The Organic Climber – Blogging about climbing, RAW foods, vegetarianism, running and cycling.

I love sweet potato fries! There is a cool pub called The Greenhouse in my hometown , Denton, that makes amazing sweet potato fries (also has an amazing vegetarian menu). It’s what first got me hooked on this delicious vegetable. Sweet potatoes are better for you than regular potatoes because they are alkaline forming, as traditional potatoes are acid forming.

Sweet potatoes are also a complex carbohydrate, so they are great for endurance athletes wanting to “carb up” before a big race. The sweet potato is also a great source of protein, vitamin A and C, and calcium. Additionally, they are higher in beta carotene then potatoes with lighter colored flesh. Whenever given the choice, I always opt for sweet potatoes.

The Recipe

• As many sweet potatoes as you desire (for two people we had one large potato)
• OregaMax seasoning from North American Herb & Spice
• Nutritional Yeast
• Salt
• Olive Oil

Directions

First, chop the potato, with skin on into desired size and shape. I cut mine about 1/4″ inch thick and 3/4″ – 1″ wide. Optionally, you can peel the skin, but I prefer leaving the skin on for the nutritional benefit. Next, lightly coat each fry in olive oil in a pan (or plate). After you have coated the fries, toss them into a mixing bowl and season generously.

Pre-Heat your oven to 350 degrees and bake for 20 minutes, or until tender and golden brown.

I know a majority of you will not have a bottle of OragaMax laying around, so instead of the OregaMax blend, you can create your own blend, using oregano, coriander, garlic powder and onion powder. The advantage of the OregaMax blend is that it’s high in trace minerals, a good source of calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and zinc. The blend is also EXCELLENT on salads with a little bit of olive oil. I often use it instead of actual dressings.

If you were hoping for a raw sweet potato fry recipe, don’t be disappointed. Check out the raw sweet potato fries recipe over at Rawmazing. There is even a chipotle mayo dipping sauce recipe to go along with it. They are very yummy! Just don’t cut your fries to thick like I did when I first made it.

Health & Fitness, RAW Food by OrganicClimber
acidic, alkaline, baked, beta carotene, carbohydrates, complex carbohydrates, fries, fry, sweet potato
2 comments

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About a month ago this weekend, I was hit by a car and walked away without breaking a bone in my body. I was very blessed to have survived the accident, but ever since then I have had a lot of pain in my knees, right hip/thigh, and low back. My chiropractor had me wait to get an MRI because he wanted to see if the swelling would go down and the pain subside, but it didn’t. In fact, it has gotten worse. I often wake up at night with pain in the knees and low back.

This past month has been difficult for a number of reasons. Not only have I missed running, cycling, and climbing, but I missed out on some much needed work the weekend of the accident. Thankfully I will be getting compensated for that though, but it will be at least another six months or longer before I see any of that money. It has been mostly difficult not being able to enjoy the activities that bring me joy. It was been a subtle reminder though, that true joy isn’t found in those things.

Early last week my chiropractor decided it would be a good idea to get an MRI. An appointment was finally set for Monday morning. I was anxious to find out what was wrong. I wanted to know so I could get the green light to become active again and exercise my knees back to good health, but the news I got wasn’t very pleasing. I am thankful though that they found SOMETHING. I would rather know what is wrong than for them to say we couldn’t find anything.

The MRI, showed tearing of the meniscus in both knees, as well as significant swelling. My right knee, the one with the most pain, shows the most swelling and a horizontal tear in the lateral meniscus. The left knee shows a tear in posterior horn of the medial meniscus. All the jargon used in the MRI result made my head spin. I had to look up about 1/4 of the words used in the report in order to have a clear understanding of what was going on, and I still don’t completely get it.

I will be meeting with an Orthopedic Specialist, later this week – hopefully. Until then, I will not know what the next step will be. I am hoping simple physical therapy will be the solution. I am praying that this is not serious enough for surgery, but seeing as how I am walking and stayed on my feet (with much pain) for eight hours straight on Saturday while photographing a wedding, I assume surgery won’t be needed.

The Positive
One positive thing that has come out of this, is that I have been able to invest a lot more time into starting Adventure Naturals. My re-focused energy has allowed me to get a lot accomplished in the last month that will help us get our product launched soon. We are hoping to start producing early next year. I am currently working on information to post on Kickstarter to get the funding we need to startup. This could also be an opportunity for me to start swimming. I have always avoided the sport in fear I would get sucked into the tri, but who knows, maybe that will become a reality after I recover, fully.

My Diet
Coffee is going to have to go! Since starting to eat a high raw food diet over two years ago I gave up coffee for about a year or more, but slowly re-introduced it back in small infrequent amounts. But, since moving to Austin I have spent countless hours in coffee shops working on my business and freelance projects. For some reason, rather than opting for tea like I should, I started drinking coffee again.

Coffee is not good for the body when it needs healing. Coffee is high in refined carbohydrates and stresses the body, thus lowering it’s immune system. It’s also acidic, which doesn’t help with reducing inflammation. I will be focusing on consuming more dark leafy greens to help increase blood flow. Dark leafy greens are high in chlorophyll which helps cleans and oxygenate the blood, which translates to a reduction of fatigue, which will help reduce the inflammation in my knees.

I will also be consuming more alkaline foods to help the reduction of inflammation. Some of those foods are:

• Dark Leafy Greens (highly-alkaline forming)
• Buckwheat
• Quinoa (one of my favorites to use in cooked meals)
• Sweet Potatoes (the only alkaline-forming potato)
• Avocados
• Bananas
• Hemp Seed
• Flax Seed Oil (Great in Smoothies and raw dressings)
• Chia Seeds
• Almonds
• Berries
• Peaches
• Mangos (highly-alkaline forming)
• Green and Rooibos tea (to replace coffee, also highly alkaline-forming)

Foods I will be avoiding, that are acid-forming:

• Coffee
• Cheese (and any dairy)
• Pasta
• Sunflower & Pumpkin Seeds (only slightly acid-forming)
• Artificial Sweeteners

This is in a way a good wake up call to me. Over the past few months I have been “slipping” in the practice of my food philosophy. Obviously, I have allowed more coffee, in addition I have indulged in my fair share of deserts, it’s hard not to when there is a plethora of them sitting in your kitchen for sampling (wedding stuff). So, in a way I’m thankful for the accident in that it has made me more conscious of what I am putting into my body.

I will be sure to make another brief update after I find out the next step is. I hope to get an appointment with the Orthopedic by the end of the week.

Cross Training, Cycling, Health & Fitness, RAW Food, Running, Trip Reports, Uncategorized by OrganicClimber
accident, bicycle, bike, injury, meniscus, MRI, torn
6 comments

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Okay, so there isn’t actually any peanut butter in this smoothie, but it does use raw almond butter. You are more than welcome to substitute actual peanut butter though if you so desire, but since becoming a raw food fan I have converted to almond butter. This delicious smoothie has already become on of my favorites, and was my fiancées idea! Last, night while we were grocery shopping I asked her for an idea for a Smoothie Tuesday post. I was hoping for something not containing bananas this time, since a majority of the smoothies I make contain them. The resulting smoothie consists of mostly delicious berries, and goes down smooth!

The Recipe

• 4oz frozen strawberries
• 4 0z frozen black berries
• 4 oz frozen raspberries
• 2+ TBSP of raw almond butter
• 2-3 TBSP of raw honey (or agave to make it completely vegan)
• 1.5 cups of almond milk

Process all contents in a blender. Yields, two servings, or one for a very hungry individual! I could have easily drank both this morning.

Also, I have set up an email distribution list to send out updates about Adventure Naturals. Updates will include information about the start of our new business, special offers, healthy tips, and more. We plan on launching or raw food energy bars and seasoned nuts early next year.

In other news, I had an MRI yesterday on my knees, hip and low back. I have still had a lot of pain from my bicycle accident. My chiropractor thought it would be a good idea to have everything checked out since the swelling still hadn’t gone down all the way, in addition to the pain. I should get the results back today, and will be posting an update here as well as on Twitter.

I also plan on heading out to Enchanted Rock this weekend. I’m itching to get outdoors. I don’t think I will be able to get any climbing in because of my condition, but I still hope to hike around a bit. Regardless of how much activity I actually get to do, it will be worth getting outside and enjoying some clean air, away from the city.

RAW Food, Smoothie Tuesday by OrganicClimber
almond butter, almond milk, black berries, jelly, peanut butter, raspberries, RAW, smoothie, strawberries
2 comments

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After writing my last post about getting outdoors more often I thought an appropriate follow up post would be on how to eat healthy on the road. This can be a struggle for a lot of people, especially those on a high raw food diet. I find it very difficult to get a good intake of raw foods while on the road, but I do have some tips to help you eat healthier while traveling.

1. Avoid the gas station pit stop. In order to do this, it’s essential to pack high quality, nutritious snacks. I suggest nuts, fruits, and energy bars. Whenever you are going to be in the car for a long period of times snacks are essential. Having these healthy snacks will keep you from buying unhealthy gas station foods. But if for some reason you do have to fuel up here I suggest going for the nuts and dried foods. But, keep in mind these are not as healthy as they usually contain oils, high amounts of salt and other preservatives.
2. Don’t eat out. Pack your cooler full of healthy foods, including greens. Before heading out on the road pre-cut your veggies so making a salad doesn’t become a chore. Just simply throw some greens into a bowl, toss in your pre-chopped veggies, pour on some dressing, and you are ready to munch on a nutritious meal that won’t make you tired (as a fast food meal would), which is also good so don’t doze off while driving..Another great thing to pack is sprouted grain breads and almond butter. If you aren’t going for the raw food thing, you can even pack a tasty jelly to go along with it. I also like to put bananas on my sprouted grain sandwiches with almond butter.
3. Planning ahead is crucial. I typically try to plan out my meals for the weekend, or week, so I know exactly what to take. Granted, plans almost never go accordingly, but without planning you are more likely to make poor dietary choices.
4. Keep it simple. When you plan our your meals remember to keep it simple. If you plan something too complex you risk the potential of getting lazy and not wanting to prepare the meal, which could result in simply eating out.
5. Go all out! Sounds contradictory huh? While keeping your meals mostly simple, it’s good to plan at least one extravagant meal on for longer trips; you can get away with only simple meals on weekend trips. I say this because it helps things not become so mundane. I find myself  “cheating” mostly when I’m getting bored with my food. By preparing at least one “gourmet” meal you will ward off the boredom and maintain a pattern of healthy eating.
6. Research local eateries. Okay, I know I just said don’t eat out, but lets be realistic. If you are on vacation you are going to eat out. Try to do research on the eating establishments where you will be staying and have ideas in mind for where to eat. There are great websites out there such as HappyCow that will help you find vegetarian friendly restaurants where you will be staying.
7. Bring those digestive enzymes along with you too. Lets face it, you are more than likely going to cheat on your excursion and indulge in a mammoth sized pizza or fried delicacy, so take a couple of plant based digestive enzymes with your meal. I typically take one before and one after the meal. If you are not familiar with digestive enzymes, they are simply a supplement that helps you digest foods more efficiently. They are especially helpful when eating cooked foods. They really are not needed when consuming raw foods.
8. Drink lots of water is also essential when traveling. It’s easier to remember to drink water throughout the day when you are in your normal daily routine, but it’s harder to continue this habit when traveling. So remember to keep drinking. I highly recommend carrying a water bottle with you at all times. I love m Klean Kaneteen because it’s stainless steel and BPA free. The only down side to them is you will dent the crap out of them if you get in a bike accident Mine flew out of my bag when I was hit by the car about a month ago. But other than that, these water bottles are pretty sturdy and don’t dent to badly with a normal drop. Drinking water is not only essential for our bodies to function, but it helps curb hunger cravings.
9. Set a food budget. Giving yourself a food budget will help you to stick with your meal plans throughout the week. I try to give myself a food allowance when I travel on longer trips so I’m less likely to eat out.
10. Know where the Whole Foods or natural grocers are located. Since I tend to eat a lot of fruit, and attempt to eat a lot of greens on my extended trips, it’s essential to know where the good grocers are located.
11. Make your intentions known with traveling companions. Before leaving for the trip let your traveling partners know you wish to eat at rest stops rather than restaurants. Some individuals I travel with are on the same boat with me on this, others only want to stop at fast food joints. Knowing what to expect will help you be prepared. Even if that means they still eat fast food, you can be sure to pack a meal that is easy to eat in the car.

Now that you have several tips to help you eat healthier on the road, keep this raw food staples in mind for your next trip.

• Fruits, especially fruit that lasts a long time, such as bananas and apples.
• Nuts, almonds and cashews are the easiest to pack. Pistachios are also tasty, but require some work to shell, unless you get them already shelled (pricey though). I also recommend seasoning them as well. You can do this cheaply on your own. Here is one of my own trail mix recipes that is very easy to make (see photo and ingredients towards bottom of post).
• Energy bars. There are lots of raw energy bars on the. Just pick the one you like best, or make your own.
• Pre-packaged fruit cups. Whole Foods and other grocery stores will often have pre-packaged fruit cups about 8oz in size. This is a great alternative to smoothies since you will more than likely not have a blender while you travel.
• Almond Butter – tasty, nutritious and filling. Great on apples, bananas and sprouted grain breads.
• Sprouted grain breads – not always “raw” but a healthier than traditional breads that have more ingredients listed on the wrapper than I can count on both hands and with my toes. Remember, the less ingredients you see listed on the package the better.
• Raw Tahini – another great staple to spread on breads and dip veggies into.

This post also wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t plug my new company, Adventure Naturals. My business partner and I are starting up here in Austin and will be selling raw energy bars and seasoned nuts; great for taking on road trips. Be sure to follow us on Twitter too. I will be making posts about the progress of things and will tweet giveaways once we start producing.

I was inspired to start up the company after many people told me I should make my energy bars and sell them. My love for adventure and raw foods also sparked the drive to begin making my creations for a living.  Being an adventure seeker I know first hand how hard it can be to eat healthy, healing, raw foods on the road. Thus, the birth of Adventure Naturals. We plan on beginning production early next year. The bars will be available locally in Austin, and online.

What are your healthy eating tips for road trips? Please share them in the comments section.

Climbing, Cross Training, Health & Fitness, RAW Food by OrganicClimber

5 comments

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As an avid rock climber, runner and cyclist I find myself constantly wanting to get outdoors, but most people out there work a full time job and may have a hard time getting enough time outdoors. I now consider myself very privileged to be self employed and starting up my own business. Even though I’m spending a lot of time working I can flex my schedule more and get outdoors more frequently, but seeing as how most people don’t have that luxury I thought I would share with you some tips on getting out more.

1. Work it into your weekly schedule. If you set aside time each week that is reserved for outdoor activity you are more likely to pursue it. This is especially a good idea for runners and cyclists. Scheduling time throughout the week that is reserved for those activities is essential to a good training regiment.

2. Taking vacation time for extended trips may be the most difficult thing for some people. If you don’t currently have a job that allows for a flexible schedule, taking time off, and at least three weeks of vacation a year, I highly recommend you search for a new job. I’m a HUGE advocate of work/life balance. Spending too much time working can drag you down, and is harmful to your health. The more vacation time you get (to pursue your outdoor hobbies) the happier and healthier you will be.

3. Seek a job that rewards productivity. I realize these types of jobs may be hard to come by, so consider yourself blessed if you have one. I have heard of ski bums that have careers without a set number of hours per week. They merely work the number of hours needed. This not only rewards the employee, but is beneficial to the company. When you aren’t required to stay in the office after the job is done, the job is going to get down a lot quicker.

4. Workout on your lunch break. More and more organizations are recognizing the value of healthy employees. Ask your boss if you can go for a run or bike ride during your lunch break and eat your meal at your desk when you return. The mid day run will also be a great stress reliever as well. At my previous job there was a hand full of people that would take advantage of this.

5. Schedule your time well in advance. I can’t tell you how many times a friend has had to back out of a climbing trip because they were called away on business. Penciling in your time off request well in advance  (as much as possible) will give your boss plenty of notice so client meetings can be scheduled around the time off.

6. Become a weekend warrior. When I was living in North Texas I made countless trips to Arkansas, and several to Colorado for a weekend of climbing. We would leave work Friday evening and arrive at our campsite late at night, we would climb all day Saturday and 1/2 – 3/4 of the day on Sunday, and would arrive home around 10 p.m. on Sunday night. My friends and I became masters of the weekend trip. We love the outdoors so much we make it a point to get out there as much as possible. The longer trips, such as Colorado require at least a three day weekend, which we would usually take on Memorial Day or Labor Day Weekend.

7. Become a master packer. This goes hand-in-hand with becoming a weekend warrior. Create a gear closet or shelf, where all your essential climbing, camping and other gear is kept. When the opportunity for an impromptu weekend trip arrises, you simply throw everything into the car, toss some close in a bag, and your ready to roll. This saves valuable prep time for the trip an allows you to get on the road much faster.

8. Kill your television. Seriously! Especially with so many shoes online now, you can watch programs anytime you want. Not to mention, most programs today are not that great to begin with. Since unplugging my television from cable I have become a more active and productive person. I’ve had people ask me how I survive without one. I honestly don’t know how I would survive with one. I would never get anything done, and I would certainly be less active. Getting rid of your TV will give you more time to be active.

9. Join a club! When I first started climbing I had a hard time finding people to go climb with. I only knew a hand full of people that even liked to go camping, even less that climbed. So, I found myself joining The Texas Mountaineers, and before you know it I was outside climbing rocks at least once a month, in peak climbing season I would be outside two weekends out of the month.

Climbing, Cross Training, Cycling, Running by OrganicClimber
active, outdoors, outside, weekend warrior, work-life-balance
2 comments

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Honestly, right now I have been getting sort of bored with raw foods. I think it has to do with a number of things. One, I just moved to Austin, and there are so many good eateries here, all vegetarian friendly too. Two, I’m experiencing salad burnout, but that is partly my fault for not changing things up enough. Three, I’m out of routine. Being self-employed and starting up my own business has been great, but it is harder to eat raw since I’m working from coffee shops – salads won’t keep without a refrigerator.

My diet is probably around 50% raw currently, except on weeks that involve traveling on the weekends. I’m becoming more and more okay with this though, as who I am is not defined by my diet. I do notice a difference in my health though when I’m not eating as much raw foods, and when I make poor choices with cooked foods – my digestive system lets me know. When I first started getting into raw foods, I went all out. My diet consisted of 70-80% raw food, and meat a few times a week. I eventually departed from that though and was completely vegetarian. I have found the high raw food lifestyle is very difficult to maintain.

So, all this to say – I’m totally fine with my current raw food intake. But, I will say I want to make sure I’m making healthier cooked food choices, which can be hard with so many good, local eateries here in Austin. I especially need to make this a priority because of my bike accident. I know from experience with my high raw food intake in the past that the healing process can be much faster when you provide your body with nutritionally dense foods and lots of greens.

I have also decided that it’s okay to eat snack foods and deserts in moderation, although I still avoid the really bad things that are made of nothing but sugar and unnatural ingredients. One of my main reasons for this is because of the comradery it provides with other people. I always hated it when I wouldn’t indulge in a tasty desert and the conversation would then focus on me and my diet. Not only that, but I also believe there is absolutely nothing wrong with these indulgences, just as long as they are in moderation.

I have grown to hate some of the pretentiousness I have seen in the raw food community as well. But, I am thankful for people like, Philip McClusky who have recently announced to the community they have introduced cooked foods into their diet. Perhaps it will take down the high and mighty attitude some people have about their diet. I admittedly was sucked into finding part of my identity in raw foods for a while, but thankfully have realized that is not where my identity lies.  We are human beings, created in the image of God, there is much more to who we are than what we eat.

I guess what I am getting at is that you shouldn’t worry about how closely you cling to a particular diet; especially one that restricts you from enjoying life, and other people. I still aspire to eat mostly raw foods and strongly believe it’s a highly beneficial lifestyle, but I refuse to let it dominate and define my life. So, finding a good balance will be a challenge, especially since I can tend to struggle with moderation when not being strict on my diet. But, I do believe a balance can be found.

RAW Food by OrganicClimber
confession, RAW Food
2 comments

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During a recent visit to Daily Juice, in Austin. Also, my first visit since moving here. I noticed on the punch cards they hand out they refer to noni as, “nature’s aspirin.” This peaked my interest since I had a large mason jar full of noni powder that had just been sitting around for a long time. I ended up finding out a lot of interesting things about this unique fruit.

Noni is a fruit native to Australia, all the way to Southeast Asia. The noni plant is a small evergreen shrub or tree that grows from three to six metres. The noni plant has a straight trunk, large elliptical leaves, white tubular flowers and ovoid yellow fruits of up to 12 cm in diameter. The ripe noni fruit has a not so pleasant taste and odour. (1)

The fruit is full of nutritional goodness. The fruit is high in vitamin C, carbohydrates, and fiber. It contains approximately 71% carbohydrates and 31% fiber. Making it a great additive to smoothies for athletes. The carbohydrates are also complex carbs, so they are best used when carb loading before a big race or day at the crag. It is best consumed in powder form because of the valuable macronutrients lost in the juice format that is most commonly marketed to consumers.

Additional nutrients are vitamin B3, potassium, vitamin A, calcium, and sodium. The fruit is indeed known to have pain killing properties in addition to help with colds, cancer, diabetes, asthma, hypertension, skin infection, high blood pressure, mental depression, atherosclerosis and arthritis. (1) The Polynesians fist discovered the medicinal uses of this super fruit some 2,000 years ago, amazing huh? I find it interesting that before modern medicine we found cures strictly through foods and herbs.

I have been consuming noni daily in my smoothies since my bicycle accident. I have a lot of skin abrasions and pain from the accident. It definitely seems to be helping the skin abrasions heal faster. I can’t fully speak for the pain killing properties yet though as I had been on prescription pain killerrs and have been taking a lot of over the counter anti inflammatories in addition to some all natural supplements. So, I can’t totally say I notice a difference, but I believe it’s highly likely it has been helping.

Noni, powder can be purchased from almost any online store carrying health supplements and other all natural health food products. Just shop around to make sure you get a good deal.

1. http://www.phytochemicals.info/plants/noni.php

RAW Food by OrganicClimber
aspirin, asprin, noni, pain relife, Super Food, SuperFood
1 comment

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Since my bike accident last Friday, I have been pumping my body full of anti-inflammatory goodness including this delicious smoothie. Named in honor of Texas – The Longhorn Smoothie! Seeing as how I now live in the Capitol of Texas, I thought it would be very fitting. Sorry there are no pictures for this one. But, I do promise it’s tasty.

The Recipe

• Apx. 1 Cup of Almond Milk
• 6oz of Pineapple
• 1 Fresh Peach, or the frozen equivalent
• 1 hand full of frozen cherries (or fresh if you have them)
• 2 TBSp of Agave Nectar or Raw Honey
• Optional: Greens and protein powder, or a hand full of fresh greens. Spinach is my favorite

Process in a blender until smooth. Of course, I recommend the Vita-Mix blender! There really is nothing better, honestly!

Smoothie Tuesday by OrganicClimber
cherries, cherry, longhorn, peaches, pineapple, smoothie, texas
No comments

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Last week I posted on how to avoid an epic bike ride, but what I did not include was how to avoid getting hit by a car. This has been my worst fear since starting to cycle. I often talk about how I feel less safe biking than I do climbing. Well, this past Friday night my fears became reality. I had just spent part of my evening in a coffee shop in downtown Austin and was headed back to my fiancés apartment to finish getting my camera gear ready for a photography assignment the next day. On my way back to her apartment, just a few blocks way, I was hit by a car!

Overall, Austin is a very bike friendly city. Cyclists frequently ride as traffic and motorists seem to be very aware of them most of the time. There are also lots of bike routes to help bikers get around the city safely. I have been heavily relying on my bike for transportation for the past couple of weeks and have thoroughly enjoyed it. During this time I have never felt unsafe. Motorists seem to be very aware of cyclists, I often see them pulling back into parking lots and side streets when they are sticking out to far and notice I am coming towards them.

Friday night was different though. It was my first time since moving here that I have ridden at night. I was traveling south down South Congress (a busy four lane road with turn lanes) in the bike lane with blinking lights on the front and back of my bike. I was also heading down a long gradual downhill, so my speed was faster than normal for bike commuting.

As I was a few blocks away from the turn to my fiancés apartment I began to think about the likelihood of getting hit by a car if I continued to bike commute, but little did I know that would become reality, seconds later. As I neared a dark intersection I saw a car turning left onto a side street. I was already in the intersection. A million thoughts went through my head as the accident unfolded. The first thought was, “crap I don’t even have time to hit my brakes.” Then, CRASH! I was struck from the side and I thought I was going to die. I thought, “this is it, I’m dead.” I can’t remember the exact thoughts after that, but my fiancé, Kristy, went through my mind.

The next thing that happened was, I was flying through the air, doing a flip. It happened so fast, but I remember thinking, “holy crap, I’m flipping in the air.” I felt like a ragdoll. I’m pretty sure my feet were straight up in the air as I did at least one and a half rotations. As quickly as those thoughts went through my head I landed face down, like a pancake on the other side of the intersection along the sidewalk, right next to a utility pole.

The landing was the best I could have asked for. A foot further right I would have flew into the utility pole and would have likely been knocked down to the ground, head first. A few feet further to the left I would have ended up in oncoming traffic. Even my stride while pedaling was probably a blessing. Had my left let been in a forward stride I probably would have been pinned against the car and forced to the ground rather then being thrown off the bike.

I laid their stunned, not totally realizing I was alive yet, or if anything was broken. I was just in a lot of pain. I might have even blacked out for a brief second. It seems like at the very moment I landed somebody was next to me telling me not to move and that 911 had been called. I heard what was likely the person who hit me asking if I was okay. All I could say was, “no, I’m in pain.” The woman that was telling me not to move began asking me if I could feel her touching my legs and if I could wiggle my toes. After I was successful at wiggling my toes and feeling her touch I was pretty sure I was going to be all right, but still thought I probably shattered my hip or broke something.

The fire department EMT’s were the first on the scene, with the ambulance shortly behind. After being checked out by them I was allowed to sit up. I was asked numerous questions, for what I assume was to make sure I didn’t have a concussion or anything of that nature. But, I was also very blessed in that I never hit my head. After giving me a thorough check-up on the scene the paramedics suggested I go to the ER to be checked out more thoroughly. I decided this would be a good idea just in case I had a neck injury that wasn’t detected through external tests.

The hospital visit wasn’t very pleasant. I was there for about five hours. My fiancé had enough time to drive back to Austin from Dallas before I had been released. I was also thankful to have other friends from Church visit me while I was there. I’m blessed to have so many people that care about me after having only lived here in Austin for a month.

While at the hospital I was giving morphine to help with the pain, was given an ultrasound to make sure I had no internal bleeding and x-rays were taken of my neck and upper back. The morphine actually helped with the pain more than I realized. I hadn’t noticed it until I was on my way out, but my right hip had swollen up to the size of an ostrich egg. It was the most swelling I have ever experienced, or seen.

After about five hours of being in the ER, I was released. I didn’t get to bed until around 3:30 a.m. on Saturday morning. I slept most of Saturday morning and part of the afternoon, but was able to get up and move around a bit and pick up my bike from the fire station down the road from where the accident occurred. The bike, although damaged pretty bad was not as bad as I thought it would have been.

The seat saddle was knocked off, the bike bag on the saddle also detached from the fibers, the frame was dented and the front and rear fork scratched up pretty badly, and the front tire bent badly. I’m actually shocked the frame wasn’t folded in half, but either way I will probably have to replace the bike because of the damaged frame.

I am TRULY blessed to be alive though. I don’t feel for one second I was lucky. I see my survival and escape from any extremely serious injury as a gift from God. It was caused me to take a step back a bit too and evaluate how I am living my life. I will likely be spending more time in prayer over the next few days after this near death experience. It’s so crazy to think if certain things happened in a slightly different way I would likely be dead or seriously injured. Praise God though, I am alive. It’s hard to say for sure what the extent of my injuries are though because of the pain killers, but hopefully I will know soon.

I have also realized how blessed I am to have Kristy as my future wife. She has been taken such good care of me; bandaging my wounds, bringing my ice packs, and making sure I take my medication. I have also had an awesome community of support around me from people at Church, friends and even people on Twitter.

Even though I am pretty shook up from the event I will probably ride my bike again after I fully recover and get a replacement. But for now I will enjoy the extra time I have resting to mediate, pray and read scripture. I will also utilize this time to work on my business, Adventure Naturals, and work on getting some more freelance projects. Hopefully I can make up for the income lost in the photography assignments I had to cancel.

I will also be enjoying one of my great recovery smoothies that is great for reducing inflammation later this afternoon. Check it out here.

Cycling, Trip Reports by OrganicClimber
accident, austin, biking, car, commuting, cycling, hit by car, safety, survive, texas
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This is the first Nutty Friday post that isn’t exclusively nuts. This delicious recipe simply involves almonds as part of the recipe. These guilt free, raw vegan cookies might as well be called energy cookies. They contain both simple and complex carbohydrates, a most for any athlete. They would be great as a pre-run snack, or for sustained energy on a long hike or day of climbing.

This is probably my favorite “desert – snack” recipe. I originally made it with raisins, but I have a thing for baked oatmeal cranberry cookies, so thought I would give this a try. I hope you enjoy it as much as my fiancé and I do.

The Recipe

• 2 cups of oat grouts
• ¾ cup of dates (packed fairly tight and then processed into paste in a food processor)
• ½ cup of dried cranberries, chopped
• ½ cup of raw almonds, coarsely chopped (this can be done in a VitaMix or coffee grinder)
• 2 or 3 apples, coarsely grated. I recommend Gala or Honey Crisp apples

Place the grouts into a food processor or VitaMix and process until smooth. If using a blender, you may want to add some raw honey, agave, or maple syrup to help the dough turn over. Next, transfer the flowery mixture into a mixing bowl and add all other ingredients, and mix well.

After you have your mixture, shape into cookies and place on a mesh dehydrator sheet. Keeping your fingers wet while forming the cookies well make for easier handling of the batter. The batter should make about 12 cookies, depending on the size. After you finish placing the cookies on a dehydrator tray, dehydrate at 90 degrees until desired texture is achieved. Twelve hours is a good starting point.

RAW Food, Recipes by OrganicClimber
carbohydrates, complex, cookies, cranberries, cranberry, desert, energy, oatmeal, RAW, simple, snack, vegan
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