*Edited. Addendum at bottom.
I needed a title that would encompass all of the things I wanted to touch upon in this post, and I thought making a sentence from unrelated topics would be fun! It is, dontcha think? 
So first up on the list…
RUNNING
I ran for 20 minutes yesterday after a month-long running hiatus due to tendinitis. My knee has been feeling good as new lately but I have been hesitant to just jump back on the running bandwagon, so I decided to take it slow and listen very carefully to my little, previously gimpy, knee. Those 20 minutes on the treadmill were pure bliss. I felt on top of the world. Euphoric. Ecstatic. I kept the very moderate pace of 5.5 whereas I was usually enjoying a speed of at least 6.5 for over an hour, 5 times a week. I am now relishing my ability to run and not my ability to overextend myself. I was so happy for those 20 minutes that I didn’t mind that my only view was of a fire extinguisher. You’d be surprised how much fun you can have making words out of “fire extinguisher.” “Sex” was the first one that came to mind (am I like 12-years-old or what?!). “Her ire ignites sin.” Oh, the ways you can occupy yourself when you’re easily amused! Maybe my euphoria had something to do with…
AMAZING GRASS
I heard about Amazing Grass from Abbie’s blog and they, AG, were kind enough to send me samples to try myself. Amazing Grass is a company based out of San Francisco, CA and they sell powders and bars made of whole foods, stock-full of nutrients and minerals that we have a very hard time getting from our diets alone these days (if you’re anything like me).
Yesterday I tried their Chocolate Green Superfood Drink Powder and I was a little scared it would taste like ass grass.
(Gotta love the “i haven’t washed my hair or brushed my teeth look. Really, stunning, Annabel).
One scoop contains the following:
Mixed with unsweetened almond milk, I have to admit – I really liked it! I am a fan of the earthy taste. The one downside was that it didn’t mix very well. Total with almond milk = 70 calories. Call it the placebo effect but I felt full for way longer than I’m used to. That’s not even one of their selling points, so maybe it was a total mind trick – but I felt satisfied for a good time after that little nutrient-rich drink.
I have also tried their chocolate bar. Stats on the bar: Organic Green SuperFood Energy Bar in Chocolate
- 230 calorie bar
- 9 grams of fats (healthy omegas)
- 5 grams of protein
- 27 grams of sugar, only 2 grams is from the cane sugar)
- 37 grams of carbohydrates
- Ingredient List – Organic Dates, Organic Dark Chocolate Coating (Cane Sugar, Unsweetened Chocolate, Cocoa Butter, Non-GMO Soy Lecithin, Natural Vanilla Flavor), Organic Agave Nectar, Amazing Grass Green SuperFood (Organic Wheat Grass, Organic Barley Grass, Organic Alfalfa, Organic Spirulina, Organic Spinach, Organic Chlorella, Organic Broccoli, Organic Acai, Organic Maca, Organic Carrot, Organic Beet, Raspberry, Organic Rose Hips, Pineapple, Green Tea, Organic Flax Lignans, L. Adidophilus, Alpha and Beta Amylase, Protease, Lipase, Lactase, Cellulase, Organic Peppermint), Organic Cashews, Organic Almond Butter, Organic Almonds, Organic Sunflower Seeds, Organic Dried Cranberries, Organic Cacao Nibs, Organic Pumpkin Seeds, Organic Dried Coconut and Organic Vanilla Extract. Allergy Information: Contains Almonds and Cashews
Now, after first taking a bite into the bar and looking inside of it: it looks like you’re eating lawn mower shavings covered in chocolate. It’s got chunks of grass and nuts. While I know people who are not used to this stuff might scoff at the texture and taste, if you’re more accustomed to “health foods” you might be pleasantly surprised like I was. I love the earthy taste and mixed with the smooth chocolate covering…yuuuuum. Lawn mower shavings = delicious.
The one thing I will concede to is my ignorance in what FDA approvals mean and if they are necessary or what. It appears the claims in Amazing Grass foods have not been FDA approved but whether that actually means anything is beyond me. Can anyone clarify this? I tried doing my own research but the topic seems pretty nebulous at this point.
You can buy Amazing Grass products from their website, from Whole Foods Market, or from Amazon.com. If you’re looking to buy their energy bars, you cannot buy individual ones from their site – they only sell them in bulk, so get one from Whole Foods.
One thing I don’t have trouble getting in my diet is peanut butter. I’m having my boyfriend and another couple over for dinner tonight and I have a nice elaborate meal planned. The meal plan included a healthy dessert that is part Peanut Butter Boy inspired and partly inspired by my mom. The problem is that the recipe includes Puffins Peanut Butter Cereal, which until last night, I hadn’t realized tasted like bite-sized morsels of peanut-butter crisp heaven.
Oh Puffins — you were just a means to an end. You were just supposed to make the “pie crust” that would house my mom’s healthy yogurt pie recipe (recipe coming in tomorrow’s post). Now you are gone because between myself, my boyfriend and mother, you have been demolished. I guess today will include another trip to Trader Joe’s!
Speaking of trips, last night my boyfriend and I took a spiritual trip to Lebanon through our taste buds. We ate at my favorite restaurant, Open Sesame, which serves healthy Lebanese food. Proof of mouth-watering deliciousness on a platter:
And that’s whole-wheat pita bread, my friends! I licked the plate clean like any classy girl would. Oh and on the topic of Mediterranean food, did you see the article on WebMD that said, “only a Mediterranean-style diet has been shown in randomized controlled studies to reduce the risk of heart disease.” I haven’t checked into the research parameters yet to know whether this is bogus or not — but I’ve heard enough about the pros of this sort of diet to keep it in the back of my mind when I’m chowing down on chicken Tawook and hummus. Aww “hummus” reminds me of that Friends episode where Phoebe gets the hummus…
Alright, I’ve written a novel! Have a wonderful Saturday!
*And check out The Fitnessista’s blog giveaway — she’s giving out Ani Phyo’s new raw desserts cookbook. You may not be on the raw foods band wagon just yet (I’m not), BUT why in the world would we discriminate against delicious, healthy foods?! p.s. I found reference to this blog give-away via one of my fave blogs, Heather Eats Almond Butter.