I’m alive and well! I made it through my first day of snowboarding. BOOH-YAH! We started the morning with organic green smoothies made in my awesome travel blender. Then, we stuffed our pockets full with Raw snack bars to enjoy during the day. I came prepared.

It was so beautiful and picture perfect driving up the mountain. We had a ton of snow overnight so it topped the mountain with lovely, fluffy snow perfect for falling down on my bum (or face!) Fortunately, I didn’t do too much of that. It was exhilaratingly exhausting. Just getting used to attaching the snowboard to my seemingly 20-pound boots, getting up from a seated position, under layers of clothes and snow gear that makes me feel the like the Pillsbury Dough Boy, from delicate snow that you sink into and want to fall asleep on (if it didn’t start to make your clothes wet)… all of that is a workout in itself (not to mention the elevation adjustment). My heart was racing all day. Then, as a beginner in a class, they take you down the bunny slope a little, make you walk back up, go down just a little again, and walk back up. Talk about an arduous affair in the cold and blistery wind when my life is typically basked in the warm therapeutic sun of the desert. I admit, I had moments when I looked enviously upon the skiers, feeling a longing tug at my heart to run back into the lodge and swap out the board for familiar skies. But, I’m all for new adventures. All I can say is…Wow. I kept thinking to myself, this is such great exercise even if I’m only spending 15 seconds at a time actually riding the snowboard. All that hard work topped by a few brief moments of sheer thrill…totally worth it and I’m going back for more.

Next up on the lifetime list: surfing!

Similar Posts:

• The Ethics of What We Eat
• A Perfect Monday
• Grateful
• Vegan Chipotle Burrito Juice
• Food Journal (Tuesday) – High Raw, All Vegan

Tomorrow we’re leaving for a snowboarding trip. Whoo-hoo! I used to be a big-time skier, but this is the first time I’ll be snowboarding. I can’t wait! It’s going to be awesome exercise and I’m sure I’ll work muscles that I haven’t used in a VERY long time.

Staying Raw while going on our snowboarding adventure will be super easy. I’m not going to abandon my healthy eating habits while I’m on the slopes, so I’m planning in advance. Since we’re driving to the mountains for our adventure, we’re able to take a cooler, which will be full of fresh produce. I packed my Tribest Personal Blender so we can still enjoy our super nutritious smoothies every morning and evening. (To keep our produce fresh, I’ll change out the ice in the cooler using the hotel’s ice machine.)

I packed organic Raw Sweet Vanilla Rain Almonds (recipe in this ebook), along with fresh dates, dehydrated buckwheat groats and energy bars (all perfect for stuffing into my ski coat pockets) which will serve as filling snacks when we’re warming up in the lodge between runs – clearly I won’t be having the traditional donuts and hot chocolate.

I researched the area for health food stores (fresh, organic produce) and vegan-friendly restaurants ahead of time. What did people do before the Internet? And, when we’re back in the room and need a midnight snack…no worries!…I’m prepared with Raw cookies.

Living the Raw vegan lifestyle is easy even when I’m away from home because I make it that way. It’s simply a matter of thinking ahead, being prepared and packing the essentials.

Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness. ~Edward Stanley, Earl of Derby, speech 1873

Similar Posts:

• Staying Raw When You Are Not In Your Own Kitchen
• Raw Diet On The Go: 3 Quick Tips
• How To Make Sauerkraut (Video) – Raw, Organic, and Unpasteurized
• What To Do When You Don’t Have A Lot Of Raw Choices Around (family gatherings, restaurants, and travel)
• The Ethics of What We Eat