No Rest for the Weary

Today is a rest day. I swapped exercise this morning with work on my never ending to-do list. Over the years I’ve signed myself to volunteer for various non-profit groups and organizations – all in my quest to keep my brain from turning to mush as a stay at home mom. It’s all good, but sometimes things pile up and out of no where I realize I’ve got a million of things to do when all I’d really like to do is curl up into the fetal position with Halloween costume catalog and pretend my biggest concern is what Disney Princess I want to be for Halloween.

Disney Princess Costumes

Between tasks this morning I’ve of course been in and out of the kitchen about half a dozen times already.

Garbonzo beans soaked for about 8 hours and cooked for an hour ready to meet their food processor maker. My guess is hummus will be made. And that’s a pretty good guess considering I’m the cook around here.

Beans

Magenta Lemonade, his and hers.

Magenta Lemonade for Two

Who says you can’t make lemonade from romaine, cucumbers, apples, beets, lemons and ginger? Not Natalia, that’s for sure.

More work at my desk, I swapped out my coffee break for a cantaloupe break.

Cantaloupe

Somehow I’m still finding time to slowly but surely work my way through Thrive. I’m feeling naturally drawn to only juice and fruit until lunch time lately. I have to say the things Brendan Brazier has to say about raw foods and a vegan lifestyle are pretty convincing. I love so much of what I read in the Raw Foods Detox Diet by Natalia Rose, Thrive has felt like a natural progression. It’s the athlete’s raw food bible in my mind. He gives such a great explanation as to why raw foods are so good for you and what they can do for your body. It’s hard to argue with what he writes. He’s filled in some of the gaps from Natalia’s book. I feel like I’m putting together the pieces of the puzzle for the perfect diet for me, grabbing a little from here, a little from there coming up with what works for me on both a nutritional level and an emotional/psychological level as well. It trickles down to the kids and Zak, even my friends and family who seem interested and will listen to me rattle on. Not to mention you fine people too! That’s what this is really all about though, right? Sharing what we learn and live with the people we love.

I’m going to write a real review on Thrive as soon as I finish it. I’m aiming for some time before I’ve got to make my final decision on being Ariel or Cinderella for Halloween. Here’s hoping.

19 Responses

  1. OH why thank you for making me a juice this morning!

    I was out of romaine!

    MMMM

    who says you can’t indeed! beet apple and ANYTHING is delish!

    what time will the Hummus be ready? I am hungry

    I vote for Cinderella…but I am biased!

  2. Is there ANY QUESTION??? Ariel!!!
    I love seeing (reading) your enthusiasm for whole foods and healthy lifestyle in general! So motivational! 😀
    -A

  3. I am loving the Thrive book as well. 🙂 Sure makes you think.

  4. I have heard of Brendan Brazier/Thrive but I haven’t picked up the book yet. Is it worth it? Can’t wait for Halloween.. Ariel, hands down.

  5. Interesting post! I too have been trying to find my calling concerning diet. Vegan, vegetarian, raw. There are so many aspects I find appealing but not sure I can commit 100%. does that make sense?

  6. Girl that cantaloupe is lookin mighty fine! i totally missed my morning loupe this morning 😦 we ran out! o wells, i’ll pretend i’m snack a lackin on yours!

    Hope ur havin a fab day Alison!

    http://saladdiva.wordpress.com

  7. My library doesn’t have that book so I guess I will wait for your review before I buy it.

    My kids keep looking through those silly costume magazines even though I have already convinced them to be something they already have at home. They are always dressed in costumes.

  8. oh the zoo looked so fun! thanks for the wink 😉 i love shaking salad up in tupperware to coat the dressing. i usually sing “shake shake shake, shake shake shake, shake your saaalad” when i do it. no, i am not kidding. i hate the rank zoo smells.. the one downfall.

    moving onto this post, i have been wanting to cook my own garbanzos! so do you just soak them overnight and then boil them? i think this would be beneficial to me since i eat so many garbz and the canned variety is so sodium filled. ariel. she’s got the nice seashells 😉

    • Yup, just soak overnight and then boil for an hour or so the next day. You can speed the process along by taking dried beans and boiling them for 5 minutes and then letting them sit for an hour, drain and add new water and then boil for an hour… same thing! It’s easy and definitely cheaper, none of that fun BPA stuff either.

  9. Some hummus sounds great right about now; I’m sure it’s done by now, right? 😉

    Thrive sounds like an interesting book. I’ll have to see if I can find it at the library…

  10. I would love to read more about those raw books you are reading, I’ve been contemplating buying a juicer lately! Magenta lemonade looks fabulous!

  11. Hi, I have been reading your blog for a while and love it. As a new runner I had a question for you. I have been getting cramps directly beneath by ribs the past few runs and was wondering if you had any tips on how to prevent this from happening. I think it might me inproper breathing…not sure. I am running first thing in the morning on an empty stomach so I know its not from a full belly. Any advice would be awesome, thanks!

    • Hi Lauren! If you’ve ruled out the food thing then yes, I would guess it’s your breathing. If I get an unexplained side stitch when running, usually just focusing on my breath will take care of it. I usually slow my pace a bit too. The book ChiRunning has some good info on breathing technique too. (ChiRunning is linked in my reading list if you want more info on it.) I’m sorry I don’t have any other specific advice, but a quick google of “how to breath while running” turned up a ton of results and there is some things you could try with how many strides per inhale and exhale, etc.

  12. Ariel!!! When I grow up, I want to be a SAHM. 😀
    Would you mind sharing your hummus recipe? I’m planning on making my own now that I’ve found tahini. Thanks!

  13. will you make me a disney princess halloween costume? pretty please.

    can’t wait for the full review of thrive – i got the 30-day email thang and really enjoyed it. happy night to you 🙂

  14. I Love the Disney Princess’! Did you decide which one you are going to be?

  15. magenta lemonade . . . .ooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhh FUN!!! yes please and I know Maxine will have one too : )

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