Namaste

The past month or so my anxiety has been slightly higher than usual.  I don't know if its the sudden change in schedule, or constantly changing weather, but I had more panic attacks in the last few weeks than I have in a long time.  That being said, I've been working to get my anxiety back in control and myself in a better place.

I've been spending my mornings before work sitting at Small World Coffee, sipping their chai straight up (which hurts my face...but in a good way) while pouring over my current literary endeavor - at the moment, it's The Elegance of the Hedgehog, a novel that's both provoking and beautifully written, which is amazing because it was translated from French.  These slow, relaxing hours before work have definitely helped relieve some of the tension.  I've also decided to make a slight diet change for the next couple of weeks to see if that helps.  And today I did something that has a huge impact on my mental state, my anxiety control, my body, and my mood, but that I haven't done in over a month - I went to yoga.

Now for those of you who have never taken a yoga class: do it.  Even if it's just to have an excuse to breathe for an hour straight.  There's something calming and centering about yoga that can only be experienced.  Hmm, alright, let me try to explain...

Yesterday I got paid.  Now, I could have stopped and cashed the check on my way home, but I thought, that since I've been in a funk recently, and since the yoga studio is right next door to my bank, I would hold off, forcing myself to stop at the bank on my day off when I would have time to take a yoga class (and more importantly, no excuse not to) therefor tricking myself to go to yoga - clever, aren't I?  So I checked their schedule online and found out that there was a class an hour and a half after I got off work.  Perfect.

However, I always tend to get a little agitated before yoga - the mix of excitement and nervousness does not sit well with me - and having free time just meant 90 minutes of stewing in my anxiety.  So, in attempts to stave of a panic attack, I decided to park (which proved more difficult than usual, since today was warm and sunny and there are seven ice cream shops in town) and walk around a bit before class.  I parked and put an hour in the meter, planning to walk around a bit, then come back, grab my yoga mat, and refill the meter.  Unfortunately, by the time I got back to my car, I was so frantic and tense, that not only did I forget my check to cash, but I forgot to put money in the meter - a fact that was not realized until I was leaving yoga, and resulted in my first ever parking ticket.

But this isn't the point.  This is merely to give you a little background, to set up my mental state before yoga.  So, as I walk into the yoga studio, hot and overwhelmed and anxious, I'm greeted by the owner and my teacher for the evening - a middle aged man with a greying pony tail, who is both calming, warm, and incredibly intimidating and terrifying all at once.  He immediately sets me at ease, lighting some incense and welcoming me to tonight's practices.  I like his classes because they are terribly difficult, but his demeanor keeps it positive - the rigorous movements make you want to cry, but the silly rhymes he makes as he guides you through them make you smile.  And he doesn't let you slack.  He'll call you out if you stop, and come over and correct your body, pushing your knees lower or moving your arms into a position that hurts like hell but opens up the entire left side of your body (you can feel the toxins and tension leeching out your pours).

Classes always end in meditation - you lay on your back, arms and legs completely relaxed, your body sinking into the ground, and just breathe.  This is always my favorite part of yoga.  This is the part where I really feel by body and my mind connect; where the energy that I've produced within my body over the course of the class settles and my breathing becomes deep and regular; where I feel one, complete; where I realize that all of the anxiety that was balled up in my chest when I entered has dissipated into the universe.  And while I know I'm going to be unbelievably sore in the morning, its an incredible, indescribably phenomenal feeling.

When I left yoga, I was changed.  When I got to my car and realized that I had gotten a parking ticket, I didn't get upset - though I may have uttered a single unsavory word.  Instead, I chuckled, and got a teensy bit excited about my first ever parking ticket, taking it as an adult right-of-passage.  Then I rolled down the windows and took the long way home - the way of winding, hilly roads that brings me past all the massive, old-money Princeton houses; out past the farms and orchards, the horses and pastures and barns; through neighborhoods where dad's on mowers trim their lawns and perfum the air, where kids play wiffle-ball, where mom's call from porches that dinner was on the table; along the canal, where the trees overhanging the road are lush and it smells like earth and rain and sun.  It was undeniably summer and I was happy.

Yay First Parking Ticket!

Moral of the story: I need to do more yoga.  I know that it's good for me, that it helps me control my anxiety, and that it improves my overall mood and mental state.  I've been using my busy schedule as an excuse not to go, but I realize that I need to make time for yoga, because it is incredibly important to me and my health.  Therefor, in conjunction with my diet change, I am going to make time for yoga - after work, before work, days off, wherever I can fit it, I'm doing it.

And I'm challenging you, too.  If you've never tried yoga, sign up for a class - Yoga Above, where I practice, is donation based with multiple classes every day, all open to the public.  Take a class and see how it makes you feel, focus on your breathing, and I mean real breathing, and notice the change.  If you haven't changed, if you don't feel different in some way, you're doing it wrong.  If you've taken yoga before, or practice regularly, pay attention to how you feel as you walk into the studio and how you feel as you walk out.  And be thankful.

Well, I think that's enough yoga related ramblings for one sitting.

I'll end this post the way that every yoga class ends: "May the light within me honor the light within you" - Namaste.

Eat More Kale

Princeton, New Jersey has officially dubbed March "Eat More Kale" Month - a town wide, month-long celebration and awareness campaign for this super leafy green.  It all started with a Vermont man making "Eat More Kale" t-shirts out of his garage.  The employees at the bent spoon, Small World Coffee, and Whole Earth Center all starting wearing these shirts, sparking discussions of how to promote kale and eating healthy.  Soon, the movement was embraced by over a dozen local businesses and organizations.  Not only is kale being highlighted in dishes around town, but when you buy kale products (t-shirts and salad at Small World, a pint of kale ice cream at bent spoon) a bunch of kale will be donated to the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen. 

So what exactly is kale, and why does Princeton want me to eat more of it?  Kale is found in recipes all over the world from Europe (Denmark, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Germany, Portugal) to East Africa to Asia (China, Taiwan, Japan).  It's a form of cabbage that comes from the same family as broccoli, cauliflower, collard greens, and brussels sprouts.  Up until the Middle Ages, it was the most common green in Europe.  During World War II, the UK cultivated massive amounts of the easy-to-grow kale in order to replace nutrients lost from diets due to rationing.  Kale - also known as "farmer's cabbage" - is high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, and calcium.  When eaten raw, kale possesses both sulforaphane and indole-3-carbinol, which have been shown to have anti-cancer properties; the latter boosting DNA repair and blocking the growth of cancer cells.

There are many different varieties of kale, but the most likely ones to be found at your grocery store are dino kale, green kale, and red kale.  Dino kale is a dark green with flat, smooth-edged leaves (they look like dinosaur scales, which I assume is where it got its name).  It is also the mildest of the three.  Red kale and green kale are very similar looking with their curled, crinkly edges; the only difference being that the red kale is tinted purple around the edges and is more bitter and tough.

Red, Green, and Dino Kales

Besides being ridiculously nutritious, kale is ridiculously versatile: raw, baked, sauteed, steamed, savory, sweet, blended, combined, by itself, chips, pesto, hummus, anyway and every way.  Which is why, for this blog entry, I'm giving you a full day of kale.  Breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  So much kale that you'll be sick of it.  I'm only teasing, you could never get sick of kale, because there are so many things you can do with kale it's kind of insane.

In honor of "Eat More Kale" month, I've donned my celebratory t-shirt and put together an entire days menu featuring kale, kale, and more kale.  I used both raw and cooked kale, as well as using it in sweet and savory dishes.  For your pleasure we have for breakfast, a Tropical Dino Smoothie made with - you guessed it! - the dino kale; lunch is a Raw Green Kale Salad with chickpeas and homemade dressing; and for dinner, the finale, a sweet and spicy Red Kale and Butternut Squash Curry with brown basmati rice.

So, go!  Go buy a bunch of kale - make that three bunches - and make these recipes.  Or better yet, do some creating of your own with this amazing versatile ridiculous nutritious leafy green.

Tropical Dino Smoothie
1 cup dino kale, de-veined and roughly torn
¼ cup orange juice
1 banana
1 cup fresh cut pineapple
⅓ cup fresh cut mango

+ Combine ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth (or chunky, if you're like me).  If needed, add more juice until to reaches desired thickness.

Raw Green Kale Salad
½ bunch green kale, de-veined and roughly torn
1 can chick peas, rinsed
¼ red onion, thinly sliced
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs umeboshi vinegar (or any other vinegar)
2 tbs orange juice
1 tbs honey
salt and pepper to taste

+ Whisk together olive oil, vinegar, juice and honey in a small bowl.
+ Place kale on the bottom of a large bowl, topped with onion and chick peas.  Toss with dressing and serve.

Red Kale and Butternut Squash Curry
1 bunch red kale, de-veined and roughly torn
1 large yellow onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic
1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1 20 oz package of pre-cut butternut squash
1 cup shredded carrot
½ cup fresh mango, chopped
2 cups fresh pineapple, chopped
2 tbs curry powder
2 cups wine
4 cups vegetable stock
1 cup brown basmati rice
olive oil
salt and pepper

+ In a medium pot, combine rice and 2 cups stock.  Bring to a boil, then stir once, cover and reduce to a simmer.  Cook for about 45 minutes (or until all the liquid has been absorbed) without uncovering or stirring.  Once it's done, uncover, fluff with a fork, drizzle with a little olive oil and keep covered until served.
+ In a large sauce pan or large pot, saute onions and garlic over medium-high heat.  Add the squash, potato, mango, and pineapple, cooking for a few minutes.  Add curry powder, salt and pepper to taste, and give a good stir.  Add half the stock and half the wine.  Place the kale on top, and cover and cook until the squash and potato are fork tender, and the kale has wilted.
+ Remove ⅓ of the curry and place in a small pot.  Using a stick blender, blend until the mixture is smooth (if you don't have a stick blender, a normal blender will work just fine).  If the mixture is too thick to blend, add a bit of the reserved stock or wine.
+ Place the blended mix back into the pot and give it a good stir.  Add the remaining stock and wine, season to taste.  Cook until alcohol has cooked off, stirring occasionally.
+ Serve the curry over the basmati rice with a side of warmed naan.