The Green Valley Spa Experience – Day 3. Hikes and Top Spa Food Tips.

If you’re looking for a getaway that includes beautiful hikes and great healthy food – Green Valley Spa is for you. If you are looking to hang out in a refrigerator box with a happy meal, you may want to check this out. Hikes and the spa food are my big focus points of today’s post on my daily experience as a spa-goer at Green Valley Spa in St. George, Utah. Below, also, you’ll see a “Top 10 Spa Food Takeaways” (Part 1) where there are suggestions for integrating spa cuisine into your everyday life.

Welcome Post    Intro    Post 1    Post 2    Post 3    Post 4    Post 5    Post 6    Last Day   The Afterparty

6.30 am – Breakfast and Hike. I wake up, grab my hiking boots, and meet my aunt and Eydie at the dining hall. We are going on a hike today led by Bill – a long-time trail guide at Green Valley Spa. As I am a total gym rat, I did not even realize I LIKED hiking before first coming to Green Valley Spa three years ago. Here are some photos from our hike:

In the photo above, Bill points out sandstone on one side of the trail, and lava on the other. Going on a hike with Bill is amazing. He picked and handed us silver sage, which smells wonderful, and a lemony-smelling plant. He also showed us a plant from which Native Americans used to make moccasins. Bill is 81 years-old. His goal is to still be leading hikes for Green Valley Spa when he is 85, and then 90. Each year I like to go on a “trail” hike with Bill, and then mix in some “fitness” (mid level) and “strenuous” hikes depending on how I feel.

11:00 am – 12:00 am – CSI. As might be expected of most spa vacations, 11-12 each day is “CSI viewing.” Okay, that is not true. It was just me. I am embarrassed to admit this, but, I actually watched CSI NY in my room after the hike. Green Valley Spa is not much of a “should” place.

12:00 pm Lunch. Lemon and mint-infused water. Baked sweet potato fries, barbecue chicken, and rice bread for lunch. The sweet potato fries are white. This was a big topic of conversation. Although, we never seem to run out of things to talk about.

2:00 pm – Spa Food Lecture. Chef Laurie gives us a lecture which has two themes:

1. Anti -inflammation

2. Packing the most nutrients possible into everything you eat.

Here is Laurie:

TOP 10 TAKEAWAYS from Laurie’s talk (Part 1). Most of the below can be bought from Mount Hope Wholesalers:

1. What NOT to use:

Don’t use corn syrup. Ever. Anything eaten in conjunction with that converts immediately to fat.

Wheat gluten. It is hard to digest and has very high inflammatory properties.

White long grain American rice. Much of it is genetically engineered.

Iodized salt.

Artificial sweeteners (Agave syrup is sweetener of preference. Dark agave for cooking.)

No cow products (Causes inflammation.Use goat cheese and yogurt, and rice milk instead.)

2. Omega 6 and 3 oils -Both are important, despite some folks saying Omega 6 is not important. (I didn’t know about Omega 6, nor did I know people were saying it wasn’t important. So, all of this is news to me). Food labels don’t list it. You can find it in corn, soybean, sunflower and safflower oils. You only need a little bit.

3.Fun with spices and condiments

Crystallized ginger-good for stomach. Also can julienne and put on food.

Peppers-chipotle powder and wasabi or cayenne cajun blend. Cayenne is a natural blood thinner and stimulates metabolism. Experiment with peppers.

Salt-you need it to keep your electrolytes at the proper level. Use sea salt. Kosher is sea salt. Himalayan pink sea salt has some amazing properties. Smoked all natural sea salt-smells amazing and smokey. Use to make veggies and other dishes more interesting.

Dried juniper berries – Mix them with your peppercorns in your pepper grinder. It is a natural anti oxidant and blood astringent.

4. Flax – Very important for women. Sprinkle on cereal, salad, veggies for fiber.

5. Good grains

Teff – It’s the smallest grain in the world. All nutrients are made of outside grain and core. No fluff. You can take meat, lightly coat it with olive oil, put on seasoning, then a bit of Teff. You’ll be adding extra protein, fiber, and a nice nutty flavor.

Amaruth – A grain kids love and it has lots of nutrients, including protein. Kids love it because when they chew into it,it pops. Use it with fresh fruit and veggies to make a chilled salad. It’s delicious

Quinoa (kin-wah) – This is the highest protein grain on the planet. It’s from the Andes. Cook it just like rice. Mix with veggies and a bit of olive oil for a stir fry. You can cook and put it in fridge and will not clump up. Make quinoa mac and cheese by borrowing elbow quinoa, melt goat cheese on top of it, add liquid agave sweetener and 2 drops of yellow food color. Break up rice bread and sprinkle pieces on top. Mix it up. Bake. It has no egg, no cow dairy, no white sugar.

Long grain wild rice – The way to go. No white rice.

4:00 pm Nap. I am slowing catching on sleep, ruthlessly snatched from me over the past year from two very short, very cute, sleep thieves.

6:00 pm Dinner. I had Buffalo meat. It did NOT taste just like chicken. We laughed and talked. Standard. The staff are great. The guests are great. I can only say it so many times.

7:00 pm Massage. With Matt. Amazing.

8:00 pm Back to Sharon and Eydie’s room for girl talk and laughing. Here is what we are laughing about tonight (note, this is PG-13, possibly PG-35).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQQkopQSOlA

We have all unilaterally decided no hike tomorrow, we are planning on sleeping in, drinking coffee, and going to a class or two.

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