How To Sustain Energy on Long Work Days

When I work the 10 day Vita-Mix shows, the days can be brutally long (up to 14 hour day incl travel, but usually 12) and exhausting. We're projecting our voice into the microphone, sharing with large crowds the benefits of the most powerful kitchen machine available. It can drain even the best, standing up on self-constructed stage for 2-3 hours at a time, talking non-stop - and saying it with conviction, as we want to impress upon these people the endless possibilities of using the VM.

When you work with the public, especially the 'mainstream' public, there is the likelihood of taking on other people's energy, or to let their moods and attitudes negatively affect our own. I've come up with a few tactics to create a buffer to prevent this from happening so I feel good no matter what, and to keep my energy super strong from start to finish. Everything rides on their perception and interpretation of what I'm saying, so I absolutely have to be full-on, 100%, with zero fatigue at all times - or it effects me as well in multiple ways.

I start my day with a droppersful of marine phytoplankton in about 1-2 ounces of water.

Within the first couple hours of waking, I make and enjoy a fresh fruit or vegetable juice. Recently I've been juicing 2 oranges and 1/2 a grapefruit. Crisp, tart and very refreshing on these warm days. I get plenty of leftover oranges from the shows, and find that making juices is the quickest way to use them and not waste them. I'll either have this at home, or on the drive to the show.

Usually before I head out the door, I devour a mango. I'm in love with them.

I drink ReVitaPhi or Vitamineral Green in coconut water and water mixed together throughout the first shift of 2-3 hours, constantly infusing my body with the nutrients I need to continue full force. I also keep a bag of Brazil nuts, goji berries, and Inca berries in the car ready for a quick snack. At some point, I have 1-2 pieces of Superfood Chocolate Fudge. Yummy goodness!

Mid-afternoon, I typically have a salad that either I've made the night before, or that I've bought at the local co-op: kale, chard, spinach, avocado, hemp seeds, fennel, peppers, celery, cucumber, garlic and nutritional yeast (the veggies change depending on what's in the fridge). Mash the creamy goodness together - the avocado is my dressing w/ a dash of olive oil. I'll eat this once I get on my break, and an hour or two later before heading back in I'll have an apple that I've picked up that week at the farmer's market.

As the evening approaches, I await my next shift to be over so I can savor my cacao blendie. I will have already snuck many sips as I've made a few trips to the cooler, and slug it while I'm back there, but for the most part, it's my enjoyment for the ride home. When there's just an inch left or so, I'll add some water to make it last even longer and vigorously shake in the mason jar I've brought it in.

As I write this, it's 1:00am and last night I had just 5-6 hours of sleep. Usually I 'need' 7-8, or so I think, but I find that when I space food out like this throughout the day, and make every single thing that I eat ultra nutrient-dense (as always), it's easy for me to stay up late and actually get work done! How thrilling for someone who used to crash at 10:00pm every night just a few years ago. I've noticed this pattern with raw foods and Superfoods - that the more I do it, the more sustained energy I have, consistently, throughout the day. No morning grogginess, no evening grumpiness.

Juicing: Benefits Outweigh the Clean-up

It seems everywhere I turn lately, I'm coming across more and more reasons to embark on another juice fast. I haven't done one in several months and seeing as though Spring is peaking its way through the Seattle clouds, it may just be the perfect time. I've been trapped in the thinking that it just hasn't been the right time due to life circumstances, but really, isn't that precisely the best time ever to push the limits and treat yourself to this kind of feasting?

Let's clarify the difference between juice extracting and whole food juicing (as with the Vita-Mix). With a juice extractor, you are removing the pulp and fiber from the fruit and/or veggie and just drinking the juice. Ideally, you will find a way to use the pulp to eliminate excess waste. When I make a fresh juice in my Breville juicer, my sweet dog, Java, benefits too - he gets the pulp mixed right into his free range raw meat and vegetables, and absolutely loves it. If you don't have a ravenous dog like I do, then keep the pulp anyway (store in fridge for a few days) and add to other raw food recipes. I'd love to hear the ways you've found to use the pulp - please post your recipes in the comments section and share with the rest of us! If you have an abundance of pulp (and no furry friend or raw recipe ideas), you can add it to your food waste container and use it as compost (or dispose of it) - yet another awesome way to reuse and recycle, and reduce waste.

Whole food juicing is what you do in your high speed blender / Vita-Mix. When you juice in this way, technically it's not really a juice, more like a thin smoothie, but nevertheless, it's a super healthy way to begin your day and feel and look your best. You can add the entire fruit or vegetable into the VM and not have to worry about messy clean-up or wasting at all. Because the VM totally liquefies the food making it entirely bio-available, you absorb all those life-giving nutrients (vitamins, minerals, enzymes, phytonutrients, and anti-oxidants) since it's in a form your body recognizes. Blended food is the easiest food for your body to digest without question. With a blended juice, you get to keep the fiber, something we all know is necessary for digestive health. The processing and clean-up time is minimal in the Vita-Mix according to both me, and the Encyclopedia of Healing Juices :o) - so no matter what way you choose to juice (I suggest both), you're in for a level of health that is just far beyond your wildest expectations.

Check out Jason Vale, aka The Juice Master (www.juicemaster.com) and Jay Kordich, the father of juicing (www.juicedaddy.com) if you want to learn from the best. Jay is responsible for bringing Juice to the world as we know it - his story is incredible (view it here). Maybe I'll dedicate the remainder of April to blogging about juicing - my experiences and the upcoming juice cleanse, specific juice blends for beauty, recipes (juices & smoothies - with freshly made juice as the base), and resources to get some Spring in your step!

3 Surefire Ways to Avoid PMS

This one is for the ladies. Got headaches, cramps, body aches, discomfort, swelling, inflammation, bloat, puffiness, heaviness, fatigue, insatiable hunger, cravings, hormonal acne, anxiety, depression, or erratic moods? Let's put an end to it for good.

#1: Avoid ALL dairy in the few days prior to when you expect you'll get your period and throughout the duration of it. Dairy is directly related to PMS symptoms and is also congesting, something that will give you extra unwanted bloat and discomfort. Dairy includes eggs, milk, cheese, ice cream, butter, cream cheese, sour cream, and cream. Read the labels on the food you purchase! Better yet, just focus on fresh fruits and vegetables that are cleansing and natural diuretics, releasing any undesired puffiness.

#2: Drink your blackstrap molasses! Pick up a bottle of organic, fair trade, unsulphured molasses at your health food store and have 2 T per day (1 in the AM and 1 in the PM). Molasses replenishes the supply of minerals that quickly diminish during this monthly phase - potassium, calcium, and iron (and vitamin B6). Mix 1 T of molasses with 1 cup of hot water and drink while hot (sip slowly). It really tastes much better while at a higher temperature and is pretty nasty once it cools down. The heat will soothe you internally and relax your muscles too. Think of it like an internal heating pad that's loaded with minerals.

#3: Make loose leaf nettle tea! Nettles are highly alkaline, packed full of minerals and trace minerals, including the same ones found in molasses (calcium, iron), as well as beta-carotene and vitamin C. In the rockin Rawsome! book by Brigitte Mars, she says that nettles 'are more effective than spinach in building the blood. Nettles are so rich in nutrients that they help curb overeating'. This has to be one of my favorite books on raw foods. Typically I also add alfalfa to the nettles and turn it in to my Stunning Skin Medicinal Tea. If you're searching for ways to Maximize Health, Energy, and Culinary Delight with the Raw Foods Diet, this book is for you.

Bonus Tip: Green Smoothies! Pack in as much leafy green vegetables as you possibly can during this week that typically wreaks havoc on women. Bump up the amount of kale, spinach, chard, romaine, lettuce, collards, plus any weeds, herbs, and sprouts you can get your hands on. Greens are high in magnesium and calcium, minerals that calm and relax those tight core muscles. Refer to Greens For Life for green smoothie wisdom and recipes. Here's one to get you started:

Supreme Green Dream
2 -3 bananas (depending on size)
2 handfuls spinach (toss in a couple kale, romaine, chard leaves or other leafy greens)
Thick slice of fresh pineapple or 1/2 fresh ripe mango
2 dates
1-2 cups water or medicinal tea

Blend WELL (gatta love the Vita-Mix). I like mine to have a thinner consistency and it goes down much quicker than I would have ever expected! This is a very simple recipe that is not original and was inspired by Victoria Boutenko's Greens for Life book. Green smoothies such as these did not used to be a part of my routine, but now that I've found a very basic one to base the rest from, I've been experimenting and am crazy over them!

In all my years of making these suggestions, I have yet to hear that the dreaded symptoms made a presence - IF the women committed to all 3 (plus the bonus for those that really suffer needlessly) beginning approximately 2-3 days in advance of when your PMS would normally begin. Avoid it all together - you have the choice and the power is yours!

The Most Powerful Kitchen Machine: The Vita-Mix

If there's 1 kitchen appliance you just can't live without when trying to eat healthy, it's the blender. Raw foods and Superfoods are easy to incorporate into your diet when you can just toss them into a blender, whip up a great shake, and have it as your meal. Blended food is much easier to digest, breaking down the cell walls of a food allowing it to be readily absorbed and utilized by the body. Just a regular ole blender can do all that..

But, the Vita-Mix (VM) can do all this and so much more! It's really 10 machines in 1 - therefore replacing many other appliances (saving you money, time, and effort). On the slowest speeds - 1 through 6, is where you do your food processing (chopping, mincing, dicing). Turn it up to 7 through 10 and you can make cake batters, pancakes, brownies & cupcakes. Crank it to HIGH (which overrides the dial) and you'll get a fresh whole food juice in 60 seconds. Different than a juice extractor, you get to keep and consume the pulp and fiber of the whole food. I am a major fan of juicing, but I believe juicing both ways, with the VM (whole food juicer) and my awesome Breville Juicer (juice extractor), is ideal. With the VM you can even use the seeds, stem, core, and skin of fruits and vegetables, and it will liquefy leaving no trace behind. A good rule is: thin skin is 'in' (edible), and thick will make you sick (banana peels, melon rinds - watermelon is okay but may have a strong taste), orange peel - but eat as much of the white pith as possible for extra Vit C, calcium, and bioflavonoids).

Now, if you let that juice run for a couple minutes without adding ice first, you'll eventually make a delicious fruit syrup, because the longer you let it run, the warmer the contents get. There is no heating element, it just heats by friction, so you can prepare HOT soup made with fresh, raw vegetables in less than 2 minutes. You can put cold water in the insulated container (only blender container with NO BPA in it!) it will come to a rolling boil (if run on HIGH) in just 7-8 minutes - it doubles in temperature every 2 minutes while it's running. If you had lots of ice (2 parts ice to 1 part liquid), you can make healthy, raw, homemade ice cream, margaritas (if you're indulging) or snow cones in a cold breeze. Cleaning is super easy because you don't need to take it apart, there are no filters or screens - just add soapy warm water, blend for 5-30 seconds, and rinse. No more fighting over who gets stuck doing the dishes from now on!

The Vita-Mix is a 2.1 horsepower, similar to a small lawnmower (wow), whereas a regular blender is just a quarter horsepower.. so 8 times more power! The VM is 1400 watts and 37,000 rpms (compared to 400-500 watts of a regular kitchen blender maxing out at 12,000 rpms). You never have to worry about burning the motor out as there's a thermal detector, so it will turn off if it overheats (highly unlikely with the new 5200 version) and you can re-start it once cool. The blades are already dull so you don't even need to worry about ever sharpening the blades (ever), you just rely on the power and strength of the motor to do all the work. Consumer Reports named it the #1 blender and Maxim Magazine ranked Vita-Mix the 'Best Buy' compared to others such as Blendtec, Breville and Oster! The VM is the most used commercial blender in the country and the #1 bar blender (used in hundreds of well-known juice cafes, smoothie shops, restaurants, and even fast food joints) It has on average a 20-40 year lifespan, but if you continue to eat living foods there's no need to worry about it out-living you.

I'm extremely grateful to be working with this company now because from the testimonials I hear and my own personal experience (I've owned one for years), the Vita-Mix is the 1 machine that the health conscious crowd can't live without. I'm all about sharing what I do to make eating this way practical and exciting, and this is yet another way I can educate others on the benefits of raw, living, organic, green, juicy plants. They've just started to offer a travel bag, so you can even take it with you when you travel. I'll be doing demos throughout the NW (and some national shows) - if you're in this area and would like to get the very best deal on a Vita-Mix, email me and I'll let you know the upcoming show schedule.

Some favorite links on the Vita-Mix site:
Green Smoothies and Raw Foods

My apologies for not posting a blog over the past couple weeks while I was in the 10 day VM training.. between the long trainings and preparing for this weekend's Seattle Green Festival, I've been less attached to the laptop than normal (somewhat of a good break though) and unable to sit down for more than 5 minutes to write!