The Process of Cutting Out the Processed...

....FOOD!!!

Yes, it is a challenge at first, but I promise, your body will feel so much better and thank you for making the change!

What are the most common processed foods?

I was going to give you a whole, long list, but then I realized that we all know what the most common processed foods are. As a general rule, processed food has been changed extensively from its raw state. So, if it uses the words bleached, refined, hydrogenated, artificial, additive, powdered, or soy, consider these a RED FLAG! 

So, things like fast food, white wheat flour and bleached white flour, cereal, soda or other sugary drinks, packaged cheese, cookies and CONVENIENT snacks, and processed meats are some of the biggest culprits, and best things to steer clear from!

I use this as a general rule of thumb for the majority of what I eat and try to feed my family:

Read the labels!! The fewer the ingredients, with names you recognize and understand, the more easily your body can break down and absorb what you are feeding it. 

It just makes plain old sense to fully understand what you are eating, be able to pronounce everything on the list of ingredients (if there is a list), and know exactly where that food comes from…don’t you think?

Rather than counting calories, watching fat grams, or reducing carbs for “healthy eating,” simply eat whole foods that, are more the product of nature than “the product of industry.” It really isn't as complicated as you might think!

I was also going to give you a long list of WHY you should eliminate processed foods from your daily life, but we probably all know most of them too! So, I will share my testimony with you:

Since cutting out processed foods, at least 97% of the time, I have had no digestion issues, which was something I struggled with for years! I had gone to doctors, specialists, and finally went to see a nutritionist. I really haven't had any stomach pains, and if I do, I know exactly what caused it. I have so much more energy than I did before! And to tell you the truth, I honestly cannot remember the last time I was sick!

It is not my intention to make the case that junk food is evil and the world will end if you eat it. Obviously, that is not the case.

In some cases, food processing is beneficial in that it helps neutralize the natural toxins in food before they are consumed.

And sometimes you just want to eat something simply because you like the taste and nothing and no one better get in between you and that double chocolate brownie!! Eating a little processed food now and then won't have a great effect on your overall health. The human body is pretty resilient.

However, a continuous diet of only junk food will certainly have an effect on your well being and your long term risk of disease.

With all of that said, here is your MISSION, should you choose to accept it (yes, I have been on a Mission Impossible kick lately and am waiting, rather impatiently for another one to be made!):

Think about what you have been eating lately. Find what YOU consider to be the most unhealthy thing that you eat on a regular basis. This could be a burger from your favorite fast food joint, a soda, chips, or even those delicious thin mint cookies! Instead, replace it with something a little more healthy like a glass of water or even naturally flavored water, an apple, some celery, a handful of raw almonds, some greek yogurt...and the list goes on!

Don't worry! I won't leave you hanging! I will walk you through this each step of the way! Ethan Hunt had a team to back him up on his missions and so do you! (Ahhh!! There better be another movie coming out soon!!!) :)

Stay tuned for more tips and healthy alternative choices!

A Very Blustery Photo Shoot

So excited! Here are some of my favorites from our very blustery photo shoot with James Leash from Sharp Eye Images in Old Sacramento.  The wind helped make for some great pics...but man!! I felt like Mary Poppins being blown around everywhere! :)

A big thank you to Sharp Eye Images! Check him out at sharp-eyeimages.com.

Hot versus Not!

Some like it hot and sweaty...

Yoga, that is!

But let me explain why I choose heated yoga over non-heated yoga:

Here are some of the physical benefits of heated yoga:

• heat improves your circulation
• heat improves muscle elasticity (this means that your body will be a little more flexible after warming up than it would normally be)
• it induces a great sweat and really INCREASES the calorie burn (and who doesn't LOVE to burn more calories)
• It makes what might not otherwise be a cardio workout and makes it cardio (and let me tell you, at least 30 minutes of Power Vinyasa is a killer cardio workout!)
• It helps your body learn to cool itself more effectively
• it creates a detox through the largest organ of the body (the skin)
• IT IS LIKE GETTING A FREE FACIAL - all over your body! 
• It also creates an intensity that either forces you to give up or to still your mind and be in the moment...and that is the entire purpose of yoga. 
• Hot yoga may also help people with arthritis, asthma, allergies, unstable blood pressure, thyroid regulation and many, many other conditions. 

There really isn't even a comparison...hot verses not! 

With that said, it is very, very important to drink lots of water during and after any heated yoga class to hydrate your body, and it does take about a 2 week physical acclimation process to adapt to the heat.  During this two week period it is especially important for new practitioners to pace themselves, listen to there bodies and take rest.  A good rule of thumb for hydration is consuming 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water per day.  Consumption must be spread out so you body can assimilate. 

This is what we educate our students at Akasha with when they ask why the studio is heated.  Does it take some getting used to? Sure. Is doing yoga in the heat worth some personal discomfort at first? Yes!

But, don't take my word for it...

...Try it out for yourself!

If you have ever thought about taking a yoga class, there is no time like the present! Try it out! Or, if you still have questions or concerns, let me know! I would love to help!

The Un-Green Smoothie

I am so thrilled by the positive response that my blog posts have been getting. So many people have told me that they can't wait to try these recipes or that this was just the positive encouragement that they needed to help them be more healthy in their life. I can't tell you how happy this makes me! For me, it isn't necessarily about reaching thousands of people, although that would be wonderful, but if my posts can make a difference in just one person's life, then I consider this blog a success!!

Today, I wanted to talk about how to eat your greens without knowing that you are doing it. Most of us know that the most nutritious fruits and veggies are the darkest and brightest colored ones. Dark greens, reds, oranges...these are filled with tons or vitamins and minerals that our bodies crave to stay in optimal health. And if you didn't already know that, then NEWS FLASH!! EAT MORE FRUITS AND VEGGIES! But, for some reason, many kids and even adults just won't eat anything green! I really don't know why the greens get the bad rap. To me, there are worse tasting things...like beets, which I really have to trick myself into eating...so, what do you do when your kids...or even adults...won't eat all of those awesome green veggies!!?

Solution: throw them in a smoothie with other fruits/veggies and other healthy treats that change the color from green to red, purple, or chocolate...and TA-DA!! No more green smoothie!! And, I promise, they won't even know the "icky green stuff" is in there! Believe me, I had to do this for my husband at first...apparently if it is green it isn't appealing, even though he loves his spinach salads, but if it looks like chocolate, well, then the world isn't ending anymore!

So, what are some things you can add that change the flavor or color of a green smoothie? How about peanut butter (no more than 2 tbsp)! This will add some protein and a strong nutty flavor that really makes your taste buds forget everything else.  Try adding some frozen berries! These nutrient rich babies will make your smoothie a nice deep shade of red or purple! Or, everyone's favorites, chocolate! Add 1-2 tbsp cocoa powder to your shake and you might even think your were drinking a chocolate milkshake!

If you suffer from spinach-phobia, try this recipe on for size:

What you will need:

• 2 cups fresh spinach
• 1/2 banana
• 8-10 oz of almond milk or non-fat milk
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup plain greek yogurt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• Natural sweetener like stevia or agave to taste
• 1-2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 4-6 ice cubes
• Optional - 1/2 tsp maca powder
• Optional - 1 scoop Amazing Greens Chocolate Greens Superfood

Directions:

1. Add ingredients to Vita-Mix or other high powdered blender
2. Blend until smooth
3. Pour in glass and drink until all gone!

See! It is more chocolate than green, but you can really add more cocoa powder until all the green is gone if you wish (Note: I actually added only about 1/2 tbsp in mine)! My daughter gets so excited when I turn the blender on in the morning! She can't wait until I bring the glass over to her to have a drink!

Guiltless, Flourless Zucchini Brownies (Vegan/Gluten Free)

Here is a riddle for you: What do you do when you have 80 cups of shredded zucchini in the freezer??

You make lots of zucchini relish, raw zucchini pasta, zucchini bread, zucchini brownies, and anything else you can add zucchini to!

You might be wondering why in the world we have 80 cups of zucchini in our freezer! Well, I am so glad you asked. :) Last summer our garden was overtaken with zucchini! It was great, but as fast as I could use them and give them away, we still had more! So, I cut it up and threw it in my trusty food processor, and measured out into ziplock bags and then put those in ziplock bags, and then labeled them. So, now I have plenty of zucchini to use throughout the year.

Yesterday was our Yoga Teacher Training Potluck Celebration and I knew exactly what I was going to make!

Flourless Zucchini Brownies! They are vegan and gluten free, and even Paleo approved...and the best part...they are AMAZING!! Good thing I made extra because I certainly ate more batter than I needed! YUM! :)

Here is what you will need:

• 1 cup sunflower seed butter or cashew butter (you can use almond or peanut butter, but I prefer a butter with less of a nutty flavor)
• 2 cups shredded zucchini (thawed if you are like me and have it in the freezer)
• 1/2 cup agave (or honey if you don't care if it is vegan or not)
• 1 tbsp ground flax seed + 3 tbsp water (mix together and set aside for a little bit to gel up) - this is an egg substitute so if you are not going for the vegan option, use 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips (use gluten free chips if you are going for the gluten free option)

I know, lots of options! But, that is one thing that I love! You can practically customize this recipe to meet your needs.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine all ingredients into a large bowl and mix together.
3. Pour batter into a greased 8x8 baking pan.
4. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

         

These little babies almost didn't make it to the potluck...but good thing they did because they were a hit! And what I love most...I don't even feel guilty eating all of them! :)

Powerhouse Cookies - Even Toddlers Love Them

I love cookies, but who doesn't, right!? But, I don't love all the stuff that most cookies have in them. And, let's face it, most everyday cookies, while delicious down to the last bite, are really just empty calories.  They  don't really have any healthy nutritional value, and personally, I want to get the biggest bang for my buck, so to speak. I try to think of everything I eat as fuel and medicine for my body because your body is only going to feel as good as the food you are fueling it with. As my anatomy teacher and doctor always says, if you fueled yourself with twinkies for years and years, your body is going to start to become like the structures of a twinkie (soft and squishy) because your body doesn't have much to work with when you are only fueling it with twinkies. Makes sense, right!

But...we all have our weaknesses. Mine is dark chocolate! But, dark chocolate has lots of great antioxidants, so in moderation, it is great, which is why I added some dark chocolate chips to my cookies, but without the chips, they are even vegan!

So, last Saturday morning I pulled a bunch of stuff out from my pantry and threw it all in my food processor (one of my best friends in my kitchen!). Here is what I had:

Talk about a powerhouse group of food!! We have whole grain from the rolled oats, protein from the natural peanut butter, healthy omega-3's and anti-oxidants from the chia seeds, natural sugar from the bananas, and even something to help balance out your endocrine system with the maca powder. If you don't know much about maca powder, great! Neither did I until about a year ago, so let me explain:

Maca is really a root that naturally grows in the Andes mountains of Peru. This root has been used as a food source for hundreds of years, and many Peruvians also use it for its medicinal purposes. The root is packed with nutritionally-rich substances which contribute a good balance to your daily diet. This root is full of minerals and vitamins including calcium, mineral magnesium, iron, vitamin C, and even vitamins B1, B2, B6, and B12. On top of that, it also includes fiber and tons of fatty acids. Maca offers help to balance out our endocrine system, such as the adrenals, pancreatic, pituitary and thyroid gland. To sum this up in one word: HORMONES! For both women and men, so you really can't go wrong with this stuff! I will say this, it does have a strong stringent flavor, which is why I add it to things like smoothies and cookies. And it doesn't take much. One serving is 1 tsp. I came across maca powder after I had my little one and I definitely think it helped balance out my post pregnancy hormones!

POWERHOUSE COOKIES

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 4 ripe to very ripe bananas
• 1/4 cup natural peanut butter
• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp maca powder
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (omit for vegan option or use carob chips)

First, preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Then, throw all your ingredients into your food processor, except for the chocolate chips, then blend until it is without lumps. It should be a dough-like consistency. Next, add in the chocolate chips and pulse until the chips are mixed in.

Now, spoon your dough onto your cookie sheet. These cookies do not spread much at all, so spacing on your cookie sheet isn't much of an issue.

Then, place in oven and bake for 10-12 minutes (it is better to slightly under bake than it is to over bake these). Then remove from your oven and let cool on sheet for a few minutes before you place on a wire rack to finish cooling.

Now, inhale these tasty little treats! I mean, thoughtfully eat one by one...

These little guys don't last very long in my house. And the best part is, I don't hesitate to feed them to my little 15 month old. She loves them!! And I love feeding them to her!

So, the question is, do these taste as good as your everyday go-to cookie recipe? No, they don't. To me, they taste even BETTER because knowing something is honest-to-goodness healthy fuel for my body makes it taste way better than the alternative! I believe that if we start thinking about our food with that mentality, it will really change how we view and taste our food.

Busy Yogi

Today turned out to be a much busier day than I planned! All I was planning to do was run up to my old work at UCD to teach a lunch time beginners yoga class, then go take my friends class at Akasha Vacaville in the afternoon. But, that changed very quickly.

I still taught the beginners class at UCD, which will now be a weekly class every Thursday. However, I was also asked to sub the 4:30 class at Akasha Davis! Woohoo! My first time teaching a class where everything was my own!! There were 17 students, so a medium sized class and it was great! I had lots of compliments, so I was very happy. Then I was asked to take the 6:00 class, since the sub was a guest teacher in the Davis area. It was a great class!

I definitely brought this to the forefront today...you never know what the day might bring, so be flexible!  I think we can apply this in all of our lives. I know that this is especially helpful for me as a mom! :)

Assisting classes and teaching the beginner class at UCD has helped me to see why people feel they can't do yoga. It is mostly the, "I am NOT flexible" or "I don't look like that person when I do it" mentality. What I want to try to get people to understand is that you do NOT have to be flexible to do yoga, and you do NOT have to look like the person next to you. There are modifications for everyone! And if you are doing a modification, that is the fullest expression of that pose for you and that is OK!! Our bodies are all built differently! I was not able to do half or more of what I can do now six years ago when I started. So, be patient with yourself. Trying is half the battle. The other half is trying again!

Here's a little yoga humor for ya! :)

Tomorrow, I am going to try to start breaking down some poses so that beginners will feel more comfortable   with what they are doing AND prevent injury, and more experienced yogis can use this as a reminder, because sometimes we all need to go back to the basics!

Can't wait to share

Today, some of my friends from our recent training and I did a yoga photo shoot with photographer James Leash from Sharp-Eye Images. We met down in Old Sacramento early this morning. Unfortunately, the wind and cool weather met us down there too. Burrr!! Although, I think the wind might have made from some cool shots, so I can't wait to see how they turned out!

The only down side to the day...I got a parking ticket!! Apparently there were not enough cars there this morning to keep the meter guy busy, and he ticketed me literally 8 minutes after my meter went out!

Deep yoga breath!! Ok, a little better...

Now, off to assist the 4:30 class at Akasha in Davis. Assisting in classes is a great way to connect with people and give a little love back to the community!

Stay tuned....this week I am going to start breaking down some poses!

Cucumber Coconut Smoothie...Delish!!!

I am a smoothie-aholic!! I loved smoothies before I got pregnant with my munchkin, but once I was pregnant and in my 2nd and 3rd trimester, I would get the very common heartburn. So, one thing I decided to try for my dinners were smoothies. I am not talking about smoothies with ice cream and fruit either. I am talking about beautiful bright green smoothies! Spinach, kale, avocado, cucumber...just throw it all in! Not only did I  have little to no heartburn when I would drink a smoothie for dinner, I also knew that my little one was getting lots of healthy nutrients (I also always kid around that this is why we never had to hold her head up...she was born holding it up herself, and I am not kidding about that!!!). And to this day, my little munchkin still loves my green smoothies!

Today, I wanted to try something a little different and to be honest, I wasn't sure if I would like it, but sometimes I just have these feelings about things...ok, maybe call it a crazy idea, and I try them, and what do ya know...not bad at all! Ok, I had some cilantro in the fridge that I needed to use up, so here is what went into my Vitamix:

1 cup light coconut milk (you can sub with regular instead of light)

1/2 to 1 cup water

1 small cucumber, sliced

1 bunch of cilantro

1/2 scoop of vanilla protein powder of choice (I used my Life's Basics Plant Protein Mix in Natural Vanilla - I love this!)

2 tsp agave

A dash of cinnamon

5-7 ice cubes

Blend until smooth! Now, try it!

Ok, if you don't like cilantro, you probably aren't going to like this, but fortunately for me, I love cilantro and LOVED this smoothie! I will definitely be making this again...as soon as I go to the store for more cilantro!! :)

Why I choose Yoga

Oh, where to begin?? Let’s start with why I choose to come to my yoga mat, over and over again.  My first experience with vinyasa yoga was through Tony Horton, the creator of P90x, an intense, extreme home workout program. Yes, I realize that this might sound silly. But, included in his program was a 90 minute vinyasa styled yoga DVD, so I did it…and I loved it! Soon thereafter, I went with a friend to a Bikram studio.. I liked it, but something was missing for me. Not long after that I went with another friend to her Power Vinyasa Flow studio in Sacramento. That was it! I fell in love!

At first, I think it was more about the killer workout, or as one of my teachers would call it, the yoga booty. She would say, “If you came to get the yoga booty, you came to the right place. But, keep coming back, and the yoga will sink in.” And she was correct. The yoga sunk in. I proceeded to tell as many family and friends as I could about yoga! “Yoga is awesome! You should come with me sometime,” I would say to them. Many of my friends, including my sister, did go with me, and continue to practice still. I am so grateful that they let me drag them to a class because I am pretty sure that if you asked any one of them, they would tell you that they don’t regret it.

On Left: Me, 24 years old, prior to embarking on my path to lead a healthy lifestyle, both mentally and physically.
On Right: Me, 30 years old, after my first pregnancy, and currently on my path of health & wellness.

The last couple years, my passion for yoga was solidified. I had a pretty solid practice when I got pregnant, so I knew that I would continue to practice throughout my pregnancy, and I consider this among one of the best decisions I had ever made. I practiced up until the day I went into labor (and I mean this literally)! I truly wanted to have a natural birth and a quick recovery, and I wholeheartedly believe that yoga helped me do that. I picked my practice back up about two weeks postpartum, easing back in, of course, but within a couple weeks, I felt like I had never even been pregnant. So, you might see why I am a huge advocate for yoga!

Now, obviously, I am not planning on running out and telling every pregnant woman that she should start doing yoga! But, I think there is something to be said about how your physical body can benefit from yoga. That being said, I want to touch upon how yoga’s teachings helped me during my labor. I believe that our society has brainwashed us to believe that childbirth is a hectic period of time where the woman is yelling and cussing at the father of the baby and nurses are running around everywhere and this is just how it is, thanks to Hollywood. I personally did not want it to be that way. I wanted my husband and I both to have a great experience. So, I channeled some of the key things that yoga has taught me. I used my breath as a tool, probably more than I have ever even used it in any one of my practices. I stayed in the present moment. I focused my energy on what I was doing at that moment. One of my favorite teachings since I have been practicing yoga is that the poses, the asana, the practice, they are just a metaphor for life. When the poses get hard, do you come out because your mind tells you that your body can’t handle it, or do you stay and breathe through the discomfort? When life gets hard and uncomfortable, do you run away or do you dig deep within yourself and stay? Since I couldn't exactly run away from having that little baby, I dug deep, deeper than I have ever had to go, and this was longer than a 75 minute Power Vinyasa Flow class, but I did it!

One month before I had my little one

After I had my daughter, I started going to the Akasha Hot Yoga Studio in Vacaville. I was thrilled that it was so much closer to home! Then I found out they were going to be starting their first teacher training program that summer. This was something I had always wanted to do, but never felt I could commit the time while working a Monday through Friday 8-5 job. But, apparently I could make time while working a Sunday through Saturday 24 hour job as a mom…haha! The joke was on me I guess…no, but really, with the support of my wonderful husband and family, I embarked on this journey in January 2013, and just wrapped up training in March, 9 weeks and 200 plus hours after starting. What an amazing, eye opening experience! My teachers and peers at our Akasha Davis Studio Teacher Training Winter 2013 were wonderful!

Sometimes, I don’t even know where to begin when I am explaining the benefits of yoga to someone. Where do I start? Do I explain the physical health benefits that they might gain, like relieve back pain, or strength building, or increased flexibility, and the list goes on? Or do I explain how yoga has been proven to help reduce anxiety, increase body awareness, decrease insomnia, or help alleviate stress? Or maybe I explain how yoga helps boost your confidence and helps you love yourself and others with less judgment? I could tell them some of these things, or maybe all of them, but more than anything, I know that if I can get them to try yoga for themselves, just once even, that I wouldn't have to tell them any of those things. They would experience it all for themselves.