Market Day Bounty

     
     Went to the Dekalb Farmer's Market and Rainbow Natural Groceries Store for weekly produce. What a buy when I go depends upon the season and the quality of the produce, however, this is a list of what I bought.


- 2 Large Papaya
- 1 Medium Organic Jackfruit
- 1 Medium Durian
- 2 Small Honeydew Melon
- 1 Medium Watermelon
- 10 lbs. Organic Oranges
- 1.5 lbs. Organic Medjool Dates
- 20 lbs. Organic Bananas
- 2 Limes
- 20 Organic Mangos
- 2 16oz pkg. Organic Grape Tomatoes
- 2 16oz pkg. Blueberries
- 0.5 lbs. Organic Sundried Tomatoes
- 32fl.oz Raw (unpasteurized) Coconut Water
- 2 8oz pkg. Raw Probiotic Coconut Yogurt (a little goes a long way in smoothies)
- A treat - 1 small jar of Raw Hawaiin Lau Flower Honey
- 6 33.8fl.oz Penta Water Bottles


     This all cost me about $120. I usually spend around $80-$90 on one of thses trips, but I needed some higher priced items (i.e. Raw Honey, Coconut Yogurt, and Penta Water) this time around.


     I didn't purchase any greeens this time around as I still have about 5lbs. of leafy green still in my fridge that need to be devoured before I need more, and this time I've got acoupon for Organi greens!! :-D


P..S. A picture of me with my fruity snowman of the winter!

Training for Half Marathon - Day 32 & 33

Day 32 - Thursday

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    Thursday was an intense day for me training wise. I spent 15 minutes in the morning doing some stretching and vigorous weight lifting (I was really panting by the end of it) before I had to get showered and dressed so I could get my daily chores and studies done before my 2:30 chiropractic appointment.

     When 2:30 finally rolled around I got my regular adjustment and electro-heating therapy. Afterwards it was time for my physical therapy with 15 minutes of the leg curl weight machine. I managed 100 front leg reps (10 sets) for both legs , alternating between 20 and 25 lb. weights, as well as 50 back leg reps (5 sets) for each leg using 15 lb. weights.

     As soon as I got home I went for a 20 minute run around my neighborhood. I had to slow down to a fast walk on occasion to catch my breath. It's very hard to run in my neighborhood because it is made up almost entirely of steep hills, so running the whole time is near impossible for me at this point. And later that same evening, I accompanied my mom around the neighborhood for a 20 minute moderately brisk walk while wearing 2 lb. ankle weights.

     My daily eats for this day was 2935 calories, almost 3000 calories! Let me tell you I needed every bite and I had:

• 3 Honeydew Melon

• Spicy Spinach Mango Smoothie

1. Put the coconut water & the spinach in the blender.

2. Cut up the mango.

3. Put the mango in the blender.

4. Precede to use teeth to scarp and eat remaining Mango fruit on pit and peel. :-D

5. Add chopped Banana.

6. Blend!

7. Pour, drink, and enjoy!

• Happy "Caramel" Bars (just take a bite of banana with a bite of Medjool Date)

• The last two thirds of my durian

My mom and brother can't stand the smell, so I partook of my heavenly bounty on our back porch.

• 12 Clementines (no pic)

• 1 Personal sized Sugar Baby watermelon. 

Day 33 - Friday

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     I woke up this morning with very sore and stiff legs and arms! But after stretching for about 10 minutes I was just sore. LOL! So I decided to that since it was a little over a week since a I had a true rest day, without any type of intense physical exertion, I settled down in my room to study. 

     Around 2 pm I took a break and came out to get some lunch (A Minty Papaya Smoothie) to discover that it had begun to snow! :-D Around, 3pm, when it became clear that the snow was not going to stop, my family and I  immediantely went out to run some last minute errands before the roads got to icey. 

Even Charlie got dusted! Hehe...

 I hope everyone out there has a wonderful weekend. I know what I'll be doing. . . making a snowman!!!

Training for Half Marathon - Days 29 & 30

Day 29 - Monday

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     At 10:30 am I went to my regular chiropractic appointment to get my bones popped, have my electro-heating pad treatment, and my physical therapy. Afterwards, I helped my mother on some errands before coming home and made her some of my famous Rawslaw. WIth this recipe she made herself this lovely all low-fat, all raw masterpiece!

Doesn't it look oh so gorgeous and scrumptious?! ;-D

     The rest of the day was spent doing the usual chores around the house and my CSNN studies. However, around 3:30 that afternoon I felt up to a light run. So, I took my mom outside with me (it was bright and sunny, just the way I like it!). We both went for a fast 4 mph walk with one of our dogs, Charlie, while I did 2 minute sprints every other minute or so for 20 minutes. I could have gone linger if I wanted but I had done strength training on my legs in physical training with the leg curl machine. I didn't want to overdo it. The last thing I want to do is strain something, preventing me from training and thus, preventing me from running my half marathon. Yikes!

Day 30 - Tuesday

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     Nothing really interesting happened today except for treating myself to some Durian! Man I love that stuff, but I can rarely afford to buy it with my food budget, however, this time around at Farmer's Market, the price was reasonable enough that I splurged! I was only able to eat about a third of the Durian though, it may be delicious, but it is quite a rich fruit. I put the rest in an air tight jar in the refrigerator for later in the week.

     I didn't go for a run today, instead I made this my weight training/do the heavy duty chores around the house today. I cleaned my bathroom, the kitchen, my room, swept, dusted, and did some laundry. When I finally burned off most of the energy I got from my breakfast, I settled into my CSNN studies until around 2:30. I spent the rest of the afternoon with my dear friend Terra. So all in all, a pretty nice day.

Training for Half Marathon - Days 26 & 27 + Food Intake

Day 26 - Friday

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     Friday was rain, rain, and more rain! My exercise routine was reduced to 15 minutes of weight training  and a 20 minute 4 mph walk. Like a mentioned in my previous post I had planned to go swim laps, but my mom wanted to go to the mall for some indoor speed walking. She didn't want to go alone so I decided to join her instead of going swimming. 

Day 27 - Saturday

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     Today was overcast and a bit on the chilly, but no rain! You all know what that means right? I got to go for my run!! :-D I went to my local park and went for a vigorous and refreshing 30 minute (3.5 mile) run. Today was my best running-before-needing-to-walk-for-a-minute-to-catch-my-breath time. I was able to run for 7 min. and 20 sec. before needing a brief rest walk before starting up my run again. Considering that the trail terrain at the park is rough, with lot's of ups and downs, I would say that's doing pretty good! I also did 10 minutes of weight training, 5 minutes of stretching, and 8 minutes of dancing to my iPod.


     My plan for the marathon is to try to up my running-without-stopping-to-walk-to-catch-my-breath time to at least 20 minutes. That way I can pace myself during the half marathon (20 min. running with 3-5 min. walking), thus maintaining a steady and constant pace towards the finish line.

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     Eating nothing but raw fruits and vegetables (with sparing amounts of nuts and seeds), having a rather speedy metabolism, on top of being quite active as well, I have to eat a lot, and I love that I can do that! :-D

For example today I ate:

•  2.5 Cups Blueberries
• 14 Clementines
• Green Smoothie (3 C. Mango, 1 C. Frozen Banana, 2 C. Spinach, 0.5 Cups Coconut Water,  Stevia)     

    

• 3 Fuyu Persimmons
• Mint Papaya Smoothie (4 C. Papaya, 2 Large Bananas, Handful of Mint, Juice from 0.5 Lime, 0.5 Coconut Water, Vanilla, and Stevia)
• 2 Large Bananas + 3 Medjool Dates

     Consuming this much food is usual for me and I enjoy every mouthful. To be honest with you, a year ago, I would NOT be able to eat all this food. When I first transitioned to this diet I wasn't able to eat all that much food, in fact I was barely able to maintain my weight as I could only consume 1300 - 1500 calories a day. It took about three month for my body to adjust up to 1600 - 1800 calories a day. This January, with the increase of my activity level, I now easily consume anywhere between 2200 - 2650 calories a day. 

Training for Half Marathon - Days 24 & 25

DAY 24 - Wednesday

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     Wednesday was the day of my brothers 16th birthday. My mom and I got up early to drive into Atlanta to get food supplies from Whole Foods. When we arrived home my mom and I spent an hour or so in the kitchen whipping up some treats. We baked an apple pie for my brother and I made a raw apple crumble.

      I was  able to spend a few hours working on some CSNN work and catch up on some of my emails before heading out with my family to the theater to see Sherlock Holmes. My brother had been begging for us to go see this movie since it first came out, so my mom and I decided to grant him a birthday wish.

     Sadly, my day was kept so busy that I was unable to go for a run on Wednesday. I did, however, manage to squeeze in 15 minutes of weight training before bed. I was just glad knowing that my brother had a wonderful birthday! :-)

DAY 25 - Thursday

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     Today was rough. I woke up bright an early (6 a.m.) and promptly consumed two small honeydew melon while working on the computer. At around 7:30 a.m. I went for a half hour run before it started to rain, so I came home and did 10 minutes doing weight sets before taking a shower.

     After getting dressed I then proceeded to consume a cold, sweet, refreshing, and creamy Minty Papaya Smoothie and five Fuyu Persimmons. Yum yum! :-D

Minty Papaya Smoothie

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- 4 C. Papaya, chopped

- 2 C. Banana, choppes, frozen

- 1 large handful of Mint, fresh

- 1 Tbs. Raw Honey

- 2 Tbs. Raw Probiotic Coconut Yogurt

- Juice from half a lime

- 2 Tsp. Vanilla Extract

- 1/2 C. Coconut Water

Blend until smooth and fell sweet, clean, & fresh!

     

     At 2:30 p.m. my mom and I went to out chiropractic appointments. The doctor popped my my neck (didn't realize I was so tense until he did that! LOL) and then popped my back and hips before  putting the electro-therapy patches with the heating pads on my lower back. 

     While my mom underwent the same electro-message therapy, I was doing 15 minutes of leg strengthening exercises using a leg curl machine. The doctor thinks that this will help with the knee aching. I'm going to see what a month of this does for me.

My mom undertaking her electro-message therapy with heating packs to cause relaxation.

This device is similar to the leg curl machine at my chiropractor's office.

 

          Tomorrow will be raining again, so I believe I might go for a swim at the local indoor pool. My mom and I are also hoping to set a date to drive up to Kentucky to check up on our land. It's been a couple years so it's probably overgrown. Maybe I'll actually get to meet the some of the Amish who live in the area! :-D