Sunday, March 11, 2012

ACAInsanity

"Do yourself a favor" is the slogan of the super food juice bar Kure in Portland. Dude is not joking, do yourself a favor and start eating Acai bowls.  Acai bowls have become a staple in my casa, I seriously have one a day if not for breakfast for a big afternoon snack. I get more excited about making and eating it then I do about going to get fro-yo so that is a big deal. I don't know the calorie count, probably (400 or so) because of all of the fruity nuts and good grains, but it is all power food and has forever changed my breakfast!! I stumbled upon this little discovery, the Acai bowl, when on the search for Portland's answer to Austin's daily juice. I have missed daily juice in ways I cannot express, the "cool hand cuke" was a few days a week treat for me. I would run town lake, and then go to the daily juice on lake Austin blvd, and indulge. Daily Juice always made me feel instantly more energized and happy. Putting good things in the system always does this for me.
Thinking about daily juice reminded me of leaving Austin. I remember the day I left Austin, early in the morning I had my last run around town lake it was like 4am. Running at 4am when you aren't used to early mornings is dangerous. My body wasn't really awake but I needed to say "goodbye" in my own way to Austin and what better way than watching the sun come up running over the ped bridge before sitting in the car on the first leg of my 3 day road trip right? And I knew Hanz would want to take a few finale poo poos and mark all of his favorite spots one last time so we went at it. About 15 seconds into my run, on the mopac bridge just before it turns on the path to the south side I found myself flying in mid air. I don't even remember tripping at all, all I remember is hitting the ground ribs first, almost in "superman" form. It was the most bazaar fall ever. It almost knocked the wind out of me, Hanz's leash yanked at my right hand as he was as startled as I was at the no warning fall. Anyway, I skinned up my knee bruised my ribs pretty badly and got up. I continued on with my farewell trot around town lake. It was a gorgeous morning..and a bitter sweet goodbye. I went back to my then completely packed up apartment, took a bare bones shower. Bare bones meaning usually my shower is filled to the brim with yummy bath stuff, and all I had was the last of a travel size L'OCCITANE citrus verbena shower gel to get the job done. That smell still reminds me of that morning, I started crying in the shower. Not just a little cry but a deep gut a sob, the kind of cry that feels like you just threw up, at first no sound comes out but when it does it scares you. I was worried I was going to wake up my downstairs friend Sarah from the Windsor Gardens. Thin floors made for us sharing a lot of each others day to day life. I was sad to be taking my "last shower" in my pink bathroom, after my last run around tl. I was sad that when I got out of the shower Hanz was just standing in the hallway because he had no where to go lounge. I quickly threw on my some yoga pants a tank and decided to leave before the leaving got any harder. I took a deep breath, walked from room to room, said "thank you" and walked down the back stairs locked the door and drove straight to Daily Juice. I ordered the largest cool hand cuke, and a Mr.Resistor shot. I sat there, on the church pews by the serving window and the sun hit my face as tears rolled steady down each cheek. All of these emotions mixed with the senses, my burning knee, the smells, the light, the color, the sounds of Austin were screeching in my ears. The sound of early mo-pac traffic humming, and birds. I swear the sunlight even had a sound that morning, like thousands of angles. I got my juice, and the girl asked if I was okay with a concerned look. I just smiled and said "I am literally moving away right now, I leave Austin right now and I am so sad" she said  "oh no!! Where are you moving?" I told her Portland. She had this huge grin on her face and she said calmly, "it really doesn't matter where you are, or where you go you will just have to be there instead of here and that is better than nowhere." I almost laughed but didn't even know how to compute what she said. I got in the car and made a note of the knowledge she just dropped. It was such a surreal moment in my life, leaving a place I thought I would never leave for more than a vacation, and  the whole thing reminded me of that scene in Alice in Wonderland....where she meets the Chester cat.

"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where…” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

Anyway, I dropped something off at Brittany's house I don't remember but it probably wasn't important but I wanted and needed to say goodbye to her one last time. My last few months in Austin were strewn with goodbyes, saying goodbye is process. That process always has to culminate into a moment though, it is a going, leaving, pulling out.....then gone. 

I honestly thought I would be back to ATX a lot sooner to visit, I haven't been back since that hot August morning so it was time to find my daily juice replacement. After all the name isn't "yearly juice". I have searched all over Portland for a juice bar similar and, while they don't make the cool hand cuke, he didn't have lime or mint on hand the guy at Kure offered to stock the ingredients if I promised to come on any kind of a regular basis. I didn't make any promises it's a little out of the way, but what I took away from Kure juice bar on Belmont changed my life! Seriously. Matt and I rolled up the spot on a cold day after a run in forest park. The guy that owns and runs the juice stand was literally beaming with life! Tan, tall, white teeth, pony tail and super happy. He had a glow about him I don't often see here so I was intrigued. OH, well he had just come back from vacation in Cabo so that was the only answer. And also he eats Acai bowls every single day, and serves them. I now have at least one a day, and make them at home. Amazing.

What's in it:
1 Sambazon Unsweetened Acai Smoothie Pack-http://www.sambazon.com/product/pure-unsweetened-acai/
2oz organic apple juice
1- banana sliced
3 fresh strawberries
1/2 cup organic hemp/flax seed granola(or any granola)
sprinkle of Cinnamon
sprinkle of wide shaved coconut
sprinkle of sliced almonds
drizzle of local honey or agave nectar
How to make it:
Blend the smoothie pack and apple juice in blender until smooth, pour in bottom of bowl. Next in, granola, then sliced banana and strawberry. (sometimes I blend half of the banana with the acai if I want a creamy texture below), sprinkle fruit with Cinnamon, top with coconut and almonds! Sit and enjoy- you won't regret this super food fantastical breakfast, lunch, dinner, after workout, or instead of fro-yo!!!