Girl On Raw » Fitness

Seaweed, Kiters and Wedding Bells.

Girlonraw — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 03:57:00 +0000

Hellooooo everyone! Yesss it’s Friday! This week has totally flown by and I wish it would slow down, because I am one week down of my 3 week course

Thanks for your comments on what intimidates you at the gym! Nice to know that we are all normal eh?

Any plans for this weekend? For those of you that follow me on Twitter, you will know that I had been toying with a road trip or a flight to Vegas to visit my pal who is here for a month also, but it looked to be too expensive a journey for such a short time so I am kicking Oklahoma style this weekend and it’s quite nice here. Yoga tomorrow morning (it’s been a while) and then an extra class at 105 degrees on Plant Based Beauty which I am totally looking forward to. I have been researching more natural beauty treatments and products for sometime (coconut oil as a make up remover spring to mind) but it would be helpful to gain more conclusive info. Then maybe I can sample a cocktail or two off the menu as it’s the weekend right?

Today at school we made almond flour out of our dehydrated almond pulp from our almond milk yesterday.

This will be used for a recipe at a later time.

Then we had a lesson on seaweed.

And soaked some ready for later. I chose Arame (my fave), Kelp (only because I love kelp noodles) and some dulse.

Then we learnt how to make a sour cream base

And mixed our own add ins:

I chose a Tzatziki style of garlic and cucumber. There were variations like basil and garlic, cucumber & jalapeno and lime, and avocado with cumin. Great with crudites.

Back to the seaweed – we learnt about Irish Moss as an addition to recipes (great as a setting agent once blended with water to form a paste)

Then it was onto raw maki rolls.

Here’s a video on how to make raw sushi with Russell

And dessert was yesterday’s icecream

This was the highlight of my day…and we all shared our own creations. Mine was choc mint (the one on the far left) with a vanilla, blood orange & ginger, another chocolate and my favourite, the mint choc chip.

After a big clean out of our training kitchen, we were dismissed for the weekend. So with the sun shining and the blue sky beckoning (I hardly see the blue sky in Saudi – it is more like dust coloured!) I took off for a jog/walk around Lake Hefner. And look what I found! The Kiter Boy back home would be uber jealous!!

Then I may have had a cheeky wine spritzer to end my week at sunset. What an end to such a glorious week! And my excuse for the wine was to celebrate the impending nuptials of one of my best pals, Katie to her groom, Ben in 2 hours time (in Australia). I wish I could be in two places at once However Katie has promised me she will don her dress again for me on my return to Oz with a celebratory drink or 2 of course

See you all tomorrow

lce-Cream and Coconuts. What’s not to love?

Girlonraw — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 04:06:20 +0000

Hey what’s up peeps? Guess what? It’s almost Friday…wahoo!!! Well I actually wish the week wouldn’t go so fast as I am loving this course! This morning I woke up a little late so I grabbed a Larabar and headed out the door.

I’ve since found out through a pal on facebook who has contacted General Mills (who purchased LaraBars in June 2008) that the following bars are still raw:

The following bars are still 100% raw with no sugar…
Apple Pie
Banana Bread
Cherry Pie
Cinnamon Roll
Coconut Cream Pie
Ginger Snap
Pecan Pie
Pistachio Bar

The ones with peanuts are roasted, the the cocoa is heated. The cashews use heat to extract the nut.

Good to know!

Today at 105 degrees class was pretty jam packed and we didn’t even notice how quickly the day went. Just the way I like it! First up was dominating these babies. Regular readers will know these are one of my all time favourite. Young coconuts.

The result of all my hard work. Young coconut meat.

And my reward. I adore this coconut water.

Then it was onto Ice-Cream making.

We had free reign to decide on our flavours. I went with a childhood favourite. Choc Mint. Of course I taste tested it

Before the ice-cream maker….

After the ice-cream maker.

How could you not LOVE eating raw when you get to eat this kinda stuff?

Then time to make nut milk. Sorry no pics but we did some dehydrating of the leftover nut pulp ready for another recipe.

Then nut milkshake recipe time. I love it when we can be creative and make our own version.

I went with nutrition packed spirulina, nut milk, coconut meat, coconut butter & a banana and whizzed it up.

And I ordered a cafe Kale Caesar Salad to accompany it. Don’t ya just love the pine nut parmesan and rosemary croutons?

We also learnt different types of tomato sauces and different uses for them which was fun and tasty

I raced home after school, got changed and headed out the door for a workout at the gym. I intended to give the Cardio Box and Zumba a try (I love my salsa and have been dying to try this out for ages) but when I got to the gym the class looked quite ALOT different to the one I do back home so I chickened out and stuck to an hour jog on the tready. Is there something in particular that intimidates you at the gym so much so that you won’t even try it? I’m afraid I am a creature of habit, but I do like to try out new classes now and then. Today I was a scaredy cat.

Quick stop at the supermarket to pick up some breakfast goodies after the gym (bananas etc) and home to do some washing and now it’s bed time.

I can’t believe week 1 is almost done. I hope it doesn’t go too much faster. See you tomorrow with more goodies FOR SURE.

People have been asking me if 105 degrees has a cookbook/recipe book available for sale and apparently not at the moment, but possibly in the future. However Matthew Kenney (Director of Culinary Arts & Operations) does have 3 Raw recipes books – I have all 3 of course) and so far I can tell the dishes on the menu have his flair. You can find very similar recipes in these until a 105 degrees book comes out. (here’s hoping!)

Workout Wear

Girlonraw — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:00:00 +0000

Hi beautiful people, what’s happening with your week?

I am at the end of my trip and will be heading back home soon enough but before I do, I thought I’d share the some of the rest of the goodies I have picked up whilst being here in the States:

On Saturday I mentioned I hit up Katy Mills for some outlet shopping and I was happy to snag some goodies from the Nike store:

(Don’t ya just love the hotel room carpet?) With some of my buddies from Boot camp and Boxing class singing the praises of the Nike Tempo shorts I thought I’d better get me some to try out. And to be honest, it’s been a while since I actually bought some new’ish workout gear, usually opting to just wear old t-shirts and tank tops with 3/4 pants when I work out, but I really needed some new threads. And I am really impressed with the cut, fit and style from Nike. I tend to stick to Asics trainers (runners) so I’ve not really gotten on the Nike bandwagon, but I really like their workout clothes, sweat-wicking and all. Do you have a favourite brand for workout clothes? I’m really happy I may have just found mine!

Also something I’ve wanted for sometime is some Mason Jars for storing my seeds and nuts and powders and Ryan reminded me on her blog that I needed to get me some (the last lot I ordered from Amazon never reached my hotel in time so they got lost in the dead letter office I’m sure). This won’t be the last you see of them….

Today I couldn’t believe my luck, when channel surfing, to find Ellen interviewing the writer of a new book called Eating Animals, Jonathan Safran Foer. I hadn’t even heard of this book before so of course when I went to one of my favourite places in the world this evening (Borders) I just had to get me a copy. And I found this little gem next to it:

I suspect living in Saudi Arabia has turned me into a hoarder big time. When I get let out for trips I tend to go a little nutso on picking up things I feel I am missing out on having access too. So my plan when I get home is to make sure I get stuck into these books

Has anyone else read these?

Well it’s way past my bedtime, so I am off to pack up the last of my supplies and start to get ready for the big haul back home. I am looking forward to seeing 3 faces (2 furry & maybe 1 human!) and I have to get home in time to bid farewell to Becci as we take her over the causeway for the last time as she takes off for her new life in Europe.

Edit: Go on and check out Chic Runners blog on running shorts here

Learning to Kitesurf and Tasty Lettuce Wraps

Girlonraw — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 03:58:36 +0000

Happy Friday EVERYONE! Indulge me in your plans for your weekend because for those of you that have read me for a while you will know that my weekend is officially over now

This weekend has been pretty full, with meeting up with some fellow Aussies that have just moved out to this part of the world, to a Salsa infused Haiti fundraiser (wish I had taken pics but I was too busy catching up on Casino Rueda, Sombrero and Setenta learnt on our dance holiday to Cuba in 2009), to hitting the beach for some kitesurfing action.

No I don’t kitesurf (yet!). But we went out to a local beach to watch the boys, and both Becci and had a go at a trainer kite on the beach, so needless to say we are both eager to get out VERY soon and try the real thing!

Becci getting some Vitamin D

Becci giving the trainer kite a go! Go Becci (and Lucy!)

Dishing out the green smoothie (Frozen bananas, frozen strawberries, a whole head of romaine lettuce and filtered water)

Enjoying the Green Smoothie

And here is me having a little lesson on the trainer kite! (and check out the power)

Here, I do a little bit better!

Then time to head home

I’ve been eating loads on the run but here is a snack I had along the way that was quick, easy, delicious and 100% raw. Lemme know if you make it too.

My Soul Sista’s Kristen Raw’s Sun-dried Tomato Pesto. If you haven’t tried it, you totally must! It is crazily addictive and great as a dip, spread or on top of a salad!

cucumbers, peppers (capsicum) all rolled up in a romaine lettuce leaf. Too good.

My day of pampering

Girlonraw — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 09:52:02 +0000

Hiya everyone!!! Wow a few days can pass by and you don’t even expect it! Sorry for the absence, but I’ve had some lovely times since I’ve been gone.

First of all I have been dabbling with the idea of the 811 diet (you can read more about it here) or sometimes called Low Fat Raw Vegan. Still not 100% convinced I can stick to it, but as most raw foodies will attest, after a while of eating a high raw diet, your food choices tend to become a little more simplified and the more gourmet creations tend to be a little over the top for your tastebuds when all you want to do is sit down to a large plate of fruit, or a whole melon. Seriously.

So on Tuesday all I ate were bananas, pineapples, and coconuts after my massive shop at Lulu! That place rocks for all you Saudi readers. Seriously! I have found more stuff there than I have in Dubai and Bahrain put together, so no more complaining about all I lack! I think I will still need to get to Geant at Bahrain now and then for my super special items like coconut oil etc etc, but I think the FOOD revolution is coming to SAUDI!! Yay!

After my tropical island diet on Tuesday I felt great, but it was hard to keep up with that as I had to work on Wednesday but I ordered the usual green smoothie from the caterers so that got me through for most of the day.

Thursday I was taken to Bahrain for a surprise! I had no idea where I was going or what we would be doing, but I was spoilt big time!

For all of you local readers, have you heard of La Fontaine? Well I’m not going to give it all away (some things have gotta be kept secret ya know , but if you haven’t been there and want to be pampered, THAT’S THE PLACE TO GO. That’s all I’m gonna say on that one

Afternoon tea was at my new favourite Veggie Restaurant Anand Bhavan (Thanks Voracious)! Was sooo hungry I forgot to take any piccies except for this heart shaped Veggie Cutlet haha.

Dinner and a pre dinner aperitif was at another great place that I had not heard of or even been to, but I really enjoyed sipping on my cocktail surrounded by amazing décor, seductive lighting and impressive service at Bushido. It reminded me a great deal of Buddha Bar in Lebanon, and from what I hear, this was originally meant to be a Buddha Bar, but for some reason or another the idea was not approved. Still a great place and although we didn’t stay til late, the waiters told us at around 11pm the place gets pumping with a uber cool dj box visibile from the ground floor. I see a visit in my future for some dancing and cocktails.

Bed time wasn’t too late as Friday was Duathon Day! Well not for me, but I went along to support. After last weeks 10 mile run, I really wanted to give it a go, but I wasn’t too confident on the bike transition so I went along to support the man, and see if it is something I think I could give a try someday. Plus I don’t have a racer bike, just a get around camp kinda thing, but ya know what, it’s all about the participation right?

Took the puppy along to support too.

The distances were 3km run – 20km cycle – 3km run. I reckon next time for sure. You should have seen some of the kids competing, I was really impressed.

Anyway time for me to get ready for another flight, got a busy week of flying ahead so I had better get organised. Stay tuned for tomorrow, when I will announce another great giveaway! It’s pretty exciting! Also I have some great news for those of you that have been asking me all about the best ways to get into RAW or how to improve your way of eating! I have some pretty exciting stuff to share with you so make sure you stop on by! Sorry I haven’t responded as quickly as I would have liked lately to your many emails. I didn’t think I was going to be this busy but I guess that is what you get when one of your team has left and you are still looking for her replacement!

PS What do you think of my new’ish layout? I wanted to make it a little easier to read and navigate, so stay tuned whilst I try and iron out some more kinks and of course, pass on any feedback

Today’s Eats

Girlonraw — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:14:00 +0000

Hi there, hope Monday wasn’t too much a drag for ya, being the first day of the western week I guess. In my part of the world, Monday is the middle of the work week and tomorrow actually is the last day of this week due to the Muslin Eid holiday til Nov 30th. Doesn’t count for me as you all know, I am a shift working flight attendant, and I just work when I am supposed to.

Yesterday I mentioned my new PINK camera. I picked this little waterproof baby up in the airport in Dubai on my way home last week.

I liked it because it doesn’t have a lot of features that push the price up, but it is waterproof to 3 metres and dustproof (a must in the desert). At first I thought it was actually too basic and lacking in good features, but as I am getting to practice with it more, the photos aren’t turning out too badly. A bad tradesman blames his tools right? I guess it wouldn’t hurt if I read the manual too???

So I am still here on a SECRET LOCATION for another week or so then heading back home to Saudi. The nature of my job does make it hard to plan things as sometimes I need to be ready at a moments notice to travel half way around the world, other times I have a weeks notice to just travel within the region, but it keeps things exciting!!!

Yesterday afternoon I was craving something sweet so trying not to raid the Kit Kat out of the mini bar, I opted for this:

Banana & Almond Butter

Thanks so much to Fitnessista for this fantastic idea – she’s always snacking on it. Although I quite like the taste of banana and almond butter, it makes it even better that this snacky is such a great travel treat. I brought the almond butter from home and took the bananas from the complementary fruit bowl I get replenished everyday in my room.

It hit the spot for my sweet craving (usually Green Smoothies do that for me too!).

Last night I did my online Holiday Raw Class. It was cool and totally unlike anything I’ve ever participated in before. I fell asleep around the 3.5 hour mark though as it was only 4pm local time in Texas, but after midnight here. Those of us that were watching the class online were able to interact through the chat room and our questions were answered in real time. It was brilliant and I felt like Elaina Love was giving me my own personal class. We also got sent the recipes the day before the broadcast too and I am able to watch the whole video recording for the next month. I LOVE TECHNOLOGY. I’ll be sure to make some of these goodies and show you in good time too.

For those of you that have asked me how did I find out about it, I signed up ages ago to Elaina Love’s newsletter on her website here and it was advertised a few weeks back in my mailbox. I really felt like I was part of the class!

Today I woke up and went for a 30min jog on the hotel treadmill (the gym is exquisite and even offers group exercise classes! Just not BODY PUMP *pouts*). I really wanted to run for a whole hour but forgot I had booked in for a lovely facial so had to finish up and shower ready for it.

After my pampering session, I headed up to my room to order a garden salad off room service.

Before:

AFTER:

I had some sun dried tommies in my mini bar leftover from my flight last week so I jazzed the salad up a bit. I used one of my lemons I usually travel with (they are another great travel buddy) to dress my salad. I begged room service from some avo’s but today was a public holiday so they claimed they didn’t get a full delivery today…ah well)

I don’t mean to be picky either but I thought I’d order an outdoor setting too, off room service haha, as I had such a beautiful view but nothing to sit on! Anyone would think I was on holiday

Then it was time to hit up a local gym that for BODY PUMP. Yay. Before I left I munched on one of these pears:

For those of you still unsure what Body Pump is, here is a promo video I found on You Tube. Doesn’t really show you much, but you get the idea!

Tonight I lifted the heaviest weights I have ever lifted and it was sooo much easier than normal. I AM GETTING STRONG. And I did a 20 min warm up jog on the treadmill and after class another 15mins on the elliptical.

Hitting this local gym reminded me of my time at THE LES MILLS gym in New Zealand (home to Body Pump and all the other group exercises they trademark!) and how it is such a great way to get to know the city and the people that live there.

Tonight I met some locals, albeit a little too friendly for me (I had to pretend I was married…I think you get my drift) but it showed me a part of town I may have otherwise overlooked. Following my gym workout I had a walk around the local streets and even found a fruit and veggie vendor to stock up.

If you are interested in giving Body Pump or Body Combat or any of the other Les Mills Group Exercises a go, check out their class locator here – this is where I find clubs that are offering the classes WORLDWIDE. Such a great tool.

When I got home, I had planned to make a green smoothie as I hadn’t had one all day but I was starving, so I ordered some delicious Lebanese fare from room service.

Gotta love some Tabouleh, Mutabal (similar to Baba Ghannouj – eggplant/tahini/garlic dip), Hummus and Fattouch Salad – a mixed seasonal salad seasoned with sumac and garnished with tiny bits of fried pita bread and scooped up with brown arabic bread. Oh yum.

Well time for me to turn in. I have one more day left here before some friends arrive in town to play!! As I am not too far from home, it happens that a group of pals are coming here for their Eid Break as Saudi basically shuts down for 6 days. As we don’t get to celebrate Christmas in this part of the world, I think this is the last lot of vacation for the year for them to go on a mini break.

Speak to you tomorrow

Body Pump, Body Pump, I love Body Pump

Girlonraw — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:00:00 +0000

Hey everyone!

Thanks for all your lovely comments yesterday it really made me smile and also thanks so much for sharing who inspires you! It is really nice to know who keeps us on track on a daily basis right?

Yesterday I had another lie in (I LOVE TO SLEEP – especially when my diet hasn’t been that clean so what is that saying?? Clean food = more energy!!!!!) then Hayley took me on a special excursion to The Lakes Club Dubai which is, I guess, a day resort where you pay for the day to use the pool and they have a pool bar and restaurant. One thing I really noticed yesterday was how bloated and sluggish I felt. So I was determined to get some high raw food back into my good ole self.

Hangin by the pool I had this:

And some organic tamari flavoured almonds that I forgot to photograph.

We took some time out to read trashy mags, get some Vitamin D and enjoy this scrumptious lunchy:

Som Tam Salad minus the marinated beef that was standard. I was sooo excited the chef could accommodate me as it really hit the spot. It had shredded green papaya, chilli, lime,peanuts and tomato.

Then it was back to the sunloungers in the shade for some more reading & remininscing and preparation for our double whammy later in the day. Legs, Bums & Tums and wait for it….BODY PUMP!

An hour out I got a bit peckish, so as the sun was going down and all the mum’s were bringing their kids to swimming lessons, I shared this with Hayley:

Then we took off for what we thought was going to be a circuit class to work on our bottom halves. How more wrong could we be.

Only minutes after I started recounting a story of the intense aerobics I saw going on opposite to my Spin class in New Zealand, and how I could NEVER imagine myself having the co-ordination to do all those moves at such an intensity for an hour, I found myself in ONE OF THOSE CLASSES. Looking across at Hayley, who prides herself on having gone to a ‘performance’ college, I knew not only I, but she was also in trouble. The first 10 minutes of the class was more like a belly laugh as we both caught each other in the mirrors in disbelief on what we had gotten ourselves into but as we progressed into the class we found it to be quite fun. The last time I had put myself under this kind of torture was when I was 22 and took my mum to my gym to do a 90′s style aerobics class (yeah there were g string leotards in the room – not on us!) and both my mum and I could not keep up with the grapevine and snuck out the backdoor after 10 minutes. I am pleased to say Hayley and I stuck in out and found that after half an hour, the class then moved onto more of the floor leg exercises.

The plan had been to stay on for Body Pump, but we both wanted to see how we felt. And yeah, we felt pretty tired, but once again, we are machines and we were the only two Legs, Bums and Tums girls who stayed on for more torture (well I do love my Body Pump).

After our classes, we were both wrecked, so I bought some dinner supplies and after our indulgent weekend, all I really craved was some simplicity. I made us a basic salad:

Rocket (Arugula), cherry tomatoes, peeled carrot, peel cucumber with a dash of apple cider vinegar

And….

Kristen’s Garden Guacamole (minus the celery as couldn’t find any). Still loving this stuff! Even Hayley had to fight me for the last little bit. She love love loved it too!!

The finished product. Salad and Guac. YUMBO.

Was still feeling a bit peckish after dinner so finished off with a banana I brought along with me from Saudi.

Does anyone else like to eat banana’s when they look like this? I don’t intend to, but I suspect alot of people think they are rotten. Infact they are even sweeter the blacker they get and despite a few slight bruises on the flesh it was quite delightful. Lucky Hayley didn’t throw it out as she had thought it was off.

Today, Hayley has gone to work, but we have an exciting night out planned which I am dying to tell you all about as it involves some very cool friends I made in Cuba in January but you will have to wait til tomorrow. The rest of today looks like a run on the treadmill checking out Dubai Mall, getting some pampering (nails, waxing etc) then a night out with…..(I’ll tell ya laters haha).

A Note on Exercise – when Hayley and I were at the gym yesterday doing a class that we both weren’t 100% comfortable with (Legs, Bum & Tums) it reminded me of that terrible feeling of stepping into a new gym or for the first time in a long time. Gyms can be really intimidating places, even if you are familiar with them, going to a new one can be daunting, but getting back into exercise after a time away or even if you have never set foot inside a gym can be enough to send you in the opposite direction. A gym/workout buddy is a great way to get you back on your stationary bike or even to help get you past the putting your shoes on to get out the door for a neighbourhood walk. Knowing someone is depending on you but also there to give you extra confidence can really assist.

I too, know what it is like to feel a bit embarrassed to hit a gym when you don’t feel like you are in peak shape as in your head, everyone else training there will be elite athletes. Ah wrong. Everyone else is there for the same reason you are! But maybe this is where a gym buddy may help give you some dutch courage, or perhaps just start out slow with some neighbour walks or working out at home. But don’t let that stop you from joining a gym because everyone is there with the same goals in mind.

One of Hayley’s friends asked me on the weekend, how had I lost my recent weight, and I told her that I realised although I was eating properly all along, I really needed to ramp up my activity from a maybe jog once or twice a week, to doing something EVERYDAY. For me that doesn’t mean, a crazy heavy gym session every day, but perhaps on a recovery day I might do a light walk/jog, an exercise DVD or a bike ride, but I have to do something EVERYDAY. It also meant being kind to myself and not going in all crazy. First starting off with easier exercises so I wouldn’t overdo it and scare myself off it for good, then gradually challenging myself each week, for example I found Body Pump really easy last night, so I think it’s time to increase the weights. And if I slip up one day and don’t happen to get my exercise in (which I aim NOT to do as I have committed this to myself and my wellbeing) then I make sure I train harder the following day to make up for it.

Also I have to keep it interesting. Not do the same things day in day out so that I don’t get bored. Trying different exercise classes, making puppy dates with other friends with dogs, joining a local sporting team or buying a new workout DVD to do in my hotel room are just a few of the things I do.

I’m no expert but that is what is working for me right now.

What works for you?

See you tomorrow bloggies