Thanksgiving Apple Pie Smoothie

Tested out a great tasting smoothie after my Thanksgiving workout today.

And in the spirit of the holidays: thanks to our gym for being open on a holiday, and thanks to my Uncle Bob and Aunt Carol for giving me a huge bag of apples from their organic orchard after an amazing Thanksgiving feast last night, and thank you to the powers above for keeping Aileen and I, our friends and families, in good health and spirits.

Thanksgiving Apple Pie Smoothie

Two fresh apples (peeled, with guts removed)
A healthy dash of cinnamon and/or nutmeg
Thumb-sized piece of ginger

Frozen banana
Maple Syrup, to desired sweetness
Your choice of healthy protein powder (mine is brown rice protein)
1.5 cups Filtered water

1. Blend and enjoy.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Mini Detox Check-in... (and sample detox menu)

So Aileen and I are on Day 7 of our midsummer detox...and this is my breakfast (recipe is a variation of the one listed on my protein powder post). We are surviving it better than we were expecting; I think we were both in the right mindset to take a little break from typical summer indulgences.

I incorporate my favourite Thorne Mediclear cleanse powder containing 30g of organic brown rice protein, along with liver, digestion supportive nutrients, and supe it up with L-glutamine (to strengthen the lining of the digestive tract and lean muscle mass) and Organika Spirulina. Aileen prefers her hemp protein powder, and adds a shot of pomegranate juice in her shake...adds a nice bit of flavour.

We are both feeling 'digestively strengthened' (I'll keep it at that to avoid sharing too many details of our bowel improvements), with no cravings for wine (Aileen), beer (me), sweets or dairy, which were our biggest vices in the early part of the summer.

Energy has been fantastic, having great sleeps, and just feeling overall cleaner and less congested. We both agree that this was well-needed and surprisingly easy to incorporate. A bonus is that it is pretty easy to structure meals and menus for the week.

Midsummer Detox - How to successfully complete a mini cleanse

Do you ever get to a point where you actually start to crave healthy food instead of "bad" food?  This is where Makoto and I found ourselves this weekend.


We have been very happily indulging in summer BBQs, amazing local summer fruit pies, pitchers of sangrias, mini kegs of beer (how can you resist that mini keg of Heineken at LCBO?!?!) and endless wine and cheese summer parties.  We've also been slacking on going to the gym as we somehow convinced ourselves that walking and sweating back and forth to work in the sweltering heat counts as a workout.  So we decided that it's time for a much needed week long mini detox.


Detox doesn't have to be complicated.  Just think of it as a rest for your digestive tract and resetting your system.  Makoto opted for his favorite Thorne MediClear Detox using a whole foods and brown rice diet.  I decided to go on a detox heavy on fruits and vegetables with juicing as it's backbone.  Both of us are going vegan this week and also keeping away from common allergens (dairy, wheat, corn and eggs), caffeine and alcohol (whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!).


Here are some of our must-haves and tips to get us through our mini-detox:

What type of Protein Powder should you supplement with?

One of Aileen's GTLs (or habitual necessities) is ensuring adequate protein in your diet. I agree that this is critical to function properly as muscle tissues, enzymes, antibodies and countless cellular components are all comprised of amino acids, which are derived from dietary protein.

Unfortunately, it can be easy for some people to get carried away, thanks to all these "high-protein, zero carb" diets (eg. Atkins), which are actually misleading and inaccurate. Our body absolutely needs carbs to survive, but it's a matter of choosing the right types of carbs in the right quantities (ie. complex carbs = whole grains, fruit/veg, legumes).