209 – Herb farm and going raw again

I decided to leave the suburbs today and head west to the NJ farmlands. I LOVE driving long stretches of open highway – it puts me in a contemplative trance – just cruising, zoning out and listening to my tunes. Getting out of my everyday environment also gives me perspective on the bigger picture outside my computer and the shreddersphere, which I can easily become engulfed in. I’m thinking of driving crosscountry to Oregon this Fall. I’ve always wanted to visit Portland – supposedly a very environmentally attuned and open-minded city.

My destination today however was Well-Swept Herb Farm. It’s a beautiful old quaint 1900’s farmhouse with an old-fashion working well and acres of land. I felt like I was back in Kauai being on a farm again and hearing the roosters crow. They used to drive me CRAZY in Kauai, but today it was music to my ears.

The farm was amazing! Every herb, flower or medicinal plant you can think of for this climate was growing here. If more people knew about places like this or grew their own medicinals, we would need a lot less man-made drugs imho.

I picked up some fragrant rosemary, spearmint, chocolate mint and what I’m most thrilled about – 3 stevia plants – yay! Of course I had to taste a stevia leaf right away to make sure, and it was pure sweetness melting on my tongue. They’re hard to grow from seed so I was psyched to find these plants. I promptly made some sun tea when I got home by putting stevia leaves, mint leaves and a slice of lemon in a glass jar and putting it out in the sun to brew.

Tonight, Dionne Warwick is giving a free concert at my local park. I’m meeting some friends there later. I’m thinking of bike riding over but then that would mean biking home in the dark on a Friday night. Hmmm…not sure about that.

I’ve also decided to go back to raw foods for awhile. More on that tomorrow…

********TRINITY MISSION: DAY 33 of 45********

Pure Nutrition:

Raw Food Diet using Precision Nutrition Endomorph Guidelines

Bodybuilding Strength Training:

Turbulence Training – Bodyweight Dumbbell Fusion Workout C

Cardio Athletic Training:

Turbulence Training – Interval Workout A -Outdoor Track Run

Weekly Run Total:

Jun 22-28: 18.56mi – 10″30′/mile – 1498 calories
Jun 29-Jul5: 17.87mi – 13″16′/mile – 1462 calories
Jul 6-12: 23.73mi – 14″00′/mile – 1950 calories

I had a great cardio “sandwich” session this morning. Started with 8 intervals of sprinting. Then I “sandwiched” in some ab work at the the kid’s playground. I did some hanging leg raises and crunches. Afterwards for my steady-state 3-mile run, I ran the bleachers twice every 1/4 mile. I think I’m on track to meet my 4-week running goals.

See my July 2nd post, 200 – And They’re Off! Shredder+ Team Begins, for more details about Nike+ and how you can join the Shredder+ Team!

Michael

Lilla, sounds like you had a great day!
www.kalililla.com

I did Michael! ;D
DeDe

I started growing a few of my favorite herbs last year. They were so delicious that my “harvesting” sort of out-paced their growth. I just couldn’t leave them alone!

This year, I’ve got 3 to 5 times as many plants going… which hopefully you can sample in the Fall.
Mike Groom

A nice drive in the country is a great way to spend the day. Sounds like you had a really nice day Lilla! Great photos too!
juli gets happy

Hey Lilla, it sounds like a nice, relaxing day with lots of outdoor activities. Loved your idea of sandwich-cardio-training.

I am also a mini-herb-witch, I grow my own and like to quickly go outside and harvest them when I need them for the meals and cooking.
www.kalililla.com

Dede,
I hope I get to sample some of your herbs too! Now I wish I bought some more plants. I pruned them yesterday and it’s gonna take a little time to regrow.
www.kalililla.com

I got the sandwich cardio idea from Adam Waters. Alwyn Cosgrove also talks about taking a 10-minute break between HIIT and steady-state cardio sessions so it’s a nice idea to fill that time with some ab work.

There’s nothing like freshly picked herbs for a meal. Makes such a difference!
Shari Kraft

You need to be out where I live! I drive for 50 miles before I hit a town! I love driving. It gives me time to think and plan my day, and at night I can calm down after a stressful day.

I would love to grow an herb garden. I have a big fat BROWN thumb. I couldn’t keep a cactus alive!
www.kalililla.com

50 miles before hitting town sounds like nirvana.
Marbella

I just loved, loved, loved this blog. What TomV went thru could be my whole life. No patience (don´t read that Michael). Will try and be more in tune to calories out…thanx for all the great ideas and blogs. They mean a lot!
Lynda
Marbella

Forgot to say that have a mint-chocolate bush, and some mint, so tomorrow will do sun tea minus the stevia. Will try and run down some too. Guess impossible tho.
Lynda
www.kalililla.com

Lynda,
Let me know how the sun tea turns out. Really hope you can track down some stevia plants. If not, maybe try growing them from seed? Worth a try.