Resurrection....

So I decided it was time to resurrect my blog. I think that this could be helpful for many people as well as therapeutic for me. I plan to post my daily adventures more regularly and hopefully get people to follow me so I can help those out there looking for my advice. I live in Pasadena now with my little sister. I am so busy these days working as a full time PT for LAUSD and working per diem at nursing homes, hospitals, and seeing patients in their homes with the birth to 3 population. I am still keeping strong as a vegan now more high carb than I was previously. I trialed a full year completely raw but as an athlete it was tough to maintain as I needed some more complex carbs to stick to my guts...ya know? I enjoy fruit for breakfast and sometimes lunch, sometimes I have oatmeal, potatoes or some other starch for lunch and steamed veggies and starches for dinner. I am training for marathon number 3 this November 8th in Santa Barbara. I met a really great guy at my running group and he is now my mentor. He teaches business planning at UCLA. He is helping me to develop a business plan to set up a PT clinic integrating a wholistic approach to life coaching by ME! I am excited about it! He is also helping my sis out. I am so greatful for the people God sends me. The Universe gives me exactly what I need at the right moment. So my divorce finalized in December 2013. I am so much happier. I thought after a little convincing from friends that I was ready to date...HA! I met a guy and whoa even though we hit it off my guard was way up and he wanted a GF and I was like uh no...so I pushed him away like a scared PTSD divorced lady. I am just going to enjoy my single life and not put up any online profiles on anymore dating sites. I am a monk people. This heart needs healing.... Ran the Grand Canyon Half Marathon in May with my bro Arthur. We are members of the skeleton club as well. 19 miles total that day! Powered by dates mostly.

Post Las Vegas Raw Goodness

Hello everyone! So I am back at work post Las Vegas Labor Day weekend with my husband. We had fun! Saw the last Elvis Cirque de Solei showing at Aria, went to Gordon Ramsay's restaurant at the Paris where we also had a suite. I had a yummy slush drink that had 3 shots of something or other...lol Had some really great wine, and some not so good food. Not a lot of vegan options in Vegas. Although we did go to a Thai place called Komol off the strip. Pretty good spicy bean sprout salad and steamed veggies with tofu and brown rice. So what is the best way to end such an unhealthy weekend? Raw vegan food of course!!! So we went to Go Raw Cafe on Windmill lane and all I can say is I felt so good Sunday I ran 3 miles! Felt 100% again. They have an amazing raw pizza, raw sushi and I loved the salad bar. This will be the place I go for sure after all the junk food and booze in Vegas to detox lol Enjoy the food porn (Nice change from the Vegas kind) haha

Produce!

Hey loyal followers! Check out this list for the most recent dirty dozen and clean 15 for produce. I usually never ever buy food on the dirty dozen list unless it is organic! I had no idea about green beans though. Yikes! I am happy about avocado though because they are pricey and I eat one a day. :) Keep eating your fruit and veggies! http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-5237/2012-Dirty-Dozen-Clean-15-Shoppers-Guide-to-Pesticides.html

See I am getting better!

Namaste! So I just finished another 3 hours toward my yoga certification with Gina in Oceanside. It went well. I think I have all of the breathing down. I'll practice when I teach at work on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Can't wait! Gina is a 80-90 percent raw vegan. She suggested watching the movie forks over knifes. So I will hit up blockbuster next week for sure since I don't have netflix. I have gone from 80-100 percent raw to more like 65%. I have done a lot of reading on Ayurvedic medicine and doshas. I am a Vata for sure and it is recommended that Vata dominant people should avoid too much raw so I have started eating my last meal in evening cooked. Only steamed... And I do feel calmer and relaxed in evenings with the change. I avoid roasting, baking or frying anything. I have been eating a lot of foods that the Okinawan population eat. Purple sweet poatoes, bitter melon, towel gourd, burdock root as well as small amounts of tofu. Ayurvedic medicine has taught me that everyone is different and have different needs and digestion. We must listen to our bodies and feed and nourish our bodies and souls accordingly. Well that is all for now. Have a blessed weekend. Namaste....

Ladies night

I know I know! I am the worst blogger. I will try to keep up with this more often. I have been so busy though with all my new projects and plans for the summer. Anyway lets start out with some food porn to entice you! lol

This is my quinoa salad I prepared for Ladies Night at my gf Vicki's house. Love her house BTW. Anyway here is the basic recipe. I can't give exacts on a lot of stuff bc I use my taste buds to guide me on seasonings but here it goes: 1 cup of quinoa well rinsed if you don't buy the already rinsed kind. Google saponins. yuck! 2 large red peppers 1 large scallion 4-5 persian cucumbers well washed with veggie/fruit wash if not organic 4 small avocado 2 bunches of cilantro 3-4 serrano chilis from my yard jalapenos would work too. De-seed! 1 garlic clove crushed to puree consistency ( I used jar kind) Himilayan sea salt Sesame seeds (2-3 tbsps) juice of 3 lemons apple cider vinegar I use Braggs Indian spice blend (got it from Indian Market was for mint chutney) Paprika onion powder garlic powder Cook quinoa 15 minutes in boiling water like you would rice. I salted water a bit. let it cool Mince scallion, jalapeno and let marinade in lemon juice and vinegar with spices and sesame seeds for 10 minutes. Chop all other veggies except avocado and mix with cooled quinoa. Then add vinagrette and mix well. Taste and add spices to your own taste. Add avocado slices when you serve to the top. Enjoy this one. It was a hit. Quinoa is so healthy for you. Lots of protein and very satisfying. So here is the low down on what I have been up to lately. I ran my first and probably last half marathon in Fontana on June 2cd one day after turning 31! It was awesome. On my actual birthday Samantha and I went to Santa Monica and enjoyed food at the Raw Planet near the promenade. I think this food really fueled me for my half marathon. The raw sunflower chips and guacamole were delish as well as my sprout spiralina salad. Here's some more food porn!

Oh yeah and the date cinnamon bun was to die for. We rode our bikes on the beach too. We had a little scare on the freeway with the bikes almost falling off but that is another story lol So I just started my internship to become a TriYoga instructor. Look them up the lady who started triyoga is named Kali Ray and she is really interesting. She developed this flow almost rhythmic dance type style of yoga by being in an almost trance like state while meditating. It is awesome how she flows. I need 200 hours to finish and am only at 3 hours. Unfortunately the closest teachers are in the OC and Oceanside. So I will be in oceanside this Saturday for another 3 hour session. SO this may take me a while but in the meantime I teach a 15 minute yoga session at work on Tues and Thurs. So far I have a good following. My plan is to probably teach yoga in a studio part time or out of my home or even go to people's homes when I finish. My other goal this year is to become PCS certified. I applied and am just waiting for info on how to prepare. FYI PCS is pediatric board certified specialist with the American PT association. This will make me a better therapist I believe. Now that my half marathon is over with I am getting back into cycling and other forms of exercise. Zumba, pilates, more yoga at the Yogaroom in redlands, and hopefully hiking with my coworkers soon. I have also looked into the certification for plant based nutrition with the company behind the book the CHINA STUDY. If you have not read this you must! This one will have to wait though. I don't want to bite off more than I can chew right now. Well I think that was a good update for now...until next time. Namaste.

Congrats to my Roomie!

So my friend hosted a ladies night tonight and I brought a vegan cheese dip and my famous fruit dip. (See previos post for fruit dip recipe). Both were a hit! I didn't take any pics bc I was soo excited to find out that the reason for the get together was to announce my roommates pregnancy! Congrats Blythe! So here is the link to my cheese dip. We served it with raw veggies and my friends had bread with it too. http://happyherbivore.com/recipe/low-fat-vegan-nachos/ Enjoy this yummy "cheese"!!!

FDA even says so...

Ok so I find it amazing that even though the FDA shows that chemicals that cause cancer are in the most common of american foods, people still eat these foods!!!! Come on people! This is why I eat raw. I only lightly steam some veggies like winter squash and brussel sprouts. Never roast or fry your veggies. It kills the enzymes and the chemical acrylamide is formed which has been shown to cause cancer in animals. Read the info from the FDAs website. It's plain to see. http://www.fda.gov/food/foodsafety/foodcontaminantsadulteration/chemicalcontaminants/acrylamide/ucm053569.htm