Hi everybody,

I'm new in the forum. I've been interested in eating healthy and exercised my whole life aiming to keep myself as healthy and capable as possible, as happy as well. And been doing quite a good job! :-D

Anyway, now I've been studying a bit about the Zone just to get some new tools for eating and to add a little variety. In one of the newsletters from Zonediet.com there were nice advice to help you keep in the zone. One of them was to always eat within one hour after waking up. I do that (and I've been doing that ever since I was 18 or so) almost every day, but I'm just curious what's the science behind the idea? Something to do with ending the nighttime fasting? What if I go running in the morning, I never eat anything before the run which takes about 50 minutes and then I shower, I end up eating maybe 1,5 hours from waking up.

I'm not freaking over it and I tend to act and keep the "rules" quite flexible to make life easy, but if anyone has an answer, please let me know. And what do you think of the intermediate fasting?

Thank you already in advance if you care to help me out here! And greetings from sunny Finland. :-)

Hi!

Dr. Sears recently replied to this very question, saying that he added the rule so peopel would not forget to eat breakfast. He added that it's is to wait longer than an hour after waking to eat, as long as you remember to eat breakfast.

To stay in the Zone it's imnportant to eat prior to exercising. A snack before your run would be enough for the Zone . You don't need to eat a whole meal prior to exercise first thing in the morning, as long as you have a snack first.

Fasting will take you out of the Zone.

Hi Sue,

and a bazillion thanks for your swift reply! One thing that's sure is that I would, never, ever forget to eat breakfast :-D But the point eating the snack before exercise is a good one, now I just have to come with something that doesn't bother my running... And good thing about the IF, wouldn't wanted to go there anyway ;-)

Cheers,

Mukkelis aka Meri

You're welcome Meri! I wake up, have a snack and then do aerobic exercise before breakfast. Many times for the snack I mix 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil and a little vanilla flavoring into 1/2 cup of plain yogurt.

Dr. Sears don't worry, I couldn't wake up without my breakfast straight after getting out of bed.

Hmmm okay, I might try that. Thanks!

t. Mukkelis who was just on a run on an empty stomach... seems scary to put something in the belly before :-D

Meri, I had the same fear about eating before working out. I have ALWAYS exercised first thing in the morning before eating. I always felt that I would get cramps if I ate before hand. I started with just a half block (1/4 cup) of yogurt mixed with some nut butter (lately I've been using macadamia nut butter, but you can use almond or peanut butter too). Now I have worked my way up to a full block (1/2 cup) before the workout and have a 2 block breakfast after my workout is done. The yogurt is light enough that it doesn't interfere with the bouncing effect of working out. Good luck!

Thanks for the encouragement, Jana! It's really needed :-D Maybe I'll start with a quarter a block and work my way trough... So you think that it's made your workouts more energetic/effecient?

Actually, I do! Because the snack is light enough it doesn't sit heavy while bouncing around, but at the same time you have a little 'fuel' in your system so you don't tire out as quickly as you do when running on 'empty'. Before the Zone if I ate before I exercised then the exercise just didn't get done because I would be bogged down from the food.....now I understand that it was what I was eating not the fact that I had eaten. When I exercised on an empty stomach I would get tired and start to slow up after 20-30 minutes....now with the 1 block 'snack' before the workout I find I can go an hour or more without getting that tired feeling.

Okeydokey! Actually there's a clear difference running on an empty stomach in the morning and running (occasionally) in the evening, after lunch, snacks etc. I always feel like flying and super running in the evening, but I've just thought that it's because of the overall activity level is higher and also due to the nutrition. But I've also always thought that it doesn't matter 'cause I can't eat anyway before the morning run and just felt that it's okay to perform the level that it's possible at those hours... Maybe it's NOT so ;-D

Now I'm already getting excited to try, weird how things change.... :-)

Let us know how you make out Meri.

Jana, as soon as YOU try a green smoothie ;-D

LOL Ok!! You're on. I'll do a search for Green Smoothies and see what I can find....I'll post in the next couple of days and let you know how I make out! Then you'll have to do the same

I just watched a video of a lady making a green smoothie. Interesting!

what is a green smoothie??

Green smoothie revolution! Just had my morning smoothie. Always makes me feel soo good.

BUT, I really, really am shamed to admit that I went for a run this morning as well and I just COULDN'T make myself eat before :-( Lousy, I know. I'm just too scared that it will interfere with my working out, food in the stomach. BUT (a second one!) I also made a plan: I'm gonna go for a little test run on the weekend, not like a REAL run but just to try this out and have a snack before I do. A bit shorter and not so serious run will uncover the truth behind eating Zone before running... So, you'll just have to wait for a little bit longer for my report... Sorry about that. We all have our weaknesses don't we? O_O Mine's psychological, obviously.

(And have to add that this morning's run was one of the best ones ever! Ran the usual 7K but very, very fast and was having a serious runner's high! ..and I've been running for like 15 years now so... It's good.)

Meri, perhaps it was just the thought of food in your tummy that made the run so good!! HaHa!

Bernie, a green smoothie is basically made mostly with veggies instead of fruits. Meri had mentioned it in another thread and I asked the same question.....this is why I have now been challenged to give it a try!

BUT, Meri.....when I try it you MUST have 1/4c of plain yogurt with some nut butter mixed in before your next run! (that's only 1/2 block, you can do that!!!)

Going grocery shopping tonight so will give it a try tomorrow when I have some fresh ingredients.

I am in, too! I really like the thought of having that green smoothie. Need a few more greens at home, but otherwise pretty much ready to go.

The recipe that I saw didn't have any protein in it, what do you suggest for protein? I have lost track of the other thread.

Jana: okay. We have an official challenge here. You go have green smoothie and I'll try the yoghurt with tahini before a run. Prolly will manage to do that on... Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Ready? Set. GO!! :-D ( If it doesn't rain like mad tomorrow morning that's also an option O_O)

CC, well I usually don't add any protein or if I do, I use tasteless (a tad sweet, otherwise bland) protein powder. If you add quark or something other dairy it's more like a "normal" smoothie but of course you can try what you like best. I eat my cottage cheese with some natural yoghurt for breakfast just on the side of the green smoohie. First the protein, then the shake, it works beautifully! But that's for me.

I'd suggest you'll try a green smoothie with something to sweeten it like a piece (or half) a banana, some apple, some pear or maybe some grapes or strawberries sweeten it too. Banana has the ability (as does avocado) to make it thicker and creamier. I vary my smoothie a bit, but usually it includes the following: fresh spinach, celery stalks, berries (strawberries, raspberries or blueberries), lingonberries (I always add these since they're very healthy and I have a ton in the fridge to be eaten before the new ones will be picked at the end of the summer ;-)), water. If I use just lingonberries or it's otherwise very sour, I add a bit of a banana or avocado.

I also mentioned this super drink I call the Green Angel in the other thread: put banana and avocado half and half in a blender, blend until smooth. Enjoyyyyyy... :-P

AND! Have you already heard about the healty chocolate mousse? This one is a KILLER, I love and everybody that tasted it have loved it as well, it doesn't (weirdly enuf) taste like avocado.

A Healthier Mousse (aka Mousse Crocodile, I have a cooking blog so... ;-D)

1 ripe avocado
0,6 dl warm water (luke warm' good enuf)
0,6 dl cocoa powder (the dark one without any additives or sugar, like van Houten etc.)
0,5 tsp vanilla flavour
0,5 tsp cinnamon (grounded)
something to sweeten it: honey, agave nectar, whatever YOU want to use but without it it won't work

Put everything in a blender, blend until smooth. Taste and adjust the sweetness. It's heaven! Can also add mint (fresh! and/or flavour) to tune it up, melts in the mouth, guarantee.

Here's my post about it, in Finnish: http://monkeyfood.net/2008/01/22/hy...mpi-musse/
And here's the recipe, originally from, in English as a video. Caution! It's quite corny hehehehe.
http://www.imcooked.com/view_video....518d5f9b32

Oh yes and just to inspire you: you can also add goji berries, nuts, seeds, all sorts of stuff into a green smoothie. I don't know what else would be a suitable lean protein source to blend into it other than powder, but let me know if you have an idea. I don't have a problem eating my protein separately tho, I kind of like that I can chew something and then drink, and I also get to have MORE things than just one!

I have a bland whey protein powder, that may work. Maybe I could also toss in some cottage cheese to add to the creamy texture. I kind of like the "one drink fits all" approach, and would probably "forget" to eat the cottage cheese, if I had it separately-lol!

I would NEVER forget to eat :-D Especially cottage cheese which I adore. :-)

Oh, I never forget to eat, either! But, I may forget to eat the protein, if I don't toss it into the smoothie.

Cottage cheese is not necessarily a favorite "stand alone" food of mine. I enjoy it with things, preferably served with blueberries and almonds drizzled over it. I currently add it to my strawberry smoothie.

I agree with CC, the cottage cheese would be welcome in the grn smoothie!
so......let's bump it up a notch and make that Mousse Crocodile Ice Cream!!! (run it through an ice cream maker?)
I don't have one.......yet!

Oh, LOL!

I have the "old-fashioned" ice cream maker, the one that you have to add the rock salt and crank with the handle. Hard work to go through for ice cream, but sometimes it is definitely worth the effort. There is no store-bought ice cream that tastes as good as that!

Also, kind of neat for the kids to do!

I have an ice cream maker... But I prefer my crocodile without dairy :-)

Anyway JANA: I did it! Went for a run (it only rained a little) and had the yogurt and tahini before. Didn't bother me at all during the run, amazing :-O Just felt a bit odd tohave a "full" stomach. But when I had done my run (approx. 5K) and slowed to walking to cool down for the last 200 meters or so, I suddenly felt nauseated. Like vomiting, uuuh. It didn't last more than five minutes maybe and after a shower and preparing the breakfast I felt okay. Have you had that? Felt the same as after lactic acid training does (metcon workout) but the run was easy itself.

Also it was funny cause now I wasn't hungry at all after the run but I still ate my breakfast... Maybe I should postpone the "real" breakfast on these mornings, to work? That would be a snack before the run, then breakfast at work approx. 2,5 hours from waking up, is that too long gap? And it's hard to imagine I could ever eat more than half a block before a run, but you never know... Now I'm feeling so full it's funny :-D But a bit like vomiting :-/ Eeek.

Anyway, first step taken and the run went brilliantly! How's your green smoothie progressing... ? :-)

And I also suspect that the Finnish cottage cheese might be a bit different from the one you guys eat... ? There are differences, like for example the Swedish, Danish, Polish and Finnish ones are all a tad different as well as some of the Finnish ones that are very different from each other.

Meri! Way to go! Glad to hear the run itself went so well. Yes the first couple of times I felt that 'sick' feeling towards the end as well, but now it doesn't affect me. Next time you may want to cut it in half again and only have an 1/8 cup to see if that is better? Then when you've done that a few times without any nausea maybe increase it again to 1/4 cup? I know I started with just a couple of spoonfuls and worked my way up. Let me know if it gets better for you, I hope it does!

Thanks for posting the recipe. Actually, I went on-line last night and printed out a couple recipes and went grocery shopping this morning so I'm all set to try my green smoothie tomorrow morning...I'll post how I make out with it. Trust me I'm as worked up about eating pureed spinach and celery as you were about eating before running!!! LOL!!! BUT I'm definitely going to hold up my end of the challenge!

Till tomorrow.......

:-D

I'll try cutting it in half and then adding gradually, hope that'll do the trick. I liked the run and I liked that I wasn't hungry at noon. Even tho I don't live exactly in the zone but I'm taking my own route towards it.

Be brave! And add enuf banana/strawberries to sweeten it a bit :-) You'll LOVE IT! Eventually at least ;-D

sorry, I missed answering the part about not being hungry for breakfast. Yes I find that too. I used to be famished after exercising and would make breakfast before even showering but now I find I can shower, do a few things around the house and still not be really hungry.....so I delay eating breakfast until later in the morning.

If you find that the 'reflux' continues you could try to change your fat....I remember I had it more when I used peanut butter than when I switched to macadamia nut butter.

Way to go Meri, I'm so impressed!

Yeah well I actually eat after I shower and then I go to work and there I have coffee and an apple (and some almonds, usually) within the next two hours and then the lunch already at noon so... ;-D But still I wasn't hungry before lunch like usually. My rhythm (if anyone's interested, prolly not) is about the following (without the run):

6.00 get up, breakfast
08.00 coffee, apple, almonds
12.00 lunch
14.30 apple, almonds etc.
17.00 dinner (well the evening depends on the program, could be later as well but then I'll have a banana or something, and quite often I eat something maybe at 20.00)

I don't know why I'm telling this... Maybe because this is the Zone DIET website :-D But this works for me, now. As said, leaning more and more towards zone, but it's my way of making the change gradually. Always feeling whether it suits my quite hard and intense workout program.

And about the nut butter: there's a cashew butter I simply ADORE! I could eat the whole thing just straight from the can :-P That's why I forbid myself to buy it all the time hehehehe. Macadamia butter I don't know if you can get from Finland but I'll search O_O

Good Morning Meri. I just had my first green smoothie!!! And you know what? it wasn't that bad.....actually, it was pretty good! I made the one you mentioned originally with spinach, 2 celery stalks, strawberries and 1/3 banana. I opted for the banana instead of avacado so I could keep the fat blocks to add to my cottage cheese. As Cranberry and Janet mentioned earlier the North American cottage cheese tastes better with something added to it so I put the macadamia nut butter in the cc and it was good as well (first time I've tried it without fruit too).

So there you go....you've introduced me to something new...and I liked it! I never would have tried without this website and your encouragement. My DD came in the room as I was drinking it and her face got all disgusted and said 'what is that??!!!'....she looked like she was going to be sick just from the sight of the green drink. I told her its actually pretty good and tried to get her to try some but no way. She said 'why would you even think of trying something like that'...I laughed and said I was challenged by a lady in Finland....

I had never heard of macadamia nut butter either until I started following this forum....Sue K uses it a fair bit so I searched until I found it in the organic food section at the grocery store. I've never tried cashew butter...will have to search for that one too.

Your timing looks very similar to mine...except I have a 1/2 - 1 block snack before workout (depending on hunger levels and what type of workout I'm going to do) at 6 am and then 2 - 2 1/2 block breakfast afterwards and then nothing until lunch. I know you've mentioned that you are gradually getting into the Zone but don't you have any protein with your snacks? I used to just have fruit and nuts for snacks too but now have added protein too since starting the Zone.

Your picture is great Meri!

Hey, your pic is awesome!

OK, so I definitely have some catching up to do here. And to think I was doing well by merely printing out the "recipe", and you gals are already into it! So, I will definitely try a green smoothie this weekend, just so that I can come back here and post that I did it. And, I can't wait to see the look on my kids faces!!! :-)

I love green smoothies. You really don't taste the greens, unless you put a whole lot in. I haven't made a Zoned green smoothie yet, because I'm just back in the Zone after a long time away. I'll have to experiment.

You can also use kale as your green. It's very nutritious, and this is a way to eat it raw. Cut the leaves off the hard stem, and discard the stem. Don't use too much as it may affect the flavor.

Faith

Jana, haHAA!! That's why I also LOVE good (read: people sincerely interested in the same things) web communities, they have such power to encourage to try new things, sharing great advice and best practices and tips and even to empower and build hope. Sniff. A special moment. :-)

I rarely use avocado in my green smoothie in the morning, usually it's just berries or the banana bite, but later on the day I sometimes make another green smoothie and I like it to be more like "food" (what ever that is) so I make it like a salty cold soup, a bit like gazpacho. Then I might choose the avocado. And I still have to get you to try the Green Angel and -tadaa!- the crocodile mousse, if you like chocolate mousse at all! CC as well (I like the similarity between you, CC, and cottage cheese :-P and remember I LOVE cottage cheese, you should get some Finnish one)

And nice to hear that my day rhythm sounds okay. Actually there's a thing with the apples and protein. I have a loooong (and rather painful) history with some stomach problems, they've been looked into several times and been through all the investigations such as couple of gastroscopias if you what that is, but luckily there is nothing seriously wrong with it. I do have lactose intolerance but I manage with the sour dairy like cc, quark, yoghurt and hard cheese doesn't have any, there's also a wide variety of low lactose and lactose free products in Finland, and besides the intolerance my problem's diagnosed as a "functional problem" which means they don't quite know what it is (but it's nothing serious-serious).

Anyway due to my experience and years, I think ten, of struggle with my stomach pain and such I learned what I can eat and get away with and what I can't. One thing is fruit. I can eat a fruit separately from other food and it's okay, but to combine say an apple with a lunch salad is a baaaad idea. And I just LOVE apples, there were many years I hardly ate them at all cause of this problem. But now that I've eliminated the things that make me feel bad from my diet (like beans, cabbage, peas, sugar) I've discovered that I can eat apples separately from other food but only if I eat it with a very little something else or nothing else. Couple of nuts or almonds is the best I can do, so that's why no protein with the apples.

Otherwise I'm quite precise that I get enuf protein, been exercising the whole of my life and like to keep my muscles :-) Ooooh it came out like a long story but I hope it enlightens the situation ;-D

Thank you for the photo compliments, that's me in Dahab, Egypt this April, went freediving there with my bf, BEST trip! <3 So relaxed. Like lil buddhas. :-D

And have to thank you for including me like this, I really feel like I am a part of the Zone community, makes me feel good. :-) Now some Saturday morning breakfast (the usual, I'm keen to my routines) and the morning paper, then off to summer cottage by the lake! Take care girls, have a great weekend!

OK, I tried the green smoothie. As expected, I got a lot of weird looks from everyone. I put some spinach, cucumber, and banana in mine, along with blending in the avocado, cottage cheese and a bit of protein powder. Should have stopped there!

I tried it, and I thought it was OK. My DH tried it and he didn't like it at all. I don't know why, but I thought I would blend in a stick of celery, just because I used the stick to push down the ingredients in the blender, and I think the celery made it taste bitter. So, it wasn't a huge hit. But, I am open to trying some more modifications.

Oh, and BTW, you are DEFINITELY a part of our community!

There's a delicious green drink that Oprah has on her site (or at least had, at one time; haven't looked lately). I've tried it; tastes very good! I'm almost sure it's one of Dr. Oz's recipes.

Oprah has a delicious green drink on her site (or at least had one ther at one time; I haven't looked lately). I've tried it; tastes very good! I'm almost sure it's one of Dr. Oz's recipes.

Here's a copy and paste of the Dr. Oz/Oprah green drink (copied from: http://hitsusa.com/blog/277/dr-oz-g...n-drink/). A tip, remember that it's juice, an unfavorable carb for the Zone.


<<
Dr. Oz is on Oprah for a two-part show on eating healthy and getting more raw foods packed with nutrients into your body.

Dr. Oz preferred method is a green juice drink made from fresh greens and vegetables. Beginners may want to include more fruits like apples to add sweetness to what can sometimes taste like swamp water to the uninitiated.

Dr. Oz Green Drink Recipe

• 2 apples, cored
• 2 big handfuls of spinach
• 1/2 cup of chopped parsley
• 1 celery stick, chopped
• 1 thumbnail length of ginger root, peeled
• 1 lemon - juice only (use peel slice for zest)
• 1 medium cucumber

Place ingredients in a blender, add 4 oz. spring water or a handful of ice cubes, then puree quickly for one minute. Makes two glasses of Dr. Oz’s green drink.

The green drink has a strong taste and if you are used to drinking soda or sweet tea, the taste will take some getting used to. Dr. Oz suggests adding other items at first to sweeten the green drink to your taste.

Green drink - Optional ingredients:

• 2nd cucumber
• raw carrot
• unsweetened fruit juice
• banana

And that’s the recipe for the Dr Oz Green Drink.

Tags: dr oz, dr oz green drink, green drink, health, oprah>>>

Thanks for the additional recipe Sue. Are you saying that the green smoothies are unfavourable or just Dr. Oz's recipe? I thought they would be fine because we aren't juicing just pureeing and it turns out very thick just like the fruit smoothies. I found the one I tried kept me in the Zone very well until lunch (I had my protein and fat on the side)

CC - maybe you tried to put too many different ingredients in yours? I just put spinach, 2 stalks of celery, 1c frozen strawberries and 1/3 banana....I ate the cc and fat on the side. You have to let it blend a good long time to get it into a smoothie

Meri - you are right good web communities have the power to teach, learn and share great ideas! I'm glad you stopped by and started participating!!

I started the Zone because I have lots of stomach issues as well (another thing in common!) I have always eaten well and exercised regularly too but have always had various problems even still. Since starting the Zone I feel soooo much better! No more bloating, gas, heartburn, etc, etc. And loosing some weight to boot has been wonderful!

This week I will definitely try the Green Angel and Crocodile Mousse....you've convinced me and I'll gladly try the next level!

Any. You'll have to try them to see if they works for you.

CC, like Jana, I suspect yours had a bit too many ingredients... That's the reason also I like to have my cc separately... Not you of course ;-) But the protein! Hope you will try again, I know how it is, I've made my mistakes with too many or simply wrong" ingredients for my taste buds. I'm sure you'll manage to put together a version you like, being such a cook <3

Jana, oh yes, I've also conquered much of my past tummy issues but not all... Still I'm glad I'm not a celiac (is that how you say it? being unable to handle gluten), it's still easier to deal with these things. Moderation and routines work for me, combined with the right food and especially the absence of the wrong foods. It's also important to eat often enuf, otherwise I end up not just very very cranky ;-) but hurting in stomach as well. Yesterday had some pain for eating an ice cream (serves me right! :-D) but before that can't remember when *knock on wood*

Will be superduper to hear about your guys on-going experiments with the smoothies! Oh and have a ever eaten gazpacho? That's also a sort of green smoothie even tho it's red. :-)

And I quite don't get it how come all the green smoothie would be not favourables.... ? I think people are allowed to drink fruit smoothies aren't they? Just depends on the ingredients?

Thank you Sue K. for some new recipes! :-)

I tried mine the next day without the celery, and it tasted much better. I think it was the celery that threw it off.

I have seen Dr. Oz's recipe, as well. Someone forwarded it to me a few days ago via email.

I actually enjoyed the cottage cheese in it. On my second blend, I blended the produce first, then tasted and added the avocado. No bitter taste, so added the cottage cheese. No bitter taste with that, either. So, I do think it must have been the celery.

It was about as effective as one of my strawberry smoothies. So, I would say that a green smoothie will work similar to other smoothies, in that some may tolerate them better than others.

It is very convenient to put all of those ingredients into a smoothie drink, but the bottom line is that when we blend it all together, in essence we are processing it, and causing the glycemic load to go up. But, this is true of all smoothies and blended drinks.

Anyway, thanks for the wonderful idea!

thanks Sue (and CC) for clarifying about the 'unfavourable' green smoothie....I concluded that on my own after I posted last night. For some reason when I initially read your post I was thinking that the regular 'fruit' smoothies were ok and couldn't figure out why the veggie/fruit ones wouldn't be....then I remembered reading that it the processing that makes it faster to digest which means it may not keep everyone in the zone. This hasn't been a problem for me so far so I guess I sort of 'forgot' that smoothies are unfavourable for some.

CC - glad your second attempt worked out better. By any chance did you have your celery in the fridge for a few days? I find it gets a bitter taste if it isn't completely fresh. I didn't find my smoothie bitter at all with the celery, but I added both banana and strawberries, so that could be why I guess

Meri - the green angel smoothie....do you still add the other veggies (ie spinach, celery, etc) wth the banana and avocado or is it just the 2 and that's it? Going to try that crocodile too....I'll see what I'm in the mood for in the morning

No Meri, I have never tried gazpacho....do you have a recipe that you can share?

Also, try organic celery. It usually has a better flavor.

Laura, it's better not to use too much fat. Cooking over medium heat with the amount of oil needed for Zone balance will prevent your food from sticking.

Also, remember not to cook with extra virgin olive oil (some fo the beneficial parts can become toxic when heated). It should only be used for cold applications, or for adding to cooked foods after they are removed from the heat. Use light (refined) olive oil for cooking.

talking about cooking oils... is canola right for cooking in the zone??/ (that's the one I';ve been using... ha)

Jana, no, my celery had not been in my fridge very long. However, one can only imagine how long it was sitting in the grocery store! Too early in the season for home grown celery, and we don't have an organic veggie section in our grocery store, not anywhere near us. But, that is OK, I am content with how I did it the second time, and I am up for trying other concoctions, as well!

Canola is acceptable, but is only considered a "fair" fat choice for the Zone.

What would be best for cooking in the zone?? I use to cook a lot.. and do not like spay oils...
Thank you for the advise....
I bet.. being at the beach.. sitting on the rocks... should be a lot of relaxing... I need that...
Vacations are coming soon... for automotive industry... I should go to the beach then. Congrats !!

Well, I made the original green smoothie again this morning (spinach, celery, strawberries, banana) and it was goooddd!! I'm still amazed!

CC - glad you found a combo you like! I'm going to try something new tomorrow, but need to get to the grocery store first.

Sue K - You've taught me something new again! I had no idea that you weren't supposed to heat EVOO!!! I will have to pick up some Light OO for cooking. Thanks for pointing that out...I really had no idea!

Bernie - I found a pure olive oil spray at the grocery store. I don't use it a lot since being in the Zone (prefer to just use the regular liquid OO) but it is handy to have when a baking dish needs a little greasing etc. The one I found is made by Mazola and it contains 100% olive oil, no other ingredients/preservatives at all.

You're welcome! :-)

and I am happy with using almond oil, which Sue K suggested also.
Oh, and gazpacho can be delicious if well balanced.. acidity.

Hi Janet... almond oil for cooking?? ohh... I should try that.... I guess I should go to the US side to find some almond oil... here is used to massage and for mommys bellys (mom to be)..... but I do not remember I've seen cooking almond oil, but sounds delicious...

Hi Jana: Olive oil from mazola.. that's available here,... I use it now and then for baking... and when I run out of canola oil... for cooking my eggs, veggies and ham breakfast....

Meri: is your City sunny?? mine should.. but uncommon for this time of year, we have 4 days with clouds.. I miss sun...
have a nice day all of you...

CC, great that you're getting there as well... :-) And thank you for the clarification re "unfavourables". I have quite a lot of knowledge about the glycemic load and I'm quite sensitive to it, I for example never drink juices et cetera, but in the form of a green smoothie it works. It actually works better than eating everything separately in the morning due to my extremely sensitive stomach. The fact that blending it makes it easier to digest works for my benefit: I don't get tummy pain! It's brilliant. Otherwise wouldn't want to eat too many veggies in the morning since the whole day might be a bit swollen or puffed after that.

Blending is actually also one of the cooking methods that raw food eaters use and that's where I've picked it up. It's based on the idea that the better the body can digest the food the more it gets to utilise the ingredient's valuable particles such as vitamins, enzyms, et cetera. Since the digestion starts already in the mouth saliva being the first to do the job they tend to add something to chew on even in the smoothies or "soups". Sprouts usually.

I really like many of the ideas and recipes that raw food eaters use but am not fanatical about that either. I just pick the things that suit my life, my body, my taste buds and my health from every diet form, if you know what I means. :-) I nowadays am ultra happy with the "signature combo" of a diet I've created for myself! :-D

Jana, superduper!! I love it too! :-D And my report continues. I made a "comparative" run on the weekend without having anything in the morning before, didn't feel very energetic and actually felt sort of out of breath. Today I went for a run again and had a bit less than the time before. Just maybe three teaspoons of natural yoghurt and less than a teaspoon of cashew nut butter. Run was good, not extra super but very very good 7km and I DIDN'T GET THE VOMITING FEELING when I did my cool down! Progress! So happy. Gonna continue on this path. :-)

Jep. And I do have a recipe for a gazpacho, just a sec and I'll post it here, I go get it!

I've been looking for almond oil but haven't been able to find it yet....I hear many mention it on these forums and want to try it too

Bernie...the Mazola olive oil is in spray form...it is the only one I've seen that is 100% OO with no additives, most of the other sprays have chemicals and other oils added to them...I really like the Mazola for the spray type. But I buy Bertolli or other Italian type liquid olive oils. I cook almost everything in OO, except when I'm make oriental type dishes then I use toasted seasame oil

The Gazpacho (which is a traditional Spanish recipe and usually made with bread in it to make it thicker)

2 to 4 garlic cloves
0,5 kg of tomatoes (ripe)
1 green bell pepper
1 cucumber
(half an onion, piece of fresh chili or a hint of Tabasco if you like, my stomach won't want any of these)
water
red wine vinegar (heard that sherry wine vinegar works as well)
salt
black pepper
olive oil

Dice the veggies (just roughly, clean them first naturally) and put them in a blender, add maybe 1 decilitre of water first not to make it too runny, add more if needed. Blend until totally blended (duh). Season with vinegar, salt and pepper. Taste. Move to fridge to let it err... How do you say it, to make it tastier? For some hours preferrably, overnight works very well as well. Eat! Or take it to go and add some ice cubes to make it stay cold.

Oh and the Green Angel: I just use the two and maybe add some water to make it runnier, it's a treat! :-P

Bernie, well... It's usually quite sunny in the summertime but now it's been cloudy and rainy maybe for a week. Before that we had a real taste of summer, hot and sunny, hope it gets back here O_O Luckily my vacation's not until August! The rain and cold is a bit offputting since I bike every day... Tired of getting wet and cold. Cold like plus 12 brrr. Today's been a bit warmer tho.

Meri! Glad the yogurt experiment is working out for you, keep adding little bits until you are able to get your 1/2 - 1 block without the nausea. I must admit that OCCASSIONALLY I have done my exercise without having the snack before hand as well. This is usually just because I am not hungry at all or if I sleep in I tend to head straight to the exercise equipment without taking the time for a snack (want to get my workout in before the kids wake up) and I find the same thing...my workouts are never as good when I've done this...its much better with 1/2 block in my tummy. So I don't really take that shortcut anymore....better to have a GOOD workout with less time than a longer lazy workout, I think.

Thanks for posting the Gazpacho recipe....I'll give it a try but tomatoes aren't really my thing....maybe they will taste different when pureed?

Tomorrow I'm going to try the Green Angel.

It sounds like its been cold for the season everywhere....I can't believe its almost mid-June and the warm weather hasn't even started yet! Let's hope it comes soon

And How--about the weather!

I really need to get outside for swimming, but the weather isn't cooperating!

I hear ya CC, we opened our pool weeks ago but have only been in it once so far. I had big plans that I was going to add laps to my morning workout routine but the weather has not been co-operating. C'mon summer!!!

This morning I tried the Green Angel.....it was yummmmmy!!! Very thick, should have put it in a bowl instead of a glass as there was no way I was going to be able to drink it. Now I'm excited to try the Crocodile because I quite enjoyed the avacado in today's smoothie. Meri!!...I never would have attempted these totally new concepts without your encouragement...with my super-sensitive stomach I have tended to stick with what I know....this is fabulous! I feel so adventurous!

Off to the grocery store today so I can get some more green smoothie ingredients!

Jana! The Amazing Adventures of the Green Angels! :-D RAW!!!! So, so happy that you enjoyed it too, am sure you're gonna like the mousse as well, if you like a chocolate mousse at all :-) And that has to be sweetened, but I guess you knew that. Which sweetener do you prefer, by the way? Something natural like agave nectar or honey? Artificial ones?

Oh yes and the Green Angel is a bit more like mousse as well, so a bowl works better, unless you like to blend it with a little water or juice (juice I never tried myself).

Unfortunately Gazpacho IS a tomato soup so I think that if you don't like tomatoes, maybe it's not your thing then... But you can try? :-) I also have another a bit different recipe (less garlic and peel the tomatoes before blending it, basically) that might be better, that's the one I used last time. Almost the same tho. If you try, be careful adding the water, it may not need it at all.

And for us with a special (i.e. sensitive) stomachs these smoothies work ultra well <3

Continuing to new adventures,
sincerely yours,

Meri

Good Morning Meri

Since starting the zone I really haven't been using any sweeteners....but there has been a fudge recipe posted on another thread that calls for fructose so I'm going to buy some of that when I go shopping today...gotta give that fudge a try!! For the chocolate mousse I will probably use some natural honey though...I like to go natural as much as I can. I'm looking forward to it....LOVE chocolate!

Yes I'll still try the Gazpacho even though its tomato....I like hot tomato sauce, salsa, ketchup, etc...just not raw tomato so maybe the puree will make it more like cooked tomato. I won't know if I don't try!!!

I agree that these smoothies work well for the sensitive stomach...its a great way to get more veggies in too! thanks again for sharing your ideas.

take care

Jana, I was also hoping to add swimming laps to my daily routine, had a good start last week (while the indoor pool was still available), but now that it is "summer", the indoor pool has changed its summer hours.

So, I planned on swimming laps on Monday, but the pool was closed because it was raining.

I planned on swimming yesterday, and the pool was closed because the heater was broken. Same thing, today!

Hopefully we will get out of this cool weather pattern, and water heaters won't even matter!

Meri, again-thanks for those wonderful green smoothie ideas! I am happy that they work nicely for you (and Jana, too). I think that they could work well for me, as well. Seemed to be just fine with it over the weekend, didn't have any problems with hunger control. That is a big one for me, getting new recipes to work for me!

Jana, have you ever tried raw chocolate? The only option is to make it yourself tho. I combine virgin coconut oil (I know it's not zone approved but heck it's good!), cocoa nibs (pieces of cocoa beans), cocoa powder and something sweet, usually I flavor it with a hint of cinnamon and actually finger salt is amazing in it! Oh yes and I always put a lot of goji berries into it. Raw chocolate's the best a chocolate lover aiming for optimum nutrition and health can get! And it tastes better than any other "real" chocolate.

And you might like the gazpacho then, maybe just boil the tomatoes quickly (like a minute) to peel them first. And you can season it towards something you like, so if you like it hot just add tabasco or chili. It's a perfect summer soup.

I actually use the artificial sweeteners usually, basically just for the raw chcolate, doesn't add up to much. Also organic honey and agave nectar I use sometimes. Usually just banana or something like that works. We also try to get everything possible in organic, they taste so much better and I guess there are other advantages as well... ;-)

CC, wonderful to hear that you're getting new ideas! And I'm sure you'll create something of your own out of the green smoothie and then WE'LL get to try that! :-P I rarely make "normal" smoothies but these green ones are really my thing.

And re eating enuf veggies... I think if it's possible to eat too much that would be me! I'm just crazy for salad, I love crunching hehehee. The recommendation is half a kg a day but I eat more like at least a whole kg. In the winter time it's not so easy to get good fresh ones but I'll manage and then I'll cook some... :-)

CC - I know its sooo frustrating when you have something in mind and then you show up and its unavailable....good luck next week with the pool. I hear the weather is supposed to turn here soon so hoping so....the outdoor pool season is already so short in this area...but this year we've basically lost a month of the only 3 we get!!! Maybe it'll stay warm into September this year...although that isn't the same because the kids are back in school and fall activities so the pool wouldn't get much use even if it is very hot. Oh well, I guess we can keep hoping for an amazing July & August!

Meri - that raw chocolate sounds interesting. I've never tried Goji berries...I do think I saw them at the grocery store though...are they small greenish spiky things? by small...I mean about the size of grapes? I'd like to give it a try!

thanks for the suggestion of boiling the tomatoes for a minute and peeling them...I think that method will work. Hoping to get around to trying it later today or tomorrow. I picked up all the ingredients yesterday. Oh and by 'hot' I meant warm not necessarily spicy....my tummy is ok with some spices but others make it flip.

I'm getting better at having more veggies, but I tend to reach for the fruit a lot. I think a lot of that has to do with the shear volume of veggies per block in the Zone.....it seems that after a huge salad or plate full of veggies I'm still short a block or 2 so I end up with fruit again! BUT I did have a green smoothie for breakfast this morning

Jana you can find gogi berries (little pinkish red dried berries) and raw chocolate powder in health food stores.

Thanks Sue....I guess those weren't goji berries that I saw then!!! LOL! I was scared for a minute there, wondering how you even begin to prepare those spiky ones! I'll look in the health food store for the ingredients.

Youre' welcome! I'm not sure what they look like fresh, so who knows, maybe they could have been. :-) They're usually in the supplement aisle. Look for a "Super Foods" section. Keep in mind that dried fruit should be used in moderation in the Zone (unfavorable carb). And then there's all the chocolate covered gogi berries, gogi juice, gogi snack bars, you name it (I'd stay away from all of these).

Gogi berries are being hyped right now because they are a source of polyphenols. They are but one source and there thousands of different polyphenols that, so far, have been identified in nature. I prefer a mix of many, so I drink some Sea Health Plus daily.

Jana, for preparing the tomatoes you have to make a "cross" cut into each by knife before putting them into the boiling water, I think it's called blanching? They it's easier to peel them! And I'd recommend to put less garlic, maybe just one clove at first. My stomach also goes upside down for most spices... Not the mild ones so badly but them as well, especially if they're more exotic.

Maybe the green spikey things were cardamoms? :-D Dunno :-D Anyway, I like gojis and there's about 500x more vitamin C for example than in oranges. And I don't binge on them, usually I eat just a little bit per day. Like ... maybe 20? Hard to count those small ones! Anyway, they are basically the only friend fruit I use. And I don't use anything ready made, I prepare my food myself unless I go eat out. I don't do bars or anything like that so I always know what I'm eating.

As for the raw chocolate I eat one or max two per day, quite often not at all. But now I just made them! :-P But they shouldn't be a problem for staying in the Zone or for my health, more like a benefit I think. :-) Now I'm into seasoning them with gourmet (finger) salt! They just melt in the mouth, oh my, you should try <3

This conversation might a bit far from the original topic but I'm liking it :-D

Sue K - thanks for the info, I appreciate it!

Meri - yes I think we've gone wayyy off topic here but I am really enjoying how much I am learning on this thread. Things have been crazy busy here for the past couple of days so I haven't been able to try the Gazpacho yet...but hoping to either for lunch today or over the weekend. Still enjoying my morning green smoothies though! thanks for the tip on peeling the tomatoes. My stomach is odd with what makes it 'flip' I can eat some very spicy stuff like chili without problem and then something else much milder like cauliflower can put me in agony for days. spices are the same...but its hard to pinpoint which spices send me off because most recipes have a combination of spices.

I'm going to get to the health food store early next week and get the ingredients for the raw chocolate...I'd like to try this. Meri, have you tried Sue K's Batter Brownie Smoothie? It is wonderfully chocolatey!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Meri....I tried the Gazpacho for lunch today. I made it earlier this morning left it to chill until lunchtime. Mine turned out green for some reason??...I thought I 'read' you say that it would be red? Maybe its because I left the skin on the cucumber? Anyways, it turned out very good....a lot of food, but good. I started eating it in a bowl like cold soup with a spoon but it was taking waaayyy too long to eat that big bowl so I poured it into a glass to drink the rest. Very filling, I could barely finish it....so hopefully it will keep me in the Zone until snack time later.

thanks for sharing the recipe...it was nice to have a different sort of veggie for lunch instead of just salad or warm veggies for a change

Jana, hey you! And greetings from the summer cottage by the lake, just came home yesterday from a three day trip. Ahhhh :-) Should get warmer tho.

And no wonder you were all filled up! The recipe's for like four people :-D I'm so so sorry I forgot to mention it but I hope you'll survive? :-) I mean it's not dangerous to have it all but it might be a bit too much... Glad you liked it! I always leave the peel on the cucumber and the soup is sometimes more ref and sometimes more green, I don't know really. And some people use tomato juice as a liquid and then it's prettier for sure, but we'd not prefer juices so... Anyway, it's great to exchange ideas and also stomach experiences, my stomach's quite unexpectacle as well, but I'm finally getting the hang of it. I think. Then there are days I just don't know... :-)

I definetely need to try that smoothie recipe, just have to find it out first :-P And raw chocolate is just something divine in my opinion. It makes you feel so good and well and is good for you and you don't need much of it. But I understand that it's not the zonest thing on earth. Like me ;-)

Tho it would be nice to just have an endless weekend it's sort of nice to go to work, all the routines make sure my tummy's better. And there's the midnight summer's festival on Friday in Finland so it's off, again heading to the countryside on Thursday I think. Take care and in the zone! You all. :-)

Hi Meri!

Thanks for sharing your great recipes here! Lake cottage sounds fun. :-) My cousins have one and I love to spend time there in the summer.

Some chocolate info, it's raw cacao powder (a.k.a. raw chocolate powder) that's in my smoothie recipe that Jana mentioned. The amount used in the recipe is approximately 10 grams and contains only 0.8 grams of fat, making it fine for the Zone (the recipe's based on a recipe found in books,; refer to my recipe for more info).

The raw chocolate that we'd need to be more careful with is that which has been made into actual chocolate candy (bars, chips, blocks, etc.), because it contains added cocoa butter and other fats, making it very high in fat, especially saturated fat.

Have a great day!

Hi Meri! Glad you had a good time at the cottage. That is how I grew up....my parents had a summer lake cottage as well and we would go up as much as possible all summer. It was wonderful and I have may fond memories of my time at the lake. Now my DH and I have opted to make our backyard our 'holiday place'...we bought a house in the country on an acre with a pool...so we've got some space and a place to swim and relax. DH has a long commute to work everyday and we have 5 children so we spend A LOT of time driving them around...so when summer weekends come we like to just walk into the backyard and enjoy our sanctuary.

Hmmm...so that recipe was for 4 people!!! LOL!! I did measure everything out as I was putting it into the food processor and it added up to only 3 blocks...but because they were all favourable veggies it sure added up to a big batch of soup. Maybe next time I'll divide the Gazpacho into thirds and then have an apple with it for desert instead of sooo many veggies. The good news is it did keep me in the Zone. All I had with it was 3 oz of turkey breast.

You can find Sue K's brownie batter smoothie in her recipe thread. Its in the 'food tips' forum....I think the recipe is somewhere around page 4 or 5. If you can't find it let me know and I'll post it for you here. It is very yummy...no veggies though!

I've tried a couple of different variations of the green smoothie over the weekend...tried my 'usual' but without the banana one day (that's actually an unfavourable carb so thought I'd try it without) and it was really good as well. This morning I was out of spinach so substituted romaine lettuce instead with the celery and strawberries...it was ok...better once I added the banana in again :-) I'll have this one again too one day, I liked it.

How are you doing lately with the pre-workout snack?

Hi Everyone!


Jana,thanks for directing everyone to my smoothie recipe. If anyone's looking for the recipe, I just checked my recipe thread and it's the 4th posting on the first page of the thread. Here's the address for the thread:

http://www.zonediet.com/Community/F...fault.aspx

Enjoy!

Oh you guys are awesome :-) Feels so good to come back home from training and see your messages... And thanks for picking the recipe up, Sue! Couple of questions tho: is the zone protein powder tasteless or with a taste? And since you can't get any frozen cherries in Finland is it okay to use fresh ones? Also, I can't drink or eat soya products so it's prolly okay to use normal milk instead? It is raw cocoa powder that I use for my raw chocolate as well. Didn't know btw that they make products as raw chocolate, in Finland there are none. The only possibility at the moment is to make it yourself and that's all I'm ever aiming for... So good, good :-)

But as soon you'll clarify these if you please may I will try :-P SOunds (even the name!) awwwwfully yummy! Sure my bf's gonna like it as well. Judging by the name ;-) Sounds like the ben and jerry's of the zone diet :-D

Jana, oh yeah, you can easily get away with the energy of the soup but the amount - phew! Gotta respect ya girl! :-D But very, very nice to hear it kept you in the zone. By the way, if I make warm puree soups (not this one, this is always cold but like normal tomato soup or veggie soup) I love to add cottage cheese into it. It melts and is delicious and makes it perfectly balanced :-)

I also quite rarely use banana in the smoothie but maybe once a week or so. A piece of it that is. Usually the strawberries or raspberries will do the sweetening trick necessary. And it's possibly to vary it just like you've done, just let me know if you come up with something superb, I'm all ears. I made mine today without celeriac and with frozen spinach since they were sold out from the store. Noooooo problem what so ever. Still works.

Regarding the early morning snack: I did again a run in the morning at the cottage and had some yoghurt and tahini before. BUT I think I made a crucial mistake by drinking a whole glass of water too, there was too much stuff in my stomach... Still managed the 6K but not as comfortably :-D That was a pure accident, have to pay attention to that. Otherwise I'm all pro the idea and been already advertising it to some of my friends who work out and who I coach.

I myself have been raised by the seaside where I live currently as well so the lake's always a bit... err, non-salty and tamed for me ;-), but I love the cottage! Peaceful, pure nature, cold dips in the lake, yoga by the pier... Reading books, cooking, even baking (had to feed the other people... and myself :-D now I'm paying for eating flour and sugar with some stomach pain). Going back there soon so now enjoying the urban life. But it's so cold! Now summery at all if you don't count the endless light, the sun does barely go down at night.

Anyway, long story, but so glad to hear from you again :-) And looking forward to tasting the brownie batter smoothie!

Hi Meri!

Great description - Ben and Jerry's in the Zone! The soymilk is only to give it a bit iof liquid to blend better. You can substitute milk or water. I haven't made it with fresh cherries, so you can let me know how it works (you might not need it you use fresh unfrozen fruit; the fruit will be more watery then when it's frozen). The frozen cherries and banana contribute to the thick texture of the smoothie, so maybe you could freeze the fresh cherries first. Experiment! Have fun!

Oh Sue! Its no secret to anyone on these forums that I LOVE your smoothie recipe!! LOL! So much so that I feel obligated to share it with anyone that admits to a similar chocolate addiction that I have. I'm really wanting to try the fudge recipe too but I'm having a terrible time finding the fructose...I assume it was supposed to be liquid form for that recipe or do you think granules would work as I found those?

Meri...we enjoy reading your posts too! Your cottage life sounds wonderful! I'm so glad the morning snack is working for you....yes I stopped having a drink before exercise too...I used to have a cup of coffee before starting but now just have the yogurt, macadamia butter and a sip or two from my water bottle...I finish the whole water bottle by the time I'm done exercising but I figure I'm just replacing sweat so it doesn't seem to upset my stomach if I keep each drink fairly small. If I guzzled I'm sure I'd have cramping and have to stop running.

The cottage cheese in warm soup is a great idea! I'm going to try that next time my soup is low in protein. Usually I just have a piece of cheese or meat separately to make up for any missing protein, but I really like the idea of the cc.

Now about Sue's brownie smoothie....I have used chocolate cow's milk instead of the soy milk and it tasted equally as good. The protein powder I use is chocolate flavoured, but you could probably use tasteless as well, it just would be a little less chocolatey. That was a great suggestion by Sue to freeze fresh cherries...especially if you really like the smoothie then you can have them on hand year round if you freeze lots while they are in season at the grocery store. Good luck with the recipe and enjoy! :-)

I love it too Jana. :-))))))))))

I use Dr. Sears Zone protein powder, which has little to no flavor, and it's still extremely chocolatey because of all the cacao powder in it.

When I've made that fudge I use granulated fructose.

Okay, I shall try! There's actually only one protein powder I can use since I can't have the lactose and that i bland, or just vaguely sweet. I'll adjust the chocolate taste with the powder then little by little. :-)

Also thinking could use frozen banana, you've prolly tried the "raw food ice cream" i.e. frozen banana blended? Aaah! But maybe a piece of that and some frozen fruit. Not sure will I try with the cherries or something else but I'll see in the store what's available. Cherries and chocolate would be a classical combination tho. :-P

Still encouraging you to try the crorodile mousse! And watch the video! It's hilarious!... In an awkward way ;-) :-D Soon off to work but in the evening I SHALL MAKE SOME SMOOTHIE!

Meri.... I saw something about your country on the news today...
about a naked run... or something like that.... and the I remember you are from Sunny Findland... ...
just that... I am preparing to do the spinach and celery... green mounster thing... soon, but I didn't got spinach this week.. hope for next one..
best regards..

Bernie, sounds very Finnish! :-D We have a thing with the sauna and being naked ;-) Hope you'll grow fond of the green smoothie <3 Where do you live by the way?

I live in Mexico, up north... actually I am a 100 mts form the US border right now... (work on a factory)... sometime I can not get same products you can in another countries... but I change for whatever is available and less expensive here.. jajaj...
I've learned from your country that you have 44 free days (vacations) in a year?? Wooahh.. that is so nice. We have 6 vacations days a year. Well... need to take advantage of themmm actually they will came soon (end of this month)....
Thank you.... !! and enjoy Sunny days... When is the longest day ?? 21 June? how long it is??

Cherries and chocolate, exacty! And that's also why I chose the almond flavoring to go with it. Yes, have tried making sorbet/"ice cream" of frozen banana, but it's too much C for me. The small chunk of it in that smoothie is about my limit on banana tolerance. I came up with a chocolate raspberry sorbet though. It's in my recipe thread, same thread as that smoothie.

Meri, what a great idea, to use frozen spinach instead of fresh!

Gotta tell you, I live in Wisconsin, and I can totally relate to the cottage on the lake. We don't have one, but I enjoy going to the lake anytime. We do a lot of camping, so we will head off to a camp on a lake and set up for a nice peaceful weekend. My hubby isn't the "nature lover" that I am, so I do settle for a pop up camper instead of sleeping in the tent.

I just got back from a weekend on the lake. Took a lifeguard training course, and passed it--now I am a certified lifeguard! I just wanted to have the certification so that I could take our girl scouts camping and they could also enjoy the lake.

The water was soooooooooooo cold! It has not been a warm summer yet, and the water up north is cold. The instructor said that the water was in the 40's but I have a hard time believing that. I think it was in the 50's. Sounds better, but that is still very cold water to swim in!

Bernie, oh Mexico! Very exotic from the Nordic country view :-) Our selections in the store probably vary quite a bit if you compare Finland to Mexico! I love to travel and often do and one of my favourite things is to go to a local supermarket to explore all things different... Especially organic and nature food stores interest me, but the normal ones as well. I always bring something home back with me. :-) Like goji berries I first bought from Great Britain years ago and now they're here! My bf is actually importing them among other organic raw foods, quite an advantage ;-)

Sue, and I just noticed when I took closer look at the batter recipe that the banana used IS frozen. I've also made some mixtures on my own keeping the amount of carbs quite low. I think the avocado chocolate mousse would still do for you? COuldn't find any cherries at the store today, neither fresh nor frozen nor canned. So I'll get some fresh ones from the market tomorrow maybe, have to postpone the trial a little. :-) And I myself have to avoid the protein powder a bit not to upset my stomach even if it is low or non lactose, my stomach doesn't take anything processed very well and also I love to eat food as "real", if you know what I mean ;-D No mean to badmouth protein powder tho, I'd probably eat more if I could. It's quite convenient even if it's not "real".

Jana and CC, the frozen one worked amazingly well! Now I found some fresh one too. And I also used fennel instead of celeriac today, that's brilliant as well. New combos, exiting... :-P At the moment I'm packed with a huge amount of calamari salad, I seriously over ate, doesn't happen often but then, I'm too good of a cook ;-) hehehehe. Loving the salads. Luckily it wasn't anything not preferred and actually that's the result of postponing eating too long... Always happens. SHould've known by now, I'm 30 already. :-)

Camping! I was a sail scout when I was younger! And I'm a real urban city girl but in the same time I love the nature, and I've began to appreciate it even more growing up. My work demands 110% almost all the time and is basically being with people all the time so don't have the energy to meet people all the time when off work. Btw, is it okay to ask what do you do for living? I'm an occupational therapist myself.

And CC, congrats on the lifeguard thingie! Those skills are valuable whenever, where ever. Like knowing cpr.

Phewh, so so full. Still aiming towards the kitchen to make some raw chocolate. Just because we're all out :-D

I am not sure what a sail scout is, but I am sure it must have something to do with water! LOL! Hey, I am a city girl, too, but brought up to appreciate the country and the outdoors. So, married with children, we now live just outside of a rural town.

Yes, you never know when something bad may happen on the water, so I am glad that I have this skill. Hopefully I will never have to use it, though!

I am a nurse, I work in case management in a small hospital. I know what you mean by being with people all the time!

Sue...thanks for confirming about the fructose...I'll pick up the granules next time I'm at the grocery store. Funny, my DS told me to buy it when I found it but I kept thinking I needed to find a liquid fructose...perhaps it doesn't even exist and that's why I haven't been able to find it! LOL!

CC...I was thinking about you this morning...I made my 'usual' green smoothie this morning (spinach, celery and frozen strawberries...I've been going without the banana the last while) but it tasted more bitter than usual...I was confused until I realized I had purchased regular spinach instead of the baby spinach that I usually buy...maybe this would make a difference for you if you tried baby spinach?

Bernie!! You're going to join the 'green smoothie bandwagon'? that's great!!! Let us know how you like them when you try. I was so hesitant to try, and was so pleasantly surprised...now i actually miss them if I don't have it for breakfast. funny how things can change!

Meri...when I made the Green Angel I used 6 tbsp of avocado (6 blocks of fat, no fat in the cottage cheese I had for protein so I doubled the usual 3 Tbsp) and then I just put one block of banana in (1/3 of a banana) and it tasted great...it was basically equal amounts. I think either cc or yogurt would taste good in that one, think I might try that next time. I have an avocado in the fridge now so I'm planning to try the crocodile mousse tomorrow morning! do you have a specific recipe for the raw chocolate Meri? I know you listed the ingredients in an earlier post but do you have measurements?

I am the opposite of you and CC with work....I have an office in my home and I am an accountant for a manufacturing business...so most of my communication with people is by email, etc. I can go days without seeing or talking to anyone but my family! But it works well for us as my DH has a long commute so his days are long and I like being here to see the kids off to school in the morning and I'm here when they get home, and it's never an issue when they are home sick from school like it would be if I worked outside the home. I used to have a very fast paced career outside of the home but I felt I was missing out on family time (I worked 60+ hrs /week plus brought a briefcase home to work every night and weekend) so I left that behind several years ago and don't regret it....children and family are much more important than career success..to me at least :-)

Keeping Zoning 'Green' everyone!

Hi Meri!

Yes, the mousse looks good, but I haven't tried it because I can't handle sweeteners very well.

You're welcome Jana!

Jana, I think I had used baby spinach in my smoothie... I really think it was the celery. Hmm, maybe the celery was still a bit green? Normally, I really like celery, it usually blends in well to other things. Anyway, I think I will give the frozen spinach a "whirl" next time.

I had the Mousse Crocodile this morning! OMG it was sooo rich and yummy...not my typical breakfast food. LOL!! You're right Meri, you cannot even taste the avocado, it just tastes so chocolatey. I sweetened mine with 1/2 Tbsp natural honey so it was 1C block.

I'd bet I could whip a big batch of this up for dessert for the family and my kids wouldn't even know they were eating something healthy...it was truly wonderful and I'm going to add it to my desert recipes...I'm sure it will get a lot of use in this house. Thanks for sharing the recipe Meri!!

CC - yes celery can be hit and miss sometimes....maybe I'll try organic next time as Sue K suggests

Jana, well here's something to give an idea, but I only have the measurements in metric system so I hope you can convert them via Google (like "0,5 decilitres into cups").

Raw chocolate

-0,6 dl virgin coconut oil
-1 dl raw cocoa powder
-0,5 dl cocoa nibs (crushed cocoa beans, possible to crush them in a blender)
-0,5 dl goji berries (optional)
-some sweetener (organic honey, agave nectar, artificial sweetener)
-generous amount of cinnamon
-optional: add either chiliflakes or gourmet/finger salt or instant coffee or almond (or whatever like vanilla) flavour

Melt the coconut oil putting the cup in warm water (don't let water in the cup, just dip it) so it becomes liquid and clear, doesn't require more than warm water from the tap. Also possible and quicker even to melt it i n the microwave. Add cocoa powder, nibs, cinnamon and sweeten it a bit.

If you want to, add gojis (superb!) and season with cinnamon. A delicious option is, tho it sounds weird, to spice it with a little finger salt. Gives it an interesting twist, sweet and salty :-P OR I just made chocolate yesterday and added incan berries. Nice sourness in the sweetness. Just adjust everything according to your own preference.

Pour the mass into a silicon ice cube mold and put it in the fridge. Doesn't take too long to stiffen, then taste! Uuuuuu so goooooood :-D

Jana, I KNEW you'd love it!! Everybody does and nobody tastes the avocado! A perfect dessert :-D

Yes Meri...I LOVED it! and now I can't wait to try the raw chocolate recipe. Keep sharing those recipes they are great!!

OK, now will have to scroll down and find that crocodile mousse recipe again!

It's very yummy! AND it only uses fat for the avocado and one block of C for your sweetener. Since Fat is usually just an add-to in most of my meals this is fantastic for a desert! Of course to use lots of avocado you need to have a LF or NF protein....

Just had to come to say take care! I'm off to the cabin by the lake for couple of days :-)

And just today morning the approx. 5 teaspoons of natural yoghurt and a little less then 1 teaspoon of cashew butter made my run fly! SO thank you for changing my habits.

Meri, have a wonderful time, will catch up with you later!

Mukkellis = Meri !!

Have a veri nice trip..enjoy.
I had your green drink.. spinahc celery berry... grrrreat !! my tummy say --- Thank you Meri !!
looks weird, but taste nice.. feels better...
Jana posted your receipes and now more persons are trying your drinks...
thank you....... looking forwar to hear from you.

Meri, hope you have a great time at the cabin!

I'm glad the yogurt is working for you....the gratitude goes both ways...I am so happy you introduced me to the green smoothies...I enjoy them every day now!

Bernie!! So glad you liked it....you're right it looks weird and so it takes a second to turn your mind off to actually give it a try BUT it's so yummy when you do! AND it makes your stomach feel satisfied but not bloated, nice and calm, and the best part is it keeps me from being hungry for hours and hours...longer than an all fruit smoothie can! Now you need to try the green angel and the crocodile mousse....try the croc and you'll never want ice cream again!!

Just had my first green smoothie in three days, relief :-D Makes me feel so good as well. It's always nice to go to the cabin and it's also nice to break the routines a little, but it's such a comfort to get back to them. I know, I'm quite a routine loving person. :-) Makes life more... peaceful? And I seriously need that since I'm a bit of an duracell bunny.

All the balancing acts such as routines, newly found yoga, free diving, reading books - they are priceless in the middle of my 110% requiring work (love working with people but it's exhausting... U know what I mean), intense workouts, meeting people, volunteer work, everything.

Bernie, so glad you liked the greenie as well!! It's a weird idea at first and not so tempting but luckily by the example of some people recommending you get to try it and bang! You're hooked. I also love the raw food "pies" and "cakes", have to find a nice recipe if anyone's interested in trying. Mainly uses seeds, nuts, a little fruit, sometimes dried but not necessarily and berries. I've done some brilliant ones with some dairy products as well, quark actually.

Now the sun shining and it's the perfect Sunday morning moment - silent, bf and dog still sleeping, having the whole free day to live. Sigh. Ain't life wonderful sometimes!

Ps. Jana, been running for three days in a row (getting seriously addicted again) and did one a bit more than 10K run - went superbly! Easy, enjoyable, fast. Aaaaah. So different running in the country side than here in the city. Just awesome! Only problem is that I had promised myself to have a day off from training yesterday but I sneaked to run a little... But it's an old thing, me over exercising. Trying to find the balance there as well. BTW, what do you have for protein at the breakfast with the greenie?

Hi Meri. Welcome back from the cottage...glad you had a good time. I know what you mean about routine...I'm much the same.

The raw pies and cakes sound great. Yes if you could post a recipe I'd love to try!

I usually have cottage cheese with macadamia butter along-side the green smoothie. A couple of days I was out of cc so I had an egg white and nf cheese omelette...that was good too.

A 10k run is very good Meri! I find I end up running most days too. I try to limit myself to every other day and just to brisk walk on the 'off-days' but a good song comes on my Ipod and the next thing I know I'm running again!! I don't go as far as you though. LOL!

Hello Meri --- Welcome back...
Jana --- Hii
My report to both of you... Croc mouse... I made a green angel (avo and banana) with a spoonful of cocoa (raw chocolate) and 1 sugar ... It was very nice... then, It was so good but could not finish all, so half of it I put in freezer and ate latter as "icecream"... so delicious... I surely try supercroc (that is how my kid names Crocodriles)
Ohh... and Spinach and pinapple... so nice... I made half blend by it self, and then 1/2 blend with protein powder added... also deliciouos...
For protein I've used as Jana suggested -- egg white tortilla -- with salsa, also added to my favorite list already.
I appreciate your ideas... and Meri, now you have a debt with us... we want to try your raw pies... already looking forward to try it...
I am happily getting use to your support. (also like routines, and being home) Thank you for being there !!!

Jana, uuuuuu I WISH I could get macadamia butter from somewhere..... Sigh. Can't have it all it seems O_O
How many blocks are you eating per day by the way? I'm sort of trying to slip a bit more in the zone by first roughly estimating my current block situation (which is just rebellious feeling based one ;-)). I'm quite aware tho how much. But I'm not sure what's the right amount for me. So asking for some example :-)

Bernie, yummmm good work there girl! Could be awesome with some cocoa powder! Try the crocodile if you dare :-) I'll try putting up a recipe for a "raw" pie, tho I use dairy as filling sometimes.

About the egg white tortillas: I like eggs and egg whites okay, but I just sort of personally think that it's not ecological and therefore moral to just eat the whites... I'm sure you are prolly using the yolks as well but I think you know what I mean? I'm very precise about what I eat but the world still comes first :-D We're in such a enviable position being able to choose whatever we want to eat when some people have nothing to eat... I don't mean to moralize anybody, I'm just thinking thing through... :-) So I'd prolly use the whole egg. And I also like my eggs boiled rather than fried, quite a rare treat tho. Basically on holidays in hotels that is :-D

Anyway I'll be back with a pie recipe! Take care you supporters <3

Okay, here goes!

Raw Monkeypie (ie. from my blog Monkeyfood.net)

Crust
-1 dl grounded almonds
-1,5 dl almond flour (possible to make self in a blender)
-1,5 dl coconut flakes
-1 tbs (raw) cocoa powder
-50g coconut oil/butter (preferably virgin coconut oil)
-a pinch of salt if you like
-something to sweeten it: honey, agave nectar, artificial sweetener OR you can use dried fruit, raisins, ripe banana or other fruit pureés if you like them better, I tend to use an artificial sweetener, agave or honey to keep the carbs down)

Melt the coconut oil/butter and mix everything in. Taste to adjust the sweetness. Could spice it up with some cinnamon or whatever you like. Put it in a pie tin (well the thing you bake pies in :-D) and pat it so that it evenly covers it and also the sides. Put it in the fridge or freezer to let it settle.

Filling option I
-500g quark
-2 ripe bananas
-1,5 tbs cashew nut butter (or other nut butter)
-something to sweeten it

If you opt for this filling, top with raspberries after you've filled the crust. Keep it in the fridge before eating. At least I've been eating it two days from the fridge so it should keep quite well.

Filling option II The Green Angel (not sure about the quantities for a full size pie)
-2-4 ripe avocados
-2-4 ripe bananas
-some water
-sweetener if needed
(-addiotional: raw cocoa powder to make it chocolaty. I prefer the green angel without cocoa but I think at least Bernie would like this one... :-))

Put the avocado flesh and the peeled bananas in a blender and add a tad of water to make it easier to blend, add a bit more if needed to make a proper texture. Taste to see if it needs anything to sweeten it. In my mouth when you use about equal amounts of avocado and banana it's sweet enough.

When you've filled the crust with green angel, you may sprinkle some coconut flakes (maybe toasted if you're you're not too lazy) on top or slice a little banana to decorate it. Or whatever you wish!

Filling option III: variable
-fresh berries
-ripe fruit
-fruit pureés
-dried fruit

Fill the crust with your favorite fruit and berries. If you want to make it sweet enough, mush some bananas first and spread the banana pureé at the bottom. Then top with berries and other fruit, maybe some small chopped dried ones as well. Could also use like oatmeal yoghurt or seed/nut milks in this if you make them thick enough.

Well there! A couple of suggestions where to start from. The possibilities are, again, endless, I know I keep saying that but I just feel so inadequate trying to give "one" recipe to try when I come up with new and different ideas the whole time... Anyway, this crust works if you want to make a "proper" sized pie and it's been liked by I don't know how many "normally" eating people. Try it and tell me. :-)

Of and like pineapple and coconut go very very well together so if you want to use coconut cream in the quark and then top it with pineapple (ripe or canned) it should be brilliant.

...and here's a link to the recipe in my blog, in Finnish, I KNOW I KNOW :-D Still. There's a picture.

http://monkeyfood.net/2008/08/03/pu...miopiiras/

Ohhhh, I've so ended up flooding this conversation but I just tried Sue's Brownie Batter Smoothie and yes, yes, YES it works! Mmmmmm pudding. And I don't even like puddings. Also the male part loved it. Made it with some fresh cherries frozen, I think I used just 6 or 7 of them but they were huge and when tasted it didn't seem to need more. A bit tricky cause I froze them with the stones in them but thought that they'd be fresher that way. And they were but I froze my finger cutting the cherry meat around the stone... The great sufferings of a brownie batter hunter! :-D And I used the flavourless protein powder, worked well, and some normal milk instead of the soya. Didn't need to add any extra cocoa powder either. Omitted the oil since I've had my share for today in nuts but don't think it makes a big difference, prolly just to balance the blocks? Wow.

I actually put the leftovers (didn't let the male finish it!) in the freezer to try it as an ice cream tomorrow :-)

Also did a version of a raw almond cake, this chocolaty thing and it turned out quite good, tho now I know what to make differently for some improvements. Will post the recipe after some trials if anyone's interested. I don't know if you've heard of this chocolate brand Dajm or Daim, it's by Marabou, a Swedish manufacturer. A milk chocolate with almond crocants. The cake's named after that in here, it's the Daim Cake. Anyway, was good.

Tomorrow morning 'll be up for a run! See you guys :-) And thanks Sue!

Ah! Glad you liked it! The finger...ouch! I've found that the cherries are the last thing to smooth out when you blend it. So to be more Zone friendly I stop blending before the cherries totally disappear in the mix, leaving them a little chunky. Very easy to do if you blend with an immersion blender. A tip, if he dosen eat the leftovers before you get to it, let it thaw a little before eating. The flavors come out in it better when it's not frozen solid. Same goes for my frozen yogurt recipes. I tried a new one last night, chocolate with a peanut butter swirl and chunks of chocolate fudge Dr. Sears Zone bars. I had it with dinner last night, and some more with my lunch today. I'll add it to my recipe thread soon.

Oh, and I looked at your monkeyfood site yesterday. Very nice! (wish I could read Finnish!) :-)

Yeah I also like a bit of chunks in there! And actually in the raw food "movement" it's also adviced to leave or to add something to chew on to start the production of saliva to ease the digestion so it's goooooooood (think of Jim Carrey in Liar, liar :-P) And yes I also always let the "lighter" ice creams to melt a little before eating, otherwise they're too hard and flavourless.

Surely be looking into your recipes as well! And if you see anything interesting enough in the monkeyfood let me know and I'll translate. :-) Tho it might a bit tricky since you don' even understand the tags :-D

Thanks for the translation offer. Exactly, I don't understand the tags either. It's ok! :-) I might put them into an online translator when I find the time. Liar Liar...ha!

I've dabbled in raw, but only in a way that fits into my particular Zone needs. Keep sharing with us!

Take a look at my food photos for more of my meal/snacks (album in my sig. below).

Sue, I also incorporate raw food for the parts it fits my nutritional life (and my tastebuds...) but I think it has a lot of great elements to be taken into use health wise. The problem is, the raw food people tend to have it all or nothing meaning the presumption is to go raw totally or else not at all. I think that's the reason some of their preparing methods etc. have not been in the use of the big public if you know what I mean... Even tho they are very beneficial for health and also gourmet nutrition. :-) But I love it when I can go raw with the morning green smoothie, my salads, some treats and stuff. Makes cooking interesting as well :-D

Ohh the run was good but it's gonna be a hot hot day... :-P Loving it! WOuld hope to be off work tho ;-) Take care!

Meri....so sorry I haven't posted for awhile, its been a really busy week!

You can't find macadamia butter and I can't find coconut oil!! LOL! Maybe I'll try the raw chocolate with olive oil...its more zone friendly too...do you think it will work? And thanks for posting the monkeypie recipe....we need to have more meals in a day for all these great recipes!!! I'm on 11 blocks a day. I usually break it up as:

.5 B before workout
2.5 B breakfast
3 B lunch
1 B afternoon snack
3 B supper
1 B bedtime snack

If I'm going to be doing more weight training than running for my workout I'll have a 1 block snack and a 2 block breakfast instead...but lately I find I run most days even if I do the strength.

If you want to calculate your blocks there is a link at the right side of this screen called the 'Zone Block Calculator' and you just have to enter some measurements to get your # of blocks....its easy.

Yes, Sue K's brownie smoothie rocks!!! I just LOVE it. I freeze it often and just let it melt for awhile before eating it...works great.

I tried the green smoothie with frozen peaches instead of berries the other day and it was great! I want to try Bernie's spinach/pineapple but pineapple is one of those foods that makes my tummy go nuts so going to try first with mostly strawberries or peaches and just a little pineapple and see how that goes...it sounds so yummy!

Got to go for today.....talk to you soon!

Peaches + Spinach... sounds like a deal!!!
I will try... I miss my spinach during the trip. Fortunatelly I am back home... and I will do blends again.
regards ladies...

Jana, well ohhh I wouldn't maybe try it with olive oil, it doesn't hold it together like coconut oil or cocoa butter since it doesn't become so solid when cooled down. But I dunno... It needs something to hold it together. In the raw food movement they use like soaked dates or raisins grounded into paste but that's too sugary for me. But it doesn't have to hold together if you make it in glasses and not like a whole pie. Have to figure out something :-) If I do something like this and it's not for a party or an event I usually make just a tiny batch, a little pie for me and a little pie for my bf. Not too much coconut oil then either :-)

Thanks for your block breakdown! So if you're not working out in the morning do you have 3B breakfast? Or are working out every single day and always in the morning? Oh and is it too much to ask you to post (not in a hurry, when ever you have the time) your menu for one day? That would be awfully kind, would be good to get a view for another person's zoned meals and the portion sizes. I think 11 blocks works for me as well, or would work. I've tried the calculator yes but never quite trust that kind of things ;-)

Peaches are indeed peachy... :-P We don't have any frozen ones here but it's good to use fresh ones. And Bernie, nice to see you back here! Also loving the fresh pineapple, yesterday had it for dessert in a restaurant, a rare treat to have a dessert! :-D

I'll just keep looking for the coconut oil then....maybe it will be at the health food store when I get there to get the goji berries, etc. I'm sure I'll find it eventually!

Yes if I don't workout then I just have a 3 block breakfast...but I do workout most mornings...its not very often that I take a day off completely...sometimes I'll just do a brisk walk on what should be a day off but if I don't exercise I never feel as good throughout the day. I always workout first thing in the morning...if I don't do it then I find my day gets going and then I don't get the exercise in. The only things I do later in day is swim in the pool with the kids and on weekends we'll have a big family soccer game. Most of them are teenagers now so its quite a workout!!!

What about you...how often do you workout?

I'm loving the peaches! Its even better with the spinach and celery than the strawberries are....but the smoothie is so bright green it almost glows! My kids thought that was funny :-)

Bernie is coming up with some great new combos for us too....so glad you've joined in Bernie!!!

Bernie and I both participate in another thread called Accountability...Are you in the Zone?. and we check in everyday and post our meals and share ideas, etc. Sue K and CC are also on that thread as well as several other fantastic ladies....you are more than welcome to join us there to get menu ideas. I'll post some of my meals here too for you...I'll do that on the next post.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Meri, here's a cut and paste of some of my meals from the accountability thread....

Tues...I went on a school trip to an amusement/water park with my DD...took all my own food...weighed a ton!!!
Pre-workout snack: 1/4c nf plain yogurt, 1/2 tsp macadamia butter (1/2 block)
breakfast: 4 egg whites, .5oz nf cheese, 1/2c salsa, green smoothie (spinach,romaine,celery,strawberries), 1 2/3tsp OO (2.5blocks)
Lunch: 3/4c lf cc, 1c strawberries, 1/2c blueberries, 2c celery sticks, 1Tbsp macadamia butter (3 blocks)
Supper: 3oz chicken over garden salad, 1/2c salsa, 9 almonds, popcorn (I know....) (3 blocks)
Snack (missed afternoon snack): white wine, 1.5oz deli turkey (nf), 6 almonds (1 block)

Wednesday:
breakfast: 3/4c lf cc, 1 Tbsp macadamia butter, 1/2c blueberries, green smoothie(spinach, celery, banana, strawberries) (3 blocks)
lunch: 4.5oz nf deli turkey over garden salad with 1/3c water chestnuts, 2tsp oo, red wine vinegar, apple for desert (3 blocks)
snack: 1/2c nf plain yogurt, 1tsp macadamia butter
supper: 3oz pork chop, 2c coleslaw with diced apple, ginger sesame dressing (3 blocks)
snack: 1.5oz nf deli turkey, waterchestnuts, 6 almonds

Thursday...
breakfast: Janet's modified smoothie...yummy and kept me EASILY ITZ until lunch
lunch: western omelette, slice of multigrain toast, apple for desert (lunch out so no options or measurements...)

Jana, okay great, I'll have a look at the accountability thread, I sort of didn't know what it meant :-D Seen the topic tho. Thank you for copying a sample here, it's very, very nice to get to have a look at the meals of somebody who eats quite similarly. But what is no fat cheese? Sounds awful ;-D I use 5% fat cheese which I really, really like and then a huge variety of different "normal" cheeses from the market next to where we live. Not much of them, but they are a delicacy that makes even a plain meal brilliant :-) Used sparingly, just to spice things a little!

And about the virgin coconut oil: are you familiar with Trader Joe's? I think they should have it. But never been to U.S. so can't be sure. Don't have Trader Joe's here!

HAVE to try the peaches! Soon we'll be off to an island near here for the day, have to go prepare the food. Some rye bread, smoked salmon, cheese, salad, apples and coffee. And the sunshine, sea, seagulls and a warm cliff. Lovin' it!

Almost forgot about the workouts: I tend to workout every day as well, trying my best to keep days off but ashamed how hard it is. I do crossfit (crossfit.com) which is weight lifting and other intense training like lactic acid endurance and then I run, swim, cycle and do some astanga yoga and pilates. Sometimes I do two workouts on the same day if they are compatible and if I feel like it. It varies a little depending on the season, in the winter time I haven't been cycling and I don't run as much but I do more weights. And in the summer time the opposite around. I like to keep things interesting by changing the sports, also do boxing, some brazilian jiujitsu sometimes andI've gone trough tens of hobbies :-D

At one time I sort of thought that I could have been really good like competion-wise if I'd concentrated on just one sport, but I've come to the conclusion that my way was perfect: no injuries, no bitterness of having to miss out something because of competitive sports and most importantly, I'm loving all the sports I do, I don't HAVE to do anything. So works for me just to keep moving :-) Yoga I've taken up just recently also to add some... balance to my workouts, not to over do things.

What about you Bernie, do you like to sweat? :-)

Hi Meri!

Yes I'm sure the accountability thread is intimidating to those who haven't been participating as its about 30 pages long now!

Funny you should mention about the NF cheese...it took me soooo long to find it....my DS (14yo) kept saying to to me 'you can't find it because it probably tastes awful so none of the stores are carrying'.....well I finally found it and Yep, it tasted absolutely terrible! LOL!!! I ended up throwing it out and I am NOT one to normally waste food! I definitely heard the 'I told you so's' about that!! Anyways, later I found a processed nf cheese by Kraft that is already in slices...this one tastes good in eggs, etc but I still wouldn't eat it on its own. I like Light Baby Bells and I also use a 4% fat cheese for most everything else. You can use full fat cheese in the Zone, you just need to modify the fat you add to the meal to compensate for the extra fat in the protein. For example, I had an omelette today and added 1/4c shredded nacho cheese to it and it had the equivalent of 9g of fat so I did not add any fat at all to the meal as that is the right amount of fat on its own.

Trader Joe's...I hear others talk about that store on this forum too but I'm not in the US I live in Canada so we don't have that chain here. I'll keep looking for the coconut oil though....its got to be here somewhere!

Your day at the island sounds wonderful! I hope you have a fantastic time!!

I like to mix up my exercise too....lately its been mostly running and weights, but now the nice weather is here I'll be doing more swimming and cycling. In the fall I'm going to join pilates and yoga classes when I can't get outside as much. A local town offered a mother/daughter yoga class that you do together so I'm hoping to enroll me and my youngest DD in that.

I had a yummy green smoothie this morning....it was basically the regular one mixed with the green angel...I started with just the green angel and kept adding different things to use them up out of the fridge....it was very good!

2 big handfuls of spinach (freebee)
2 celery stalks (.5C)
1/3 banana (1C)
1/2c frozen peaches (1C)
3Tbsp avocado (3F)

I needed 2.5 blocks of carbs so stopped there.....

Hello Meri and Jana...
it is so nice to be here...
I love the green blends with avocado.. but it is now so expensive in my city, I have to deal properly. So when I run out (I only got 2 avo this week) I will use blends with olive oil....
Sorry I am answering late... about the white eggs... Yes Meri, I do think like you. I do not like to waste food. More, I can not affort to do that. When I usually eat 2 eggs, 1 yolk. The remainding yolk I give to my dog a s a threat. My older dog eats mainly dog food and this morning threat.... but mainly I don't like to waste food. I check on my fridge every night, and I check to avoid spoilage on veggies.. so sometime I eat next day, not what I want, but what is more delicate to keep....
On sports... I used to be addicted to sports. I come here to this forums and read you and Jana excersice routine... and I wish I could do that... and maybe I can, just that I need to put an extra effort to extend my days. I have two kids... and work more than fulll time.
Actually I started to work up a little (please don't laugh... it is so little... but is a start...).. I don't know how to translate... is basic... lie on floor, face down, pull your weight up with your arms, but your body straight... 3 series 10 repetitions.. and another.. sidesaddle (is that a correct word??) .. stand up with your arms crossed on your chest, bend your knees until thigts are horizontal..count 3 sec, raise...
I know is too little.. but I am making my kids do it with me... so we can do together..
Well.. my lunch time is almost over... so I'll go back to it.
HAve a nice day !!!

Hi Bernie!

Welcome back! Any exercise you can do is good. :-) Those are called push-ups and squats. A tip to avoid injury, take care to use correct form on the squats and not over extend the knees.

Jana, oh you're in Canada! I seem to be sort of clueless about people's whereabouts, is there some sort of profile where I could check? :-D My friend is just returning from Canada having lived there for several years and another one's moving there in August... Would be great to get there, I've heard that Canada (it's so huge that probably some places but anyway) are quite similar to Finland actually. Regarding the weather and also people. Also occupational therapy (which is what I do) has strong roots there, one of the main models is actually called the Canadian Model :-)

But then no Trader Joe's apparently. I don't even know what that is btw ;-D My bf just found it out after I asked an advice. But I hope you can find the coconut oil. I know it's not favourable but there are many things that aren't and there's no need to have them a lot or every day, but then when you do have them they give some... sparkle to your food! :-) The smoothie with peaches and avo sounds delicious! I was so inspired by you and Bernie talking about peaches that I traded my everyday two apples into peaches and nectarines yesterday (and also this week totally). I've kind of forgotten those and my tummy seems to like them BETTER than apples! Anyway, I love to have a good variety on things to eat :-P Even tho I'm a slave to my routines!

Bernie, all exercise is good! You don't need to apologize anything but to be proud. People have different situations and backgrounds and possibilities and phases in their lives, we all do. And I kind of think that I'm overdoing my working out so maybe not a good person to take an example of.... But I'm working on it. The yoga helps, just went there yesterday. This astanga is like power yoga but it's not as intense as my other workouts which is good. Also good to learn to be quiet ;-)

And we have a dog as well and she sometimes gets a yolk (or even a whole egg) as a treat <3 And I also keep an eye on the fridge so nothing would get bad and I utilize the "have to eats" taking them for lunch. Works great! 'cause you can really put anything into a salad! I'm a salad master btw tho I say it myself ;-D I love to make them and eat them (sincerely I crave for salads) and am pretttty good at preparing them. Most commonly people forget to season the salad (not meaning you guys here obviously) and then you hear them say it doesn't taste like anything... Duh! A steak wouldn't either without some salt. Rant of the day! Hehehee.

Btw I also do a bit of personal training and it's so great to see the people progress! They begin to feel better and energetic and they learn to love a tad more healthier food and my absolutely greatest sport achievement last year was to get my DAD (at the respectable age of 63) to start going to the gym! And now he loves it! He's always HATED sweating and exercising and never done that but there he is now, going regularly twice a week (just added a third visit and made a new program) and it's pure heaven when I hear him say that he feels so good afterwords and when I see his improvement. :') Sniff.

I forgot to tell you! I got myself (finally!! couldn't find one before) a measuring cup for CUP! Actually it's a half cup (and a quarter of a cup is marked as well) but I've only had decilitre measurement cups. Meaning, it's a whole lotta easier for me to try out your recipes and I also can make recipes by cups. Happy days.... :-D It's the little things that make the difference!

(Btw. I can't get it why a nectarine is two carb blocks (in another words half nectarine is one block) but a peach is one block. At least the ones sold in here are bigger in size than the nectarines and I checked that the nutriotional value is almost the same?)

Meri, I have never quite understood that about peaches and nectarines, either! Only Barry Sears can figure that one out!

Meri, yes I'm sure northern Canada is quite similar to Finland. This country is huge and I still haven't seen all of it myself! My family took a driving trip to the west coast when I was 13 and we drove for over a month out and back to Vancouver Island in British Columbia (I'm in Ontario). I have never been to the east coast so we are taking the children in August for a week out there. I've never been up to the northern territories either...but I hear its beautiful.

Glad your tummy is liking the peaches...I find I'm eating them a lot these days for the same reason. I tried to get pineapple this week to try the spinach/pineapple combo but the grocery store didn't have any again this week....maybe I'll try canned pineapple instead of fresh.

The new measuring cup will be handy....what I did for your recipes in dl is I converted them and then wrote right the cup equivalents right on my recipe printout....didn't want to have to convert every time! ;-)

Bernie...as Meri said ALL exercise is good! Be proud of what you are doing! Starting as you have with walks and a couple of strength exercises is the way to go....a lot of people start off doing too much and then get sore or discouraged and quit...starting slower is a much better idea. AND doing it with your kids is fantastic...time together and you are teaching them that physical activity can be fun and feels good. If you keep doing the squats and push-ups for awhile you will start to feel a difference in the firmness of your lower body...then if you're anything like me you'll be hooked!!!

Like you guys I try to minimize food waste. We have a big family (5 kids) so our grocery bill is already pretty big without wasting any food! People always laugh at my shopping cart when I'm in the store because its so full...sometimes people will comment 'you must only shop once a month' and I just smile because I know I'll be back in less than a week to do it again! Hungry teenagers sure can plough through the groceries!! :-) But they are fickle so I usually end up going through the fridge and eating up all the food that they liked last week but did not eat this week (this week it is pears and grapes....)

Congrats on getting your Dad to the gym!! That is fantastic

Missed a lot over here, too!

Peaches and nectarines are bountiful here, and I generally like to make it a summertime staple of mine! I like the thought of eating a WHOLE piece of fruit, instead of a 1/2.

Agree about the coconut oil (although I have never had it). Sure, may be unfavorable in the Zone, but all in moderation.

Living in Wisconsin, I have only been up to Canada twice in my life, and we did a circle tour around Lake Superior. That was a beautiful drive! I just found out that the girl scouts have a 2 year biking program in which the older girls can take a bike trip around the lake, which would also take them into Canada. I would love to do that with my daughter. Also, I crossed over to Canada when I visited Niagara Falls. Beautiful!

But, I know what you mean about it being such a huge country. There is a lot of the US that I haven't seen, either. Although, I have gotten to some places that I may not have gone to, just because of some bowling tournament that drew me there!

CC, that would be a long trip by bike around Lake Superior!! How long do they get to do it? Its VERY hilly (almost mountainous) in northern Ontario there.....would be quite the workout!! How old are the girls that would do that? Very interesting....

Ohhh JAna !!! nice to meet you !!!
by the picture you don't look like having teenagers!!!
you look very good and young...
Thank you for encourge towards exercise... I love to do, simple don't have much time. When I am off work, I pick up my kids and go to the park. No time to change cloths so there I am with working boots at the partk doing push ups and squats... people look at me like I am stranger... but my arms and legs feel different already.

CC -- welcome back...

Meri -- I've been sharing your blends recepies all over the forums... jajaj !! and to some friend at home. But I am giving the credit to you... as soon as we can start doing money form them, i will share (jajajaj)...

besr regards.

Thank you Bernie!!! What a lovely thing to say! :-)))) (that's big smiles!). I'm approaching my 40th birthday...and have promised myself I will be in the best shape of my life when it comes!

I know it is hard to fit exercise in...I have had times in my life when I haven't exercised just because of the shortage of time. When I worked in an office I would go at lunch hour to a gym down the street. But now what I do....when my DH leaves for work around 5:45am I weigh in, have a snack and start exercising by 6am for an hour until the kids start to get up...once they are up if I haven't exercised then I don't get the time to do it. And I'm not very good about exercising later in the day, the workout never seems to go as well for me. So I give you a lot of credit for exercising in workboots at the end of the day...good for you!!!

I love the money for smoothie recipes joke....you always make me smile Bernie!!

Jana, first thing in the morning, before they got up, that's how I worked in my exercise and all kinds of other things when my kids were younger and all at home (all 6 of them back then; yes, we have 3 now; lost of our middle 3 kids 18 years ago; very tough but we've managed to move on).

Bernie, I'll tell my relatives in AZ to keep an eye out for Bernie's smoothie stand! :-)

Busy Mom's think alike!

Sue I am so sorry to hear about your loss....I won't gush about it because I know its still got to be hard even after 18 years...but I have shed a tear for you and Frank.

Ohh thank you...
actually I am looking for a different occupation, since Engineering may not be for me... I was thinking on becoming Zone counselor... now I can have both... smoothies stand for mornings... and Zone Advisor in the afternoon.. that may complete my income... (jajajaj), since I need to share my profits with Meri, for author right's (trademark ?)...

shame I can not sell blends or smothies over the internet....

Jana and SueK --- Busy Mom's think alike...
I also though on waking up earlier to perform my daily routine, but I just can not yet accomplish that !!!
I go to bed at midnight, after getting everything prepared at home.
I am not sure if this is because I am (proudly) single mom, or just because I get to picky on doing things properly that time seams not to be enough... so every night I borrow some hours to my sleep to complete task...
But someday,... I will wake up earlier and from exercise I will have more energy... and I will be able to complete the cycle... just do not loose faith on me... (jajajajaj)

SueK... I just simple can not imagine your sorrow after that lost. I imagine, not even time can heal such wounds. But you are strong women, you celebrate today your 7th anniversary against cancer.. there is a powerful reason for God for you been here. My prayers to you... and my cheers for getting to know and learn from a woman like you.

Thanks for your kind thoughts Jana. I've never mentioned them here before, I'm not even quite sure why I did today, except that your post about getting up before the kids brough back some distant memories, good memories. Thanks so much for the unknowing, but pleasant reminder.

Sue, I appreciate you sharing, especially something so personal. You've had quite a life...maybe you should write a book? You have so much knowledge, experience and accomplishment to share

Bernie...you look so slim and trim in your new pic! I know its hard to find the time to fit everything in...it'll come for you...just do what you can as far as exercise for now...I think you are doing great!

Bernie, I had replied to you yesterday, but maybe I forgot to hit "submit" because I don't see my reply here (or maybe it was in another thread).

It went something like this:

Thank you for such kind thoughts and words. Time softens. I'm happy to have met you here, too.

:-)

WHat a thread and what wonderful people here. For Sue, my condolences, after all these years, can't even imagine. Not enough words but I know you know what I'd like to express. Obviously you've had your share of the darker side of life but it seems to have made you solid and strong and open and wise.

Will comment on everything else later, had another taste of the darker side just 60 minutes ago myself when a car hit me riding a bike. Bruises and aches, overwhelming shock, totally ruined bike and a major relief for being alive and not badly hurt. Phewwww.

Jana, I read in the brochure that it is a 12-18 day trip, they split up the route into 2 summers. It is for GS girls 9-12th grade. My daughter is going into 7th grade, so she has a few years to go yet.

Meri, that is terrible! I am glad that you are ok, sounds like your bike took the brunt of it. Hope you don't have too many aches and pains. Hang in there!

Meri!! I'm so glad you are okay! Hope you recover quickly....keep us posted how you are doing.

CC - now that sounds like a challenging trip for teenaged girls. I'm sure it is really gratifying and a lot of fun, AND of course hard work!

Sue - you'll be leaving soon for your trip to see Eli? Hope you have a fantastic time...how long will you be visiting?

Yes, thanks! I'm going the middle of next week, staying 12 days.

SueK -- thank you. It is an honor to me to meet you to.o And a pleasure to chat everyday !!!

Meri -- Thank's God you are fine. It may hurt more tomorrow... but hope you will recover soon. You have strong bones from taking green smoothies.. so, it will help.

Jana -- yes... I found difficult to accept it was me on the picture. As you ladies, I am almost always on the other side of the camera, but this time I forgot mine, and a friend made the shot and send over internet to us. One more thing... didn't I told you already you look great on your pic ?? ... I am almost your age... turning 39 soon. (august).

Have a nice weekend....

Oh Meri! So sorry to hear that! Take good care so you can heal well.

Thanks so much for your kind sentiments. When I look back I don't even know how I/we got through some of these things. You just do it some how. Thanks again! :-)

Uhhuhhhuhhh it's been quite a two days.... The shock is finally starting to wear off and the aches have stepped in but I take the pain gladly as a price for being ALIVE and not broken! Still feel like bursting into tears every now and then, the nausea comes and goes as well... Been to the doctor and nothing even fractured, a minor miracle. Another miracle was that I ended up STANDING UP after hitting the car but the bike ended up under the huge wheel. Could've been me, still shocked to think that :-(

So a lot of bruises and a severe shock but soon back in the game. Dunno what guided me, as an atheist I'm still ready to take whatever it was! So so greatful.

Can't remember what I ment to comment but this I have to say, you all look GORGEOUS, women! Damn you! :-D Be proud.

Btw. 'cause I couldn't find the almond butter anywhere, I made it MYSELF! It's brilliant. :-D I also made some hazelnut butter and some cashew butter. Cashew is a bit dryer but they all taste dive. If you wanna try, check out this recipe (or it's more like instructions since there's nothing more than nuts in a nut butter ;-)) from The Chocolate and Zucchini blog: http://chocolateandzucchini.com/arc...butter.php

Ps. Having a problem with the account. Can't get the passwd right but I've tried to send myself the passwd reminder many times but I've never received it in my mail. :-( Thus I created a new account, it's still me, Mukkelis.

Meri, hopefully you have continued to recover....I know sometimes shock can be as hard to overcome as physical pain. I've been thinking of you and hoping for your speedy recovery.

I'll have to check out that nut butter recipe...sounds great!

Bernie, yes we are almost the same age!! I probably sound older because my kids are older.

I am new to this zone diet, what is the zone fish oil that I keep hearing about.
shannon

Meri --- you should have angels taking care of you... even if you don't believe... I am glad you are doing better with the shock and bruise recovery. My kids and I pray for you...

Jana --- yes... I started late to deliver !! jajajaja... actually yes, because I didnt wanted to marry again... but anyhow, you have so many... you should look like the older sister, not like mommy... aren't you??

have a great start of week !!!
almost forget... I tried green smoothie with granny apple, instead of strawberry... it look bright green...taste delicious...

Mmmm Bernie!! It had crossed my mind to try the granny smith apple but I thought it may not be sweet enough so I forgot about it again....now that you say its good I'm going to try tomorrow! Yum.

You flatter me too much, Bernie!!! :-) I should clarify...2 of the kids are my biological children and 3 are my step-children. The oldest ones are step children...I would have been pretty young having them. I am blessed to have a wonderfully blended family.

Bernie, the angels were there, I'm sure, and I'm greatful for that <3 And thank you for caring. I'm better every day, now the challenge is to obey the doctor in not training in two weeks and not participating the physical part of my job... Hard. But a small price for being alive, not even fractured! I can do it. Still so relieved.

And oh yes the apples and also pear is very good in the smoothie! This is so awesome that you've taken the green smoothie as your own child and are developing different variations and advertising it :-) Just had mine, a very basic one with strawberries and lingonberries. And frozen spinach since there were no fresh spinach at the store we went yesterday. Have to go again today.

Btw have you tried turmeric in salads? I love it! Currently my absolute favourite salad is one with a huge amount of veggies (salads, cucumber, zucchini, tomatoes), some microwave steamed carrots and parnisp (you prolly know that you can easily microwave by wrapping a piece of root veggie into a household paper (or what you call it: the soft one, thicker then toilet paper?) and then microwaving it for 2 minutes or so), some protein like shrimps, crumbled feta cheese, goji berries, roasted onion, turmeric, balsamico, salt and pepper. Aaaaalways works! :-P I'm addicted to turmeric and I lurve the gojis in a salad, together with the salty roasted onions (not very healthy these onions but only as a spice!) they rock the salad! And the feta. Mmmmmm.

Oh well, no running for me in awhile.... :-( But luckily I can still bike with my spare one! The one in the accident got totally ruined.

Take care!

Meri, so glad that you are healing up well, and nothing too terrible from the accident. Bikes can be replaced, but YOU can't!

I miss your picture!

Thank you <3 I miss my pic too! :-D

And hear, hear about eating the fruit as whole! Want my apples complete O_O

Hi !!
I wrote a post like 2 hrs ago.. something happened and did not went thru... so I can't remember what was about...

Meri ---- yes.. just love the green.. spinach fan. About turmeric,... thank you for the tip. I bought it but I have not tried since I don't know how to use it... today I will have it on salad for dinner (since I run out of spinach for tonight's green blend....) gojis -- not available where I live.

Jana --- no compliments.. just thoughts... I it so nice for me to chat with positive attitud people, since I get good energy form ... and it help a lot on my life style to relax and share information here... Thank you. Ohh and do the granny apple.. it is not sweet, but I like the taste.

I wanted to do -spinach, celery, mango-- yesterday, but pineapple was in it's best, so I had to eat before it gets spoiled. So spinach, pineapple, banana and avocado oil... with ice. Proteins on a side.
bye now.

Meri - Sue K is a big fan of turmeric...it has a lot of health benefits, besides tasting good! I love your salad recipe...I'm going to give that a try. I love feta too! We call those 'papertowels' that you wrap the veggies in to microwave. Keep healing....you are in my thoughts as you get better.

Bernie - I agree, so nice to chat with people with similar positive attitudes and interests! I so enjoy these threads....and get so much guidance and great ideas from them. You girls rock!!!!

I ran out of granny smith apples...I went to get one to have in my smoothie and they were gone!! I guess the kids enjoyed them this week. So I did try the pineapple one...I put half pineapple and half peaches and my stomach did not rebel...so I will try again with a little more pineapple as it tasted so good! Bernie, you do just the spinach and pineapple and spinach and apple? (no celery?)

Hi Jana: Last week I got no celety on my veggie basket... (we do a 3 family bulk buy, and then we split... so they buy what ever is fresh and in good price)... so I prepared spinach + pineapple + protein powder... but early this week I had spinach + celery + pineapple + avocado oil....very good.
So I have been trying different with any variable available at the moment.. but granny smith apple was with celery and avocado oil. (spinach of course)... so far, I've tryed blueberrys, strawberrys, blackberrys...
and on my to-do trials is: orange juice (instead of water), grapefruit, mango.... I like it because to complete blocks of veggies takes a lot to eat... and this way, is faster...

Turmeric: need recipies... please. (I know the salad alredy..)

Meri: how are you doing? feeling better already? put a smile.. it will help. (at home we call it kitchen towels)...

Yesterday blend was with milk - blackberry - protein powder and avocado oil... there was Dr. House on tv, so I made a quick dinner during the tv ad... I just love House... so turmeric salad will wait....

thanks for the info Bernie....so next I will try Spinach, celery, granny smith apples (I haven't seen avocado oil here yet)....and spinach, celery, pineapple (with a few peaches)...if that works for my tummy i will go all pineapple the next time. Also, going to give pears a try this week.

I had turmeric in my eggs at lunch today...it was yummy. Also, Sue K's brownie batter smoothie has turmeric in it.

This mornings blend for me was Janet's modified smoothie (cc instead of ricotta and cow's milk instead of soy) but I used peaches instead of strawberries. It was good...turned out light green in colour....could call it a green smoothie even though no veggies?!!

Need to get more spinach so I can try all the above!!!

I increased the pineapple this morning in the smoothie....my tummy did NOT like this at all! :-( sore tummy all day....so won't do that again!!!

so next is the granny apples....yum!

DOing soo much better already, yesterday went to see the doctor again and we had a looong discussion re working out and I got a permission to start slowwwlyyyy.... So besides all the biking and a little bit of yoga and abs I get to do some PRoPEr workout now as well ;-D Started really carefully yesterday, feels good. And did some yoga this morning, having a day off from work, a long weekend! ...also went to the police yesterday to report the accident and it was sort of emotional... The policeman told me in the end that he's had a similar experience being the one on the bike ending up hospitalized for three months and then 6 months more for sick leave :-( Could have been really bad, phewh :-( But my parents arrive back home tomorrow! I get to weep against mom's shoulder :')

Bernie, I use turmeric just all over, usually with steamed vegetables, turmeric and salt :-P And yes Jana, the health benefits are undeniable! So happy that it tastes good as well :-D

Meri, so glad you are doing better. Nice that you have clearance to start exercising again....and there is nothing like having your Mom to offer comfort. I'm sure your emotional recovery will progress rapidly once your Mom is back to help you through it.

I tried the spinach, celery, granny smith combo this morning.....I really liked it!!

I went to the fridge this morning to try a pear combo...but they were all gone. That's life in a house with teenagers!! I'll have to get to the store later to pick some up so I can try tomorrow.

This morning I started with a Green Angel...then I added spinach and 1c frozen strawberries...it was very thick but VERY yummy. I think you'll like that one Bernie! ;-)

Meri, glad to see you are doing better! I can understand how emotional an accident like that can be. I was in a pretty serious accident about 12 years ago. I was in a head-on collision, and it took me a long time to be able to bear looking at the photos of my vehicle! Wow, to imagine that I was in that thing, and all I had was a broken leg--that's it! Seat belts save lives!

Blueberries are in season in Finland and they are superb <3 Also in the green smoothie which they turn into something more like a black smoothie ;-)

And my leg's still sore but being able to workout, which is (unnecessarily) important for me. Sun is shining and it's weekend, babes! Coooool.

Helmets and seat belts DEFINETELY save lives.

Meri,

Blueberries saeson it at it's peak here, too. Delicious!

Glad to hear you're improving! Go easy so that leg can heal.

Have a great weekend

Love those blueberries!

Have a great weekend--I am taking next week off from work, so will probably be camping. I need to fix a tire on my bike, have a "sudden" flat (maybe glass or a nail?). Would like to be road ready for next week. But, I am not exactly mechanically inclined.

Meri...glad the healing is going well.

I just had a green smoothie with blueberries the other day...very yummy....but then again I haven't tried a green smoothie yet that I haven't liked!!!

What are you doing for exercise Meri when you can't run? Are you staying away from cardio and just doing yoga, strength, etc?

Thanks, Sue!

Hope CC's camping has been swell.... :-P

Jana, oh yeah, the green smoothie rules! Actually it was only one week I wasn't running ' and then I started already despite the pain... Now it's slowly getting to the point of healing that it doesn't hurt that much anymore. But I don't care about hurting as long as I'm not injuring anything more or injuring in general if you know what I mean :-)

But I was riding my spare bicycle like a mad mule during the week I couldn't run... I suck at not exercising :-/ Also did yoga and abs and such and after the week I negotiated a permission to workout from my doctor. Had do a LOT of negotiating ;-) So for example this week it's been five crossfit workouts, 104 km by bike, 13 km by running and tomorrow prolly some yoga... Getting back to myself again! ;-D

But currently I'm quite exhausted mentally, not exactly sure why... Work, friends' problems, angst over all the suffering in the world... Been really, really overwhelmed, bursting into tears today. :-( Wondering if it could be some post-traumatic stress over the accident and then it accumulates with all the therapy and stuff...

Anyway, off to shower and then to celebrate my bf's friend's b-day in a fancy Russian restaurant! Blinis, caviar, shampange sherbet, stroganoff and strawberries Romanov on the pre-set menu, I'm sure it's doing me good. :-)

Take care and didn't mean to worry you, I'll be fine and I hope you all are as well!

Well...haven't gone camping yet. Kids are all scattered about this weekend, my oldest stayed overnight at a friends house, my son is spending the weekend with a friend (and going to a waterpark). I think DH and I along with our youngest will go find a nice hiking trail at a state park that we haven't been to recently.

I was also surfing for another area to go camping, up north from where we live, and a place that we have never really explored before. So, maybe that will be our destination? Either way, probably won't go until Monday, when everyone is back home from their weekend excursions.

Still gotta get that flat tire fixed!

Oh Meri....just reading your workouts for the week is exhausting!! You are quite the trooper! I limit myself to an hour a day for exercise.....with 5 children I'm really lucky I get that long!!! :-)

I asked what you have been doing for exercise because I pulled a muscle in one glute a couple of weeks ago....not sure exactly how I did it, I did trip in a pothole at the soccer fields and I thought maybe that's how I did it....anyways I still ran for a week afterwards but the muscle got worse and worse every day until the pain was radiating all the way down the back of my leg to the back of my knee. I got on the treadmill to do a 5min warmup walk before running and couldn't even make it through the walk. Sooooo, I've taken the last week off from running and I'm REALLY missing it!! I still do abs and strength, yoga, etc but it's not the same as cardio for me...avoiding all squats and lunges etc because I really want the muscle to heal. I tried bike riding but my bike is in such sorry condition its hard to get a good workout on it....will have to start dropping hints to the family for a Christmas gift idea!!! ;-) I thought maybe I could 'borrow' some of your cardio ideas to keep me moving....but now what I'm thinking is it's time to get off my lazy butt and do some running...heck if you can do it after being hit by a car I can surely do it after tripping in a pothole right? hehehe!!! :-)

Your friend's bday party sounds awesome...hope you had a good time and it lifted your spirits!

Jana, well now that I see it written, it sounds worse than it is, the bike rides are just going to work and back home, not "real" training... And not every week is that busy. AND I skipped the yoga ;-D

An hour a day is well done with five kids or with any other life either. The good (one of them) thing about crossfit workouts is that they are quite often relatively fast.

And hey, what about swimming! That's not cardio-cardio but still. Or running with a water belt or whatcha call it. I love swimming, it's heavy exercise, but not the hall's closed for the summer and the sea is definetely too cold for a long swim. Brrr. I might take a sprint triathlon competition in August and swimming is the part I neglect most at the moment and in the same time prolly my weakest part... But, it's just for fun so no pressure there. Butterfly is my favourite but boy that's heavy!

Sorry about your muscle :-( You could also walk? Did you try running? If it hurst in a bad way you shouldn't do it so it won't get worse or cronic. But you know how it is... And I'm not the best example in wise training. More like clueless.

The russian food was amazing and the night was lovely, Sunday was better even. Now I'm trying to survive until my vacation in two weeks. Phewh.

I'm envious of CC's camping :-P WOuld be in desperate need of some relaxed good old times camping. <3

Btw, tried intermittent fasting for the first time today, 15 hours of not eating. Was okay, have you read about it? The health benefits are quite interesting.

Good for you Meri, biking back and forth to work! Great way to fit in more exercise! And a triathalon competition?!!! You go girl!!!

I enjoy swimming too...we actually have a pool in our backyard...but even the kicking of that seems to get my glute. it is soooo frustrating because I'm trying to rest it so it will heal but EVERYTHING seems to make it hurt. In the past it has always been knee pain that has thrown me off my cardio routine and I was just thinking that its been a long go this time without that flaring up....then this glute happened! Jeshhh! Anyways, I tried just walking this morning and went about 10 minutes not speed walking, just nice brisk...I made it but can feel the glute now....maybe I'll take tomorrow off and just try to start back at it by walking short distances every other day for a bit and increase the time until I feel it can handle everyday again

I think I probably made it worse that week after I pulled it I still ran 2-3 miles everyday even though it hurt...I just thought I could work through it...that was a bad choice ;-(

I hear so many good things about Crossfit....is that how you learned about the Zone? I read a lot of posts about CFers coming here because instructors have recommended it. I printed out some CF routines from their website but there isn't a CF gym anywhere around here so I just do some of the routines on my own....I like that they are fast...almost feel guilty when my workout doesn't last the whole hour! LOL! But its not like the workouts are easy...they get my heart pumping and lots of sweating in a short period of time.

Glad to hear you had a good weekend, and that the Russian dinner went well.

I haven't tried the fasting...I really don't think I could go that long without food!!!! Once upon a time I could have done it easily but since having children I find my body needs food more regularly or I just get weak and grouchy. I am truly loving the Zone right now. I have tried many ways of healthy eating but this is the first time I have found the saiety and the lack of cravings that I always had before. I did want to lose a few lbs when I started but mostly I just wanted to feel better, especially my sensitive stomach....and this is working for me!! I said I wanted to lose 10 lbs (I was trying to be realistic with having had children and approaching 40) and to date I've lost 16lbs and I actually can see my 'teenage' weight on the horizon! Its been slow coming off but I think that is because I'm not as strict as I could be (popcorn and wine with dinner are my biggest vices these days) AND because I didn't have a ton of weight to lose to begin with. The weight loss aside...I feel soooo good!!! It is unusual for my tummy to be sore now (pre-Zone the opposite was true), I have a ton of energy, positive thinking and some annoying health issues seem to have been resolved (have an appointment this week to verifty with the Dr). So I am a happy girl!!!

My only complaint now is that with the lack of running over the past couple of weeks I'm noticing that I am losing some of the muscle tone that I had gained (and exposed with the weight loss)...and I want it back!!!!

So nice chatting with you!

Jana and Meri -- it is also so nice for me to read your chat... you two rule !! (Meri's words... I lend them)

Jana -- I've lost weight, but this is not why I love the zone.. but for all other things you've mentioned... I am a happy person as well... and a happy Mom too !!!

Meri --- vacations are coming soon... (I envy you...) hahaha.. na! Mine already gone, but I could not step out of the office, so my oportunity is now gone... waiting until next December o next June....

Just a quick word! Jana, have you tried putting cold in the muscle? At least if you've done something after which it hurts. And taking some ibuprofein (NSAID's? well the pill you take for inflammation) twice a day for three day should cure the inflammation. But one NSAID once doesn't help or one every now and then, has to be regular for three days so that it's constantly in blood to cure the possible inflammation. But not sure if your tummy can take it? Mine the burana breaks... But panadol will do as well. Might be worth trying for resting it for three days, gently stretching, taking the meds and then maybe doing some upper body workout that doesn't hurt the glute and maybe some abs/back muscles?

And some shadow boxing!! There's cardio for you! Punch all your frustration in the air and sweat! :-) But be careful with the glute so it will get better.

Great to hear from you Bernie! I'll get back to this but now have to get to work! It's raining O_O Blehh.

thanks for the tips Meri! I walked 10 minutes the day before yesterday and 20 minutes yesterday and today I am taking a break....the good news is the glute is NOT hurting today!! Yeah! So I'm hoping that I can do a 'regular' walk tomorrow and then if it still feels good maybe I can start with some light jogging in a couple of days....I'll hold off on the HIIT sprints for a whle longer :-) I'm soooo excited that I might be getting back on track here!

Bernie...hope you don't have to wait until Dec or next summer for your holidays!!! I thought you worked through your vacation...won't your employer reschedule it for you? Poor thing...everyone deserves a vacation!!! And I can tell from your posts that you are a happy person and a positive thinker...I get much inspiration from your posts and stories. so glad you participate with us!

take care my 'green' friends!!

Oh my oh my oh my... Broke my lower back yesterday in a workout that included deadlifts, the workout was against time so I pushed myself too hard... Bloody hell. BUT: my back is a bit better today ALREADY than yesterday! Usually, if it's serious, it gets worse the next day. IT DIDN't! Anyway, I get to follow my own advices Jana :-D Tho I've been eating relaxants, not really NSAIDs. Puuh. And today my mother also told me she had a revelation last night: she was also sure that it's post traumatic stress disorder that I'm having after the accident... Still bursting into tears and having depression/anxiety moments.

But I'll get over it. Tried wonderfully delicious raw food Key Lime bars, super!! Have a go if you want something extraordinary <3 Kimberly Snyder has the original recipe in English: http://kimberlysnyder.net/2009/06/1...-pie-bars/

(Here's my version: http://monkeyfood.net/2009/07/26/ra...vareille/)

But Jana, how's the glute??!

And Bernie, how ARE you managing without any vacation?? I feel I go all over the place and it's only a week until my vacation...

Oh my goodness Meri!! You broke your back??!!! That is just awful...you are having such a bad run of luck. How long will it take to heal? I hope you plan to relax and let it heal...you are still recovering from the bike accident as well...

I'm going to check out that key lime pie recipe...sounds wonderful!!

I'll be thinking of you and praying for your quick recovery

Meri! You literally broke your back, or is that a translation glitch? Be good to yourself as you heal. Lots of healing hugs from me to you! {{{{{Meri}}}}}

It may help you to know that my friend broke her back (slipped on stairs), healed well and was absolutely fine afterwards.

Ohhhhhh you are too sweet <3 <3 I really, really value your support. Makes me go all weepy. :')

And I don't want to sound like a wreck! I seriously stretched (dunno if that's the way you say it) my lower back muscle and it cramped, first thought it was something more serious and that I might need some hospital care but it got a bit better, I could start to walk and after Saturday it started already to heal. So been able to walk and even to ride a bike carefully. Thank you for the encouragement tho! I feel like I've been loaded with bad luck lately tho in the same time I feel like I have no "real" problems. It's the tendency to depreciate (??) own experiences I guess...

Anyway, it's been a major relief to realise about the post traumatic stress syndrome since I was already quite desperate... I've been having numerous symptoms that match and now I have a name for them. And one wouldn't even think that for examplpe hopelessness IS a symptom. I just thought that I've became cynic. Now I know there's still hope for me.

But sorry to bother you excessively with my issues, hope you're doing well on the Zone and everything! By the way, made excellent!! pizza crust out of quinoa, lovely! Just quinoa, water, salt, a bit of dry yeast and a tad oil. Used quinoa flakes that I grinded into meal. Super food, super good. MMmmmmm mmm mm.

All my best for you and thank you so much! Doesn't matter to be on the different side of the world when there are people like you on the other side. <3

Meri...somehow I missed seeing your post until now. I'm glad to hear that your back was feeling better already...I've been worried about you the last couple of days. Take good care of yourself and your emotions will heal along with your body.

Funny you mention about pizza crust....I was looking for a pizza crust recipe some time ago. I make homemade pizza for the kids but was trying to come up with a substitute crust for me....using a portabello mushroom works well...but I would LOVE to have the measurements for your crust...maybe I could try substituting ground oatmeal for the quinoa? Yummmm...sounds devine Meri!

Still having lots of green smoothies...just love them! :-)

Heyyy Jana nice to hear from you :-) I check here almost daily but then sometimes I just forget it for a couple of days and make myself wonder how on earth did that happen :-D My back's better an inch per day, just came from a relaxed, shortish run. Been doing some pullups and mobilizing, biking works also... And learning to live in the moment. Like really. Which is the more accurate cause today, after about hours of work, MY VACATION starts! Fours weeks babies! :-P Unbelievable. I've had such a vacation maybe 10 years ago O_O

And SURE I can give you some instructions, I also use another "fake" pizza crust or a "method" I could explain. Now I don't have the time but in the afternoon I'll promise. My bf LOVES pizza so that's why it's important ;-)

I also love the green smoothie but currently having some fitting in issues with them since i practice (very lightly) the "intermediate fasting" concept which means that I'm always at least 12 hours not eating. Sometimes 14-15 hours, but usually just 13. Suits my schedule and wellbeing the best. Nothing more complicated, I just eat the last time maybe at 7pm and then the next time breakfast at work 8.30am or so. But because I take my breakfast to go the smoothie isn't really an option... BUt I'll figure it out and I might give up this IF, not sure yet. Doesn't feel odd at all, actually, it's nothing like the stoopid (sorry ;-)) "normal" fasting, just fitting in the meals in a bit shorter time.

But I'll get back to you bunnies! Hope everybody else is well also, like Bernie, CC and Sue :-)

Okey, here goes Jana, catch!

Quinoa Crust for Pizza

-approx. 2 dl (about 0,85 cups) quinoa flakes (or meal if you have some)
-salt
-0,5 tsp baking powder
-little oil
-water

Grind the flakes into meal or just use ready quinoa meal. Add a proper amount of salt according to your tastebuds and the baking powder. Add water to make a doughy consistency. Add a bit of oil, and then some more meal if you need to make it "handable" (possible to handle that is, my very own language! (not Finnish tho ;-D) ;-)). Roll on to a baking sheet as thin as possible and pre-cook it in a hot oven for awhile, maybe 10 minutes? Take out, spread your fillings and put it back in the oven for the cheese to melt. WHOOMP There it is :-P Easy peasy and very delicious at least in my opinion (and my bf's and the first person to try it out from my food blog).

The other pizza version I make is a "crustless" pizza. It's something like this.

Crustless pizza

-carrots (or parsnips or what ever root veggie or a bit of several)
-cheese

Grate the carrots and the cheese. Combine. Spread evenly on the baking sheet and pre-cook so it becomes like a "plate". Add tomato sauce and the fillings (maybe some more cheese? :-P) and bake a little more. Use scissors to cut into pieces. Mmmmmmmmm. Goooood.

I usually use some lighter cheese in the crust part (you need the cheese to bind the veggies together) and I might also add some mozzarella or feta or blue cheese on the top. This one works especially well with quite a generous amount of toppings, a lot of veggies for example. I sometimes make the crust and then I cook a sort of a tomato sauce and add the fillings ALREADY into the sauce and then I just top the crust with the foodious sauce and bake. Supergood. Moist. Fresh. Yum.

Hope these ones will make your weekend even more glorious! :-D

MY VACATION JUST STARTED, off to the gym (just a little mobilizing) and then off to a summer cabin with my two best girl friends. Ain't life beautiful. <3 Kisses!

Meri! If you're online during vacation and see this, have a GREAT 4 WEEKS! :-)

Thank you so much for the recipes Meri. I can't wait to try them.

Four weeks vacation...you lucky girl!!!! I hope you have a fabulous time with your friends at the cottage...ahhh I remember those days :-)

Two weeks to go, still! I loooove vacation :-D <3 (sorry, Bernie :-/) Just wanted to see how you all are doing... Gonna have a look at the accountability thread to find out :-)

Enjoy the lake Meri! Good to hear from you!

Glad you are having a wonderful time! I am having a tough start to the week, but hopefully things will level out soon. And, I have a week off next week!

Ohhhhhh one should never praise too much what she has; for then it's taken away! Nooooo!!!! :-D ...just meant to say that I'm currently having a bad inflammation (bacteria infection) and forced to eat a loadful of meds and antibiotics for it.... But it's so bad I'm willing to do anything to cure it! But I'll manage. :-)

And otherwise life's good: my boyfriend got really interested in the Zone and is listening to two Sears' books in audio books as we speak. It's so much easier to arrange everything when you have the support from somebody you're living with. And I just received my book, Mindless eating by Brian Wansink, dunno if you've heard of him? Basically he's revealed the psychology of how much (or what or when etc.) we eat and what influences in it. Like for example if you use a bigger plate, you eat more. Or if you put the candy bowl ahed of you instead you would hid it inside a coffin or ut it just a bit further you would eat less of those candies. But these are just basic examples, now I'm off to read the book!

hopefully all the fish oil works together with the antibiotics to heal me <3

Be good, be well.

I have heard of that book, definitely is one that I need to read! One of my biggest downfalls is mindless eating.

Hi Meri! Hope your infection clears up quickly...and that it isn't taking too much away from your vacation.

Its great that your BF is interested in the Zone as well....and a healthy lifestyle. You are right, it makes it easier when you have support of those around you.

I just got back from a weeks vacation...it was wonderful!....FOUR weeks would be better ;-)

Meri, no more accidents or infections, ok? :-) I'm sure you know this, but get plenty of probiotics into you to prevent the nasty side effects of the antibiotics.

Jana, Welcome back. Glad you had a good vacation!

Thanks Sue! Vacations are nice but I was glad to get back to my food processor so I could make some green smoothies!! I missed them more than anything while I was away ;-)

I'm off to France in a few hours fellow sisters! So baguettes and cheeeese (think of Wallace from Wallace and Gromit), here I come :-D Also red wine but that only on Wednesday since these antibiotics (that kicked in!) have a strong antabus reaction. Already managed to get it after tasting beef in a red wine sauce. An experience I have to say ;-)

Sue, I PROMISE to be perfectly healthy and accident free for the next 10 years! Back to my old self again :-) Usually I'm never ill and this only feels like too much because there was also the accident and the back... Not really illlnesses. Have to rationalize it to accept it. ;-) And sure I'm eating my probiotics and extra fish oil as well :-)

CC, the book is BrILLIANT! I have to give you some briefings of the psychology after I come back.

Jana, vacation RULES! And my bf also work outs a lot and is interested in the healthy lifestyle but the execution (re nutrition) is harder for him for some reason than for me... Or staying in moderation accually. But the Wansink book also enlightens this, because, like we know, people have different stories in their childhoold (and adulthood) regarding eating and food.... So so so interesting.

And another new thing; have you heard about the Biosignature by Charles Poliquin? I only learned about it a month ago or so and yesterday went to get measured, too interesting (this as well ;-)), it tells about the hormonal balance (or imbalance) of the body. My weakest point was to have too much estrogen which is prolly due to the hormonal contraception but also all the estrogen in the plastic wrappings, cosmetics etc. The next was the grow hormone that could be a bit higher, and the third was stress hormone cortisol but that wasn't bad. But for example my tolerance for carbs is excellent (tho my diet includes very little of them which can also be seen in the measurements), Poliquin has a word for my kind of people: carb bitches! Could get away by eating more carbs that is. Good quality of course. Fat% by the pinchers (they pinch from 9 different spots to measure the hormones) was 17%.

Okayyyyy... sorry if I constantly bug you with new things, just that it's so interesting! Nice to share :-) Oh oh and have you all been in the blood test to see your arachnid acid/EPA relations? Or any of you? Is it worth it? My bf consideres that.

Anyway hope you feel goody good and hope Bernie is still around... See you after a week! :-) (And pardon the CAPS... just get easily excited O_O)

Have a fantastic time in France Meri! What a wonderful vacation! Glad you are feeling like yourself again.

We like that you share so many new ideas with us...we find it interesting too! I'll keep my eye out for the 'Mindless Eating' book it sounds like a great read. The Biosignature...'carb bitches'...that's hilarious!!!...do they call you that because the people who can't eat so many carbs are jealous?? LOL!! 17% BF is impressive...I assume you aren't trying to loose any weight, just trying to eat as healthy as possible??

Last night I tried a variation of your pizza crust...I used steel cut oats instead of the quinoa and reduced the recipe to be only 2 blocks for the crust. It was good but wasn't very big so I added it to some regular pizza dough to stretch it out a bit....I'm going to give it some more thought as to stretch it out in a more Zone-friendly way as my tummy rebelled to the wheat in the regular crust afterwards. I've learned that my stomach is extremely sensitive to grains etc...it loves the Zone!

I recently had some blood work done but didn't hear the AA/EPA results yet. The only thing I heard back from the nurse is that I was anemic again and have to take B12 supplements. The rest of the results I will talk to the Dr about at my next appointment which isn't until October.

Hope you have a fantastic time in France!!!

France, fantastic! I'm jealous, lol! Have fun eating French food! You can eat like the French do, a little bit of everything. You've heard of about the "French Paradox", right? Yes, I've had the AA/EPA test and it's very worth it. You find out precisely how well you're controlling your inflammation. Not only that, once you have your AA/EPA result, then you know how much fish oil to take, whether you need to change anything in your diet, etc. It's one of the most important tests to have done.

Meri .... I am fine !! thanks for asking... still around but just on weekends...

I feel green... reading about vacations.... ohhh I need at least one day... (i have I signed by my boss, but just can not take it,,,, so much to do at work... but the day will come, when I can take vacations!!!))

Jana ... I miss those green blends too.... and also I like Meri new ideas to look for.
I am taking currenlty Chia... have you heard about it??? and canary grass??

do any of you have hear about them??
I must go now... my kid is needing my help.... regards

Bernie, careful with chia seeds because they contain omega 6 fat.

Meri, definitely give me a briefing about that book. Perhaps you will have to start a new thread for it?!?

Well, I think I am vacationed out. Sad to see it end, but must return to the real world and get back to work, kids back to school.

Last week, we went to 2 waterparks, did some school shopping, spent one day lazying around, then Thursday-Sunday camping. Thursday and Friday were nice, but the weather turned on us, Saturday was cold and rainy, and we had 40 degree temps (unheard of here in August) overnight. Only 60's for temps today, but my youngest daughter and I still went swimming! Brrrrr!

Bernie....gotta love the green smoothies!

CC...Glad to hear you had a nice and busy vacation...yes those weekend temperatures were crazy weren't they? DH turned off the pool yesterday...figure the swimming season is done with the super cold temperatures both during the day and night. Hasn't been the best summer weather-wise....oh well, we'll just have to look forward to next year now!

Wow, I was surprised that our outdoor aquatic center has already closed for the season and has drained out all of the water! Must be the earliest closing in history! Now, if I am going to do my lap swimming, I am limited to 3 days per week rather than every morning.

My DH would disagree with the summer we have had, he says that he has really enjoyed it! And, we have only had our central air on for a few days all summer.

Ding ding, I'm back! ...and too shy to start a new thread regarding Mindless Eating O_O Hehehee :-D

Good to hear from you Bernie, and Jana and Sue and CC! France was brilliant fun, food and feisty :-P Been eating a loooooot of cheeses. And everything else by the way. Happily. Ever after ;-) Oh well, now it's nice to be back at work and eating my routine foods.

Anyway I thought I'd summarize you some of the "hints" from the mindless eating to eat mindlessly less... If you're interested? It's nothing magical but still it's good to give it a thought I think. And I definetely recommend to read the book, it's fun and interesting, and usable fact in the same time. Was also impressed by the Omega Rx Zone, been boosting the fish oil for all my family members, friends, colleagues and the people I train. Just heavy stuff.

And oh yes the French Paradox! :-D Never heard it by that name but I suppose it's due to the same phenomenon as "why French women don't get fat". And that's my specialty, I'm a nibbler. Meganibbler. People call me Nibbler or actually Närppä in Finnish ;-) JUst when we were visiting the summer cottage the last time my bf's mom had commented on him that "I knew that Meri was in the house when I saw the donut that was eaten just a bit" SO I'M FAMOUS! :-D Hihihihhehehee. But I DO eat megalomaniac amounts of veggies, that's where nobody comes even CLOSE! Loving the salad buffets... ;-)

Okay, gotta take the doggy out, but I'll get back to you <3 (btw. I'm currently trying to minimize the "external sources of estrogen" in my diet such as eliminating the plastic boxes and not drinking from a plastic bottle... Xenoestrogents they might be called? Should decrease my estrogen level maybe a bit tho the worst is the hormonal contraception and I'm stuck with that... Even if I didn't wanted to)

Wow, has it been 4 weeks already? I have a similar reputation with my family and friends...taking one bite out of something, leaving the rest; and especially having to be careful that I don't empty the entire serving dish of veggies when we're eating at a friend's. They know I eat lots of veggies, so they'll usually serve a veggie when I'm there; only the entire serving dish meant to be enough for everyone contains about the amount I'd eat by myself for 1 meal! At least the thought is there; they mean well :-)

Oh, contraceptive hormones, yes, that'll also make you need to stick to the veggies more and watch it with the carb. Good that you're trying to eliminate some plastics in your life. I've been doing that for years. It's a little more trouble or cost at times (like trying to find/buy travel mugs and Thermos containers that are stainless steel inside...I won't put hot food or drink into plastic containers) but worth the effort.

Welcome back!

And yes Bernie I've heard about chia seeds but am unable to find them in Finland :-( How do they taste? By the way, I just learned (by watching a cooking show called French Food at Home ;-)) that if you crack the apricot stone, there's an almond tasting "almond" inside :-O And you can eat it or use it for spicing. Gonna taste :-P INTERESTING.

Quick brief about the Wansink book, just "hint" wise how to eat mindlessly less. He calls them reengineering strategies:

-think 20% less: dish out less than you think you might want, you probably won't miss it (doesn't work with Zone really ;-) and the opposite: regarding veggies think 20% more
-use thin, high glasses
-use smaller plates
-see it before you eat it: preplate your food (as in EVERYTHING, the dessert as well)
-see it while you eat it ie. don't take the bones from the chicken wings away, or the wine glasses/bottles/corks, ribs etc.
-use smaller packages: if you want to buy big packs for cheaper repack them in smaller bags
-"make overeating a hassle, not a habit" ie. leave serving dishes in the kitchen, "de-convenience" tempting food, put them back and away from sight, preferrably in a not see trough cover or don't buy them (ehe ehe), put veggies/fruit or other healthy stuff out to pick it instead of cookies or candy and snack only at table and on a clean plate (I always eat straight out of packages! :-D Of course I also prepare the meals as well but I always nibble standing in front of the fridge or the cupboard.... Lovely ;-))

-rescript: eat when you're no more hungry, not until your full or the food ends or everybody else has finished, pace yourself with the slowest eater, start last etc.
-distract yourself before you snack (blah advice ;-))
-serve yourself before you start (ie. minimize the damage if you DO decide to snack by portioning it on a plate)
-don't deprive yourself: eat your favourite foods but in smaller doses
-rewire your comfort foods (like celebrate something with a slightly lighter version of your favorite treat or comf food etc.)
-beware of the health halo: people eating "low-fat" eat 21% more than those eating normal granola etc.
-think small or super-share

....and I could pick up a million things more but these for a start! ...although I think this is sort of a funny forum for these advices but on the oher hand, people who visit here are instrested in making good changes in their diet and maybe this suits quite many :-)

Hope it's interesting!

Phew. Now the poor dog ;-)

Motto: the best diet is the one that you don't know that you're on (by Wansink).

My goddess Sue your quick! :-D Nice to find a fellow nibbler slash veggie supersizer! Hail us! And I SO hear you on the veggie thing when visiting friends... Always end up eating all the salad... Like in France ;-) But I always made it as well so it was nobody else's prob and they had always some of it too :-)

Meri, I hear you on funny forum to post that in, but, not really. Yes, it's geared toward people supersize their life (and themselves with too much food,and probably not thrbest kind of food) but some of those are excellent suggestions for the Zone too. It's good to do things like distact when you don't really need to snack ("blah", lol!), put it all on your plate before you start eating, eat even when you're not hungry, etc.

Thanks for giving us the summary!

First, pardon for my numerous typos... That's what you get writing fast on a foreign language. :-)

Sue, well yes, I also think there are a lot of good ideas and that above all, it's good to question own habits sometimes and to see, how under influence we are even when we think we're not. The book shows that in a convincing way, even tho about 100% of people SAY that such trivial things as the size of a package or eating company's eating pace or music doesn't have an impact on them. Towards more conscious eating! Expose the marketers!

The book also has some note-worthy suggestions for companies to make people eat more healthy and less. Since, like Wansink emphasizes, it's not the companies that WANT people to be fat, they just want to sell a product. It's not in their interest to make people sick (or inflammated ;-)) or big or to eat too much.

One of the funniest thing was an anecdote of a guy that lost some serious weight by his own "method": he promised to himself, that every time he wanted to eat even if he wasn't hungry he had to SAY out loud (even if he was by himself I gather) "I'm not hungry but I'm gonna eat it anyway". This slogan has been very much used on our trip to France :-D ...and tho it sounds silly, it's makes the decision to snack more mindful if not prevents it.

And I just made a good job by distracting myself yesterday evening when I'd prepare myself a little evening snack: I dropped the bowl! It crashed and all my little food went all over, the cleaning up nicely distracted me... ;-) But I really wanted to eat that so I made it again. Have to start accidentally throwing my chocolates around as well to make them uneatable O_O

(well now that I started there seems to be no end for me posting! :-D)

Thanks for the tips from the book! I have heard some of those before, tricks to keep you from overeating. And, I do think that some of them mesh with the Zone, like the one about eating the veggies, and the one about visualizing the entire meal--especially if you want to leave room for dessert, you would need to account for that while eating your meal.

Yes, most are probably familiar, but the book has a lot more to offer than these advice. The appendix has even more strategies for different types of "mindless eaters". So if these hints don't seem so interesting, I can assure you the book is so much more and worth reading! :-)

Meri. I like the one about pre-plate your food. Makes a world of difference, especially when you're doing the Zone!

And now, for my big qn...are you standing on you hands or also walking on you hands (photo)?

Sue, haha, I usually can't stick to the food I've pre-plated.... Bad, bad. :-) It's funny how it's easy to pick own vices out of all the mentioned ones in the book, and also to know which of them will never be a problem.

Regarding the handstanding, I can take a few steps usually but I'm certainly no monkey or a circus acrobat! Depends on the day, now I haven't been practising that in a loooong time so prolly couldn't take even one step. Not gonna try just now tho it's tempting... ;-)

No, don't! :-) I really mean it! Here's the short version of the story of what I did 2 yrs ago (summer of 2007). I suffered a sort of whiplash injury to my neck when doing a backbend. I had the strength to do the backbend fine, but in the middle of doing it I thought...hmm...I should be relaxing my head back more...and I did, and boom the whiplash. I was already too far bent back for it to be safe to suddenly relax my head from the upright position I was holding it in. (I'm 57 yrs old, BTW, so should have known better!) I had the immediate onset of motion sickness 24/7 and a balance problem. My balance is mostly normal now, but not the motion sickness. I still have nystagmus from the accident (eye beating; a quick beating of the eyes to one side; and in my case also up and down at times) and I still have some degree of ongoing motion sickness, which worst of all is interfering with my ability to drive any distance. I'm still getting treatment, and have to do daily PT for it. :-P

Moral of the story (or me anyway), don't be too tempted when it comes to acrobatic movements!

Meri, don't get me wrong, I think that the strategies are quite interesting! I do think this is a definite "read". Thanks for sharing about it!

Welcome back Meri!!! Glad you had a good time in France. GREAT new picture!!

Your 'mindless eating' summary is great, thanks for posting it for us.

Oh CC, I wasn't offended! :-) Just wanted to emphasize how worth reading it really was. I've forced my boyfriend to read it too and now he's a bit attached to it already... ;-) He listenes to billions of audio books but doesn't like to read real books that much, but this one he's working on 'cause I have it and there's no point of paying extra for an audio versio. Which reminds me! Wansink book EXISTS also in audio version. Could be good, even tho then you wouldn't have this hands-on material to grab on the sofa when you need the advice the most... ;-D

Sue, you've really had it all in your life! So empowering to see how you've managed to stay so positive and hopeful and calm. :-) Years of pt is hard work and requires a lot of patience which many don't possess... Know that from my work as a therapist. Even tho it's a bit different since we're acute hospital and the situations' are fresh but still. By the way, motivation is an interesting thing... I mean not just in rehabilitation but like in following a diet. Now I feel myself emerging into a deep philosophical mindset and I should be leaving to a seminar :-D But I'm so glad to hear you're better already and I DIDN'T try the handstand so my soul's saved for a little while longer ;-)

Jana, good to hear from you! How's life? And thanks, don't know how much you can see from the lil pic but it was a sunny day at the beach of one of my favourite islands. <3 How's the glute? I just came from a morning run first time in TWO weeks that is I could run! I'M BACK.

Hi Meri. The pic is fantastic...you look so strong! :-)

Life is good! Oldest DD left for her 2nd year of college earlier this week and the other kids go back to school on Tuesday so things will get back to a routine around here soon which will be nice! The glute is still healing if you can believe it. I really did a number on it! I took some time off completely from exercising and now I've been limiting myself to walking (no running) and have just put back in some simple body strength exercises (squats, pushups, abs) in the last week or so. I really miss the exercise that I used to do (running everyday, good strength training 3-4x per week) but its been so busy around here lately that even if I could do it I probably wouldn't have found the time. By the time I get back to it I will probably be starting from square one again!

Meri,
Ah, that is good! Sometimes things get lost in translation, and I just didn't want you to think that I wasn't taking it seriously.

And, that picture--well, I don't think you will find me doing those! But, I never could stand on my hands when I was younger, either. I could do cartwheels, though (not sure if I can do those anymore, either--and not trying them).

Hello "green" friends !!!

love to be reading here, just came in for a little while, but kept reading...I must go now. Happy to hear about your France vacations... Great !!! I am still stuck with this supplier with problems.. but enjoy the weekends instead...
I will look for that book next time I enter USA... for today.. I willl go and get strawberrys and greens ... for my blends....
Jana and Mery....lovely pictures you've posted.... happy to read you !!!!

see you next weekend.. best regards...enjoy the week

Mri: about the chia... I can buy it here very easy and un-expenssive.

SueK... Chia as a lot more than omega6... we are taking with measurement,
We are adding chia to hot-cake mix.. (and some oats too) and tasted delicios... add chia to lemonade.. and hibiscus water... also great. I am countin towards my numbers too (blocks)

anyone have hear about canary seed??

Best regards

Yes , but for the Zone, it's very important to avoid eating omega 6 fat.

<div class='NTForums_Quote'>Posted By Sue K on 09/05/2009 8:33 PM

Yes , but for the Zone, it's very important to avoid eating omega 6 fat.</div>

I hear you about the omega 6, but I don't quite agree with the avoidance of any food that has omega 6, at the expense of losing out on the other health benefits that the food may contain.

Hi Cran, I didn't say to avoid "any food" containing it. That wouldn't even make sense because most foods contains some (meats, veggies, nuts, etc). What does make sense is the basic Zone principle to avoid Omega 6 fats in your diet. This info is prominent in every Zone book. Dr. Sears has stressed the importance of this in many conversations with me.

Monounsaturated fats are what we shoud be adding to our Zone diets, not polyunsaturated fats. It's counterproductive to add seeds to your Zone diet that contain predominantly polyunsaturated fat. Most edible seeds, including chia seeds, are not Zone friendly and should be eaten infrequently on the Zone diet, if eaten at all. One ounce of chia seeds contains 8.6 grams of fat; 6.5 of those 8.6 grams of fat are polyunsaturated fat.

Well, I guess it would be difficult to avoid any food containing omega 6 foods, but my point is that one should not look at these foods as bad just because of a high level of omega 6 content. There are some very good nutritional aspects, as well.

<div class='NTForums_Quote'>Posted By Cranberrycat on 09/08/2009 8:59 AM

Well, I guess it would be difficult to avoid any food containing omega 6 foods, but my point is that one should not look at these foods as bad just because of a high level of omega 6 content. There are some very good nutritional aspects, as well. </div>

Hi Cran!

To infer that I suggested they were "bad" (since you quoted me when you addressed this issue to me) is really a stretch from what I actually wrote. For starters, I don't think of food as being bad. This is what you will find I stated, if you look back in this thread to my original mention of chia on 8-30: Bernie, careful with chia seeds because they contain omega 6 fat.

If you're referring to fiber and ALA as the good nutritional aspects found in chia, a person gets plenty of fiber from a well balanced Zone Diet, and all the Omega 3 they need, and in a much readily usable form than in chia, from fish oil concentrates. Thanks for the info, but I'll stick with Barry Sears’ recommendations on how to consume the types of fat in the Zone. It's worked very well for me and my whole family for the past 15 years.


Have a good day. :-)

<div class='NTForums_Quote'>Posted By Sue K on 09/08/2009 9:51 AM
Hi Cran!

To infer that I suggested they were "bad" (since you quoted me when you addressed this issue to me) is really a stretch from what I actually wrote. For starters, I don't think of food as being bad. This is what you will find I stated, if you look back in this thread to my original mention of chia on 8-30: Bernie, careful with chia seeds because they contain omega 6 fat.

</div>

sue,

I guess perhaps I am not following what you are inferring. If Omega 6 fats are not bad, then why can't we eat them?

Perhaps "bad" is a poor choice of words, but I would rather carry out a nice conversation rather than get into an argument over semantics.

Re

<div class='NTForums_Quote'>Posted By Cranberrycat on 09/08/2009 10:00 AM

...sue,

I guess perhaps I am not following what you are inferring. If Omega 6 fats are not bad, then why can't we eat them?...


</div>

Hi again Cran!

Why avoid Omega 6 fat in the Zone? Is this a test to keep me on my toes, lol? :-)

It's basic Zone knoweldge that omega 6 fat is a building block of bad eicosanoids. (In the event that you have never known this, please be so kind as to forgive my attempt at humor in the fist sentences of this reply.)

Have a good day!

sue! You really should give me more credit than that.

You inferred that I was labeling omega 6 fat as "bad". Well, if you don't see it as "bad", then what is it?

And, again, my prior post with the use of the word "bad" may have been a poor choice of words, but since I posted it, I will stick with it.

Actually, lets get back to the issue that prompted all of this hub-bub.

Bernie is adding a measured out portion of chia, and it sounded to me as if she is well aware that she needs to be careful, since she specifically stated that she was measuring. IMO, if she is careful about the amount she is using, I don't see this as any different than "measuring out" an unfavorable carb. Bernie also recognizes some of the health benefits of chia.

BTW, sorry Meri for hijacking your thread!

Hi Bernie,

I was redently reading about about seeds forom canary grass begin used in atole and other recipes. I'm assuming this is the canary seed you mentioned. I don't know the nutrition data on it, but a tip, most seeds contain primarily polyunsaturated fats and should be used in moderation for the Zone. Have you even eaten them? What do they taste like. Aren't they very tiny?

Kind of off of topic, but do you eat nopales? Just wondered, becasuse I haven't seen you mention them. I understand it's a good Zone carb.

Jana, so how was the first day of school? My kids have been back since last Tuesday, but seemed like a whole new ballgame after the holiday weekend, and today is picture day!

Thanks for asking Cran...they've just nicely come in and everyone is off to a good start! Hope the same for yours!!

I won't be seeing my kids tonight. It is bowling night for me, first night of the new season. I will be working, then working out, then dinner, and then off to bowl. But, I will be calling them soon, they should be getting off of the bus in a little while.

Oh oh oh! Things are heating up in MY thread ;-D And CC, you'll free to hijack my thread, I love it you keep it alive. And spicy ;-)

It's interesting to hear all the point of views especially as I'm not a strict zoner and don't know all the "rules" and recommendations. Tho listening to the Omega Rx Zone really taught me a lot.

I also think like CC (and Bernie), that it's good to include quite a wide variety of foods in a diet in the same time being aware of their possible effects. Not just because of all the brilliant antioxidants and vitamins and whatnot, but also to keep life interesting. And me happy trying new things :-D Doesn't mean I would neglect the fact that some of the food must be eaten in relatively small amounts.

I also hear that Sue is not against this idea but just tries to act as a wise guide for us less experienced on the Zone for not to forget all the aspects in the "fever" of trying new things. I really appreciate it, as well as I appreciate CC's knowledge and find both very useful. Internet is a tricky place regarding communication, one gets easily misunderstood and as a person that doesn't speak English as her first language, things do get lost in translation, both ways.

Because I have to say, for what I've been reading from both of you CC and Sue, you both aim to add people's awareness, to help them unselfishly and to encourage people to overcome obstacles in life on the zone. You just have different ways of putting things if you know what I mean ;-) At least I THINK I sort of always get the idea behind both of your posts and I don't think you disagree in many of the things, you just present it or look at it in a different angle.

And PARDON me for interrupting and messing with your discussion, but like CC reminded (as I hadn't thought of it), this IS my thread after all so maybe I'm forgiven? :-D

Last but not least, I managed to find chia seeds from my next door eco shop yesterday! Heheheheheh. They taste very good and I'll use them in moderation. I love to try new things :-)

WHat on earth is the thing you Sue mention to Bernie, the favorable carb, in your previous post?

Take care all you beautiful ladies, it's getting autumny here in Finland so greetings from a jog in a windy but warm, darkish morning. Off to bike and to work!

Meri, it's cactus! :-)

Meri,

They say that variety is the spice of life! Thanks for allowing us to take a little detour on your thread, and thanks for understanding.

Yes, things can easily get misunderstood, and it would be nice if those smileys worked! <img src='desktopmodules/ntforums/images/emoticons/smile.gif' height='20' width='20' border='0' title='Smile' align='absmiddle'>

Hope you had a nice bike ride.

Well said Meri!!!

MUST FIND CACTUS O_O :-D Not a well known domestic carb here in sub zero levels, Finland... ;-) But I'm on the quest again, Finding Cactus! The other thing I've been looking for a long time is this hi-protein seaweed, spirulina. They've ordered it in my next door organic food store, but I can't see it arriving.... Growing impatience. Well, not really. I've got so many other wonderful things to eat :-)

Bikeride was good, it usually is. JUst getting a bit too windy and when it's coming from the front, errrhhhh. Especially on the looooong bridge I always have to ride. Over the sea. Sigh. BUT I got meself a new bike bag! It's brilliant! So much easier than to carry a bag in my back (sweaty) or to try to bind something in the back.

Jana, cheers, was a bit scared I crossed some line here but everybody seems calm. ARE YOU? o_O :-D

Oh I hope you all know that I'm just this biggy mouth babbler and please try to put my sayings into perspective. I don't mean to be rude or anything like that and I don't imagine I know best. (Unless it's re occupational therapy; I MIGHT know then)

Be well, my friends! ...just ordered the Omega RX Zone book in Finnish from the library, as well as the life on the zone or something like that, in Finnish as well. My plan is to copy the significant parts and to recruit people to eat even more omega III! And try the zone. :-)

And please don't abandon my thread totally :-) Going to the summer cabin tomorrow after work but then I'll be back again... Please miss me :-D

We will miss you Meri! Have fun at the cottage. Do you go there year round or just in the summer and fall months? Many people are starting to talk of closing their cottages here already now that autumn is coming.

Don't worry, you did not cross any lines.....at least I don't think you did! The part I liked the most in your post was when you referred to Sue as 'the wise guide' reminding us of the Zone rules when we get caught up in the fever of trying new things. This is so true...and appreciated

I don't think we have Cactus here in Canada either! I can't even find gogi berries or coconut oil here so I think the chances of finding the cactus are realllyyyy slim! LOL!

Meri, you didn't cross any lines!

I think that Sue and I just got caught up in semantics. I was trying to be supportive of Bernie and her chia seeds, and it looks like just a misunderstanding.

I know what you mean by getting a good bike bag! I don't currently have one, I have been using the bike trailer (for my youngest girl--in the picture) to put my stuff in, but she is riding her own bike now, and I don't have an excuse to take the trailer anymore. So, will have to get some good bike bags, myself.

Enjoy the cabin!

You do have an excuse to bring the trailer Cran.....to hold all your stuff!!! LOL!

Last time I was at the amusement park I was amazed how many people I saw that used one of the park strollers to load their stuff into (coolers, kids backpacks, etc). They didn't even have any babies or toddlers in their group so they got the stroller with the purpose of using it as a wagon.

LOL--that is so true!

I miss having my baby stroller when I am shopping in the mall!