Organic Kale Chips

Whenever possible, M and I have been buying organic produce, meat, and dairy.  There are certain fruits and vegetables that you should always eat organic.  Rule of thumb, if you peel the skin before you eat it, you don't need to buy organic, like oranges and bananas.  However, everything else, from greens to berries to apples should be organic.  And organic milk tastes soooo much better, right Mom and Sister?

Kale - before placing in the oven

With that said, we have a suffice supply of organic produce in our fridge - especially kale.  It's been on sale for $0.99 at our local grocery store, so we keep purchasing it and adding this leafy green to different dishes, soups, and drinks. My latest kale creation - kale chips.  
You'll need:
1 bunch of organic kale
1-2 tablespoons organic extra virgin olive oil
1 gallon-size Ziploc bag
cooking spray and cookie sheet 
salt to taste

Kale chips - after cooking in the oven

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 275°F and spray the cookie sheet with cooking spray.
2. Wash the kale and remove the leaves from the stock.  Chop the kale into bite-size pieces.
3. Add the chopped kale and olive oil to the Ziploc bag.
4. Close and shake the bag so the olive oil is evenly distributed on all the kale leaves.
5. Add salt. Close and shake again.
6. Spread out the kale on the cookie sheet and cook for 15-25 minutes, depending on your oven.  Kale chips should be crispy, but not burned. 

Note - I checked the kale at 15 minutes and stirred and continued to check it every 5 minutes thereafter, until the edges were crunchy like a chip.  

Miso Soup

This miso soup recipe is super simple, so simple that I made it before work on Friday morning.  You only need four ingredients: Trader Joe's miso ginger broth, Trader Joe's roasted seaweed snack, organic tofu, and organic green onions. 

Directions:

1. Add the 32 ounces of miso ginger broth to a sauce pan. 

2. Cut about 4 ounces of tofu into bite-size cubes. Then add the tofu to the broth. 

3. With a pair of kitchen scissors, cut about 0.2 ounces (half of the seaweed snack pack) into small rectangular pieces. Then add to the broth.

4. Heat these three ingredients.

5. Remove from heat and scoop into bowls. 

6. Top with diced green onions.

This recipe makes 4 servings, which I happily enjoyed and ate all by myself for breakfast, lunch, and dinner on Friday and finished the last serving over the weekend.

Organic Milk and Honey

Natalie Merchant's lyrics for "San Andreas Fault" are in my head as I write this:

"Go west, paradise is there, 

you'll have all that you can drink of milk and honey over there." 

I have been sipping on warm organic milk and honey for the last few weeks.  It's an Ayurvedic sleep remedy that's calming and soothing before bed.  I also find it warming in the morning and perfect whenever I need to relax.  Heat 8 ounces of organic milk in a saucepan or a microwave-safe mug and then stir in a teaspoon of honey.  Sip and slow down with this sweet treat.

Lemon Shrimp Over Cheesy Polenta

I cleaned and de-veined my first wild-caught Alaskan colossal shrimp. Yay, Me! It was super easy and actually entertaining.  Not to gross anyone out, but it reminded me of a science lab dissection.  I know you can't eat your dissection, but you see my comparison, right?  M gave me a tutorial; and here's one you can follow.  Hands down, I would much rather devein shrimp, than handle and cut raw chicken. 

After the "dissection," I seasoned the shrimp and added freshly squeezed lemon juice, while M cooked polenta and topped it with grated cheddar cheese.  We served our lemon shrimp over cheesy polenta with Brussels sprouts. 

Mint Tea

I have been reading Ayurveda recipes and cookbooks.  My body type - vata -  prefers warm/hot foods and drinks.  This homemade mint tea is a hot and simple green drink for you to try this fall; it's perfect for vata and kapha constitutions when served hot.   Pittas will probably like this drink cold.  You can learn more about Ayurveda here. 

There are lots of ayuvedic tea recipes online and in cookbooks; I have been enjoying Eat Taste Heal: An Ayurvedic Cookbook for Modern Living.

For mint tea: You'll need about 5-10 fresh mint leaves (from your garden or grocery market), 1 cup filtered water, and honey.  Place the filtered water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil.  Then remove from heat and add the mint leaves. Steep for 10 minutes.  You can strain the mint leaves if you prefer, but I don't.  I actually eat some of them. Pour into your favorite mug - my favorites are my Polish pottery mugs - and add honey.  Sip and enjoy!

Note - While writing this post, I had two cups of this warming, calming mint tea.  

Matryoshka Love

Yesterday I attended a baby shower for a friend/colleague who fancies nesting dolls as much as I do. This was the perfect opportunity to make a matryoshka baby gift for Baby B.  Onesies seem to be my go-to baby shower gift because they are adorable, inexpensive, do not require me to lug out my sewing machine, and can be personalized for the baby and baby shower theme.  These are my favorite onesies thus far, and are just too cute!

For the Matryoshka Love onesies, I used the felt heart pattern and the matryoshka template was a combination of the nesting doll cards and the felt nesting doll ornament. 

Baby B, sending you and your parents lots of matryoshka love.

Brain Breaks

Everyday we do a few brain breaks in class.  Brain breaks are easy, short movements that help children and adults re-activate their brains so they can think, learn, re-focus, do, work, etc.

My teaching philosophy - if your bottom is asleep, your brain is too.  Therefore, you need to get up and move - even if it's only for a few seconds or minutes. 

The Brain Break Popsicle Sticks I created with colored Popsicle Sticks and a label maker are a combination of yoga poses, breathing techniques, Brain Gym exercises, and sensory activities. The sticks are all color coded. For instance:

Blue = breathing exercises 

Green = exercises you can do at your seat 

Orange = balancing poses 

Purple = Tighten and release your muscles 

Yellow = Crossing the midline of the body 

Red = Active movements 

When I notice the class could benefit from a Brain Break or two, I stop what we are doing and have a student pick a stick.  I may ask the student to pick a particular color (like if they need to move - I will suggest a red stick), or I may let the student select a stick or two. 

We keep the sticks in a Rubbermaid bento storage box. It's the beginning of the year, so I am still teaching the students how to do the movements.  In order to remember which ones I have taught them, we place all the "new" sticks in one section of the bento box and the "taught" ones in another section. Once we have learned all the breaks, I am sure the Brain Break box won't be so organized. 

I highly recommend you incorporate Brain Breaks into your day - whether you are work with children, or not...

Stay Awake, Take a Brain Break.