11 May

Happy Halloween, barrebabes!

Today I have some Halloweeny things for you, my schedule, and other tidbits, somewhat unrelated to barre class, but hopefully useful nonetheless. Welcome to my new subscribers! This is my once-maybe-twice monthly newsletter in which I send schedule and event updates, musings, and fitness/wellness tips to you, and I absolutely love to hear your feedback and questions so don't be shy :)

cbd curious?

I'm so excited about my next Stretch RX with CBD class coming this Saturday and can't wait to share my chill methods of self-care with everyone! The class booked up quickly (but stay tuned if you're on the waitlist) and I'm planning some more events coming up, but if you're both curious and don't want to wait for the next one, you can buy a jar of magic muscle rub from me anytime you like. A 1oz. jar is $36 and a 3oz. jar is $100. The rub is entirely natural and I make with beneficial oils for skin like almond and coconut, shea and mango butter and beeswax, healing and yummy smelling essential oils like cassia and niaouli, and of course, super strong CBD oil. One barrebabe uses it to heal from a knee injury, and hubs uses it for tech neck, old skateboard injuries, and tendonitis. It just feels good!

i bake now

I've written before about adjusting eating habits to the changing seasons, not only in terms of what you eat, but how. This fall has been a particularly awkward adjustment for my body, and I've really noticed the problem of summer eating habits like cold drinks, raw produce, and intermittent fasting as the days shorten and the windchill kicks up. In Ayurveda, autumn is a Vata season, Vata being one of the three doshas that is expressed through air, motion, light, rough, dry and cool (read more here). Since "like increases like," as it gets cooler, drier, and windier outside, so too will the body, resulting for me in dry skin, belly bloat or even upset after certain foods, disturbed sleep, and scattered thoughts. To address this, I've been cooking more, especially warm, mushy, one-pot meals, drinking tea, and eating sweeter (not necessarily sweetened) things. To that end, I've found myself making two recipes pretty much every week that seem to help pacify Vata (and Diego and Papa love them, too):

Low-Sugar Low-Gluten Banana Muffins
Preheat oven to 400. Butter (or use muffin wrappers) a muffin tin. Mush together 2 soft, ripe bananas, 2 eggs, 1 cup of full-fat Greek yogurt, 2-3 tablespoons of honey, and vanilla extract. Add in a mixture of 1.5 cups oat flour (or oats that you've Vitamixed into flour), 1.5 teaspoons baking powder, .5 teaspoon baking soda, and a sprinkle of salt. Mix it up and add .5 cup or so of chocolate chips/dark chocolate hunks/whatever you like. Bake for 15 minutes or so till a knife inserted in muffin center comes out clean. Hell yum!

Apple (or Peach, or Pear) Crumble - Vegan Optional
Preheat oven to 375. Butter or coconut oil a baking dish. Peel and chop about 5-7 apples/whole fruits. Toss with .5 tablespoon lemon juice, a generous dusting of apple pie spice AKA cinnamon, allspice & nutmeg, and 1/4 cup sugar of your choice (honey, brown sugar, coconut sugar - you do you). Mix 2 cups of oats with some flour (or oat flour if gluten-averse) and half a stick of butter (or equivalent coconut oil & applesauce for the vegans - you probably know better than I do), a generous amount of cinnamon/apple pie spice, and a little salt and some vanilla. Put the fruit in the baking dish, cover with crumble topping, bake 30 minutes or till the top is crispy.

Cooking fruit makes it easier to digest, which in turn eases Vata troubles while being delicious and good for you. Both treats are great for breakfast AND dessert, and eating them warm makes the insides happy. Both are naturally sweet because of the fruit with adjustable sweetness levels to taste, and the banana muffins in particular are full mini-meals in themselves as they contain protein, fat, energy-dense oat flour, and chocolate, (which is a pretty much a food group, no?)