Back pain? I get relief in 5 minutes with this

As a new mom, I daydream of the days I could just make an appointment for a massage and without much planning, head on over.  With a newborn at home, that’s a bit harder.  Getting bodywork is important for me as I tend to experience upper back pain if I spend too many hours hunched over a desk working (I try to avoid this by taking breaks, but sometimes it happens!).  Yet securing a couple of hours away from home has gotten trickier.  That’s why my acupressure mat is a lifesaver these days, and why I just remembered to share this with you all.  I’m pretty sure you guys will fall in love with it as well. 

Here’s a pretty cool video describing the mat in case you can’t visualize how it works.

The mat works similar to acupuncture, with the pressure of the nails helping release endorphins (which provide joy, energy, and pain relief) and oxytocin (which make you feel calm and relaxed).  I started using it a few years ago and adore it.  I feel relief just taking it out to use it, knowing what’s coming once I do.  And no need to worry, the "nails" are made of plastic.  Here’s a rundown of most of its benefits:

• Relieves the following pain:
  • Lower, mid, and upper back pain
  • Neck pain (if you use the neck option)
  • Nerve pain
  • Shoulder pain
• Relieves headaches and migraines
• Relieves stiff neck
• Stimulates blood and improves circulation
• Stress reliever
• Helps reduce insomnia
• Improves sleep quality
• Increases energy levels 
• It has great relaxation benefits:
  • Helps with healing
  • Wonderful to meditate on (once you get used to it!)
  • Deepens any relaxation state

The best part?  This is so much cheaper than getting routine massages.  So maybe I can’t get body work often with my new life, but at least I’m saving money! This particular mat has some impressive claims: 98% of participants reported pain relief, 96% reported relaxation, 94% reported improved sleep, and 81% reported an increase in energy levels.  Pretty cool. 

I hope this article is of service to you.  I would absolutely love to hear from you, so please leave a comment below.  If you enjoyed this post, share it with your friends and family!

Lots of love,

Judith

Eggs & Rainbow Quinoa

I love having this for breakfast.  It makes me feel so well taken care of…for me, it’s almost like a big, loving hug I am giving myself in the morning.  Rainbow quinoa is a blend of white, red, and black quinoa and has a wonderful nutty taste and bite to eat.  It’s my favorite quinoa, though any would work.

Eggs & Rainbow Quinoa

1 serving, maybe two if you aren’t that hungry

Ingredients

• 1-2 eggs

• ¾ of a cup quinoa cooked (rainbow quinoa is my favorite! Also, it’s awesome to use leftover quinoa. I always search my fridge to see if there is any leftover and use that)
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons of any onion you have laying around (white, green, red, shallot), chopped
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper

Preparation

Take 1 tablespoons of olive oil and place in a heated pan.  Add the minced garlic and sauté for less than a minute or until fragrant.  Add the chopped onions and sauté for a couple of minutes until slightly translucent.  Take the garlic and onions and set aside on a plate.  Take 1 or 2 more tablespoons of olive oil and heat in the same pan you used for the garlic and onion.  Fry your egg (or your 2 eggs).  Set aside your fried eggs.  Take your cooked quinoa and add it to the same sauté pan you have been using.  Take your garlic and onions and add them again to the sauté pan.  Heat and mix the quinoa, garlic, and onions together. Sprinkle some salt and pepper to taste.  And it’s ready! Take your quinoa, place it on a plate, and take your eggs and place them on top.  Sprinkle some more salt and pepper on the eggs.  Enjoy!

I would love to hear from you, so please leave a comment below.  If you enjoyed this post, share it with your friends and family!

Lots of love,

Judith

An amazingly simple sausage recipe

This sausage recipe is phenomenal and so easy to make (I love recipes that are delicious and easy to make, if you haven’t noticed :-).  We had it with the fresh pasta we made this one Saturday night of cooking. It’s from Alice Waters’ amazing book “The Art of Simple Food”.  Try it!

1 pound ground pork (with 25-30% fat)

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon fresh-ground pepper

2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage leaves (this is the key.  FRESH, fresh sage!)

A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

A pinch of cayenne

Mix well enough to distribute all of the seasonings, but do not mash the meat.  I used a sauté pan to cook the sausage, breaking it up as it cooked so I would bite size pieces of sausage.  Because of the high fat content, I did not need to use oil.  Just a hot sauté pan and the sausage meat! The sage and nutmeg season the meat in a very special way…Let me know what you think after you try it

A great way to exercise at home in very little time

I discovered rebounding a few years ago and I love it!  I am not a runner and up until recently, I was having a hard time finding a way to do cardio without having to make the trip out to the gym.  For days that I am short on time, I can do my yoga and strength building exercises at home with some really great DVD’s (will post on these soon).  But a good cardio workout?  I couldn’t find an option that worked!  Until I discovered rebounding.  The exercise is so great, that NASA has commented on it: “...for similar levels of heart rate and oxygen consumption, the magnitude of the biomechanical stimuli is greater with jumping on a trampoline than with running…” 

Rebounding is done with a small trampoline, a good rebounding video, and your favorite music.  It is that simple.  And the benefits are amazing:

1.       An amazing cardio workout (NASA says it all above)

2.       All body exercise that improves muscle tone throughout the body (my abs do look better!)

3.       Full body detox: the movement created by rebounding helps activate the lymphatic system, the system that helps drain toxins from the body.  Flushing toxins while exercising is pretty win-win

4.       Bone and joint health, improving bone density

5.       Cellulite Reduction (listen up ladies!).  Activation of the lymphatic system improves flow in cellulite prone areas

6.       Improved posture, balance, reaction time & coordination

7.       Improved immune system

8.       Improved digestion

I cannot stress how much this exercise has improved and changed my life.  I am not stressed out trying to make it to the gym, or bummed if I can’t seem to find time.  I don’t need as much time to burn the same number of calories, as it usually takes me 60 minutes to burn 450 calories or so on the elliptical and I burn 400 in 30 minutes of rebounding.  Now that is efficient!  More importantly, rebounding gets me in a feel-good, happy state.  When I’m jumping up and down, there is this giddy happiness that comes over me.  I daydream of all the great things I can create.  And as you guys know, what you feel you bring to life. 

Lots of love,

Judith

Here are some free Youtube videos I use to work out with:

Broiled Garlicky Chicken with lots of Lemon

This is a simple recipe that is fast and easy.  A great weekday dinner option!  The recipe is from Mark Bittman’s “How to Cook Everything”.  We really enjoyed it in my home, especially how easy and fast it was to make.

1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (here’s how to cheat: get chicken tenders or cutlets, you’ll have pieces pre-cut for you!)

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3-4 garlic cloves, minced (best way to mince (picture here): smash the garlic with a wooden spoon, take the peel off, and then mince a way with a knife)

Salt

Pepper

Lemon wedges

Parsley leaves, chopped

Place the oven rack at least 4 inches from your broiler.  Heat your broiler for a few minutes before you put the chicken in.  If you bought whole chicken breasts, cut them into cutlets/tenders and make sure they are all the same thickness so they cook evenly.  If they are not, pound them with a rolling pin covered in saran wrap, or a meat tenderizer (picture here).  Toss the chicken pieces with the garlic and olive oil. Place them under the broiler.  Now, you know my advice with broiling…things happen fast!  You cannot multitask here.  Depending on the thickness of your chicken, each side will take 5-7 minutes.  You can cut a chicken piece in the middle to see if it’s fully cooked (completely white inside or 160 degrees on a thermometer).  Take the lemon wedges and sprinkle the chicken with lemon juice.  Take the parsley and sprinkle all over.  We had this with garlic lemon broccolini, but you can have it with whatever suits you best (brown rice, salad, quinoa, etc.)!

Homemade quinoa granola

I am still cooking through the awesome cookbook “It’s All Good” and made this great recipe a couple of Sunday’s ago.  It made 6 cups from which my husband and I are still having breakfast!  He puts some on his yogurt, I have it with some almond milk J

½ cup of extra virgin olive oil

½ cup of maple syrup

3 cups quinoa flakes

Sea salt

1 ¼ cups chopped raw walnuts

1 ¼ cups chopped raw pumpkin seeds

¾ cup chopped dried figs

¾ cup chopped pitted prunes

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Whisk together the olive oil and maple syrup, and add the quinoa flakes (You want a large bowl for this).  Once you combine, spread evenly over a baking sheet (I like to put aluminum foil or parchment paper for easy clean up).  Sprinkle with a pinch of  salt.  Roast.  The recipe says to stir now and then, but I actually made a mess when I tried to do this!  Also, the mixture became uneven and started to burn.  So I recommend not stirring.  Just roast until it is golden brown, about 25 minutes.  When the mixture is cooled, combine with the walnuts, pumpkin seeds, figs, and prunes.  DELICIOUS!

Spicy salmon, sesame ginger carrots, and yummy seaweed rice

For over a year now, I have revamped my diet.  I increased my protein intake and decreased refined carbs, refined sugar, and salt.  Over the past few weeks, I have taken a step further and have begun to eat clean! 

What is clean eating?  There are several definitions out there, but for the most part it is about eating fresh vs. processed foods, no additive sugar (only natural), limiting salt to a healthy level, avoiding gluten, eating organic and hormone free, limiting or avoiding dairy, no coffee intake, and taking out the chemicals from your diet (yes, many sauces and dressings have this!). 

I would like to report: I FEEL GREAT!  For the most part, I’ll use the Body section of my newsletter to bring you what I’m eating (though I can tell you right now that cooking for me is a Spiritual practice that reenergizes my Mind).  At this point, you might think “What is there left to eat???”  Well, a lot.  And as a Latina married to an Indian, where flavor and spice are MEGA important, there is a lot out there that tastes DELICIOUS.  So excited to bring you along on this journey!

All the dishes below I got from “It’s All Good” a cookbook I am cooking through, with some tiny changes that are more to my liking (you will see many dishes from here until I finish it and start cooking through one of Mark Bittman’s books).

Below, broiled and roasted salmon:

·         Zest of ½ lime

·         1 ½ tablespoons of freshly squeezed lime juice

·         1 ½ teaspoons of sriracha sauce (Again, these sauces are filled with chemicals, so the book has has a recipe for a homemade sriracha sauce.  That is what I made and used, and it’s DELICIOUS)

·         1 tablespoon maple syrup

·         Sea or Kosher salt

·         1 ¼ pound salmon fillet

·         2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

I combined the lime zest, lime juice, sriracha sauce, maple syrup, and salt (to taste) in a bowl.  I then rubbed the mixture on top of the salmon.  I then broiled the salmon until it browned/crusted to my liking on top.  DO NOT WALK AWAY FROM YOUR BROILER WHEN YOU ARE DOING THIS.  You will burn the salmon (or anything else that you ever broil).  Just stand next to the stove and open the stove door, peeking through to check what is going on.  This takes a few minutes at most…it is quick! Then I turned off the broiler and turned on the oven to 425 degrees and roasted the salmon until it was cooked through, about 12 minutes or so.  “It’s All Good” does not broil the salmon and just roasts it…I love a bit of a crust and bite :) Either way works!

A wonderful side – Sesame ginger carrots

·         2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

·         2 teaspoons finely minced ginger

·         4 large carrots

·         Sea or Kosher salt

·         ¾ teaspoon sesame oil (I love sesame oil, so this is more than what the book recommends, use it to your liking!)

·         1 teaspoon soy sauce

·         1 tablespoon black sesame seeds

Cut the carrots into matchsticks.  The easiest way to do this is with a mandoline (prices range from $25-$250+, the one I sent you to is the one I have).  Put aside.  Heat the olive oil in a hot nonstick skillet (I will make a video one day for you to see when the pan is hot enough for you to put oil in, and when the oil is hot enough for you to put food in it! This is KEY to making sure you sear and not end up with soggy food).  When the oil is hot, add the ginger and cook until it is fragrant (less than a minute).  Add the carrots and stir. Add a pinch of salt and ¼ cup of water and turn the heat to medium-high.  Cook until the carrots slightly begin to soften and then add the sesame oil, soy sauce, and sesame seeds.  YUM.  This is a hit from “It’s All Good”, my husband kept on going back for more and more!

Brown rice with seaweed and sesame

·         2 cups of cooked brown rice (the book has a recipe on how to get it perfect)

·         Sea or Kosher salt

·         2 sheets of seaweed shredded (sheets of seaweed paper can be found at most supermarkets, it’s what you make sushi with!)

·         1 teaspoon sesame oil (or more, to your liking!)

·         1 teaspoon soy sauce

·         1 teaspoon black sesame seeds

·         2 scallions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced

So this is what I do (very different than what the book states).  I make the brown rice.  When it is made, I take all of the ingredients (salt, shredded seaweed, sesame oil, soy sauce, sesame seeds, and scallions) and dump it all on top of the rice. I then fluff it all in with a fork.  Tadaaaaa!!!