Kale, The Ninja Veggie

Welcome to Ninja Green: KALE, one of my favorites for many good reasons!
Kale is a green leafy vegetable of the wild cabbage family, big in the times of ancient Rome and widely used by peasants, brought to the US by English Settlers in the 1600s.
Kale is hardy and tastes best after a frost, sweeter when fresh, more bitter as it ages… best in the winter, but available year round. Choose crisp vibrant looking Kale with no discoloration (yellowing), and make sure it is organic.

Popular varieties are:

• Curly Kale (Scotch Kale): Dark green leaves, a bit tough, defined stock and a nice peppery, pungent bitter deliciousness.
• Dino Kale (known also as Lacinato Kale): very dark green with an embossed texture, slightly less stocky, a bit sweeter and more delicate than the Curly Kale.
• Russian Kale (known also as Purple Kale): broader and deeply serrated leaves. More delicate and mellow flavored kale. Easy to eat raw, or very quick blanching or steaming.
• Ornamental Kale: like a bouquet of flowers, ruffled edged violet and cream leaves. Mostly used as garnish.

Health Benefits:

• Kale is an excellent source of Carotenes, Vitamin C, B6, and manganese.
• 1 cup of Kale supplies more than 70% of the RDA of vitamin C with only 20 calories!
• It is a great source of fiber, minerals including copper, iron and calcium, and a good source of B1, B2 and E Vitamins.
• Kale is warming, eases lung congestion, benefits the stomach, and is a specific healer for the liver and the immune system. Good for the eyes (contains Lutein).
• Ayurveda: Kale reduces Pitta and Kapha

Preparation tips:

Start by washing the kale well. Then remove the leaves off the stem. If cooking Kale you can start by chopping the stems and cooking them first, adding the leaves later. The leaves are ready as soon as they turn bright green. If you cook them too long they turn not so pretty olive green and loose lots of their nutrients. Salt helps bring out the bright green, while acid might turn it army green. So if adding acid, like lemon, add it at the end before serving, and it will stay beautiful.

I love my Kale raw. My favorite salad is inspired by Esalen’s famous Kale salad. Any type of kale would work.

Kale Salad:
Remove the leaves from the stem, and shred them (you can simply tear them by hand to bite size pieces.
Save the kale stems for stock or throw them into your juice or smoothies, they are a great source of fiber.

Dressing:

• 1 part olive oil
• 1 part lemon juice
• 1 part NamaShoyo (or any other good quality organic soy sauce, including Braggs) NamaShoyo is unpasteurized, and raw, so better flavor and more health benefits.

• Whisk dressing well.
• Massage the dressing into the leaves till they are completely coated ( and look bright green). The longer the kale sits with the dressing on it, the softer it gets, so sometimes I make it a few hours ahead. It also means that it will still be great the next day.
• I love adding nuts and seeds, like pumpkin and sesame (I sprout them first, but not a must).
• You can also slice some daikon radish thinly into the mix. Play and enjoy!

Veggie juices and shakes:

• 4 large leaves of Kale and stock rough chopped
• 1-2 Cups apple juice (to get the blender turning)
• Add veggies like daikon and radishes for a pungent taste
• Add a small amount of beets for a sweeter juice
• add soaked flax seeds with their water (good fats, fiber and omega 3's)
  
• Add berries for a summer feast?
• My recent Love is Kale, apple juice, frozen mango cubes and some shredded coconut, YUM.
• Play and enjoy, it’s hard to go wrong!

More Ideas:

• Lightly sauté kale leaves in olive oil with some fresh garlic. Add a bit of lemon juice or tamari (soy sauce) before serving.
• Braise Kale. Remove from heat and add balsamic vinegar, apples, walnuts and goat cheese.
• Use it as a Pizza topping. Yummy and looks great on red sauce or white cheese.
• Add it to your favorite bean soup or stew (add stock first and leaves at the end)
• Add it to your tomato pasta sauce or as a layer in your lasagna

Bon Apetit!

Your Body as your Temple

The Yoga practice, being sore and Injuries

Seems like most people I know suffer from some sort of injury one time or another. Here are a few tips, from Yoga practice to supplements and food.

Before I begin my practice I bring my awareness to my body. Feeling where it is today, awake, stiff, sore or energetic. Then I take a moment to feel gratitude towards it. I am here, alive, breathing in this body. As I connect with my breath I add a smile, and feel softness. ahhhh :)

I am feeling sore, to practice or not to practice?

Yes, keep practicing, but: First lets distinguish between pain and discomfort or being sore. Pain is not good, and one should stop as soon as pain is there. Discomfort, however, is a sign to yield, to take notice, and to breathe into the place of discomfort. This allows the body to open. Soreness should be treated like discomfort. There is no need to stop practicing—just practice with extra awareness, take it slow and gentle, and modify where needed. When sore, practice to the place of discomfort and not beyond. Practicing 80% of my normal is where I usually like to go.

Remember: Practice is good, but know your edge – there is no benefit in pushing too hard. Treating your body with respect and honoring the signs it gives you is crucial. If we learn to listen to the body, and understand that every day, every moment is different, then we can practice in a sustainable manner. If yesterday, or 10 years ago, there were things that were very easy for me, it does not mean that they are easy today, and I do not expect to perform the same way everyday. Every moment is like a new beginning, and I trust what my body tells me at that particular moment.

Helpful foods for maintaining a healthy body

• Pineapple and garlic both have anti-inflammatory properties and help the body heal from inflammation internally.

• Fresh fruit helps the body absorb the helpful mineral MSM (see below).

• Dark Leafy greens, like kale, beet and mustard greens, arugula, baby salad mix, etc.

• Sprouts

• Raw vegetable juices or blends: I like to blend my veggies so I keep the fiber and have no waste. They become more like thick soups. I use whatever is around. You can play and use any of the ingredients below, no rule!

• Dark, leafy greens

• Celery (absolutely essential due to its high water content)

• A quarter beet (the juice becomes bright red)

• A small piece of daikon radish

• A small carrot (not always as it is very sweet)

• Herbs if around (parsley, cilantro) great for cleansing

• A cube of ginger (can get spicy!)

• Apple juice to get the blender going (100% raw, unfiltered juice)

• A pinch of salt

• A clove of garlic

Supplements:

3 grams MSM with 500 mg Vitamin C and lots of water

MSM (Methylsulfonylmethane)

MSM originates in the ocean but is extracted from the lignin of pine trees. Good quality MSM is indistinguishable from the MSM found in broccoli, peppers, Brussels sprouts, onions, asparagus, cabbage, and mother's milk. MSM acts as a powerful antioxidant and healing source of natural sulfur.

Don’t I get enough from food? Yoga students tend to for put a great deal of stress on their muscles, joints, tendons, and ligaments; and sulfur (MSM), is an essential mineral for promoting elasticity, strength, and the general health of our bodies' tissues. You can find MSM many times sold together in joint formulas, or as a therapy for hair, nails and skin. This is because MSM helps repair every cell of our body.

You can read more on this site http://www.all-natural.com/msm.html

To read the article on my blog page click here

Blissful Living - Yoga and Nutrition - The workshop

How was it? I keep being asked?
It was one of the best weekends of my life! I had so much fun. I enjoyed the energy of the group, the practice, and was super surprised at the amount of info I carry with me. Good thing we do not need to buy more hard-drives for all that our mind holds. It would be nice to see my hard drives creating new cells within themselves when new info arrives.

Friday, October 24th, 12 participants and my self were sitting in a circle and meditating. Sitting tall sharing the same air, breathing in and out as the energies merge.

While creating the workshop, I tried to imagine the perfect workshop for me. What would I really want to see in a workshop? Weekend workshops always seem quick to me, and rarely do I feel we went deep enough.
So Friday night after a brief introduction of each other, and an intro to the weekend, we dived right in. Filling out an Ayurvedic body type questionnaire, and then a talk. I presented the Blissful Living approach I’ve been cultivating and working on for the past16 years. A lot of info was shared in a very relaxed way.
We finished class with half an hour of restorative Yoga, getting ready for a hot tub or sleep.
Since I wanted to give more “meat” to Friday, I offered an optional blissful Yoga class in the afternoon. And oh did we go deep!

Saturday we had two sessions during the day, 3 hours each. We practiced Pranayama, Asana (poses), and meditation and studied more about nutrition. It was a beautiful combination.

Saturday eve, as an optional gathering, we met for a free form dance session. ( I was the DJ….some 70’s, 80’s and electro music blend…)
An hour and a half of complete let go, just pure fun, completed with Savasana (the corpse pose).

Sunday was mostly Asana, and a closing circle.
We sat close, felt each other, just a weekend passed, but it felt very solid.
Words were thrown into the circle: “gratitude, calm, happy, dark leafy greens, courage, permission, love, MSM, balance…”

During the next day or two, I noticed how the participants were moving with awareness towards nutrition and a healthy life style; the food plates were colorful and had raw and greens, others went and bought some supplements, I saw herbal tea replacing coffee, sitting quietly outside and chewing food longer, drinking water with full attention, I see organic discussions happening in the lodge, talk about fermentation and raw dairy…

A feeling of joy, surrender and satisfaction comes over me. I have found my calling.
Teaching and sharing with others is the greatest gift I have received.
I now follow the footsteps of my parents, both educators. Both are people, who have had the idea of sharing, teaching and celebrating with others a mission.
Sing along at home with more people that can ever fit in (“if there is room in the heart there is room in the house”, they used to tell me), dancing down fifth Avenue in NY, my Mom led her folk dance group in the late 60’s, teaching in JCC’s and bringing tours to Israel, my Dad still has people who talk about him with great appreciation decades later.
It is the teaching with compassion, finding the middle way, and accepting change even within the teachings that is the light to my teachings.

Thank you all those that attended, those that shared their encouragement before the workshop, and those that inquired after.

Thank you all that made this possible, and those that help this carry on.
December 12 is my next weekend workshop.
May I always be of service to others.