Cozy Holiday Cooking

Cozy Holiday Cooking


Fit Yoga
November 2005

With Thanksgiving and Christmas on the near horizon, there is definitely a holiday buzz in the air. In the shift from colorful autumn to cozy winter, this spirited season is marked by dinner gatherings, lively parties, and evenings by the fireside with friends and family. It’s a time of hospitality, good company, and warm, inviting foods and festivities. I often imagine big mugs of honey-sweetened chai tea, fresh-from-the-oven caraway bread with melted butter, or my favorite: sumptuous, flavorful soups and stews.

Just the heavenly scent of different herbs and vegetables simmering on your stovetop is an irresistible welcome for anyone passing through your front door. A part of every culture, soup is also one of the best ways to warm, nourish, and strengthen your body when cold weather arrives.

Making soups and stews from scratch is quite simple. What’s more, you’ll find them easy to digest and a great way to make sure you’re getting healthy, fiber-rich veggies, legumes, and grains. Soups fortify the entire body—especially your vital fluids. They also have a soothing, nurturing quality to them, giving you a comforting sense of satisfaction when you finish your bowl.

The fall harvest brings in an abundance of yams, potatoes, parsnips, carrots, and beets, so by late autumn I’m especially looking forward to root vegetable chowders or creamy blends. A big pot of soup, in fact, is a great way to take advantage of these strengthening and grounding mineral-rich roots and tubers. This vibrant recipe is a perfect example.


Garnet Yam Bisque with mango chutney
This simple soup makes a stunning holiday appetizer. A breeze to prepare, it uses just 6 ingredients to achieve a beautiful silken texture and a delicious full flavor that doesn’t require any additional seasoning. The refreshing mango chutney is a must.

Ingredients
Soup
5 medium garnet yams (about 3 pounds)
1/4 cup butter
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1-2 tablespoons honey or sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons salt or to taste
5-6 cups water*


Mango Chutney
2-1/2 cups chopped fresh mango (about 2 large mangoes)
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh chili
1 teaspoon minced ginger
2 tablespoons honey or sugar
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves (quite packed)
1 tablespoon lemon juice


Notes:
*You may need to add more water depending on the moisture and size of the yams and the soup consistency you prefer.

Procedures
Soup
1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF.

2. Puncture the yams with a fork and bake for 75 minutes or until soft. Meanwhile, prepare the chutney.

3. Allow the yams to cool enough so that you can peel and chop them.

4. Melt the butter in a 4-quart pot over high heat. Add the ginger and sauté for a minute, then add the yam, honey or sugar, salt, and water. Place in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth, in batches if necessary. Return to the pot and bring to a quick boil. Add a little extra water if the soup seems too thick, stir it through, and adjust the salt if necessary.

5. Remove from the heat, ladle into bowls, garnish with the chutney, and serve.


Mango Chutney
Place all the ingredients except 1/2 cup of the mango in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer to a serving dish, dice the remaining 1/2 cup mango, and stir it into the chutney. Chill until ready to serve.

Tips/Variations
Chutney suggestions: The Mango Chutney is also wonderful with crispy samosas, spring rolls, and tempura-battered vegetables.

Hands-on prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 1 to 1-1/2 hours
Total time: 1-2 hours
Makes about 8 cups

Wai Lana in the Media

Merry Christmas!

And best wishes!

Helping kids with ADHD

Every mother knows how hard it is to deal with a child with ADHD. Here's an interesting article to keep tabs on, and how you can alter your child's diet to help improve behavior!

CHOOSE: Essential fatty acids (EFAs)

Here is one fat you want your child to have: DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid, is the key to unlocking an ADHD child's brain. Studies have found that children with learning disorders, including attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders, often have an EFA deficiency.

The right kinds of fat are needed to help the brain fire information efficiently from synapse to synapse. An ADHD child experiences a miscommunication between brain cells, says clinical nutritionist Marcia Zimmerman.

A message is fired, but not received, "so then it gets sucked back up into the neuron that sent it in the first place," says Zimmerman. The EFAs help the brain cells receive the messages sent between synapses, thus eliminating the chatter and preventing the sending neuron from scooping up its own message.

Fish, flax seeds and nuts are great sources of EFAs. The specific EFA to look for is the omega-3 essential fatty acid DHA that's found in fish and some algae. Fish oil supplements are an efficient way to help your child get the amount he needs. DHA omega-3 eggs and other foods with DHA added to them are also good sources. EFAs from flax seed and other sources can work too, but the body needs to convert it into the form most advantageous for one's body, so they're a less efficient source.

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Say good morning with yoga!

good morning yoga

Deep breathing oxygenates the blood going to the brain and every cell of your body, so it’s very energizing. It wakes up your body and mind—without jitter-causing caffeine. Deep Breathing
Wai Lana suggests two simple wake-up exercises:
Energizing Breath
1. Stand with your feet together, then inhale slowly through your nose as you raise your arms to the sides. Fill your lungs completely as you bring your arms over your head until your hands meet.

2. Exhale audibly through your mouth as you lower your arms to your sides, emptying your lungs completely. Repeat 5 to 10 times, then relax.

Energizing breath

Wake-Up Stretch
If you have trouble balancing on your tiptoes, stand with your back to a wall.

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Inhale and raise your arms over your head.

2. Interlock your fingers and turn your palms up. Press your elbows straight and look up at your hands.

3. Rise onto your toes and stretch your whole body upward. Breathe slowly and deeply as you hold for 5 to 10 seconds.

4. Exhale as you lower your heels, straighten your head, and lower your arms. Repeat 3 to 5 times.

Wake up stretch

Wake up and energize each day with Wailana's Good Morning Yoga!

Cross Leg Pose

Cross Leg Pose

Wai Lana's Asana of the Week: Cross Leg Pose
This pose is a waist-reducing spinal twist. It stretches the buttocks, outer thighs, and hamstrings, too.

1. Lie on your back and extend your arms to the sides at shoulder level.

2. Inhale and raise your right leg.

3. Exhale and lower your right leg to the left. Bring your foot down as far as you can, simultaneously pressing your right shoulder down. If possible, rest the inner edge of your foot on the floor. Breathe normally as you hold for 30 to 60 seconds.

4. Inhale and raise your right leg.

5. Exhale and lower it straight down. Repeat with the left leg.

Hints…
You can either relax your crossed leg or straighten your knee. To increase the hamstring stretch, move your foot toward your hand. Relax the leg on the floor, letting it roll outward as you move into the pose. Be aware of the stretch in the waist, hips, and lower back.

Here's an Easier Way…
If your foot doesn't reach the floor, you can rest it on a cushion to help you relax into the stretch.

Benefits
• Reduces fat around the waist and hips
• Tones the legs
• Loosens the lower back and hip muscles
• Gently massages the internal organs
• Stretches out hip tension

Yoga: A Breath of Fresh Air

Yoga: A Breath of Fresh Air
Tomorrow’s Child Magazine
Spring 2004

by Wai Lana

“Breathe in … breathe out …” The open window lets in cool, fresh air as little arms rise and fall in time with the breath. If this is not yet a common sight in your Montessori school, it may be soon. As more and more schools include yoga in their curriculum, parents and teachers are realizing that yoga is a wonderful, healthful activity that underscores the Montessori philosophy of nurturing the whole child.

Children love movement, so they love doing yoga. Imaginative play is innate in kids, and yoga gives them ample opportunity to pretend. As they become dogs, cats, bridges, and trees, body and mind learn to work in harmony.

Yoga is versatile too. It can be a quiet indoor activity, or it can be more vocal and fun when kids make sounds and gestures to accompany their poses. Try doing yoga to music, or take yoga outside when weather permits and let the children enjoy their connection to nature with Salute to the Sun or Tree Pose.

Sometimes the focus is on holding a pose, on the breath, or on the animal they are imitating. Earnest faces reveal the concentration needed to hold balancing poses. This ability to focus stays with them and makes it easier for them to concentrate on schoolwork and other tasks.

In fact, a yoga practice can easily be woven into other aspects of learning. For example, when studying the desert, kids can be introduced to Camel Pose with a discussion of how the camel stores fat in its hump to be used as fuel on long journeys. Yoga can be interwoven with geometry by looking at the different shapes the body makes in the various poses. A yoga posture can also be a catalyst for a simple anatomy lesson or an explanation of the inner workings of the body.

Yoga develops children physically by building strength, stamina, and flexibility. On a deeper physical level, yoga’s focus on good posture helps young spines grow straight and strong. The poses regulate and balance the production of hormones, which is especially important as children approach and pass through puberty. Yoga also improves digestion, nutrient absorption, and elimination while helping strengthen the immune system.

When doing yoga postures, kids learn that they need to be patient; they must persevere and concentrate to get better at the poses. As they improve, they gain a sense of accomplishment and self-confidence. Yoga also gives children valuable tools to help them cope with stress and with emotions like sadness or anger. Yoga postures, breathing, relaxation, and meditation techniques teach them how to calm the mind and release tension in the body.

You can teach yoga to the class as a group, but once the children experience how good it feels to stretch and twist, you may just find them doing it on their own, especially if you set up a special yoga area with a kid-size mat or two. All in all, yoga is a wonderful activity for children. It brings balance and harmony to both body and mind, and gives them tools that can keep them healthy, not just during childhood, but also throughout their adult lives.

Here’s a yoga asana called the Bridge. It helps improve digestion, bronchial conditions like asthma, and poor posture.

How to Do the Bridge: Lie on your back with your arms at your sides. Bend your knees and place your heels close to your buttocks. Keep your feet and knees apart. Lift your hips up to make your body into a strong bridge. Lift up high so tall boats can sail under you. Hold for a few seconds, then lower your bridge. Repeat a few times.

Wai Lana in the Media

Wai Lana Green

Wai Lana's got another whole new line! Care for nature? Go green with Wailana, keep your yoga practice safe!



Check out Wai Lana Green to find out more.