Green Smoothies and Quinoa

One of the greatest reasons to travel (for me) is to find out what other people eat. I am not very creative with food, so the only changes I make are when I am exposed to a new meal or way of preparing stuff.

When I was in Victoria and stayed with my beautiful friend, Kelsey, she taught me a bunch of things. It was the day after the race, and I was secretly dreaming of waffles, but she suggested a green smoothie...

I'm game for anything, and knowing Kelsey, the smoothie would not only be amazingly nutritious, but tasty too. Remember her Boundless Energy Bar recipe? True to form, her smoothie was so good, I gulped mine down in 3 swallows while she enjoyed hers. Hahahahaha!! Next was the quinoa.

Now, Susi has exposed me to this the last time she stayed at my place, but I hadn't worked up the nerve to cook it myself. But holy crap is it ever good! I'm an oatmeal gal through and through, but quinoa is much more filling and less gluey. I can eat a big honking bowl of quinoa and go for a run, whereas if I ate a big bowl of oatmeal, I'm FULL and then starving an hour later. Kelsey, I'm a convert!!!!! :) :) :)

Here's the proof... My Magic Bullet came out of retirement!
Ingredient list: Spinach, Kale, Mango, Banana, Almond butter, Flax oil, and some Milk. Kelsey used almond milk, so I CREATIVELY decided to used almond butter and milk myself --- WOW, eh? See? Now I'm all motivated. Hahahahahaha!!



Green Smoothie --- YUM!!!! :)



And here is the quinoa...The great thing about it, is that you don't have to measure the amount of water or quinoa. Just boil a bit of water, then throw in some quinoa (and I also added almonds and raisins). Cover and let it boil away until the quinoa absorbs the water. Scoop into a bowl, sprinkle with cinnamon, and you're set! IT IS SO GOOD!!!



I had a great ride yesterday up Highwood Pass. It was one of those days where the wind is blowing at you both ways, but I was in heaven. There were quite a few cyclists out, but got lonely pretty quick the higher I ascended. The road was in great condition and the sun was warm -- it only got a little cooler when I got right up there.

I was prepared though -- food, camelbak full of water, clothes, spare tubes and cartridges... ;)

The descent wasn't as fast as it could have been due to the wind, so my 2.5 hour ride ended up being just shy of 3 hours. Then it was a hard run for me after -- 10 sets of 30 sec hard and 30 sec easy followed by 10 min easy running. I just about died 10 times, I swear. My left quad started to seize up too -- that was a first! Hahahahaha!

All that kept me going was visions of me immersing my legs in the ice cold river...

As soon as I finished my run, I grabbed my chilled V8 from the car, took off my shoes, slipped on some sandals and toodled on down to the river. (Keith and Jenna have already read this practically verbatim, so sorry guys! Hahahaha!) This was where I made my most important discovery!! The river was raging, but I found the perfect water throne -- a place to sit and get my legs fully covered without being swept away by the river.

My GOD it was a shocker when I first got in, but I could feel my legs saying, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!" I watched as my legs turned pink, and finally got out.

All I have to say, is that ice water really does work. My legs felt great after, and they are ready to go today! After today's run, Toby will join me in the river. The last time we went in the water, I made such a hullabaloo and noise. Sounds like this, "OH MY GAWD. OH that is COLD!" For some reason I glanced over at Toby, and she was standing mid-stream, head cocked to one side and giving me the queerest look...Hahahaha!!

OH!! I almost forgot! Amy had asked what would you do if you won the lottery after buying all the stuff you ever dreamed of, etc. Well, this is a secret goal of mine -- it doesn't necessarily have to happen because I win the lottery, but I thought I'd share it with you guys anyways...

I would LOVE to get my photo (with my bike of course) taken with Dog the Bounty Hunter and his wife and team. Hahahahaha!! I am serious!!! I think he is awesome!! So there you have it! Hee-hee!!