Recipe: Bon Appetit Cajun Cornbread Stuffing

We love this time of year because of all of the holiday and wellness inspired food and fitness in the spirit of gratitude. MOVE does its annual gratitude challenge and owner Elaine Economou is hosting a FREE Thanksgiving Gratitude Class on the morning of Thanksgiving. 9 AM at MOVE Westside. Join our Thanksgiving Class. 

Spice up your Thanksgiving table with this delicious cajun cornbread stuffing recipe. Made of andouille sausage, corn bread, red bell pepper, and cayenne pepper, this cornbread recipe will add a colorful kick and excellent side dish. 

Stuffing

Makes 10 servings (about 14 cups)

  • Buttermilk Corn Bread (Recipe below, but it can also be store-bought)
  • 6 tablespoons butter
  • 1 pound andouille or other spicy fully cooked smoked sausage, diced
  • 3 cups chopped red bell pepper
  • 3 cups chopped green onion (about two bunches)
  • 1 cup chopped shallots
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
  • 2 tablespoons fresh thyme (or 2 teaspoons dried)
  • 2 teaspoons dried sage
  • 1 teaspoon ground allspice
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • ½ teaspoon minced bay leaves
  • 4 large eggs, beaten to blend
  • 2 cups frozen corn kernels
  • 2 cups low-salt chicken broth (can be store bought)
  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Arrange corn bread on large baking sheet. Bake until slightly dry and toasted, about 20 minutes. Transfer to very large bowl; cool.
  2. Melt butter in heavy large Dutch oven over high heat. Add sausage, pepper, green onion, shallot, celery, garlic, thyme, sage, allspice, cayenne, and bay leaves and saute until vegetables are just tender and mixture is very moist, about 15 minutes.
  3. Stir vegetable mixture into corn bread. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mixture can be prepared one day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Mix eggs into stuffing.
  4. To bake stuffing in turkey: Add ½ cup chicken broth to stuffing and mix thoroughly. Fill main turkey cavity with stuffing. Mix enough chicken broth into remaining stuffing to moisten. Spoon remaining stuffing into buttered baking dish. Cover tightly with buttered aluminum foil. Bake stuffing in dish alongside turkey until heated through, about 20 minutes. Uncover stuffing and bake until top begins to brown, about 15 minutes.
  5. To bake stuffing in pan: Preheat oven to 350F. Butter 13×9 inch baking dish. Mix 2 cups chicken broth into stuffing. Transfer stuffing to prepared baking dish. Cover tightly with buttered aluminum foil. Bake until stuffing is firm and heated through, about 45 minutes. Uncover stuffing and bake until beginning to brown on top, about 15 minutes.

Buttermilk Corn Bread

You can make this tender corn bread a day ahead.

  • 2 cups yellow cornmeal
  • 1 cup sifted all purpose flour
  • 6 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • ½ baking soda
  • ½ cup chilled unsalted butter, diced
  • 1 ½ cups buttermilk
  • 3 large eggs

Preheat oven to 400F. Butter bottom of 9×9 inch baking pan. Mix first six ingredients in food processor. Add butter and cut in, using on/off to pulse, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Beat buttermilk and eggs in large bowl to blend. Add cornmeal mixture to egg mixture and blend. Transfer to prepared pan. Bake until corn bread is light golden brown on top and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool in pan on rack.

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Using Anatomy Knowledge to Learn About Our Bodies

Rectus Abdominis? Transversus? Psoas? If you find yourself wondering what in the world your trainers mean by these muscles, or why anatomy knowledge is even important, then this blog is for you.

Below, Julie Simpson PT, DPT, OCS, talks about the power of anatomy to uncover some amazing things about our bodies. She also talks about how being a Pilates trainer has made her a better Physical Therapist and some fascinating things we can learn about our own bodies. If you’re still on the fence about taking Julie’s Anatomy Course this November 17th, you won’t be after reading this.

How do you think a deeper understanding of anatomy (compared to just knowing superficial knowledge) enhances one’s practice, whether that be as a fitness trainer, PT, or simply someone trying to improve their health?

Pilates is a wonderful system to work the body but by knowing and understanding anatomy, how it is related, what the different muscles do and how they actually have to work systematically opens a beautiful world of knowledge.  It takes a trainer from moving through the paces with a client to actually understanding so much more and then

ultimately helping the client achieve a different level of success.  For example you have a client walk in with their shoulders to their ears (this is really common because so many of us hold our stress in our shoulders and necks.)  As a trainer without the anatomy knowledge you know you need to cue them out of their elevated shoulder posture. You also know a handful of ways to do this but the piece of the puzzle you are missing is that there are specific muscles that downwardly rotate the scapulae, there are muscles that depress the scapulae, and there are muscles that retract the scapulae; by knowing what muscles you are working or need to work the exercises are endless.  It is like fixing a car without actually running a diagnostics test.  When you know your muscles, attachments and actions you can actually solve the problem at hand a whole lot faster.

 What are some things people would be surprised to learn about their own anatomy? (e.g. do we all have a shorter foot? extra bones? etc)

We are all connected!  No really, we are all connected!  I know everyone knows that and says that but I cannot tell you the number of times I see someone with an ankle issue that actually started at their pelvis.  Or that someone with limited shoulder flexion may actually have a rotation at their tailbone.  I am in awe everyday by new connections I see or connections and strategies that bodies use to compensate.  Everyone chases the pain, what I mean by that is you try and stretch the pain, put pressure on the pain, strengthen the area of the pain but the pain is a response to a problem somewhere along the system.  Do not chase the pain, strengthening what is weak, stretch what is tight.

 Often, there’s this idea that our anatomy is mostly genetically-determined. To what extent is this true? What about cultural influences? Besides losing body fat and gaining muscle mass, what else about your body can change? 

So much in our lives can determine our anatomy.   If you sat rotated to the right typing on your computer all day long for 5 days a week you will likely have a mid-back rotation to the right.  When we sit in a posture ALL day long our bodies adapt that posture while we are standing, cooking, walking, etc.  We have the potential to both evoke change for the positive or negative based on our movements and positions.

 As a physical therapist, you are able to bring that deeper perspective to Pilates which I’m sure has been so important to the quality of care your clients receive. If we flip that – has Pilates influenced the way you approach PT at all? Has your experience as a Pilates trainer taught you things about the human body that PT has not? 

ABSOLUTELY!  Pilates is a system that allows me to look at the body as a whole, it allows me to teach clients how to work their entire body and not just one area or zone.  Every one of my PT clients learns many if not all of the Pilates principals.  Pilates trainers have such a gift at doing this naturally.

 Name top 1 or 2 important muscles that people would never think to work out but that play a huge role in our biomechanics. 

Multifidus – Now this is not a muscle I “work-out” per say but it is a muscle that commonly needs to be retrained.  The multifidus will quickly atrophy with back pain, surgery, or a small shift in the spine.

Foot intrinsic muscles with the posterior tibialis – Again there are not little weights for those little muscles. It is about training the brain to understand how the foot needs to work to avoid placing extra stress or strain through the knee, plantar fascia and hip.

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Cardio Have No Fear

Cardio, you say?

Yes! We know that cardio training has a positive impact on health at every age and stage of life and want to support our clients to bring this training into their routines on a regular basis for optimal health.  

Research shows that HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) is the most effective way to exercise for cardio training:

  • Improves insulin sensitivity
  • Improves post-exercise energy expenditure (E.P.O.C.), in other words, it increases the amount of calories you burn all day
  • Causes a spike in two key hormones: epinephrine and norepinheprine, which play an important role in fat loss. These two hormones (sometimes referred to as adrenaline and noradrenaline: the fight or flight hormones) are responsible for driving lipolysis, which is the breakdown of fat.

What is High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)?

While there are different types of HIIT training, a great deal of studies characterize HIIT training as bursts of working to your maximum output for 30 seconds to a few minutes and recovery periods. Traditionally people thought that the longer you workout the better. But we know now that’s not the case. With HIIT you can maximize benefits of an hour workout in 20 minutes. 

Cardio Could Save Your Life

Cardio workout significantly improves your VO2 max. This is the max amount of energy consumption your body can use effectively during working out. Why does this matter? VO2 max is a factor in predicting cardiovascular disease and mortality. According to a study in the Journal of Sport Science Blair, et al. report that “risk of low fitness comparable to smoking.” Moderately or highly fit populations can bounce back from illness and disease better than low-fitness individuals. This is irrespective of other factors like obesity, body mass, elPilates-for-Menevated cholesterol, and smoking.

How should I approach my next cardio class?

  • Self-selected pace – work at your body’s pace, not your neighbor’s
  • Listen to your body – do not work through pain
  • Try to have fun – community makes working out easier  
  • Slow and steady wins the race. 

Feeling ‘the burn’ 

In general, when we refer to feeling the burn we’re talking about lactic acid in the muscle groups that we’re working out. But in the cardio world, the burn is a full-body experience. You’re sweating a ton, breathing rapidly and deeply, and your blood is flowing fast.  Some people enjoy this feeling (see runner’s high) and others hate it. Both of those reactions are completely okay. If you’re someone who can’t stand the panting and the exhaustion that comes from a cardio workout,  have hope! Long term, it gets easier and much more manageable. You may even get to that point where you crave a good cardio workout. If you don’t see that happening anytime soon, HIIT in a supportive environment is a great way to knock out your cardio fast.

Articles of interest

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/026404198366678

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Post-Pregnancy Fitness: Sharon’s Pilates Journey

From journey to getting fit post-pregnancy to a becoming a Pilates trainer, meet MOVE Wellness Pilates apprentice Sharon Hillenaar!

Sharon never considered herself particularly athletic. In fact, she says that “hard, core exercise was always a little bit of a struggle.” Given that core exercise is one of the most fundamental components of Pilates, we find Sharon’s story really inspiring for those who are a bit nervous about beginning Pilates.

Staying motivated post-pregnancy

A brand new mom living abroad, Sharon committed herself to post-pregnancy fitness. She started visiting the gym regularly and running, eventually signing herself up for a half-marathon. But the goal to lose weight transformed into a much deeper desire to become fit and live a healthy lifestyle. Sharon started exploring different avenues to becoming fit. She went to the gym, started taking spinning classes, and doing exercise programs like PiYo and Yoga. Her love of spinning became Sharon’s motivation for eventually getting certified as a spinning instructor.

I realized that I really enjoyed being in this type of environment and decided that I would pursue my personal trainers certification, which eventually led to other certifications such as PIYO, Cardio drumming, Schwinn, and a host of other mini classes I took over the years…. As I explored different avenues that would help my career but more importantly my clients, I decided to explore a Pilates Certification. Not knowing ANYTHING about Pilates, I did not realize how intense this form of exercise is for the body, mind, and breath.  I feel like this will be a perfect addition to my experience and training background and will allow me to offer more to my clients not only in a pilates class scenario but also to my overall trainer education.

What was it about Pilates?

One evening during a yoga class I was teaching, one of my clients approached me and mentioned that she had been doing Pilates and how much she enjoyed it. She spoke so enthusiastically about it that I was compelled to go home and read more about it. The more I read, the more I was able to see how beneficial Pilates could be for clients. I was specifically intrigued by the vast repertoire and how effective the movements were to effectuate change within the body especially from a strengthening, mobilization, toning and rehabilitation stand point.

Pilates Benefits for Post-Pregnancy Fitness

For Sharon and many others, Pilates exercises became so beneficial to add to any workout routine. Pilates benefits a wide demographic of people. Pilates can help increase strength, lose inches, heal from injuries, and maintain flexibility and mobility.  Pilates emphasis on deep abdominal connection and pelvic floor health makes it perfect for pregnant and post-natal women.

Finding MOVE’s Instructor Training Program

As I began researching studios that offered the Pilates instructor training program, I stumbled upon the MOVE program. It was perfect for me because the course was offered over the weekends and was in Ann Arbor.  However, that wasn’t the only deciding factor.  After having an extensive conversation with Elaine Economou, who address my lengthy questions and concerns, I truly felt like this program was different. The modulated program, the apprenticeship program and availability to mentors and trainers was exactly what I was looking for.

If you’re a newbie and feeling apprehensive, Sharon offers this advice:

Not having done more than a few Pilates classes myself, I was truly a newbie. Even though I had a background within the fitness industry, there were many occasions when I felt like I was learning things for the first time. At those moments, I reminded myself to breathe and not to be hard on myself. The program is information rich, and at first it will feel like a mumbled heap in your brain. Then all of a sudden, the program comes full circle and it all makes sense.

“This program is not just an instructor training course, it’s an education. Trust the process, believe in yourself and remember, the MOVE program will walk you through, one step at a time.” – Sharon

Start Your Pilates Journey

Sharon is on her way to becoming a Pilates instructor through the MOVE Instructor Training Program and we know she’ll do great! If you have any questions about pilates classes, the MOVE Instructor Training Program or becoming a Pilates instructor, we’d love to chat! Please email us at office@movewellness.com. You can also stop by one of our MOVE Instructor Training Coffee Chats this fall to have your questions answered over a cup of coffee with MOVE Wellness founder and president Elaine Economou.

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Why Health Isn’t the Goal We Think It Is

One U of M professor’s powerful work on motivation and exercise

Simply put, Dr. Segar writes “Logic doesn’t motivate us. Emotions do.” The psychology behind exercise, and why some people stick with it long after PT while others drop off is explained by a powerful reward system that has been a focus of University of Michigan researcher Dr. Michelle Segar’s work and book No Sweat: How the Simple Science of Motivation Can Bring You a Lifetime of Fitness

Dr. Segar’s work suggests that the goal to be healthy may be adequate to initiate a behavior but not to sustain it because people do the things that gives them the most immediate benefit. Better health is hard to notice immediately. This “larger, distant reward” (2015) isn’t as fueling as immediate rewards such as more energy, an endorphin high, mood boost, alertness, etc.

People don’t necessarily want to be healthy, they want the things that health affords them – “good health is only valuable because it helps us live our daily lives well,” she notes in the Journal of American Society on Aging. So where do we go from here?

What’s the right goal?

Motivation is unique to each individual but Dr. Segar suggests that as health and fitness specialists, we rebrand health as well-being because when individuals are motivated to feel better, they engage in self-care behaviors that immediately give them rewards.

Sustainable self-care behaviors are made up of multiple decisions every day. Research shows that people often don’t do what is in their best interest, and that willpower depletes with use (Ariely, 2009; Vohs and Heatherton, 2009)…To better motivate consistent decisions that favor self-care and health, it is helpful for people to notice immediate, experiential rewards, which can be tied to well-being and enhance the areas of life that are most meaningful. Consider these as better reasons, or Whys, for creating sustainable behavior. (Segar, 2015).

As professionals we know that consistency and frequency, or cadence, is the best way to make lasting behavior changes. At MOVE Wellness, our clients tell us how they never thought they would be able to commit to an exercise program, but they soon love how they feel and they are in 100 percent.

If you’ve been contemplating your goals and creating sustainable behavior change, come in and talk to us! Email elaine@movewellness.com and introduce yourself.

Source: Segar, Michelle. (2015). The Right Why: The Surprising Start to Cultivating Sustainable Behavior Change. Journal of the American Society on Aging. Vol. 39(1).

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Your core is more than a “six-pack”

This blog was originally published in ClickOnDetroit.com on August 2, 2018.

When we refer to our “core,” most often we imagine a defined set of abdominal muscles referred to as a “six-pack” and the image of a tight, magazine cover or Instagram-ready abdomen, male or female.

You know the one.

Posts or covers with catchy phrases and how-to instructions for core training draw us into buying the magazine and to thinking that the hard defined muscles shown are our ideal. It is also part of our common understanding of training the body that in order to achieve the six-pack one must execute many, many abdominal crunches. Here’s the truth. And some good news.

What is the core?

Core strength or stability actually refers to a set of muscles that stabilize and mobilize the spine against the movement of the body.  This includes not only the “six-pack” muscle — rectus abdominis (which I’ll just refer to as rectus moving forward) — but also the deeper abdominal and spinal muscles, the pelvic floor and the diaphragm. This inner unit needs to be strong, responsive and resilient to support healthy breathing and movement, which in turn allows for an optimal movement system for whatever you love to do.

One image that works with clients is to imagine a balloon that is about ⅔ full of air. The balloon has a band around the middle. The top of the balloon is your diaphragm, coming up into the lungs, and the bottom of the balloon is the pelvic floor. The band around the balloon represents your deepest core stabilizer (called the transversus abdominis). It looks very much like an old-fashioned corset, with fibers that run horizontally from your spine to the front of the body.  This means that when it contracts it cinches or draws inward toward the spine, just like a corset. This may be why, Joseph Pilates, who developed the system named after him known for its connection of breath to core strength said, “Above all, learn how to breathe correctly.”

Core training through breathing

I know. What? Core training includes the diaphragm? Breathing? Pelvic floor? How on earth do you build up a sweat training then? Here’s the first bit of good news.

You breathe all day long. By focusing on breathing for a few minutes each day, maybe before you work out, you can bring attention and awareness to the coordination of your breath and any muscular tension in the body. Simply put, you allow the muscular support system to reset by noticing where you feel expansion when you inhale and releasing any tension when you exhale, directing the breath into a complete expansion of the rib cage. This diaphragmatic breathing will allow you to initiate the body’s natural muscular organization so that when you do train for tone and strength, you are doing it with a balanced activation of the system.

Plus, there are side benefits to focusing on breathing. The physiological response that occurs when you focus on the breath are similar to that of a mindfulness practice. Quieting and focusing the mind for as little as two minutes decreases stress hormone production and calms the nervous system. You are also bringing your awareness into your body so that your workout can be more efficient and effective. There are many, many benefits to a mindfulness practice so combining it with movement and exercise is a win-win.

So what about the core?

In addition to building awareness through breathing, training the core includes abdominal work with attention to your unique posture. The key here is to train your body.

I like to describe our body through the lens of two postures. First is our genetic posture, or the alignment we have naturally.  We may be built just like our mom or dad or like me, my sweet short Greek grandmother. The second lens is our cultural posture, lifestyle or what you do all day. Do you sit or stand for a living and do we love to run, dance, garden or bike? Both postures have an influence on how your muscular system is organized and should be taken into consideration as you train.

Once you think for a bit and understand your body, you can better put a plan together for your own workout.  For example, if you like to run and sit at a desk for any part of the day, core training will include being sure that any abdominal work you do does not engage the hip flexors. That means really focusing on the sensation of your abdominals and being sure they are working when you do your ab work.

So are crunches bad?

No! The good news is that crunches done with proper alignment and with attention to your unique body are VERY EFFECTIVE. In Pilates, we do an exercise that looks a bit like a typical crunch as one of several ways we strengthen the abdominals. There are different bodies of research about types of contractions of the abs and suffice to say you should include a variety of them in your workouts.

For example, if you are doing an oblique crunch when you cross one shoulder over to the opposite hip with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor, be sure that your tailbone stays anchored on the floor, your chin stays off your chest and that you actually feel your obliques as you slide one rib toward your opposite hip. Neck, back or hip strain means the obliques are not the emphasis. Adjust your alignment until you feel the target area. Do enough repetitions to feel fatigued but without compromising form.

Correct form for an oblique crunch

Incorrect form for an oblique crunch

Looking at the inner unit as I have described here is foundational to effective core training. I would be remiss to not acknowledge that the muscle balance of the pelvis, movement of the spine and shoulder blade stabilizers all play a role in training the core efficiently because our body really is a system. Overtraining or only focusing on one area does not create the balance we need to function in an integrated way.

The terms “core” and “core training” should conjure images of balanced stability and mobility of the spine as opposed to that post or magazine cover. Those images may not be steeped in sex appeal, but lifelong health and mobility can indeed be sexier than a magazine cover. I would like to challenge you to reframe your idea of what “fitness” looks like.

To me, fitness is the capacity for a resilient, responsive, strong system. Defined muscles are great but shift away from the external pressure to look like that airbrushed cover, toward building the body that supports living a life you love.

Train your core, do your crunches, listen to your body.

Start strengthening your core through group classes or private sessions with Ann Arbor’s trusted local trainers at MOVE Wellness.

CLICK HERE to book an appointment.

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The Benefits of Essential Oils

We had the chance to catch up with one of our yearly Wine and Wellness vendors, Kristi Bowlby, and learn about the therapeutic qualities of essential oils that can benefit our bodies.

  Can you tell us a little about your background? My name is Kristi Bowlby. I’m a physical therapist and STOTT certified Pilates Instructor, as well as an educator about Young Living Essential Oils. I’m from Bay City, Michigan. I went to Michigan State and got my master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin Madison. I moved to Ann Arbor in 2007 and this is my forever home. I love Ann Arbor!   What does wellness mean to you? Wellness to me means being healthy on the inside as well as the outside. Exercise is a big part of wellness, but I think we also have to treat our bodies the way they were designed. We need to put the right foods in our body and the right lotions and topicals on our skin because all of that is being absorbed and affecting us. Another huge part of wellness is daily gratitude and finding things that truly make you happy.   What are essential oils and what are their benefits? Essential oils are extracted through a distillation process from plants and various parts of plants. It could be the flower petals, the leaves, the stems, the bark, or the seeds. An example of an essential oil is wintergreen. Wintergreen is actually 95% methyl salicylate, which is the active ingredient in Aspirin, so it has those anti-inflammatory effects. We can take wintergreen essential oil and apply it topically to our skin, and it can help with aches and pains. Another one is citronella. We know citronella from a lot of the candles that we buy and other ways that we use citronella to repel insects. It is chemically derived and probably not the best for our systems. We can take citronella essential oil, put it in a spray bottle, apply it to our skin, or diffuse it in our surroundings if we want to enjoy the outdoors without that irritation. Quality really does matter when it comes to essential oils.   What makes Young Living Essential Oils unique? Young Living Essential Oils specifically is very detailed on how they distill their oils – so low pressure, low heat, and a very specific time frame. For example, Lavender is harvested at a specific time to optimize the therapeutic qualities that can benefit our bodies. Young Living is a health and wellness company, so essential oils are the heart and soul of their products. But beyond that, they have an entire beauty line, a makeup line, cleaning line, dental care line, and supplements. It’s really about whole-food based supplements, organic products, taking the toxins and the chemicals out of our home, and a healthy living style. The company is founded on their seed-to-seal process. They’ve been around for around for more than 25 years. They own their own farms around the world. They are the only essential oil company that does that. They have a farm in Oman where they have boswellia trees to extract the frankincense. Part of the seed to seal process is they plant the little seedlings in the ground that they’ve grown from seeds in their greenhouses, and they pull weeds by hand. They then harvest those plants, and use essential oils for any pest control that’s necessary, and distill themselves. They then test the oils for the appropriate chemical constituents that provide us with the therapeutic properties that change our bodies, and then bottle the oils and send them to your doorstep.   Why do you find it important to engage with the local community? I find it important to engage with the local community because I believe in supporting locals and small business – the people who are really dedicated in pouring their heart and soul into what they are doing.   What are you looking forward to at Wine and Wellness? This will be my third year participating in MOVE’s Wine and Wellness event. I love the community of MOVE. I think the community atmosphere that Wine and Wellness offers is really fun. I also enjoy any opportunity to share something I am passionate about – Young Living products like their essential oils, supplements, and pain cream (which is probably something that would be beneficial to people coming to an event like this who are exercising.) I am looking forward to sharing this information with other people so they can become healthier!
Join us for Wine & Wellness on August 9th at 5:30-8:30 to chat with Kristi about how essential oils can help you. You can also contact her at kfoxbowlby@gmail.com for any questions.
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How to Make the Perfect Summer Salad

Rachel Cook, MOVE’s Juice Bar Manager, shares her expertise in creating a perfect summer salad that doesn’t leave you reaching for the potato chips afterwards. 

Summertime is officially here and with the scorching temperatures, you may find your tastebuds gravitating towards cooler meal options… Enter the salad! Salads are a fantastic vehicle for loading up your body with so many nutrients. They are vegetable-heavy which is a food group most of us need more of, and are also water-rich, which is especially important in the summer heat. However, to make a great salad that’s not going to leave you reaching for the potato chips and ice cream one hour later, you need to make sure you’re filling it with healthy fats, carbohydrates, and protein.

 

Here Are 4 Steps to Create the Perfect Summer Salad:

 

  1. First, start with your greens. We all know how great kale is, but spinach, arugula, and romaine all have their merits! It’s nice to do a mix of lettuces, so you can get a variety of flavors and nutrients. Start with your favorite green, and then think about branching out into the unknown. Ever tried watercress? How about pac choi? We are so lucky we have so many options in the grocery store – and hey- they even sell already packaged mixes so you can leave the work to someone else!

  2. Next, load up on fruits and vegetables. Water-rich fruits and vegetables, like cucumber and radish, are great to keep you hydrated in the summer when you’ve been working up a sweat all day. This is also a great time to toss in any leftover vegetables you have from dinner throughout the week. Speaking of leftovers, I always find myself with extra herbs in my fridge and have started adding them in to my salads. Not only do herbs pack a flavor punch, but they pack a nutritional punch as well!
  3. Now we get to the territory where salads can be seriously lacking – the toppings! These will add texture and variety to your salad and make it a lasting meal. Toasted nuts and seeds are full of healthy fats and protein and add a nice crunch. Whole grains, as well as beans and legumes, add in protein, fiber, and carbohydrates. If you eat meat, toss in some roast chicken or salmon to add even more protein. Cheese can be a healthful topping too, just be mindful of the serving size.
  4. Last but not least is the dressing. I would advocate to keep it simple with some nice extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice or balsamic vinegar. Adding a tiny splash of maple syrup or honey along with dijon mustard lends a little extra flavor to the whole thing.

And voila! You are ready to dive in!

 

Rachel is MOVE’s Juice Bar Manager, Program Coordinator, and the founder of Raw Materials, a local catering and healthy baked-goods company.

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A Pilates Success Story: Weight Loss and Walking a Mile

My name is Carol Shulman. I’ve been doing Pilates at Move Wellness since February 2018. This is my story.

 

100 Steps Forward

Last Digest-Your-Turkey day, I awoke with excruciating back pain. That’s not new: I had disk surgery in my late 20’s, have had two hip replacements, and I have osteoarthritis in my spine; any kind of semi-strenuous bending/lifting (see: “Remove turkey from oven”) often causes next-day back and sciatic pain. I also haven’t been able to walk any distance since my last hip replacement about 15 years ago. Standing up for one of my weekly 4-hour weekend cooking marathons (mostly vegetarian, always from whole real foods) left me gasping on the couch. Putting in my veggie garden was guaranteed to lay me low.

Here’s what was different this time: I was finally fed up. So, I signed up for physical therapy, intending to get gait training to learn to walk again. After 24 sessions, I was no longer in constant pain, but I was no closer to walking normally. My one attempt, mid-way through PT, was a disaster. After only 100 steps, the pain was too intense to continue. *SO* discouraging!

 

Trying Pilates for the First Time

At the end of January, my therapist gently explained that insurance wouldn’t pay for any more PT. She patted my leg, and said, “You simply have to get stronger,” and recommended the Transition Program at Move Wellness. My mom had recently died and left me a bit of money, so I decided to invest it in myself. I signed up for personal Pilates training with some dude named Tony. My goal is to walk a mile without discomfort.

I did this despite being skeptical. I always thought of Pilates as something for The Real Housewives of , and that is definitely not me! My skepticism wasn’t improved upon meeting Tony. He initially didn’t match my mental image of a Pilates trainer. But I remembered that the lady who did my intake told me “every personal trainer here has a story.” And it’s not like I am some kind of athletic goddess. (Although I was quite athletic in my younger days, I’m now 64, overweight, have a desk job, and tending toward couch potato, at least in the winter.) So, I chided myself for being judgmental and decided to roll with it and have my first session.

It was freaking AWESOME! Tony — unlike me — was entirely nonjudgmental; I’ve come to understand that’s a thing at MOVE Wellness Studios. He was kind, gentle, attentive, motivating, and explained things very clearly. I felt great after that first session! Mind you, when he first asked me to do a simple back extension exercise, I couldn’t even fathom what he was talking about. And I thought we were doing “side-line leg work,” whatever that was. I could barely do 5 clams. Now I’m doing 10 clams each side against a resistance band, and I can lift my arms off the mat when I do those pesky back extensions. And now I do side lying leg work, and my hips no longer wobble when I circle my leg, toes pointed and “reaching long.”

Even though the Reformer reminds me of a cross between a rowing machine and a torture rack, I’ve grown quite fond of the work we do there. I’ve worked with a couple of other trainers, both just as warm, supportive and effective as Tony. But I feel like I have a special bond with Tony; no one motivates me better than he does! (By the way, I was totally wrong about him…he is a man of steel!) I haven’t lost much weight yet, and I can’t yet walk a mile without pain.

 

But after 4 short months I’m seeing the benefits of Pilates:

– I’m beginning to reconnect with my inner athlete.

– I’ve lost a dress size.

– My posture is better.

– I can garden, cook for hours, and do heavy housework without paying for it later.

– I’ve got actual (semi-firm) haunches instead of marshmallow butt cheeks.

– I’ve walked as much as 0.8 miles in day, which is quite a ways from those pitiful 100 steps!

 

Carol Pilates Success Story Before Pilates, gardening caused Carol to have next-day pain and stiffness, but now she can garden without paying for it later.

This summer, I can’t wait to see how much easier it is to climb up the tiny boarding ladder into my boat and how much stronger my frog-kick is when swimming. And now that the weather is better, I’m starting some more systematic “mindful walking.” I have no doubt I’ll hit that mile before summer’s out.

I’ll echo Tony’s story: Signing up at MOVE Wellness Studios was one of the best decisions of my life!

 

 

Interested in becoming a Pilates success story yourself? Try an introductory session today!

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Planting the Seeds for a Great Smoothie

This blog was written by our Smoothie and Juice Bar Manager, Rachel Cook.

 

Nourish your Body with Plant-Based Protein

 

I remember the first smoothie I ever had. My mom had been diagnosed with cancer and was looking to improve her health and strengthen her body. As a result, my whole family was being subjected to many juicing and smoothie experiments. My brother and mine’s first blended beverage consisted of strawberries, banana, orange juice, soy milk, flax seeds, and tofu. Yes-tofu! Maybe not the most appetizing smoothie ingredient but to be honest, you really couldn’t even taste it.

Years later, I look back fondly on all times my parents tried to sneak “weird” health foods into our meals. As an adult, I now realize my parents were on the right track. We can get so much nutrition just from plants. We don’t always have to rely on dairy and meat. There is so much more out there!

One place we can make a shift from animal to plant is in our smoothies. Plant-based protein powder can provide an array of disease-fighting phytonutrients and cholesterol-lowering fiber. Plus, plants are naturally lower in cholesterol and sodium. The plant-based protein powder we use at MOVE Wellness Studios has 18 grams of protein per serving which is around a third of your daily requirement.

Plant-based protein is usually much “cleaner” than whey protein. Specifically, it takes less processing to get it to its final state and it also has less additives. The ingredient list of plant-based protein powder is surprisingly familiar and filled whole-food ingredients such as pumpkin seed, flaxmeal, and hemp seed. Whey protein on the other hand, typically contains at least one form of artificial sweetener as well as stabilizers and gums to give it a silky, frothy texture.

 

So are you considering trying a plant-based protein? Here’s what to look for:

 

  • One that contains a combination of different plant-based protein sources (I would recommend hemp, pea, pumpkin seed, and brown rice) so your body can get the widest array of nutrients possible. Think of it like a meal- you wouldn’t just eat a plate of romaine- you would add tomatoes, carrots, and cucumbers too!
  • No artificial sweeteners or preservatives. Always look for a minimal ingredients list- there shouldn’t be words you can’t pronounce or unfamiliar ingredients.
  • Organic/Non GMO/Gluten and Dairy Free. This will keep you from ingesting harmful farming by-products as well as keep the powder as easy on your digestion as it can be. It also means you are trying to support farmers who have ethical practices about caring for our earth.

Remember, you don’t have to totally eliminate animal protein. Everyone’s choice on how and what to eat is personal. Just try to be mindful of the quantity and quality of food you are consuming and show your body some love by adding in more plants.

Don’t forget, you can always swing by our Smoothie and Juice Bar and we can whip you up a delicious, protein-filled smoothie!

 

“Arguably of even greater importance than the raw materials that foods do or do not supply is the ease at which they are digested, absorbed, assimilated, and eliminated. The less our food choices demand upon our digestive and metabolic capacity, the greater opportunity the body has available for recovery and regeneration after our training sessions.”

~ Dr. Rick Dina

 

Here are a few helpful resources for additional information:
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