Archive for category Yoga Nutrition
The Skinny on Cravings
Posted by yogatribeandculture in Yoga Nutrition on November 4th, 2009
The Holiday season is upon us and especially with the cool weather, our taste buds start wanting something a little less light and nutritious and more decadent. Ate one too many pieces of that luscious pumpkin pie recently and want more?
Fear not! Nutritionist Christa Orecchio de-mystifies that very human tendency of ‘Cravings’. Enjoy!
The body is an amazing source of intelligence. It is always there for you, pumping blood, never skipping a heartbeat, digesting whatever food you put in it, and maintaining homeostasis. Is this reliable, intelligent bio-computer making a mistake by craving ice cream or a hamburger or chocolate? Are cravings due to lack of will-power or discipline? I’d like to suggest that cravings are not a problem. They are critical pieces of information that tell you what your body needs.
The important thing is to understand why you crave what you crave. Perhaps your diet is too strict, devoid of essential nutrients. Perhaps you are living a lifestyle that is too boring or stressful. Your body tries to correct the imbalance by sending you a message: a craving. A craving for something sweet could mean you need more protein, more exercise, more water, or more love in your life. The key to stopping the sugar craving is to understand what your body really needs.
Your body knows best and is always trying to create balance. However, products like refined foods, sugar, caffeine, alcohol and drugs, which have little or no nutritional value, are confusing to the body. They throw it off balance and can create serious cravings, as your body tries to get what it needs to restore internal harmony. The more your food is whole and healthy, the easier it is for your body to stay in balance, giving you a happier, healthier life.
No book or theory can tell you what to eat, only awareness of your body and its needs. Of all the relationships in our life, the one with our body is most essential, and it takes communication, love, and time to cultivate. As you learn to decipher and respond to your body’s cravings, you will create a deep lasting level of health and balance.
The next time you have a craving, treat it as a loving message from your body instead of as a weakness. Try these steps to respond to your body:
• First have a glass of water and wait ten minutes.
• Eat a healthier version of what you crave. For example, if you crave sweets, try eating more fruit or root vegetables. What is out of balance in you life? Is there something you need to express, something being repressed? What happened in your life just before you had this craving?
• When you eat the food you are craving, enjoy it, taste it, savor it; notice its affects. Then you can be more aware and free to decide if you really want it next time.
The Yoga of Gardening
Posted by yogatribeandculture in Yoga Nutrition on August 14th, 2009
The Yoga of Gardening
One of the most basic and precious things we have in this life is Time. It is so easy for it to get away from us in this modern, hectic and multitasking world and we cut it up into smaller and smaller pieces. As we wear so many hats – we are mothers, fathers, business people, intra or entrepreneurs, teachers or students amongst many other roles it’s easy to lose that connection with what birthed us in the first place. Mother Nature, the seasons and the cycle of life – we live in these bodies on this plane, subject to all the natural rhythms but especially if we live in an urban place, we grow unaware of these and we suffer.
We self- medicate with more tasks or activities, more food or alcohol or drugs. It is as if we are numbing ourselves to feel: safe, worthy or a part of a greater whole.
The biggest factor I have found in finding and maintaining balance as a busy entrepreneur and designer, is to grow a garden. The Yoga of Gardening is my favorite spiritual path so far this year. As with anything and especially as we observe in our own bodies, gardening, like yoga, doesn’t yield immediate rewards. In fact it can be downright inconvenient, tedious and ruin a good manicure in two seconds flat. But making that first commitment to breaking ground or buying that self-watering container, is the first step to being a Creator. As you go into the process more, you may even fall in love.
Like preparing for an asana or meditation process, where you choose to do the practice of gardening is very important. Make sure the location you choose gets enough light – for a good vege garden, at least 6 hours of sun per day, with at least 2/3 of the area in full sun.
The next critical component is the soil. Most soil in urban areas has not been sufficiently worked with organic material to build a good texture or has toxic residues from any number of sources. If you are planning to build a garden using already existing soil, you can take a soil sample and send to a lab where they can do an analysis on residues and pH. (Most veges and flowers do well in slightly acidic soil of 6.1-6.8) This is pretty inexpensive and very worthwhile. To find a lab, look for a local Department of Agriculture.
Building raised beds from scratch or using a container to plant in, is the perfect solution in a small space. This way you can control the location and the soil content. If you are building raised beds out of wood, be sure you are using untreated wood as the chemicals will leach into the soil. A cool and cost-effective way to build beds is using recycled hardscape, such as concrete or concrete blocks or bricks. This is also great to create tiers if the pieces are wide which is perfect for space challenged areas.
A good mixture to use for planting is top soil, animal manure (such as steer or horse – this can be bought already partially decomposed) and compost. A good quarry or garden supply store should have all of these in stock. Make sure to choose organically sourced manure and compost wherever possible. Remember you will be eating the fruits of your labor.
Now, depending on your geographical location, you should be ready to plant. In Southern California, we are lucky enough to have a long growing season and plant most things all year around. The USDA has a hardiness map you can check online to plan your planting schedule. But don’t get hung up on the details too much. Just get planting! Start with quick, easy-to-grow things such as lettuces, radishes, tomatoes, some herbs like basil, parsley and chives. Arugula is perfect for impatient (and hungry) gardeners. A great companion plant to help keep pests at bay and create more beauty are marigolds. Have these in pots next to your container garden or plant in the beds themselves.
There is nothing as exciting as growing something from seed that you planted with your own hands. Look at your garden and observe your breath. Flowers and vegetables are so inherently perfect as they emerge and grow from seed. They are channeling a powerful energy with a perfect stillness. They exemplify to me, to quote from BKS Iyengar’s Light on the Yoga Sutras, ‘The Seer (who) dwells in his own splendor’.
I will be posting a video version of this post in a week or so where you can see our actual garden. In the meantime, get out there and start growing your own food! It’s the most radical thing you can do for yourself and your loved ones.
Carmena
The Power Of Green Smoothies
Posted by kippstroden in Yoga Nutrition on July 28th, 2009
Many people know that eating dark leafy greens (Kale, Collards, Spinach etc…) is good for human health, but our busy lifestyles often get in the way of eating our “Fruits and Veggies”. An easy and enjoyable way of consuming the ideal amount of greens daily is by blending the raw greens with fruit. You will need a blender to do this but with this kind of smoothie, the body can absorb the essential nutrients much more efficiently. Also you get an immediate energy boost and all it takes just three minutes to make and clean up. This is an incredible way to take control of your own health.
I have so much energy and clarity from eating green smoothies it has been a revolution in my fast paced life running a fast growing organic food company. Often I drink a quart for breakfast and then head to the office then I eat a good sized lunch of healthy food and then have a quart of monkey smoothie for dinner. The results? Weight loss, lots of energy, great digestion and restful sleep. These smoothies have mega fiber so BAM!!! Your digestion will be humming. Good digestion is key to good health and staying disease and illness free.
Although it seems like a simple idea I was inspired to eat green smoothies or “Monkey Smoothies” by reading a book called Green For Life by Victoria Boutenko. In the book she compares the standard American diet with the diet of wild chimpanzees. Chimpanzees share an estimated 99.4% of genes with humans, but their diet is dramatically different from ours. Their diet consists of essentially 50% dark greens and 50% fruit. Based on these observations, Victoria has developed a series of green smoothie recipes that enable anyone to consume the necessary amount of greens daily in a delicious way.
Here is some info from Victoria the author:
1. Green smoothies are very nutritious. The ratio in them is optimal for human consumption; about 60% ripe organic fruit mixed with about 40% organic greens.
2. Green smoothies are easy to digest. When blended well, most of the cells in the greens and fruits are ruptured, making the valuable nutrients easy for the body to assimilate. Green smoothies literally start to get absorbed in your mouth.
3. Green smoothies, as opposed to juices, are a complete food because they still have fiber. Consuming fiber is important for our elimination system.
4. Green smoothies belong to the most palatable dishes for all humans of all ages. With a ratio of fruits to veggies as 60:40 the fruit taste dominates the flavor, yet at the same time the greens balance out the sweetness of the fruit, adding a nice zest to it. People who eat a standard American diet enjoy the taste of green smoothies. They are usually quite surprised that something so green could taste so nice.
5. A molecule of chlorophyll closely resembles a molecule of human blood. According to teachings of Dr. Ann Wigmore, consuming chlorophyll is like receiving a healthy blood transfusion. By drinking two or three cups of green smoothies daily you will consume enough greens for the day to nourish your body, and all of the beneficial nutrients will be well assimilated.
6. Green smoothies are easy to make, and quick to clean up after. In contrast, juicing greens is time consuming, messy, and expensive. Many people abandon drinking green juices on a regular basis for those reasons. To prepare a pitcher of green smoothie takes less than 5 minutes, including cleaning.
7. Green smoothies have proven to be loved by children of all ages, including babies of six or more months old. Of course you have to be careful and slowly increase the amount of smoothies to avoid food allergies.
8. When you consume your greens in the form of green smoothies, you can greatly reduce the consumption of oils and salt in your diet.
9. Regular consumption of green smoothies forms a good habit of eating greens. After a few weeks of drinking green smoothies, most people start to crave and enjoy eating more greens. Eating enough greens is often a problem with many people, especially children. While fresh is always best, green smoothies will keep in cool temperatures for up to three days, which can be handy at work and while traveling.
Start playing with green smoothies, and discover the many joys and benefits of this wonderful delicious and nutritious addition to your menu. Add superfoods to them as well to boost their power available at beonliving.com.
You may find many more amazing facts about green smoothies in
Victoria Boutenko’s book, Green for Life, available at www.rawfamily.com.
Below are five green smoothie recipes. They are merely basic ideas for your green creations. Feel free substitute these ingredients with your own choice of greens and fruits. Enjoy!
Green Smoothie Recipes
Apple-kale-lemon
4 apples
½lemon juice
5 leaves of kale
2 cups water
Blend until smooth
Strawberry-banana-romaine
1-cup strawberries
2 bananas
½ bunch romaine
2 cups water
Blend until smooth
Peach-spinach
6 peaches
2 handfuls of spinach leaves
2 cups water
Blend until smooth
Mango-weeds
2 mangos
1 handful of edible weeds, such as lambsquarters, stinging nettles, purslane, etc
2 cups water
Blend until smooth
Pear-kale-mint
4 ripe pears
5 leaves of kale
½ bunch of mint 2 cups water
Blend until smooth
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