Hummus Dip and Kale Chips

I brought this hummus dip to our last Spa Yoga Night at Hourglass Fitness and Wellness.  Some people asked for the recipe, so here it is……already……..so soon.

Both of the following recipes are from “The Virgin Diet” by JJ Virgin.  Her book helped me figure out that I need to eliminate gluten and dairy from my diet.  It has some great recipes in it.  Here are two for snacks.

Hummus Dip

Ingredients:

2 cups canned, drained garbanzo beans

1/3 cup tahini

¼ cup lemon juice

2 crushed cloves garlic

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 pinch paprika

Directions:

Place the garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil and sea salt in a blender or food processor.   Blend until smooth. Transfer mixture to a serving bowl and sprinkle with paprika.  Serve with cucumber, red pepper and jicama spears.

I eat mine with tortilla chips. 

Crispy Kale Chips

Ingredients:

1 head washed, thoroughly dried kale

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Sea salt for sprinkling

Directions:

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.  Remove the ribs from the kale and cut into 1 ½” pieces.  Lay on a baking sheet and toss with olive oil and salt. Bake 10-20 minutes until crisp, turning leaves halfway through. Watch closely.

I made them and they were good.  Next time I think I will use my misto spray bottle and spray the olive oil on them.

 

 

Keen-what? Keen-whaa

I saw this recipe on facebook and I have some leftover Quinoa from last night's dinner so that is what I am having for my second meal today.  I eat five or six times a day. 

 

 

Warm Cinnamon Raisin Quinoa Breakfast

 

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 1 cup Silk Pure Almond Unsweetened Vanilla almondmilk
• ½ cup quinoa, uncooked
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• ½ Tablespoon chia seeds (or ground flax seed)
• 2 Tablespoons raisins
• 1 Tablespoon almond butter (optional)

Instructions

1. Rinse quinoa and drain.
2. Place almondmilk and quinoa into a small sauce pan and bring to a boil.
3. Add cinnamon and vanilla.
4. Reduce to a simmer and cook about 15 minutes, or until all liquid is absorbed. **Watch the pot carefully and stir often because it has a tendency to want to boil over.
5. When ready to eat, place a portion of the quinoa into a bowl, drizzle with maple syrup and top with chia seeds, raisins and nut butter.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 271 Fat: 9g Carbohydrates: 47g Sugar: 16g Protein: 9g

Juicing Recipes

Hi there boot camp challengers and anyone else interested in a health journey!

Here are 3 great juicing recipes that I have tried and love.  They are fairly simple.  A couple of them are an acquired taste, but if you are adventurous, go for it. 

I attended a juicing and cleansing class at Hourglass Fitness and Wellness (www.hourglassfitnessandwellness) presented by Karen Kipp who is a reflexologist and Holistic Health Coach in Kansas City for the last 18 years.  She offers fasting and wellness retreats and has offices in Overland Park and Liberty.  Her website is www.PowerYourJourney.com

The juices we tried were Clean Green Gingersnap, great for overall cleansing.  Spring Liver Tonic, focusing mainly on cleansing the liver.  And last but not least, Liquid Sunshine which contains powerful enzymes and minerals for aiding digestion.

Clean Green Gingersnap

 

1 green apple (cored and sliced)

2-3 handfuls of spinach or kale

half  of one whole lemon (yellow rind removed)

1/2 inch burdock root or radish

thumbnail size ginger root

 

clean green gingersnap

Spring Liver Tonic

 

1 green apple (cored)

half cucumber

1-2 stalks of celery

one quarter medium beet

 

 

Spring Liver Tonic

 

Liquid Sunshine

 

1 green apple (cored)

Handful of strawberries

1 large carrot

1/8 pineapple

small handful of fresh mint (optional)

 

 

For more information on juicing and cleansing Karen has several recommendations.  Read "Juicing for life" and "Juicing, Fasting and Detoxifying your life" by Cheri Calbom.  "Power Juices, Super Drinks" by Steve Meyerowitz. 

 

Karen also does guided 14 day diy cleanse challenge every season for only $29.00.  Also her website www.PowerYourJourney.com



 

 



Plan Ahead for Success

You have probably heard that it takes 21-days to create a habit and good habits, along with consistency, are what you need to help you reach goals in all areas of your life.  That is so true for your fitness and nutrition goals as well.

Here are some habits that can help you stay on track and reach your goals.

1) Plan your week

First, plan your workouts.  Whether you exercise at home or go to a gym or yoga studio put your workouts on your calendar.  We plan our vacations but rarely do we plan our everyday activities that we are so motivated to do, until something else more fun presents itself.  When you have it on a calendar, it just makes it easier to stick to it. 

2) Plan your meals

 The first step in being successful with your diet plan is to plan your menu for the week.  Write it out on a calendar or other form that works for you.    I have a magnetic pad that sticks to my refrigerator and has two sections.  The top section is an area to write down your meals for that day (I just plan dinner because I have several different options that I always stick with for breakfast and lunch) and the bottom half is perforated with an area to make your grocery list, because that is the next important step.

3) Make your grocery list

As you plan your menu for the week,  look to see what you have in your pantry, fridge or freezer and go from there.  Double check to make sure you have all the ingredients, including spices, and also scan the recipe to make sure you don’t need a certain tool or gadget that you might need to pick up.   There’s nothing like getting half-way through meal preparation and finding out you need a garlic press or food processor.  Save yourself the frustration and make sure you have what you need.

4) Prep your food

If you bought fruit for snacks (and I hope you did) , wash and peel or slice fruit and put it in clear, BPA free  container so you and your family can see what there is easily.  Otherwise, you tend to clean out the fridge the following week and through away a lot of good food.  Also, when you’re hungry, don’t you always walk to the refrigerator, open the door and stand there, expecting something quick and yummy to pop into your mouth?  By planning ahead you can make sure you are ready so that you don’t sabotage all your good work.

Also, if you’re making something with lots of fresh vegetables for dinner, prep them ahead of time too.    You can store them in prep bowls or zipper bags so that cooking dinner will be simple and easy.  You can even measure your spices ahead of time and have them ready to add to your dish.

5) Enjoy! You will be amazed how easy it is to eat healthy when you spend a little planning time and get into the habit every week of planning workouts, meals and grocery shopping. 

Remember, if plan A fails, there are 25 more letters in the alphabet so be flexible if plans change at the last minute.  You don’t have to give up your success that you have attained.  Just go to plan B, C, and D and so on.   In 21 days you will have a new habit that will help you be successful in reaching your health and wellness goals.

 

 

Resetting your Fitness Goals for 2013

http://thoughtfulwomen.org/

New Article in Thoughtful Women

It's been awhile since I updated my health and wellness blog so I wanted to give you a couple links to a new article that I wrote for Thoughtful Women and also an older article that I wrote for yahoo. 

I will be writing more soon about plant based diets, yoga, relaxation, anything and everything fun about health and wellness. 

Here is the thoughtful women article. 

http://thoughtfulwomen.org/2013/01/12/shake-up-your-fitness-routine-in-2013/

Be sure and like thoughtful women on fb.  Also like Hourglass Fitness and Wellness on fb to get all the latest info on classes and lectures at Hourglass.

Here is the link to "7 Days of Fitness Routines" on yahoo.

http://voices.yahoo.com/7-days-fitness-routines-shake-exerise-11396294.html?image=2013267&cat=50

These should give you some ideas for getting started on an exercise program or trying something new.

Don't forget to check www.hourglassfitnessandwellness.com for all the latest classes that we have added this year!

Namaste

YogaFit Level 1 Certification

Last weekend I attended Yoga Fit Level 1 Certification.  I didn't know what to expect, but I had a blast!  The trainer was awesome and the 18 people in the class were all great. 

I have been doing yoga for about seven years now, but not consistently.  Last summer I finally realized how beneficial yoga can be for me and for others.  I had thought about teaching and so I did some research and decided to get my YogaFit Level 1 Certification.

I have had a couple different periods of growth in Yoga.  When I first started Yoga it was strictly for exercise, to lose weight and get into shape.  I liked it, but didn't understand what it was really about. 
I wasn't consistent, but kept going back over the years.

Then my husband and I began to travel alot in the winter.  Particularly last year,  I found that I spent so much time "getting in shape" for the trip that I didn't want to be on a roller coaster constantly of lose weight, gain weight on trip, come home, lose weight.  I also didn't want want to deprive myself of the great food on the resorts.  I decided if I worked out a few times at least I could go home without having to start all over.

So I went to the gym at the resort, found some Yoga classes and enjoyed walking and running on the beach.  When I came home and went back to the Y and the yoga studio,  I had imprinted the memories of my Yoga class or my cardio workouts at the resort.  I found that when I walked into the gym back home, it gave me the sensation of being on vacation again.  The sights and smells and sounds of the gym or studio came flooding back.  It made me realize that the time you allow yourself to have to exercise, that you deserve, is like your mini-vacation and I became hooked. 

On one trip, I couldn't find a Yoga class on the resort so I decided to make up my own.  Why not?  I walked down the beach a little ways and found a pier.  I walked out to the end of the pier and I immediately felt so peaceful and relaxed because of the ocean waves and sun, and decided that I had been doing Yoga long enough that I could do a few sun salutations, some warrior poses and get a little bit of a stretch.  I decided I didn't care what people thought either.  I left my ego back on the beach.

This is my yoga pier.  It was a little windy the day Marty took the pic.

Now, whenever I am in Yoga class and coming to a hard balancing pose or deep stretch, I visualize myself on that pier, doing that pose.  I hear the sound of the ocean lapping up against the posts of the pier and feel the sensation of the sea air and smell the smells of the beach and ocean. It really takes me back there.  That is why we travel to have those kinds of experiences and bring them back. 

I also reached a turning point last summer when I was dealing with some stress in my life.  I was having trouble stopping the negative tapes and arguments in my head and I learned that Yoga is not just exercise.  It helps us relax our minds and put negative thoughts where they belong.  The negative thoughts affect our health and well-being and don't allow us to be all we can be as a wife, Mom, whatever we want to be.  We can replace them with positive thoughts of our blessings, opportunities, good health, and healing. 

I am now committed to Yoga several times per week and I look forward to it immensely. It is enjoyable, relaxing and empowering.  You learn something new each practice about what you can do to increase your physical, spiritual and emotional health. 

If you have not tried Yoga, I encourage you to find a class at your gym or a local studio.  I am offering a free class at Hourglass Fitness and Wellness in Wellsville, KS for the month of Oct. & Nov. at 7 p.m. on Thursday.  We have a great time and we have some space left so please join us. 

Now, go out onto your pier, gaze into the magnificent ocean and the power of the waves and imagine all the creatures that God made.  Breathe deeply, close your eyes, relax.  Namaste.