Tag Archives: avocado

Diet, Food

Your Liver and Dieting

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Most folks know that fat stores are created when you eat more than you burn off, and that’s the basis for most diets. For many folks, reducing calories has a limited effectiveness. What is not widely trumpeted is that some fat stores are created to protect you from excessive toxins in your system. These fat stores will not go away until your system is able to processes these toxins, and that can’t happen as long as you are overloading your system with more toxins than your liver can handle.

The easiest weight loss I ever achieved was on a >50% raw food diet. It was wonderful. I lost 60 pounds in less than a year with no portion control. Yes, the food prep was occasionally onerous, but it was worth it. Then my doctor changed my medication and the pounds started creeping back. I started writing and that cut out time for exotic food prep. I began trashing my diet again. Then my meds were changed again and I packed on 50 pounds in a few months, without changing my eating habits.

Medications put a toxic load on your liver, the same as alcohol and recreational drugs. It’s always a good idea to care for your liver. It’s especially important if you take daily medications.

Liver cleanses are available, but I’ve never been able to bring myself to do one. The Dr. Hulda Clark recipe is well known and has been used by thousands. It also takes two days out of your life.

I think it’s more important to eat a diet that promotes liver health. I did some research and came up with the following list of foods that promote liver function:

Garlic; Grapefruit, Lemon and Lime; Beets & Carrots; Leafy Greens, especially Kale (the darker the better); Seaweeds and Algae; Green Tea; Avocados; Cruciferous Vegetables, such as Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower and Cabbage; Turmeric; Walnuts; Apples (be sure these are organic); Olive Oil and other cold pressed oils; Whole Grains

Salt stimulates your liver and aids in detox. If you eat a diet of unprocessed foods, make sure you’re including some unprocessed sea salt daily. Adequate water and salt intake also helps in sleep regulation as well as the retention of serotonin and melatonin and tryptamine in the brain.

It’s interesting to note that during my high-raw diet days, lemons, garlic and carrots, apples, greens and cabbage were a big part of my diet.

Lemon in water, first thing in the morning is especially cleansing to the liver. The Master Cleanse is a fast consisting of lemonade made with maple syrup and cayenne pepper. While the cayenne does not work directly on the liver, it does aid in digestion, cleansing the large intestine and improving circulation.

Books, Diet, Food

The Starving Artist Cookbook – Get it While it’s Free!

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Click Image to see on Amazon
Click Image to see on Amazon

On August 22, Self-Publishing Guru Joe Konrath reported that he got drunk and wrote, edited, formatted, designed a cover for and published a short on Amazon in an hour. On four different occasions. He found this exercise tremendously freeing and challenged his readers to try it, giving them 8 hours to accomplish what he did in one.

On August 26, he promised to feature anyone who met the challenge in his August 30 blog: 8 Hour Contest Winners. He gave us until August 29th to complete this and send him the info (click the link to see the books, many of them are free tonight and tomorrow).

I’m not a huge Konrath fan, but I was outside of Chicago at the time visiting my stepmother. Her only computer is an ancient Dell that can surf for exactly five minutes before the browser locks up. There’s only so much I can do on my Kindle Fire. Like watch my on-line writing group buds whooping it up over the silly books they were writing under groaner pen-names. The more fun they were having, the more I felt like I was missing out.

Then I remembered. Back before Lia Anderson was a gleam in my eye, I was researching publishing options. Not because I thought I had a novel in me. Because I wanted to write a cookbook. I abandoned this project for two reasons: 1. I upgraded my word processing app and it ate my MS and 2. I thought eating right was going to cure my TBI (fool, I) and when I realized I didn’t have all the food answers, I dropped the project until such time that I did.

I never did find my answers, but I realized I had a lot of recipes I’d collected along the way. I got back into Cincinnati at 11 p.m. on August 27. Twelve hours later I sat down at my computer (lovely, lovely Mac! How I missed you!) and tossed together The Starving Artist Cookbook, skimming just under Konrath’s 8 hour deadline.

It’s not perfect. I didn’t get to include everything I wanted. The cover is, admittedly, ‘Meh.’ I didn’t have time to create a table of contents. But it’s out there. And tonight and tomorrow, it’s FREE! After that it’s $.99.

I will be adding to this book (and raising the price to a lofty $2.99) sometime this fall. Then I will contact the ‘Zon and tell them I have improved my book, and would they please let all the nice people who already bought it, download the improved version.

It’s written from Lia’s perspective, since she and I share the same quirky attitude about food. It has a large section featuring vegan smoothies, including Lia’s famous ‘pond scum’ smoothies. There’s info about making yogurt (which you can do with almond milk, if you like) and cultured veggies (yum!) and many raw food recipes. There are only a few recipes with include fish and chicken, and none with red meat. It includes several chocolate recipes, including raw fudge and my own crazy cake. One of the first things I’m going to add when I update the book will be Jim McDonald’s crazy cake recipe (which gets a mention in soon-to-be-released Maximum Security).

So, get your copy of The Starving Artist Cookbook now, while it’s free. I guarantee you’ll find at least one keeper recipe in it. And if you don’t, I’ll give you back every penny you didn’t spend on it.

Aztec Diet, Care and Feeding of Canine Companions, Diet, On Being a Writer

Aztec Diet Day 38: Little Foil Men

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Pounds lost: 18

Pre-Breakfast: apple; Breakfast: Dr. Bob’s Kale Blueberry Smoothie; Lunch: venison stew; Snack: apple; Dinner: low-fat cottage cheese with 2 TBSP chia, topped with an avocado and peach mango salsa; Snack: 2 celery ribs and a small handful of zucchini chips

New Crocs

I think my absences in the evening are upsetting Shadda. This morning I couldn’t find one of my Crocs. After hunting all over the apartment, I found it in one of the dog beds with the strap chewed off. This is the first time she’s eaten one of my shoes in a couple years. So maybe she misses me. Or maybe she’s just tired of me wearing these everywhere, looking like some kind of duck-footed dork.

I’m getting tired of tuna. And venison. I’m longing for a lovely pot of curried black beans. I was thinking about that tonight. Then I looked around me. More than 60 people in my work room, with stations every 4 feet. A sudden influx of beans would be horribly antisocial. That means humus is out, too. Dang it. Curse real jobs, and the need for social acceptability.

I did better than ever with not being hungry at work. I believe stirring 2 TBSP chia into my cottage cheese did the trick. It made a nice meal with avocado and salsa. It’s a meal well worth repeating.

Little Foil Men

As for writing, I’m mostly considering what kind of love offerings Eric can leave for Lia. Something that would appeal to the artist in her and only later strike her as a bit creepy. Like maybe little dioramas made out of scrunched up tinfoil. Never heard of this? It’s one of my favorite crafts. A couple years ago, I made an entire soccer game for the Northside Branch Library. Why? Why not? Does that make me weird?

Aztec Diet, Diet, Food, Life, On Being a Writer

Aztec Diet Day 37: Beautiful Warts

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Pounds Lost: 18

Breakfast and Lunch: All Day Blueberry Banocado Plus; Snack: low-fat cottage cheese and an apple; Dinner: Tuna on sprouted grain bread; Snack: celery and zucchini chips; Late Snack: almond milk

I feel like the guy in Green Eggs and Ham. I keep avoiding celery as a snack, yet I tried it last night on my break at work and it kept me fairly full and more alert than expected. I topped this off with a few zucchini chips at my desk. Yes, they’re wafer thin. But they absorb water so they make you fuller than you would think. I didn’t even tap into the bag of air-popped popcorn I brought. Note: When making zucchini chips, salt them SPARINGLY. Especially if you are using RealSalt or Celtic sea salt. The chips shrink down, intensifying anything you put on them. So my first batch of chips wound up really salty.

Down side? I wound up ravenous at 11 p.m. Thus the late glass of almond milk.

Yesterday I told Eric I had an opening for a stalker in my next book. He said he’d take it. Then he me to give him hair and make him taller. Ain’t gonna happen. Eric is really cool, just the way he is, short and prematurely bald. He’s upbeat, fun and funny and helpful. Making him conventionally handsome would be a slap to his coolness.

I told Tom (real life model for “Jim” in my books) that Jane made him sound too young and sexy for his part. (Did I stick my foot in my mouth? Probably, I’m a Sagittarius. We do that) I said I was going to have her fix it. He says, It’s okay. You don’t need to change it.” Thing is, I (and many others) love Tom for his simplicity and his good heart. Making him sound like George Clooney is like saying that’s not enough.

Decade ago, “Vogue” was hesitant to feature Cher on the cover because A. She wasn’t blond. and B. She has a bump on her nose. Guess what. That cover outsold all the previous issues.

As an artist, what makes up our “style” is really the way we deviate from the norm. The “norm” is perfection. So our style is really based on our faults and how we deal with them. The art is in turning a fault into a thing of beauty.

Writers love warts. They’re what make us all memorable and different. When we read, we love people who have no filters, who aren’t perfect. A story isn’t a story without mistakes.

In real life, those of us who are sane hate people like Martha Stewart, who are perfectly groomed, perfectly organized and color coordinated, and do everything perfectly well. With flair.

So why do we go through life wishing we were taller, prettier, shorter, richer, more successful, anything-er but what we are? If we could see ourselves through the eyes of someone who loves us, we could abandon our insecurities.

I know all this. I’m still not giving up the diet. It’s a health issue. Yeah, that’s it.


All Day Blueberry Banocado Plus.
Banocado means the base is a banana and an avocado. Plus means I added a big handful of spinach. This is perfect for two servings or for an all-day smoothie.

    1 Cup blueberries
    1 banana
    1 avocado
    1 large handful of baby spinach
    2 – 4 TBSP ground chia seeds
    1 heaping TBSP cacao powder or cocoa (Optional)
    1/2 TSP ground ginger (optional)
    Water, to desired consistency
Aztec Diet, Diet, Food, On Being a Writer

Aztec Diet Day 36: Zucchini Chips and Big Moments

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Weight Lost: 18 pounds

Pre-Breakfast: 1/2 ruby red grapefruit; Breakfast and Lunch: All Day Chocolate Cherry Banocado Plus; Snack: low-fat cottage cheese and 3 ribs celery; Dinner: Tuna Sandwich on sprouted grain bread; Snack: air popped popcorn

Today Jane posted the first 15 minutes of the audiobook of A Shot in the Bark. I was so nervous, I put off listening to it until after I was able to settle myself. Turns out the woman is an even bigger genius than I thought she was. And no, I’m not sharing her last name until I get both books out of her. I wish there was some way to share the recording with you. So I was having a “WOW” moment today.

I used to celebrate big moments with chocolate. Or cheesecake. Or chocolate cheesecake. If it was a really big moment, a fillet, followed by a Chocolate Stampede. I haven’t figured out what to do instead. I don’t drink, so champagne is out. Getting a massage would be great, except you can’t get a good massage on the spur of the moment. At least, I can’t. Maybe you can. When I have an answer to this problem, you’ll be the first to know.

I made it through work without anyone flinging chocolate at me. I suspect I’ll be okay for the next couple weeks, as long as I keep appropriate snacks on hand. No need to worry until the project winds down. Then, one of two things will happen. Either we will be ahead and the work will come slow, with lots of down time conducive to boredom snacking (not good), or we will be behind, and the bowls of chocolate and assorted candy will be passed around from station to station to give us a little something help us keep our focus (also not good).

I need something to chew on that won’t make me fat. Like a piece of rope soaked with hickory smoke.

Today I made dehydrated zucchini chips, thinking this would make a good snack for work. They taste like potato chips, but are sweeter. There’s no frying or oil involved. Zucchini is low in carbohydrates and calories and contains fiber. I popped the first batch into the dehydrator about noon, and they were ready after I got home from work at 10 p.m. I miscalculated, though. I thought 5 zucchinis would make enough chips to last the rest of the week. These are addictive. I’ll be lucky if they last more than 24 hours.

My neighbors, Mike and Marti Dourson (source of Peter Dourson’s name), gave me a t-shirt for Christmas. They had it made up special. It says, “Careful, or you’ll end up in my novel.” I wore it tonight. So Eric, my team leader, asked me if he was going to be in my novel. I told him he might. I have not shared with him what I do to the people I put in my novels. He’d have better odds for survival as a Red Shirt on Star Trek. And a cleaner end, should it come to that. I’ve been thinking he’d make a really great stalker. Maybe I’ll let him choose his own demise. That would be the polite thing to do.

Zucchini Chips

    Slice zucchini thin, about 1/8″. A food processor is fastest, but you’re likely to wind up with paper-thin chips. A mandolin works fine and gives more control and consistency. You can slice them by hand as well.
    Lay out on dehydrator trays (if you have one) or on baking sheets lined with parchment (if you don’t).
    Sprinkle lightly with salt or other spice of choice, such as cumin, pepper, curry, etc.
    Dehydrate at 115 degrees for about 6 – 10 hours, depending how thin your slices are. you can flip these halfway through. It’s not necessary, but it will prevent sticking. If baking, bake in a warm oven for a couple hours, keeping an eye on them. Flip when the tops are crisp and continue baking until done. I can’t give you exact times, because I’ve never made them in an oven.

Excalibur Food Dehydrator

I use an Excalibur 4 tray dehydrator. It’s a decent machine, though If I were to buy another, I’d get the 9 tray. It’s got a more reliable thermostat and you can dehydrate twice as much food. This is the one I’d get: http://www.amazon.com/Excalibur-3900B-Deluxe-Dehydrator-Black/dp/B004Z915M4/


All Day Chocolate Cherry Banocado Plus.
Banocado means the base is a banana and an avocado. Plus means I added a big handful of spinach. This is perfect for two servings or for an all-day smoothie.

    1/2 Cups frozen sweet cherries
    1 banana
    1 avocado
    1 large handful of baby spinach
    1 heaping TBSP cacao powder or cocoa
    2 – 4 TBSP ground chia seeds
    1/2 TSP ground ginger (optional)
    Water, to desired consistency
Aztec Diet, Diet, Food

Aztec Diet Day 31: Dr. Bob’s Smoothie Recipes

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Pounds lost: 17 pounds

Pre-Breakfast: apple Breakfast: Chocolate Cherry Banocada; Lunch: 1 Cup low-fat cottage cheese; Snack: ruby red grapefruit; Dinner: Venison Stew; Snack: none

I get a lot of hits from people looking for Dr. Bob’s smoothie recipes. I don’t post them here because I don’t have permission. ABC does, though, and they posted three of them (including his go-to Kale Blueberry Smoothie) along with a recent story about the Aztec Diet. Check them out here: http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/aztec-diet-focuses-ancient-superfood-120103048–abc-news-Recipes.html.

Meanwhile, keep checking this blog for my own culinary experiments.

I was brave enough to put on my old pants today. Yes they zipped up. Yeah! No, they were not comfortable. Boo! Soon, though, soon.

Nothing much else to say. I spent the rest of the day polishing a flute. And, no, I am not being euphemistic.


Chocolate Cherry Banocado

    1 avocado
    1 banana
    1/2 – 3/4 Cup frozen cherries
    2 TBSP raw cacao powder
    2 – 4 TBSP ground chia seeds
    Water to desired thickness
    Option: add a large handful of spinach and more water to create an all-day smoothie

“Banocado” is a term I coined to refer to any smoothie that consists of fruit added to 1 banana and 1 avocado. This will actually produce 3-1/2 cups of smoothie, so it’s perfect for two people. If you want to be more in keeping with Dr. Bob’s recommendations, you can use 1/2 avocado and 1/2 banana. The produces a smaller carb load. The problem isn’t the avocado, it’s the banana. I can just have never figured out how to keep 1/2 an avocado, so I reduce my carb load the rest of the day. The other solution is to only use 1/2 a banana. I have no problem with that.

Aztec Diet, Diet, Food

Aztec Diet Day 29: Crock Pot Magic

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Pounds lost: 17

Breakfast: Dr. Bob’s Kale Blueberry Smoothie (Aztec Diet) with romaine instead of kale (I was out of kale); Lunch: 1 avocado with peach-mango salsa; Dinner: wild-caught salmon patty on sprouted multi-grain bread with Miracle Whip and cheddar cheese*; Snack: 1 oz. pomegranate juice with 12 oz water and 4 TBSP ground chia and 2 Mandarin cuties

I went shopping today. Bought lots of lovely, fresh produce for smoothies. But what to do with the stuff going limp in the bottom of the refrigerator?

This is where my crock-pot comes into play. Tomorrow will be stew day. I’ll clean out the produce drawers and set up my solid meal for several days in one fell swoop (what the heck is a fell swoop, anyway?**)

I’m currently thawing out some deer Rudy gave me (I’ll bet your landlord doesn’t butcher his own deer, so you can use beef instead). I’ll toss that into the crock pot with some bay leaves and wine. Some water and bit of salt. While that is getting tender, I’ll chunk up my left-over veggies and toss them in. Onion, bell pepper, carrots, celery, whole cloves of garlic. If I had greens that needed to be used up, I’d toss them in, too. But I’ve been a good girl and loaded all my greens into smoothies. No potatoes, though. Don’t have them in the house since they are vegetable-non-grata in Aztec Diet Land. Easiest is to toss in quinoa in the last hour. Brown rice would also work, but it gets mushy if you don’t cook it up separately. Don’t use too much water, as the vegetables will add broth as they cook down.

Simple. Easy. Two of my favorite words.

I’ll tell you how it turns out.

* Yes, I have switched my solid meal from lunch to dinner. No, this is not advised by Dr. Bob. But it’s stopped my late-night snacking on popcorn.

**This phrase is thought to originate with Shakespeare. Who knew? http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/at-one-fell-swoop.html

Aztec Diet, Diet, Food

Aztec Diet Day 26: Going off the Reservation

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Pounds lost: 16

Thursday
Pre-breakfast: 2 Mandarin cuties; Breakfast: spinach, feta, tomato and onion omelet, rye toast, small portion of hash browns; Lunch: cottage cheese; Snack: 2 Mandarin cuties; Dinner: Yellow Submarine; Snack: none

Friday
Pre-breakfast: apple; Breakfast and Lunch: All Day Blueberry Banocado Smoothie; Snack: non-fat cottage cheese; Dinner: grilled cheese – cheddar on sprouted grain bread cooked in 1 TSP coconut oil; Snack: none

Woke up this morning to a 16 pound total loss. I seem to be doing best when I have solid food early in the evening and am able to skip the evening snack. So I’m switching the program to eat solid food for dinner and smoothies the rest of the time.

Yellow Submarine

    1 banana
    2 TBSP cashews
    1 Cup tropical mix (mango, pineapple and strawberry)
    2 Cups baby spinach
    2 TBSP chia

All Day Blueberry Banocado

    1 banana
    1 avocado
    1 Cup blueberries
    2 TBSP cacao powder
    4 TBSP ground chia
    water to make 5 Cups
Aztec Diet, Diet, Food, TBI

Aztec Diet Day 23: The Perfect Smoothie

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Pounds Lost: 12

Monday
Breakfast: Dr. Bob’s Kale Blueberry Smoothie (Aztec diet); Lunch: 5 oz tuna, a tablespoon of mayonnaise, 3 celery ribs, multi-grain crackers; Snack: none; Dinner: Blue Meanie; Snack: air-popped popcorn

Tuesday
Breakfast and Lunch: Raspberry Consolation; Snack: None; Dinner: Miso Green; Snack: air-popped popcorn

I haven’t been posting regularly for the past several days, I’ve been tied up with a research project which concluded yesterday. Monday night I was exhausted and wanted something super-simple for dinner, so I created the Blue Meanie. The name is ironic, since it’s very sweet. I’ve been on a Beatles kick lately, what with “Blackbird” running through my head at odd moments, so that’s what stuck.

Yesterday morning I was disappointed to find that A Shot in the Bark did not make the ABNA quarter-finals. Disappointment always puts me in the mood for chocolate. Normally, I would have a Chocolate Covered Cherry, but I was out of cherries. So I created Raspberry Consolation. It’s very rich. I used 4 TBSP chia and it had the consistency of a light pudding. This smoothie lasted me all day, with absolutely no hunger.

I get the most hits from people looking for smoothie recipes. I don’t think in terms of recipes. I’ve been writing these down to save them for posterity. Pretty much, I check in the fridge and see what looks good, and what needs to be eaten before it goes over.

Dr. Bob talks about creating your own smoothies, using a base, mixer, fruits and veggies, chia and sweeteners. My attitude towards these things is a bit different than his. I suffer from depression resulting from my TBI, so it’s important that I have a steady supply of healthy fats. This assists mood management and brain health. This means that I am losing weight more slowly. Still, 4 pounds a week is very respectable and I’m satisfied with my approach.

Dr. Bob’s go-to base is non-fat greek yogurt. I have nothing against yogurt, but I prefer other bases. Bases I use:

1 avocado and 1 banana (Avos have fantastic fats. This increases the size of your smoothie and is suitable for all-day smoothies.)
Flesh and water from a young coconut (incredible electrolytes)
Small handful of cashews (blends up nice and creamy)
Almond milk, unsweetened (fast and easy)
Miso (for savory smoothies)

For a Mixer, If I’m not using coconut water or almond milk, I use water. Except when I make Dr. Bob’s Kale-Apple-Carrot, in which case, I use carrot juice. And no, I don’t juice the apple. I cut it up and toss it in the blender. fruits should be eaten whole so the fiber offsets the sugar.

Every smoothie needs greens. This is the single most important veggie you can consume. Dr. Bob likes kale for it’s high nutrition profile and it’s bland taste. This is fine, however, no matter how expensive your blender is, kale remains a bit “chewy.” Swiss chard is close to kale in nutrition and blends easier, but has a stronger taste. Spinach is further down the list but still packs a nutritional wallop. It is mild tasting and blends easily, especially baby spinach. I buy pre-washed, organic spinach. It’s time-saving in the kitchen, which is important to me. This is my go-to green. Romaine is further down the list nutritionally. It’s the most nutritious of the lettuces. It blends nicely and has a bland taste.

Keep a variety in your fridge, each has a different nutritional profile, so change it up. When I say “grab a handful” I mean a big handful that expands to two or three cups when you drop it in your blender.

Fruits are what make a smoothie a smoothie. frozen fruit is very convenient and allows you to keep a variety on hand. I get my blueberries fresh. They are terrific brain food and I go through them like crazy. 1/2 Cup – 1 Cup is plenty, unless I am using a high water content fruit like papaya, in which case, I use more fruit and less water.

Extras:
I usually add some extras to my morning smoothie. Chia, of course, is mandatory in all smoothies. I rarely add sweeteners. When I do, I use raw honey. I add 1/2 TSP powdered ginger to most of my smoothies. It’s a terrific herb with many excellent properties. I’ve found it essential in preventing TBI headaches. Cacao is lovely brain food. And green powder for extra green power. If I’m adding green powder to a smoothie, I don’t make it an all day smoothie, the powder can get a bitter edge after a few hours.

Have fun inventing your own smoothies, and be sure to give them fun names. I think tomorrow I’m going to whip up a Yellow Submarine.

Blue Meanie

    1 cup blueberries
    1/2 – 1 banana
    2 cups spinach
    1 cup almond milk

Raspberry Consolation

    1 Cup raspberries
    1 avocado
    1 banana
    3 TBSP Cacao power
    2-4 TBSP ground Chia
    raw honey, to taste

Miso Green

    2 Cups baby spinach
    1 TBSP Miso
    1/2 Cup tofu, rinsed and cubed
    4 Cups hot water (I run mine through the coffee maker)

Place tofu in the bowl or glass you intend to use for your soup. Pour two cups hot water over it, let it sit. This will warm the tofu up. place the other 2 cups of water, spinach and miso in the blender and blend. Drain tofu, pour the miso soup over it.

Aztec Diet, Diet, Food

Aztec Diet Day 21: Singing in the Dead of Night

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Pounds Lost: 12

Saturday: Pre-breakfast: 2 Clementines; Breakfast: Avocado/Banana/Cherry Smoothie Lunch: 1 Cup cottage cheese Snack: none Dinner: Blackbird; Snack: none

Sunday: Breakfast: Blueberry Brain Booster (Aztec Diet) with spirulina and chlorella; Lunch: roasted eggplant hummus with multi-grain crackers; snack: none. Dinner: Spinach Portabella Smoothie Snack: air-popped popcorn

Looks like I’m moving into a modified Phase 2, or rather, a Phase 1-1/2. Meaning that I’ll eat a solid lunch sometimes. Life is getting busier, and I’m needing a more flexible plan. I know I need to add in exercise. Right now, it feels like one thing too many. Still, 12 pounds in 3 weeks is nothing to sneeze at. I’d previously spent 3 months fighting to lose 5 pounds, and that was with excercise.

I know the exercise plan I’ll use, I’ve done it before and I really love it. It’s called The Ancient Secret of the Fountain of Youth , also known as the “Five Rites” http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Secrets-Fountain-Youth-ebook/dp/B001334J14/

These are five yoga exercises. The poses use your own body weight to build strength. They are hard at first. You start with 3 reps of each pose and build up to 21 reps over 10 weeks. You’ll need a good yoga mat. I have a 4′ x 6′ carpet remnant and put my yoga mat on top of that. The book is short and easy to follow, with pictures. You can find YouTube videos demonstrating the five rites, but I found the book necessary to explain all the details of conducting the rites correctly.

Now that I’ve posted this, maybe I’ll be shamed into getting back to it.

I’ve named the smoothie below “Blackbird” because I got an ear-worm of that song while I was making it. There, now you have it too.

Blackbird

    1 cup blackberries
    1 cup papaya
    1 cup (packed) spinach
    1/2 cup yogurt
    2 TBSP Chia
    Optional: 1 TBSP cacao
    Water to desired consistency