Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Come To Friday's early morning class (6:10am) to see this one in action!  I'm calling it a "band plank with row".  You may decide to call it "really hard", or maybe you have another name for it!  Here's the deal:  You get into a plank position.  Some of you may stop there--it's hard enough!  On your forearms (use extra cushioning if you need to) and your toes.  In front of you, you've attached a band to something solid, just at about mid calf level, although a bit higher will work.  Now while maintaining that plank position, you pull the band back on one side.  Do 12, then repeat on the other side.  Rest, and do 2 more sets of 12 per side.

I did it!  I passed my 200 Certified Yoga Teacher exam--98%!!  So, I am hoping to add some really interesting classes into my schedule in the near future.

This is called Goddess pose--also known as Fierce angle pose or Victory Squat--it's victorious and powerful, and so it's my pose of the week.  Give it a try:  squat down, toes slightly turned out, to about 90 degrees.  Bring the arms out to the sides, and hold this for 3 full breaths.

So here's what my favorite meal looks like in the Dominican Republic...Grilled fish on a bed of delish veggies!

Here's my take on how to do this right:
3-4 servings, depending on the size of the fish
  • About 290g jar whole roasted peppers, drained and sliced
  • 1 red onion, sliced into very thin wedges
  • 2 cups cut veggies of choice:  carrots, zucchini, summer squash, asparagus (whatever is in season)
  • drizzle olive oil
  • 4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
  • 3 fat slices lemon, rest cut into wedges to serve
  • 2 sea bass, whole or fillets
  • 15 Kalamata or black olives
  • 25g toasted pine nuts
  • handful roughly chopped parsley
  1. Heat oven to 375. Toss the peppers, onions and vegetables with seasoning plus a small drizzle of olive oil. Spread on a baking tray and cook for 5 mins.
  2. Toss in the garlic and lemon with the onions and peppers. Sit on the sea bass, brush fish with a little more oil, season fish and roast for 15 mins.
  3. Stir the olives and pine nuts into the veg and roast for 5 mins more until the fish is just cooked through. Squeeze over some lemon juice and scatter with parsley to serve.

You always have the chance to make a better choice.

Each decision you make is a new opportunity for improvement and positive change.

Let go of the past decisions that didn't serve you or others well.  They're over, they can't be re-made-you can't re-decide.  So, if you had a bad food week, for example, last week;  It's over, the decision was made, the damage, if any, is already done.  What you can do now is to choose differently going forward.

So each day as I was in the Dominican Republic, I got to eat at a wonderful buffet.  The buffet was full of choices:  cheeses, and bread, cereals, meats and fish, various types of starches like rice and yucca.  And it was an all inclusive, so you could have as much as you want, and unlimited drinks, too.  Some take this as a moment to eat and drink to oblivion.  Maybe you feel like you have to get your money's worth.  I saw it differently, and this is where I want you to try to work on your paradigm and shift it just a bit.  I saw this as a golden opportunity to clean up my food.  They had vegetables ready to go, all cut up, easy to put on your plate.  They had sautéed vegetables and fruits of all sorts, and fish!  I love fish, but my husband doesn't, and so it's tough to eat that at home.  What amazing meals I had, with the bottom of the whole plate full of vegetables, and fish on top, with fruit for dessert.  I also tried the yucca, the plantains, and the passion fruit.  I was never hungry, and the food was clean, whole food.  The eggs were smaller, but bright orange yolks, and surprisingly rich!

So let's look at how to make this shift happen at home.  Yesterday, I went to the grocery store, and purchased shredded carrots, and shredded cabbage, and shredded broccoli slaw--I know I'm pressed for time, and sometimes a bit lazy.  This way, I can make every lunch just like the Dominican buffet--add the veggies on the bottom, and then add tuna or chicken breast on top--tiny drizzle of oil and balsamic vinegar, and voila!  I bought two kinds of apples and grapefruit, almond milk and some berries.  Fruit for dessert!  I also got walnuts, almonds, and flax seeds for my oats in the morning:  cook with unsweetened almond milk at 40 calories a cup and more calcium than regular milk.  Maximizing the high nutrient content food helps to keep you satisfied for longer because your body functions better.  You get what you need from your food, and it sustains you.  Food for thought.