How Pilates is Beneficial for Winter Sports

Pilates is a great workout that helps transition the body to excel in many sports.  In this post I would like to address specifically how Pilates is great for a Skier. 

Skiing generally involves the whole body, but the primary muscles activated are those located in the lower body: hip muscles, hamstrings, quadriceps, calves, and muscles in the feet.

The primary muscles include: gluteus medius, peroneus longus, adductor longus, gluteus maximus, rectus femoris, vastus intermedius, biceps femoris and semimembranosis.

During skiing the action the muscles take is in an eccentric fashion.  The rate at which these contractions occur are relatively slow compared to other activities, like running, due to the hips staying in the relatively same position during most of the skiing action. 

Some great exercises from Pilates that are most beneficial to a skier are as follow:

-Standing and Kneeling Inner Thighs

-Speed Skater

-Spider

-Scrambled Eggs

-Bungee

-Bridge

-Bridge with a High Heel

-Legs in straps exercises

-If you have a jump board in your machine, than any and all feet work on the jump board

-Lunge

-Floor Lunge

-Grasshoper

Spruce up your Chicken Soup with these simple add-ins

Got an ordinary chicken soup recipe laying around that just doesn't seem all that exciting anymore?  There are many options you can create to add variety and excitement to your chicken soup recipe.

 

 

 

Lets start with a simple chicken soup recipe like the one found here.

Ingredients:

500 g skinless chicken breasts
3 carrots, chopped
4 celery, chopped
1 parsnip, chopped
1 leek, chopped
1 cup green beans, chopped
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped finely
1 garlic clove, crushed
3 -4 tablespoons chicken stock
8 cups water
salt & pepper

Directions:

1 Bring water to boil.
2 In the meantime, cut up all the vegetables into small cubes.
3 Cut the chicken into 1cm cubes.
4 Add the vegetables and garlic and stock and boil on high heat for 5 minutes, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
5 Add chicken and bring to boil for 2 minutes, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or longer.
6 Soup is ready when all ingredients have sunk to the bottom!

One Way to add some extra flavor to this recipe is to add it at the end.  This is an easy variation if you are serving it to a number of people with different palates.  Each person could potential have their own toppings to their own liking, or a variation of the toppings I added to mine.  The toppings I added to my soup are: jalapenos, sliced avocado and diced cherry tomatoes.

A second way to add variation is to play with the ingredients themselves while it is cooking.  Testing out different vegetable options can add a great about of variation and color to your soup.  Try some zucchini and red paper flakes.  I would recommend spiraling the zucchini to give it a noodle texture to the soup.  These can simple be added when you add in the vegetables.  For the red pepper flakes I would add those in the very beginning when you start boiling your water.  That way the red flakes have time to open up and release their flavors into the water, vegetables and chicken.  You can even allow the red pepper flake water to boil a few minutes before you begin adding ingredients.

If you are lacking time to create a soup.  Throw everything into a slow cooker and let it do its magic beginning in the morning.  Allowing the soup to cook all day will give you the chance to enjoy the soup for a nice warm dinner.  Another option to lessen time is to buy an organic rotisserie chicken already cooked.  Whole foods is a great option.  Just take the skin and chop up the meat.  No need to cook the chicken beforehand...just warm it up again with your vegetables in the boiling water.

Lastly, if  you find you are someone who doesn't feel satisfied after a soup or don't have something to go along with your soup then just add brown rice.  You can add the rice in with your ingredients if you are doing the slow cooker option.  Just make sure you add in a couple more cups of water for the rice to absorb.  Or you can cook your rice along side your soup at the same time.  Then add together at the end.  Or for the time crunch, places like Trader Joe's offer single pouch quick cooking rice that you can heat up real quick and add to your soup.

Super Anti-Oxidant Smoothie (dairy free, added sugar free, gluten free, soy free)

Hi all!

I just wanted to drop in quickly to share with you a super anti-oxidant smoothie that is a sure win!

It is essential during these winter months to make sure we keep our bodies as healthy as possible.  Loading or plates (or glasses) with anti-oxidants is a sure way to keep those germs at bay.  We must kill the villains we call free radicals from stealing molecules to weaken our cells.

In this smoothie I like to pack it in with these anti-oxidant super stars:

Goji Berries

Blueberries

Cacao Nibs

Dark Leafy Greens

Don't worry you will not taste the leafy greens with those other delicious super foods in the blender.

Super Anti-Oxidant Smoothie

-1/4 cup goji berries (I like to soak mine to soften them up a bit)

-1 cup blueberries (I prefer frozen to give my smoothie a little texture)

-2 cups leafy greens (again I prefer froze, if using frozen then only 1 cup is necessary)

-2 TBS cacao nibs

-1 scoop of my go to vega one protein powder (I like the chocolate flavor in this smoothie)

-1 cup unsweetened almond milk

Put everything in blender and blend until smoothie...simple as pie...but way healthier for you!

Sip, Enjoy, Repeat tomorrow!

Add some Bo Nuage to your next holiday party

I had the pleasure of bringing a nice little treat to a party last week.  Knowing me, I am always seeking out new items to try and share with my friends.  I happily came across this little shop in Los Angeles called Bo Nuage. From just stepping inside the door I feel in love with the decor.  Very modern, black and white motif with their pastries pleasantly placed and brightly colored to really pop out at you.

photo credit: la.eater.com

This little pastries are so light and fluffy and yet still elegantly creamy they don't leave you feeling heavy or guilty after enjoying one.  With all of them under 250 calories, made with organic ingredients, these little bits of wonderful are definitely a treat you don't want to skip over on the dessert table.  

You can order larger sized cloud cakes as well, depending on who you are serving as well as modifications to meet allergy needs.

Pascal and Audrey Achcar are keeping that french meringue tradition in a lovely cloud like surprise!

Spotlight: Ginny Bakes

I am so excited to share with you a company that has captured my heart.  

Ginny Bakes

ginny•bakes noun \’gin\ ‘bākes\
:mindful indulgences for the health conscious and for “anyone else who loves a scrumptious bite.”

1. cookie: ginnybakes, ginnyminis, cookie go packs. a. certified gluten free, organic, kosher dairy, *vegan.
2. ginnybar: love&nuts; peace,love & apple; karma,love & apricot and happy chocolate bliss.
   • a. certified gluten free, organic, kosher dairy,*vegan
3. bake mixes: scrumptious cookies, muffins and brownies.
   • a. certified organic, gluten free, kosher dairy and non-gmo project verified.

These cookies are a perfect holiday present and right now you can save 25% off of gift baskets.  No code needed...instant savings.

Isn't think gift the perfect one for fellow fitness lovers like us....

For the above item, make sure you check out her website

 

You can order these lovely baskets straight from the website.  Also make sure you check out the link 'where to buy' to find where you can buy these delicious items near you.

 

Rice Cakes-healthy snack or unhealthy snack

I love rice cakes, I think they are a great snack to get us to the next meal.  I have been eating them for awhile now and think they pair well with nut butters...yum! 

Lately though I have been reading some bad rap on them.  How can my beloved snack, all of a sudden be an unhealthy food?  I have always known and have read many sources saying they aren't a very nutrient dense food, that I do agree with.  However, when we are trying to get through the afternoon without munching on a lot of calories, I agree that it is a great snack to choose.  It is the latest news I am reading that sources say that a rice cake can send your blood sugar levels soaring!  Yikes, that is definitely something I do try and avoid.  With much curiosity I decided to investigate this claim.

The Glycemic Index is the way in which one can tell if a certain food is going to spike your blood sugar levels or not.  Good foods are those very low in numbers on the scale.  The scale is a ranking out of 100.  I went to the Glycemic Index website and typed in rice cakes.  Sure enough the number that popped up, was surprisingly high...91!  This still made me scratch my head, how could something so low in sugar, be so high on the scale.  With further investigating, I saw that the score is based off of 25g of rice cakes.  A single serving rice cake is 9g...

Now I am no nutritionist, but it seems as though one rice cake are just fine and wont spike your blood sugar since this score is based on if you were eating at least 3 or more rice cakes.  I would love to hear anyone's reaction to this and if you all agree with me or not.  I am still going to eat some rice cakes, beats putting other things in my mouth to munch on :-)

Crunch on!

Surviving Holiday Eating

The Holidays can seem like an overwhelming time for a lot of reasons.  It can mean more work/stress at work, more parties, more food, financial stress, etc.  Because of all of these overbearing factors that can come along with the holidays it is important to focus in on the positive and the things that can be controlled if simply just thought about beforehand.  The holidays should be more about family, friends, giving, enjoying, laughing and loving...leave your worries elsewhere or even better make them nonexistent.

Today I am sharing some ways in which you can help yourself not overindulge in the holiday parties and eating frenzies.

-It is extremely important to not starve yourself before a big eating event.  Your body shouldn't turn into survival mode due to lack of nutrition because if it does, then any food entering your body will immediately be stored.  Also starving yourself all day will probably lead to you actually consuming more calories by the end of the day than if you ate regular prior to a big eating event and then listened to your body when you are full.

-Think about different ways in which you can create your at home meals, or even dishes you have to bring along more healthy.
      1. Steam or bake instead of Fry or Saute
      2. Look for lower fat ingredients to use instead of those full fat versions (I suggest not picking nonfat because that typically means more sugar is added into the product)
      3. Try cooking sprays instead of oils
      4. Use herbs to add flavor
      5. Check out different methods for baking like replacing oil with applesauce

-Be Careful with the dessert table.  It is okay to have some sweets that we don't typically enjoy day to day.  The holidays are made to be enjoyed.  Just remember and keep in mind that the more sweets you have the more your body will crave them.

-Watch the holiday drinks.  The eggnog is definitely not a low fat beverage.  I watch my consumption to a very small sip-able amount...no drinking eggnog like a glass of milk.  I also like to add a little bit of milk or milk alternative to my eggnog to thin it out a big without losing its flavor.  An amazingly tasting low calorie egg nog on the market right now is Califia Farms Holiday Nog.  Only 50 calories per serving and does not lack the egg nog creaminess it is known for.

-Alcohol can be very fattening too.  There can be added sugary things in the alcohol, so be careful.  Beer can be just as fattening.  Opt for a lighter version of both. 

-I believe it is important to partake and enjoy your holidays just don't indulge the whole time.  You may be a few pounds up the day after but just remember your body will adjust and it is probably just water weight.  Better yet, skip the scale, trust yourself, enjoy the holidays, and get on track when you can...oh and don't forget your regular pilates or exercise!