Tag: bones

Superfood Spinach Artichoke Dip

Spinach Artchoke DipDo you love cheese? Really LOVE cheese? So much so that you think it deserves to have its own food group? Could cheese be the answer to the world’s problems? Maybe not but cheese is still AMAZING for your bones, heart and brain. Cheese is a nutritional powerhouse that is just one of the featured superfoods in this recipe.

How about spinach? Also pretty amazing. These antioxidant-rich greens are great for the eyes, bones and heart. Spinach alkalizes, nourishes and strengthens your body with a plethora of vitamins and minerals. FYI – raw spinach contains oxalic acid which interferes with calcium absorption but cooking eliminates this problem.

What about artichokes? Did you know that artichokes have more antioxidants than any other vegetable? They’re great for the liver and contain a high dose of vitamin C. Artichokes also have anti-aging benefits and help prevent heart disease and Alzheimers.

All of this is to say that spinach artichoke dip might just be the best thing EVER. And this mega-delicious recipe is oh-so-easy to prepare. Just be ready to be asked for a repeat performance.

Here’s a few pointers on how to make this dish outstanding.

  • EXTRA garlic: I didn’t even get into the health benefits of garlic but needless to say you should add as much as you dare. Think elephant garlic-sized cloves. Garlic is an aphrodisiac so it’s best to serve extra garlicky foods with care. 
  • HARD cheeses are great for your health. I like parmesan for this dish but you could also use asiago.
  • CANNED artichokes: Any good canned or jarred variety that doesn’t add chemical preservatives (I like Reese’s).
  • FULL FAT DAIRY: The low-fat movement is over (thank goodness). REAL food is where it’s at and fats are your friend. Just be sure to avoid brands that use recombinant bovine growth hormones (rBGH).

Superfood Spinach Artichoke Dip

Serves 4

Ingredients

1-2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 Tbsp butter or nitrate-free bacon fat

12 oz fresh spinach, chopped

1/2 of a 14oz can of artichoke hearts, drained of water and chopped

1/3 cup sour cream

4 oz mayonnaise (any variety without soybean or canola oil)

4 oz parmesean cheese, shredded

1 tsp salt

1 tsp of your favorite hot sauce

  1. Saute garlic in fat for 1 minute. Add chopped spinach and cook until spinach is wilted. Turn off heat and push spinach mixture to one side of the pan to drain excess liquid.
  2. In a medium-sized bowl combine sour cream, cream cheese, shredded asiago cheese, salt and hot sauce. Add cooked spinach and mix well.
  3. Transfer mixture to a medium-sized pyrex casserole dish. Bake at 300 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until it’s bubbling.
  4. Serve warm with crackers or toast, or as a side dish.

There’s no hard and fast rules here so feel free to improvise. You could add some chopped bacon, scallions or crabmeat if you want to get really fancy.

Mind Your Feet

 

Emily Seymour Yoga Mind Your Feet

Pounding the pavement in New York City is an adventure. Everyone walks there. Some people would rather walk thirty blocks than ride the subway. It’s so easy to get swept up in the sea of people, with the sensory-overload of sights, sounds, and smells all around you. It can be overwhelming but staying in tune with our bodies makes it easier to navigate these kinds of obstacle courses. One of the easiest ways to stay connected to our bodies is by focusing on our feet.

Feet are kind of a big deal:

  • There are 26 bones, 33 joints, 19 muscles, 10 tendons and 107 ligaments in the foot
  • The soles of your feet contain more sensory nerve ending than per square centimeter than any other part of the body
  • There are approximately 250,000 sweat glands in your feet
  • The average person takes 10,000 steps per day
  • Women are four times more likely to have foot problems than men (due to wearing high heels)
  • 90% of American women wear shoes that are too small for their feet
Feet Reflexology Massage Chart
Foot Reflexology Chart

Walking on hard surfaces takes a major toll on our feet. You can walk for miles in the woods without getting tired but walking around in a mall can be exhausting. The way our feet connect with the ground affects our whole bodies. Being unconscious of our feet can induce any number of alignment issues, pain, and disabilities.

The simple act of walking can be an exercise in mindfulness if we so choose. One simple technique that I use for walking is to stay aware of the four corners of my feet – the big toes, little toes, inner and outer heels. Some other tips for walking mindfully include:

  1. Keep your feet parallel.
  2. Plant the heel and roll through the foot evenly.
  3. Keep a 50/50 weight distribution between your inner and outer heels.
  4. Roll through the foot towards the direction of your second toe. Your big toes will take on more of the weight, but keep your pinkie toes active.
  5. Relax the soles of your feet. Imagine that you’re massaging the ground with each step.

Emily Seymour Yoga FeetYou can also play with finding the balance between the two sides of your feet. Too much weight in the inner arch will cause pronation of the feet (rolling the feet towards one another) and too much weight in the outer arch of the foot will cause supination (rolling the feet away from one another).

It’s always a good idea to conclude a day on your feet with a foot massage. I teach an easy and effective foot massage sequence in my Foundations Training course.

For more information book a FREE no-obligation consultation today.