Superfood Friday

Hey everyone

I completed my first week at 105 degrees academy and what a week it was. I have learned so much already, Ladan (the director) and Whitney (her assistant) have been great! The pace of the class is a nice easy pace so everyone is able to keep up. We are also allowed to have fun with some of the recipes, which is great for me because I like to play around with recipes.

I started my day with Gina at the gym. For some reason though I was moving a bit slow even though I got decent sleep. However, I did manage to get a good 45 minute walk in It was a slow and steady one (got the heart pumping).

My workout:

• 5 minutes warm-up at 3.8 incline 4
• 5 minutes 3.8 incline 6
• 5 minutes 3.8 incline 7
• 5 minutes 3.8 incline 8
• 5 minutes 4.0 incline 10
• 5 minutes 4.0 incline 11
• 5 minutes 4.0 incline 12
• 5 minutes 4.0 incline 13
• 5 minutes cool down, which I just slowly declined.

Then I worked my legs (step-ups, dead-lifts, lunges). Overall felt great! I am really starting to enjoy working out first thing in the morning again! That is what I used to do and really enjoyed it but this past year I have seemed to turn into a night owl and can’t get up early to workout anymore. Grrrr.

When I got back I had a nice bowl of raspberries along with a small hemp protein shake with chia seeds and maca before I headed to class. (sorry I forgot to take a picture, plus the hotel cups are not the prettiest)

Superfoods was the first thing on the agenda.

We learned about goji berries, chia seeds, spirulina, maca, cacao and bee pollen, which were all my favorites! Ladan also introduced all of us to a great bee pollen. It was so good! The bee pollen was from Vivapure. I have never heard of them so I am thankful she mentioned them! Vivapure offers other superfoods as well, so check them out because if their bee pollen was that good I am curious what their other products are like : )

Smoothie time: Spicy C Goji Smoothie

Nice kick in there from cayenne pepper

A Quick Superfoods overview:

Cacao (powder and nibs) – comes from the cocoa plant found in the tropical region of the Americans. The scientific name Theobroma means “food of the gods.” The history of cacao dates way back to the ancient Mayan Olmec peoples. The cacao tree bears fruit all year long so you will never run out : ) Raw cacao is full of essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. The nutritional value of raw cacao is unbelievable that one cacao bean has the same nutritional value of 16 raw almonds. So start incorporating raw cacao slowly into you diet if you are not familiar with it because to some people it has an acquired taste (not for me though I love it). You can add it to smoothies, puddings, and many raw desserts. I like to have cacao before a intense workout because helps give me the energy I need!

Goji Berries - They are native to Tibet and China and also date all the way back to  the ancient times in China and India for many healing purposes.  Goji berries contain about 19 amino acids, 21 minerals, 1/2 dozen essential vitamins (including some of the b-vitamins), 8 polysaccharides, 6 mono saccharides, and 5 carotenoids. Therefore they are called the most nutritious powerhouse and I agree! Try tossing them into your morning smoothies, cereals, yogurt, or as an tea.

Maca -This is a root vegetable from Andean highlands of Peru. Incan warriors ate maca before entering into battle, because it is great for endurance and helps the body fight stress. Maca contains many trace minerals with significant amounts of potassium, which is needed to keep your body’s pH levels balanced. Maca is great for energy, stamina, mental clarity, regulates hormones, and supports the thyroid. What is there not to love about maca. It even taste good! Use maca in smoothies, sauces, dressings, soups, desserts, or just mix in water for a quick  boost.

Bee Pollen – Pollen is the male seed of flowers and is needed for fertilization. It is about 40% protein and is great for a quick boost of energy. An interesting fact about bee pollen, it cannot be synthesized in a laboratory. Yea for natural foods! Also did you know that 1 tsp of pollen takes one bee 8 hrs a day for one month to gather? Wow, so savor you bee pollen! It is a complete food because it contains all the essential components of life.  Bee pollen came help with many things from endurance to aid in recovery from an illness t0 reduce cravings to helping overcome developmental problems in children. And the most important thing about bee pollen is it is more rich in proteins than any animal source, so go tell that to all your meat loving friends the next time they ask you where you get your protein from! I like to throw pee pollen on top of my smoothies or juices. Or you can eat plain for you like.

(Example of one of my juices topped with bee pollen)

Chia seeds-  These little seeds have numerous benefits. I already did a post on Chia seeds check it out, especially if you are an athlete! I love chia seeds!

Spirulina-  It is blue green algae and a true powerhouse. It contains all the 22 amino acids the body requires. Has high amounts of protein and chlorophyll, which helps alkaline the blood. Spirulina is high in GLA which helps increase energy, decrease you appetite, and improve mental clarity. I like to have spirulina after a workout because it helps alkalize the body after your body’s has produce stress from working out.  Spirulina also improves your stamina and gives you energy therefore having better performances when working out (so it is also great to have before you workout).  What athlete doesn’t want better performances?

Next up in class was making our lunch. First was the red sweet pepper wrapper with Sicilian almond puree, avocado, and fresh basil.

Time to fill them up

And…

Tada!

Next white wrapper filled with cashews, shitake, scallion, ginger, nama shoyu, and sesame oil and drizzled with a miso sauce

This was so easy to make everything was hand chopped and stirred!

Not bad for my 1st time

But look at my friend Jen’s plate

So pretty!

After lunch was dessert, naturally : )

We finally got to enjoy our Mango Vanilla custard

It was really hard not to eat them all : )

Enjoyed it with a cup of rooibos tea

What a great afternoon snack

We ended our day making food that we will enjoy on Monday because it has to dehydrate over the weekend. Guess what it is?

Raw Pizza – YUM

First the Crust

The toppings: Portabella mushroom and cherry tomatoes

Cheese: I made mine out of cashews because I cannot have pine nuts.

This will be refrigerated over the weekend.

Now I will be thinking about raw pizza all weekend : )

Well hope everyone has a great Friday night. I hope to go out and check out OKC! I will sure to let everyone knows how my night ends up.

Till next time

Michelle

The Raw Twins