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My First BeamGreen Experience

The absolutely amazing Gena invited me to BeamGreen last night for their July event.  Read Gena’s description about Beam Green here.

According to the website,  BeamGreen is an eco-educational community dedicated to The Green Baby Movement! BeamGreen is a Green Social Club for MEN & WOMEN OF ALL AGES – a forum created for the sharing of Green knowledge and wisdom in order to guide people towards superior health and wellness.

You might be wondering why I — young and unmarried as I am — would be attending an event from an organization dedicated to the Green Baby Movement! Well, let me just say, BeamGreen is so, so, SO much more than that. It is a community where like-minded people (and those who want to learn more) can come together and share delicious food, listen to inspiring and motivating speakers, win raffle prizes and come home with a wealth of new knowledge and information.

At least that’s what it was for me.

I wanted to attend last month after a number of events: reading about the meetings on Gena and Heather’s blogs, meeting the founder’s mother and learning more about it, and getting even more encouragement to attend from another friend! Unfortunately, I had a work event the same night and was not able to attend last month, which was unfortunate because Gil Jacobs was speaking and I wanted to hear what he said, as I am quite familiar with his business. Luckily I got to hear all about it from Diana. And Gil will be speaking next month, and every month through November!

I held the date for July’s event and last night was the night! I arrived at Tavern on the Green at 7 (my first time there!) and Diana arrived seconds after me! And seconds after that? Gena showed up! It was so nice to catch up with the bloggers. I hadn’t seen Diana since our last painful Physique 57 experience and Gena since March at the blogger brunch!

We entered the room where BeamGreen was being held and I was impressed by the array of foods available! There were fruits, veggies, veggie sushi, vegan cookies from Babycakes and fresh juice from Liqueteria. I got a few avocado rolls, a chocolate chip cookie and a green juice. There were also wheatgrass shots, but I wasn’t brave enough (yet) to try them. Later in the night? Well, that’s another story! More on that soon.

Diana and I sat down and snacked on our foods and then the founder, Mary Boehmer, took the stage. Let me just tell you — this woman is my age but from her poise, personality, drive and presence, you would think she was older. I’m not saying she looks old (far from it!), but she just carries herself in a way that is so . . . different from myself! And keep in mind, she is my age and started this amazing foundation. I forgot to take a picture of her but here is one Gena posted from a previous event:

Mary Boehmer - BeamGreen

Some information about Mary, from the website:

Mary K. Boehmer, HHI, CEC, ICF, founded Beam Green, LLC in January 2009. She has dedicated her life to the creation of children who are strong, vibrant, and healthy who will contribute to the world in countless ways. Her belief that through love and proper nutrition all of humanity can grow stronger motivates her to research and bring the best to The Green Social Club.

Mary spoke for a few minutes and gave us rundown of what our night would be like. She introduced the first speaker, Jared Koch, author of Clean Plates NYC, AKA my new favorite book that I won’t leave the house without. If you live in NYC, please get this book!

Jared Koch - BeamGreen

Jared, a wellness counselor and nutritional consultant, decided to create what no one had created before — a guide to NYC restaurants based on quality of ingredients (what types of oils, free range chicken, grass fed beef, etc), taste and overall health. There are many guides to vegetarian eating, but they don’t necessarily give the healthiest or best tasting options. Jared, along with food critic Alex Van Buren, set out to hundreds of restaurants in New York City.

The book is combined into two sections. After an introduction which explains the restaurant criteria for appearing in this book and an explanation on why we should eat healthier, part 2 consists of Jared’s five precepts that he believes will help us all find the best diet for ourselves. The second section includes 75 restaurant reviews, written by Alex, the food critic — these are the 75 tastiest, healthiest restaurants in NYC. I plan to use these as my guideline for going out to eat from now on. Luckily for me, the boy is on board! I haven’t read the entire book yet (I just got it last night, sheesh!) but from what I have read, the reviews are fantastic. There really is something for everyone, as each restaurant is marked by a number of criteria, such as price (the restaurants range from fast food to super fancy), vegetarian friendly, flexitarian friendly, meat-based, vegan, macrobiotic, raw, naturally swetened desserts and more.

After the reviews (which include Citrus & Josie’s, two of my fav restaurants!) are lists of restaurants that didn’t make the cut for the main list, but are still better options than most restaurants. These are divided into two lists:

1. Restaurants that passed the health standards but didn’t make it past the taste criteria (hey, they can’t ALL be featured as the “best in NYC!”)
2.Restaurants that tasted great but didn’t meet all the health requirements (ie, some of their meat was sustainably-raised, but not all. Or not enough vegetables on the menu)

There is also a list of great health food markets. In addition, there is a helpful glossary of terms and a comprehensive appendix so you can easily find whatever it is you are looking for.

Clean Plates NYC

This book is my guide! I even bought a signed copy for my best friend (oops! just ruined the surprise!) because we never know where to eat when we are in the city — and now we will always know! It is nice to have a friend who is interested in this — and she plans to join me at BeamGreen next month!

Anyway, I just want to say — get that book! The more we demand high quality, healthful ingredients, the more restaurants will serve them!

Something else Jared mentioned stuck with me. He talked about how he went through this panel of food sensitivity testing, where they tested like 80 foods and gave him a list of what foods caused inflammation for him that he should avoid. Once he started avoiding these foods, he felt so much better. More energy, less medical problems. I had vaguely heard of this before, but once Jared said it I started getting angry that none of my doctors mentioned this. I am not saying my GI problems are because of a food allergy — because they are most definitely NOT — but because if there are foods I eat every day that I am sensitive to and make me feel even worse, I don’t want to eat them!

I called my doctor today and he wasn’t thrilled about my request, since we already know I don’t have a food allergy. I responded to him: I don’t think I have a food allergy, I just think that if I can avoid foods that cause inflammation for me and make me feel even worse, maybe I won’t suffer all the time as I do now.

He gave me the name of an immunologist, and I have an appointment to see her next Thursday!

Moving forward.

After a short break (where I got another juice!) we sat back down to hear from Green Depot, a company that sells anything you need for the home — all environmentally friendly and affordable. It’s like Home Depot, as they said, but smaller and better for the environment. Whether you need cleaning products for your home or you are redoing your house or building a new one, this is definitely the place you would want to shop at and support. Especially if you have or plan to have kids.

After this, Mary announced raffle winners. We all received a ticket when we came in, and had a 1 in 6 chance of winning something! People walked away with prizes such as really cool wheatgrass shot glasses (okay, regular shot glasses but they should be used for wheatgrass!), books such as The China Study (which I really want to read!) and the Engine 2 Diet, (author speaking at BeamGreen next month!), organic bath products, gift cards to Liqueteria, a coconut cleaver, a tomato knife, yoga toes, wheatgrass from Greengrass Life and more. Not to mention the prize I really wanted to win — a complimentary food coaching session with Gena! (I forgot to take a picture of her when she got up on stage. I’ll steal Diana’s later.) I kept hoping I wouldn’t win the other prizes so I could have a chance to win Gena’s. But then I didn’t win anything! Maybe next time. 🙂

The next presentation was absolutely incredible. Husband and wife team Melissa and Jovany spoke about their company, Greengrass Life (website under construction; it will be up and running on Monday!) They plant, grow and delivery wheatgrass all around the NYC area. Jovany and Meliza both come from Hispanic backgrounds, where they grew up on feasts of rice and beans and beef and chicken. Jovany questioned this food from an early age, seeing how it made his uncles feel after meals. He became a personal trainer and eventually met his wife-to-be, Meliza, who was overweight herself.

Someone close to Jovany suffered from Hepatitis C which led to cancer. He watched this person become worse and worse, and after the doctors told Jovany (who, by the way, bears a striking resemblance to Dave Matthews) that he could not donate his liver, and in fact there was nothing he could do, Jovany took matters into his own hands. He gave this person a shot of wheatgrass every single morning. At her next blood test, all her stats had stabilized and she was doing MUCH better — and feeling much stronger.

From there, Jovany began to realize the wonders of wheatgrass. His wife, Meliza, had a slew of medical problems from being overweight. She lost the weight (in a fairly unhealthy way) and her medical problems remained. She began taking wheatgrass twice a day, every day. Six weeks later, her medical problems were  gone.

BeamGreen 002

This couple saw firsthand the healing powers of wheatgrass, and made it their mission to heal others in this way too. They started Greengrass Life and set out to find the perfect wheatgrass to plant. As you might know, wheatgrass often tastes bad and does not go down easily. It can also make you nauseous and not feel great. They and their two year old daughter tasted different types until they found the perfect — sweet — type. This is what they plant — and by the way, when they do plant it, they think of the sick people they know, think of positive healing thoughts and inject positive energy into each batch. Each tray is personalized to the individual getting it — their names are on it — so it truly is a caring and personal company. While they have employees working for them — weighing, messengering — Meliza and Jovany do all the planting themselves. They truly believe in their product and put so much care and thought into it, I knew I had to try it.

And I did. And I loved it! So much that I bought a wheatgrass shot today at my local juice bar — expecting it to not taste as good — and was pleasantly surprised when it was sweet as well. I am considering joining Greengrass Life and making it every day for the boy and I (he expressed an interest! but first, he needs to try some this weekend) and see if we can improve our own health. I am considering it, but for now, I am happy to buy it at Elixir.

Greengrass Life works like this: You buy a wheatgrass juicer (Greengrass Life will deliver it to you with your first greengrass delivery if you want) which run as low as $45. Every week, you get a fresh delivery of wheatgrass to your door from a messenger. It costs about $23 a week, which is about $3.25 a day. While that was the price I paid at Elixir, I didn’t have it first thing in the morning when it is most beneficial, and that was only one shot. I am not totally sure, but I think you’d get more than that each day with Greengrass Life’s delivery. Also, Greengrass Life uses only organic soil and organic seeds. Who knows what I am getting at Elixir? The price is definitely worth it if you are committing to drinking wheatgrass. (And Gena was generous to offer me her wheatgrass juicer!)

Of course, they spoke about the benefits of wheatgrass and I came home and researched it some more. Once the Greengrass Life site is up and running on Monday, it will explain their growing process and benefits of wheatgrass. For now, read the benefits of wheatgrass here. The chlorophyll is particularly a healing agent for diseases such as cancer. And Jovany explained that 2 shots of wheatgrass is the equivalent of 5 pounds of salad. Think about eating a 5 pound salad! And as I can’t eat salad, you will be sure I will be taking my wheatgrass!

I have the pamphlet here but I can’t transcribe it. I will link to the website again once it is up and running so you can read the history of Greengrass Life and more nutritional benefits.

We also received a folder full of information. There were pamphlets and fact sheets about wheatgrass and Greengrass Life, a Nutrition for Kids pamphlet, a guide to when fruits and vegetables are in season by month, and a Nutrition Rainbow from The Cancer Project, which shows what essential nutrient each color fruit and vegetable contains and what it protects against.

The Nutrition Rainbow

Very cool, right! I love all the contents of the folder and sat with the boy when I got home (close to 11!) and went over all the material with him. I am SO excited to go back next month, and I am strongly considering joining. The boy might come with me next time, and my best friend will. If you are in the NYC area and would like to attend, I think you should really give it a try.

A large part of the reason I am so into this is because of my chronic GI illness. Thanks to the blogging community, I have come across incredible resources that will help me achieve the best health I can. Not only do I want to feel better, but I want to give my body everything it is missing from 2 years of not being able to eat fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Thanks to Gena, I now drink green juice first thing every morning and see a friend of hers who helps me improve my condition. Thanks to Gena, Heather, Melissa and Diana I attended BeamGreen, where I will continue to learn more than I could ever imagine on my own. Thanks to BeamGreen, I will now be adding wheatgrass to my diet on most days. Thanks to BeamGreen, I am seeing an immunologist next week and might learn what foods to avoid in order to feel better.  Thanks to other bloggers, I saw Food, Inc and read books like In Defense of Food and Real Food and Naturally Thin and Rethinking Thin and The Omnivore’s Dilemma and The China Study. I am taking my health into my own hands, learning what is best for my body (which no doctor has advised), doing what I can to prevent cancer and other disease, doing what I can to improve my own unfortunate medical condition, learning as much as I possibly can about how to get vital nutrients into my body, how to eat REAL food and how to thrive. The more I learn about health and nutrition, the more I feel like I am in control of my body and my illness.

I look forward to more BeamGreen events!

So Much to Say

About In Defense of Food. And also about many things, hence the long blog post. Little feet, little hands, little baby.

Oh and a few of you recommended I pick up The Omnivore’s Dilemma— I actually wrote promotional emails about that book during its peak of popularity when I worked at the book company, so I got my copy that way back in 2006 or 2007  🙂 Although I am beginning to worry that when I got rid of a zillion books last year, I identified that one as “one I will never read” — not realizing what exactly it was. I have to check at my mom’s to see if I brought it there . . . if not, a second copy will have to be gotten! And I picked up Real Food by Nina Planck this weekend! And I just want to add that I love the Amazon app for my BlackBerry!

As I said, I have so much to say about In Defense of Food, but today isn’t the day because I need to put a lot more time and thought into the entry than I can give today. I hope to give my review this week. But for now, I will just say go read it. It already changed the way I eat. I’ll explain more during my review.

Food Updates
Today was free pastry day at Starbucks. I was excited to try their new banana bread since I LOVE banana bread so very much. Their new version contains 30% REAL banana.

It did not taste good.

I was really surprised first that it was not moist at all, and then that it had no flavor. It was almost like cardboard. I couldn’t finish it, which says a lot because I always love to overdose on banana bread. I can eat an entire loaf in one sitting. And I have. But this new Starbucks version . . . not good. And not worth 480 calories.

cool pics 009

See how dry it is? My recommendation: skip the banana bread.

While browsing the aisles at Jubilee recently, I discovered gorgeous, shiny, fresh looking loaves of challah. The best part? They had whole wheat! I knew what I had to do . . .

CHALLAH FRENCH TOAST!

The first weekend opportunity I had to make this amazing treat was Sunday. When I woke up I ran down to Jubilee and bought the challah, some more eggs and a very ripe banana. I meant to take a picture of the egg information to show you, but I forgot — and my camera is having a problem. I couldn’t find the battery’s charger so I went to Best Buy to buy a new one but they don’t sell the chargers that come with the camera — instead, they sell travel chargers. I bought one that the salesman said he would trust with his kids, whatever that means. Problem is, it doesn’t work. Yes, my battery fits in one of the size charger things, and yes the green light is on when the battery is in there — but the green light never turns to red to indicate the charging is complete. And my battery becomes more and more dead each time I use the camera.

And I don’t have the receipt or the box because I stupidly believed the salesman.

Anyway, the eggs I get are organic, omega 3, from antibiotic and hormone free chickens who wander freely all day long, according to the packaging. I can’t remember the brand name right now. I believe this is the best I can do. I did see eggs at the farmer’s market on Saturday but I was carrying too much. Maybe next week!

Anyway, I brought the products home and cut up the challah (all while the boy was still asleep!) I threw 5 eggs, half a cup of organic whole milk, cinnamon, a tiny drop of vanilla extract (it has corn — boo. Won’t use more than a tiny drop until it is finished, then I will not buy it again) and honey into a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl I mushed up the very ripe banana. I also tasted the challah and it was amazing as it was, so moist . . . so I was very excited to taste in it’s french toasted form.

And then I made two batches of french toast, using the entire challah. I dipped the challah into the large mixing bowl and threw it on a big pan, tossing more cinnamon on while I cooked it. For two of the pieces, I soaked them in mushy banana before putting them on the pan. Those were my pieces. 🙂 I got this idea from Heather and knew I had to have it!

It came out AMAZING. The best french toast I have ever made. I had my 2 banana pieces and one regular piece. The banana ones were much better! But of course I loved it . . . the real question was: what did the boy think?

He LOVED it. He couldn’t stop saying how great the french toast was! He ate most of the loaf and was full and satisfied after, which is a big thing since he is usually still hungry!

French Toast                                                                                                            Banana French Toast

FT                     cool pics 008

 We also used Whole Foods Organic Maple Syrup. Perfect breakfast!

Both days this weekend I laid out on the water. This was my view:

cool pics 006

It was gorgeous! My best friend came on Saturday and I met her at a little farmer’s market where I picked up some peaches, kale and cucumbers. Then we walked down to the water and used cool looking swirly lounge chairs that are chained to the ground. We talked about In Defense of Food and just relaxed. That night I met my friend Jen, who lives in the DC area and who I haven’t seen in a year (not counting last week when I ran into her in the mall) at a wine and chocolate bar called Ayza. The food was blah but I did have a chocolate martini! We sat outside and had a lot of time to catch up!

On Sunday, after my big french toast breakfast, I went back to the same spot as Saturday to lay out. Only this time I messed up applying my spray sunblock, and the entire inside of my right leg is a swollen, painful burn. But I’m glad I got to lay out! I had planned to work out after (the day before I did elliptical for 45 — yay for flows!) but my stomach wasn’t feeling great because I can’t really eat big meals, and I ate 3 pieces of french toast. Not a big deal, I was so happy with the food! So I rested and resting was nice.

Medical Updates
Last week I saw a new GI doctor that my regular one referred me to. He actually sent me to her months ago but the soonest I was able to get an appointment was July 14! Finally the day arrived and WOW. This woman is the doctor I have been waiting for. She sat with me for 2 whole hours, creating a timeline of my entire history and going through literally EVERYTHING. When we started discussing surgery, she told me that there are actually a couple other surgical options that are not as invasive as the only option I had been given — and are reversible. That is so important to me. Part of the reason I basically decided not to get the major surgery was because there is no turning back — and what if a pill is invented in 10 years that will cure me if I take it once a day? But it is too late for me? And what if this major surgery doesn’t even work, since it is not guaranteed? It was so refreshing to hear these other surgical options.

The doctor thinks I ahould go see a surgeon she highly recommends who deals with this all the time. She said she would write him a note and provide him with all my information, and when I meet with him he can go over my case and provide his opinion — do I need surgery, what surgical options do I have, can I get better without it, what does he think overall? These are all questions I would love to hear his input on, as he sees cases like mine all the time.

The topic of autoimmune diseases was also brought up, and she mentioned I would need to get tested for those (It’s not Lupus?) before surgery could even be considered. We would also need to rule out a couple other diseases and problems as well. I am really glad I found a doctor who really understands and wants me to do the best I can. She insisted — as I learned on my own, the hard way — to eat a low fiber diet. I love that she understood my case so well as to advise me on the best food for my condition. If only my initial doctors told me this, I wouldn’t have suffered nearly as much and as long in the beginning.

In other medical news, I received this very scary letter in the mail, about my shoulder injury:

Our review of your medical bills received by our client indicates that your medical condition/injury may have been caused by an accident. Should this be the case, your health plan may be entitled to recover from a responsible party and/or have another party assume the primary responsibility for the payment of your claim. We may notify your insurance carrier to deny your claims.

To give you a brief summary, one day out of nowhere my shoulder was hurting very badly. The pain never went away, and now, 7 months later, it is still not in perfect condition. I have AC joint osteolysis, otherwise known as Weightlifter’s Shoulder. Except I don’t lift weights, and I never experienced any trauma to the shoulder. Also keep in mind I pay $500 a month just to HAVE medical insurance.

And now my insurance doesn’t want to pay!

I called the company and told them that I don’t know how I hurt my shoulder; it just started hurting one day. The woman on the phone asked me what my doctor said caused it. I said he couldn’t know since I didn’t know. She said surely he must have said something (trying to get me to admit an accident?) and I said, again, that there is no way he could know how I hurt myself if I couldn’t tell him this information myself. She asked me if I am getting treatment and I  told them my insurance ran out for PT. The woman sighed and said she would make a note on my record.

I really hope my insurance pays for my shoulder MRI and office visits! I had a followup visit scheduled for July 30. I canceled this appointment because I can’t be sure it will be covered. I don’t think I can  go back to the orthopedist anymore. Hopefully my shoulder pain doesn’t flare up again . . .

Nothing is ever easy, is it?

Speaking of nothing being easy,I got my first Verizon bill since having my new BlackBerry and I was shocked to see that the salesman in the store lied to me about all the costs! In the store, he had asked me if I would use the BB for work. I said no, and he said “OK, then your data plan will be $29.99 a month.” Great! In addition, I told him I wanted to lower my calling plan to the cheapest one ($39.99). He said that would be done as well.

You can imagine my surprise when my bill came and my calling plan was $59.99 and my data plan was $44.99.

I have to think that this guy knew exactly what he was doing, wanted a big commission, and assumed a silly little girl like me would never notice the price on the bill.

I noticed. I called Verizon and got it all fixed. While they can’t do anything about the time that passed, and I did lose money because of that guy (GRRRR), going forward I am paying the correct amount. The nerve! And when the boy and I went back to that same Verizon store to get him the NEW BlackBerry on Sunday, they were not nice! We walked in and were immediately greeted by someone. We told him we were there to buy the new BlackBerry and he signed us in. We were “next” on the list for sales. 30 minutes later, we were still next and still waiting. We had a movie to catch and we asked them how much longer it would be. The guy looks up at the screen and says “Good news! You’re next!” I told him we were next since we got there a half hour ago. He didn’t seem to care. We told them we were leaving — keep in mind we knew exactly what we wanted, it is very expensive, and we were prepared to buy it right then. And I thought they get commission but no one cared that we were leaving. They said “bye” and we walked out. And they lost a $250 sale.

Like I said, nothing is easy!

But some things are pretty. Look at the sky the other night:

cool pics 003    cool pics 005

Running
I just wanted to tell you all that I went for a run early yesterday morning again! It was the best run of my life! I know I say that every time, but that is because it keeps getting better. Early morning is definitely the way to go for me since I don’t think I can run with any food in my tum. I woke up at 6, got ready and was out the door! I started my run as soon as  I stepped outside and went down my usual path. I felt amazing! It was a gorgeous morning, it was warm out, the path wasn’t crowded and I didn’t feel any pain. A few minutes in a song came on my iPod that I wanted to sing out loud to — so I did! That made my run SO much more fun! I was singing The Steps of Saint Patrick by Jason LeVasseur, one of my favorite songs that always makes me feel happy. It made running even less painful and so much better. I stopped whenever anyone got near me though — I do have some shame!

I also sang a DMB song later in my run which also felt so wonderful! I can’t remember which one now but I think it was Old Dirt Hill. I’ll have to go back and check my running iPod for a reminder. But I loved it!

Usually when I run, it is more like jogging in place with a little forward movement. Yesterday I was surprised to find myself actually propelling myself forward a few times! Actually running! With no knee or chest pain or cramps! And I even passed 2 different people, which never happens! I felt amazing. My run took less time to finish, but I also started it earlier and ended it later than I had been, so my time was 31 minutes. Max HR was 196, average HR 176, calories burned 300. Not bad!

And the best part? My left knee felt GREAT! However, throughout the rest of the day, I could not walk down stairs without crying in pain from the the outside part of my right knee. Looks like my patella femoral pain syndrome (along with my bursitis) has left my left knee and taken up residence in my right. The same thing happened last week. Luckily, it didn’t hurt until after my run.

I will continue to run no more than once a week so it doesn’t get worse. I need to actually do this 5K!

This Week
My camera battery is officially dead. I am very upset! I do have to say that the battery has lasted MONTHS without being charged, which means that Canon is a very good company. I’ll have to make it into Best Buy on Thursday or Friday. That is because tonight I have my last session at the very cool NYC boutique gym that I can finally review for you this week and tomorrow night I am attending Beam Green with Gena and Diana and I don’t know who else. Anyone else going? I am very excited!

I am reading a hilarious book right now that had me laughing on the subway and outside while laying out. It is called People are Unappealing: Even Me by the witty, fantastic writer Sara Barron. While I haven’t finished the book yet, I already recommend it to you all because of Chapter Two and something called The Porn.

Enjoy!

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