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Dahn Yoga Review

31 May

Dahn Yoga = Amazing. I went to the yoga studio on Williamsbridge Road here in the Bronx. If you remember, my mom won an unlimited week of classes from Dahn Yoga at a raffle. It was worth $50.00 and each class is $20.00. I figured I should go to at least four classes to get my mom’s money’s worth (she spent $50.00 at the raffle party).

Any requirements? At Dahn Yoga you had to wear a white tee-shirt. I came in on the first day with a blue tank top. It was mighty awkward at first, but I got over it rather quickly. I felt more “free” in a flowy white tee-shirt anyway. You also could bring your own mat, but they did have free ones to borrow.How did I feel? I have never felt so relaxed in my life. I felt less stressed (only after going for 2 days), less tensed, more alert and more energized. I hadn’t done a single workout except for the one hour and ten minutes of a Dahn Yoga class for four days last week (plus one of my own yoga workouts for 45 minutes).

Any results? Just after four classes my legs became seriously toned. I just noticed it a few days ago. Most of the workout focused on lower body, which I am not complaining because that was my key area for this summer to work on.

I wish I had taken a picture of the studio. I was planning on it for my fifth class, but I never made it. I just had way too much packing to do for my trip. These classes are not your typrical yoga class. It combines yoga, Tai-Chi and meditation. I loved that after class there was “tea time.” They would make tea for you at Dahn Yoga and if you wanted to, you could talk about your feelings, ask questions and so on. The whole workout (plus tea time) was really nice and relaxing and great to be open for all levels.

Question: Do you belong to a workout studio?

I found a yoga place near my apartment in Gloucester called Tree Top Yoga Studio. I can’t wait to check it out!

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Posted by on May 31, 2012 in Tidbits On Healthy Living

 

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Pardon Me, Please?

25 May

Gee, I must admit. Like I do every post. I’ve been everywhere! From going to yoga class, to packing, to visiting friends to hanging out at a bar. Yes, a bar. Sabrina at a bar? I sipped on a St. Louis Framboise from Yard House on Ridge Hill here in Yonkers, New York. It really just tasted like raspberry juice. Don’t worry I only had one!The strawberry cream oat cake I mentioned late last week? I didn’t forget about it completely. I lost the ingredients list and nutrition information. My mind has not been in a “I want to cook” mode. I’m in the “zen” state of just relaxing and trying to not think about all the crazy packing and moving that has to be done between now and Saturday. Yuck!I also wanted to show you that my mom so graciously got me the Eat Clean Diet Vegetarian cookbook as a reward for finishing my exams. There are many recipes that I cannot wait to try. I am saving that adventure for when I go to Gloucester. I have a month before I start class so on my days off from work I can create rather than study. Bring on the pans!I can’t wait to tell you about my experience at Dahn Yoga. This week I have done nothing but yoga, Tai-Chi and meditation. I can honestly say I don’t miss weight training but I did miss the running. This yoga thing came at the right time because it has been pouring all week. I refuse to run in the rain or on a muddy trail. My nice shoes might get dirty, you know?My friends from work wanted to go out with me before I headed to Gloucester. We haven’t really hung out much, we are all always busy. We initially were going to go out, but the weather was yucky. Look how awesome they are!Kim (remember the guest dessert recipe?) offered to cook and host dinner at her house in the attic. Everything was absolutely delicious. I helped make the chicken and I brought the Alexia’s roasted potatoes as an additional side.Healthy meals are the best! Basil chicken, red roasted potatoes, spinach and broccoli. Dessert? Some chocolate covered strawberries by Kim! Oh my gosh, they were to die for. As you can tell from the lack of stability, hence blurry picture.I hope this feeling of happiness last. I know that sounds so pessimistic but sometimes you just really don’t want it to end. I just need to put my mindset better and wake up everything saying I will be happy today. I deserve to be.

 
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Posted by on May 25, 2012 in All About Sabrina

 

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Honesty Is The Best Policy

22 May

This past week have been a-mazing! From awesome food finds to hiking with my mom at Orchard Beach. I know I have used that word too many times, but it really has been. It’s a good thing too because remember, I was having some issues in the trust department. I am glad that is all over. Now onto some things I need to be honest with.

I’m still eating the meat here and there, but I really don’t want to get back into that habit. I loved how my digestive system was treating me on an all vegetarian diet. I just felt better. Lately, I have been feeling more sluggish and heavy. I absolutely hate the feeling.Now for about 3 days, I have been getting back to my [lacto-ovo]vegetarian diet and I must say, I am feel much, much better. Things are right in the digestive department. I am regaining my energy back as well. As for the running? I haven’t ran since May 14th. That’s pretty much a whole week and I was suppose to be monitoring my progress to see if any changes would occur.

I will say that I did manage to run on May 12th four and a half minutes straight! So close to my five minute straight goal. Perhaps I will try to get in a run before I head out to Gloucester.What has replaced running? Lots of yoga, biking and workout classes. I’ve done yoga classes, meditation, Tai-Chi and boot camp. For some reason, I enjoy nothing having to worry about working out. I just go to a class and feel like it’s being done for me.

Why do I feel that way? I guess because it motivates me to push through it since everyone is around me and I don’t want no one to think I’m a whimp!I just wanted to come forward about the meat and running. I don’t want to deceive anyone and I just want to be honest with myself as well. I really feel much better now that my body is back to normal and that I shared my feelings with ya’ll. Sometimes, that can’t be challenge, you know?

Question: Do you ever have to be honest with yourself?

Back in the day when I was calorie counting, I always had to be honest with myself if I had an off day. If not, it would lead to an off week or month!

 
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Posted by on May 22, 2012 in All About Sabrina

 

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Yoga And A Dash Of Boot Camp

19 May

Today was an a-mazing day (with a huge road bump, but I rather not get into it)! I finally got to sleep in today after not sleeping well and waking up to early. I woke up before 8:00am nice and refreshed. Yes, that is sleeping in for me. Normally I like to wake up before 7:30am.

Any-who, for breakfast I had a coconut-cashew pancake with toasted coconut and cashews instead. This thing is seriously delicious! The secret? Artisana coconut butter, which I will provide a mini review for you tomorrow.After breakfast, I finally went to Dahn Yoga. It was really interesting since it was a mix of yoga, Tai-chi and meditation. I’m going to be going more times this week, so stayed tuned for a review on that one as well.

When I got home from yoga, I munched on some raw cashews while I made my mom a light lunch before our workout. I made chicken burgers (topped with Parmesan cheese) with a side salad, kettle cooked chips and fruit.I spent the rest of the day with my mom. We first went to a tag sale at a church. Since we arrived almost before closing, they had “buy a bag for $2.00 and fill it with whatever you can.” Don’t have to tell me twice!My mom definitely stuffed her bags and she even got a mail box. Just was a total blast.I ended up getting four awesome sweaters (I heart sweaters) and a ton of Food Everyday magazines.Though, my two favorites were the mini wine glasses and a bowl for my fruit.After we went to Aldi’s supermarket to grab a few things. I got some yummy goodies like strawberries, sliced almonds and pure maple syrup.Then it was time for Excel Yoga to do kickboxing. Yet again (I think I’m a bad luck charm for everyone), it was boot camp, but not outside this time. It was intense and the focus was on lower body and abs. I know my thighs and abs are going to hate me tomorrow.

Yesterday at the supermarket, I got this Green Giant healthy weight veggie blend of carrots, string beans, edamame and black beans in a butter sauce. I’ve been wanting to change things up with my veggies and meals. I had this with brown rice couscous, more black beans and tostones.The results? Delicious! High in fiber and protein and my dish (minus the tostones) was only 190 calories. Not too shabby!I know have been all over the place these past couple of weeks. I can’t say things will not be sporadic but I think by the beginning of next month, things will start to be more consistent.

I already have the Monday Meal Planning and What I Ate Wednesday. I want to have more days of that. I am thinking of doing a Fun Finds Friday where I recap my find(s) for the week. Let me know what you think!

 
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Posted by on May 19, 2012 in All About Sabrina

 

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Yoga At The Beach

17 Apr

Man, my thighs and legs were totally sore this morning from yesterday’s hike and sprinting adventures. I was going to attempt the sprinting workout today, but I decided to keep it low key and do yoga instead. But this time not in my backyard, but at the beach. I mean… if you can hike and jog at the beach, why not do yoga in the sand?

Before going to the beach I had a delicious breakfast of two Van’s blueberry gluten & wheat free waffles w/ cashew butter, blueberries and a drizzle of maple syrup. So, so good!I wanted to do a segment from Yoga Today at the beach but 1. my phone had low battery and 2. reception was obviously not happening on the beach for the internet. I ended up doing 20 minutes of yoga poses and stretches on my own that I could remember. There was also a 30 minute walk in the sand; 15 to get to the rocks area and 15 to get back to my car. And because the walk was in the sand there is a little resistance going on there. Yay to that!

I think tomorrow I will try out the sprinting workout for sure. It’s going to be a bit cooler, which will be since because I am sure I’ll be sweating!

Oh and for dinner I tried something new and I promise to take a picture next time I eat it. I was just starving today from being at school all day. I made the orecchiette with broccoli rabe and chickpeas recipe from Eating Well. I used fusilli pasta, regular broccoli, added basil and added butter instead of the red wine vinegar.

The result? Super delicious and has earned an official spot in my meal rotation. Here is the picture from the Eating Well website. I will warn you that my version will not look as pretty, but it sure tasted good!

Question: Other than the gym, home or park, what’s another place that you’ve workout that’s different?

Katie over at Peace Love & Oats did a jog through the zoo! And me? Well the beach!

 
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Posted by on April 17, 2012 in All About Sabrina, Tidbits On Healthy Living

 

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April Workout Routine & Pre-Workout Snacks!

04 Apr

It’s a new month, meaning it’s that time again to shake up my last workout routine. The DAMY Health workouts below come from the members only section on their website. Since I am on maintainance, they have a workouts that you can do. Each month there is a new workout to choose from.

I, of course, mix and match because I want to include yoga as well. The yoga workouts come from either Yoga Today or the 15 Minute Results Yoga DVD. Yoga helps me to stretch out from the workouts but also helps for de-stressing, which I seriously need!

Since I missed DAMY’s March excersise program, I am going to be incorporating it for this month. Should you choose DAMY Health, I only recommend doing this once you have a true understanding of your body’s needs and have completed a DAMY program as well as learned about maintainance from Amy.

If you are on a specific DAMY Health workout plan, you must stick to it! If you have an questions or need modifications, you can always email Amy. Here is my improved workout schedule for April:

  • Monday: DAMY Chest & Abs Workout + Abs Yoga
  • Tuesday: Yoga Today Workout (30 Minutes)
  • Wednesday: DAMY Shoulder Workout + Upper Body Yoga
  • Thursday: DAMY Lower Body & Back Workout + Lower Body Yoga
  • Friday: Active Rest Day
  • Saturday: Rest Day
  • Sunday: Total Body Yoga (Abs, Upper & Lower Body)

Sometimes I get questions as to what can I eat before a workout? Everyone’s body is different in terms of what and how much they can handle.

I like to keep my pre-workout snacks 100 -150 calories and mostly carbs. Post workout you can include carbs and mostly protein to help with muscle recovery. Here are a few of my current favorite pre-workout snacks!

4 0z. yogurt (or Greek yogurt) w/ a small handful of almonds1  Cascadian Farm’s almond butter crunchy granola bar w/ 1 tsp of extra almond butterSmall handful of cashews1  Banana: Plain and Simple!Question: What are some of your favorite pre-workout snacks? How does your April workout schedule look? Do you even pre-plan your workouts?

I find it easier to pre-plan my workouts because it helps me organize the week better!

 
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Posted by on April 4, 2012 in All About Sabrina, Tidbits On Healthy Living

 

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Peace, Cupcakes and Tofu?

21 Mar

Yesterday was such a beautiful today. Today, not so much. I can’t believe tomorrow is going to be almost 80 degrees! It was nice to relax on the green at my school during my break between classes. Peace and serenity.During my lab class, I found Manganese in my unknown solution. It was pretty much the only fun I had in lab. Seeing this cool purple color appear and identifying an element in an unknown solution was a blast.This morning I wanted a “muffin top” but I also was craving Chocolate Covered Katie’s Hot Apple Pie Pancakes. I ended up combining both ideas and added the apples into the “muffin top.” Basically it was my “faux” apple pie blended together. It was delicious, but the “faux” apple pie definitely has a taste of its own.After breakfast, I did the ab segment from the 15 Minutes Solution Yoga DVD and then headed off to help my mom out with her Science Fair. I made about 90 cupcakes for her sale and they smelled amazing.It was so hard not to just gobble them up, although the kiddies helped me out in that department. They were all gone within a few hours! I even was all dressed for the part. Don’t I look cute with a lab coat?When I got back from helping my mom, I was in the mood to make “Mojo” chicken. I remembered I bought a new tofu package. Why not use the tofu to replace the chicken?I made sure to press the tofu of excess water and poured the marinade over the tofu and some sweet peas. I then let it marinate for about two hours and then cooked in on a pan drizzled with olive oil. The result? I was surprised that the taste was pretty darn close to chicken.

I will definitely make this again and now that’s one less meat recipe I won’t miss. It’s funny because I still have the pepperoni pizza in the freezer that I designated as my “March meat.” And do you know what? I really don’t care for it and I’m not craving it like mad. Amazing huh?

Question: What brings you peace? Warm weather? A lovely yoga practice? Hanging out with a loved one?

For me, if all three were combined that would be peace perfection!

 
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Posted by on March 21, 2012 in All About Sabrina, Meal Ideas Made Simple

 

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Readjustment #1: Workout Schedule

09 Feb

Why good morning! How did I start my day? Breakfast, yes, but can you guess what I had? I bet you can’t. Okay, maybe you can. A “muffin top!” I’m just too predictable aren’t I? I had a Maple Peanut Butter “Muffin-Top“ (using soy nut butter) and a banana. After? It was off to do an invigorating upper body yoga workout.

Along with doing my Self Challenge Series over, I am also going to be working on those readjustments I mentioned yesterday. First one I want to focus on (since I am fixing the meat thing slowly) is my workout schedule. Now like I said before, I’ve been having trouble getting my workouts in on Monday and this throws off my whole schedule! I end up falling behind on my workouts or not even completing them at all. That for Sabrina is a huge no, no!

The DAMY Health workouts below come from the members only section on their website. Since I am on maintainance, they have a workouts that you can do. Each month there is a new workout to choose from. I, of course, mix and match because I want to include yoga as well. The yoga helps me to stretch out from the workouts but also helps for de-stressing. Should you choose DAMY Health, I only recommend doing this once you have a true understanding of your body’s needs and have completed a DAMY program as well as learned about maintainance from Amy.

Here is my workout schedule that I think will be much better than the other:

  • Monday: DAMY Workout A (shoulders)
  • Tuesday: Lower Body Yoga (plus tons of walking to & from school)
  • Wednesday: DAMY Workout B (chest)
  • Thursday: DAMY Workout C (lower body & abs)
  • Friday: Upper Body Yoga (plus 8hrs of being active & standing at work)
  • Saturday: “Rest”
  • Sunday: Total Body Yoga (abs, upper & lower body)

The yoga workouts come from either Yoga Today or the 15 Minute Results Yoga DVD. It just depends on my mood and how much time I have. If you have any questions on anything, please feel free to drop a comment or send me an email at NutritiouslySweet@gmail.com. I like reading :]

Question: What is your current workout routine?

 
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Posted by on February 9, 2012 in All About Sabrina

 

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My Current Workout Routine

23 Jan

Can you guess why I was so excited to wake up this morning? To eat breakfast, of course! I had a delicious protein pancake topped with cinnamon toasted almonds and coconut and a drizzle of maple syrup. This just makes my start to the day so much more pleasant.

After my yummy breakfast, I began to modify the Belgium Chocolate Mousse recipe that I had already reduced in stats. Guess what I did? I reduced the stats even more! Now each mousse cup is only 170 calories and less sugar! Amazing or what? You can check it out now! This means that the Peppermint Mocha Fudge Bites stats are also reduced. Yay!

Now let’s get into my current workout routine, shall we? For starters, I am still doing DAMY Health, but I am currently on maintenance. If you join DAMY, you will get access to a “members only” section which has a separate section for monthly workouts, amongst other awesome things. I am currently doing an Intermediate Workout Program, which is designed for indoors.

Not only is it perfect for winter, but I love that it combines cardio and weight training in one fun workout. It takes me about 25-35 minutes to complete a workout. On top of the workouts planned out, you also do interval training workouts that Amy has set up for you. Since I am on maintenance, I am trying to find what works for me. Instead of doing those interval workouts all the time, I’m mixing in the 15-Minute Results Yoga DVD.

I just love this DVD. I like to do two segments during my “interval training” days. One of my New Year’s Resolution for the year was to get more into yoga. I have found that it has helped me tremendously in maintaining my weight and staying in shape. With yoga, it’s not the intensity but rather the concentration on the poses. That‘s how you will see results.

Question: What is your current workout routine? Any new exercises you are going to try for the new year?

 
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Posted by on January 23, 2012 in Tidbits On Healthy Living

 

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Daily Yoga = Results!

08 Jan

Saturday

“Faux” apple pie for breakfast was on the menu for today. My last one that I had frozen. Time to make some more asap!

Allan was coming over to hang out. For lunch, I had the other set of the mojo turkey I made but I added some plantains. Anything with black beans and plantains and I am in heaven!

We walked around my old neighborhood, since I haven’t really been around in a while. While on our walk, I munched on an apple. We ended up renting a couple of movies from Blockbuster since there really wasn’t anything out in the theater that sparked our interest. We chose The Ward and The Man With The Iron Mask.

We first watched The Man With The Iron Mask together since my mom wanted to see The Ward after dinner. I munched on a dark chocolate square while watching the movie, yums!

The movie was actually pretty good. It was Allan’s pick and sometimes we don’t have the same taste in movies but this time it worked well. For dinner, my mom mad some spaghetti and meatballs. I had my own pasta, which was this wheat, egg and gluten-free brown rice pasta by Gillian’s, along with some pesto sauce and a mini caesar salad. 

To top it off, I had a scrumptious chocolate protein “dessert” cake with some whip cream and dark chocolate shavings. There goes my four-day no chocolate eating streak.

We ended the night watching The Ward, which was pretty good until the end. Oh well!

Sunday

Happy Sunday! For breakfast I had a gluten-free “peanut butter” banana muffin with a banana. Perfect for pre-yoga!I let my body digest breakfast for almost two hours. I cleaned and spruced up my room during that time. I did the upper body segment from the 15 Minute Results Yoga DVD by Gaiam.

Here is the DVD cover:What I like about this DVD is that it’s great if your pressed for time. All the segments start off slow for a quick warm-up but then get a bit more fast paced. There is a lot of focus on building strength and attention to your breath and body. I’ve been doing the DVD for about a couple of weeks and feel much more stronger than before. I’ll go into a tiny bit detail of each section, but if you would like more, please feel free to leave a comment below!Upper Body: I love this one because there is a lot of strength building for the arms. Doing this segment has allowed me to do a push-up that is not on my knees, which is a real struggle for me. The one includes some core workouts as well but as it states, is mainly upper body.

Lower Body: Hands down my favorite of the four. This really gets your thighs burning with many warrior and triangle poses. The best this is that because of the many warrior poses, you actually toning your arms at the same time. I find that this one is more total body than lower body, which is a good thing!

Abs: This segment really engages your core. There are many boat poses, which are very challenge, but it really makes you develop your core strength. I like that it’s not all faced paced like your typical crunches or twists, but rather more of a focus on isolating each muscle in the abs.

Total Body: This one is my least favorite, but I still like it. I find it to be a little more laid back for my taste, which is good when you just want to stretch out or awaken for your day. I like to do this one if I am having an “active” rest day.

Mr. Hercules would love to do yoga, if only he wasn’t in love with napping.

The upper body segment plus a 40 minute walk was a nice workout for the day, even though it was supposed to be a rest day! I do like segments from Yoga Today, but they are more for relaxation and stretching. For a post workout snack, I had a vanilla yogurt.

Later on, my mom and I went running errands. Before we left, I had lunch, which was the same as dinner from the night before.

I munched on a s’mores Clif kids bar while driving to our destination. The wrapper is all I have left -.-

One of our errands was to pick up my computer from repair, finally! They had a kitty hanging out at the front desk. It was absolutely adorable.

Back from errands and busy cooking up a storm. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

 
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Posted by on January 8, 2012 in Tidbits On Healthy Living

 

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