Daily Superfoods

The beauty of a raw food diet is that you get to discover all sorts of fun new foods that people just don't ever think of looking into when on a SAD diet. While I know that I could thrive on a high raw diet on its own if I wanted to, superfoods are often way too tasty to pass up! So along with spirulina, maca, and mesquite powder, other favourite superfoods I have daily are a mix of:

Turkish Mulberries: Sweet and a little tart, these little suckers are packed with vitamin C, iron, calcium, fiber and have a significant amount of protein. They're considered to be a blood tonic, but also benefit the kidneys, help with stress, fatigue and sleep, help protect against cancer and anemia, and is anti-aging... as usual with superfoods, that's only the beginning of a long list of its benefits!

Goji Berries: My grandmother actually used to drink a tea with these in it when I was little and I already loved them then! Well enough, they've been used by the Chinese for centuries as a medicinal plant. As a superfood, they're 15% protein, have 18 amino acids, over twenty essential minerals, and super anti-oxidant properties. While mulberries help your kidney, these help your liver, and also have significant anti-aging effects (that's why my grandmother would drink the tea and she's hitting 90 and is still thriving!). They strengthen your immune system, promote cardiovascular health, and improve your vision (maybe that's why my eye doctor told me my eyesight actually improved this summer for the first time in my life, they have more beta carotene than carrots!), and helps maintain a healthy weight.

Cacao Nibs: There's a reason the Aztecs used to eat raw chocolate before going off to battle. Based on current scientific studies, cacao nibs have more anti-oxidant flavanoids than any other food. Raw cacao also helps dilate blood vessels to promote cardiovascular health by helping with circulation and cholesterol levels. It also repairs damages caused by free radicals, and also helps fight cancer. Who knew chocolate could get rid of toxins! It also makes us feel happy and positive by raising levels of serotonin and stimulating endorphin secretion, and other unpronounceable chemicals. They're also high in about a dozen essential minerals including magnesium and sulfur (which is good for you hair, nails and skin). Finally, it's full of good fats which raises your good cholesterol level.

Workout of the Day

5 minute warmup on stairclimber

3x12 bicycle crunches

3x12 captain's chair leg raises

3x12 stability ball back extension

3x12 crunches on stability ball

3x12 incline press

3x12 lateral raise

3x12 tricep kickbacks

3x12 dumbbell flyes

3x12 cable rotations

3x12 overhead tricep extension

5 minute sprints

5 minute stretch

Yesterday's Workout

20 minutes of HIIT on the stairclimber

60 crunches

5 minutes of stretching