hard enough! And if we reach the point where it hurts, then it is time to give one final push further into the pose. I was a bit taken aback when I heard this to say the least. From what yoga has taught me so far, a pose should never hurt. Yes, you want to feel an intense stretch, but pushing so it hurts just screams to me MUSCLE TEAR.
My conclusion: I will never pay for a Bikram class again. However, I am going to utilize my month because despite the disapproval I just expressed, I still feel that the heat was helpful in increasing my flexibility. I just know that I will ignore the instructor's commands if they leave me cringing at the thought.
And on a side note, I had a very stinky woman next to me! Talk about body odor, it certainly did not help the deep breathing that I was supposed to be doing. Not to mention she was tooting the entire class! And she didn't seem bothered by it at all! Haha ooo well...I will just make sure I stay clear from her if we show up to the same class again.
xoxo Steph
The building is shared with and Endoscopy office, and I was walking into this door when someone spotted me with my yoga mat and told me I would be surprised if I was hoping for yoga if I went into that office! I redirected, and was pleased with the friendliness of the the Bikram yogis. They were very welcoming, which is definitely important. Now, to the yoga part.
I walked into the room and hit a wall of humid heat. Think about the hottest day in the summer when it is just about the storm. That is what it felt like. The poses were not foreign to me, having experienced many of them in my Vinyasa practice. However, I did not like the lack of a smooth flow between poses. I also greatly missed the sun salutations that I am growing to become so fond of. My second peeve was a big one: the girl who was leading the class kept telling us that if it doesn't hurt we aren't pushing hard enough! And if we reach the point where it hurts, then it is time to give one final push further into the pose. I was a bit taken aback when I heard this to say the least. From what yoga has taught me so far, a pose should never hurt. Yes, you want to feel an intense stretch, but pushing so it hurts just screams to me MUSCLE TEAR.
My conclusion: I will never pay for a Bikram class again. However, I am going to utilize my month because despite the disapproval I just expressed, I still feel that the heat was helpful in increasing my flexibility. I just know that I will ignore the instructor's commands if they leave me cringing at the thought.
And on a side note, I had a very stinky woman next to me! Talk about body odor, it certainly did not help the deep breathing that I was supposed to be doing. Not to mention she was tooting the entire class! And she didn't seem bothered by it at all! Haha ooo well...I will just make sure I stay clear from her if we show up to the same class again.
xoxo Steph
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Spicy, Fresh, and Tangy
Hello all!
Hope your week is going well so far, my busiest part is over and today I had a mostly relaxing day...feels good sometimes. I got a couple of hours of yoga in, and wanted to build on the energy that was still flowing from my yoga practice with this delicious salad:
Boy did it his the spot! The recipe was adapted from Kathryn Budig's recipe here. Kathryn is a yogi and health foodie. You will hear me mention her quite a few times from here on out as she is one of my favorite newly discovered yoga teachers, but for now I will just say that she certainly delivered with this recipe.
Arugula/Spinach Mix
Two fried eggs (this was delicious, I may try hard-boiled for a bring to work variety)
Half an avocado (I had already had one avocado and about a 1/4 cup guacamole earlier today...I hope there's no such thing as too much avocado!)
The dressing (not adapted at all):
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lime, juiced
1/2 T mayo (I used krafts olive oil mayo)
1/2 T dijon mustard
1 t dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste (I didn't have any pepper on hand...oh well!)
The fried eggs were really nice in this because they wilted the greens underneath a bit. While I love my eggs sandwiched between two slices of toast, this is a great option to get more greens in the diet while spicing them up! I am telling you, go make this now!
Have a great night :)
xoxo Steph
Hope your week is going well so far, my busiest part is over and today I had a mostly relaxing day...feels good sometimes. I got a couple of hours of yoga in, and wanted to build on the energy that was still flowing from my yoga practice with this delicious salad:
Arugula/Spinach Mix
Two fried eggs (this was delicious, I may try hard-boiled for a bring to work variety)
Half an avocado (I had already had one avocado and about a 1/4 cup guacamole earlier today...I hope there's no such thing as too much avocado!)
The dressing (not adapted at all):
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lime, juiced
1/2 T mayo (I used krafts olive oil mayo)
1/2 T dijon mustard
1 t dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste (I didn't have any pepper on hand...oh well!)
The fried eggs were really nice in this because they wilted the greens underneath a bit. While I love my eggs sandwiched between two slices of toast, this is a great option to get more greens in the diet while spicing them up! I am telling you, go make this now!
Have a great night :)
xoxo Steph
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Fitness Contest
Hello everyone,
So my post today is on the fitness contest I am entering! I found out about it a couple weeks ago from my older sister, Ceara. I have always thought it would be a lot of fun to be on the cover of fitness, so I am excited that I get the opportunity!
I had a photo shoot over spring break with my mom as the wonderful photographer, and these are the pictures that we have decided on. I can submit 6 in my album, and I am hoping to take one more of myself running. So here are the 5 finalists:
And yes, these pictures were chilly! We had about 6 inches of snow on the ground only the day before! Luckily the sun came out for us :) And we wasted no time getting into poses and snapping shots. If I make it to the final 5 I will be asking all of you to vote for me! Stay tuned :)
xoxo Steph
So my post today is on the fitness contest I am entering! I found out about it a couple weeks ago from my older sister, Ceara. I have always thought it would be a lot of fun to be on the cover of fitness, so I am excited that I get the opportunity!
I had a photo shoot over spring break with my mom as the wonderful photographer, and these are the pictures that we have decided on. I can submit 6 in my album, and I am hoping to take one more of myself running. So here are the 5 finalists:
xoxo Steph
Sunday, March 27, 2011
I'm back!
Hello everyone! It's been almost a month since my last blog post, let me tell you why....
I have a new obsession in my life--yoga! My last post was about the Shiva Rae's DVDs that I rented, which I loved. I started becoming more intrigued in yoga after doing those. Yoga is not completely new to me, but for some reason this time a light seemed to go off in my head. There was a spark and there I have a burning desire to do yoga just about every waking minute. I haven't even been wanting to blog because this takes away from time I could otherwise be doing yoga.
After doing those DVDs for about a week, I came across an online site called yogaglo. I signed up for the 15 day trial, and absolutely loved it. I am now paying $18 a month to keep up my subscription. It is well worth it. I did it every day for those 15 days, sometimes two times a day. I am keeping up with it, and loving yoga more and more every day. I am always trying new fitness adventures, because I think its really important to spice up fitness if you are going to stick with it. But I think I now have two activities that I will never give up: running and yoga.
In some ways it is the same feelings that draws me to these activities. I will focus on running another day, but their are many similarities between the two. Yoga is something that I can't wait for every day. I think its because it allows me to be in the moment. I am a very goal-driven person, often thinking about what I have to do next to get everything that I want to get done. This can often be a positive thing because I am productive, but can also be not so good at times. It's important for our stress levels and health to be able to just breath sometimes. And that is what yoga does for me. It allows me to stay in downward dog if I want and focus on nothing other than the present. Feeling a breath fill my lungs and chest fully and that moment when ever cell is completely energized with oxygen. And then letting it out and sinking into the ground, rooting myself. I can feel the lengthening of my hamstrings, and the opening of my chest. That is why I love yoga.
I think the next days, weeks, maybe months, will be full of short posts. They will be shorter tidbits on my life, so that I can keep sharing while maintaining my growing yoga practice.
I hope you all had a great weekend, and I shall see you soon.
I have a new obsession in my life--yoga! My last post was about the Shiva Rae's DVDs that I rented, which I loved. I started becoming more intrigued in yoga after doing those. Yoga is not completely new to me, but for some reason this time a light seemed to go off in my head. There was a spark and there I have a burning desire to do yoga just about every waking minute. I haven't even been wanting to blog because this takes away from time I could otherwise be doing yoga.
After doing those DVDs for about a week, I came across an online site called yogaglo. I signed up for the 15 day trial, and absolutely loved it. I am now paying $18 a month to keep up my subscription. It is well worth it. I did it every day for those 15 days, sometimes two times a day. I am keeping up with it, and loving yoga more and more every day. I am always trying new fitness adventures, because I think its really important to spice up fitness if you are going to stick with it. But I think I now have two activities that I will never give up: running and yoga.
In some ways it is the same feelings that draws me to these activities. I will focus on running another day, but their are many similarities between the two. Yoga is something that I can't wait for every day. I think its because it allows me to be in the moment. I am a very goal-driven person, often thinking about what I have to do next to get everything that I want to get done. This can often be a positive thing because I am productive, but can also be not so good at times. It's important for our stress levels and health to be able to just breath sometimes. And that is what yoga does for me. It allows me to stay in downward dog if I want and focus on nothing other than the present. Feeling a breath fill my lungs and chest fully and that moment when ever cell is completely energized with oxygen. And then letting it out and sinking into the ground, rooting myself. I can feel the lengthening of my hamstrings, and the opening of my chest. That is why I love yoga.
I think the next days, weeks, maybe months, will be full of short posts. They will be shorter tidbits on my life, so that I can keep sharing while maintaining my growing yoga practice.
I hope you all had a great weekend, and I shall see you soon.
Friday, March 4, 2011
B-12 and yoga
Hello,
This one caught me off guard when I first played it. Shiva starts the two sequences I have done with a sort of flowing dance-like movement. Not what I expected from a yoga dvd it left me feeling pretty goody at first. Here I am, standing on my yoga mat doing an odd body movement. After a minute thought, I began to feel the relaxation taking over my body, and now that I've done the sequences a few times I really enjoy this section to get me in my yoga frame-of-mind. I'll say that this dvd hasn't really gotten me sweating too much yet, but I still really love it. In fact, I did one 40 minute sequence after work today, and it de-stressed me exactly as hoped.
I got my blood work back and it turns out my B-12 levels are low..pretty common among those who don't eat meat (although I do eat meat I don't eat much of it, especially while at school). Anyways, my doctor put me on a regimen of a B-12 shot every day for a week, and I will slowly wean off them and take a daily 1000mg supplement. Raising my B-12 levels may result on increased energy levels, which would be great!
In addition to B-12 injections, but daily regimen seems to be including more and more of yoga. I researched some good yoga dvds, and found them on netflix. I am planning on building a yoga library (with my new pay status..woohoo!), but if I can try the dvds on netflix first that is great. So far I have tried two:
Love it! She definitely has come contortionist moves that I cannot even come close to doing, but these sequences have given me a great workout, working up a sweat. Lot's of creative vinyasas.
I think these will definitely be two I add to my budding yoga library!
Any suggestions of good vinyasa/power yoga dvds?
Steph
Friday, February 25, 2011
Protein
Hello all,
Happy Friday! I am going to work a little early today to get some blood work done. I decided with my recently evolved eating habits it would be a good idea for me to get a blood work up done on my iron, protein, and vitamins. I shall let you all know how that goes!
Speaking of protein, I have been researching good vegan raw protein options. Kristen's Raw has a really great review on the protein powders she has tried. I think for now I have narrowed it down to two:
Sun Warrior's Brown Rice Protein Powder
and Sprout Living's EPIC Protein Powder
Both are dervied from brown rice, and I am excited to try both. I am thinking I want to try the vanilla and chocolate flavors. I checked out Sprout Living, and they have $2 samples which is great (I bought a very expensive Vega protein in the past only to find that I did not like it at all and couldn't force myself to chug it down, even with my nose plugged) In fact, I contacted Sprout Living to ask what stores they sell it in, and I think they are going to send me a free sample if I ask my health store at home to carry it! That is super exciting. I shall let you know how I like them both!
I hope you all have fun weekend plans. I know my plans are to relax, go for a nice run, and try my new yoga dvd! I will post more on this dvd after I have tried it so stay tuned!
Happy Friday! I am going to work a little early today to get some blood work done. I decided with my recently evolved eating habits it would be a good idea for me to get a blood work up done on my iron, protein, and vitamins. I shall let you all know how that goes!
Speaking of protein, I have been researching good vegan raw protein options. Kristen's Raw has a really great review on the protein powders she has tried. I think for now I have narrowed it down to two:
Sun Warrior's Brown Rice Protein Powder
and Sprout Living's EPIC Protein Powder
Both are dervied from brown rice, and I am excited to try both. I am thinking I want to try the vanilla and chocolate flavors. I checked out Sprout Living, and they have $2 samples which is great (I bought a very expensive Vega protein in the past only to find that I did not like it at all and couldn't force myself to chug it down, even with my nose plugged) In fact, I contacted Sprout Living to ask what stores they sell it in, and I think they are going to send me a free sample if I ask my health store at home to carry it! That is super exciting. I shall let you know how I like them both!
I hope you all have fun weekend plans. I know my plans are to relax, go for a nice run, and try my new yoga dvd! I will post more on this dvd after I have tried it so stay tuned!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
My biggest food challenge
Hello all,
Hopefully you have all been having a great week...tomorrow's Friday! I haven't been doing much food preparing this past week. I have been making juices, and have whipped up a batch of almond milk, but other then that I have pretty much been eating foods straight as they grow in nature. This means handfuls of raw nuts, avocados (I just scoop them out with a spoon right into my mouth), and whole fruit. Throw in some sprouted bagel and a few eggs and thats pretty much what my diet has consisted of. Oh, and I have been eating what remains of my raw desserts...yum!
I have to admit that I am getting a big bored with my food selection. Not that I don't love a good orange, but I am yearning for a something a little more jazzed up! I am not exactly sure how I am going to remedy this situation yet, but I am certainly brainstorming.
I have two dilemmas: time and well, time. Ok, I know that sounded odd. Let me describe the first time. I am extremely busy during the week. My unpaid internship officially became a paid job this past week (yay!), but is definitely going to continue keeping me busy. So I now work three days a week, on top of classes and any homework and studying I may have. This past week I had two tests (including a killer history exam). What this all boils down to is I just don't have a lot of time to do food prep during the week. I know, excuses excuses. But when I don't get home until 8:30 at night it can be hard to have the energy to create a work of art! The second time is referring to the amount of time it takes for me to go to the store. There is no good organic health food store in the Bronx, much to my dismay. So I have to drive to the Whole Food in New Jersey or White Plains. I drove to NJ last Thursday and it took me two and half hours! On my day off the last thing I want to do is sit in traffic for two hours. Not to mention to really have fresh produce (this is most important for greens) you really have to make two trips to the store a week. So I just don't know what I am going to do. Perhaps I will have to think of some way to enjoy my time more in the car, so I don't dread the drives so much.
Anyways, any ideas for me? I need to figure out ways to incorporate more variety into my diet.
Hopefully you have all been having a great week...tomorrow's Friday! I haven't been doing much food preparing this past week. I have been making juices, and have whipped up a batch of almond milk, but other then that I have pretty much been eating foods straight as they grow in nature. This means handfuls of raw nuts, avocados (I just scoop them out with a spoon right into my mouth), and whole fruit. Throw in some sprouted bagel and a few eggs and thats pretty much what my diet has consisted of. Oh, and I have been eating what remains of my raw desserts...yum!
I have to admit that I am getting a big bored with my food selection. Not that I don't love a good orange, but I am yearning for a something a little more jazzed up! I am not exactly sure how I am going to remedy this situation yet, but I am certainly brainstorming.
I have two dilemmas: time and well, time. Ok, I know that sounded odd. Let me describe the first time. I am extremely busy during the week. My unpaid internship officially became a paid job this past week (yay!), but is definitely going to continue keeping me busy. So I now work three days a week, on top of classes and any homework and studying I may have. This past week I had two tests (including a killer history exam). What this all boils down to is I just don't have a lot of time to do food prep during the week. I know, excuses excuses. But when I don't get home until 8:30 at night it can be hard to have the energy to create a work of art! The second time is referring to the amount of time it takes for me to go to the store. There is no good organic health food store in the Bronx, much to my dismay. So I have to drive to the Whole Food in New Jersey or White Plains. I drove to NJ last Thursday and it took me two and half hours! On my day off the last thing I want to do is sit in traffic for two hours. Not to mention to really have fresh produce (this is most important for greens) you really have to make two trips to the store a week. So I just don't know what I am going to do. Perhaps I will have to think of some way to enjoy my time more in the car, so I don't dread the drives so much.
Anyways, any ideas for me? I need to figure out ways to incorporate more variety into my diet.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Cleansing is not for me
I got through one day of cleansing and have decided that I definitely do not want to do two more days. I did not have horrible cleansing symptoms. The only possible symptom may have been that I felt as if heat was oozing out of my skin all day. But what I really had trouble with was the fact that I was hungry all day long. The only time that I wasn't hungry was after the Cinnamon Cashew Milk (which I actually couldn't finish in one sitting it was so filling). I would be full immediately after drinking a juice, but then 20 minutes later I would be starving again! The morning went pretty well, and I was able to manage the hunger. But by the third drink I was feeling fed up.
The verdict: Perhaps one day I will try a juice cleanse again. I am a bit disappointed because I feel that cleanses are really great for eliminating toxins from the body, and even though I don't eat a ton a toxic foods, I am definitely in an environment where I am breathing in toxins every day. The one thing I can say I took out of this cleanse was a love for juices. I was surprised to find that I really loved both of the greens juices that I had yesterday. I also loved the beet, carrot, and apple juice. Juices will certainly be something that I incorporate in a daily basis into my diet. I am actually going to try the habit of drinking a green juice as my first nutrients in the morning, to ease my body into the arduous process of digestion.
So for now, no more cleansing! But don't worry, all of those fruits and veggies will not go to waste. I am going to use the veggies up within the next couple days, then will move to the fruits (which are a lot of apples, oranges, and pretty hardy fruits)
Have a great Saturday night!
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Pre-Cleanse
Hello all,
I went on a verryy long shopping trip today (the GW bridge was crazy both ways ugh!) but also a very successful one. Preparing for my cleanse, I made two stops. Trader Joes and Whole Foods. I just discovered that their is a Trader Joe's right down the road from the Whole Foods I shop at. Hearing about how other bloggers love TJ's I decided to give it a try, hoping to get some cheaper produce. I got what organic produce I could at TJ's and then headed to WF to finish up. All in all I spent $80.29 on the produce for my cleanse. Not too bad considering I would have paid $195.00 for the Blue Print Cleanse, more if I decided to have it shipped rather then trek down to pick it up. Plus, I bought all organic produce :)
I spent an hour and a half washing every single piece of produce I will be using. I even prepared the green juices by assembling the ingredients in containers. Although it took a decent amount of time preparing for the cleanse, I am hoping the this makes the whole process go smoother, as the only work I will have during the cleanse is cleaning the juicer and drinking the juice :)
Tomorrow starts day 1!
Have a great night...and if you have any advice for me on juice cleansing I'd love to hear it!
I went on a verryy long shopping trip today (the GW bridge was crazy both ways ugh!) but also a very successful one. Preparing for my cleanse, I made two stops. Trader Joes and Whole Foods. I just discovered that their is a Trader Joe's right down the road from the Whole Foods I shop at. Hearing about how other bloggers love TJ's I decided to give it a try, hoping to get some cheaper produce. I got what organic produce I could at TJ's and then headed to WF to finish up. All in all I spent $80.29 on the produce for my cleanse. Not too bad considering I would have paid $195.00 for the Blue Print Cleanse, more if I decided to have it shipped rather then trek down to pick it up. Plus, I bought all organic produce :)
I spent an hour and a half washing every single piece of produce I will be using. I even prepared the green juices by assembling the ingredients in containers. Although it took a decent amount of time preparing for the cleanse, I am hoping the this makes the whole process go smoother, as the only work I will have during the cleanse is cleaning the juicer and drinking the juice :)
Tomorrow starts day 1!
Have a great night...and if you have any advice for me on juice cleansing I'd love to hear it!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
3-Day Cleanse
Hello everyone,
Since the summer I have been contemplating the idea of doing a cleanse. At one point in the summer, I decided I would embark on the Master Cleanse. Yes, the cleanse in which the only calories you consume are in the liquid concoction of water, lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. I went into the cleanse planning to stay on it for ten days. Two drinks later, I quit. The drink tasted revolting, and although I wasn't hungry, I simply could not stomach it.
Thinking back on this cleanse now I am not sure it would have been the best idea to go through with it. I feel that the nutrients this cleanse provides are simply not adequate. Although I love maple syrup and am known to put it on a whole array of foods, it is not exactly overflowing with nutrients (it does contain high amounts of zinc and magnesium).
This past summer when I first started to learn about raw foods, I came across juice cleanses. I was new to raw food at the time, so I put the idea on the back burner. Then, a couple of months ago I bought my Breville Juicer and started experimenting with fresh juices. Fresh juices are nothing like store bought! Feeling that I was comfortable with juicing having eased into it, a couple of weeks ago I started looking into doing a cleanse. I had heard of the blueprint cleanse, but the price was a little steep. Then I discovered that the founders have a book on recreating the cleanse at home! So I ordered it, and now I am ready for a cleanse! I feel much more comfortable with a juice cleanse, and feel that the nutrients I am going to get from it are going to be fantastic (I may head over to whole foods and get a wheat grass shot for an extra boost).
After planning my menu for 3 days I have decided on this:
Day 1:
1. Greens with Apple
2. Carrot-Apple Ginger
3. Apple-Pear-Beet-Ginger
4. Pineapple Mint
5. Spinach-Carrot-Pineapple-Cilantro
6. Cinnamon Cashew Milk
Day 2:
1. Greens with Apple
2. Carrot-Apple-Parsley-Beet-Orange
3. Grape-Cucumber-Pear
4. Pineapple Pear Lemongrass
5. Spinach-Carrot-Pineapple-Cilantro
6. Cinnamon Cashew Milk
Day 3:
1. Greens with Apple
2. Watermelon-Lime
3. Pineapple-Beet-Ginger-Pear
4. Pineapple Mint
5. Spinach-Carrot-Pineapple-Cilantro
6. Cinnamon Cashew Milk
I am beginning the cleanse on Friday and ending on Sunday. My plan is to post each day on how it is going...
In the meantime, I made a delicious juice this morning:
Apple-Beet-Carrot Juice (2 granny smith apples, 1 medium beet, and 3 medium carrots)
Supurb!
Stay tuned for cleansing details!
Steph
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Citrus and Avocado Salad
Hello everyone, I hope your weeks are off to good starts...tomorrow is the end of my three-day crazy busy streak, so tomorrow my week will get a whole lot better. Just a quick post tonight on Daily Garnish's scrumptious looking salad that I whipped up tonight. You can find the recipe here. The salad is very simple, only requiring...5 ingredients plus salt and pepper.
I will leave the instructions to Emily but urge you to make this quick and yummy salad!
On a bad note...I am sorry to say that I am officially all out of my homemade maple crispies cereal. Sniff sniff. I am now left to no other option but to eat packaged cereals until I am able to make a trip home to restock.
Thank you all for reading, have a great night!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Philly + Pure Food and Wine
Happy Super Bowl Sunday!
It has been another crazy week that left no time for posting. The week left zero time for anything besides school and internship (and working out of course) and the weekend wasn't too much different (although their was a very fun segment to the weekend which is coming).
First, a recap on last weekend:
I visited my best friend from home in Philadelphia and had a wonderful time. We both new that if we didn't make plans to get together early on in the semester we would never end up doing it as our schedules got busier, so we made plans for the first weekend back at school. Good idea! For a late lunch we went to a hot spot that specializes in froyo and salads. Sweetgreen (a really cute name I think...sweet from the froyo and green from the salad) uses local and organic produce from farmers they know and leave a small footprint behind. Gotta love it! Both Maura and her friend got froyo and I was famished and got a loaded salad. Mesclun greens with avocado, fava beans, hard boiled egg, grapes, and asian vinaigrette. Everyone was very pleased with their choices.
Now for this weekend!
I went to Pure Food and Wine! I made last minute plans with my sister and a friend to see Mamma Mia on broadway, and we decided to start the evening off right. We started with two appetizers: Hazelnut Crostinis with Crimini Mushrooms and Caper Bearnaise (little crostinis piled high with pureed mushrooms and capers) and Niwa Maki of Avocado, Enoki Mushrooms, Pickled Heirloom Baby Carrots (like sushi, delicious!) The pictures on the appetizers didn't come out great because of the lighting.
Quick side note: J is currently distracting me by throwing popcorn in the air for me to catch with my mouth. He says I should be blogging about snacking on popcorn because it is Pop Secret homestyle after all.
For the main course I had Zucchini, Local Roma and Heirloom Tomato Lasagna with basil pistachio pesto, sun-dried tomato marinara, macadamia pumpkin seed ricotta. It surprised me that it was served cold (I thought maybe it would have been warmed in the dehydrator) but I found that I really enjoyed the cool refreshing mouthfuls.
My sister had the weet Corn and Cashew Tamales with Chili Spiced Portabella salsa verde, cashew coconut sour cream, avocado, raw cacao mole. Another hit (we all passed around the meals).
My sister's friend had the Spanikopita with Spinach, Almond Feta, Cucumber Yogurt, local cauliflower and white grapes. Delicious too!
The over-21 crew also had a pitcher of sangria...which passed their high standards for sangria. This will be one of the first places I go to try all of the creative cocktails when I turn 21.
We headed to show after a wonderfully satisfying dinner and had a fantastic time. Mamma Mia may be my favorite broadway show (even over Wicked). Great humor, amazing voices, and a wonderful story line (I am happy I hadn't seen the movie yet). Perhaps the highlight of the show was when the elderly male usher began dancing and singing very enthusiastically during the encore.
A great night that made my otherwise homework-filled weekend an enjoyable one!
Saturday, January 29, 2011
One week down
Good morning! The first week of the semester is down and it was certainly a busy one (despite the snow day we had on Thursday that cancelled five of my classes). I also have a new medical internship which is going to take up a good chunk of my time (but that I am very excited about). I have done plenty of eating and whipping up new concoctions, but was a busy blogger and didn't pull the camera out until last night. Perhaps two missed photo opportunities: the beautiful aftermath of the 14 inches of snow we got here in metropolitan New York and a wonderful sushi meal at Momoya in NYC with my sister. This is my second time ordering sushi at Momoya (and rest assured not the last) so I will be certain to take photos on my next Momoya occasion.
As I am writing, I am noshing on this:
As I am writing, I am noshing on this:
A delicious bowl of cinnamon maple crispies with almond milk
I am really in love with these crispies. I made two batches to come back to school with, and I don't think it was nearly enough. Only the first week has gone by and already I am half-way through my stash! I also want to give praise to homemade almond milk. It is loads better then the cartons of almond milk you can buy at the store. I drank store bought almond milk for many months before I finally bought a vitamix, and did just fine with it. However, now that I have been making homemade milk I don't think I will ever truly enjoy going back. The flavor of homemade almond milk has more of a natural sweetness and lightness that the store bought just doesn't seem to impart.
I also made this yummy smoothy yesterday afternoon:
pear, apple, 3 blood oranges, and 2 cups frozen pineapple
When I took it out of the fridge this morning it had separated and I thought looked really neat:
I am visiting a friend in Philly this weekend and on my way back am going to stop at the whole foods and stock up again. I have been doing some research on tasty ways to fill collard wraps, and so my plan is to pick up some produce for these. I will let you know how my collard wrap adventures go this week!
I don't have too much to share on the exercise end of things. Yes, I have been working out, but nothing new and exciting. I have been using my Insanity program which I still love and I believe is making my arms stronger! I am able to bang out more pushups now before resting then when I could at the start, which is definitely a solid improvement.
I did happen to come across a great hot Bikram yoga deal on redeemio a couple of weeks ago. Only $59 for a month unlimited, when it is usually $135. I purchased one, and am just waiting to start my month until I am a little more settled into my schedule. I'll keep you all updated :)
Hope you have fantastic weekends and thank you for being be readers!
Steph
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Cookbooks
Hello all! Just a short little post on my favorite cookbooks that I have acquired so far :)
One of my first raw food books :)
Another of my early raw food books
The most delicious cupcakes and desserts (my go-to book for whenever I make cupcakes)
After so much success with my first Magnolia cookbook I just had to get the sequel!
New from this past Christmas but definitely my favorite raw food cookbook
Another Sarma cookbook (and Matthew too...I can't forget him!)...love this one but I still use Living Raw Food more
I actually haven't had a chance to make any recipes from this yet...but I think it will be a winner!
Oh my goodness you must buy now!
Another first raw food one
David is the master of desserts (non-raw) and this is the book that started my love affair with ice cream making...I even have my own labels (read: Steph's Scoops)
Monday, January 24, 2011
Back to school!
Hello all! Today was the first day of the new semester...nice and easy with only two classes. I am all moved in with my new appliances set up (read: vitamix and juicer). However, I am feeling that I need to do some reorganizing but I am not sure how! I stopped at Whole Foods on the drive back, and stocked up on load of fresh fruits and greens. I even bought a bag of carrots, which is very uncharacteristic of me. I actually don't like carrots. I like every other fruit/veggie/green around, from mangos to fennel to brussel sprouts to spinach to kale. For whatever reason I simply do not like carrots. Anyways, my reason for buying them then? I know that they have loads of nutrients, and I figure with my juicer I can whip up juicer with some of the benefits of carrot juice, while attempting to mask the flavor!
Here is a look at my college fridge, jam packed with all sorts of delicious and colorful food!
This morning before class I whipped up a green smoothy. In fact, it was the most delicious green smoothy yet! I stuffed my vitamix with one big bunch of watercress, a bagful of frozen mango (about 2 cups), one peeled lemon, two packets of stevia, and about a cup and a half of water. All blended up it looked like this:
I had a glass full of it, and this container is what was left over. This was the first time I tried watercress, and it just may be my favorite green yet! It tasted really great in the shake and watercress has TONS of nutrients to boot! In fact, watercress is a better source of Vitamin C, B1, B6, K, E, Iron, Calcium, Magnesium, Manganese, Zinc, and Potassium then broccoli, apples, and tomatoes! It also has more Calcium then the touted spinach (which I also love so I am not trying to diss...I am just excited upon watercress!). Anyways, this shake was delic and I am fairly certain that I will be on a watercress kick for some time now.
I also made myself a salad for dinner last night. By the time I was done unpacking I was really starving and begining to get a little grumpy (that happens to me when I am really hungry). This salad did the trick! A bed a arugula with goat cheese, pecans, and diced apple. Topped off with a lemon vinaigrette (lemons, olive oil, honey, salt, and pepper). I would have loved avocado on it too but it wasn't ripe yet. Really yummy none the less and I was in a much better mood after I gobbled it down.
I have a really busy say tomorrow with classes, so I need to figure out snacks to pack for the day! (Five hours of class in a row) I'm thinking a repeat of today's green smoothy for breakfast (may bring it in a coffee mug), a bag of my homemade raw granola, and a banana should hold me over until two. Hope your weeks are off to a great start!
Here is a look at my college fridge, jam packed with all sorts of delicious and colorful food!
I could barely fit everything!
This morning before class I whipped up a green smoothy. In fact, it was the most delicious green smoothy yet! I stuffed my vitamix with one big bunch of watercress, a bagful of frozen mango (about 2 cups), one peeled lemon, two packets of stevia, and about a cup and a half of water. All blended up it looked like this:
I had a glass full of it, and this container is what was left over. This was the first time I tried watercress, and it just may be my favorite green yet! It tasted really great in the shake and watercress has TONS of nutrients to boot! In fact, watercress is a better source of Vitamin C, B1, B6, K, E, Iron, Calcium, Magnesium, Manganese, Zinc, and Potassium then broccoli, apples, and tomatoes! It also has more Calcium then the touted spinach (which I also love so I am not trying to diss...I am just excited upon watercress!). Anyways, this shake was delic and I am fairly certain that I will be on a watercress kick for some time now.
I also made myself a salad for dinner last night. By the time I was done unpacking I was really starving and begining to get a little grumpy (that happens to me when I am really hungry). This salad did the trick! A bed a arugula with goat cheese, pecans, and diced apple. Topped off with a lemon vinaigrette (lemons, olive oil, honey, salt, and pepper). I would have loved avocado on it too but it wasn't ripe yet. Really yummy none the less and I was in a much better mood after I gobbled it down.
I have a really busy say tomorrow with classes, so I need to figure out snacks to pack for the day! (Five hours of class in a row) I'm thinking a repeat of today's green smoothy for breakfast (may bring it in a coffee mug), a bag of my homemade raw granola, and a banana should hold me over until two. Hope your weeks are off to a great start!
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