Salad Boat

I am convinced that romaine lettuce was created just for this recipe, and maybe the Caesar Salad came after!
Regardless, this lettuce is the perfect shape for what we love to make and eat at YogaMeDo, the Salad Boat.

This crunchy delight has 50% of your daily needs for Vitamins A, K, and C, not to mention the 16 other essential nutrients.  Amazing to think all this goodness can fit inside one serving of Romaine lettuce!

How to Prepare:
1.  Just pick your favorite vegetables and dice them up.  Carrots, bell peppers, scallions, edamame, beans, peas, corn, and whatever other bite size wonders you have on-hand will do.  Once they are diced into small pieces put them in little bowls with a spoon for serving.
2.  Peel the leaves of the Romaine lettuce head one at a time from the core.  Wash and pat dry, careful not to break the stem (no one wants a leaky boat).
3.  Begin filling the inside cavity of the Romaine leaf with your diced veggies and more.
4.  Once the boat is full, drizzle some of your favorite dressing on top.

Here comes the best part, turn the boat towards either end and take a big bite, and then another, and another! 
Don't worry there are plenty of leaves for everyone!

Yogurt Fruit Parfait

PARFAIT is a french word that means PERFECT.  A fitting title for this quick and easy snack great for any time of the day.  The Plain Yogurt offers protein, healthy bacteria (probiotics) that strengthen the intestines and lining of the stomach, and a natural creaminess without the added fat.  Without the added sugars commonly used in yogurts (check out the labels of your favorite brands) such as High Fructose Corn Syrup and traditional cane sugar that spike the levels of insulin in the blood stream, this can be a delicious way to sustain your energy throughout the day.  Fruits, as you know, are packed with powerhouse vitamins and minerals vital to our optimal health.  Granola (again, watch the added sugar content), seeds, and Nuts have minerals and fiber that offer numerous benefits for body and mind. 

Simple ingredients:

1 cup Yogurt (use 1/2 cup at a time)
Blueberries, Strawberries, Bananas, etc.
Granola, Nuts, Seeds
Honey

Layer yogurt, fruit, and then granola, repeat until glass is filled.  It's also fun to drizzle the honey over the yogurt if it isn't quite sweet enough.  Add a little cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, anise, or others that you like. 

Kids get excited with choices.  Let them cut up any fruits on hand, dried fruit in the cupboard, or nuts and granola to sprinkle on top.  It's fun to use a clear glass so that they can see the layers as they eat (reminding them to eat with all 5 senses!!)

I know it's hard to find the time, but maybe plan in one afternoon a week that you help your kids prepare a more involved snack, sit down and eat the food, and take the time to relish the moment together.  Remember that you are teaching children life skills that make a big difference in their overall mental and physical health.  It's a reminder to the adults as well to take the time to take care of themselves.

Enjoy!

Sunshine Smoothie

Sunshine Smoothie....kids you are going to love it!  It is a fantastic start to any day.  Get to know a little about the superhero Vitamin C while you prepare this drink. 
-Remember that this water-soluble vitamin (which simply means that we have to eat it often because our body does not produce it) has amazing health benefits. 
-It helps to protect our cells from harmful things in the air (like pollution). 
-It also helps us fight against bacteria, germs, or other things that make us sick, boosting our immune system.  -It helps to strengthen cartilage, bones, and teeth. 
-It also helps to mnake collagen, the stuff needed to form scar tissue when you get cuts and scrapes.

All the fruits in this smoothie are full of Vitamin C.  Drink up and share with your family and friends!

1 banana
Juice of 1 orange
1/2 to 1 cup water (depending on how think you like it)
1/2 cup mango
1/2 cup pineapple
1/2 cup peaches
1/2 to 1 cup yogurt
Drizzle of honey

Blend until smooth.  I like to add frozen spinach too! 

Enjoy!

Dr. Gabor Maté on the Stress-Disease Connection, Addiction, Attention Deficit Disorder and the Destruction of American Childhood

Dr. Gabor Maté on the Stress-Disease Connection, Addiction, Attention Deficit Disorder and the Destruction of American Childhood

Fantastic article I heard on NPR relating stress to disease. Dr. Gabor Mate's research even includes children and adolescents. YogaMeDo classes focus on the preventative mental and physical healthcare of children (ages 3-17). We hope that as our participants at YogaMeDo learn to become passionate about healthy living they will bring that excitement into their homes and social circles. Parents have enough of a challenge getting kids excited about nutrition and health. YogaMeDo aims to assist parents in that process.

Blue Dory Inn

Try this amazing 4-ingredient cookie recipe, perfect for little hands to help make.  It's a bit like shortbread, naturally sweetened, and melts in your mouth.  I cut the recipe in half and added 1/2 cup of natural peanut butter after the maple syrup was mixed in. 

BLUE DORY COOKIES, from the Blue Dory Inn

• 1 pound butter
• 4 1/2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 1/2 cups maple syrup
• 2 cups chocolate chunks

1. Cream butter in mixer until fluffy. Stir in flour at low speed.
2. Add maple syrup in a slow, steady stream.
3. Stir in chocolate chunks
4. Drop onto greased cookie sheets 2 inches apart and bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes
5. Cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheet, then cool on wire cooling racks
6. Give the first one to your sweetheart with a kiss and a hug. Make vacation plans.

Enjoy!
(source: framed-mylifeonepictureatatime.blogspot.com)

Yoga me who?

People have asked how I came up with the name YogaMeDo. I can't recall when I first thought of it, but I do know when I finally decided. It was in Sam's Club. Now I must confess that I am a Costco fan, but in Bentonville Arkansas, home of Sam Walton and the Walmart headquarters, you can't find a Costco, and might have too much time on your hands if you drove the 182 miles to Kansas just for the Kirkland brand.

I had arrived 30 minutes before it opened but I could see people going in. I pulled up a little closer to the building and saw that business hours started at 9:00 am. YogaMeDo was only in embryo at the time, but it was still a business, I was sure of it. (Definition of business: an activity that someone is engaged in). See, it was definately legitimate. I presented myself at the counter and said I would like a business membership. "What's the name of your company" the clerk said. I thought for a moment as I scrolled through the options of names that had run through my mind countless times. "YogaMeDo" I replied. "What?" the clerk responded quizzicly. "You know, I do yoga (I did a partial tree pose just to demonstrate), YogaMeDo?" I instantly had visions of marketing and advertising efforts forever handicapped because I had chosen the wrong name.

I calmly waited as she printed out the card, part of me nervous that she wanted some kind of proof like a business licence number, LLC record, or 501 statement which I didn't have. A moment later she handed me the warm plastic card fresh off the presses with my picture on the front next to the title "YogaMeDo" Business member. I tried not to be immature in my elation, but there it was, I had started my business! YogaMeDo very quickly became the first commercial preventative physical and mental health care class offered to children and adolescents.

That was roughly 5 years and many recipes and yoga sessions ago. Since then we have relocated to Salt Lake City and are very excited to be sharing our unique class at Steiner Aquatics (Salt Lake City Sports Complex) this summer and also featured at the Discovery Gateway Children's Museum on July 1, 2011. We have plans to open a studio in the Fall or Winter 2011/2012 and feel confidant that YogaMeDo can help children (ages 3-17) gain a lifelong passion for healthy living.

Unlike any other class commercially available to children and adolescents we combine hands-on nutrition education with the skills to recognize and relieve stress through yoga in a fun and non-competetive environment. Stress is inevitable, but how a child learns to recognize and manage that stress can largely determine their level of mental and physical health throughout their lives. At YogaMeDo we feel that when a child has a strong foundation of physical and mental health they are free to follow their heart. Our mott0 is, Happy Body Happy Mind.

This blog is intended to be a gathering place for stories, articles, recipes, and general information that relates to the mental and physical health of children and adolescents. Please feel free to contribute your appropriate stories and information that might help the online YogaMeDo community to assist children in achieving optimal health.