Two shakes

Yesterday was a chance to try a combination of ingredients resulting in a super tasting shake or smoothie:

8 oz Almond Milk with 2 oz honey and a teaspoon of honey, 3 tablespoons of Hemp Protein, 1 tablespoon of Flax Seed, 1/2 banana. Blend until smooth.

And, today I got to try Amazing Grass! I made a smoothie with 8 oz Almond Milk, about 2 tablespoons of Amazing Grass, and 8 frozen strawberries. Awesome!!!

Honey based sport drink

Here’s a recipe I recently found and even tested to use as a sport beverage instead of water. Actually, water isn’t the best choice when exercising hard. It’s important to have carbohydrate and honey provides more vitamins and minerals than sugar or corn based sweeteners.

To make:

1/2 cup honey

1/2 teaspoon Morton Lite Salt

1 pack unsweetened Kool-Aid or Crystal Light

7 1/2 cups water

What do you use as a sport drink??

Superfood super protein

Introducing a great new product. I found this company right in my backyard while making calls on local businesses. They are right here in Ventura, California and this is good stuff. Number one, it is certified organic brown rice protein powder and it also contains organic coconut, organic Vermont Maple syrup, organic acacia gum (soluble fiber), organic fine vanilla bean, and proprietary Boku Super Enzymes (amylase, protease,bromelain, cellulase, lipase, and alpha-galactosidase papain). In other words, all organic and very little sugar.

So I made a smoothie with almond milk, Boku Super Protein, and 8 frozen strawberries.

They have a website: www.bokusuperfood.com and a toll free number to order yours, 877-boku-food

Earth Day

Today is Earth Day and I’ve thought about what I can do to do my part and my promise today is to not buy any food product that is packaged in anything more than a cellophane wrapper or bag. No cardboard, no plastic.

What are you doing for Earth Day?

Plyometrics

This morning after a bit of breakfast was a bout of some plyometric exercises. A simple one consists of squat jumps. These are performed by simply squatting then making a vertical jump and landing in the previous squat position. Doing 3 x 20 reps is a good start.

For bone density, plyometrics and or running make for excellent ways to improve bone density, especially in the pelvic, hip, and lumbar spine areas of bone mass.

This dish here above is what Kalli of Fit and Forty Something bestowed upon me.

Then it was included in my breakfast with some oatmeal with banana, almonds and flax seed along with some egg and leftover stir fry.

 Two cups of coffee were consumed prior to workout for ergogenic effect only.

Weekly pledges

This week I’ve got a few nutritional pledges to share.

First, no calories in any beverage. Only water, tea and coffee. Coffee only before strenuous exercise not a daily ritual.

Eat a meal that’s primarily green (vegetables) at least four times this week.

Have fish at least three times and no beef, chicken or pork, unless they are organic which is unlikely to happen.

Eat a good breakfast, a good lunch and try to make dinner no larger than lunch and breakfast the largest of the day.

Blog nutritionally at least two more times this week.

Brocoli and almonds and tuna…

…and cottage cheese and flax seed with hemp oil was lunch today. No photo but check out my cycling article at ActiveVentura.com

Nutrition is popular

And fun.

I got to hang with a special group of people who believe in healthy lifestyles tonight and listen to their great personal feelings on food.

We talked about carbohydrates and what makes them good or not. Although there seems to be a better more complex type of carbohydrate that we all should strive to include we also talked about ideal ratios of fats, carbohydrates, and protein.

In all, the group got to share some broad perspectives and it’s really neat to be part of learning and sharing. I think most people are looking to get quality nutrition and avoid some of the man-made ingredients and feel better. Next month we will have another topic to discuss.

Looking forward to it. Thanks to all who came and shared.

Rocking the Tuesday night mini-train.

 

I must admit the infamous Tuesday Night Ride that starts out of downtown near the Ventura County Museum’s public parking lot between Santa Clara and Main St. is a daunting ride. It’s darn near like a road race and getting in shape for the attacks on hilly Santa Ana Rd. and the Casitas Pass is work.

Getting there and setting off ahead of the main group is one way to accomplish your own training goals and still be there if you get caught later to catch the dynamics of a group draft at a fairly high pace.

Joining me in that thought was a couple of fit riders who were ready to go at about 4:45 which gives us a good 15 minutes head start. This strategy gives us a chance to warm-up so we don’t have to chase or burn our lungs and legs on the wicked paces on the hills.

The loop we ride covers approximately 40 miles. Generally the goal is to do it under 2 hours for a 20 mph average. Last night we accomplished that and enjoyed it thoroughly with the combined efforts of three individuals, Sprinter  Dave,  Super Smooth Michelle, and (this writer)Tenacious Tucker.

A three man (sorry Michelle) mini train can be pretty efficient for getting back to Ventura along the coast from Bates Rd. to Emma Wood State Beach after tackling the hills of highway 150 at all or our own individual climbing paces.

The wind was a challenge all through Casitas Pass but generally was in our favor once we got on highway 101. Motoring along at 25-27 mph was maybe a couple of miles per hour slower than our heroes who were somewhere behind us but was still a respectable speed. We then exited at Seacliff and hit the Old Rincon Hwy for a solid 6 miles of steady pacelining at maybe 22-24 mph.

In the end we never got caught. We finished the 40 miles at 1:57:00 or so with a 20.2 mph average and Dave, Michelle and me got a great training ride.

Article originally appeared at ActiveVentura.com

Plastic: Recycle and beware

These are numbers commonly seen on the bottom of plastic containers. They are important because the codes tell us what type of plastic is used and I guess tells the recycling agencies how to sort them. The key to understanding them is to know the impact they have on the environment and on our health.

Briefly, Number one is Polyethylene Terephthalate. You find this on most single use drinking bottles. The concern is the buildup of bacteria due to insufficient cleaning or reuse. They are the most viable for recycling. They also litter our streets and go out to the ocean and become floating waste.

Number 2 is High Density Polyethylene used in sport bottles, cloudy colored milk jugs, cereal box liners, shampoo bottles, and many other containers. Very recyclable and not harmful.

Number 3 is bad. Polyvinyl Chloride is a controversial plastic. They should be non-food storage only. Number 3 has been named “toxic plastic” due to softeners (DHEA) that may cause cancers and other health issues.

Number 4 is OK. Low Density Polyethylene used in making bread bags, frozen food bags, and squeezable bottles. It doesn’t transmit any known chemicals into food and can be recycled.

Number 5 is fine as well. It is made of Polypropylene and not as recyclable as numbers 1 and 2 but is safe and found in yogurt containers, syrup bottles, straws and medicine bottles. Lately, many of the newer bike bottles I’m seeing are made from this plastic.

Number 6 is bad news. Polystyrene is used in making styrofoam, plastic tableware, and take-out containers. This product may leach styrene compounds- a possible carcinogen- and disrupt hormonal functioning.

Number 7 is not good at all. A clear, hard, shatterproof plastic made with Polycarbonate, specifically Bisphenol-A or BPA. It may pose serious health risks. The popular and colorful Nalgene water bottles were made of this and recently underwent a change where they are now BPA-free. Your Sparkletts and Arrowhead 5 gallon water bottles are made from this and continue to be manufactured with Bisphenol-A. When warm these bottles can leach BPA into water or food. Bisphenol-A is a synthetic hormone and may be linked to cancers, obesity, diabetes, and premature developmental problems.

I hope this is a helpful guide. Personally, I wish to not use these and prefer glass and stainless steel for water and use only plastics that are safe and recyclable for food storage when necessary.