Sugar Kicker #5: Apple Crisp

This stuff was so good I ate the whole bleep bleep pan before I could take a picture of it. but you know what apple crisp looks like.... like this:

                      +  





            = 

Or something.

Try it. It's delicious:

BOWL #1
- 4 cups apples, cut up into wedges (I mixed Jonagold, Honeycrisp, and Zestar) Skinned if you prefer.
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- a few drops of pure almond extract
- 1 cup chopped up dates

BOWL #2
Mix in a separate bowl
- 1/8 cup quinoa flour
- 1/8 cup corn starch
- 1/2 cup oats
- 1/2 cup sucanat -- this stuff is pricey, but has the best flavor of the "low glycemic sugar substitutes" that I've tried. I'ts basically raw maple sugar, and has a nice nutty flavor I like, similar to maple syrup. You could also try maple syrup, but the liquid factor might make your crisp a little gummy. Sucanat is a powdery granule substance like sugar.
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
-1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 Tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces.

Use your hands and mix all of bowl #2 together, crushing the butter into the mixture till its crumbly.

Grease a 9 x 9 pan
Throw the apple (bowl #1) in the bottom.
Sprinkle bowl #2 on top.

Bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes.

Let stand, serve with any goddamned thing you want, its delicious with anything.

#YogaWithCalley at Yoga Garden Minneapolis:

  

Sundays @ 10:30am - 90 min - Mixed Level Vinyasa

Mondays @ 5:15pm - 60 min - Mixed Level Vinyasa
1229 Tyler Street Northeast, Minneapolis, MN 55413

Yoga Garden is cash / check only. 

Please note the doors to the FROST building lock 15 minutes after the start of each class.

Sugar Kicker #4: Read Your Labels

Alright friends -

It's been two weeks since I posted - If you're itchy to get to the part about the sugar, scroll down.

I've been reflecting on change a lot this past week, as I had a death in the family. We lost my 94-yr-old grandmother. As to be expected, there's been all kinds of photos and stories coming out about my very creative, very progressive-for-her-time grandma, and I'm very much feeling the winds of change this week, as one chapter closes, and I have begun two new ones -  I'm working with Laurel Van Matre to plan her first 200-hr teacher training track through yoga alliance this coming winter at Yoga Garden (!!!), and I've started my first round of voice lessons out of my brand new Entertainment Jill Studio for this fall in NE Minneapolis. (!!!!)

It's the season for change - the cold weather came blasting in this week in Minneapolis, and my students seemed to be feeling the slow down that is inevitable with this process. Leaves are turning, temperatures are dropping, animals are stockpiling or leaving in preparation for the winter, for hibernating. It's appropriate that we would also be feeling the effects of these changes, and so you can expect some extra time in lengthy floor poses, stretching out, and really taking the time to sink into some deeper versions of poses. It's also a perfect time to prep your system for the cold, and kick a sugar habit.

So here's my #4 trick for kicking sugar: read your labels. You've been good to not drink soda, and not eat dessert. Here's the next step where things can reeeeally start to feel different.
But a forewarning, this is an under-taking. If you have never been a label-reader, you might get a little overwhelmed. May I attempt to ease your mind, and remind you to take things one step at a time. Change one food per week, or per shopping trip.

Sugar has been snuck into just about any pre-packaged food you can find these days. (Unless of course, the product is jumping on the sugar free bandwagon.) Bread. Crackers. Sauces. Dried Fruit. Bottled juices and smoothies. Yogurt. Soup, for crying out loud. Why is this? Well, I'll bring up my favorite article from WebMD about how addictive sugar is. Those food companies are a business, and when you buy more, they win. So putting a slightly addictive substance in their product is more likely to get you to eat it more often. It's a primal response to a substance our brains are wired to like a whole whole lot. It also does just make things taste better.

Now, I'm not saying all food companies are evil. (Ok, if you talk to me, I'll say some of them are evil, alas I digress from a rant.) But I am saying that eating sugar in small amounts of ALL food ALL day long.... well, it doesn't take a food scientist to know that it's not good for you.

So one way to help boost your energy level - and I mean a LOT - is to start buying foods that don't add sugar to your day-to-day meals and snacks. That way when you want dessert, you JUST have dessert, and your body doesn't just become a sugar-processing factory.

Aaaaaaaaaaand end soap box.  Happy label reading!!

P.S. tip #4.5 - this is why I shop at co-ops. There are many more brand options that subscribe to a "no added sugar" ideal when making their products.

P.S. tip #4.75 - changing your taste habits takes as much effort and will as not eating dessert, or any other change. Give yourself time. Try for brands you actually like eating. Allow change to happen slowly, and go for one item at a time.

#YogaWithCalley at Yoga Garden Minneapolis:

 

Sundays @ 10:30am - 90 min - Mixed Level Vinyasa

Mondays @ 5:15pm - 60 min - Mixed Level Vinyasa
1229 Tyler Street Northeast, Minneapolis, MN 55413

Yoga Garden is cash / check only. 

Please note the doors to the FROST building lock 15 minutes after the start of each class.

Sugar Kicker #3: "Caramel" Sauce

Ok, I went ahead and put "caramel" in quotations because this really isn't caramel. It's like vegan "sausage..." it's NOT sausage.

That said, whatever you want to call this, it is DELICIOUS, and is rich and sweet and creamy like caramel sauce. Right down to the ooey-gooey- texture we love about caramel.

Go nuts and put this on ice cream, apples for fall, as a lovely dairy-free frosting for a spice cake... or you know... spoon & jar.

NOT-CARAMEL SAUCE

Ingredients:
½ cup coconut oil
1/3 cup almond butter
½ cup maple syrup
seeds from ½ a vanilla bean pod or 1 tsp vanilla
up to ¼ teaspoon salt (start with a pinch)


Preparation:
Blend all ingredients, starting with a ¼ teaspoon of the salt, in a food processor or very strong blender.  Pulse until well combined, then let it process for several minutes. Taste to check salt level and add more if desired.  The mixture will warm slightly in the processor and the textures will meld, eventually forming a gooey, delicious caramel.

When you're done, it looks like this:


Aaaaaaand, if you want to watch a rather humorous video with a couple of women who show you how its done, and who really enjoy this stuff, CLICK HERE.


I had a student tell me today that she lost 10 lbs in the month of September, just from keeping sugar out of her diet.

Now again, I feel the need to disclaimer - I'm not a doctor, or a licensed food or health coach, and the whole point of what we do in yoga is to familiarize yourself with YOUR body and they way it reacts to things. Your age, stress level, the rest of your diet, activity level, genetics... they all play a part, and everyone is different. But in my corner of the world people have been telling me they have more energy and have been surprised at the difference, and I hope you're all experiencing some change in energy or feeling of well-being as well.

Hope to see you in class this week!

#YogaWithCalley at Yoga Garden Minneapolis:

Sundays @ 10:30am - 90 min - Mixed Level Vinyasa

Mondays @ 5:15pm - 60 min - Mixed Level Vinyasa
1229 Tyler Street Northeast, Minneapolis, MN 55413

Yoga Garden is cash / check only. 

Please note the doors to the FROST building lock 15 minutes after the start of each class.