Optimum Bodies Blog

I found a recipe for low fat zucchini bread the other day – it seemed a bit too bland so I  started playing around with it. My husband and my 2 year old absolutely LOVE this bread.

Though yoga has been around for thousands of years, its popularity exploded in the

early 2000ʼs, and seemed to infiltrate every inch of our popular culture. From bank ads

featuring fancy head-stands, to yoga pants being a staple in every womanʼs wardrobe

(used for practice or not), yoga it seems, is here to stay. With the benefits of yoga

touted by health-care professionals, athletes and your neighbor next door who swore

that the poses cured her chronic back pain – yoga is, for the first time in millennia,

accessible to everyone.

These days, we can choose where to practice, at home, at a local studio, a gym, or

simply follow along with a DVD. While there are merits to each mode of practice (home

= convenient, studio = knowledgeable teachers, gym = you already have a membership,

DVD = economical), if you are a beginner at yoga, or simply want to deepen and

expand your practice, the yoga studio is a wonderful starting point for you. In this three

part newsletter series, we will explore why:

Educated Teachers

Yoga teachers are extremely passionate about their craft. Instructors at a specialized

yoga studio train for a minimum of 200-250 hours to certify before they teach, with most

of them practicing many years before they decide to take their training. This training

prepares instructors to plan a class which is not only effective, but safe. They learn

about contraindications of the many poses, proper alignment, breathing techniques and

safe modifications for those injured or absolute beginners. Additionally, they also learn

about the history and philosophy of yoga.

However, the majority of teachers go above and beyond this initial training, and

continuously upgrade their education and never, ever stop learning.

In a yoga studio setting, it is encouraged that students cultivate a relationship with their

teacher and vice versa. For instance, say a clientʼs who has been coming to yoga

practice for several months, has a nagging shoulder problem that isnʼt going away, it

would be helpful for that student to have a one on one with their teacher at some points.

Chances are, that teacher will be able to help the student with safer modifications for

poses that may be aggravating the shoulder issue – or tell them what poses to avoid.

Perhaps the teacher will suggest trying a different style of class. Unfortunately, this type

of personalized service is something you wont find on a DVD.

During a class, a teacher keeps a constant and watchful eye on their students.

Teachers help with physically aligning their students in an optimal way, so as to avoid

injury or strain. If they think you are working too hard, and need to rest, they will say so.

Conversely, if they think you are strong enough to hold a difficult pose for 3 more

breaths, they will gently encourage you to hang in there. Teachers are trained to temper

the class, in such a way that will help their students in the best way possible.

Our yoga teachers are here to help, if youʼve got a question or concern, feel free to ask

them after your class.

Ingredients:

With the crazy hot days we have had lately, lunch needs to be filling but light.  Rice wraps are perfect for a hot day as they fill you up, can be loaded with veggies but  are not as heavy as a tortilla or bread.  After a long bike ride last week I brought out the veggies, got creative and made lunch for my friend and I.  We enjoyed the rice wraps with a green juice and it turned out to be a great summer lunch.

Just like all of my recipes, I had a basic idea of how to make these but just went with the flow to see how they would turn out. This is what I chose to include but anything would be good (ginger, tofu, beans etc).

Ingredients:

-Cucumber, julienne cut

-Mango, sliced

-1 medium carrot, shredded

-1/1 red pepper, julienne cut

-1 avocado, sliced

-bowl of lukewarm water

-rice wraps

Directions:

-Cut all ingredients (quantity depends on how many wraps you plan to make)

-gently dip rice wrap into lukewarm water until it becomes soft and movable (be careful as they can stick together and/or rip)

-place wrap on cutting board or paper towel

-place ingredients horizontally on to wrap, fold in ends and roll (for me, this took practice but the idea is to keep it tight and well wrapped)

-I sprinkled sesame seeds in my wrap and drizzles lemon poppyseed dressing on it instead of soy sauce, although any dressing/sauce can be used.

-enjoy!

Made this great smoothie this morning. I was feeling a little spent and foggy this morning and this smoothie definitely did the trick. This is a great start to your morning, especially if you are someone who constantly tired both mentally and physically. It’s such a pick me up it! Forget the caffeine folks. This is way better. And this is from a guy who used to drink 6-8 cups of coffee a day. Ever wonder why everyone is walking around like tired zombies these days yet they all have Starbucks in their hands?

Here the recipe:

It will have a very mild taste. If you like sweet add a tablespoon of organic honey.

1/2 avacado

1 ripe locally grown peach

1/2 cup of unsweetened coconut or almond milk

4 ice cubes

2 tablespoons of Udo’s 3/6/9 oil

1/2 teaspoon of sea vegetables.

1 scoop of Protein Powder (I like Original New Zealand Whey – it’s the purest around – no gmo, antibiotics, etc fed to the animals that the protein is produced from). A plant based protein power is fine as well.

Blend for 40 seconds and enjoy. Makes 1 large glass or 2 small servings.

Do you have a clean recipe you want to share? Send it to us at recipes@optimumbodies.com.

Optimum Bodies Personal Training & Wellness Studio
619 Kingston Road West, Ajax ON
905-231-2234
www.optimumbodies.ca

It has only been a few days and I have already made two batches of these scrumptious cookies!
They are extremely easy to make, require simple ingredients, are dairy free, and of course, are a healthy alternative to all the other cookies out there!

Ingredients:
1  medium banana, mashed
1/2 cup creamy natural peanut butter (I used half almond butter and half natural peanut butter)
1/4 cup maple syrup (I used organic honey)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup whole wheat  flour
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1/3 cup dried cranberries (I also added shredded coconut, dark chocolate chips, raisins and ground flax seed for extra fiber!)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a small bowl, combine the banana, peanut butter/almond butter, syrup/honey, applesauce, and the vanilla extract.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, oats, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Stir the dry mixture into the wet mixture until well-combined. Stir in the cranberries.

Prepare a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Drop the dough onto the pan using a 1/4 cup measure. Wet a spatula and flatten down the mounds of dough so they are about 1/2 inch thick. (I put mine into a muffin tray with muffin liners so it’s easier to grab these yummy cookies and go!)

Bake for 15 minutes or until browned.  ENJOY!

Yield: 12-14  cookies.

Nutrition Information (per cookie): 134 calories; 5.3 g. fat; 0 mg. cholesterol; 90 mg. sodium; 19.6 g. carbohydrate; 2.4 g. fiber; 3.1 g. protein

Ever wonder what to do with all that leftover pulp you get when you use your juicer? Try mixing it up with some beans, rice and sweet potatoes for some high fiber veggie burgers!

My juice today consisted of:

• 2 cucumbers
• 4 stalks swiss chard
• 6 stalks kale
• 1 lemon
• 3 apples
• 1 inch piece of ginger

I squeezed all the excess juice out of the pulp and combined it with the following:

• 2 cooked sweet potatoes
• 1 can lentils (rinsed)
• 1 cup (measured dry) brown rice
• 1 egg
• 2 tbls olive oil
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp curry
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 2 1/2 tsp sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 & prepare 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and olive oil.  Mix all ingredients (except lentils and rice) in food processor.  Pour mixture into a large bowl and add lentils and rice.  Form into burger sized patties, bake @ 350 for 1 hour or more, turning halfway through.

Quinoa – an ancient grain, is a complete protein and is very versatile to cook with.  When cooked it has a fluffy, creamy texture and somewhat nutty flavor.  For this recipe, I added sweet ingredients to create a light and healthy breakfast.  I liked it so much I also ate it for lunch!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 2 tbsp of shaved coconut
• handful or raisins and/or cranberries
• 2 tbsp ground flaxseeds
• 1 tsp of cinnamon
• handful of walnuts or any nut for that matter

Dressing (optional):

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/8 cup white balsamic vinegar
• 1 clove of crushed garlic
• 1 tbls dijon mustard
• 1 tsp honey to taste

Directions:

Bring to boil 2 cups of water and 1 cup of quinoa (makes 2-3 servings)

Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until all water is absorbed and quinoa becomes fluffy (about 15 minutes)

Add all other ingredients according to personal preference and enjoy!

As we know, it is important to keep hydrated – especially before, during and after exercise.  This refreshing recipe brings water to life and helps fight bloating.

Directions & Ingredients

• Fill a jug with water (about 8 cups)
• Thinly slice and peel one medium cucumber
• Thinly slice one medium lemon
• One teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• A few stalks of celery
• 12 spearmint leaves

Combine all ingredients with the water, let the flavors marinate with each other.

The goal is to drink one jug by the end of each day.

We’ve been eating more vegetarian meals lately, in an effort to have a more alkaline (anti-inflammatory) diet. I had a craving for stuffed peppers the other day, and came up with the following tasty concoction:

Ingredients:

• 4 red peppers – halved lengthwise and seeds removed (keep the stems on if you can)
• 4 – 5 ripe tomatoes (diced)
• 3 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1 tbls dried oregano
• olive oil
• pinch of sea salt

Pre-heat your oven to 375. Cut the peppers in half lengthtwise, try to keep the stems on (for presentation purposes, plus they help the peppers keep their shape). Place peppers cut side up in a glass baking dish. Combine remaining ingredients together and fill the peppers. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake for approximately 50 minutes.  We had these with brown rice and they were absolutely delish! Next time I may add some fresh basil and kalamata olives.. There are so many possibilities with this recipe.

Do you have a clean recipe you want to share? Send it to us at recipes@optimumbodies.com.

Optimum Bodies Personal Training & Wellness Studio
619 Kingston Road West, Ajax ON
905-231-2234
www.optimumbodies.ca