Archive for May, 2009

Tropical Smoothie

Friday, May 29th, 2009

Last weekend I was home at my parents in Rockland County. It was a nice break from the city.  I went canoeing at Baker Camp in Sloatsburg, NY in Harriman State Park, walking at Rockland Lake and gardening at the house with mom. It was a very relaxing weekend and had some great quality time with mom!!

We decided to take a break from gardening to make a smoothie. 

This is what we put into the smoothie

2 champagne magoes

1 cup coconut water

1 cup ice

1 cup pineapple

Serve in a glass either alone or you can add my favorite liqueur St. Germain

Kale Salad

Friday, May 29th, 2009

This is a great way to get your kale in your daily diet. It has a sweet taste with the currants and a creamy taste with the parmesan cheese.

1 bunch of dinosaur kale

1 cup currants

1/2 cup olive oil

2-3 lemons 

1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

 

Chop kale into tiny pieces and put into large bowl. Add olive oil lemon juice, cheese and currants and toss all together. 

Serve. You can add a little bragg’s amino acids for a litte bit of salt. Delish:)

Yoga Journal Conference NYC

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

This past weekend I had the fortunate opportunity to attend the Yoga Journal Conference in NYC. It was another great year of teachers and classes that I have never taken before. 

I took a class with Dharma Mittra a 70 year old small Indian man who exudes the happiness of the Dalai Lama, always smiling and at any moment might flip upside down into an arm balance. His class was pretty advanced and while it was my first experience with him as a teacher, many of the other men and women seemed to know exactly what was going to happen next. Dharma taught a flow class . At the end we all chanted hare krisna, which I am assuming is a part of all Dharma’s classes. It was very spiritual for me and since I love to sing, I enjoyed myself!

A favorite teacher of mine that I have taken many times is Shiva Rea. She taught another inspiring and energetic trance dance class. Her music is one of the best parts of her classes. She plays everything from krishna das to the dum dum project to bollywood music. You can purchase her music on amazon.com. My new favorite albums are Naturaja and Yoga Sol. We danced and moved for two long hrs and I loved every minute! Everyone if they get a chance should experience a Shiva Rea trance dance yoga class. 

Yesterday was one the of the best parts of the weekend attending the Urban Zen day with Donna Karan as the main funder of the organization. Donna Karan, Jaimie Nauright, Christiane Northrup, Robert Thurman, Tracy from Young Living Oils, Jill Pettijohn,Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidman Yee were all there and presented heaps of information on various topics including western vs. eastern pregnancy, therpaeutic grade oils and how they can help the patient heal in a more palatbale environment, juicing and the importance of greens in our diet and yoga poses whether you are lying in bed, sitting in a chair or on your mat. We meditated with Robert Thurman and Rodney and Colleen and had the opportunity to be in the presence of such accomplished individuals in their fields.

Thanks to everyone for an amazing weekend!!

Greens, greens and more greens

Thursday, May 14th, 2009

So lately I have been on a major green drink kick. I make a green juice every morning and sometimes in the evening as well. I have had a juicer for a while but never used it because i thought it was such a hassle to clean-up. But now I am back on the green machine and loving every moment!!

There are many benefits of drinking green juice. First, greens have enzymes that we need to cleanse, detoxify and renew at a cellular level. Enzymes are also needed to digest food. We cannot have amazing health without enzymes. Cooking and processing of any type destroys all enzymes, so raw food, especially greens, is absolutely essential to maintain healthy enzyme levels. A daily green juice is a sure way to maintain enzyme levels. Greens are high in vitamin K, which is a fat soluble vitamin. Vitamin K is very important for adhering calcium into your bone matrix to help you build stronger bones.

Juicing can make greens more palatable. This is because you can add an apple, carrot or kiwi. It is essential not to overdo it though  because they can raise blood sugar levels, but adding an apple, carrot or kiwi to a green juice transforms it into a delicious juice that you will enjoy!!

When you juice, you are probably drinking more vegetables than you can eat in a day. Juicing also allows you to consume a wide variety of greens all at once. You most likely wouldn’t have kale, cucumber, celery and parsley for breakfast, but you will enjoy it as a juice.

OKay so here is my daily morning green juice:

  • 2 stalks of celery
  • 3 leaves of kale or chard
  • 1/2 cucumber (english)
  • bunch of parsley
  • 1 apple
  • piece of ginger
  • 1/2 lemon- squeezed in after juicing

Enjoy!!!