Pre-Run Yoga Warm Up

The weather is doing crazy things right now.  Last week felt like fall, and today feels like high summer without the humidity.  It seems like summer overstays its welcome more and more each year.  Regardless, this is the perfect time of year to go for a run.  It's not too hot, and it's too early to worry about slipping on an icy patch.  Running is the perfect cardio too because the only equipment you really need is a pair of shoes.

This yoga sequence was inspired by all the runners in my life.  Running (I am including sprinting and jogging here too!) can take a toll on your joints, and can cause imbalances and injuries in the body when done improperly.  A good warmup can make all the difference in your run and can prevent common injuries.  Yoga is the perfect way to cross train and complements running perfectly.

Consider this "Part 1."  Part 2 will be a runner's cool down for after your run.  In this workout, we loosen up the body from top to bottom, strengthen the core, and stretch out the hips.  It is appropriate for all levels but feel free free to modify as necessary.  Do this before your run, go run, then do a brief cool down, and you'll have a full and complete workout.

HERE is the workout

Pumpkin Protein Pancakes!

I thought I'd gained five pounds this week.  As soon as there was a below-seventy-degrees day in September, I jumped wholeheartedly into the idea of fall, breaking out the sweaters (way too early) and the pumpkin-spice-everything.  I bought a few cans of pumpkin and got to work experimenting with its autumnal deliciousness, expecting to create dizzyingly beautiful pumpkin creations for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

In reality, most of those experiments were utter failures, and instead of being doled out to family and friends in a frenzy of autumnal good cheer, they went straight to me, and my waistline.  Better than letting it go to waste, right?  Hence why I thought I gained five pounds.  I finally gathered up the courage to weigh myself and it turned out I gained 0.5, not 5.  And, since I'm technically bulking in the gym and have increased my strength gains recently, I'm going to assume that was a half-pound of muscle I gained, and say "go me."  So yeah.

The one thing that came out pretty good was my pumpkin protein pancakes.  Of course, I've already admitted to being obsessed with pancakes so it was pretty hard to fuck them up.  But still.

So I'm going to keep experimenting with pumpkin and hope to come up with some healthy recipes to share here.  Until then, enjoy this recipe for pumpkin protein pancakes.  They are super easy and super healthy and really hit that pumpkin spice craving.  They are made with protein powder, but if you don't have any lying around, I've found that you can get single-serving packets of protein powder at most health food stores.

These pancakes are grain free, high in protein and beta carotene (Vitamin A) and chock-full of trendy superfoods like chia seeds and flax.  They are high in protein and fat and low carb, at least until you add syrup.  Which you totally don't have to do.

Mine might've been high fat because I used waaaay too much butter in the pan too.

Recipe (for 1 person):

1 scoop your choice of protein powder
2 (free range, organic) large eggs
1/2 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
1 TBSP chia seeds (optional)
dash of cinnamon
dash of nutmeg (or pumpkin pie spice)
milk as needed

Mix the first 7 ingredients, then add the milk little by little until you have a good pancake batter consistency.  Drop into hot greased skillet, and flip when bubbles form.  Serve with real maple syrup, grass-fed butter, and maybe some walnuts.  Perfect fall breakfast!

I'm not going to post the nutrition info here because a lot depends on your choice of protein powder (a lot contain added sweetener and amounts of total protein vary wildly), the kind of milk you use (almond milk has 60 calories per cup, whole cow's milk has 148), and whether you use the chia seeds or butter your skillet.  Suffice it to say, this recipe is great for when you want something sweet and seasonal but don't want the carbs.

Enjoy!  Let me know if there is any fall food you'd like me to try to health-ify and I'll try to do it!

Grain-Free Decadent Chocolate Chip Cookies

Last week I visited a friend in Brooklyn and stumbled into a little health-food store.  Since I hadn't planned on shopping I didn't have a plan and just grabbed some things off the shelf that looked interesting, including some coconut flour, which I've been really curious about trying, and this awesome flax/cocoa/blueberry/strawberry blend.  Seriously, how healthy does that sound??

What did I decide to make with it?  Chocolate chip cookies, of course!  Cookies are something I can make without a recipe out of almost anything, so why not?  It took a few failed tries to get the recipe right, but I think they came out great.  These cookies are in no wise low-calorie.  Sorry.  A cookie is basically a ball of sugar and fat and that's what these are.  However, they are still relatively healthy.  They carry a lower glycemic load than regular cookies, are full of healthy fats (yes, including saturated fat) and antioxidants, and one cookie contains 25% of your DV for fiber.  If you use the flax/cocoa blend, these cookies will contain a hefty dose of iron, B vitamins, magnesium, selenium, and calcium.

Coconut flour is made from the dried, defatted meat of coconuts and is high in fiber and a good source of protein.  It is much lower in carbohydrates than normal flour and is gluten free.  I did my research online and estimates vary wildly about just how much coconut flour should be used to substitute for wheat flour, but the bottom line is that you cannot just substitute coconut flour for wheat in a 1:1 ratio because it doesn't behave like regular flour.  For one thing, coconut flour absorbs a lot of liquid, something which ruined my first two attempts at these cookies.  If you're going to use coconut flour you should up the liquid accordingly.  Another thing is that it tastes like coconut, which can be good or bad depending on your tastes, but to my mind the subtle coconut flavor takes these cookies to the next level.  So good!  Use virgin, unrefined coconut oil for the most health benefits and coconut flavor.

Since I am certainly no expert in cooking with coconut flour, all I can say is what worked for me in this particular recipe.  I tweaked the recipe several times and the end result was delicious.  The other secret ingredient was that flax/cocoa/berry blend.  I must admit I was skeptical of this at first because I really don't like fruit.

What?!

Yes, even though I am a vegetarian and try to eat healthy, I hate fruit.  Of course, that doesn't stop me from eating fruit, because I need my antioxidants, but it helps if it's hidden in a delicious chocolatey powder like this.  Fortunately, a combination of this magical powder with the coconut flour created a workable flour for baking that, as a bonus, tasted like chocolate and coconut (and NOT like berries, thank God.).  If you can't get your hands on this, ground flaxseed makes a perfect substitute.

Lastly, one time when making chocolate chip cookies I made the exact opposite mistake than that of Ruth Wakefield, infamous inventor of the chocolate chip cookie.  According to legend, Ms. Wakefield  intended to make chocolate cookies and had hoped the chocolate chips would melt and permeate the cookies.  They didn't melt and thus the chocolate chip cookie was born.  WELL.  I intended to make chocolate chip cookies once but in a fit of impatience melted the butter I was using, which in turn melted the chocolate chips.  The result was fantastic.  The chocolate chips melted into the batter but still maintained some shape, meaning the resulting cookies were chocolatey in the crumb but also punctuated by misshapen chocolate chips.  I did the same thing when making these cookies and OMG.  So good.  "Is there ganache in this?" "What is that chocolate you used?"  Were some questions I was asked.  You don't have to melt the chocolate like I did, but why wouldn't you?  The chocolate melts into the sponginess of the coconut flour, leaving the finished cookie with a unique crumbly, rich texture.

Yes, they look like meatballs.  They're cookies, I swear!

So here is the recipe.  It is a slightly smaller batch than your typical Tollhouse Cookie recipe and makes about 16 cookies.  These cookies are decadent and chocolatey, but also flourless, gluten free, high in antioxidants, fiber, and MCT oils.

Chocolate Chip Cookies:

1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup ground flaxseed or flax/cocoa blend
2/3 cup coconut palm sugar
2 large organic, free-range eggs
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 tsp baking soda
optional: shredded coconut or chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Mix the dry ingredients and chocolate chips.  Pop the coconut oil in the microwave (in a microwave-safe cup or bowl please!) for a few seconds until mostly liquid, then quickly incorporate into the dry mix.  The chocolate chips should melt slightly (you don't want it so hot that they liquify entirely).  Finally add the eggs.  Drop onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for about 12 minutes.  Enjoy!

Nutrition Info for 1 cookie:
calories: 170, protein: 3.3 grams, fat: 11.33 grams (8 grams saturated, 2 grams monounsaturated, 1.3 grams polyunsaturated), carbohydrates: 25 grams (7.5 grams fiber)

Backbend Sequence

When creating a yoga practice, we want to focus on moving the spine in all the ways possible: bending forward, backward, laterally, and twisting.  Today's sequence focuses on back bending, and the good news is that unlike my last few sequences, this one is appropriate for all levels.  I personally love strengthening my lower back, as it's an oft-neglected part of the core that protects the spine.  With that in mind we begin here with some back strengthening backbends, that may seem deceptively simple, before moving on to the more impressive looking backbends that work more on stretching out the front of the body.  With the more stretchy backbends, the key is to lengthen out of the lower back, keeping the spine as long as possible and not compressed.

While I was recording, my cat BooBoo decided that was the perfect time to play with me, so you can hear her a bit in the background.  I don't know what it is about cats and yoga, but they love it!  I like to think they attracted to the calm energy we emit from the mat.  When we first got my cat Roxy she pulled one of these on me.

My cat Monkey is fond of what we call "yoga mat attention." He is a connoisseur of every kind of attention possible: good attention (pets), bad attention (yeah right.  He just gets more pets.), on-top-of-the-refigerator attention, etc.  But his favorite is yoga mat attention.  He won't let me do yoga without first petting him on the mat for at least fifteen minutes.  

Here he is about to get "on the stairs" attention.

BooBoo loves yoga too, but she loves when I work out in general.  I swear she pretends to spar when I put on kickboxing dvds.  When I recorded this she was all over me, and you can hear her knocking things over and trying to knock me over on the recording.  Whoops.  You can also hear planes in the background, which I tried to get rid of but that messed with the audio so in the end I left it in.  

This is the kind of sequence I like to include in my "open level" classes.  Usually in these classes there are at least one or two yogis who add extra vinyasas between each pose as well as one or two yogis who have no idea what the hell the word "vinyasa" even means.  I like teaching those classes.  It's a challenge to try to, well,  challenge everyone.  This backbending sequence is challenging because it requires strength more than flexibility.  It is challenging because it strengthens the posterior muscles, muscles we tend to ignore because we can't see them.  It is challenging because we have to stay completely present in these poses; if your attention wanes your body loses the pose. The deepest bend we attempt is Camel Pose:

HERE is the audio.

Practice this sequence as part of your daily practice or on its own.  And let me know what you think on Twitter and in the comments!

Happy Hips: An Advanced Yoga Sequence

Do you experience tight hips or back pain?  You may simply need to stretch out your hips more.  Add some Pigeon Pose to your life.  This 13 minute sequence is designed to progressively stretch out the legs while opening up the hips and low back.  I created this sequence for people who already have good flexibility in the legs and are familiar with pose terminology.   I will do a sequence for beginners at a later date.

In this sequence, we move from Downward Dog to a split-leg Downward Dog to a high lunge, arms upraisedto a low lunge, to Lizard Pose (Utthan Pristhasana), to Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Rajkapotasana), to the variation of Pigeon that I call Mermaid Pose to Intense Side Stretch (Parsvottanasana), back to Downward Dog.

I don't do a very good job of explaining the transition between Pigeon and Intense Side Stretch in the audio so let me attempt to rectify that here.  From Pigeon, take the front leg into a low lunge by rolling onto the foot and lifting the knee, tuck the back toes under and push up into a low lunge, lining up the feet, then slowly straighten the legs and square the hips.  You may need to stand up to reposition yourself before folding back over the legs.  In this version the arms are dangling, but if you're feeling adventurous you can try Eagle arms, Yoga Mudra, or reverse-Anjali Mudra.

PLEASE be warmed up before attempting this sequence.  I suggest my 14 Sun Salutations audio or some more yoga before doing this.  Or just do 50 jumping jacks and 20 squats first.  Seriously.  These are pretty intense stretches.  What are we stretching?  Mostly the hamstrings and hip flexors.  Tight hip flexors are extremely common due to a high prevalence of desk jobs and long commutes, and can lead to lumbar compression, resulting in low back pain.  Keeping the hip flexors long and supple can potentially improve your run times, so this sequence is perfect for runners, especially if you have tight hamstrings.  Follow with a few twists and you'll have stretched out the whole core from every angle.

Here is the audio.

LINK

Let me know in the comments what you think, and what my next yoga sequence should be!

Broccoli Slaw Pasta Revisited

This was a revelation that literally woke me up in the middle of the night: while broccoli slaw made kind of meh Italian-style pasta, it would probably be fucking bangin in a Chinese-style pasta-ish dish.    I could add snap peas and broccoli and make an amazing stir fry!  I have really stupid, mundane revelations that keep me up at night.  And it turned out some companies had already thought of this.

So this recipe isn't exactly rocket science.  But once you learn to make a decent stir fry, you can mix it up and add anything.  This is the perfect easy weeknight meal.

When I get Chinese food I usually get vegetable lo mein, or steamed tofu with mixed vegetables if I'm trying to lose weight.  The steamed tofu and vegetable dish that most takeout Chinese places have is absolutely flavorless and akin to eating steamed cardboard but it's low carb.  I've tried in this dish to combine the flavor of a lo mein with the nutrition and lack of carbs in the tofu dish.  It came out fabulous!

This is what I did.
First you heat some garlic in sesame oil and add your cubed tofu.

Then add in the mushrooms and stir fry mix.

Finally, add your secret ingredient.

Seaweed snacks!  They add a great umami element and the perfect amount of salt (especially if you use low-sodium soy sauce).  

This is so good and really reminiscent of Chinese takeout, only you save all that grease and unnecessary carbohydrates.  The seaweed and mushrooms add crucial micronutrients to this easy veggie dish so it is super good for you.

Here's the recipe for 2 people, or 2 to 4 servings:

1/2 package broccoli slaw stir fry mix
4 oz cubed extra firm tofu
1 cup chopped button or baby bella mushrooms
4 sheets of seaweed snacks
1 TBSP sesame oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
soy sauce to taste

Sautee the garlic and tofu for about 4 minutes, then add the other vegetables.  Add soy sauce a little at a time, and stir frequently.  Once the mushrooms and broccoli are cooked to your taste, crumble the seaweed on top.  Serve immediately and enjoy!

Throwback Thursday: Downward Dog

Today's TBT is all about the basics.  It's always good to revisit the classics.  Proper form is essential for Downward Dog, and we use it a lot in yoga.  

Do you have any of these common problems in Downward Dog?  I'm talking about tight shoulders, a rounded back, too much pressure on the wrists?  Check out the video and let me know in the comments if this video helps!