I like to move it, move it :-D

I am LOVING that my news feeds (both fb and actual real life) are full of people doing sporting things whether that be walking for half an hour every morning, cycling 100 miles, learning to swim and everywhere in between.

It stuck me (this morning on my 4k run around our local reservoir) that it doesn't matter what you can or can't do - the quote 'if you can't run, walk; if you can't walk; crawl.' came to me.  Even superman - Christopher Reeve - is reported to have exercised daily after his accident.  Not everyone wants to run a marathon, do an Ironman competition, or even swim 2 lengths, but there's usually something we're happy to do.

We've been gifted this phenomenal piece of equipment and it would be a shame to discover some of it's talents.  Yes it's not all just exercise, not all food but likelihood is everything else can be a lot more enjoyable if we do some good in each of those categories.

Here's to a happy, healthy summer and if you can - where you can - just move it! Dance around the kitchen, walk instead of drive, cycle instead of walk and most of all - enjoy it!







Or of course you can dance in the rain...

I did it! I actually became a (raw vegan fed, barefoot running, alternative) TRIATHLETE!

And more to the point I LOVED it!!

From the prep and the atmosphere to the swim, the cycle in lashing rain and the strongest winds I've been out on my bike in (they nearly stopped me at one point) to a great fun and fastest I've done a 5k run in, I loved it all.  Apart perhaps of having to drag back on wet through clothes (tri suit from swim and leggings/cycling shorts from the aforementioned lashing rain) after an essential behind a tree stop but these things happen. The alternatives - keep going and just go, or stop at the pub (that won best pub in the Best Pub Guide 2010? 2011? were unappealing for reasons which are at opposing ends of a spectrum. Either could have stopped me smiling for the rest of the event.

And smile I did. A lot. I felt like I was in my own zone - people - bless them one and all - encouraged me along but with no real need, I was as happy as ever, contented and needing of nothing other than someone to reflect my smile, have a bit of banter with now and again and carry on. 

I probably could have put more effort into each section and maybe I will next time but as it stands I am happily a Triathlete, and I feel being a homeopath, non competitive (still not discovered that streak in me....), barefoot runner and raw vegan foodie, proudly happy to say I'm a fairly Alternative Triathlete at that.

Til the next time

x

A Sundae Treat

I'm in the middle of preparing for my first Juice and Smoothie workshop which I'm enjoying - sorting handouts, details, recipes and information to share.  And experimenting, playing and creating.  I think I might be overrunning into a separate workshop but that'll be OK in the end... Raw desserts evening here I come (info to follow should that happen)!

Well however it all works out it's been great discovering along the way and I think that's often where so much joy really is. Reaching the destination is all very well but it's the fun (and learning, mistakes and more) you have along the way that's really what it's all about.

So without more waffle I thought I'd share today's creation:

Banana and Mango Sundae with Toffee Sauce

To make: (serves 2-3)

Toffee sauce:

12 medjool dates, pitted
Add to blender with a little water and blend on low until smooth. You may need to scrape down the sides of the blender a few times. You can vary how runny you want the toffee sauce to be depending on how much water you use. Add small quantities (of water) at a time until you reach desired consistency.

Banana ice cream:

6 bananas, chopped then frozen for at least 5-6 hours
Add to blender and blend until smooth.

Mango ice cream:

2 mangoes, chopped then frozen for 5-6 hours
Add to blender and blend until smooth.

Sundae:

Put a dessert-tablespoon measure of toffee sauce at the bottom of the serving glass/bowl and top with banana ice cream.  Add the mango ice cream next and top this with a layer of toffee sauce.  Lastly another layer of banana ice cream and to garnish use a swirl of your toffee sauce and fruit of choice for decoration.

Dancing through life...

I think everyone gets it. I'm just LOVIN' the raw food. But that really is just part of the picture (of healing, fitness, life, health) and whilst it's great to feed your body (some would argue essential) the good stuff nutritionally, if that's all you're doing then it's still not really good enough.

We have been given these amazing bodies which have phenomenal healing ability and I believe it's our job to move them, enjoy them and be fully present in them.

My training has started - and the realisation I've got just 6 weeks left to train for my first triathlon has spurred me on a little.  I was inspired this week by a video my fab friend Debbie [from the always inspiring Makin' Tracks (have a peek at the link - I think I took the photo of the two of them on their home page... such beautiful people inside and out)] posted on facebook.

Have a peek here:

And then the dance walk guru was found - watch this for more:

Obviously I'm loving too the fact that Joe's in Vibram Five Fingers but aside from that what a fabulously happy way to move your body.  I love to skip down the street, I love to dance hula in my front garden under the stars and so jogging this Saturday at dawn I popped on the hula tracks on my iPod and jog-danced as the sky became lighter.  I ran twice as far as I thought I was going to, felt fabulous, creative, inspired, happy, light and so grateful to be able to move my body. 

Have a very very happy week and let's dance our way through the days.

With love,

Em x

PS If anyone fancies a dance jog in Embsay at dawn on a Saturday morning just give me a shout :)

Vegan meal a week challenge: 'Cheesy' Broccoli Baked Potatoes

Back again! It's been a little crazy lately (one diploma down - I've just this afternoon found out I've got a grade A in my nutrition diploma - hooray!) working away at my kinesiology homework and my homeopathy postgrad course... The end is getting clearer into sight now.... and I've discovered two more areas I really want to look at which I feel will enhance my life and my practice. It seems my studying journey is not about to end for a while yet!

My raw food journey continues along it's own route. I'm loving it and see no end in sight there either. Not saying never to cooked foods but the energy increase, vitality raise and all round feelings of wellness are amazing.  My gorgeous new blender has made smoothies, salad dressings and so on an absolute joy. Looking for excuses to use it really! So here's a recipe that I'd need it for...

From the fabulous Forks over Knives - The Cookbook:

'Cheesy' Broccoli Baked Potatoes

Serves 4 although adapt as need to suit

4 large russet potatoes, scrubbed
1 batch no cheese sauce (see below)
2 cups broccoli florets

Preheat oven to 180C
Pierce the potatoes with a fork a few times
Place potato on a baking sheet and bake between an hour and an hour 15mins/until tender
Combine No cheese sauce and broccoli in a saucepan and cook over medium heat, or until broccoli is tender
Slice the potato with a cross shape on top and spoon the warm broccoli cheese into the potato.

'No cheese sauce'

Makes about 2 1/2 cups

1 large yellow onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons cashews, toasted (optional)
1 tablespoon tahini (optional)
1 cup nutritional yeast
Salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in a blender in the order given and puree until smooth and creamy, adding up to 1/2 cup of water if neccessary to achieve a smooth consistency.

Enjoy!

Raw food a go-go!

Well I never thought I'd be here! Raw food was for, well, other people. Having said that I've always enjoyed enormous bowls of salad, fruit and love the fresh produce of the supermarket bit the most (get quite excitable am sad to say) so I suppose in a lot of ways it's not such an enormous surprise.

I'm still putting it down to our Tri club chairman recommending Chrissie Wellington's autobiography back in July which started me on my journey closer to this.  It's been amazing and from my decision to go totally veggie in September it's been incredibly quick to get here. Vegan (badly) was my November challenge and now, the 3rd of February I've just completed my day 2 of 100% raw.  Having spent 2 weeks preparing myself for this (one week of green smoothies for breakfast and continue as normal for the rest and one week with the smoothies plus one raw meal) I feel totally ready and excited. 

So far I've been lucky enough to follow Tracey Russell's Incredible Smoothies 21 day transition plan which I've found really helpful (shopping lists and meal plans laid out).  I like a bit of organising if someone's prepared to do that!  It's been easy, delicious (not found anything I've turned my nose up at yet - apart from the time I didn't blend the kale in my smoothie long enough... still it's a learning curve).  I've also had a raw coaching call with Rebecca Kane which I found really helpful and am looking forward to working with Maria Ingham from Food4Fuel (website coming very soon).  There's masses of YouTube videos which I've taken to listening to as I play in the kitchen, lots of facebook groups (our local Raw Next Door people Bonnie and Jamie are very supportive) and loads to learn which I love. 

However my biggest learning has been in how I feel. It's been very much about that for me.  This year I'm planning lots of personal development stuff especially around mindfulness and I'm finding the raw food has really tapped into a groove that makes so much sense.  My energy has shifted up a gear with increased clarity and focus.  I've been feeling pretty good on my mostly vegan/plant based diet but this is something else.  The sugary cake of 2012 has gone.  For good. I'm loving how good this feels and can't wait to discover more as I continue...

And in other Alt Tri news (aware as I am that my blog has become ALL about the food!) the barefoot running is going well, swimming about a mile a couple of times a week and the cycling... well the cycling. Let's hope tomorrow's a nice day as I'll get a quick spin on the bike then for the second time this year...

Bienvenidos. Welcome to my new raw food challenge.

Vegan meal a week challenge: Black Bean, Sweet Potato, and Red Quinoa Soup

Wow these weeks seem to fly by!  With planning to share/ discover a vegan meal a week (and now one that my dad will be up for trying too...) it soon seems to be back to Monday again.

Life is anything but dull at the moment.  The snow has given me a lovely respite from thinking I should be running/cycling (and even swimming seems to have suffered at the minute) however I've discovered rebounding which am just loving - great for chi according to lots of people (and I did have a similar reaction after being on the trampoline as I did after using a friends chi machine - a great feeling!) Studying wise my homeopathy postgraduate course is going well and I plan to graduate from that in April.  I'm coming to the end of a nutrition diploma and about to start on case studies for my kinesiology qualification.. Aside from that my homeopathy work is getting busier all the time, life with my wonderful 6 year old is lots of fun and learning to be done (for me) and am just setting out on my raw food 21 day transition (well on day 3 so far)...

So for my vegan meal this week I've been very lazy (hopefully the above goes some way towards justification for this!) and looked to find inspiration online instead of trawling through my growing collection of great veggie/vegan/raw cookbooks...

Black Bean, Sweet Potato, and Red Quinoa Soup

Inspired by: Sprouted Kitchen & Coconut & Quinoa
Yield: 4-6 servings
Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked red quinoa, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 tbsp coconut oil (or other oil)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cup diced sweet onion (about 1/2 large)
• 1 jalapeno, seeded if preferred and diced
• 1 large sweet potato (350 g), peeled and chopped to 1/2-1 inch dice (2.5-3 cups)*
• 1.5 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 1.5 cups cooked black beans (one (15-oz) can rinsed and drained)
• fine grain sea salt and black pepper, to taste (I used 1/2 tsp salt or a bit more)
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or red pepper flakes)
• 2 handfuls Spinach or kale leaves, optional
• toppings: avocado, corn chips, cilantro, cashew cream, lime juice, tomatoes or salsa, green onion

1. In a medium-sized pot, add quinoa along with 1.5 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and cover with tight fitting lid. Simmer covered for about 17 minutes or until the water is absorbed and quinoa is fluffy. Remove from heat, fluff with fork, and keep it covered until ready to use.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large wok or pot. Add garlic and onion and sauté for a few minutes over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper. Now add in the jalapeno and sweet potato and sauté for 5-7 minutes more.
3. Stir in the cumin, chili powder, coriander, and broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 18-20 minutes uncovered, or until the potatoes are tender.
4. Just before serving, stir in the cooked quinoa, drained and rinsed black beans, cayenne, and optional spinach. Season with salt and pepper to taste, adding more spice if desired.
5. Garnish soup with cherry tomatoes, cilantro, green onion, corn chips, avocado, and/or cashew cream.

6. Feast on tasty, vibrant comfort food!

http://ohsheglows.com/2012/11/30/black-bean-sweet-potato-and-red-quinoa-soup/

Just off to have a quick look at OhSheGlows - people have kept telling me about it so do check out the site as well....