Better than Chocolate!

     I wasn't kidding when I said that all my Sapote ripened at once. After I got back to my room after making the video I posted last Friday I checked on my Chocolate Sapote again to find every single one of them ripe and ready to eat! To try and keep them from rotting I lined them up on my window sill so that the cold being radiated off of the windows would keep them cool. Needless to say I broke my fast the next day (Saturday) with some delicious "Chocolate" pudding; and oh man was it INCREDIBLE. Who needs cacao when you've got Chocolate Sapote? It was so good that the only thing I ate yesterday was my sapote.

     The recipe for my "Chocolate" pudding will be in my recipe book. I have all my recipes typed up. At the moment I'm just trying to get pictures of some of my best recipes before publishing. One of these pictures I am definitely going to use in my e-book. 

     And like I promised I will give you guys another juice recipe that I came up with during my juice fast. I created more than one but you will have to wait for my e-book to get the rest. However, the following juice I am posting was probably my favorite juice out of all of them; it was mostly because I love the taste of tropical fruit and also because it was probably the simplest and easiest juice to make.

Pineapple Greenie

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

- 2 ripe pineapple 

- 2 lbs. Organic spinach

Cut pineapple into long strips about an inch wide. 

Leave the skin on if your pineapple is organic and/or 

you have a juicer that can handle the skin, otherwise remove the skin.

Juice the the pineapple and the spinach my alternating between 

a couple spears of pineapple and a large handful of spinach (the pineapple

spears will push the spinach through). Strain juice and enjoy!

Juice Fast Day #1

JUICE RECIPE OF THE DAY

Jingle Jam Juice

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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

My Fun Filled Weekend

     This post was supposed to get published last night; however, I had to wait until I was able to upload all the pictures I wanted to share with you guys. This weekend was probably the BEST weekend I've had this school semester, and I hope to have more just as fun (or more fun) than this one.


Friday Afternoon/Evening/Night:

     Friday afternoon, after  classes, Jamie (my BFF) and I got to head out for my very first concert: The Songs and Stories Tour featuring Steven Curtis Chapman, Josh Wilson, and Andrew Peterson! Located at the Barrean Church, we got there early because we had purchased special tickets that allowed us to attend the soundcheck and ask Steven questions before the concert.

The soundcheck

The concert! =D

My armband to get into the soundcheck.

A tour poster signed by Steven Curtis Chapman!

  
     We got arrived at the church at 5:30 and didn't get back until 10:30, and the next day my voice was hoarse from screaming, singing, and the smoke machine...it was the best night EVER! The artists were such real and down to earth guys, and their incredible Christian music made for the perfect sabbath opening. I can't wait to go to another concert. =)

Saturday:


     On Sabbath I spent most of my day sleeping, watching TV shows on my computer, and doing a bible study with my mom over Skype. However, I did go for a long afternoon walk with Jamie. We spent approximately 90 minutes wandering around Lincoln staying on the look out for any good rentals, and checking out the cool architecture and landscape of the houses in the area.

I discovered, thanks to Jamie, that rose 

hips are edible and quite tasty.

Some people had really cool yard decorations. 

This one was my favorite - A bottle tree.

During are walk we finally got to see the rare black 

squirrel that we had heard lived here in Lincoln.

     I forgot my camera so the pictures above were taken on Jamie's phone, so the resolution isn't that great, but I think it still captures the awesomeness that was our walk.

Sunday:

     Sunday was mostly spent doing homework, but I made sure to make the time to workout. I swam 1.75 miles that morning at our school pool and cycled approximately 7.65 miles on my interval trainer while I did my assigned reading for my religion class. I also took a couple of homework breaks.

     After Jamie got out of her final Scuba class (she is now Scuba certified, you go Jamie!!) she treated me to a drink at a local coffee shop because she had won a free gift certificate for the place at work. 

Jamie had a double mocha latte made with almond mylk.

And I had an iced Yerba Mate tea.

Good Eats!


     I also ate very well over the weekend. I had lot's of fruity goodies, but my two favorites were the two scrumptious creations below.

 My new date sauce recipe with Honeycrisp apple slices.

 My latest tropical green smoothie creation!

     You can find out what is in these two recipes when my recipe e-book is released January 1, 2012.

     Until next time... eat fruit, run fast!

Florida Vacation

     It has been over a week since I returned from my vacation in Florida at my good friend Taylor's house. I really needed the break, and spending my time with fellow fruit loving and positive people just made it all the better.

Best dinner ever! A raw stew: heirloom tomatoes, 

sun-dried tomatoes, organic sweet corn, mango, dill, and okra.

Served with romaine leaves. Voila!

      I also got to experience fresh and perfectly ripe tropical fruits that were bursting with flavor.

Florida Papaya. . . such vibrant color!

My first time trying sapodilla. Like eating brown sugar. =D

And I spent plenty of time at the beach working on my tan. 

 Stayed out to long on the second day and got burned. However, it has now turned into nice golden brown, so I can't complain.

A bunch of us had a huge sweet corn eating contest. 

Between the five of us we consumed an approximate total of 90 ears of corn.

The awesome banana trees that Taylor had planted at his parents house. 

     Now that I am back home I've spent my days packing, training, and writing. I must say that getting ready to move has proved to be more of a job than I though it would be.

Georgia Publix Half Marathon: Go Vegan!

     Well I did it again! Yesterday morning I ran my 3rd half marathon, and although it didn't turn out quite the way I wanted it to, I still had a blast! =)

     This was the first race I got to run wearing my "Go Vegan" Organic Athlete's running outfit. All throughout the course I would hear "Go Vegan, woohoo!" being screamed from people on the sidelines. I also met several other vegan runners during the race and I had to pleasure of running across (pardon the pun) one of them after I finished the race, and she said that she would be visiting Organic Athlete's website to buy her own "Go Vegan" running outfit. It feels really good when you can encourage others to promote a healthy lifestyle.

     The weather Sunday morning was overcast, but the temperature (approx. 62-63 degrees) with a slight breeze made it the run very comfortable. My goal for this half was to finish in 2 hrs. or less, and halfway through the run I was running strong, and it looked like I was going to reach my goal, and that's when tragedy struck. During a particularly narrow and congested part of road, a runner tried to pass me, and accidentally bumped me, causing my to stumble and strain my ankle. My ankle hurt so badly, but I pushed through it and kept running, but I was forced to slow my pace down considerably in order to finish the race. It didn't help that this injury also affected my running form, which also led to irritating an old knee injury. My knee doesn't give me any problems when I run, unless my technique is poor.
Alas, the injury meant that I didn't meet my PR goal for this race, but I keep reminding myself that I was lucky to be able to finish the race at all, and I am grateful for that.

Just before the race.

After the race. In slight pain, and favoring one leg, but very happy indeed.

I so happy to see a fruit stand at the post-race festivities. It was the California Cuties Clementine Company. The employees were handing out free clementines, some to eat and some to snuggle with.

Stopped off at Whole Foods on the way home and picked up a Orange Blueberry juice to go. Nectar of the gods in a cup.

     My estimated race time given to me after I crossed the finish line was 2hrs. & 10 min. Today the results were posted online, and my official chip time turned out to be exactly 2:11:15. I was amazed that even though I didn't make my 2 hr. finishing goal, I still managed to set a new PR for myself even though I ran the last half of the course injured. I'm one lucky fruit loving girl! 

Spring is Coming, Spring is Coming!

     Today was my first day back from Spring Break, and what a beautiful day it was indeed. Classes kept me indoors for the first half of the day. However, this afternoon I was able to go for a short 4 mile trail run at Turner Lake Park. Turner Lake is probably my most favorite place to run because it's only 5 minutes away from my house, and the only other trail runs are 30+ minutes away. Today was perfect running weather: 72 degrees, a slight breeze, clear skies, and trails bursting with fresh spring flowers and greenery!

   Turner Lake's trails are a perfect place to work on increasing my running speed, strength, and endurance.  Today I chose to hilly route and aimed "power through" the hills, pushing to go as fast as I can up them, instead of slowing down (which is what my legs and lungs wanted me to do, but I told them no and kept going. LOL),

   After I got home and took a shower I had just enough time to grab a dozen dates before accompanying my mom to the grocery store. I had promised her that I was going to make her a special raw vegan dinner, and we were out of a couple ingredients that I needed. When we got back my mom was famished, so I quickly set to work on preparing some Jicama Nori Rolls.

   This delicious meal is salt free and 100% raw vegan, and best of all, my mom adored it! It's hard for me to come up with savory raw dishes that she likes, mostly because her taste and mine are so different. I was just so happy that I was able to concoct a recipe that was tasty, healthy, satisfying, and raw.

My mom is camera shy when it comes to putting her face on the internet.

 However she did allow me take a photo of her chopsticks, 

getting ready to tuck into her meal.

   This recipe will be featured in my our upcoming health & lifestyle/recipe book, as well as my LFRV recipe book. So stay tuned to find out the secret ingredients to my special Jicama pate! =)

   Now, once my mom was settled into her food, I wasted no time in whipping up a fruity green pudding smoothie.

Kiwi, Mango, and Spinach (a dinner that Popeye would love)

   The rest of my evening was filled with homework, returning emails, and working on my recipe book. It was only just a few moments ago that I realized how late it is; this time change had really thrown my internal body clock off. It's amazing what a difference just one our can make isn't it? Oh well, hopefully by the end of the week I'll be back "in tune" so to speak.

My "Chocolate" Pudding Three Day Weekend

     I just love weekends, particularly the ones that last three days instead of two. I spent all day Saturday relaxing. I slept in, laid in bed and read, took our family dog, Charlie, for a walk with my mom, and went crazy with my Chocolate (Black) Sapote. 

You remember this decadent fruit from my last post?

     I had bought quite a few sapote from jourdansbeautifulfood.com. However, unlike the last batch, these sapote ripened all at once. Yikes! Now don't get me wrong, I love eating massive amounts of sapote mono meal style, but after a while I was ready for a new spin on this scrumptious fruit. So I turned on my culinary creativity, went to work, and came up with this luscious meal that I dubbed. . .

Chocolate Silk Breakfast Pudding

     Despite its name, I love this meal so much that I have it for more than just breakfast. I often enjoy this pudding 2-3 times a day and as a result, I'm almost out of sapote. Oh no! I better go order some more. Chocolate Sapote only comes around once a year and I want to have my fill of it before the season ends.

Yum yum. . . eat em up! LOL 

Another meal that I have been enjoying 1-2 times a day lately is this tropical thirst quencher. . .

Punchy Pineapple Smoothie

     I just love how rich the color is because it gives the food the aesthetic appeal we humans often need to enjoy our meal. 

     The ingredients and prep work is really simple: take one ripe pineapple, chop it up, put pineapple pieces in the blender, add enough water to blend (I just use a splash of coconut water), and blend until frothy. That's it, your all done! Now just pour yourself a glass and enjoy. =D

     The rest of the weekend went well. By Sunday it was time to stock up on food, so the entire morning was spent making the Whole Foods and Farmer's Market rounds with my mom. I was really lucky that all my favorite fruits for the season were ripe (or almost ripe) and were being sold in bulk (it really saves me money). I ended up buying a box of large pineapple (6 pineapple), 2 boxes of persimmon (28), 2 lbs. of red grapes, 4 Organic red mango, 15 lbs, Organic bananas, and 2 Organic Hawaii Papaya (score!). I also got a bunch of greens and un-sweet fruit (e.g. tomato, bell pepper, cucumber) for giant dinner salads.

     Today(Monday) went less smoothly then the rest of the weekend. My college classes are supposed to start tomorrow and this morning all the classes I had registered for have somehow managed to unregister themselves and I can't seem to get them back. Hopefully someone in the administration office can help me get that sorted out tomorrow morning. 

     Then this afternoon I accidentally drove all the way to the gym and back with my emergency brakes on. I feel like such an idiot about that. I'm just praying that I didn't total the emergency break. *sigh* I guess I'll find out when I have the car checked out later in the week. *chuckles* The things that life throws at you huh? I just do what the penguins did.

     Well, it's getting late and I have a full day tomorrow, but before I wrap this post up, my weekend workouts:

Saturday

• Day off - 20 minutes walking dog and 20 push-ups

Sunday

• 8 miles cycling - avg. 16 mph pace
• 1 hour of yoga (my 2nd class and my arms are still feeling it!)
• 20 push-ups

Monday

• 1 hour run - 6 miles - avg. 6 mph pace