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Mini Me Yoga Haunts into October
As the nights begin to draw in and the leaves change colour ready to fall, we welcome the cosy warmth that Autumn brings towards us. Harvest is on it's way and the boots are being brought out from the wardrobes!
Let's step into Autumn together, haunt towards Halloween and enjoy cosy nights in!
Walking with you through Autumn as the seasons change,
Mini Me Yoga Team
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Exciting News!
We are launching our new Kids T-shirts: I'm a Mini Me Yogi!
T-shirts are available from your local Ambassador and Kids can wear them to their Mini Me Yoga Kids Classes! We think they are totally awesome!
The Ambassadors have also received new items of clothing...What do you think?
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Free Yoga Game: Welly Yoga!
Its that time of year when the wellington boots come out and the leaves turn golden yet the air isnt so cool its too cold to go out.
So lets play my favourite autumn game WellyYoga
Take your wellington boot off or bring a spare one (if its wet )
Take one big step and pick a card at random and put it down on the floor/grass
Take another big step
Put another card down
Take another big step
Put another card down
Do this as many times as you like - 4 or 5
Go back to the start - you may have starting line to make it fair
Then throw your wellington boot as far as you can
Whichever ‘section of card’ it lands in
Go to that section and before you retrieve your boot do the yoga pose
Next person has a go!
Or have two or 3 stations on the go at one time!
Make sure you are far enough away when those Wellingtons are thrown !
Have fun!
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Jonathan.G. Itchon's Recipe for October
When I was younger, Brussels sprouts were not among my favorite vegetables. They were mostly boiled whole until they were beyond mush, bitter, and grayish. And to get past the bitterness, I would often bury them with some kind of sauce, whether it be melted garlic butter, ranch, or mayo. Sound familiar?
Brussels sprouts are truly an awesome vegetable, but they're so often misused and cooked incorrectly that they get a bad rep. It all comes down to preparation, and understanding how to handle and honor Brussels sprouts to highlight their texture, their unique flavor, and their vitality.
With today’s simple recipe, incorporating the warm, comforting flavors of mustard and ginger, elevate this beautiful Fall vegetable to one that you, your family, and all this with whom you share it, will actually look forward to.
I hope you find joy in both making and sharing this easy recipe. And I sincerely hope that the taste will inspire those, who like me, had a bad first impression, to come back for seconds! Thank You, again, to Kate and the whole Mini Me Yoga empire for allowing me to be a part of bringing the magick back to food and restoring love to the nourishment we offer our bodies!
Tender Roasted Sweet Mustard Brussels Sprouts
Gluten-Free, Refined Sugar Free, & Vegan
Active Prep Time: 5 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 10 minutes (optional)
Cooking Time: 20-30 minutes
Yield: four 1/2 cup servings
1 lb Brussels sprouts, trimmed, rinsed, and halved
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon mustard
1 tablespoon coconut sugar
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon ginger, finely minced
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
ground cayenne, to taste (optional)
sea salt, to garnish
What you'll need: large mixing bowl, whisk, large baking dish/pan, parchment paper
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Rinse and trim Brussels sprouts, cutting off the tough bottom portion of the stem on each one and removing any discolored leaves. Slice each one in half. Tip: Choosing greener and smaller is the way to go!
3. In mixing bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Whisk until loosely incorporated.
4. Add Brussels sprouts and toss to coat well. They can be immediately roasted from here, but I prefer to allow the marinade/dressing to sit on the Brussels sprouts for at least 10 minutes.
5. Transfer to parchment paper lined baking dish/tray, making sure that it is large enough to arrange the Brussels sprouts so they are not crowded. Roast in batches if needed.
6. Roast for 20-30 minutes, turning them midway through. I prefer to roast them flat side down first to ensure that the tougher center portion of each sprout cooks through, and then flip them onto their back. If you want them more towards the crispier side of the spectrum, you can up the temperature to 450 for the final 5-10 minutes or use a convection oven.
7. When done to your satisfaction, remove from oven and finish with sea salt while still warm.
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Did you know that all of our Yoga Poses have amazing benefits?
Here are just a few examples:
Sun
Great for balance, strength the arms, legs and creates awareness of the body and how we can move it from side to side in a strong balanced way arms and legs out represent the elements. Enhances flexibility and co-ordination. Improves concentration and focus, leading to better self-esteem.
Boat
Great for the core, and being balanced. Strenghtens not only the core but the spine. Helps relieve stress and inproves digestion.
Angel Wings
Making snow angel wings gives the children something to focus on rather than lying still. Breathing is key –Breathe in, as the arms go up and out as they come down. Slows us down, calms, great before bedtime.
Giraffe
Standing tall on the tips of your toes and walking, great all over stretch. Great for calves and core.
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Mini Me Yoga's Expert Panel
Mini Me Yoga and our worldwide network is filled with experts in a variety of fields that we want to share with YOU!
This month's Expert is Ashley Costello.
Ashley Costello is a trained Psychotherapist and teacher, specialising in work with children and adolescents. Her work in large and small educational settings, looking after their well being, is what brought her to Mini Me Yoga. After testing and retesting Mini Me Yoga in her schools, she devised the Mini Me Yoga School Status - a standard to evidence a school takes the well being of its students and staff seriously. Ashley is now on a mission to implement the status not only across the UK but the world!
At the moment, Ashley, along with our with our local ambassadors are working within 5 schools and a nursery to fulfil the guidelines and training to gain this status. The first school, launching this week, has raised the money to train their teacher by the pupils themselves. An immense achievement by the pupils showing great leadership and mental health awareness skills.
Ashley has a great belief in giving skills to the children themselves, helping them build confident, resilient and healthy young minds.
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Nutrition by Natalie Kirkland
The ‘Oh So’ Powerful World of Turmeric
Turmeric and its main constituent, Curcumin, have been a topic of discussion in both the nutritional scientific world and in the mass media for the last few years. It has been touted as one of the most important anti-inflammatory spices and many people are now supplementing with Turmeric/Curcumin in the hope to receive some of its many benefits. But what are those benefits? Are they all founded in science and is supplementation the best way to achieve healthy results?
Turmeric is traditionally known as Indian Saffron and has been used in Indian cookery, Ayurvedic medicine and Chinese cookery throughout history. It is also used to give mustard its yellow colour. The spice comes from a brown/orange root herb and is also used to dye clothes and even in traditional Hindu marriage ceremonies!! This spice has been brought to mainstream attention after a number of studies were done on the health benefits of Turmeric and its constituent Curcumin.
These health benefits are locked into the scientific literature and here are examples of but a few
“Curcumin may relieve pain, inflammation for osteoarthritis patients”, Institute of Food Technologists, January 11, 2011
This study showed a decrease in pain with patients who have Osteoarthritis who supplemented with 200mg per day.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27723543
In this research paper Curcumin compared favourably to a standard antidepressant in people with clinical depression.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2781139/
In this paper they are showing that Turmeric is showing promise in treating and preventing Alzheimer’s disease.
Antimicrob. Agents Chemotherapy. April 2009 vol. 53 no. 4 1592-1597, doi: 10.1128/AAC.01242-08
In this 2009 study they noted that curcumin was able to effectively inhibit the growth of H.pylori in vitro in mice. This is extremely important as H Pylori is recognised as a Group 1 Carcinogen and is known to affect more than half the global population.
As you can see, Turmeric is certainly not the latest ‘fad’ health kick. It is something that is natural to our world, been used for its health benefits for thousands of years and is now scientifically proven to help the war against Cancer, Alzheimer’s, Osteoarthritis, Depression and many, many more health problems, due to its antibacterial properties. Sounds good to me!! So, how do we use it? Food or supplementation?
There is certainly a case for adding turmeric to your food and to our children’s food. I like to add Organic turmeric to all my one pot dishes, I sprinkle it on roasted veg and even add it to eggs, also in smoothies (recipe posted below) There is one caveat though and that is that it should be used alongside black pepper. Turmeric itself is not well absorbed into the bloodstream but when mixed with black pepper and its natural component of Piperine, it increases absorption by 2000%...pretty amazing eh?
I always feel the best way to be healthy is to eat nature’s real food, however it is challenging to add Turmeric to everything and some people really dislike the taste!! Supplementation is then the answer, however hundreds of Turmeric/Curcumin supplements have sprouted up on the market and they are often of a low quality and end up eating a hole in your pocket. The reason for this is the subject of Curcumin absorption. As I said earlier it’s best to eat Turmeric with black pepper to aid in absorption in the digestive system. Curcumin is very poorly absorbed and can pass straight through the system. The supplements you buy must be bioavailable, thus enhancing Curcumins absorption rate. Here is a check list when looking for a
Turmeric/Curcumin supplement:
- Check it has advanced technology to help with bioavailability.
- It delivers the 3 types of curcuminoid that exists within Turmeric, not only 1
- Is sourced from raw Turmeric and avoids any fillers, additives etc.
I believe in natural food, I believe that humans have known how to heal themselves naturally for millennia with herbs and spices. I believe in Turmeric!! Go on give it a try!! Here is a smoothie recipe from Dr. Mercola to get you started:
Ginger Turmeric Latte
Ingredients:
· 1 tsp. fresh, grated turmeric or dried turmeric spice
· 1 tsp. grated ginger
· 1 Tbsp. coconut sugar
· 2 tsp. coconut
· Pinch of sea salt
· 1 cup of almond milk
Procedure:
1. Combine the grated turmeric and ginger, coconut sugar, coconut oil and sea salt in a blender.
2. In a small saucepan, heat the almond milk over medium heat until it's just simmering.
3. Pour the hot almond milk into the blender and whirl until smooth and frothy.
Namaste….enjoy Turmeric!! Nat x
You can follow Natalie on Facebook or feel free to send her an email if you have any questions.
Facebook: Natalie Kirkland / Yafit Exercise Solutions
Email: nathildon@hotmail.com
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Launching our New Workshop!
Come and learn Mini Me Yoga Games that will enhance, develop and strengthen children's mental and emotional wellbeing whilst having fun!
Our games are designed to help children grow and expand whist increasing academic performance, these games include a range of skills that link to the curriculum.
Contact your local Ambassador or info@minimeyoga.com for more details!
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