Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Meet Flighty Whitey

Just remembered I promised a pic of my new bike and didn't deliver. So,
here she is. And yes, I'm pretty sure it's a she...

Thursday, March 19, 2009

So much for that...

Since Monday, I've been following Brendan Brazier's Thrive diet. It's about 90-95% raw. The pizzas and burgers are baked and the rest is salads, energy bars, and smoothies. But today, since I didn't make a salad last night and was planning on going to spinning this morning, I decided to break out of the mold and have the Thursday special: Mexican Tortilla Soup and a side salad from the small lunch café across the way. Be clear, this is no ordinary soup. It's thick and spicy, it's homemade and it's vegetarian. No, it's not vegan, although I could probably order it so. Before adding in the soup, my friendly server adds a quarter fresh avocado, toasted tortilla strips, and buffalo mozzarella. Then, she tops if off with a little sour cream. Yes, I love this soup. But apparently, it doesn't do my body good.

I've been feeling pretty good this week. No midday blackouts, no crazy hunger pains. But right now, about an hour to 90 minutes after I finished my lunch, all I want is a nap. I thought I could feel the blood leaving my brain to rush to my stomach right after I finished, but figured it was just my imagination. Guess I was right. Good to know. Oh, and the tortilla strips where the first refined thing I'd had all week, so maybe gluten also isn’t my thing. I'm going to continue my informal test to see if I'm allergic to it or even have celiac (sp?) disease. My mom, too. Ok, tea time...

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Update...

I'm here at work, not doing much, and realized I'm behind on my blogging. So, here I am, catching up. But where to start?

I got a bike. A real, honest to goodness, cycling, just waiting for some aero bars and clip less pedals, bike. I have a pic on my phone that I'll upload in a bit.

I'm reading Thrive by Brendan Brazier. I've been kind of frustrated by a lot of the raw food books out there in that they're really vague when it comes to how you should fit a raw vegan diet around a dedicated fitness program. Brendan's diet isn't strictly raw, but has just enough cooked food to keep away the cravings. And it's high quality cooked food, like quinoa and baked veggies. A lot of his recipes could probably be put in the dehydrator, too, since they're so simple. I went a little crazy with the cooking on Sunday and made the Sunflower Beet Pizza, which was great, pic to follow. I also made an Avocado Cayenne salad which was pretty good. I have a couple types of burgers that I haven't dug into yet. I also made 3 types of energy bars. They taste ok but I don't like the consistency. I want them to be firmer. Maybe they need to be dehydrated, too.

That's all for now. I'll have more when I remember what I meant to write about in the first place...

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

3rd Time's the Charm?

Well, I'm officially in it. I'll be as raw as possible for the next 30 days at least. My homegirl, M, is back with me, too. Call it Spring Cleaning, if you will. I started this morning and was doing pretty well. Until a wave of nausea just about smacked me in the face. Not only was I vomiting, but I was seeing spots. Scary. I had a craving for something salty. What is the raw equivalent to saltines? I skipped my workouts (I plan on making them up over the week to keep the chain intact) and will be in bed very soon.

Anywho, I think it might have been the VitaMineral Green. The same thing happened last Tuesday (remember the green smoothie incident) and that's the only common thread. It supposedly doesn't need to be refrigerated and doesn't really go bad but maybe I shouldn't keep it on top of my fridge.

So now I'm looking for new superfood/sea veggie/green powder options. Suggestions?

Monday, March 2, 2009

The one day I watch Oprah...

Usually I'm at work around 4pm, counting the minutes until I'm free of the office. But today, we've gotten about 6 inches of snow and I was rewarded with a snow day. Oh the joy! But the hours have flown by and in between keeping up with my work email, I haven't done much of anything except make tea and clean the snow off my car.

Meanwhile, in the land of the Oprah, the show is all about how much you can do without. And I'm a big fan of this. Granted, I realize that I live a much more simple life than the people sampled on the show, but I still am an American, so I tend to accumulate stuff.

Since going raw, I've cut a lot of things out of my life, because they just don't fit. My microwave is on it's way out. Hello, counter space! My clothes literally don't fit and keep not fitting, so I went on a shopping moratorium for the winter. I won't shop again until April 3. So, I've been clearing out my closets without replacing anything and I realized something. I don't need a lot of clothes, I just need a few versatile pieces that last. I don't know what those are yet, but I'm researching.

And I decided in January that I want to be cable free. No more monthly cable bill. I've already gotten rid of the house phone. The only thing I want to pay is for an internet connection and a Netflix subscription. Hopefully, Philly will get good free wireless soon and I can cut another monthly bill.

But watching Oprah, I'm wondering if I can cut even more. I've allocated $1,000 to upgrading my entertainment center and going cable free, with the idea that with cable costing me $100/month, it will pay for itself in 10 months. But if I cut that down to maybe a $500 or $750 investment, that's another chunk that can go to my savings or a trip.

I've still got a bunch of DVD's and quite a few books that I never watch, and with streaming Netflix, I won't need them. I think I should send them to AbundaTrade. And do I really need to keep a VCR?

My kitchen is pretty bare bones. I've been trying to be better about eating things before they go bad. I am developing quite the collection of kitchen tools, but I use them all and there are no repeats. And whatever I don't really use I pass on to the mom or the brothers. I'll take another look though. On second thought: mugs. I have way too many mugs. And cups in general. Maybe plates too.

Oh, and then there's the hall closet. Yeah, we all have one. Mine has a craft bin, tools, towels, a rug, and at least two pairs of rollerblades. I'll have to make an appointment in there before the weather breaks. And while I'm at it, I might as well throw in the living room closet. It's not atrocious, but still, lot's of stuff I don't use.

So, from the O, to me, to you, my IP's (that's internet people, for the newnews), I extend the challenge: What can you do without? How simple can you make your life?