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June 2014 Enrichment

On June 19th, 2014, we met in  Mary Alice's back yard, which should really be renamed "Paradise." It was a beautiful day, with a slight breeze and a comfortable temperature.

Our theme was relaxation. Our instructors were Val Daniel and Heather Kindness. 

Val taught us yoga, massage and stretching and also taught us that there are different body types, as described in the book "Perfect Health" by Deepak Chopra. 

Heather taught us breathing techniques to relax the body and release anger and stress.

Michelle Ainge whipped up some delicious green smoothies for us and brought healthy snacks for us to enjoy. I am including the recipes below. 

Ginnie Woodworth made a divine-smelling peppermint foot soak for us. I am scheduling my foot bath for tonight! The recipe is included at the end of this post.

Thanks to our excellent instructors and to Michelle and Ginnie. A special thank-you to Mary Alice for hosting. 

We all had a wonderful time and learned some valuable techniques to help reduce stress and promote well-being. Have a happy summer!

SMOOTHIE RECIPES

Here are the recipes and some information I learned from Michelle that you might find helpful:

*Buy packages (or bags) of fresh greens (spinach, kale) and put them in the freezer. That way theyare ready to go and they don't go bad.

*Peel bananas and slice into chunks and put them in a freezer bag and freeze them so they are ready to use.

*Michelle says she never really measures, so these recipes are her best guess.

ORANGE

Big handful of spinach and/or kale

5 clementines or 2 oranges

1 cup vanilla almond milk

1/2 banana

1/2 to 1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

(can add honey to sweeten - I did not)

Ice - if you do not use frozen bananas or spinach

Blend adding more milk as necassary

CHOCOLATE

1 frozen banana

1 cup vanilla almond milk

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder or raw cacao powder

1/2 cup cooked oatmeal (makes it creamy)

2 handfuls of spinach or kale

FRUITY

1 cup vanilla almond milk

A big handful of spinach and/or kale

3/4 cup frozen berries

I think we threw in some cinnamon, flax seeds and almonds

FOOT SOAK RECIPE

1 cup epsom salts

1 cup sea salt/kosher salt

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cornstarch

4 teaspoons peppermint extract

1 teaspoon lemon extract

3 tablespoons peppermint tea (not peppermint-flavored tea)

Always stir whenever you add an ingredient. If you see any clumps, break them up.

Mixture should resemble wet sand. ENJOY!