Sweet Tart Smoothie

2 cups water
3 bananas
1 red delicious apple
1 orange
1 lemon
2 cups lacinato kale
1 handful cilantro
2 medjool dates
1 cup frozen peaches
1 tsp goji powder
1 tsp maca powder
1 tsp vanilla sun warrior protein
1 tsp spirulina
2 tbs cod liver oil

As always remember the process: liquid lower-fruit first-supplements second-grind then greens-frozen finale.

xoxoxoChris

The brighter they shine, the darker night falls

Just when you think you know yourself,someone, in one second, can take you back to the person you thought you had finally left behind. Where in one moment you can be jerked back into the old metal rusty familiar grooves of that evil roller coaster, scooping you up violently off the ground, up and down, round and round, shaking up everything you are. Leaving you with a lump the size of a golf ball lodged in your throat and hands shaking as they attempt to continue chopping vegetables as if everything is ok. No matter how much good we do, no matter how far we evolve, how beautifully we blossom we are all so quick to believe it is all a sham. Because deep down we feel we are bad. We believe that THAT perhaps is our true self. The ugly past that no one sees. The monster that lies beneath. Our inner child that is told NO, reprimanded for being BAD, left without a voice, the only action that of REACTION. A broken spirit of much repression, weakness, powerlessness, anger, out of which a tough exterior is born. Why couldn't I just laugh? Or just mind my own business? Surely I would feel better now? Silent but safe as the walls crowd around me and I can't breathe. Blaring mantras to drown out the mocking daily evening sounds of normalcy. Instead I reacted. Badly. Furious and venomous that he treat someone so terrible. His misplaced anger igniting a fire from deep within me, propelling me forward, my feet not mine, my voice,someone else. But who was I sticking up for? Myself 20 years ago? Finally big enough to protect others from his bullying? I can't take back my words. My energy is dark and heavy, my eyes unable to see through the blur of angry tears that just wont fall. Ashamed that he actually went to throw something at me. Ashamed that I can elicit such a reaction from someone who is supposed to love me most. And I wonder why I can never fully trust, or depend, or feel safe because really anyone can turn on a dime. And it scares me. And I feel now that I might not ever recover from these thousand steps taken backwards. That I need to run far, far,far away. But that, after all, is what brought me here in the first place.

Fish Heads, Fish Heads, Roly Poly Fish Heads, Fish Heads, Fish Heads, Eat them Up. YUM.

Pic from www.tapirback.com

Today my krill oil shipment came in and I am stoked. I got a great price which I will link at bottom. Everyone should be taking fish oil. Since krill oil is more readily bio available (which means you have to take less yay!), does not repeat on you (burping, flatulence, bad breath oh my!) and it assimilates into the blood stream as opposed to the gut...I see many benefits to choosing krill over cod liver oil or other fish oils although to be honest I will still take cod liver oil in addition to my krill oil bc a)I dont have any bad reactions in processing fish oil and b)it is an inexpensive way to get fat in me as my diet is fat deficient and I am trying to tweak that. And if you dont believe me here is a far more intensive and intelligent bit of info on krill oil.

Krill oil, logically enough, comes from krill, which are small, shrimp like crustaceans that inhabit the cold ocean areas of the world, primarily the Antarctic and North Pacific Oceans. Despite their small size–one to five centimeters in length–krill make up the largest animal biomass on the planet. According to Neptune Technologies, the Canadian company that holds the patent for krill oil extraction, there are approximately 500 million tons of krill roaming around in these northern seas, 110,000 tons of which are harvested annually.
Krill oil, like fish oil, contains both of the omega-3 fats eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA), but hooked together in a different form. In fish oil these omega-3 fatty acids are found in the triglyceride form whereas in krill oil they are hooked up in a double chain phospholipid structure. (The fats in our own cell walls are in the phospholipid form.) Attached to the EPA leg of the phospholipid is a molecule of astaxanthin, an extremely potent anti-oxidant. The phospholipid structure of the EPA and DHA in krill oil makes them much more absorbable and allows for a much easier entrance into the mitochondria and the cellular nucleus. In addition to EPA and DHA krill oil contains a complex phospholipid profile including phosphatidylcholine, a potent source of reductive-stress-reducing choline, which also acts as a natural emulsifier.

Krill oil contains vitamin E, vitamin A, vitamin D and canthaxanthin, which is, like astaxanthin, a potent anti-oxidant. The anti-oxidant potency of krill oil is such that when compared to fish oil in tems of ORAC (Oxygen radical absorptance capacity) values it was found to be 48 times more potent than fish oil.

The astaxanthin found in krill oil provides excellent protection against ultravoilet light and UV-induced skin damage. It was for this reason that I started taking krill oil to begin with–I only discovered its other virtues later on.

A number of studies have shown that krill oil is tremendously effective in reducing LDL-cholesterol, raising HDL-cholesterol, and lowering blood sugar. It has been shown to be effective in treating the pain and inflammation from rheumatoid arthritis and aches and pains in general. One large study showed that krill oil has tremendous benefits in terms of symptom reduction in PMS and dysmenorrhea. And it has been shown to be effective in the treatment of adult ADHD. In all these studies krill oil was tested against fish oil and not simply a placebo.

Due to the rapid absorption of krill oil and the high anti-oxidant content there is virtually never the fishy burping and aftertaste sometimes experienced with fish oil. And there are no other side effects to speak of. The jury is out right now on if and to what degree there is a problem for those people allergic to shrimp. Until the jury is in, I would be careful in taking krill oil if I had a shrimp allergy.

Are there any downsides to this miracle substance? Only one. It is a little more pricey than fish oil, but, as with all things, you get what you pay for. Virtually all krill oil is produced by Neptune Technologies and shipped to the various supplement manufacturers, so any krill oil you get will have come from the same place and be the same dosage. The only unknown is how long it has been sitting around in a warehouse somewhere, which is, of course, the same unkown with fish oil. At least with krill oil, thanks to the high anti-oxidant content, the shelf life is much longer.

One last thing. I neglected to mention in my previous post that popping a couple of fish oil and krill oil caps don’t give the same immediate relief as popping a NSAID. It takes a while–a couple of weeks in my case–for the fish oil/krill oil to provide the same degree of pain relief as the NSAID. So, the take home message is: don’t take your first dose and compare it to the relief you got with a dose of NSAID. If you do, you will not believe the program works and will probably think me an idiot. It takes a while, so give it time. In the study I mentioned in the last post, the subjects took the fish oil for two weeks along with their NSAIDs, then tapered off the drugs and treated their pain with the fish oil alone.
from the Blog of Michael Eades MD

http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/uncategorized/why-krill-oil/

Dr Weil also supports it...
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA400239/Consider-Krill-Oil.html

I got mine for a great price...$15 a bottle(it doesnt show the discount price until u put it in ur cart)

http://www.amazon.com/Source-Naturals-NKO-Softgels-softgels/dp/B000GFJK0U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1274804034&sr=8-1

GREEN SMOOTHIE LOVE: ENGLAND EDITION

This May I made the life changing decision to enroll in one of the most amazing, awe inspiring schools, The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. So I have been a little busy. I was thinking of sharing my experiences at IIN and blogging about what I learn, as I feel that the people teaching there and those that are in the program are among the most important people effecting society right now, considering the health crisis we are facing. This weekend we were taught by Dr. Andrew Weil, Joy Bauer, Barry Sears, AnnMarie Colbin and Patricia Moreno.



I've also been a little busy with a certain boy. Everyone meet Will.





Im going to visit him in England in a couple of weeks. Chrispricious will take you along for the ride. We are going to make a video on how to make a Chrispriciouslishious Green Smoothie so look out for that. Here is proof that you dont need an expensive blender to make an awesome green smoothie! Will is feeling the Green Smoothie Love. Even further expressed by his creative yard work today! Mc Elliot is our nickname for each other....a fusion of our last names.
xoxoxoChris

Dumpster Diving at Trader Joe's

Tonight I ran into Trader Joe's fifteen minutes before they were closing. While I was picking through the apples, a young man who worked there was taking bananas and throwing them in a cart. He worked hesitantly and an older man, who I can only assume was his manager, started barking at him to "Just get rid of all the ones that are bad! Think of it as if it was your home. Would you want these on your table? Treat this the same way." When I looked over at the young man our eyes locked and I made a face that said "Jeez! Calm down mister." The man smiled and said "It's so hard because these are just getting good!"as he motioned to the 100 or so bananas filling up his huge cart. And he was absolutely right. The bananas were yellow with smallish brown spots. They were at the ripeness in which they are sweetest and, in both of our opinions, the best! On the bottom of the cart, underneath the gorgeous bananas, were 20 or so perfect looking gala apples. I started to get a sick knot in my stomach picturing all these beautiful fruits dumped in the trash. "This is terrible!" I said. He agreed and whispered that he doesn't understand why they can't donate them to a shelter or lower the price so people can buy them still. He said he brings it up but they are not allowed. I was totally flabbergasted and it was in that exact moment that I gained clarity and understanding towards a subculture of people I have in the past dismissed as wacky, extreme and beneath me...Dumpster Divers. So of course I asked him if they have people that Dumpster Dive there and he said yes and he always feels so bad for them. When I did a little research at home I found that Trader Joes is a Dumpster Diver favorite and is "known for throwing out the most usable food."He told me a story of one homeless man who was diving there around the holidays. He spoke with the man and inquired about his situation. It was quite simple: the man had lost his job, could not pay his rent and had no place to sleep and no money to buy food. This can and IS happening to many people here in America EVERY SINGLE DAY. We seem to draw a line between "us" and "them" when the reality is that life can turn up or down for anyone of us at any time. As I stood there talking to him as he sadly plunked another banana into the cart I had the overwhelming desire to leave my basket filled with green bananas and unbruised apples and wait outside in the dark-my car running nearby- and grab the amazingly FREE, beautifully clean, perfectly ripe-and-ready-for-my-Vitamix edible dumpster treasures. But I didn't. Instead I gathered even more items, waited on line and forked over 108 bucks.Why? Because I was too embarrassed to ask the guy if I could have the stuff he was going to throw out anyway. Why? I'm not sure why. And I think when I start to unearth the answers to WHY they are going to be far reaching, deeply ingrained and messy. Most of us are taught, especially through the media, that being a consumer has value. That what we spend and not what we can afford somehow defines us and as a result can either fill us with a false sense of pride or a bad case of the mean reds. Isn't the larger question though, why are grocery stores (and dunking donuts and starbucks the list goes on and on and on) throwing out perfectly good food when we have people with no food to eat down the block? Or at the very least, why not mark it down so that people who cannot normally afford organic prices can have the opportunity to buy it on sale? Are the poor not worthy of good food? Or clothing? Are we going out of way to deny people of their basic needs? It reminds me an article I recently read about H&M and Walmart throwing out clothes. To make matters worse they were destroying the clothes before throwing them out to make them unwearable. WHAT is going on? We would rather destroy the clothes than let the person who digs through and finds them be able to make use of them and wear them? It even took the New York Times multiple attempts to even get a response from the retailer. Everyone is defining themselves as "Green" but it is all bullshit. A very BASIC "Green" practice would be to donate food and clothes instead of wasting them and adding millions of trash filled plastic bags that will pollute our water and land. It's called basic RECYCLING. Everyone is recycling bags and plastic containers but the simplicity of reusing food and clothes you were going to sell for profit is lost on them. The practices of Trader Joe's, along with H&M and Walmart are continuing along a toxic path that they are adamantly "saying" and constantly praising themselves for not walking on. You are talking the talk. Now walk the walk. And remember that "Green" doesn't just stand for dollars.

My Ebay Site

DAY 56




I can't believe it is Day 56 of the Green Smoothie Challenge! Although I am no longer calling it Challenge as that sub consciously signifies "work" and difficulty. So NOW we say Green Smoothie LOVE. A lot has been happening. i have so much info it is incredible but it is almost 3am and I have to get some sleep. One of the reasons I havent been blogging lately is that I was busy setting up this. Come shop with me!

Bellydancing

DAY 12 (But really it is Day 43 including the Pre Challenge...maybe I will count those. yes actually I am.

DAY 43




I had a soul reading done by an amazing person Bente Hansen. She told me many things about my life and what I was going to do in the future. I always wonder about the future because right now I am not where I want to be. I think that is a hard thing to admit and it may sound sad but I don't think it is negative or counterproductive to be aware of certain facts. I think it means I am growing and evolving to be aware that I am not living up to my potential and desire more...much more for myself..and through this meeting with Bente some of my secret wishes were said out loud...by her not me...and it was scary and exhilarating and motivating and just WOW. She also does past life readings and told me that in my past life I lived in India. Therefore when Kimay (KO?) gave me a Bellydance DVD for Christmas I was like OH YEAH BABY I can totally rock this thing. So tonight I tried it for the first time and it is so fun it's crazy. These girls are gorgeous. In the video they are soft and voluptuous but it must be old because the pics on their website show them as super skinny and hard bodied. I like them old school better. Anyways it runs about 30 minutes and I was in a huge sweat. But I am terrible. I mean TERRIBLE. I should have taken into account that I was a MAN in that past life. AND a follower of Gandhi. After belly dancing I did a Core workout with the Exercise Ball. Kathy Smith is an evil woman but damn her workouts rock. The Ball workout is just a Bonus on this DVD. I HIGHLY recommend the other workouts on here as they are so good you won't be able to walk the next day. So this will be my Mondays from now on...workout videos. Fun, convenient and I don't have to shave my armpits. Tonight: Bellydanced, Core Ball Workout, Cleaned and lined Kitchen Cabinet, Washed Dishes, Steeped a Huge Jar of Oat Straw, Soaked Chickpeas for tomorrows Hummus, Prepared bag of old clothes for my friend to have, Altered a Forever 21 tshirt, Made a salad with a nuts balls amazing Thai Dressing from Linda in the Raw, Washed dishes again, Sewed button on a Versace ski coat I will be selling on my ebay next week, Bought Belly Dance Hip Belt.

Food for this week. First time buying raw honey.

DAY 5

Today was one of my favorite days ever. I think it is because last night I watched the Secret. I have the original version before all the drama. I haven't watched it for awhile as I am always lending it out but last night my cable was out so I popped it in and WOW I missed all the Secret goodness. I am a huge fan of Mike Dooley and look forward to my message from the Universe every single day. I saw him a few months ago in NYC and he is a wonderful speaker. I haven't figured out the fitness part of the GSC (Green Smoothie Challenge) yet and my procrastination is interesting to me. I usually fight the things I need most so I think I need to just jump into it and stop reading/researching etc. I mean let's be real there are some total knuckleheads out there in sick shape (um anyone watching a certain beach town on mtv lately cough cough) so I should stop being so intellectual about it. I'm just wasting time. I'm finding it hard to schedule yoga/boxing and weight training as they all conflict and if I do them all I won't have days off for my body to repair. Anyway today at WF a certain green was calling out to me so I bought it. When I got home I looked it up and it was Frisee and is an antioxidant and adds moisture to skin. I was like WHOA as that is exactly what my body needs right now. I immediately felt bad for making fun of a video I saw the other day on Intuitive Cooking. If you don't know what that is it is when someone picks ingredients intuitively or by "feel".... which means in the dark/eyes closed/blindfolded and then makes a meal. That'll show me to judge others! Universe: 1 Chris: 0.

OFFICIAL CHALLENGE

DAY 2 (Officially)
During my Pre Challenge month I stuck to my green smoothie commitment 29 days out of 31. Not bad. I didn't do the exercise regimen full on but worked out about 2-3 times a week. Not too bad. Yesterday (Happy New Year!) when I weighed/measured myself I was exactly the same as I was Pre Pre Challenge. BAD. I have to admit I feel quite disappointed and a bit unmotivated. Although I am a big fan of the amazing health benefits it doesn't hurt to see some proof of all my hard work. Emotionally I have seen changes and SKIN-WISE I am a hot mess. Emotionally I felt crazy amazing beautiful energy. I was like omg THIS is the person I was meant to be...this is my true self! yay! Sleep? who needs sleep? Then like the last week I started crashing but I would still say I got lots of energy from the green smoothies. I also felt my ADD increase ten fold. I'm not sure if it is because I am detoxing and a lot of emotions come out but it certainly has gotten ugly at times but most times I felt fantastic. The mood swings were a lot so I did those around me a big favor and spent a lot of time alone. I must say I truly enjoy being by myself with my computer, my iphone and my books. I just wish there were more hours in the day. Anyway I also have these red splotches that began appearing...I seem to have a new one every few days. I have about 8 on both legs, 2 on my stomach and one on my back. I would post pics but that is just too much information.They dont itch or anything but it is unsightly and disturbing. I have a dermatologist appointment Wednesday. So now I need to make adjustments and do some more reading. tonight I am ordering a couple of Ann Wigmore and Victoria Boutenko books and a few others that will help guide me with the green smoothies. I am also taking MSM and a lot of maca...not sure if I am having these side effects because of these. Either way I am going to give this tons of time I mean THINK ABOUT IT. I have been eating crap and abusing my body for 90% of my lifetime thus far. I think I will allow a little transition time!!! Geez with me! Always wanting everything and wanting it yesterday. Tonight I am going to lay out my daily plan. I bought a binder to keep me on track. Even though I love the computer I need to actually write things down on paper in order to keep myself sane. I am a big believer in lists. Everyday I write a list. If it's not written on my list it doesnt get done. It is one way I try to control my ADD and for the most part it is successful. So I am going to tweak the challenge once I figure out what my game plan is going to be. I will hopefully have that up and running this week. One thing I have to be sure to do is NOT stress myself out over this. I tend to have a perfectionist complex which can be very annoying. In the past I have only done things that I was "good" at. Things that were safe. You know what this translates into? BORINGNESS. And yes that's a word. So now I try to challenge myself a lot but man it is hard. That is why I am sticking with boxing. I am pretty terrible at it but I keep plugging away. I think it is really fun and exciting but I find it near impossible to remember the combinations and do the footwork at the same time and sparring is my least favorite. I feel bad for the other people in class that have to partner up with me. Thank goodness they are all sweet and really helpful. One of the changes I am going to make is to write down EVERYTHING that goes into my mouth because I know I have selective memory when it comes to that (What bar of dark chocolate? Ohhhh the one I inhaled while making a nutritious green smoothie? And those two avocados I was having every day for a week? Its good fat not magical-I-don't-count-and -you-won't-gain-weight-fat) Like Kimay said today at Whole Food "ummm you mean everything in here isn't healthy?" Sadly no...but your positive attitude will surpass all! Think thin!.
xoxo