On the Run: fitness made simple

I did a juice cleanse! 

Running a fitness blog has its perks like getting samples of healthy foods!  Recently, I’ve tried a one-day raw, organic juice cleanse from Urban Remedy, a small business from San Rafael, CA.  Although I love making green smoothies (my favorite combines avocado, grapes, pears, broccoli, and spinach), I’ve never thought about undertaking a liquid cleanse.  But, hey, if a trendy brand wants to give me a full-day’s supply of meals and snacks, I may as well try it. If worse comes to worst, I’ll just supplement with solid food. I decided on Urban Remedy’s Signature Cleanse for a single day. This consisted of six individually packaged juices which are suggested to be spaced two hours apart. Urban Remedy prefers cleansing with just their juices, but suggests eating raw vegetables and drinking water if you feel hungry. How did it go? Would I do it again? Keep on reading to find out!

Why did I do it?

I was curious. It sounded like a challenge. Also, I wanted to form an opinion about the popular trend backed by personal experience. A lot of my readers ask about cleanses and I’d feel more empowered to talk about the subject if I had some experience. Also, the juices sounded delicious!  

Did I have any doubts?

Yes! I was scared that I’d get hungry and have trouble focusing. I oftentimes get “hangry,” meaning hungry and angry. I thought I might lose my patience, fail to exercise, or binge on solid food after the cleanse.  I also didn’t want to haul around jars of perishable juice all day.

What did I drink?  

All six drinks were tasty and fresh.

1. Brainiac: Celery, cucumber, parsley, spinach, and lemon
2. Time Machine: Acai, lemon juice, cayenne, water and stevia
3. Flush: Cucumber, ginger, lemon and mint juice apple
4. After Party: Beet root, carrot, ginger, apple and lemon
5.  Warrior: Chia seeds, raspberries, and stevia
6. Relax: Cashew milk with vanilla and cinnamon

These are pressed drinks with no added sugar. Stevia is a natural calorie-free sweetener. All six totaled to about 1100 calories, which is under the lowest calorie recommendation for people aiming to lose weight (1200 for women, 1400 for a man). Honestly, a single day cleanse will not hurt you. Heck, it may even help some of us de-bloat after a week of eating salty Panda Express and Carmelina’s. However, it’s not enough nutrition for a healthy, sustainable diet. I would think twice about committing to a cleanse for longer than 3 days.

As for the juices themselves, they were all good, but my favorites were the “After Party” and the “Relax.” The root vegetable and ginger combination created a spicy-sweet taste. The “Relax” was a smooth cashew milk similar to a richer and nuttier Horchata. It’s also the only drink with a significant amount of protein.

How did I feel?

Because I drank the juices every 2 hours, I rarely felt hungry. Sometimes, I didn’t even finish my current drink before it was time to have my next one. Each drink is 12 oz so you’re drinking a lot of liquid which stretches your stomach and makes you feel full. 

The only time I felt uncomfortable was after my first juice of the day. I drank the “Brainiac” during lecture and there couldn’t be a worse name for it. This is a 90 calorie vegetable juice with only some vitamins and natural sugars. I was pretty hungry, missed my hearty bowl of oatmeal, and had a hard time concentrating. I suggest that Urban Remedy pack their breakfast drink with more protein and fiber.

However, by the time I was at juice #6, I was full and satisfied! My 1-day cleanse was rather fun because I had something new to try every couple hours.

What were the effects?

The next day, I lost 2 lbs (of water weight) which I gained back after a day of normal eating. My jaw was more relaxed because I hadn’t chewed anything for a day. I have jaw pain from TMJ.  I actually woke up the next day pretty energized and motivated to eat healthy, simple, and fresh foods. My initial worries did not become reality. I felt satiated for the most part, so I didn’t gorge on solid food or turn “hangry”. Overall, I went through a typical day in medical school fine, and even had energy to do a short run.

Would I do it again?

Well, Urban Remedy is expensive. A one day supply of juices is $60.00 plus shipping. So I definitely will not buy this for myself. However, I would consider doing something similar if I ever get into an unhealthy eating rut or need to quickly get rid of bloating after days of consuming salty foods. Also, I think eating more soups and liquid foods would help me manage my TMJ better. I’m glad I did it and survived to tell the tale.

Have you ever done a juice cleanse? Did it change you in any way (effects, mindset, habits)? Let me know!

Best,

Geraldine 

What I do instead of taking real pictures with K…

BF: “I’ve paid for your food multiple times…”
Me: “I like paying for dinner! But only when I feel like you’ve been on a good boyfriend streak.” :P

Just wanted to throw up the most recent picture of me (with classmate, and high school friend). This is at XS in Vegas over Spring Break/last month. I realized ya’ll haven’t seen me in forever (I’m the green girl on the left)! I haven’t been taking many pictures in medical school. I’m also kind of nervous to take pictures with my boyfriend. I wouldn’t mind and it’d be cute to have pictures together =)…but what if I don’t look pretty in the picture, or it’s a bad angle >.<…I draw doodles of us with MessageMe (app) and send it to him instead ha. 

BTW, Vegas was fun and I actually learned a lot! Like who I’m comfortable around, who I have similar interests to, and what some of my classmates are like outside of medical school. 

Green Roots Pizza! 

Highlights: Vegan, veggie-filled, whole-wheat, delicate flavors, mix of fresh and baked goodness

Kai and I finally made a vegan pizza together! We’ve been wanting to make one for a couple months now and got to it once his oven was fixed and I had a free-ish weekend. We just thought of vegetables that sounded delicious and a base that  could work to hold the ingredients together. This is what we used: 

Ingredients

• Whole wheat pizza dough 
• 2-3 beets 
• 1-2 parsnips 
• 1-2 avocados
• 3 vine-ripened tomatoes (pretty small ones) 
• yellow onion
• balsamic vinegar
• olive oil
• arugula
• salt & pepper 

Directions

1. Wash all vegetables. Cut the stems off of beets and parsnips. Slice half a yellow onion. 
2. Place parsnips in a microwave safe bowl. Add 1/4 cup of water. Microwave for 5 minutes.
3. Place beets in a microwave safe bowl. Add 1/4 cup of water. Microwave for 15 minutes. 
4. Meanwhile…stretch the pizza dough to cover a large baking pan.
5. Rub olive oil over the pizza dough. 
6. Sautee onions in olive oil and balsamic vinegar for 5-6 minutes.
7. Peel the skin off of parsnips and beets. Slice parsnips, beets, and tomatoes into thin pieces. 
8. Layer parsnips, beets, tomatoes, onions onto the pizza. Make sure to layer ingredients on top of each other. 
9. Season with salt and pepper. 
10. Bake pizza at your oven’s highest temperature (400+ F) for 20 minutes. 
11. Add arugula and avocados on top! 

Overall, I loved this pizza. It had such a good array of vegetables with flavors that did not overwhelm the subtle tastes of the beets, parsnips, avocado, and arugula. The onions added savory flavor. Also, the parsnips and olive oil made a good base to hold the ingredients to the dough. It kept the dough soft in the middle as well. This pizza is easy and fun to do with someone else! I was stretching the pizza dough (first time ever!) and Kai was working on the vegetables. Although he did question whether I make the process more efficient or if I should help out more…Anyhow! We’re think of ways to add plant-based protein to our pizza. Any ideas? Would garbanzo beans go well? We made a little date out of cooking dinner. We went to Whole Foods and I tried not to get too distracted by all the new food trends (like Kombucha and chia drinks!). Then, we worked on making the pizza. While waiting, he watched Star Trek while I was sketching his profile on my iPad. We ate together and I was just so satisfied with the healthy meal we made! Just wished we had more protein…

Try making a vegan pizza this weekend and tell me how it goes! 

Best,

Geraldine 

P.S. Vegan pizza sold at hipster bakeries like Arizmendi Bakery near my school, is so actually really unhealthy. They use refined white flour on the dough, bake the pizza until all the vegetables are wilted, and use a TON of oil. The slice literally drips of olive oil which is how they get it to taste good. You also won’t find a rich and colorful array of vegetables by eating out! 

Beans and Berries have the highest amounts of antioxidants per serving!

What are antioxidants? They are vitamins and minerals that protect cells from harmful molecules called radicals. There’s evidence that antioxidants fight against aging, and cancer when consumed in moderate amounts.

This is the reason I eat beans every day! After learning about these foods, I’m going to eat more red kidney beans instead of garbanzo beans which are both provided at my medical school’s cafeteria. I also have so many dried azuki beans in my pantry. They make a delicious and healthy red bean  pudding! Also, when going out for Mexican food, we can choose pinto beans over refried beans and black beans. Prunes are a better choice than raisins and add just the right amount of sweetness to breakfast grains.

Source: USDA, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry June 9, 2004