Radish Greens Smoothie

Day 30

In my new quest to mix up my greens I used Radish Greens in my smoothie today! Yes I said Radish GREENS. We are more accustomed to eating just the red root part of the radish but in doing so we are missing out on so many great vitamins and minerals. Radish greens contains 6 times the Vitamin C of the root and are also higher in calcium and protein than the root. These vegetable greens are Cruciferous which means they are part of the Cabbage family. Radish greens also possess cancer-protecting properties and are high in sulfur which helps support the digestive system. Radish Greens also contain properties that are beneficial for symptoms of colds, flu, fevers and other respiratory problems. This smoothie came out so awesome (and the color a gorgeous light mint green) that I wrote it down quickly before I forgot it! I think this smoothie would be perfect for spring and summer because it is so light and cooling.

Radish Greens Smoothie Recipe:

Base of filtered water and aloe vera juice.
2 oranges, 1 apple, 1/2 cucumber with peel.
1 tsp Maca, 1 tbs Hemp Oil
1 cup Radish Greens
1 Radish for good measure
sweeten to taste ( I didnt add sweetener)

Tonight I listened to the David Wolfe interview from the Raw Mom Summit Interviews. Best $97 I ever spent. I am grateful for his brilliant mind.

Alkaloids

DAY 28

I'm sitting here sipping on one of my green smoothies not sure what to talk about. I have a couple blogs in progress that are chock full of info and research and I am just not in the mood to think so much. I'm not taking so many pictures of my smoothies as they are all pretty much the same lately but now I just read that you have to switch your greens or else you can get a build up of alkaloids. Greens have alkaloids that are good in small quantities but slightly toxic if you eat the same green day-after-day. UH OH. I put so many greens in my smoothies each day that maybe I should start splitting it up. I think once the Official Challenge starts on January 1st I will be simplifying alot. I'm glad I did a month long test run. I learned a lot of things but there is sooooo much more out there to learn. It's like being a baby in the sense that you have to re learn the basics. Tonight I am in the mood to unwind with magazines and a movie...sorry dirty laundry! I love either sitting in front of the computer with my magazines and looking up whatever I find to be interesting. Another favorite thing (and a habit I picked up from design school) is to tear and paste things that catch my eye into a scrapbook. It is always so cool to look back at the trends you spotted.

Avatar: The Eco Movie (Yeah Right)

I just came back from Avatar with Kimay and I feel a thousand ways. On one hand the movie was a visual feast full of amazing special effects and magnificent color. It tells a beautiful and touching multi- layered emotional story that comments on race relations, military relations and war It also takes a huge ecological punch at the human destruction of the environment. I adored this movie and the important message it was sending. On the other hand WHO CARES? Certainly not the kid next to me who laughed as the bulldozers tore through the forest of the Na'vi destroying part of their sacred land . Certainly not the manufacturer of the plastic 3 D glasses we all wore while watching Avatar. I mean at this point we all know how bad plastics are. (The manufacturing of plastics cause the release of toxic pollutants, greenhouse gases, and have both a biodegradable and non-biodegradable landfill impact as a result of the production and disposal of plastics. When in use, plastic bottles and containers, such as water bottles and tupper ware, leach into our food and water causing our bodies to become toxic, carcinogenic, causing birth defects and are endocrine disruptions. When we throw out or "recycle" plastic it pollutes our beautiful oceans, poisoning our marine life and land animals.. ...the destructive arm of plastic is far reaching.) Certainly not James Cameron, who allegedly will have spent nearly 500 MILLION DOLLARS on this film and spent FIFTEEN years of his life on the film. Why not dedicate that time and money to ACTUALLY helping the environment instead of commenting on (and adding to the destruction of it?). Sometimes I feel suffocated and overwhelmed by the effects of everything I do on the environment that it makes me feel horribly guilty and anxious. Even though I am far, far, far from perfect I care so much about the things that I do that it freaks me out that some people never even think twice about it. I always try to be a better person and not judge others for their choices in life but in situations like this it is impossible not to. This is just so wrong! and ass backwards. Why do we need a movie filled with fantasy images and actors pretending to convincingly portray human emotion and situations to send a message about our reality? Why can't James Cameron have the balls to come out and say 'STOP DESTROYING THE WORLD" and "AMERICA YOU ARE A MONEY HUNGRY CULTURE KILLING BULLY"and "OBAMA YOU ARE NO BETTER THAN BUSH, I THOUGH YOU SAID YOU WOULD BRING OUR TROOPS BACK", then start a charity called Eco-Direct and raise half a billion dollars to solve the problem of plastics in and on humans and our environment? Now THAT would be Award worthy. Instead though we are living in a time when it is "cool" to be "eco", a time where green is the new black, organic is the new culinary trend, sustainable is the new tag phrase...it makes me wonder if people really care or if it's all big business. I know there are many great and amazing things going on right now and it absolutely excites me to be a part of this information age. I just hate that there is a price to pay and I think this time around we will be paying for it sooner than later. I do understand that this is a form of art and art comments on and reflects life blah blah blah but what about responsibility? What about actually doing something? What about (wait for it...) being the change we want to see? Why are we waiting for someone else to do it? Who are we all waiting for anyway?At the end of the movie just as I was wondering what to do with the fashionable hipster 3d glasses, I came across a "Recycle" bin in which to return the glasses. A way in which to make money multiple times over on one item? Or another chance to give the viewers yet another false sense of "greenness"? I tossed them in the box with a heavy yet hopeful heart.

Headaches and Heartache

DAY 23
I have a banginggggg headache and I rarely get them so I am hurting. Now lets see what I ate today so I can hopefully figure out the culprit. For breakfast I had a green smoothie (surprise surprise) I did a base of coconut water, chia seeds, cashews, MSM, date sugar, agave, vanilla extract, tsp Maca, apple, banana, frozen grapes, 1/2 orange, kale, cilantro, parsley, red chard, celery, salt. Maybe I need to use less salt and I also feel like I added a lot of date sugar as this smoothie tasted harsh. For Lunch I had a salad of spinach, chard, kale, cilantro,parsley with cherry tomatoes, celery, carrots, juice of one lemon, hemp oil, and Annie's Naturals sesame ginger dressing. Maybe it was the dressing. Hmmm... Anyway I will be making my second smoothie in a little bit so I have something to eat after yoga before I go out for holiday drinks/present exchange. I don't really like to drink anymore since I started this challenge and I highly doubt they have Frey's Organic Sulfite Free Wine that a co worker...a very fabulous and brilliant coworker... gave to me today for Christmas...
Right now I am sipping on my favorite soup, Vegan Curry Apple Pumpkin soup from Whole Foods which I won't link because they are notoriously anti-union. But I like their soup. Alot. Its like being in love with the asshole boyfriend you know is bad for you. Baby steps....babysteps...

I Will Miss You BRITTANY MURPHY !

I can't let today go by without mentioning Brittany Murphy's death yesterday. I have never been sad over the death of a celebrity. I always feel a bit detached from the situation as I don't know them and I am Irish. This means we ignore potentially emotional situations and live in a world of make believe, anger and denial. Well this time was wayyyy different. I became so sad and upset that I actually cried a few tears and I still can't shake the fact that she is gone. I loved her as much as someone can love a person they see in a square box with moving pictures. There was something so special and sparkly about her. When I first got Netflix I remember looking up all the movies they had with her in it and ordered Ramen Girl. Probably the WORST movie in the world but she is so awesome it just works. Some people are just special. Sure she may not have been the greatest actress that ever lived but she was a star and that craft can't be learned. I will truly miss her. Maybe the green juice is the new talk therapy.

Cooked Vegan Food Sucks

Green Smoothie Challenge Day 21

This weekend was disasterous. Although I did have one quart of green smoothie each day I also ate a lot of foods I have not been eating lately and I cannot believe how TERRIBLE I feel today. This morning I could barely keep my eyes open driving to and from work. I was so tired I could not even make it to boxing class..or to go see Avatar...thats pretty bad. My body is boiling MAD at me. I ate here Friday night....here Saturday night...and here Sunday. OOPS. The difference in my energy and mood is really shocking. So tonight I came straight home to rest and call it a day. Today is the first day I didnt have a green smoothie. I was so disgusted with myself that I didnt have the heart. I just spent an hour rinsing and spinning all new greens I bought this weekend with KIMAY. Tomorrow is always a new day. Feel the guilt...let it go and be KIND to yourself. At this rate I am going to be my own very best friend.

ACAI CHOCOLATE SMOOTHIE & REALLY MEAN GREEN DRINK. DAY 15

Making smoothies can be exhausting. Wait a minute...they are actually super easy but I choose to make massive amounts with dozens of ingredients. Going to simplify soon. But obviously not today.

Today's Smoothies:

ACAI CHOCOLATE:
Base of Acai juice, water, aloe vera juice
Fruits: Lemon , Orange, Apple, Banana, Frozen blueberries
Veggies:Kale,Chard,Collard (one small piece of each)
Raw Cacao powder, date sugar,

MEAN GREEN SMOOTHIE (aka Rocket Fuel)
Base of coconut water, maca, date sugar, 2 dates, Sun is Shining, salt, Fruits: 2 limes, apple, banana, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, 1/2 green pepper
Veggies: Kale, Red and Green Chard, Dandelion, Cilantro, Parsley, Collard Green, big hunk of aloe vera.

Tonight: Sephora, Upper Body Weight Training, Vinyasa Flow, Update Site w/Pics, Wrap a few Presents, and SLEEP

BROKEN VITA MIX and Princess and the Frog. Two Epic fails. One Still very Fabulous Day.

GREEN SMOOTHIE CHALLENGE DAY 14

Day 12
Saturday Morning I made the Girls a Pink Goji Strawberry Smoothie....(with Rainbow Sprinkles of course) THEN I went to go make a Green Smoothie for myself as we were on our way to Family Yoga (no link it was AWFUL) and then to see Princess and the Frog. ugh... its 3am I will finish this tomorrow. Nopt sure where the time goes. I have so much energy lately sleep is a nuisance!!!! Next I am taking a sleeping challenge so I get proper rest!

VITAMIX SUPER 5200- Best Aloe Vera Smoothie

GREEN SMOOTHIE CHALLENGE DAY 11

Staying at the most Green Smoothie Friendly House EVER!!! My sister has every Superfood, Supplement and device possible! And she has the best of the best...this includes her VITAMIX. I thought her and I had the same machine but I must be wrong because I just used hers and my smoothie was water smooth and I absolutely loved it.

I thought the only difference between ours was the color. Mine is black hers is red. I tried to research it but doesnt seem to be any obvious difference.

Maybe it was my little helper that made it taste so good...my little indigo child is incredibly magical.

Today's Recipe- ALOE VERA SMOOTHIE

Base: 1 cup Coconut Water, 3 tbs Agave
1 tsp.Sun is Shining, 1 TBS Raw Cacao,, tsp pink Himalayan Sea Salt, 1 TBS Udo's Oil
2 Kale Leaves, 2 Collard Greens, 1 Cucumber, 1 Lime, 1 Apple, 1 Celery, 1/3 Green Pepper, 1-2" Ginger, 1 Banana and 4-6" piece fresh Aloe. Blend with 4-5 ice cubes.

GREEN BEAUTY BLOG

DAY 10

Above is my Puja in my office/gym/closet.

Since a major part of all this is that I am trying to get my skin in order I will talk about my beauty (hopefully) routine tonight.

First I did a hair treatment by Kama Ayurveda called Bringadi. That is supposed to stay on for about an hour so I then did Abyanga, an Ayurvedic self massage with Kama's Swagandhadi Oil. All of my Kama products are from India when I was there in February 2009. They expire the end of this month so I am going to try and use them up quickly!!! The benefits of this massage if done daily (which I don't do...who the heck has time to do this every morning???who ARE these people?) :

• Increased circulation, especially to nerve endings
• Toning of the muscles and the whole physiology
• Calming for the nerves
• Lubrication of the joints
• Increased mental alertness
• Improved elimination of impurities from the body
• Softer, smoother skin
• Increased levels of stamina through the day
• Better, deeper sleep at night

With these oils soaking in I boiled a pot of water and put a drop each of Lavender and Tea tree oil. Then I lit candles, put on the Gayatri Mantra and steamed my face for a good ten minutes. Then I did an Oil Cleanse which is my new favorite thing....it works amazing!!! I used Castor oil and Olive oil because that is all I had. Then I took a shower and moisturized with a teeny bit of Simply Divine Botanicals Rose cream and Pack Your Bags They are Leaving!

Then I did Laundry, packed a bag for this weekend's excursion and spent hours on this blog. OKAY. DONE. GOODNIGHT.xoxo

POST WORKOUT SMOOTHIE

Still Day 10

Today it was a co workers birthday so I picked him up a (SAD) (SAD= Standard American Diet ) Cake BUT I grabbed some Vegan Sugar Cookies for myself. They were soooo good. I had two of them suckers with some Almond Milk.

Then I made my POST WORKOUT SMOOTHIE before I went to the gym. Today at the gym I did interval training on the StationaryBike then did One Legged Squats, Squats with Dumbell and Mountain Climbers.
Then I went to boxing for an hour and afterwards did a 15 minute ab workout...a cool new addition to an already kick ass class.
This was a good week as I did Cardio/lower body at GYM and TracYoga Tuesday then Wednesday I did FredYoga. I am still reading "The New Rules of Lifting For Women" by Lou Schuler so that wont be incorporated into my fitness schedule until next month. I dropped Bootcamp to make room for more weight training. I see the best results with weights.

POST WORKOUT SMOOTHIE RECIPE:
Base of Chia Seeds, Cod Flax and Udo Oil. Date Sugar, Maca, Hemp Shake Protein Powder.
Chard, kale, Collard, Apple, Lemon, Tomatoes, Celery and Carrots.

This was Hardcore. Not sure I like Carrots in these Smoothies although I am excited to make a "V8" one of these days.

Then I came home and had a bowl of crack.

DAY 10

Yes I'm a procrastinator. There I admit it. But REALLY NOW. I cannot possibly recap the four days I missed blogging. But I did take pictures and kept myself on track. But first let's talk about today...

THURSDAY DAY 10
Went to sleep at 4:30am and woke up at 8am. Quick shower and off to work.
BREAKFAST SMOOTHIE:
Coconut Water, Flax,Udo Oils. Aloe Vera Juice. Maca, Raw cacao, Date Sugar, Sun is Shining, Banana, Apple, Lime, Cucumber, Parsley, Kale.

LUNCH:

Whole FOODS- Here I had a container of mixed cooked vegan and raw food. Saw cool Fruits andVeggies I never saw before in Produce section. Since I don't know how to manipulate pictures in Blogger yet those pics will be above. The first strange guy is called BUDDA HANDS. The name Buddha's Hands comes from when the "fingers" are folded tightly together to resemble hands in prayer. It is juiceless and its peel is quite fragrant. It is used for zest or scenting ones panty drawer (panty is the creepiest word ever not sure why I used it). It is also used as an offering in Buddist temples. When used as an offering it is prefered that its fingers are more "closed" as it is more like the hands are in prayer. Next was a Veggie called ROMANESCO which is like a broccoli cauliflower. It has the coolest shape as the tissue of the plant (meristems) makes a logarithmic spiral which is a special spiral curve that sometimes occurs in nature. Other examples of this are a snails shell, arms of galaxies and weather patterns. I should have bought this one. It was totally cosmic!!!

Daily Deliciousness Day 4

Today I only had one green smoothie. Tomorrow is another day : )
Maybe because its Friday and I have no plans I partied it up with the kettle corn and coconut ice cream. What I REALLY wanted was Gnosis Chocolate Simplicity but Whole Foods sucks up here.
Now I'm drinking Ginger tea and slowly ticking away at my to do list...

GREEN SMOOTHIE CHALLENGE DAY 4

This morning's smoothie didn't taste so great and it was errr... fluffy...but hunger will make you do amazing things. I need to start making better smoothies...I am all over the place with color and consistency. For some reason I cannot find my Victoria Boutenko book that has recipes. Strange how I knew exactly where it was before I had the Vita mix!

So I'm feeling good overall. Tons of energy although Holiday stress is starting to get too me. Sooooo overwhelming. Wouldn't be so bad if I had more dollars so here's to manifesting duckets...

BREAKFAST SMOOTHIE

Coconut water, Walnuts, Almonds, Agave, Flax oil, Udo's Oil, Salt, Sun is Shining, Aloe Vera Juice
Blended with Banana. Pineapple, Lemon, Bluberries Parsley, celery, carrot, Kale, Tomato, Maca, MSM.

Sad because I'm missing yoga but I think I will do a Zuzanna workout. She is my idol.

GREEN SMOOTHIE CHALLENGE
DAY 3

Lunch Smoothie

Base of Coconut water, walnuts, almonds, agave and spirulina. (I don't even know if I am doing this right. Should I be adding Spirulina after I has SIS at breakfast? Sometimes I feel like my head is going to explode from being overwhelmed) Blended with Apple, pineapple, lemon, chard, kale, collard, celery, carrots, parsley and a hunk of ginger.

This smoothie was HARDCORE. It came out so thick I had to add more coconut water. And I blended it for so long it was a bit too warm. Mental note: ICE CUBES STAT. I had everyone in the office do a "Green Shot" and one guy had a "Big Boy Glass". I just realized I talk to my co workers like I am their chainsmoking mom who bartends at the local dive. YES! Awesome. One guy looked like he was going to puke (wimp) and couldnt finish. Granted he never tasted a Green Smoothie in his life but we are of the sink or swim mentality over here.

I had to go to an event tonight and surprisingly they actually DID make me a vegan meal!!! Usually they go through the motions of asking ahead of time if anyone has any dietary restrictions and then you show up and WHAM! a slab o'beef is placed in front of you. I actually liked my big pile of roasted winter veggies. Most of it was a huge chunk of onion that I happily ate regardless of the rank breath it gave me. I wanted to take a picture but everyone thinks I'm crazy already so I refrained(but hopefully soon I will get over what everyone thinks of me and take pictures everywhere of everything I do and eat like a REAL blogger) So kudos to the chef at the Hilton and i guess thats what you get for $250 a plate....an ONION. I also had a small roll (sin!)

THEN I came home and had a bowl of Rao's marinara sauce. I can't help it. It is like crack. I feel that the happiness I am filled with when I eat it far outweighs any negative non organic qualities of the sauce itself. How can you top LOVE? exactly.

No workout tonight but did interval training on the way to Whole Foods at lunch (where I went to find an organic tomato and couldn't find a SINGLE one. Damn Whole Foods. Who said they can carry "conventional" things in the first place?) Then I did more interval training in a large parking lot next to my building and now I'm going to sleep. xo

GREEN SMOOTHIE CHALLENGE- DAY 3

Breakfast Smoothie

Base of Coconut water plus flesh, walnuts, Udo's oil, Cod liver oil and aloe vera juice. Blended with Pineapple, Banana, Blueberries, Sun is Shining, Sunfood Cacao Powder, Sun Warrior Protein, Maca, MSM, Agave, Salt

Daily Deliciousness DAY 2

*Edited* RAW Green Smoothie Challenge BEFORE PICTURES

I have challenged myself to a raw green smoothie challenge. So I bought a Vitamix 5200. And lots of organic fruits and veggies. Today is Day 3. I was supposed to start this blog 3 days ago along with a before picture....a slight fail you say? Nah I just didnt feel like doing it. Plus it was too hard to take pictures of myself in bad lighting and a questionable bikini. So I will recruit the help of a non judgemental photographer over the weekend. The Challenge is a 3 month Challenge but I decided to make it a 4 month challenge so I have one month to get it together. It's my challenge I can do what I want to.

THE CHALLENGE

1) Drink 2 Raw Green Smoothies a Day
2) Train according to "The New Rules of Lifting for Women" by Lou Schuler. (this book is interesting on a fitness level but horrendous on the diet front)
3) Yoga twice a week.
4) 20 mins. (interval) cardio daily


CURRENT LIFESTYLE

1) Drink smoothies occasionally after working out or in the morning for breakfast. Blend fruits and supplements in a $20 blender and choke it down.
2) Eat veggies, cooked and uncooked, and fish twice a month. Have not eaten dairy products, or any type of meat in two years. In love with MSM and Superfoods.
3) Train 3 times a week regularly. Tues/Thurs 1 hour Bootcamp 1 hour Boxing, Wednesday Yoga.

THE REASON

1)Over the past two years my skin has gone from great to bad to horrible. I am hoping that by upping my raw intake I will have better skin and achieve the raw "glow" I hear so much about. I have been naturally going in the raw food direction and figured this would be a fun way to test the waters.

2)On the fitness front I just want to be shredded. Seriously shredded. Before I die I would like a picture with a six pack.