How I keep my Pilates Body other than through exercise! This one pot meal is a favorite in my house. Make it a favorite in yours. It’s easy & quick to prepare. My idea of ‘Fast Food’ White Bean Stew by Joanne Smart Who said Italian night has to include pasta? This quick-cooking stew has onions, garlic, and spicy Italian sausage—classic flavors you expect in an Italian meal—and it’s warming and comforting, too. Serves three to four Ingredients 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil 1 medium yellow onion, chopped 3/4 lb. hot Italian sausage, casings removed 2 medium cloves garlic, minced 2 15-oz. cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained 1 small head escarole, chopped into 1- to 2-inch pieces, washed, and lightly dried 1 cup low-salt canned chicken broth 1-1/2 tsp. red-wine vinegar; more to taste Kosher salt 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano Procedure Heat the oil in a heavy 5- to 6-qt. Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the sausage, raise the heat to medium high, and cook, stirring and breaking up the sausage with a wooden spoon or spatula until lightly browned and broken into small (1-inch) pieces, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, then stir in the beans. Add the escarole to the pot in batches; using tongs, toss with the sausage mixture to wilt the escarole and make room for more. When all the escarole is in, add the chicken broth, cover the pot, and cook until the beans are heated through and the escarole is tender, about 8 minutes. Season to taste with the vinegar and salt. Transfer to bowls and sprinkle each portion with some of the Parmigiano. Enjoy! **Creative Notes** If you don’t like spicy sausage use sweet. If you don’t eat pork substitute chicken or turkey sausage. Lot’s of terrific sausage on the market many of which are organic. As for the vinegar, I put it on the table to add as you like. Don’t forget you can make this recipe your own! Nutrition Facts Cannellini Beans are an excellent source of iron, magnesium, and folate, a single serving of cannellini beans provides more than 20 percent of the recommended daily values of these nutrients. They are also a good source of protein, providing more than 15 grams per serving. Other nutritional benefits include their low fat content and calorie count. Each serving contains only 225 calories and less than one gram of fat. Escarole is fat-free, low in sodium, cholesterol-free, low in calories and high in folate. It contains only 20 calories and has 65% of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin A. Do you have a favorite white bean or escarole recipe? Please share! Susan Sommers is a Personal Pilates Instructor specializing in those 50+ on the Upper West Side, NYC
Posts Tagged ‘nyc’
Pilates Plate 2
Posted in Florida Pilates 
Tags: beans, escarole, house, italian, nutrition-facts, nutritional, nyc, recommended, sausage, susan-sommers, until-the-beans, vinegar 
Comments OffPilates Plate
How I keep my Pilates Body other than through exercise I am passionate about cooking! Healthy cooking, of course. I especially love to cook this time of year, peasant style one pot meals. Stews and Soups. So easy to take a recipe and make it your own. Easy to freeze and have a meal in the ready. What a perfect time to share some recipes with you! Just yesterday I made a big pot of Stewed Lentils & Tomatoes You can eat this as a side dish or it’s a meal in itself. Loaded with fiber, iron, protein, and other vitamins and minerals, lentils are a nutritional fountain of youth. Researchers who studied the elderly found that eating these earthy-tasting seeds (and other legumes) is the single most important dietary factor in longevity. When it comes to fiber, a mere half cup of lentils provides around a third of your daily requirements. While lentils share many health benefits with their legume cousins, they gain a distinct edge when it comes to preparation: Lentils need no presoaking, and they cook in less than an hour. So let’s bring on the lentils… Ingredients 2t olive oil 2 lg sweet onions diced 3-4 carrots chopped 3 cloves garlic minced 1 (28 oz can whole plum tomatoes) 1 cup French green lentils 2 cups water or stock 2t curry powder (mild or hot) 1t cumin 2t kosher salt Black pepper freshly ground Procedure Heat the oil in a large heavy bottomed pan. Add the onions and carrots and cook over medium low heat for about 8-10 minutes or until softened. Stir occasionally. Add garlic stir for 1 minute Add curry powder, cumin stir until fragrant at least 1 minute. Add the rest of the ingredients. (Tomatoes can be pureed first or like I do broken up with a fork while in the pot) I like my tomatoes chunky in this dish.. Raise the heat. Bring to a boil, Lower heat cover pan and simmer until lentils are consistency you like. Approx 45-60 min. **Be creative** If you don’t like the taste of Curry not to worry perhaps you like a more Mexican feel than use Chili Powders or perhaps you’re in the mood for Italian, how about some Rosemary? Feeling very Greek, lets use some Oregano. The flavoring is up to you! Do you like fennel? I do. Chop some up and add it. Make it your own. Most of all….Enjoy! Do you have a favorite lentil recipe? Please share. Susan Sommers is a Pilates instructor specializing in those 50+ in NYC, NY
Pilates Plate
How I keep my Pilates Body other than through exercise I am passionate about cooking! Healthy cooking, of course. I especially love to cook this time of year, peasant style one pot meals. Stews and Soups. So easy to take a recipe and make it your own. Easy to freeze and have a meal in the ready. What a perfect time to share some recipes with you! Just yesterday I made a big pot of Stewed Lentils & Tomatoes You can eat this as a side dish or it’s a meal in itself. Loaded with fiber, iron, protein, and other vitamins and minerals, lentils are a nutritional fountain of youth. Researchers who studied the elderly found that eating these earthy-tasting seeds (and other legumes) is the single most important dietary factor in longevity. When it comes to fiber, a mere half cup of lentils provides around a third of your daily requirements. While lentils share many health benefits with their legume cousins, they gain a distinct edge when it comes to preparation: Lentils need no presoaking, and they cook in less than an hour. So let’s bring on the lentils… Ingredients 2t olive oil 2 lg sweet onions diced 3-4 carrots chopped 3 cloves garlic minced 1 (28 oz can whole plum tomatoes) 1 cup French green lentils 2 cups water or stock 2t curry powder (mild or hot) 1t cumin 2t kosher salt Black pepper freshly ground Procedure Heat the oil in a large heavy bottomed pan. Add the onions and carrots and cook over medium low heat for about 8-10 minutes or until softened. Stir occasionally. Add garlic stir for 1 minute Add curry powder, cumin stir until fragrant at least 1 minute. Add the rest of the ingredients. (Tomatoes can be pureed first or like I do broken up with a fork while in the pot) I like my tomatoes chunky in this dish.. Raise the heat. Bring to a boil, Lower heat cover pan and simmer until lentils are consistency you like. Approx 45-60 min. **Be creative** If you don’t like the taste of Curry not to worry perhaps you like a more Mexican feel than use Chili Powders or perhaps you’re in the mood for Italian, how about some Rosemary? Feeling very Greek, lets use some Oregano. The flavoring is up to you! Do you like fennel? I do. Chop some up and add it. Make it your own. Most of all….Enjoy! Do you have a favorite lentil recipe? Please share. Susan Sommers is a Pilates instructor specializing in those 50+ in NYC, NY
Pilates Props
Why do I love props? From exercise bands to magic circles to my newest piece of equipment a portable Pilates Arc, props can add challenges, assistance or spice up a regular Pilates workout. The right prop can make a hard exercise easier and a simple exercise more challenging. What is the main and most important reason that I use props with my clients? Props can help them facilitate the proper execution of an exercise. Modifications! Props help my client to build the strength or awareness necessary to perform the “real” exercise properly. They help build confidence that they can do the exercise! Although, the original Pilates exercises are effective on their own, some people just can’t do them right, yet! Props can be the stepping stone a client needs to succeed with a particular exercise. As an instructor I believe it is not only my job to teach an exercise but to inspire and motivate my client as well. Results are an important factor in motivation. Another good reason for the use of props is because they introduce muscle confusion training. The muscle confusion training principle states that muscles adapt to a specific type of stress and need to be challenged in varied ways in order to continue experiencing results. Muscles improve from being subjected to new and different stresses and challenges which is exactly what props can provide. Muscles performing the same action day after day “get bored” just as clients get bored with the same workout. Variety is the spice of life. Has your client mastered an exercise or are they finding an exercise too easy? Modifications by use of a prop can also be used to challenge them. Try the hundreds a classic Pilates exercise with a Magic Circle between their ankles. May be just the challenge they need! As an instructor it is important to know which prop to use and why you are using that particular prop. What is your goal in using a particular prop? Challenge your client? Do an exercise correctly? Target their core? Facilitate better alignment? Knowing the merits of each prop and which ones best suit your client’s need or objectives is the first step to integrating props successfully into your clients or even your own Pilates workouts. Last but not least……..What do I love most of all about props? Props are portable! I teach Pilates in the comfort of my client’s home or building’s gym. All they need do is supply their body, I supply the rest. Would love your comments about the use of props! Do you have a favorite? Marguerite Ogle, About.com has an excellent guide to small Pilates equipment. Props Guide Susan Sommers is a Pilates instructor specializing in those 50+ in NYC, NY
Posted in Florida Pilates Tags: challenge, client, client-as-well, exercise, Guide, magic-circle, modifications, nyc, Pilates, pilates-props, supply-the-rest, susan-sommers Comments OffMirror Mirror on the Wall
Mirror Mirror on the wall who’s the fairest of them all? Did you watch the red-carpet last night before the Emmy awards? I did. Well, it got me thinking. We live in a society where “perfect” body images are everywhere we turn. We are constantly bombarded into thinking that the “perfect body” is being able to fit into a size 0. I have good news for you, body image is more than just size. It’s about how we feel within our own skin; it’s how we hold ourselves when we are standing around unaware of our posture; it’s about our own internal strength. If, when you encounter a mirror, you can think things like “I’m pretty” or “I’m strong” or “I look damn hot in this bikini (or out of it!),” then you’ve got a healthy, positive body image. But if there’s a nagging little voice in your head constantly throwing confidence-crushing curveballs at you—like “my butt is too big” or “my breasts are too small”—then your body image might need a little work. Body posture speaks volumes about ailments, discomforts or physical limitations we may have. It can also portray a state of mind, whether we are happy, sad, anxious or afraid. This is the language of our body. What can we do to improve our Body image? Fake it till you make it When it comes to the image you project to others, “the way you use your body is far more important than what it looks like,” says psychiatrist Paul Dobransky, M.D., founder of WomensHappiness.com, a website devoted to relationships. The key is to project confidence. If you stand taller, pull your shoulders back, and stride across the room with purpose, it’s unlikely anyone will be thinking, “Wow, she sure could stand to lose a few.” Pay a compliment forward Women can be highly competitive about their bodies: After all, deep down we are flaunting our potential to nab a guy and keep the human race ticking along. (”May the wispiest waist win!”) You could argue, then, that it’s our role in the survival of the species to compare, contrast, and criticize—and, as a result, we’re sometimes less than free with flattery. So when a woman compliments another woman, her words can carry considerably more weight than a man’s. The point is, the more positive feedback you get from other females about your appearance, the more positive your body image will probably be. The best way to invite compliments? Give some yourself. No need to be disingenuous; I’m not suggesting you start passing out compliments like Halloween candy. But go ahead and tell the woman ahead of you in line at Starbucks that you love her haircut. You’ll feel good for making someone else feel good—and you’ll create the kind of karma that will bring self-esteem-enhancing kudos your way. Give it a try. You have nothing to lose. Susan Sommers is a Pilates Instructor in NYC specializing in those 50+
Posted in Florida Pilates Tags: across-the-room, appearance, before-the-emmy, Body, halloween, image, keep-the-human, Language, mirror-mirror, nyc, Pilates, starbucks, woman, womens, words Comments Off