April 2005 Newsletter
This Month’s Contents:
• Welcome Changes
• April Workshop
• Puttering Your Way Thin
• When Buying Organic Is Best
• Fitness Q&A: Ask Cheryl
• Cuisine Quick Pick: Oven-Roasted Vegetables
• New Prana Apparel; A Heart-Safe Studio
Welcome Changes
The sun has begun shining earlier and setting later. Every day the air is filled with the songs of more birds. What wonderful differences after a very challenging winter. Not only does the arrival of spring treat us to welcome changes in the natural world, but also you’ve no doubt noticed new developments in progress at the studio.
For starters, we have expanded our studio space to offer you more options. We’re now in the process of stocking our new wellness store, located in our new main studio area. When you’re here, look for organic and natural products such as soaps, candles, and lotions; new Jody Coyote earrings; and more!
Be Well, Cheryl
April Workshop - Eating for Weight Loss, Health, and Well-Being
April 9, Time 11 AM -1 PM, Pre-registration required
Come to this workshop to learn skills that will help you lose weight, improve your health, and enhance your well-being. Discover principles that will outlast the fad diet-of-the month. Find out how to eat healthfully--for life.
Cost: $25 per person. To pre-register (mandatory), call the studio at 978-692-1032.
Puttering Your Way Thin
Weight loss is one of those areas where people are perpetually searching for magic bullets that will lead to losing excess pounds and keeping them off. According to a report published earlier this year, puttering just may be one of those secrets.
A USA Today article (January 28, 2005) tipped us to a study done by researchers at the Mayo Clinic, who learned that normal daily activities play a much larger role than previously known in determining who will be lean and who will be overweight.
According to the Mayo Clinic news release on the subject, “Obese persons sit, on average, 150 minutes more each day than their naturally lean counterparts. This means obese people burn 350 fewer calories a day than do lean people.” The researchers found the leaner study participants habitually engaged in more everyday non-exercise activities, such as standing and walking.
The study further observed that the initially overweight study participants sat more even after they dropped pounds on a weight-loss diet; the lean participants moved around more even when they gained weight from being fed surplus calories. The researchers saw this as evidence that people are naturally predisposed to lower or higher activity levels, probably because of differences in brain chemistry. They also observed that understanding this provides another tool to maintain healthful body weight.
So we say: Just go for it every time you have an opportunity to get up and move. Play with your kids and your pets. Park a little further from the store. Grab a quick walk. Dance when the mood strikes. In addition to your fitness practice, let life’s little moves add up in your favor.
When Buying Organic Is Best
Filling our shopping carts with organic vegetables and fruits all the time would be ideal. Not only does organic produce typically taste better, you’d limit your exposure to pesticides in the bargain. Practically speaking, however, buying food grown conventionally is a choice we all make at least part of the time. Helping consumers make these decisions in an informed way is behind a project from the non-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG) and Stonyfield Farm.
EWG and Stonyfield have teamed up to offer free resources that will help you decide when buying organically grown vegetables and fruits makes the most significant difference. For instance, EWG’s research states that 12 popular fresh fruits and vegetables are consistently the most contaminated with pesticides: apples, bell peppers, celery, cherries, grapes (imported), nectarines, peaches, pears, potatoes, red raspberries, spinach, and strawberries.
Visit http://www.foodnews.org for more, including a handy shopper’s wallet guide that lists the conventionally grown crops likely to carry the highest and lowest levels of pesticides.
Fitness Q&A: Ask Cheryl
Q. I have been doing Pilates for awhile, but seem to have hit a plateau in becoming stronger and in the overall reshaping and toning of my body. Would cross-training in another activity help? Any recommendations?
A. Several factors could be causing this plateau: boredom, not maximizing your workout to your potential, number of days you are doing Pilates, variety in your Pilates workout and other activities, nutrition, a change in everyday activities (for instance, during winter people tend to be less active). Cross-training with another activity would help, as well as finding out what exactly is causing your progress to slow. You may want to schedule a one-on-one session with a personal trainer/Pilates instructor to explore how you can move past the plateau.
What’s your fitness question? Send it to: cheryl@thewholebodystudio.com.
Cuisine Quick Pick
Oven-Roasted Vegetables
April nights are chilly enough that dinner roasting in the oven is very comforting. One of our clients with a passion for food that’s both delicious and healthful has been raving about the roasted cauliflower she tasted on a recent visit to Fore Street restaurant in Portland, Maine. Home cooks can mimic the effects of the restaurant’s blazing wood-fired oven by using high heat, olive oil, and sea (or kosher) salt to impart delicate flavor to a vegetable many eaters would otherwise shun.
And with genuine spring weather just around the corner, tempt your tastebuds with a similar preparation for asparagus.
An aside: Conventionally grown cauliflower and asparagus also happen to be among the 12 popular fresh vegetables and fruits least likely to carry pesticide residue. Yes, this was news to us, too!
Cauliflower
To serve 2 cauliflower fans, or up to 4 people who need to be won over
• 1 medium head of cauliflower, greenish core removed, washed, and trimmed into florets
• Sea or kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon of extra-virgin olive oil plus additional for rubbing garlic cloves
• (Optional) 2 cloves of garlic, separated from bulb but unpeeled
• Sheet pan with low sides (usually called a jelly roll pan or a cookie sheet)
Preheat oven to 425° F. Place cauliflower florets and garlic onto the sheet pan. Add the teaspoon of olive oil, then tumble the florets around with your hands to distribute the oil over them. Rub the unpeeled garlic cloves liberally with olive oil so they won’t burn; additional oil will probably be needed. Spread vegetables in a single layer. Sprinkle salt over florets.
Place sheet pan on rack in upper third of oven. About 15 minutes into cooking time, move florets around with tongs or spatula to ensure even color (and to keep edges from burning). After 25 minutes, use a fork to begin checking florets for doneness. Roast for 30-40 minutes or until tender-crisp. Parts of the florets will have a golden hue and some edges will be crispy.
Transfer to bowl or platter. Using a fork to protect your hands from the heat, squeeze the roasted garlic cloves from their peels. The garlic will have taken on a puree-like texture that combines easily with the cooked cauliflower. (If you started with old garlic, it may still be somewhat firm and need to be mashed with the fork.) Top with freshly ground black pepper and serve.
Hint: We wouldn’t do this every night, but drizzling a little extra olive oil or tossing a few toasted, chopped walnuts over the finished dish may help win over a reluctant palate or provide a special-occasion flourish.
Asparagus
• 5-8 asparagus spears per person, washed and bottoms trimmed
• Sea or kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon of extra-virgin olive oil
• Sheet pan with low sides (usually called a jelly roll pan or a cookie sheet)
Preheat oven to 425° F. Place asparagus onto the sheet pan. Add the teaspoon of olive oil then roll the spears around with your hands to distribute the oil over them. Spread vegetables in a single layer. Sprinkle salt over all.
Place sheet pan on rack in upper third of oven. About 5 minutes into cooking time, roll spears around with tongs or spatula to ensure even cooking. After 10 minutes, use a fork to test for doneness. Roast for 10-15 minutes or until tender-crisp. Remember that slender spears roast faster than thicker ones, so you may need to remove some spears earlier when your asparagus varies in size.
New Prana Apparel, Keeping Heart-Safe
New Prana Apparel. New Prana fitness clothing has arrived for spring. This brand has become a favorite because it’s so comfortable and long-wearing. And when you are sporting so much style, you won’t want to miss a workout. Check with Cheryl here at the studio for the style that fits you.
A Heart-Safe Studio. An Automated External Defibrillator (AED) is a recent addition to the studio. As many of you know, an AED is a life-saving aid in the event of sudden cardiac arrest. While we hope that it’s never needed, we are proud to do our part for heart safety by having this device on hand and by training our instructors in its use.
Coming in May
- Spring Cleaning That’s Both Clean and Green
- Book Review: Spices of Life
- Fitness Q&A: Ask Cheryl
Contents © 2005 the whole body studio
www.thewholebodystudio.com
Cheryl Turgeon, M.Ed. Founder
Director, The Whole Body Studio
www.thewholebodystudio.com
978-692-103 |
