Vitamin D and some Burpees...

I just finished reading The Vitamin D Cure by Dowd and Stafford. First of all, I'm so excited that I read an entire book and even learned something in the process. I was voted "Most Avid Reader" as a youngin' but when adulthood rolled around I had "better" things to do. Ugh. Bring on the books, baby!

I don't have the energy to re-cap the entire book but here are the highlights:

HOLY SHIT DUDE, TAKE YOUR VITAMIN D!

Supplements (at least 2500 IU if you're an AK peep!)
Diet (Cut cheese, grains and most dairy)
Exercise (Moderate Level Walks and Muscle Building Moves)
oh, an SUNSHINE!

Vitamin D is so incredibly vital to our health in ways I never knew. Correcting your levels can completely diminish aches and pains, fibromyalgia, depression, seasonal depression, fatigue, obesity, gout, and so much more! The book goes into great detail about your risks for low D based on your ethnicity, location and genes.



It was also personally awesome to read another health book that totally mirrors our new primal lifestyle. Yet again, the pro's are seeing the facts that grains and dairy are not only not necessary for us but they are detrimental to our health, vitality and longevity! Plus the workouts were right on par with the Primal way!

The new wallpaper on my phone. Motivation!

Speaking of workouts, I'm getting buff. Not super buff yet but I just had two kids back to back and my body looks better than it's ever looked before. That's pretty freakin' crazy and encouraging! I'm totally out of shape which just feels like a great starting point. My diet and exercise aren't perfect but I'm doing great 85% of the time and right now that works for me.

Just tried some Burpees for the first time. Ouch. If you don't know what that is then check out my favorite fitness chick on youtube bust some out.

Until next time...

21 Day Total Body Transformation...Hopefully

Eric and I have been transitioning into a totally Primal diet (hunter-gatherer foods) since the birth of our 2nd babe three months ago. Cutting out grains was surprisingly easy for both of us. He's one of those annoying people who can go on health kicks as a behavioral experiment or just for the hell of it and stay 100% dedicated. For years he's wanted to cut agricultural grains knowing that they were the introduction of a vast amount of health problems for our world. I have babies with allergies so I decided to cut common allergens while nursing in the hopes that my daughter doesn't have to go through to agony my son did by being allergic to everything I was ingesting. Wheat and Corn were cut so when we got into the Paleo Diet there were just a few more grains to exclude.

Last week we started the Primal Blueprint's 21 Day Total Body Transformation: A Complete, Step-by-Step Gene Reprogramming Action Plan. We feel awesome! We are 6 days in. Eric's lost 5 lbs, I've lost 2. But more importantly we're getting buff and the eating is energizing! I no longer have a food coma after any meals! 

Our Workouts:

Circuits of - Planks, Reverse Planks, Push ups (Chest touching the ground), and Pull Ups. 

Grok Ball & Sprinting - We throw a 10 lb medicine ball as far as we can, sprint to it, throw it again, sprint, and so forth until we our sweating bullets and cant lift our arms. 

Walking, Stretching and Playing!

Go Barefoot! Eric's Vibram Five Fingers and My NB Minimus.

Our Typical Day of Eating:

Breakfast: 3 Egg Omelet or Scramble with celery, onion, bell pepper, cucumber and bacon or turkey bacon.

Lunch: Big Ass Salad. Romaine, Spinach, Kale, veggies listed above plus avocado and chicken. Olive Oil out of our Misto w/ salt and pepper as dressing.

Snacks: Macadamia Nuts. Fruit Roll Ups we make with our new Dehydrator using berries from the yard. Homemade Sweet Potato Fries & Chia Seed Muffin (Blaze only since I'm trying to up my calorie and carb intake while I'm still nursing.).

Dinner: Meat and Veggies. Steak and asparagus is my favorite.

Dessert: Dark Chocolate. 85% (Yuck. Eric's into it but my taste buds aren't there yet.) Coconut milk ice cream. Fruit.

Beverages: Water, Coffee, Tea, Coconut Milk, Nut Milks, Hemp Milk and occasional Red Wine. I don't drink but Eric was on board for a lifestyle change that included dark chocolate and red wine. That seemed sustainable for the long haul. :)

Lyric helping us pick raspberries in the backyard.

I'll report back at the end of the 21 days. At that time we'll be continuing this Primal Living but this is just a nice hardcore jump start. Maybe by the end of 3 weeks I'll have stopped my small sugar binges every few days. *sigh* Still it's progress. Now when I eat sugar I get shaky and dizzy so clearly my body is rejecting shitty foods and the insulin spikes they produce. Yeah baby!

Check out the Primal Blueprint and the 21 Day Total Body Transformation Guide! Living Primally is the cure to our ills. It all makes so much sense and our health has already improved as a result of tossing out the "conventional wisdom" of our food pyramid that's led to all time high obesity rates. Go Primal! 

My First Time Using a Recipe vs. A Microwave

Cooking, cleaning, and caring never came easy to me. I decided at young age that I was going to be rich and famous so I would of course have a cook, maid, chauffeur, masseuse, etc. That's still the plan but in the meantime I think I'd like a more serene living space. And it might be okay if I'm able to feed my children...

I've been having a great time keeping up with Paleo, Fitness, and Healthy Lifestyle Blogs. This week I tried out two recipes. That's two more than I've ever attempted before. 

Both recipes are Grain, Dairy and Sugar Free.

First I made Coconut Flour "Oatmeal" from Katie Did's blog. (She is an awesome Paleo Eater, Crossfit Monster and Sweet Photographer.)

The only variation I made was to add ground flax seed and honey as a topping and I omitted the peaches. I've been having the toughest time avoiding sugar but this was a sweet treat and I even felt like I was eating carbs again. I don't miss them but it was a nice texture. 

That was so much fun that I decided to try something a bit more ambitious. Protein Thin Mint Cookies from the awesome sisters of Purely Twins. I used Variation #5 No Carob. I struggled with this creation a bit. I decided to buy new measuring cups because I rely heavily on them! The cookies didn't turn out that great since I kept screwing with the amounts of ingredients. Instead of throwing in the towel I got creative and turned the runny mint chocolate soup into balls by adding Crunchy Flax Cereal, Flax Seed and Shredded Coconut. Voila! Delicious!

Making treats in the kitchen turned out to be a fun, calming, enlightening experience for me! For the first time I was able to hear both my husband and mom say, "Wow Blaze, that actually tastes good!" Maybe one day I'll be so good that they'll take out the "actually"... 

Do you enjoy cooking? Where do you find your favorite recipes?

Juicy Double! ...serving of veggies...

Old Blaze: The only thing nastier than vegetables is vegetable juice. No thanks.
New Blaze: These juiced veggies are giving me a serious rush, man!

I'm not on a health kick. I'm truly changing my dietary habits for the better. This week my man and I decided to make a pact to juice veggies every day for a week and see how we felt. It's been 4 days and I haven't felt this good in years! I have endless reserves of energy. My vision is more clear. My brain is calm. That alone is a huge change. We definitely aren't stopping at a week. My body's never been happier with me!

Benefits of Juicing Vegetables:

1. You absorb all the nutrients from the vegetables. Including all the enzymes. Raw food rocks!
2. Juicing pre-digests the veggies so you can easily assimilate and absorb the good stuff.
3. You're able to consume a wider variety and larger quantity of veggies.
4. It's great for weight loss since the amazing nutrients immediately satisfy your appestat (the part of the brain that controls appetite) so you feel full for a freakishly long time.

Tips:

-The darker and leafier the better! Kale & Spinach are our go-to's!
-Drink it immediately after juicing. That's when you'll get the most out of it.
-If you get a tummy ache after drinking a bunch, (I did the first day) drink a big glass of water right away. It solved the problem and I've found not having it on an empty stomach helps too.
-As you're juicing taste the different individual vegetable juices. In the pictures below we're taking shots of yellow pepper and red pepper. And since my drinking days are behind me I felt like I was really partying! Ha!

Veggies in the last batch we juiced: (We split the juice 50/50)

2 Peppers, 1 large Cucumber, 2 cups Kale, 2 hearts of Romaine Lettuce, 3 cups Carrots. Then at the end it's always good to add 1/4-1/2 a Lemon and a chunk of Raw Ginger! Awesome.

What are your favorite veggies to juice?

It burns so good! Work it, Sweet Thing!

This week's workouts have felt so GOOD! My legs are so sore today that I can't stop smiling.

In 2010 I was pregnant with my son, Lyric. To stay in shape I did Denise Austin's Fit & Firm Pregnancy DVD. It had separate  workouts for each trimester and had a cardio workout I did for the whole nine+ months. Plus she had this weird gravely voice that didn't match her perky peroxide persona. I felt like I was being coached by a retired cheerleader who smoked 2 packs a day. Amusing.

In 2011 I was pregnant with my daughter, Jazz. To stay in shape I took care of Lyric and...well that's about it. Throughout both pregnancies I gigged quite a bit so those counted as a workout since I was on my feet singing and dancing for hours.

Now it's 2012 and my uterus is baby free, people! I can move like a foxy little minx again! I can ride roller coasters and sleep on my tummy without endangering any lives. Best of all I can break a sweat EXERCISING!

This week's workouts are:

1. Body For Life Weight Training.

Years back I joined a friend in the BFL diet/exercise program. I half assed the diet but still saw almost immediate results from the workouts. I feel that my cardio is good right now from chasing my 1.5 year old around all day. My upper body is getting toned by the second since I'm lifting and bouncing 25 and 12.5 pound weights all day long! (My kids) So I'm focusing on the lower body workout. It's so helpful for me to go to the gym knowing exactly what I'll be doing. Here's a look at the sheet to follow.

2. Purely Twins Plank Workout

Purely Twins is an awesome blog I follow. They are super fit twin sisters that blog about fitness and food. Mostly vegan/gluten free recipes. They recently posted a video they made of a plank workout. It looked easy until I tried it and after about 15 seconds I was sweating shaking and had to stop. Wow. For now I'm modifying the workout to 10-15 second intervals until I'm stronger. It's great. Try it!

3. Zumba

This week I'll be going to my first Zumba class! Thank you Groupon. Dance and Exercise are on the Top 5 of the "Things That Make Blaze SUPER EFFING HAPPY" list so I'm sure I'll instantly love it. I'll let you guys know next week when I post about new workouts.

What are doing to keep in shape? Have you tried Zumba? Was it fun or silly?

Smudge Monkey Art!

"In Your Grip" by Jess Baker

Jess Baker of Smudge Monkey Studios is my absolute favorite artist! Here's a commissioned piece of me that she did as part of her Prego Wood Collection. I am sooooo in love with it! The drummer in my band said, "That is the perfect showing of the Blaze essence and vibe. Plus the profile is right on".

"Blaze Bell Prego Wood" by Jess Baker

"Like" her Facebook page! Smudge Monkey Studio FB Link.

Check out her website: www.smudgemonkeystudio.com/.

Drool over a few more pics and buy some of your own. She's amazing! Here are a few more of my favorites...

"Smoke in my Hair, Music in my Soul" by Jess Baker

"Fire Starter" by Jess Baker

"Smoked Codger" by Jess Baker

Who is your favorite artist? What do you enjoy about their work?

My Transition from Hot Pocket Hottie to Coconut Cavewoman

Eat like a caveman. Yum! Live like a caveman. Logical! Workout like a caveman. Roar!

PRIMAL LIVING ROCKS MY SOCKS!

Almost 3 months ago my daughter, Jazz was born. Her older brother had such extreme allergies that I was convinced to stop nursing early on because he dropped in weight dramatically from a lack of nutrients from my breast milk. I felt completely at fault. Nursing had been a struggle from the get go so I was ready and willing to let the nastiest formula ever, Alimentum, nourish him, since I couldn't. I feel some guilt still for not trying harder to do an elimination diet but he was allergic to 16 out of the 20 foods tested. Living off of rice, potatoes, garlic and carrots sounded beyond difficult and to be honest I was so stressed by that point that my milk was drying up fast. Our horrible pediatrician had yelled that I was "Starving!" my poor baby. It was a bit traumatic for me so we did our best. He's a strong healthy 1.5 year old boy now! (And he can snap his fingers which is just plain impressive.)

With Jazz's arrival I decided to eliminate all common allergens in case she had severe allergies to. I was determined to breastfeed her so she could get the ultimate nourishment!

Foods I Eliminated:
Wheat
Corn
Soy
Dairy
Sugar (For my Hypoglycemia.)

While I was researching allergy-free recipe sites I found, Mark's Daily Apple. It was dedicated to Primal Living. The Paleo Diet (or Caveman Diet, Hunter-Gatherer Diet) was exactly what I needed:

No grains, No sugar. Meat, Veggies, Fruit & Nuts!

His website got me so fired up about the entire lifestyle. Everything about it made perfect sense to me. My husband had been wanting to phase out agricultural grains, knowing that they're completely unnecessary to our diets and that their introduction to us brought about so many health problems! We decided to GO PRIMAL together!

I saw a change in my digestion immediately. There was a cleansing process that was slightly shocking. I felt bad that I'd been clogging my body with so much disgusting fast food, etc! Now I am an amazingly clean running machine. (Hopefully you all know what I mean without me getting more graphic...)

My skin stopped breaking out and is shinier. Weird.

I've had zero grains in over 2 months and it's been surprisingly easy to avoid them. No sugar has been a struggle though! I thought I could have it in moderation but when I get a taste it's a lot like alcohol or any other substance I've been addicted to in the past. I just want MORE! So I've had a couple sugar binges but nothing too drastic and it hasn't derailed my success. MDA says go for 80/20 with your eating. I've been about 90/10. I try to use the 10% for cooking sauces, salad dressing or any occasional bite of sweets.

Most importantly, Jazz is doing beautifully! She's eating well and growing well. Her skin is perfect unlike the awful rashes and eczema Lyric got from his allergies. The new wonderful pediatrician said it's good I'm eating this way because she can see small signs that Jazz is a sensitive baby as well.

Lately I've been getting sick easily, which is really not cool since my profession is singing and it's no fun (and not very pretty) when I have a head or chest cold. I know that lack of sleep is a huge part of it. Being a new parent doesn't afford much rest. I decided to count my calories and make sure I'm getting enough as a nursing mom. I realized that they might be too low which would be giving Jazz all the good stuff and leaving me with little to keep my strength up. The absolute least amount of calories a nursing mom should have is 1800, and that's if she's still trying to lose a lot of pregnancy weight. I'm 5 lbs from my pre-prego weight and figured I should be getting at least 2,000 calories a day to be healthy right now. At the end of my first day keeping track I'd taken in 1,200 calories and I'd felt like I'd eaten a lot! Uh oh.

I am now keeping a detailed journal so I make sure to get:
Calories: 2,000
Carbs: 100
Protein: 100

I've decided to modify the diet a bit while I'm nursing to include sweet potatoes and quinoa to up the carbs. I'll let you know how it goes!



Typical Day of Meals:

1. Superfood Smoothie: 1 tbsp Flaxseed, 1 cup kale, 1 tbsp Hemp E3 Live w/ Maca Protein Powder, 1 tsp Camu Camu, 1 tsp Mesquite, 1 cup frozen fruit, 1 tbsp Chia Seed, Coconut Water and 15 drop Phytoplankton.

2. 1 bell pepper w/ hummus

3. 1 large piece of chicken. seasoned with salt, pepper, cinnamon and cooked in 1 tsp coconut oil and 1 tsp soy sauce. 1/2 avocado. 1 cup lettuce.
OR
Steak and Asparagus

4. 2 egg omelet w/ 1 tbsp Flaxseed and 1 sausage link. Cooked in 1 tsp olive oil.

5. Handful of almonds, pistachios and/or pecans.

6. Raw Foods brand Super Cookies. Marsala Chai, Lemon, Carrot Cake and Chocolate are my favorites.

And I sip on water with lemon juice, Yerba Mate tea and Perrier Water throughout the day. Oh and of course 1-2 cups of Coffee with a dab of coconut oil.

I'll keep you updated on my Primal Journey!

What results have you seen from living primally? Did you have any difficulties with babies with allergies? Any tips for the rest of us?