Some Healthy Updates!

I suck at thinking of creative post titles, I know, I know. It's just one of those things I've learned to accept. But I am really excited to share some things that have been happening on the health front!

As of today, I am in the middle of my fourth week of running, and it is going very well! Technically, I am doing a 5K training program, and I am thinking of possibly doing the Turkey Trot 5K here in Lowell this November, since my training will be done mid-October and I'll have a good month or so to get my speed up.  I've been running Mon, Wed and Fri every single week, and have not cheated on the workouts at all, which is one thing I love about this program- they make it realistically doable, while still being challenging. Today for some reason my run was terrible! I just felt poopy the whole time, my body wanted to stop, I felt nauseous, and afterward was tired the entire morning. I'm really learning that what you eat, drink, and how you treat your body the day before a run is extremely important, especially for those who run first thing in the morning. I have some bad runs once in awhile, but mostly I have very good ones and overall am really learning to enjoy it.

Another thing I've been working on lately is continuing to research vegan lifestyles, especially raw diets. I am just truly convinced that it is the healthiest way to live, but am having a hard time envisioning myself living that way all the time. One reason is because I am a total lover of comfort food (soups, stews, pasta, bread, etc). Another reason is that I have an almost insatiable sweet tooth, and another reason is that I absolutely love cooking and the task of completely re-thinking the way I grocery shop and cook is daunting and almost inconceivable.

What I have decided to do and kind of been doing lately is just looking up really healthy and tasty vegan recipes (and they ARE out there!). I'm thinking of possibly making vegan dinners on most nights, which are obviously cooked, and then eating raw for breakfast and possibly lunch. But I'm not going into my day thinking "I'm going to eat raw today" because I simply don't have enough knowledge on raw "cooking" and would probably end up so hungry that I would just binge eventually. Healthy right?

So, I'm just little by little starting to make more vegan choices. I'm looking up recipes, plan on trying a few new ones each week, and get this- I bought a hemp nut milk bag! I just soak a cup of almonds overnight, drain them in the morning, blend them up with some water and some dates and a little vanilla, then strain it through the bag! It tastes so creamy and wonderful, WAY better than milk, and bonus- you can use the leftover nut mash for a plethora of raw recipes (including desserts, oh yea...). I chose a hemp bag over nylon because, well obviously it is "green", but is also more sturdy and will hold up better during the straining process, plus it is naturally mildew resistant and I can use it for sprouting beans and seeds and also juicing, although I will probably not use it for that since I already have a juicer.

I think I'm going to try to squeeze in a nap before Z wakes from his, so I will say until next time!!

Lindsay