Juice Fast Day #1

JUICE RECIPE OF THE DAY

Jingle Jam Juice

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8-10 medium sized carrots*

4 small gala apples* 

1/4 inch knob of ginger

1/4 of a lime (with peel)*

1/4 C. coconut water (optional)*

a dash of cayenne pepper (optional)*

*Organic ingredients

Training for Half Marathon - Days 61 to 64 + Recipe

Day 61 - Friday

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     Friday was to be ver rainy day. Fortunately the morning clear long enough for me to take a drive over to Johnson Park for a 40 minute run (approx. 4 miles). I just kept going and going until the rain came tumbling down. I think this was the moment I realized that I had officially become a running addict. 

I. LOVE. TO. RUN! :-D

     I was stuck spending the rest of my day indoors. Not to worry though because I kept myself occupied with my studies and Dance Dance Revolution 3. Hehe.

     That evening I made myself 2 quarts worth of OJ for the next day for breakfast and lunch. I don't know what came over me, but I suddenly wanted loads of citrus! Hehe.

Day 62 - Saturday

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     Saturday we were once again promised rain, but not until the later afternoon hours. From morning until about 3:40 p.m. the sky was blue, the sun was out, the sun was shining, and the weather was pleasently warm. On a day like this, how could I not spend as much of it as possible outside? So I took Charlie for a 23 minute run before heading to Dowtown Covingtion (lots of sidewalks and beautiful scenery) for 44 minutes of 4mph walking with some sprints.

Picked a dandelion. The grass was filled with them!

     That evening, since I  knew that Sunday was going to be a busy day for me (didn't help that I was still in major citrus craving mode), I made 2 more quarts of orange juice.

Day 63 - Sunday

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     By Sunday, most of my brother's food had run out  and the only place that carries most of what he likes is at Whole Foods. So my mom and I had to make a little trip. Unfortunately, the time change really through my body clock for a loop, and staying up later then I should have the night before didin't help. Anyway, it turned out that I accidently slept in for the first time in months, thus resulting in my mom and I getting off to a late start up to Whole Foods in Atlanta.Not to worry though, we made it there with little trouble and I got myself a lovely fruit juice (strawberry, blackberry, blueberry, grape, and apple).

     After getting home and putting my brothers food away, I felt like working out. Outside was a bit to wet and nippy for my taste so I played Dance Dance Revolution 3 for about an hour; you would not believe how much of a sweat you can work up playing that thing!

Day 64 - Monday

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     Todays training consisted of some weight training, followed by a 35 minute afternoon run in Dowtown Covington. The weather was lovely and I had my mom with me. She walked and I ran, and let me tell you that she is a brilliant cheerer. She kept me motivated to increase both my speed and distance on saying things like, "Go around again!" and  "One more time up the stairs!" Today makes me think that althoug I am nervous about the half marathon this Sunday, I really feel like I can do it.

     My eats for today:

• 4 C. Orange Juice
• 2 Chocolatete Sapote + 2 C. Strawberries, whole
• Green Smoothie (2 bananas, 3 mango, 3 huge handfuls of spinach)
• Smoothie/Pudding (10 bananas, 6 medjool dates)
• 1 C. blueberries + 2 C. Strawberries, whole

     What can I say? I was ravenous! :-D

Recipes

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      I've recently recieved a few comments requesting the recipe for my raw apple crumble. I would like you all to know that my mother and I are in the process of writing a recipe book/e-book, and recipe for my raw apple crumble will be in there, so at the moment I will not be posting it on my blog. I will however, leave you guys with my absolute favorite apple dish at the moment. I have been known to have this dish for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! LOL.

 

Caramel Apple Delight

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- 1 large Banana, very ripe

- 5 Medjool Dates

- 0.3 C. Coconut water (or filtered water)

- 0.25 Cinnamon (optional)

- 2 large sweet Apples, cored and chopped

 Put the first four ingredients into a blender and blend until it's a smooth and creamy sauce. Take the chopped apple and put it into a bowl. Pour the sauce on top of the apples, stir to mix, and devour!

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

Cold No More!!

     Ok, ever since last Friday the weather has been feeling WAY more like winter, and as a result, I have been feeling so COLD! I tried eating warming foods (ginger, hot peppers, greens ect.),drinking tea, and wearing warming clothing, but I couldn't lose the chill. 


     Today though was when I found a remedy. Since it has been much chillier outside I have avoided exercising outside, but today I gave myself a kick in the butt and told myself get out there and MOVE! So I bundled up, grabbed my iPod, hooked it up onto my brother's bike (he's so nice to let me borrow it whenever I want), and hit the road! 


     For 20 minutes I peddled as hard as I could before it started to rain and I had to go inside. But do you know what? Half way through my ride I actually wanted to take my jacket off because I was becoming quite warm. For the rest of today I haven't felt cold, at all! 


      I think the reason that going outside to exercise (even though it was cold) actually warmed my body up was because 1) exercising increases blood flow in the body which makes your body warmer and 2) going outside in the cold allows you body to start adapting to the colder environment after experiencing 4 months of warmer weather. I think I'm going to be exercising outside for the rest of this winter!


     In other news, I think I may have turned my brother Benjamin onto kombocha! He tried his first glass at our Thanksgiving dinner and he loved it. In fact tonight he came to my door and asked me if he could have the rest of my grape flavored kombocha. Of course I told him yes. Kombocha is loaded with antioxidants, probiotics, B vitamins (B12 included), and essential amino acids. I'm hoping that it will help him fight off his cold. I love my brother to death and just makes me so happy that we can both enjoy something that's healthy! :D

     I think that's all for today, except for a couple of pictures of what I had for lunch today. It was just so beautifully simple, bright, colorful, and delicious that I just wanted to share it with you all. My lunch just reminded me how refreshing and satisfying a raw plant based lifestyle can be.

Butterhead Lettuce, Orange Bell Pepper, 

Greenhouse Tomatoes, and Cucumber

A Sweet, Crisp, and Juice Gala Apple 

with a Handful of Dried Apricots