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

Chris, my brother-in-law and co-founder of Adventure Naturals explains raw foods in plain, easy to understand language. It’s as easy as apple pie to understand, so watch and learn. Also, don’t forget; we are still raising our startup funds on Kickstarter. We have 40 days left to meet our $5,000 goal. Anything helps, even giving at the $5 level means more than you will ever know. That is the beauty of crowd funding. Hundreds of people can donate a small amount and make a HUGE difference.

Health & Fitness, RAW Food, Smoothie Tuesday by OrganicClimber
adventure naturals, energy bar, RAW Food
4 comments

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Stress is a common part of everybody’s life. For some, stress seems to be constant, for others it comes in waves. Everybody handles stress differently. In response to the recent question posted on Daily Challenge I decided to write about my favorite activity to help release and mange stress – running!

I used to hate running. I would try to get into it from time to time, but it never really grabbed a hold of me until a year and a half ago when I started running to condition my cardiovascular system for climbing Longs Peak in Colorado. Longs Peak, is one of Colorado’s most magnificent fourteeners, with beautiful 360 degree views from the top, located inside Rocky Mountain National park.

My initial reason for starting to run was not health reasons, it wasn’t even to relieve stress or get in shape, it was simply to train for climbing, my all-time favorite hobby. I have loved climbing ever since I was a kid, and while it’s a great stress reliever in itself, I don’t do it as frequently as running because of how easy running is. It’s not hard to fit into your day because it doesn’t involve having to drive to a gym; you can simple put on a pair of running shoes and head out the front door.

My training started off as just two miles for 20 minutes, then I gradually built up to where I ran 45 minutes at a time. The furthest I ever ran before climbing Longs Peak was 4 miles. Upon returning from the trip I decided I would try and keep the running thing going. I was sharing my new found activity with a guy I know that runs 5 miles a day. He suggest I stop running around the neighborhood and just go out away from it and go as far as I could before turning around.

One day I decided try this little exercise, and upon returning home I had run just over one hour. After sitting down at the computer I discovered I had run 6 miles. I was shocked. I didn’t think I was ever going to be able to run that far. After posting my accomplishment on Facebook I had a friend suggest I run a half marathon with her and another friend. At first I thought she was crazy, but after researching it I discovered I was on pace to train for the half marathon, and my diet was already consistent with what is recommended to train.

It was at this point I began running on a regular basis. It ended up becoming a major source of stress relief too. Something I never expected. At the time I was working a job I was very unhappy with, I faced a long commute to and from work… needless to say, I would come home at the end of the day completely drained. One would think the best thing to do would be to sit on the couch and relax. Well, that isn’t true at all. Exercise is the best source of stress relief.

Exercise in general releases endorphins, which help relieve pain and create a sense of well-being and relaxation. When the body is stressed a chemical change takes place; if a “fight or flight” action is not taken, the byproducts continue to circulate and can cause illness. Exercise is a perfect way to alleviate the stress. For me, that is running, cycling, and climbing.

Lately though, I have sadly not been able to exercise much. I was in a bike accident back in October, and I’m suffering from bone contusions and a torn meniscus. So, I have to settle for the occasional bike ride, an easy walk, or climbing on easy terrain. This dry spell from running has made me miss it immensely. I long to throw on the running shows after a long productive day at work and let my mind go.

When I first started running it not only helped me relieve work related stress, but it helped me dealing with a break up with the woman who is actually now my wife (you can hear more about that, here). I’ve heard countless stories of how running helped people cope with the loss of loved ones, disease, and just general struggles in life. It amazes me how much running can change your state of mind. But I don’t believe it’s a cure; there is more in life, and things bigger than us that are truly helpful for overcoming problems. But I’m a firm believer in using running to reliever stress, it helps us clear our mind so we are able to deal with the real problem.

So, for anybody that suffers from stress, anxiety, frustration, or is struggling with anything in life, I highly suggest you take up running. It really brings about a lot of relief. It makes your mind clearer, and helps you continue to enjoy life when times are tough. I think that is one of the biggest reasons I miss it. It’s not the health benefits that come from it, but how it makes me feel. Right now, I’m really wishing I could throw everything the doctors said out the window, ignore the pain in my knees and go on a run. I look forward to the day I am able to do that again.

Also, don’t forget about the energy bar special I have going on right now for my project on Kickstarter. Donate $5 or more through Christmas and receive an extra energy bar with your pledge. Retail value on the bars will be around $3, so that is a steal, especially at the $5 giving level. Every little bit helps us launch our 100% organic, all-natural energy bars and seasoned nuts.

Cycling, Health & Fitness, Running by OrganicClimber
exercise, relief, Running, stress
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One of my all-time favorite foods is pizza. If I had to only eat one food for the rest of my life, I admit – it would be pizza. One of my favorite raw food dishes is also pizza…go figure! I’ve tried many a different raw crusts, but haven’t found any I truly liked. The other day, I stumbled across this recipe for a sprouted chickpea flat bread and decided I had to try it out. Although it wasn’t raw it was still very nutritious because of the sprouted chickpeas. It seemed like it would make an excellent pizza crust. Below is a picture of the sprouted and pealed chickpeas. It probably took about 1.5 hours to shell 2 cups worth, which made one 10″ flat bread.

The recipe for the bread was pretty simple, but I don’t know that I will ever make it again. It was very time intensive. The bread was okay as is, but lacked flavor. If I ever did make this again I would season up the bread for better taste. But I’m sure it would be great for a wrap.

For the raw pizza, I made a sauce from Matt Amsden’s Rawvolution book. Then, I topped it with kalamata olives (my favorite olive), chopped red onions, chopped orange bell peppers, all topped with nutritional yeast to create a yummy cheese flavor.

The Sauce

• 1 1/2 c. blended tomato
• 1/2 c. fresh lemon juice
• 2 T. Nama Shoyu
• 2 T. olive oil
• 2 T. chopped yellow onion
• 3 cloves garlic (I used garlic powder, but fresh is best)
• 1 c. sun-dried tomatoes
• pinch sea salt

This is by far my favorite raw marinara sauce. It’s even great to slather on a raw portobello mushroom. YUM!

The Crust

Top with nutritional yeast and your favorite raw veggies.

RAW Food, Recipes by OrganicClimber
chickpea, chickpeas, crust, marinara, pizza, RAW, sprouted
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What makes an energy bar and energy bar? Watch the video and find out, and listen to by short plea about how you can help launch my new energy bar company – Adventure Naturals.

The $5 Plea

Now, through Christmas, if you donate just $5 to our Kickstarter campaign you will receive an extra energy bar. These bars will retail for around $3 each, so you are essentially saving $1, AND you are helping start an AWESOME company, dedicated to bringing nutritious energy foods to the masses.

Think about it, $5 doesn’t go very far these days. Five dollars barely will cover a large latte, you can’t even buy a move ticket with five dollars, it will barely even get you food off a value menu, and five dollars won’t even get you two gallons of gas. So, when you think about it, your five dollars is going a LONG way by helping start our company.

So, check out our project and make a donation today!

Climbing, Cross Training, Cycling, Health & Fitness, Nutty Friday, RAW Food, Recipes, Running, Smoothie Tuesday, Trip Reports, Uncategorized, Whacky Wednesday by OrganicClimber
carbohydrates, energy bar, fats, kickstarter, nutrition, protein
1 comment

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Before I get started with the recipe, I have a plea. Visit my Kickstarter page and make a $5 donation. As you probably know by now, I am starting up a raw food snack company – Adventure Naturals. But in order to make it happen we need startup capital to pay our first months rent and buy our first batch of product. A simple $5 donation gets you a tasty energy bar. Just think, that $5 earns you a bar that will retail for $3, AND it helps bring nutritious goodies to the weary traveler, backpacker, rock climber, runner, swimmer, and you!

Anyway, here we go. I thought it would be fitting with the Christmas season upon us to create a Christmas themed smoothie. When I think of Christmas, the flavor that instantly came to mind was peppermint. So, I made a trip to Whole Foods earlier last week and picked up some peppermint extract to create this delicious smoothie. I also had a sweet tooth earlier in the week and created a raw ice cream that I will likely post the recipe to later this week.

The Recipe

• 2 frozen bananas
• 1/2 teaspoons of peppermint extract or flavoring
• 1 giant hand full of spinach
• 8oz of almond milk
• 8oz of water
• 2 TBSP of cashew butter
• 1-2 TBSP of agave nectar (optional)

Directions: Throw all the ingredients into your Vitamix (or high-speed blender) and process until smooth. This should produce two servings. If you happen to be considering the purchase of a Vitamix for a Christmas present, you can order through the link on my Vitamix page (use coupon code: 06-004609) and receive free shipping. Sure, those coupon codes are ALL OVER the internet, but if you order it through me I get a nice commission!

Anyway, Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays. I hope you enjoy the smoothie. It is certainly one of my new favorites that I will likely make year round. How else am I going to use up a bottle of peppermint extract?

Smoothie Tuesday by OrganicClimber
adventure naturals, christmas, kickstarter, mint, organic, peppermint, RAW, smoothie
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Sprouting nuts, seeds, and grains yields a plethora of nutritional benefits. As an athlete, the biggest advantage of sprouting is the energy the sprouted nuts and seeds provide. Sprouting takes the seed out of a dormant state and releases all sorts of nutrients and beneficial enzymes that are only accessible through sprouting. The nutrients and enzymes released from sprouting vary depending on what you sprout.

In addition to being highly nutritious, sprouted nuts and seeds are more easily digested by the body, making the nutritional contents more usable by the body, thus how the provide an abundance of energy. The sprouted nuts, seeds and grains are best consumed raw. Heating them above 116 degrees begins to destroy the healthy enzymes and reduces the nutritional content.

Some seeds, such as sunflower, buckwheat, and pumpkin seeds yield a higher protein count when sprouted; making them an excellent source of protein for people with an active lifestyle. Consuming sprouts is easy. You can include them in a recipe, such as my raw granola recipe, or toss them in a salad. You can even season your seeds to make them more tasty.

Sprouting is very simple to do, it doesn’t take a small garden to accomplish, as I first thought when I heard about sprouting. You don’t need anything more than a mason jar and a sprouting lid, or something to cover the mouth of the jar, such as a fine cheese cloth.

Below are instructions on how to sprout seeds, nuts, and grains. In regards to nuts, almonds are the only nut that actually sprouts, but they typically have to be raw, organic, and unpasteurized, which is hard to find – but it is possible. Either way, soaking the nuts still makes them easier to digest, as with any nut. Almonds typically need to soak 8-12 hours. Most other nuts only need to soak for about two hours.

After sprouting seeds and grains, you will see tails grow on them, as pictured below. The length of the tail will depend on how long you soak them. Sunflower seeds will yield a small tail after just one day of sprouting, but if you sprout them for several days you will have a really long tail, making them a nice crunchy treat for salads. I prefer to keep my sunflower seed tails small though. It’s up to the person doing the sprouting how long they want the tails.

How to Sprout

1. First you will need to soak your seeds (pictured above). Refer to the chart below for the time it takes to soak your seed or grain. Place them into a mason jar (half full, as the sprouts grow and expand) and fill with filtered water, just until they are fully covered. You may need to periodically add more water as they will soak up a lot of it.
2. After your seeds have soaked for the appropriate amount of time, drain the sprouting jar and cover with a sprouting lid, or a fine cheese cloth (secured with a rubber band).
3. Set the sprouting jars at an angle so excess water can drain from the jar. I usually place mine in a drying rack as pictured above. Let the seeds set for the amount of time indicated on the chart below. You will also need to periodically fill the jar back up with water and drain to keep the seeds wet.
4. After your seeds are done sprouting place them in a dehydrator until thoroughly dry. If you don’t have a dehydrator you can leave them spread out to air dry. Store them in a mason jar inside your refrigerator for longer life.
5. Optionally, you can season your seeds and, or nuts. I prefer to season my sunflower seeds. This is best done immediately after soaking. Just place them in a mixing bowl, toss in some seasoning, and mix away. Garlic and sea salt is one of my favorite flavors to season sunflower seeds with.

Sprouting Chart

And there you have it. All the information you need to know for simple sprouting at home. So, have fun with it, do some google searches for recipes involving sprouted grains. I have seen many great recipes, both cooked and raw, but remember, consuming them raw is best.

Have you ever tried sprouting? Do you currently sprout? Let us know what you think about sprouting in the comments.

RAW Food, Recipes, Uncategorized by OrganicClimber
energy, enzymes, healthy, nutrients, nuts, seeds, sprouting
1 comment

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Wow, it seems like forever since my last smoothie post. Things have been crazy busy since getting married, and working on the startup of Adventure Naturals. I haven’t forgotten about smoothie Tuesday, though. I was hoping to bring you a holiday themed smoothie today, but the store was out of a certain ingredient I was looking for, so it will have to wait until next week!

But, I do have a tasty treat I blended together just this morning from what fruits I had in the freezer. This smoothie has a crisp taste with a tart finish, thanks to the cherries. I find it amazing how many different tasting smoothies I can come up with just from the standard fruit selection I always have on hand in the freezer.

The Recipe

• 1 part strawberries
• 1 part peaches
• 1 part cherries
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 2-4 TBSP of cashew butter (based on the size of smoothie you make)
• Protein & Greens Powder of your choice
• Part Almond Milk & Part Water (just enough to cover the fruit)

Directions: Combine all the ingredients into a blender and process until smooth. Proportion the fruit out based on how many servings you want. I used about 2.5oz each, yielding 2 large servings.

Pour into a glass and enjoy. I apologize for not having a picture for this one. I took the photo and left the media card at home. So, I will post it tomorrow, once the media card is back in my possession.

Also, remember to check us out on Kickstarter. We need YOUR donation to help us get started. A simple $5 donation is rewarded with an energy bar (retail value is $3). Anything you can give, even if it’s just $1. It would be greatly apreciated.

Smoothie Tuesday by OrganicClimber
cherries, cherry, delicious, peach, peaches, RAW, smoothie, strawberries, strawberry, tart, vegan
2 comments

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Whacky Wednesday by OrganicClimber
babies, coca-cola, coke, corn syrup, healthy, HFCS, high-fructose, infants
No comments

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