Spinnin' out of Control!

Since I have not been able to run much due to recovering from knee surgery, I have found a wonderful alternative. Spinning!

I've been able to do yoga, surfing and some hiking with a little bit of uphill running thrown in, but what has been missing from my workouts is that endorphin high afforded by getting my heart rate up there.

Well I found it at the Laguna Spin Studio. It's a wonderful local studio that I can walk to from my home which is run by a really cool lady named Shelley. Her energy is great and she plays fun music like Disco Inferno and Good Lovin' by the Young Rascals. Yes, I am dating myself by my choice of music.

One of the great things about spinning as a recovery to knee surgery is that I can unhook one foot from the pedals and perform the "runs" with my weak leg, thus building it up. Over these past few months, my right leg has taken on the load, becoming the dominant leg and the left leg has gotten left behind. Physical therapy didn't quite cut it for me because it is BORING.

But spinning is a blast!

As the Young Rascals say in Good Lovin' :

I was feelin' . . . so bad,
I asked my family doctor just what I had,
I said, "Doctor, . . .
(Doctor . . .)
Mr. M.D., . . .
(Doctor . . .)
Now can you tell me, tell me, tell me,
What's ailin' me?"
(Doctor . . .)

He said, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)
Yes, indeed, all you really need . . .
(Is good lovin')
Gimme that good, good lovin . . .
(Good lovin')
All I need is lovin' . . .
(Good lovin')
Good lovin', baby.

And to quote Jen: All I need is a little good spinnin!

Detoxification? You Got it!

An interesting side note to week one of the Smoothie Formula diet is the intense level of detoxification that is occurring. Wasn't quite expecting that but who am I to complain?

Got up this morning and went to my Thursday morning 7am Toastmasters Club. Let's just suffice it to say that I had to take several breaks during the hour and a half meeting. It seems that the high fiber, high water content of the fruits and vegetables we've been consuming all week work to push everything through your system. A nice side effect, I must admit.

So, when you're ready to give the diet a try, don't say I didn't warn you. 'Nuff said.

Rosemary's Baby?

We are well into week one of the high phytochemical, high energy, healing smoothie recipe book. Today's recipe is called the "Healthy Heart Smoothie" featured on page 30 of Jeff Primack's wonderful book Smoothie Formulas. It contains beets, corn, oranges, lemon, goji berries, ginger root, mint and 1 sprig of fresh rosemary.

Rosemary? That's what I said. Who would have ever thought to throw a sprig of rosemary into the Vita Mix to be pulverized into breakfast?

The last time I even thought about rosemary was viewing the classic horror film Rosemary's Baby. For all you film buffs, check out the photo of Mia Farrow drinking the famous drink prepared by her neighbor, Minnie. When Rosemary asks what's in it "Snips and snails and puppy dog's tails" says Minnie. Later, she says it's made of raw egg, gelatin, herbs and tannis root. If she's lying, or if there's more in it than she's saying, we never find out--in the book or the movie. The tannis root is probably bad enough. It turns out to be a fungus called Devil's Pepper.

But no Devil's Pepper in the Healthy Heart Smoothie, I promise. Let's take a look at some of the health benefits of rosemary:

Rosemary improves circulation and blood flow to the head and brain. This remarkable herb has the ability to help prevent cancer and age-related skin damage. It boosts the functioning of the liver and acts as a mild diuretic to help reduce swelling.

Two of the most important ingredients in rosemary, which are thought to be largely responsible for many of these therapeutic actions, are caffeic acid and rosemarinic acid - both are potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents.

In ancient Greece, students wore wreaths of rosemary in their hair. The herb was said to improve memory.

Rosemary grows wild here in Southern California. Or, you can purchase a rosemary plant like I did at your local nursery.

Now tell me, who looks healthier in the photos, Rosemary or Me? Snips and snails and puppy dog's tails begone!

Ready & fueled to outrun mountain lions!

Woke up feeling so energized from the excitement of starting the new "healing smoothie" program. We had a huge storm here in Southern California yesterday. Much needed rain but I felt like our little 1940's beach bungalow was going to blow away! The whole house was a shakin' and a rattlin'. My little Min-Pin, Rusty kept jumping up and barking thinking someone was at the door. It really did sound like someone was rattling the doorknob and trying to break in. Quite exciting!

I decided to go on a hike this morning. It's always so beautiful when the storm clears. I'm still not quite running, just running the uphills some, healing up this knee. But, I better start running soon because look at what I came across on the trail. Does anyone know what a Mountain Lion print looks like? I know they live out here and I have trail buddies who have seen them, but I have yet to be so lucky.

Then it was back home to the anti-inflammatory and energy smoothies. If a Mountain Lion can run 30 mph, what would I do? 40 mph!

Day One "Pineapple Enzyme Smoothie"

Welcome to Day One of our new high phytochemical, healing, nutrition packed smoothie diet.

Since Angela let me pick the first drink, I went straight for the anti-inflammatory/pain reduction drink. When you turn 51, have run hundreds of miles, and put your body through the paces I have, you may be singing the same tune too! Plus, remember that I had knee surgery on my left knee 5 months ago and am determined to get back to running.

Woke up this morning thinking yay, Monday! Yeah right. But then, I remembered that I get to make my first drink from our new recipe book Smoothie Formulas by Jeff Primack. So, off I went to the 7am, 90 minute, challenging hot yoga class and came home ready for some pain reduction.

The Pineapple Enzyme Smoothie is featured on page 29 of the book and contains pineapple, parsley, carrot, apple and corn. Yes folks, that's raw corn cut right off the cob. Here are some of the health benefits:

Pineapple contains bromelain which is a natural anti-inflammatory that has many health benefits and encourages healing. This powerful anti-inflammatory effect can also help relieve rheumatoid arthritis symptoms and reduce postoperative swelling.

Parsley is an amazing medicinal herb, is delightful to the taste and agreeable to the stomach. It contains ingredients that help produce a pain relieving benefit to relax stiff joints.

The drink was delicious! Who doesn't love the tropical taste of fresh pineapple? The parsley gives the drink that fresh, minty taste and is also supposed to freshen your breath.

Okay Angela, the next drink is your pick!

Why wait for the New Year? We're getting healthy now!

Angela called me yesterday and wailed "Mom, I've gotten off track with my diet. Help!" Her call couldn't have come at a better time because my sister just turned me on to this wonderful recipe book called Smoothie Formulas by Jeff Primack. It's got 95 healing smoothie recipes designed to cure everything from Cancer, Diabetes, Heart Disease, Autism, Weight Loss, you name it. Or if you don't have any of those diseases the smoothie formulas work to create a high level of health. It's based on the premise that food is medicine and uses a VitaMix or BlendTec blender to break down fruits, vegetables and herbs such as rosemary and cilantro much better than any humans teeth ever could, thus releasing the enzymes and phytochemicals necessary for vibrant health.

We have decided that starting next week, we are going to focus on two to three smoothie recipes per week until we have tried all 95

We will keep you posted as to how we feel. We are really excited!

Mom's helping me with a new Diet plan!

I'm so excited my mom is going to help me come up with a completely new diet that I am determined to stick to and will be updating you guys on how it is working out for me! I've just gotten kind of off track with my dieting these last few months so I want to challenge myself! Stay tuned for my complete weekly diet plan and wish me luck...!!!