Kale Chips Recipe

Kale is a powerhouse food packed with nutrients.  It can be enjoyed raw or cooked and in a variety of dishes: stir-fry, smoothies, salads or even as chips!

Weight loss and Digestive Health
The fiber (5 grams in one cup) and sulfur in kale aid with digestion and liver health. The fiber in kale also lowers cholesterol.  The Vitamin C it contains hydrates your body and increases your metabolism, leading to weight loss and healthy blood sugar levels. 

Improve your Immunity
Kale’s impressive concentration of nutrients strengthens the immune system and fights viruses and bacteria. Kale has more iron than beef, making it a great source of this valuable mineral for vegans and vegetarians. It helps more oxygen get to your blood and greatly helps those who are anemic. 

Healthier Hair, Skin & Nails
The healthy balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids keep your body strong, healthy and beautiful from the inside out. Kale’s concentration of major nutrients gives your skin’s health and appearance a boost. 

See Clearly and Stand Strong
Kale’s Vitamin A content helps keep the eyes from optical disorders that come with age. It also helps store vitamins in the retina. The calcium and vitamin K and D keep your bones strong. 

Anti-inflammatory
The omega-3 fatty acids in kale help fight and alleviate arthritis, autoimmune disorders and asthma. The vitamin C content helps relieve stiff joints.

Thanks to VegKitchen for this great explanation of benefits. 

Looking for an easy way to make Kale fun for everyone.  Try Kale Chips!

1. Wash and DRY Kale thoroughly.  Baking wet kale will become smelly, soggy and hard to eat.  I run the Kale through the salad spinner, paper towel dry and let it air dry for a few minutes before baking.

2.  I find it bakes better in longer strips so avoid breaking down too small - once they are baked and crunchy you can tear down the pieces making it a fun treat!

3.  Drizzle some olive oil, garlic n herbs, sale and pepper - be generously as kale can absorb the flavor nicely.  The lady I ran into at the supermarket uses meat spice and Turmeric (she couldn't stop praising the benefits of turmeric!).

4.  Bake in over at 250 for 20 minutes and turn the leaves after 10 minutes for even baking.

Happy Healthy Eating!

Athletes and Yoga

Athletes and yoga is one of professional sports best collaborations!

Many professional athletes and teams look to yoga to strengthen muscles, focus, and protect from injury.  

Baron Baptiste, who spent five years on the coaching staff of the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles, sees one common theme in athletes' bodies: one-dimensionality.

"There is a lot of overdevelopment in certain areas, and in other areas there is underdevelopment," he says. He recommends that teachers help students adapt their practices to suit their individual needs.

Runners tend to have tight hamstrings; cyclists often have tight quadriceps. Those engaged in throwing sports or swimming may complain of tired or aching shoulders; golfers and tennis players may have more freedom of rotation in one direction than the other.

Victor Cruz, wide receiver for the New York Giants credits yoga for at least part of his success.  Positions like the hero pose with toes tucked help create flexible ankles and lessen foot pain, allowing Cruz to avoid injury and flourish into one of the game’s best wide receivers.

Did you know the following athletes practice yoga: 
   

•  Vernon Davis, tight end for the San Francisco 49ers
•  Kevin Love, forward for the Minnesota Timberwolves
•  LeBron James, forward for the Miami Heat
•  Mike Krzyzewski, men's basketball coach

Through a routine yoga practice, many athletes can increase flexibility, increase lung capacity and in turn see the improvement in their sport.

What is HOT YOGA?

Hot Yoga is a trend that has taken off in the last several years.  A phenomenon of its own, as 5000 years ago there was no hot yoga - just yoga.  So then the question is - what is Hot Yoga?

Original Hot Yoga - BIKRAM
The original Hot Yoga was created during the 1970s by Bikram Chaudhary, who organized yoga poses into a strict 26 pose sequence with 2 breathing exercises and called it Bikram Yoga.  In this class, poses are held for a deep stretch and repeated twice.  Every class is 90 minutes and repeats the same sequence every class. Therefore no matter where in the country you go Bikram Yoga will be exactly the same.

Bikram Yoga soon became popular with celebrities and notable people.  Its appeal was in the extreme heat 105 degree room with a 40% humidity level.  That is just the starting temperature of the room and then once you add students the temperature soars.  There is a whole world of teachers who compete for the hottest classes and raise the temperatures to 110 or 115.  But I digress.

Bikram's popularity increased and in an effort to protect his creation, franchised studios who wanted to bring Bikram Yoga to their neighborhood.  As a copyrighted sequence (recently that was re-evaluted in a case with Yoga to the People) and a franchise organization - Bikram has had no qualms going after small local studios who offered Bikram Yoga without franchise/royalty agreements.


 So then what is Hot Yoga?
The term HOT YOGA became popular by those devoted to the 26 pose sequence looking to offer the class without fear of litigation - and hence offered Bikram yoga under the alias Hot Yoga. 

This is where is becomes slightly confusing.

Hot Yoga ALSO has been used to include Vinyasa or Power Yoga styles. 

In actuality, hot yoga is any yoga style variation done in a heated room. Some classes refer to 80 degrees as Hot Yoga and some refer to 95 degrees as Hot Yoga.  Typically, the room is 90-100 degrees F.  Notable names of heated vinyasa styles are: Baptiste Power Yoga, Bryan Kest Power Yoga, Jimmy Barkan - Barkan Method of Hot Yoga.

Therefore, reading the description of a class called HOT YOGA is important to understand if it is following the 26 poses or a more Vinyasa (flow) style.


Notable Differences
Vinyasa/Power Yoga classes are continuous movements where each pose is linked together by breath and the continuous movement begins to generate heat from within.  Vinyasa Yoga & Power Yoga lends itself to more creative interpretation as it is not always bound by a set sequence.  Some teachers may choose to follow a classic Baptiste, Barkan Method class or simply have their class be inspired by their style leaving it to the teacher to uniquely sequence.  Whereas every Bikram class in the country will be the same - it is not guaranteed that any 2 Vinyasa classes will be the same.

1. A broader array of arm balances, inversions, breathing techniques and meditation can be explored in Vinyasa versus in a classic Bikram class.
2. Vinyasa/Power Yoga styles emphasizes internal heat to purge toxins and stretch whereas Bikram emphasizes combating a sweltering room to detox and stretch.
3. Bikram Yoga is a repetitious practice and therefore does not lend itself to variation in Vinyasa.

Take Aways
There is no right or wrong to Hot Yoga - understanding and experiencing various classes helps to better choose the class/studio that best fits your preferences for heat, styles (static vs. flow) and exploration of yoga poses/philosophy.

All Bikram Yoga is Hot Yoga BUT not all Hot Yoga is Bikram!