Building Up By Listening Deeply

In Training

When you are in training for something, you are building up. It requires a balance between deeply respecting the place that you begin from and creating a bridge to get to the place where your goal is.

If you don't deeply respect the place that you begin from, you will not get to your goal, or, if you do, you will, by working against your body, get there without the balance and grace of working with your body.

When you are working with a grace and awareness of where your body is -now- the journey is different in really healthy and nourishing ways. You are loving yourself along the way, not just at the end after traumatizing the body into it.

Image: Attribution: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-19650-0017 / CC-BY-SA Courtesy of WikiMedia.org /http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-19650-0017,_Leipzig,_DHfK,_Stabhochsprung.jpg


Remember The Power of 12 Minutes.

When I listen to my body, sometimes 12 minutes is all it is up for. Sometimes it is where I begin. But also sometimes that happens in 5 minute increments. Also, some days, what I can do, no matter what I've built up to, can still be 12 minutes,  or 20 minute, 25 minutes, 30 minutes, 35 minutes, 40 minutes, 45 minutes. Wow. That may seem like a lot of possibilities. Good. A lot of possibilities helps me to pay attention to respecting what my body needs, as a minimum, or for what it is willing to stretch into today, and also for where is enough for today.

When I listen to my body, sometimes I need to take two or even three days off during the week. I usually aim for looking at Sundays and Wednesdays as my days off. If I need them, I take them. If I need a lighter day, I take a lighter day. If I am feeling strong and my body wants to move, I go for it. For me, Wednesdays and Sundays are days when I especially listen to the body for its needs for rest or restoration or breath.

(Also, if I've had a very busy day with already too much on my plate or a physically intense day, such as a house cleaning day, or a social day where I am going out river rafting or dancing, etc. that may be enough. If I check in with myself, and hear that I've done enough, I don't add my exercise routine in on top of that. I've done enough. I just did it differently.)

The beauty in this is that, when I listen to my body, when it needs to rest up or lighten up, (or trade off on other activities) and respect that, it gets stronger! I find that by respecting those signals, that I can soon be going further than I ever thought, sooner than I ever thought.

Now I know, establishing a routine IS important. But I believe deeply that a routine is best established slowly in a way that doesn't threaten the body.

I remember, years ago, landing in New York state in the middle of January and deciding to start jogging. I didn't warm up or prepare myself. I went out in sub-zero weather, ran for six miles, tore all my muscles and couldn't move for a week. That was the end of my brilliant new jogging routine. Fini! I burned out before I even got out of the gate.

I've done the same at the gym in the past: signed up, signed on, dragged myself to seven aerobic classes a week and then done nothing but come home and need extra calories and to sleep to recover. I'd simply depleted myself, used up all my calories until I was starved for fuel and too exhausted to do anything else but sleep.

We can add five minutes and establish that for two to four weeks and then, when it is easy and part of our daily routine to do that much, ask the body if it's ready to add five more minutes. I know five minutes at a time seems soooo slow. But it is a perfect way to begin. And it is a perfect way to add on and deepen. And it is respectful to the body.

Listening to the body, letting it guide you as to when it needs to lighten up or when it is ready to go further, higher, longer, stronger is the way to build that bridge so that the body is cooperating with your desire to get there too.

-bbffair

Composting: Not a Ladies Hobby

In the Garden

In the garden, so many wonderful things to grow: flowers and herbs and tomatoes and one feels the connections to their kitchen, to the earth, to the divine order of life and seasons.

(And, isn't this a great picture of a little backyard garden? So pretty!)
A Cottage Garden By Beverlynation (Own work) [CC-BY-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons")

And, then, this woman, mistakenly decides she will try out composting. What's so hard about all that? A few coffee grounds, the snips and peels of fresh fruit and vegetables and leftover herbs. It should be a sweet and easy accomplishment.

But: 
NO! NOT! NOT! NOT AT ALL!

Okay, I don't want to discourage any of you more capable folks out there, but composting for me was a complete disaster.

After months of collecting, mixing, etc. etc., OMG this stuff smells and the smell stays and the smell STINKS B.A.D.

The more you collect, the more you have to turn it. The more there is, the heavier it gets. The heavier it gets, the harder it is to turn it. It gets flies in it and when it rains it gets even heavier and then it starts to stink and stink and then it gets even stinkier.

I understand that there ARE some nice EXPENSIVE easy (yeah!) systems that will do this for you, possibly in a much more civilized fashion, etc.

But at least for the daintier do-it-yourself-er, at least with the double pails with the holes in it system (that seemed soooo easy and soooo simple on youtube) NO NO NO NO NO!

I do understand, I could add more things to this to reduce the smell -STINK- but the thing is I cannot get far enough away from it as it is. And it is already more than I can manually stir, it is so heavy. 
And when it stinks (STINKS!), it permeates the air, your hands, the ground.

Oh ICK!

I will buy my fertilizer from the local nursery. Thank you very much. There are just some things this girl is not cut out for.

But best of luck and hat's off to you if your adventures thus went better than mine.

 English: Claes Oldenburg "Clothespin" in Center Square, Philadelphia. Dedicated before 1978, no visible copyright notice, so public domain.

17 May 2012  by Smallbones

Courtesy of Wikimedia.org / http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clothespin_Philly_2.JPG

Holding Clothespin Over Nose.

-bbffair

King's Omelette

King's Omelette: 
Wild and Garden Herb and Vegetable Omelette


Lately, I've been reading A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin. There is a lot of exotic, detail described, freshly prepared food the characters partake of in this series. Without all that warring and conspiring, how would they ever burn off all the calories? And yet, much of the fare is mouth watering to read, especially their many coursed feasts. However, most of their breakfasts (breaking the fast as they say in ye old world of A Song of Ice and Fire) were very simple, a bit on the dull and repetitive side ( a lot of boiled eggs) , and overall failed to inspire me.

I decided it was time to create one of my own, an inspired kingly breakfast. I aspired to indulge the Ladies and Lords with a different fare: a delectable and hardy, but healthy, herb filled first (or second or third, fourth, fifth? etc) meal for ye royal appetites of olde: a breakfast fit for a King!

Zürich, Grossmünster church : Crypt with Charlemagne statue (original) of the southern tower. By Roland zh (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons  http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grossm%C3%BCnster_-_Innenansicht_-_Krypta_-_Charlemagne_2010-08-30_16-37-00.JPG

And here it is:

A many herb -including fresh dill- mushroom, spinach, tomato, and dandelion leaf omelette with roasted herb potatoes served with a dill sauce, and a side herb salad.

Ingredients:

Coffee (of course!) (I know they would do beer or mead or wine, but me, I like my coffee just fine with my eggs) (If you're really going for a theme, you can always brew dandelion root tea or roast dandelion roots for dandelion coffee. Me, I like dark roast coffee, but the dandelion coffee or tea is very nice too.)

Omega 3 Grade A Organic Eggs 

Organic Milk

Organic Unsalted Butter  (Oh those were the days when you didn't have to ask for organic)

Olive Oil Pam  (Of course, modern inventions save on calories for those of us who do not wander the kingdoms for our daily exercise routines)

Fresh Orange Juice

Fresh Dill

Fresh Rosemary

Fresh Thyme

Fresh Lemon

Fresh Sage

Fresh Dandelion Leaves (You want to harvest these fresh in the spring somewhere where there are no pesticides in the ground, before they flower or else they will be too bitter. When in doubt or out of season Whole Foods -of olde- carries them too.)

Fresh Red Potatoes

Fresh Herb Lettuce or Spring Mix  (All the fresh goodness from ye handy nearby garden or cook's greenery)

Good Dijon Mustard (I like Maille old style  -it's olde style also, so go with it, it's keeping the theme alive-  whole grain Dijon. It's a little up there in calories, but the taste is divine.)

Mayonnaise (I know but sometimes you have to) (I am still searching for taste in alternatives.)

Sea Salt

Black Ground Pepper

Black Grinder Pepper

Ground Paprika

1/2 Shredded Carrot

Fresh Baby Spinach

Fresh Brown Mushrooms

Cherry Tomatoes

Chi-Chi's Chunky Hot Salsa  (some ingredients you have to go back to the future for)

Fresh Parsley

Turmeric Powder

Grape Seed Oil

~~
Potatoes:
Thin slice the potatoes and put in a shallow baking pan sprayed with Pam Olive Oil. Spray potatoes with Pam Olive Oil, pepper generously and sprinkle with a few pinches of fresh parsley.

If you want, you can also squeeze a tablespoon or two of fresh lemon and 1 or 2 T. of grape seed oil in a bowl and brush the potatoes as well.

Put the potatoes in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes, turning at least once, or more as needed, (and if using the lemon and oil, brush on again when turning). Shred (mince) 1/2 carrot, chop up some fresh dandelion, and rough cut about four cherry tomatoes and stir these in about fifteen minutes before potatoes are done.

Prep:
Place a handful of fresh herb lettuce on each serving plate.

Scissor cut about 5 loose Tbsps. of fresh dill, put 3 T in a bowl and set aside.  Set aside another T. of fresh dill on a spice plate. Throw in the remaining dill scraps over the herb lettuce portions.

Cut up about 6-7 large dandelion leaves. Chop up the stems in little pieces and the leaves in bigger pieces. Throw a couple of leaves in with the salad on the plates.

Dill Sauce for Potatoes:
In the bowl with three T. of fresh dill, add 3 T. fresh squeezed lemon juice, salt and pepper, 4 teaspoon of good Dijon, and 1/2 cup loosely packed mayonnaise. If you want to stir this the olde way, you can just take a fork or a whisk (Did they have whisks in ye olden times?) and whisk this to a cream. Or, if like me, you want to dash back to modern appliance times, just throw it in the Magic Bullet for a few seconds. Set aside.

More Prep:
Chop fresh thyme and rosemary and sage pieces and set aside with the T. chopped dill.

Begin Vegetable and Herb Saute:
In a  small fry pan, coated with Pam Olive Oil, add 1-2 T. butter. Add some of the thyme and rosemary and sage and dill pieces, then saute a whole pan of sliced mushrooms. Add pepper and  a touch of paprika.

In a second small fry pan, melt 1 T. butter and then put the butter in a small bowl and mix with 3/4 teaspoon of ground turmeric.

Check the potatoes:
They should be about 30-35 minutes by now with another 10-15 minutes to go.
(If they aren't cooking, raise up the oven to 450 and turn again in 10 minutes before proceeding. )
When the potatoes seem close to ready, proceed.
If you are using the lemon and oil mixture, brush on one more time. Stir in the extra ingredients (shredded carrot, minced cherry tomato, and dandelion accents) into the potatoes. (The last ten - fifteen minutes is a good time for this, so they integrate, but don't get fried over the longer time the potatoes need.) Also, you can add some lemon zest over the potatoes either now or just before serving.

Continuing the Sauteed Vegetables:
When the mushrooms are starting to brown, add in about 6 (sliced in half or thirds) cherry tomatoes. A few minutes later, stir the turmeric butter into the pan as well. Continue sauteing. Towards the end, throw in a handful of the chopped up dandelion stems too.

Begin Omelette:

Stir 2 eggs per person with milk in a bowl.*

*Note: This recipe is for one hungry person, or, if you aren't that hungry, you can split it. But if you are cooking more, keep to a 2 egg + milk omelette in a small pan for each portion; there are a LOT of veggies in this and a bigger one may not flip well.

Melt another 1/2 T. of butter in the second pan. Add egg mix into the heated pan. Add more of the chopped thyme, rosemary, sage, and dill and pepper. Add the chopped dandelion stems and then the leaves. Add spinach leaves. Let wilt a minute in the egg mixture while the omelette sets up. Add all or a lot of the sauteed mushrooms and cherry tomatoes mixture over the top. Sprinkle with more pepper and lemon zest.

Let this set up and omelette brown nicely before turning. When you turn, add in 1/2 T. more butter so that omelette browns nicely on opposite side.


Serve:
Serve with potatoes on plate with drizzle of dill sauce over. Serve omelette with Chi Chi's hot salsa on side or over. Leave salad undressed. Pour orange juice and fresh coffee with milk.

This omelette is so colorful, so exotic, and so healthy!

Yumm!

-bbffair
(Ye Olde King's Cook - (or Queen's)- whoever wins the Game of Thrones)

How To Store Cilantro

Cilantro or Fresh Coriander

This is one of my favorite everyday herbs. I use it so much that I have finally started growing a couple of pots of my own.

One of the problems with buying it at a store is that it never seems to keep for more than a few days. Twice a week -or more!- I was going back to buy another bundle.

"Fresh Coriander Or Cilantro Herb" by SOMMAI, courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net / http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/Herbs_and_Spices_g68-Fresh_Coriander_Or_Cilantro_Herb_p70764.html

Fed up with that, I went on a mission to find out how to store this fragile, wonderful herb so that when I have more than I need (from the store) that it will last longer. Well, I went through about a dozen different experiments until I found the one that really works! It's easy and incredibly reliable. Now my stored cut cilantro lasts up to two weeks!

Here's what I do:  I bring the cilantro home and clip off the ends above the roots (or just a bit of the ends if the roots have already been clipped) and wash it or soak it in water until all of the dirt comes out. (There is a lot of dirt in cilantro before it's washed.) Once it's clean, I shake it really good and put it in the salad spinner or else roll it in paper towels until it is very dry, especially the leaves. Just don't let it sit out too long or it will still wilt.

Once the leaves are dry again, I plop the cut stems into a glass or jar of water and cover the whole thing loosely (not tied) with one of those thin plastic bags you get at the produce department and stick it in the fridge. I cover the top but do not tuck the bottom down or under the container, but let the bag hang lose around the bottom of the glass or jar so that air also gets in.

This will also save you $$$ over time if you use a lot of cilantro like I do and find that you need to buy it rather than grow your own.

Note: a little more dirt may drop into the water, so inspect before you use as you may need to rinse again.

Also, it's a good idea to change the water every few days and remove any dull leaves. But mostly this will keep so much longer and stay perfect until you need it in a dish!

-bbffair

Ginger and Lemongrass

Ginger and Lemongrass

Two of my most favorite Thai spices. And so, I have planted some of both. Will see how my garden grows!

-bbffair






"Pink Ginger" by Jayen466 courtesy of Wikimedia @ http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pink_Ginger.JPG

Yummy Summer Health Drinks! Wheat Grass and Strawberry Almond Smoothies

    

Yummy Summer Health Drinks:  

Wheat Grass  and Strawberry Almond Smoothies

I have a fab health drink that gets me balanced again on those days that I feel somewhat off, like I can't quite figure our what I need: fruit? more greens?  protein? missing vitamins? You know that feeling where there is sort of a hole or a need and you don't know what it is, but you definitely need something!

Well, I have a perfect solution for that, as well as a great low calorie pick-me-up:  It's my simple, handy-dandy (drum roll please):

"Strawberry Milk" by Rawich @  http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/agree-terms.php?id=10086166

 

Wheat Grass Smoothie:

It calls for 1 Cup of chilled Unsweetened (gluten free) Almond Milk (40 calories) 

and 

1 scoop of Amazing Grass (gluten free and raw) Wheat Grass Powder (another 35 calories)

  

 (+ sometimes some probiotics for good measure)

 

Give it a shake, throw it in the Magic Bullet and Voilà!

or

(Since it's SummerTime!)

"Pile Of Strawberries" by Ambro courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/agree-terms.php

A Nice Strawberry Almond Smoothie:

 

This is such a pretty, as well as tasty, summer drink! 

 

Just add a half cup of fresh strawberries (23 calories) 

to

 1/2 cup of cold Almond Milk (20 calories)

Toss in the old blender

and  

Voilà again!

Hint: About 3 big strawberries = 1/2 cup, but I like to chop up three more (another 23 calories) to much along with my  smoothie)

 

Total Calories:  Wheat Grass Smoothie: 75 calories

Strawberry Almond Smoothie: 43 calories

Strawberry Almond Smoothie with 3 extra big strawberries to munch on too:  66 calories

and

!ALL OF IT IS GOOD FOR YOU!

 

Bon Appétit!

-bbffair

 

Note:  You can add the strawberries into the wheat grass smoothie if you want, but the strawberries will get lost in there, so I'd eat them on the side if you want a combo.

Indian Spicy Lemonade

Experimenting With Lemonade


About lemonade: it can get interesting.

It doesn't always have to be the sugary high-calorie version or the oddly vacant diet formula.

Recently, I found this very different recipe for spicy Indian lemonade.*






The Ingredients:

1 tsp. fennel seed

1 star anise

1 tsp. fresh grated ginger

2-3 whole lemons, squeezed

1/4 cup of fresh mint leaves loosely packed

2 Tbsp. sugar (you can add two more Tbsp. to taste)

2 cups of water

2 cups of ice


The Recipe:

In a frying pan, stir the fennel and the star anise and toast them dry -without oil- constantly stirring until they are nicely browned.

Then ground them up in a Magic Bullet or coffee grinder

Then get out your blender and toss them in with the ginger, the juice from the squeezed lemons, the fresh mint, sugar, water and blend.

Pour through a strainer to get out the bits.

Put it back in the blender and add in the ice and hit the blender until the ice is crushed.

It makes about 4 servings, each of which is about 31 calories in the 2 Tbsp. sugar version and about 51 calories in the 4 Tbsp. version.

Enjoy!

-bbffair


* For a version of this and other wonderful lemonades and drinks, as well as many awesome dishes, visit:
http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/search/delegate?searchString=lemonade 

~~ 

The beautiful picture above is "Lemonade" by Suat Eman courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos 

 http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/Other_Drinks_g65-Lemonade_p10832.html

My Tom Yum(m) Soup - Very Spicy

Tom Yum(m) Soup

Where have I been? You guessed it! On an adventure into Thai cooking!

OMG! I LOVE Thai food! And now I have  just a few beautiful recipes to share that I have made my own.

For today, here is my Tom Yum(m) Soup! The picture on this post is of my lunch. Isn't it beautiful!

I make it extra, extra hot and spicy!


Okay, here goes:

My Tom Yum(m) Soup

Ingredients List:

6-8 cups (1-1/2 to 2 boxes ) Chicken Stock (Organic Pacifica brand is very good)

2 stalks of lemon grass

Zest of 1 medium lime
       (Note: Some recipes call for Tafir (lime) leaves. They are hard to find for me right now, but lime zest works great as a substitute.)

5-6 red Thai chili peppers (wear gloves for handling these -they WILL burn you or your eyes!)
      Take off stems and slice lengthwise into 2 or 4 strips and then chop and put aside, keep seeds for cooking too

2-3 tiny fresh red cherry peppers (the size of a cherry tomato) (do not use these seeds - they might make you cough) -or 1/4-1/5 of a fresh red bell pepper - sliced thin

Generous handful of Shitake  mushrooms (can be substituted with brown mushrooms) sliced thin

1 lb. package of frozen large raw peeled and devined shrimp (thawed in cold water while you prep recipe)
      (or fresh raw peeled and devined large shrimp)

Juice of medium lime

1/3 cup fresh cilantro

1-3 T. of high quality fish sauce

Broccoli - one large stalk chop up the stem into thin pieces and also the flowers into little pieces

1-4 short dollops of Chili sauce* (I use Sriraja Paniich or Taste of Thai Garlic Chili Sauce)
(*Note: I like this better than regular garlic which I don't really like to handle and find it integrates very nicely and doesn't "stand out" if you know what I mean.)

1/2 package of ripe fresh cherry tomatoes
 
 ~~

Prep:

Prepare all the ingredients as directed above and in step 2 below before beginning.

~~

Directions:

1.  Pour chicken stock into a pan and bring to boil.

2.  Cut off the bulb and any brown tops of the lemongrass and peel the outer layers. Chop the good (edible) white portion of the lemongrass into tiny pieces. Cut the upper stems in 3-4 places slightly (not all the way through) and then bruise (hammer and bend) and add the pieces and the bruised stems into the now boiling chicken broth for about 2 minutes

3.  Add the garlic sauce dollops to taste (I use 4 good ones). Add the cut up Thai peppers and seeds, the red peppers, lime zest, and mushrooms. Reduce heat to medium-simmer for 2 minutes.

4.  Add shrimp and broccoli and simmer medium for 4 minutes until shrimp is pink and done.

5.  Reduce heat to med-low. Add fish sauce, juice from one whole medium lime, and tomatoes.
Can cover, if desired. Cook about 3 minutes. Stir well -gently simmer.

(Usually this is about perfect for my tastes. But test it for yourself. If too salty, add more lime juice. If too sour, add 1/4 t. sugar. Not spicy enough for your taste, maybe another dollop of chili sauce will take it there!)


*Options:   1/4 t.  sea salt
                  1/4 t.  sugar
                  1/2 can evaporated milk or coconut milk

(Note: I don't add milk to mine or sugar)


6.  Remove lemongrass stalks and discard. (They add flavor to the soup but are not edible like the chopped parts.)

7.  Serve with fresh cilantro and/or Thai chili sauce.

~~

As you can see above, I make mine VERY spicy! I swear by this soup! It will clean you up, clean you out, make your eyes water, wash out your sinuses, possibly helps prevent cancer (yes. really! see this link!), and fill you up, satisfy your hunger and appetite, and for almost no calories.  Let me repeat: almost NO CALORIES!

My recipe comes to about 78 calories a cup or 155 calories for a 2-cup serving.

For a more traditional recipe with coconut milk where I got my inspiration (I don't like coconut and like mine spicier.):  http://thaifood.about.com/od/thairecipes/r/tomyumkung.htm

1-2 cups equals a very nice serving. I save the extra soup right in a sauce pan and reheat it and have lunch for three or four  days.

It is grrreeat for detoxing and dieting as well as hot Thai taste and great nutrition!

Enjoy!

-bbffair

Spring Sprint - Final Weeks

Download Wild Flowers by dan courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/Flowers_g74-Wild_Flowers_p32782.html

Spring Sprint - Final Weeks

For the next three weeks:
I am going for a repeat of week three.

Only, for the next three weeks, I am upping the bounce from 25 minutes back to 45 minutes.

I am feeling stronger, lighter, more aware of my energy and my movements.

The bounce is triggering my metabolism. When I want to push deeper, I jump higher, kick higher, listening to my body, letting it be as free and as energized as it desires, but letting it guide me. When I'm tired or sore, I gentle it down, letting the movement soften into a steady light bouncing and become a moving meditation, a place to think or imagine.

My body is finding its balance: the places where I am getting results, the places where I am building stamina, and where the body is memorizing and maintaining new levels of equilibrium.

Letting the body be my guide, honoring it, and also holding onto my intentions and goals for this last three weeks, I have found it is working with me.

-bbffair

Spring Sprint - Week Three - Focus on Lightness

  
Lightness

Third week (or fourth if you count the prep week) and I see I'll have to re-clean the house again.

But what I am thinking about here is lightness.




Apple blossom, courtesy of wikimedia commons @ http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DSCF4435.JPG

I am thinking about the light that has returned to the north country, the light-as-a-feather touchdown in the bounce and the air in the lift and less muscle. Yes. Less muscling through. Less endurance. More focus on lightness.

And this may seem counter-intuitive, but it's interesting. You see, playing around last week with the intervals, I could not seem to resist how great that felt to do that AND how hard it was on my body. I ended up working twice as hard and twice as long. And that is okay in a spring sprint week, but there are warning lights with overdoing and they include risk of self-injury and, especially, burn-out.

So, if this is going to work, it needs that lightness, that lift-off, that sustainable sweet spot that is neither too much or too little. And, hence, the refocus, this week on lightness.

And, it is paying off. I've modified my spring sprint workout again, this week,  to do only 25 minutes of the bounce on five days, keeping it lighter than ever,  light as a feather, and, in addition, to only do the Callanetics (still at 1/2 time like I describe) only just 2-3 times instead of 4 times and the arm exercises only 4 times.

I've added twenty minutes a day in vitamin D sunlight time, soaking those nourishing light rays in through my skin. And I am lightening up on foods, thinking apples and greens and lighter fare, fish three times this week, water, water, water, and remembering my vitamins.

And I am allowing the idea of light and lightness to permeate my mood, my awareness, my body, my mind, my heart. And, in the name of spring, spirit and light opening.

And nothing more this week. That's it. No add-on walks.

Anything I feel like doing extra is just for joie de vivre. I am listening deeply to my body. It can rest when it needs to and dance when it wishes.

And, now I know that it shouldn't seem to make any sense that light would reap more results, but it can. The body does not need to be kicked down the street into wellness. It needs to be loved. And in this gentling and honoring, like spring flowers opening, the body opens and responds to the light and the lightening.

-bbffair

Spring Sprint - Week Two

Intervaling

The basic premise about interval workouts is that you alternate easy, steady lower intensity workouts with small bursts of high energy output.



Spring Crocus Field, Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crocus%28loz%29.JPG

Likewise, you can have also devise a plan-of-action where you have burst of energy weeks AND alternate them with easier, steadier weeks. Therefore you are pushing yourself hard one week and then pacing yourself the next.

Or, in a given exercise, alternating the workout from light to intense to light to intense.

This is supposed to be excellent because the lower intensity burns fat and the upper revs up your metabolism and burns more calories.

So last week was a burst week and this week is a pace week.

It's the same basic routine as week one, only keeping the bounce to 25-35 minutes and maybe playing just a little with some intervals inside the bounce, i.e. like still going with the steady pow-wow-like, continuous moving but with a few placed jumping, leaping movements, just one or two or three bursts tops. And bringing the walking down to 15 minutes and going slower but higher, deeper, stronger movements in it.

See how it can adjust.

-bbffair

Callan Pinckney

Callan Pinckney
Creator of Callanetics
1939 - 2012

Callan Pinckney, born as Barbara Biffinger Pfeiffer Pinckney on 26 September 1939, died 1 March 2012, and was an American fitness professional.

She was a hero to me. I love her Callanetics and have practiced them and returned to them and recommended them again and again.

I just found out about her death and am so sad. She was an awesome lady, an adventurer, and she gave us the most beautiful way to respectfully exercise, blending dance and yoga, ever attending to a kindness to the body, old or young, and the health of the neck and spine, while showing us her way towards toned muscles and beautiful sculpted bodies that even plastic surgery cannot measure up to.

I found out about her death today as I was looking for a link to post for her "Original Callanetics." To the best of my knowledge, it is still on videotape and now also DVD, and is still often out of stock or hard to find. However, I have looked at her DVDs for the "Quick Callanetics" (all three are available on Amazon.com) which consist of three videos where she takes the same basic Original Callanetics and gives you a quicker workout, one for the legs, one for the hips and behind, and one for the stomach. These are excellent and, in 20 minutes, walk you through her movements with the added bonus that Callan herself is teaching you in these videos. She is so special that it is well worth it to learn from her very distinct, caring, and personal instruction and her awesome manner.

One of the Callanetics teachers, not Callan, also has a dance low-aerobics video, but I think the "inside walking" is better for a lower impact workout, because you tune into your own body with your own rhythm and movements.

The three "Quick Callanetics" DVDs can be done in half the time once you are familiar with them and can do them on your own. I combine all of them but like to do just the standing ones on one day (5 minutes) and just the floor ones (10-15 minutes) the next day and then repeat this sequence again in the week. But if you use the DVDs, you could benefit greatly from just doing these, each video one time a week, on alternate days, with a day in between each to rest and restore your muscles. You WILL feel and see the results!!

Here is to one awesome lady!

Callan Pinckney

Rest in Peace

File:White rose, Sissinghurst Castle garden, Kent courtesy of Wikimediacommons 

 http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:White_rose,_Sissinghurst_Castle_garden,_Kent.jpg

With love,

-bbfair

Spring Sprint Exercise Plan Week One

 Now on to my idea of a Spring Sprint: Week One:

Monday - Tuesday - Thursday - Friday - Saturday

45 minutes continuous inside skip jogging/bouncing:

This is light light, no sweating required, inside skipping or jogging. The important point here is continuous movement, light as a feather is fine. Barefoot on a bouncy floor or in good shoes on a harder surface. 

Crocus, courtesy of wikimediacommons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Krokus-kih.jpg

As an alternative, this can be split up into two (30 minutes and 15 minutes) or three (15 minutes each) if desired. But go at least 15 minutes at a time and try to do the last 15 minutes after your last meal. And, sometimes, the three smaller but still bright sprints are more effective than the one longer one. Experiment and see.
  
*Note: This is NOT for beginners. If you are a beginner, recovering from illness, or otherwise not used to or ready for this, this is NOT where you should begin. You need to build up to this. I will post for a special  routine for beginners. And this is more than I usually do: This is a Spring Sprint week! (I usually do 25-45 minutes, alternating with how I feel, but this is a boost week!)

  
15-30 minute walk - inside walk/ inside ice skate/inside march, etc. or outside walk

An Inside walk can be a lot of things with variables like easy walking or inside ice skate/inside march, etc. which is more flamboyant, uses more muscles, is actually a good workout. These are also more dramatic. Lately I like to mix it up when I am "inside" walking: some marching, some ice skating, some waltzing. Slow and strong and high stepping and rhythmic. "Inside" walking can also be in place.

I personally tend toward less dramatic movements when doing my outside walking, out in public, (unless I am in California or Santa Fe where there are other people like me out there :-D). 

5 minutes of arm strengthening and posture exercises

(No more than 10 reps of anything you do.) They work. You can use any you like. (I do the after breast surgery ones, the physical/occupational therapy ones and a couple of Tracy Anderson's with no more than 3 pound weights.)  Just don't overdo these. We are not muscle builders. We are just working at reasonable strength and posture. (Hint: you can do many of these while doing the light bounce/skip or the inside walk.)

Monday and Thursday:

1/2 Original Callanetics: The standing portion of the Original Callanetics. (5 minutes) 

(Do the reps as directed except the ones that ask for 100 beats/counts. On those do no more than 50 reps of anything/otherwise same as directed.)

Tuesday and Saturday:

2/2 Original Callanetics: The floor portion of the Original Callanetics. (10-15 minutes) 

(Do the reps as directed except the ones that ask for 100 beats/counts. On those do no more than 50 reps of anything except the leg squeezing one! Do 100 of those. Do that exercise last, at the end. For the first 50 counts/beats squeeze continuously and for the last 50 counts/beats squeeze hard for each individual count/beat. Then relax!)

BTW, since radiation, I have changed to this way of doing my tried and true Original Callanetics. It is soooo easy to sustain this practice and get a full two rounds of these great exercises in these shorter sessions, doing only the standing ones one day, and alternating them with the floor only ones on other days. I also have added in a few of my other favorite "spot" exercises to the floor or standing ones. This is so much more doable than trying to carve out a larger time and exercise routine twice a week.

Wednesday: 
Day Off.  You've earned it. You need it. It will help your muscles recover and repair. Resist the urge to add in another exercise day. Instead, pamper yourself, read a book, go to the park, get your hair done, go out shopping, go to lunch with the girls!

Sunday: GGG

Day Off.  Breathe. Go to Church. Climb and sit on a mountain top. Go out to brunch. Sleep in.  Let your body relax, repair, and enjoy!

*Now, please, please note: 

*I am NOT a fitness expert. I am just another woman on a path, sharing what has been working and workable for me, in hopes that it might benefit you too. We all deserve to look and feel our best and that is my wish for you as well. But, as they say, check with your doctor and also, Try at your own risk.

*Do not do more than I have suggested or ever more than your body wants to do and never, ever work hurt. (Hurt means you should take a special extra day off.)

But I would still love to hear from you!

Happy Spring Cleaning! Inside and Out!

Kindest regards,

bbffair

Soy - What??? - A Beginners' Guide To Healthy Oils

 It's Not Nice To Be Fooled With Soy Isolates!

I had a bit of a shocker recently. A learning curve thing. I try to eat right and use healthy, good ingredients. But here's the fine print: Some soy products may be really bad for you. 

I DIDN'T know that!!

And so now I am aghast at how many products -including ingredients in your vitamins-  slip in this potentially evil substance, in particular soy isolate. Even eviler, it can be disguised under a few technical, hard-to-identify, and harder-to-pronounce names as well.

There is a LOT of concern that these can cause cancers to grow, bad estrogens, etc. So just when I thought it was safe and smart to use Smart Balance, etc. ...

(*But on a note of relief: my understanding is that fermented soy (think soy sauce and clean Thai food!) is still healthy!!)

I have gone back and changed my recipes to reflect this new knowledge. (If I missed anything, please let me know. I am ALL about good information here.)

~~

On to Thinking Positive:

 

How I Came to Appreciate Beautiful Oils and Butter

Healthy Living IS An Adventure!

First of all, let me repeat, that, to the best of my knowledge, fermented soy is not a culprit -thank goodness there as I love my soy sauces-  and most -if not all- of the ones I like to use seem to be made with the right ingredients.  It's the soy elements, in products, that have been toyed with that are most suspicious. And we have been led to believe that soy in all its forms is good for us. Maybe not so much.

And, as I begin to explore my options, there are MANY!!

I found this article, a guide to oils, over at Whole Foods.  It talks about good and bad oils. It's worth a read.

Here's a quick bite from it:

For baking: Coconut, palm oil ave the best reputation.
For frying: Because they stand up well to the heat, avocado, palm and sesame oil are ideal for frying.
For sautéing: Many oils are great for sautéing, including avocado, coconut, grapeseed, olive, and sesame oils.
For dipping, dressings and marinades: When it comes to making dressings and marinades, or finding oil that's perfect to serve alongside crusty bread for dipping, you're looking for terrific flavor. For this purpose look to olive, toasted sesame or walnut oil.

To start with oils, I read the above and a few other articles and then I ran off to Whole Foods to purchase a few good-for-me oils. I was happy to find such a good selection.

I purchased two high heat oils:
Grapeseed oil (a very clean, light, all purpose cooking and baking and wok/sautéing oil)
and
Avocado oil (also for frying and sautéing) (and it is not bad as a skin care product either!). 

 Of course there is the mainstay of Extra Virgin Olive Oil as well, but it is best not cooked at high heats.  

My favorite new oil is a French walnut oil (amazing!!) for salads and delicate recipes -it is best unheated. It's very delicate and oh sooo good for you.  

Soon, I plan to experiment with Almond oil and Truffle oils.

I love that many of these gourmet specialty oils can be purchased fairly inexpensively in smaller containers. And extra nice to find out, so far the sunflower, avocado, and walnut oils, that I am keeping in my refrigerator, do NOT solidify in the refrigerator like olive oil does. That's a convenient benefit.

As far as table spreads or more buttery blends to sauté with, I have also changed my ways there too.  I loved the taste of my old Smart Balance and Original Recipe Earth Balance.  Soy, I discovered, was amongst, if not their first ingredient!! They are now all in the past. And also, out went the Omega 3 Smart Balance Oil I had been using!

Earth Balance does have a soy free spread and I am cautiously trying that out. It's very clean tasting and not bad for everyday use. But now I am suspicious of foods with too many "ingredients" and being more careful. And I have returned to pure butter. I like mine unsalted or lightly salted, made from grass fed (not soy fed) cows milk.  With butter, you just need to use less and it does go further. So much for the myth that margarine with its fewer calories and omega 3's can be a healthy choice with benefits.

I also threw out my mayonnaise and I am soon to experiment with true French mayonnaise.

Along the road to healthy eating, one might just discover the wonders of better tasting food too!

Lucky for us, good groceries and good food producers care and thus (like my husband was about to do) we don't have to all go out and buy our own oil presses - although I did read up on that and it sounded kind of fun!


Bon Appétit!


-bbffair

6/10/2017  Notes:
I have updated my oils list. 
Some oils that I found iffy, or without enough information over time, I have deleted from my original list above. 
At this time, Grapeseed oil is my go-to oil for cooking. It is very light and clean and can sustain high heats and is perfect for high heat Thai. 
I continue to enjoy the soy-free Earth Balance spread and or pure unsalted butter.
And my go-to salad (no or low-low heat) oil is still a high quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Spring Sprint

 Spring Sprint 

- 

In The Beginning

Did I say I was READY for Spring? I am READY for SPRING!

So for Week One -The Prep Week!-  of My Spring Sprint: 

Step One:

First of all I spring-cleaned my house top to toe! Yeah! It took me a week with two separately planned intense work days with my husband helping, but we DID IT!! (Since the radiation, I have to pace myself, my energy can get all used up and then I have to make up for it.)


But we DID IT!! We even got the famous sheepdogs all cleaned up and now even they are preening around like movie stars. Every body enjoys a tune up!

Jörg Hempel  http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Prunus_dulcis_LC0009.jpg
 
And so now my palette is clear. It feels like the RIGHT way to begin.

This was the Prep Week! I kept to my regular exercise with my big goal of getting the house clean and clear. The next six weeks, I'm going to be in full gear!

Next Week, I will post Week One or What A Spring Sprint Week Looks Like To Me.

Until then, the sun is out, the sky is blue, it's beautiful, and so are you, won't you come out to play!

Have a wonderful week end!

Kindest regards,

-bbffair


Dear Prudence

Dear Prudence, won't you come out to play
Dear Prudence, greet the brand new day
The sun is up, the sky is blue
It's beautiful and so are you
Dear Prudence won't you come out to play

Dear Prudence open up your eyes
Dear Prudence see the sunny skies
The wind is low the birds will sing
That you are part of everything
Dear Prudence won't you open up your eyes?

Look around round round
Look around round round
Oh look around

Dear Prudence let me see you smile
Dear Prudence like a little child
The clouds will be a daisy chain
So let me see you smile again
Dear Prudence won't you let me see you smile?

Dear Prudence, won't you come out to play
Dear Prudence, greet the brand new day
The sun is up, the sky is blue
It's beautiful and so are you
Dear Prudence won't you come out to play

-The Beatles

Here Comes The Sun

Spring Cleaning-Inside and Outside

Making Way For New and Renewed Life

 February, this year, seemed like a long, hard winter month to walk.  I often think of January like that, but not so much February.

Some of this was me and some of this just seemed to be going around. I finished radiation at the end of 2011 in December and I was whipped by it. But January wasn't as darn mean and cold as it usually is, so there was this sense of getting through the winter lightly. That is, until February snagged a bunch of us.


Spring, photo courtesy of: http://commons.wikimedia.or/wiki/File:Spring_2005.jpg

For the past ten months, in spite of cancer, I've been getting consistently lighter and healthier. I've been in my zone and fine tuning things and keeping the lightening going even through cancer. 

But in February???  I tipped up the scales six pounds! I'm still in my zone, but still!  How could that happen??? Time to regroup and rethink and get real.

(And yes I know, in my zone, that's not a big deal -to anyone else but me- but to me, it's a wake-up call before I get into anything more like really bigger trouble!)

I also have a theory. I think that the seasons are important to us, biologically, spiritually, physically, mentally. They affect us and are supposed to. So, for one thing it is natural when it gets cold and snowy and ye old winter winds are beating down your door, that you are supposed to get cozy by the fire with a little bit more you on your bones and take a few more zzzzz's in (even if you didn't have radiation treatments) and sup on root vegetables and hearty stew. But when winter doesn't walk you through it, you will still feel the season, and, even eventually, it may still catch up to you later and demand its due.

Anyway, this year, every single still-exercising, still eating mostly right and healthy, still working-it woman I know told me she tipped it up a few pounds in February and/or the scale just got stuck all month.

Tsk. Tsk.

But I wonder, thinking back on my contemplations of the plateau, if there really is some innate logic to this?  Perhaps it is the last step necessary to moving into the light of spring? Sort of like stepping back to boost your new, next upcoming leap forward.

Anyway, I'm counting on this AND I am recommitting  to my spring this year starting right here and now. I cleaned my house top to bottom, part one, last week, and will finish part two, the dogs, this week. I have cleaned out winter, cobwebs, cancer, worry, and all things that get bottled up and start to grow weird in those bottles. And I am recommitting to a strong five days a week forward in moving in my exercises, not so much more, but with more joie di vivre and light! I want that light in my body too!

And so the next six weeks, I'm channeling my light into my Light Body with new life. I'm going to re-lose that six pounds and aim for four more!

Anybody want to get into the sweet spring dance with me too? Time to Lighten Up!

-bbffair


Here Comes The Sun 

Here comes the sun (doo doo doo doo)
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right

Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right

Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes

Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right

Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right
It's all right

-The Beatles

The Joy of Going Nuts: Pine Nuts and Other Great Nuts

The Joy of Going Nuts

One of the joys of weekly food shopping over the last year for me has become my visit to the bulk bins at Whole Foods.

In the past, I used to buy a package of nuts -for me, most often, this would be walnuts that I used to use more of and so could justify buying a whole package at a time- but now that I have discovered the bulk bins at Whole Foods, I am free to experiment!

Nuts are healthful, nutritious, great add-ins, and a handy way to go vegetarian for a meal or a day without hunger, weakness, or deprivation.  That's all helpful. But, let's face it: they are also Yumm!

Anyway, at Whole Foods, I can now buy a sample of this or a handful or a week's worth of a bunch of different nuts and dried fruits, etc. so I've grown my nut-palate and become more familiar with what used to be exotic rare excursions into eating and using nuts.

<p><a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net">Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></p> 


Here is one of my favs:

The Pine Nut

It's not really a nut. It's a seed in a pine cone! Who would have thought those squirrels and even my dogs -the famous sheepdogs: Darla and Fisher- would be so smart. In the past, I've had them primarily in pesto dishes. But now, they color my salads, soups, vegetable dishes, my eggplant, chicken, and fish, and I even eat them raw all by themselves. They are lovely and delicate and guess what else, they are amazing nutrition-wise.

They are 58 calories in a TBSP but curb your appetite so they help with weight loss, they aid cardiovascular support, are high in iron, anti-oxidants -i.e. anti-aging, contain lutein, an antioxidant that is crucial to the prevention of eye diseases such as macular degeneration and cataracts and vitamin A in the form of beta carotene, another important eye vitamin, and containing protein and magnesium, they aid in energy boosting. That's a LOT of umphhhffff  for something with such a good Yumm factor.



A few of my other favs include:

Brazil Nuts

"A handful of Brazil nuts a day can reduce the risk of eight types of cancer by up to 76 per cent, scientists said yesterday. They are packed with the mineral selenium, which can help prevent cancer of the liver, lung, stomach, prostate, pancreas, brain, kidney and oesophagus by blocking the formation of tumours."    -How Brazil Nuts Can Beat Cancer  by Tim Utton and Robin Yapp

Also:   Brazil Nuts Hold Cancer Hope

Cashews

Okay, Just Yumm.  We know these are good for us. We eat them in Chinese and Thai chicken, for goodness sakes. They are best eaten you know, umm, naturally, and are still full of flavor. But here is a perfectly important point: At Whole Foods, you can buy the Thai salted, roasted cashews and they won't make it home, they are soooo delicious. But you can buy a handful and be gloriously done with it and leave the rest in the bin behind you. Ahh yes, a moment of zen.

Almonds

Edgar Cayce said 2 almonds a day warded off cancer / http://www.healingcancernaturally.com/cayce-almonds-health-readings.html

Dried Michigan Cherries

Here is my plug for the best of the best cherries from my own home state of Michigan. I dare you to compare!


*A word of caution and forewarning though: like all things, take your nuts in moderation. Don't overdo it. Some are fattier than others and for some people, they may be hard to digest in large amounts too, so use your good common sense!

And, with this, I ask you to journey to your own Whole Foods or other natural food bulk food bin aisle and do what you must: taste and experiment and let your senses have at it!

-bbffair