Yummy green smoothie with baby spinach leaves

On Thursday and Friday, I followed the same recipe:

*1-1/2 cups of Odwalla Superfood
*1 banana
*1 apple
*6-7 frozen strawberries
*A couple of handfuls of baby spinach leaves. 

I blended everything until it was really smooth, and it tasted great! No little pieces of straw to pull off my tongue. On Thursday, after drinking nearly a quart of this concoction before going to work, I had the strangest experience. I never felt the need to get my afternoon or evening cup of coffee for an energy boost. I had good energy and no mental cobwebs the rest of the day. I have never ever gone a whole day on just one cup of coffee. On Friday, however, I had a low-grade headache and was back to drinking my requisite cups of coffee. The only difference between Thursday's green smoothie and Friday's green smoothie was that I added even more spinach to Friday's smoothie, and it still tasted great and had a smooth consistency.

It's Saturday evening already, and I probably won't have a smoothie at all today, but I have been drinking some of the Odwalla Superfood without adding anything extra. Today we had an AT&T service representative at our house most of the afternoon doing a U-verse installation, and I was out working in the garage, so it just didn't happen. But there's always tomorrow!!

I have a friend in the East Bay who is also experimenting with smoothies. Here is what she tried for her very first smoothie experience:

*1 fuji apple
*1/2 banana
*1 zucchini
*small bunch collard greens
*1/2 cucumber
*about 1/2 cup water

And for her second smoothie experience:

*1 apple
*1/2 banana
*carrots
*2 zucchini

I hope these recipes and initial experiences will have you whipping out and revving up your blenders in no time!

Smoothie Concoction #2 -- the Midweek Smoothie

I have a friend in Wisconsin who says that the mere sight, perhaps even the mere thought, of something green and thick to drink makes her gag. MJ would have been truly disgusted by this evening's concoction because it was beyond the green of most salad greens -- more like a dark olive green or an Army green. It's almost brown. Think heavy swamp muck and that about describes the shade and consistency.

So what was in this evening's concoction? As with the first one I made, I started with some Odwalla Superfood (about 1-1/2 cups) and then added a bunch of organic spring mix greens (several kinds of baby lettuce, red and green chard, radicchio, arugula, mizuna [never heard of this before], etc.), a large handful of sugar snap peas, a sliced-up apple, and six frozen strawberries. It tastes really good; the only drawback are the membranous strings from the pods of the sugar snap peas (at least that's where I think they're coming from) which resemble pieces of straw. I suppose a super duper blender would tear those strings apart and blend them into the smoothie without a moment's thought, but our 10-speed Osterizer isn't quite up to the task. However, it blended everything else -- greens, snap peas, apple, and frozen strawberries -- quite nicely. So drinking this particular smoothie requires the additional step of removing what feel like bits of straw from the tongue after each big sip of smoothie. 

Quite a few people have green smoothie recipes as well as other recipes for other types of smoothies on their websites and blogs. Recipes for some delicious sounding smoothies (with a variety of colors) can be found over at Kristine's Squidoo page, aptly entitled, "Green Smoothies."

Yes, I think in the future (she said while continuing to pick pieces of "straw" off her tongue), I will leave out the sugar snap peas -- at least until we get a super duper BlendTec Total Blender.

My First Green Smoothie Concoction

Recently I went back to one of my favorite books on nutrition, Dr. Joel Fuhrman's Eat to Live (2003). And then I went to his website to do some more reading and eventually got to his blog tab where I discovered a link to a really fun blog by a gal in Colorado who is writing about all the recipes she is trying from one of Dr. Fuhrman's books. She and her husband are trying all the recipes and rating them. She mentioned a recipe for a smoothie and then I was off and running again, reading about hi-tech blenders like VitaMix and BlendTec and watching Matt Monarch and team rate different top of the line blenders on a YouTube video. I would really, really, really like to have a top of the line blender for making green smoothies, but they do cost a pretty penny and we do have our trusty 10-speed Osterizer blender that has served us faithfully for many years.

I had a small epiphany when I was at Safeway this evening looking for frozen berries. I saw frozen chopped greens!! Collard greens! Mustard greens! Holy mama, Winston! We can hold off on the hi-tech, 300 mph blender and use ye old faithful standby, the trusty Osterizer, for now. I figure if I start using the blender that we currently have on a regular basis, perhaps by the time my birthday rolls around, DH will be willing to invest in a super duper blender. I don't mind smoothies that I have to chew a bit. I bought a half-gallon jug of Odwalla Superfood, the green stuff with lots of fruits, a variety of grasses, sprouts, spirulina,  Jerusalem artichoke and healthful ingredients like these to use as the base for my first at-home green smoothie concoction. I added a banana, an apple, some frozen mustard and collard greens, some dry coconut from Trader Joe's, a spoonful of flax seed, and six frozen strawberries. It looked totally funky but tasted good.

Trader Joe's used to carry a delicious pond scum looking green smoothie drink with almond milk, bananas, and all sorts of greens. I drank it often a few years back when I was working at the animal shelter, but the product itself didn't catch on with most of the TJ crowd, so eventually it got pulled from their shelves. I don't even remember the name of this drink anymore.

The Green Smoothie Girl has a terrific video to show smoothie novices how to throw together a delicious green smoothie using a (sigh) top of the line BlendTec Total Blender. Someday...

Over Halfway Through the 60-Day Challenge!

I thought I would be blogging regularly about what it's been like to constantly go to Bikram Yoga classes, but I have been too busy actually preparing to go and then going to the classes themselves to do much else. Preparing to go to a Bikram Yoga class means the following: keeping hydrated before and after a class, having clean (and dry) clothes to wear and clean (and dry) towels to bring to the class, making sure that the water bottles with Emergen-C are nicely chilled, airing out the yoga mats and spraying them with Lysol, and making sure not to eat a couple of hours before a class. I also find that I try not to eat a heavy meal even several hours before a class 'cause that make a big difference.

A couple of links to the Bikram Yoga postures:

http://www.bikramyogaportsmouth.com/table/byp/26-postures/

http://www.bikram-yoga-noosa-australia.com/bikram-yoga.htm

So after completing 32 sessions, what differences have I noticed in how I do the postures? For one thing, it's generally easier to hold some of the longer postures for a minute without falling out of them, like in the "Standing Head to Knee Pose" (which I can only do the beginning phase of) and the "Standing Bow Pulling Pose" though I'm starting to lose my balance more in the latter one lately. My legs feel stronger in the "Awkward Pose" and the "Eagle Pose." My elbows still feel mighty uncomfortable in the "Locust Pose" but it's not as awful as it used to be and my legs are starting to come off the floor in that pose. There's more action in the "Bow Pose" and I can actually lie back in the "Fixed Firm Pose" which I couldn't even begin to do when I first started Bikram Yoga off and on last summer.

I can feel more backward bending happening in the second phase of the "Half Moon Pose" and in the "Camel Pose" but I don't seem to be anywhere close to grabbing my heels in that posture. Someday? After the "Fixed Firm Pose," the "Half Tortoise Pose" is absolutely delightful. In the final phase of the "Head to Knee Pose with Stretching Pose," I feel like my forehead is miles away from my legs.

I have observed a couple of women students doing a fabulous rock solid "Toe Stand Pose" which takes tremendous patience, focus, balance and strength. To be able to do a really good "Toe Stand Pose" would mark a definite milestone in my Bikram Yoga progress. At the moment, I happily stay in "Tree Pose" while others are attempting or actually performing the "Toe Stand Pose." Someday...

Another pose that will take some time to develop is the second phase of the "Standing Head to Knee Pose." The thought of being able to kick one leg straight out and hold it there while balancing on the other leg seems like an amazing feat -- that's another pose that is a marvel to watch when students can do it well. Someday...?

As far as benefits, my body seems to responding nicely to the workouts. I can squat down on my knees for a while and get back up without feeling stiffness or discomfort. I am sitting up straighter at the computer; there is much less desire to slouch while sitting. My energy level is good and I seem to be sleeping better at night. Plus I am drinking more water now than ever before -- something that I never was able to do. And with Bikram Yoga, there is NO need for Metamucil; any problems with elimination are pretty much "eliminated" -- har har har!!

As far as focus and concentration, I think I still have quite a ways to go. I was just about to publish this post when I looked up and realized that I was posting it on the wrong blog. Doh!

~ Bathilda the Batty ~

What a Wonderful Day!!

Barack Obama wins the election to become our next U.S. President, and on a much smaller note, Bathilda made it back to a Bikram Yoga class after ONE WHOLE MONTH away. I thought it was going to be a horrible experience (the yoga class, not the election), so I was pleasantly surprised that my body hadn't completely lost everything gained in July, August, and September. October was my month off. No in-laws, no husband, no Bikram Yoga, and almost no exercise - period. Lots of dark chocolate though. So now it's November and time to get back on the Wheel of Discipline. Just had to post this while it's still November 4, 2008, a date when history was made in the U.S. -- another first for our relatively young nation.

I'm seriously thinking of bringing a can of some kind of body spray for dudes who smell bad in class. It's the toughest part of class -- getting a whiff of someone's b.o. or s.g.o. (sweaty genitalia odor). Class would be so much more pleasant without these olfactory offenses.

~ Bathilda the Elated ~

The stomach rules...

It was the 4:30 p.m. Bikram Yoga class, and the conversation went something like this:

Stomach: What the hell are you doing?
Me: I think they call it the Half Moon with Hands to Feet Pose (Ardha-Chandrasana and Pada-Hastasana), and right now I'm in the forward bending part of the pose.
Stomach: Let me rephrase the question: WHY the hell are you doing the forward bending part of the pose?
Me: Well, it's part of the series. We bend to the right, and then to the left, and then backwards and forwards.
Stomach: Do I need to remind you that you had a bowl of pinto beans before you went to class?
Me: It was a small bowl...
Stomach: Yeah, a small bowl -- 45 MINUTES BEFORE CLASS!! Do you happen to remember the recommendation NOT to eat 2 hours before a class?
Me: Uh, yeah, I sort of remember something about that.
Stomach: Good! I'm trying to do my job here, digesting those beans you ate, and here you are squishing me upside down and pressing me against your thighs. It's not feeling too good, is it?!
Me: No, actually I feel like I might have to throw up. I'm feeling a constriction in the esophagus.
Stomach: Right on, Sister. Get a clue. Sit down on your mat, why don't you, and let's not trouble the esophagus any further.
Me (feeling really strange): Yeah, good idea.

A minute or two later...

Stomach (with a strong note of irritation): NOW what do you think you're doing??
Me: Well, we do each pose twice, so I figured that maybe I could do the forward bend the second time around.
Stomach: You don't learn, do you?? You think I'm any further along digesting those beans than I was a minute ago??
Me: M-m-m, probably not.
Stomach (sighing): I repeat -- sit down on your mat and give me a break or you WILL be barfing beans all over your brightly colored towel. And take it easy on the rest of the forward bending postures in class.
Me: Okie-dokie, you're the boss.
Stomach: And you're an idiot. If stomachs could choose their people, I'd be outta here.

So much better today...

Today, Early Bird Braless Bathilda (as Angie so aptly called me) made it to the 7:15 a.m. Bikram Yoga class. Three cheers for Bathilda! That was, of course, after dreaming of jumping into bottomless pools and looking down empty elevator shafts as a result of watching the segment of the Planet Earth series called "Caves," which shows skydivers free-falling into Mexico's Cave of Swallows, billed as "Earth's deepest pit cave free-fall drop." I think those images left quite an impression on my subconscious -- hence, the nature of the dreams I had.

Today's B.Y. class was taught by John who helped me with some of my postures. The guidance was much appreciated. Today's class was ever so much better because:

• Hot sunlight wasn't pouring into the room.
• My body was more prepared since my last class had been the day before yesterday.
  
• I wasn't squished between two sweaty, smelly guys.
• I was able to see what I was doing in the front mirror.
  
• There were fewer students in the workout room, giving us more room to spread out.
• I got to see Angie briefly who was coming in for the 9:15 a.m. class. Amazing how refreshed she was looking while I was feeling like a bedraggled cat.

Speaking of bedraggled cats, take a look at the misadventure of two would-be heroes who were intent on rescuing a lost cat:

http://piratepete.wordpress.com/2007/04/15/a-cat-in-hand/

~ Bathilda the Bedraggled Bandicoot ~