No Shampoo Week 1 – Undecided…

… and what a busy week 1 it’s been. I did not think the timing of this challenge through, as i had an event on Sunday where doing my hair was necessary, and I have 3 birthday events next week that require clean-ish hair as well… Woops.

Since the beginning of the challenge, i have washed my hair twice. I’m aiming to wash it every 4 days. I’m at day 4 today, and I’ve got to say it’s feeling pretty greasy. I’m so looking forward to washing it tonight. I knew this would happen, as all the blogs I’ve read about this method mention that 1-2 week period at the start where your hair goes through a sort of detox – readjusting to natural cleanser and lack of chemicals. However, the first three days after washing my hair were glorious! My hair has never felt so healthy, and never looked so vibrant! I washed it on Friday night, air dried it, and straightened it on Saturday morning and Sunday morning for events. It looked GREAT! I didn’t need any hair styling products to get it to stay in place, and it felt clean and light. So the preliminary verdict this early in the challenge is: awesome hair for days 1 through 3, greasy hair on day 4. Hopefully, my hair will re-adjust soon so day 4 can be just as glorious!

In other news, i can confidently state that my hair stops smelling of apple cider vinegar the minute it starts to air dry. (Thank god.) I’ve read posts where people suggest to put essential oils in the ACV mixture to mask the smell, but I’m cool with the straight up mix. I’m just hardcore like that, you know?

I’ve read that avocado is very good for your scalp and hair, so I’ve been incorporating it into my morning smoothie. My current obsession is the following mix – it’s so good!

Ingredients

1 cup coconut water

1/2 of an avocado

2-3 stems of kale (keep the stems on if your blender can handle it – they’re packed with nutrients)

1/2 cup-1 cup of frozen or fresh mango

1 tbsp chia or flax or hemp seeds

juice of 1/2 a lemon

Directions

Throw into your blender and blend!

The avocado brings a creaminess to the smoothie that I’m loving! If you find the smoothie too tart, throw in a squeeze or 2 of agave nectar!

Week 2 of training: Bring it On!

As i find myself in the middle of week 2 of my training for the Montreal 1/2 marathon, running for PETA, i can’t help but marvel at the highs i experience post-run. I was always under the impression that nothing could beat post-yoga bliss (and nothing can!), but post-run high is a close second. The feeling of pure euphoria i get after completing my daily run, even if it’s a short distance, is awesome. So is the after-run shower. Wow. All this to say that i am feeling great! Granted, i am only at the beginning of my training program, but my body is loving the feeling of running/training every day. My body’s one complaint is my knees. They are getting a little sore, which leads me to believe that i need new running shoes. A trip to Running Room might be in order next weekend…

To complement my post-run feeling of awesomeness, i’ve been making these killer smoothies. They’re packed with flax seeds, which contain omega-3s, dietary fiber and micro nutrients. Did you also know that flax seeds may also lower cholesterol levels? (Thank you, Wikipedia)

Euphoria-enhancing smoothie

Ingredients:

1 tbsp flax seeds

1 banana

1/4 cup soy yogurt

3/4 cup non-dairy milk (I love almond milk)

1/2 cup mixed berries (I’m on a strawberry/blueberry kick right now… YUM!)

1 tsp agave syrup

Directions:

Throw the flax seeds in the blender first, and give them a whirl. Once most of the seeds are crushed, add remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth. Drink and be merry.

Let me know what you think!

And don’t forget, if you would like to support my running efforts, please visit my fundraising page!