New Website up and Running

You can know find me here….

www.frankgiglio.com

 

Being in the flow..

I am finding myself in need of change..

With the unfolding of life and yet another change of physical location, I have decided to take a break from the blog and the cyber world so that I can give more of myself to myself. 

With a deeper focus on ultra running, sports nutrition, and high intensity training, I am looking to spend time documenting my experiences.  I look forward to sharing the results in the next few months…

As of today, I will no longer update this blog, but will keep it available until my new website is complete.  Thank YOU for all of your support and I look forward to sharing all that I have been working on.

Please feel free to contact me at franksfinest@gmail.com

 

A Weekend with a Raw Food Warrior

I am thrilled to have been asked to work along side David Wolfe as he makes his first appearance at Kripalu Yoga Center in Western Mass.  The event will take place on the weekend of April 18-19th.  David’s new book Superfoods, is about to be released by Random House publishing in late April…

David will cover the following topics:

Learn how to

• Add the top 10 superfoods to your diet for a radical health transformation
• Deal with health issues related to inflammation, chronic pain, acid reflux, and candida
• Create healthy superfood smoothie recipes and amazing chocolate drinks
• Increase your energy, improve digestion, and recharge your immune system
• Need less sleep and develop a sense of well-being
• Rejuvenate your mind, body, and spirit.

Click HERE for more details

 

Visionary Culture Radio w/ Laura Fox

I am excited to get on the phone with my friends Sarah Maria, Cosmo Means, and Daniel Vitalis, and talk about the raw food family out in BC..

The show is run by the lovely Laura FOx and will air live this Wednesday at 10pm eastern..

Click HERE for more info…

 

The Great Outdoors…

 

 

 

What an amazing week!!  I am still feeling high from my trip to North Conway, NH.  An action packed time in the White’s saw me creating an all raw dinner Friday night followed by 2 workshops on Saturday and Sunday.  Besides the time in the kitchen, I was able to get some much needed time close to nature.  I would spend most nights in a small log cabin tucked away on 70 + acres of land.  Showering in fresh spring water, and heating the home via a wood burning stove got me to realize just how much I need to be closer to nature..  

Since my days in Telluride, Co. I feel like I have let go of my true passions for the outdoors.  I love the wild, and I love living as close to nature as possible.  It is in my blood and it feels so right to be in a community that revolves around the outdoors.  Getting a chance to spend time in North Conway has brought back a lot of those good feelings so I am grateful for the experience and motivated to get outdoors more often.  This morning I woke up to a cool 14 degrees, but I ventured out without socks or a jacket and felt invigorated as oppose to freezing cold..  It is like I needed that chill to warm up my soul..

So what’s in store for me now??? 

I have just learned that I will be unable to head back to Canada for at least 3 months..  So I have to devise a plan, which may look like me heading back up north to work with Katrina’s Market..  I am happy to be in flow and work where it feels right..

Here are a few recipes that were featured this weekend..  Enjoy!

 

Squash and Miso Soup

4 cups warm water

1 cup butternut sqaush, peeled, cut into chunks

1 piece kelp, soaked 15 minutes or 2t kelp powder

1 clove garlic

1T coconut oil

5 brazil nuts

4T miso paste

1t cayenne

Place all ingredients into a high powered blender.  On high, blend for 1-2 minutes or until a smooth consistency is reached.  Garnish with fresh sprouts and enjoy!

 

High Vibe Curry Sauce

2 cups, cashews, soaked 1-2 hours

1/4 cup sesame seeds, soaked 1-2 hours

juice of 1/2 lemon

1.5T curry powder

Crystal or Celtic sea salt to taste

1/2 cup water, more as needed

Blend until creamy and smooth.  Pour over chopped veggies.  Place in dehydrator for 1 hour at *145.  Serve immedietly

 

 

 

 

 

Raw For All

Hello Folks!

The new version of Raw For All is finally completed and ready to sell.  Click HERE to purchase!

 

New Interview

Check me out on Rawkin Radio as I chat with Revvell about chef life, training, and raw foods.

Click Here

 

New and Good….

Some time has past since I have posted last.  Life has been great.  I have been smoothly integrating into life in Victoria.  Steady shifts at a local cafe, work trade with a yoga studio and setting up future workshops.  I was watching everything unfold in front of me.  But what I was failing to fully consider, was that I was doing all of this illegally. So, I all too confidently crossed the border to pick up my car in Seattle. 

I spent a few days in Bellingham, enjoying life on my friends farm, hiking, and just taking a break from the city life.  Ready to head back north, I pulled up to the border only to find out that I was not going to be allowed re-entry back into Canada…..

Initially I was stunned, shucked, and a bit uneasy of my current situation.  A back pack with a few sets of clothes meant that all of my possessions where now in Canada.

It looks like a past mistake had caught up to me and with a lack of a work visa, I will not be allowed re-entry until some matters are cleared up.  

So the long process has begun and I am fully dedicated to getting myself back to Canada, no matter what it takes.

Old Pardigm belief systems could easily make me get completely down on myself and take this as another case of bad luck.  But I am seeing this as yet another valuable lesson in life.  It feels like I had to take care of legal matters before I could truly settle in Canada.  Learning to be thorough and follow through with the fine details is now stuck in my head and will stay with me for years to come. 

I do feel like I have dropped the ball a bit with the people I care about in Victoria, but there is nothing I can do about it now.  All I can do is send my love and support from the outside.  It looks like I can be in the states for a month, maybe a bit more, but I will be heading back into Canada as soon as I am cleared..

Sometimes mountains must be crossed to get to the other side…

On a brighter note, my brother and sister-in-law just gave birth to a beautiful boy, Nicholas.  Can’t wait to meet him!!

Also, Kevin and AnnMarie of Renegade Health have loved up my recipe book!  A new version, colored, redisigned, and full of life is ready to ship!!  Please contact Franksfinest@gmail.com for more info.  Also, a 6 recipe dvd package is available!  Details to come…

 

The New Paradigm of Training

 

This past Saturday, while walking around the Victoria Health Expo, I gracefully stumbled upon the Triangle Healing booth.  Although I was excited to see a few of their products, energetically, I became immediately drawn to a pendant over on the opposite corner of the table.  From out of nowhere the pendant called out to me.  It felt like it held an answer to an unknown question that was lurking somewhere in my head.  I picked it up, pulled it to my chest and smiled.  I didn’t inquire about the price or ask any details about the product, but I knew it would come into my life.  A little while later, while hanging with my buddy E3 Johnny, he mentioned that we could get a deal on the necklace that I had just connected with.  Hmmmmm  

I must admit, I am not totally sensitive to energies, but when I initially wore the pendant, I felt a new sense of clarity.  Jumbled thoughts seemed to dissipate and I felt an overall sense of peace within myself.  Over the last few days, I have just noticed slight improvements to my life, which may or may not be as a result of the pendant around my neck, but it feels right so I’m going with it!   This brings me to this brings me to the point of this post.

 So I am currently training for a 100k foot race in May.  In the past, I have found myself logging in many hours of running, consumption of mass quantities of fruit, and really just beating up my body.  For me, this is not ideal.  Although I do enjoy spending lots of time outdoors and logging the miles, I do not enjoy sore muscles, cramps, tender calves, and the numerous other ailments that occur when training for ultras.   So I started thinking of how I can get more out of my training by doing less of it.  What a concept… Here’s what I have begun to think about and I am willing to put my thoughts into action over the course of the next few months.  

Water!!  First and foremost, the most important part of the diet.  We, I, tend to drink shitty water.  Tap, Bottled, filtered, whatever the source may be, we are drinking low quality water and our cells are paying the price for it.  Lack of proper hydration or asimulation has played a negative role in my training program before, and now I am looking to put a change to that.  Luckily I am able to drink fresh spring water from a close source here in Victoria.  The only downfall is that it is stored in plastic, which I know is less than optimal.  Once my car is back in my possession, I fully intend to begin bottling fresh spring water directly from the source.  Water is the blood of the earth and the major component in our bodies, yet we put it aside and settle for convience over quality.

Diet-  Training on a diet of mass quantities of fruit is far from ideal for me.  It worked, and it worked well, but I don’t feel it is appropriate or sustainable for me or the environment.  The number 1 reason for this was that just about every fruit that went into my body was shipped from outside of the country.  I am all for eating local and seasonally but consuming coconuts, mangoes, bananas, and dates day in and day out is not the sense of connection I am looking for.  Also, eating 30+ bananas a day kind of got gross after a while.  I mean sure, it brought in the nessesary calories, but it is just a bit overboard for me.  After spending a few weeks in Hawaii, I lost an appetite for any fruit shipped onto the mainland.  Hawaii spoiled me and no fruit has tasted the same since.  This is not to say that I do not enjoy fruit, but today fresh picked local pears and apples do the trick.  

When training and during races, I am sure I will consume fruit, but I will not rely on them as a major source of fuel.  So with this being said, how am I going to stay fueled and make for quicker recovery times??  Elixirs and concentrated food sources.  I plan to eat less, but get more nutrient dense foods into my body.  Learning about medicinal teas, and creating potent elixirs will play a large role in my training.

Yoga/Stretching-Having just been accepted into the work trade program at a local yoga studio, I have more incentive to go out and create more harmony and balance in my life.  Free yoga means unlimited classes and access to slow down the mind and channel my thoughts into spiritual gain.  When I took on running a few years back, I watched my steady yoga practice go down the drain.  Now, I have merged the two practices and feel a major positive shift from doing so.  Waking up in pain everyday is not one of my deep desires!  

Verbal Communication-So this seems like an odd topic to put into training but over the last month or so, I have gone through some heavy processing.  Deep Stuff! HA..  But what I have taken from all of my experiences, is when I am able to open up and communicate with those in my life, I am able to release tensions, frustrations, and fears that may be keeping me from reaching my greatest potential.  With more clarity, I am able to focus more on my ultimate goals and not on the little stuff.  

Sleep-Umm, well, I hardly ever go to bed before 1 am and I am usually up by 7 am.  I am trying to make changes to this cycle, to allow for proper rejuvenation and recovery, but it just seems like there are not enough hours in the day.

Breathwork-I have taken the fact that I can breathe for granted.  I may go through my day without giving much attention to my breathe.  Even while running I have never given it much attention, but I certainly realize the importance of raising the energy and spreading it out to the body.  With this, tensions will release and fresh oxygen will support all the cells in the body.  Different breathing techniques have come into my daily practice, and just taking a few minutes out of my day to focus on my breathe has helped bring joy and comfort into certain situations.

There are a lot more factors that will come into play over the next few months, but the ones mentioned above are on the top of the list.  Really what all of this comes down to, is the willingness to try new things and most of all, have fun.  I have been enjoying the journey of taking my body beyond normal functioning and look forward to new self experimentation.

So back to the pendant.  Can a highly charged pendant create a shield around my body to protect me from emf’s, negative energies, and unnecessary thoughts??  We shall soon find out.

 

Cheeze Please……

Last Tuesday, I taught a class at Cafe Bliss on fermentation.  From pickles to Kombucha, I enjoyed sharing my journey on the fermentation path that I have been traveling down for the last 6 months or so.  I have noticed a great deal of improved health since not only incorporating fermented foods into my diet, but creating them in my own kitchen.  Getting my hands into a bowl of cabbage has brought forth a deeper connection to my food.  Realizing that the positive energy that is directed into the food  goes so much farther than the “supposed” nutritional value.  Sure, fruits and vegetables are high in nutrients, but when prepared with feelings of stress, hatred, disgust, or anger and then consuming or offering to others is less than excellent.  

So, with that in mind I share a few of my favorite recipes for sauerkraut, Kimchi, cheeze, yogurt and pickles.  Once I started to prepare the foods, I think the guests were amazed in how simple it was to prepare a batch of sauerkraut.  Plus it is extremely cost effective.  A one gallon batch of kraut coast less than $20 and to go out and by that amount would be well over double the price!!.  

Here are a couple of recipes and pictures from the class.  Enjoy! 

Dilly Pickles

Caraway Sauerkraut

 Sauerkraut

2 heads of green cabbage, outer leaves saved for later usage

2 Tablespoons Celtic or Himalayan Salt

1 1/2 Tablespoons, caraway seeds, optional

1/4 teaspoon, probiotic  

Preferably by hand, or in a food processor with the slicer blade attachment, thinly slice cabbage.  Place in a large bowl.  Sprinkle with salt and begin to message cabbage.  Really work the cabbage, and as the salt breaks down the cell walls, water will start to be drawn out.  This process should take 12-15 minutes.  Once you get to a point where you have a good sized pool of water at the bottom of the bowl, you can then add caraway and probiotic.  This is also the time to add any additional vegetables or spices.    Squeeze out the juice, and pack the cabbage into a crock or wide mouthed glass jar.  Once packed tightly, pour liquid over the top.  Cover with outer cabbage leaves, and apply a weight (bag of water, rocks, plate with gallon jug of water).

Cover jar or crock with cheese cloth, or screen but do not make an airtight seal.  Allow to sit in a cool dark place for 7 days or until desired taste is reached.  Once complete, you can store in the fridge for, well as long as you wish. 

The Beginnings of Yogurts and Cheezes

Cheeze

2 cups cashews or pine nuts, soaked 2 hours, strained and rinsed

1½ cups water

 1/4 teaspoon probiotics

Once the seeds are soaked and rinsed, add to a Vita Mix.  Starting with ¾c water, begin to blend until a smooth and creamy consistency is reached.  If you want a dense cheese like product than don’t use so much liquid.  If you plan to create a dressing, then you can thin it out more.  Add more water if necessary.  Once creamy, add in your probiotics and blend to incorporate.  Place in a 1 quart Mason jar and top with a screen or cheesecloth.  Allow to rest in a cool dark place at room temp for 8-12 hours.  You will begin to see the cheese expand.  Give it a taste.  It should be slightly acidic, cheesy tasting. At this point, you can season with salt, black pepper, stir in fresh chopped herbs, or even chopped up nuts.   Place in the fridge and use within 3-4 days. 

Em*1, effective microorganisms(healthy bacteria)