You might imagine how obscure yoga was in the advent of its day. With a few bearded men in caves secretly ‘oming’ themselves into higher states of consciousness, and barely a whisper of its benefits landing only on select ears, yoga used to be as rare as rain in the desert. Today it is highly unlikely that we will find a town without at least one yoga studio, and in some cities, there might even be a place to practice on every street

Enjoy yoga in a trance rave setting

corner. As one would expect with anything that explodes in popularity, people are putting their own spin on yoga, and looking for new ways to practice.

In the late 1960’s, several respected Indian gurus brought yoga to the west. America’s introduction to Kundalini, Iyengar and Ashtanga yoga created a small yet devout group of followers who practiced the traditional methods as taught from the masters. Sticking to the rigid principals and concepts, these classic styles of yoga attracted those with discipline and a strong desire to live a yogic lifestyle.

Today, yoga in America is a 6 billion dollar industry with over 16 million practitioners. Its popularity is mindboggling and the demographics of people who practice are extensive. From retired couch potatoes to retired athletes, yoga’s benefits are now seeping into the minds and bodies of all types.

Who knew that 5000 years after the birth of yoga we’d be throwing yoga parties, complete with champagne and glow sticks, teaching yoga to our four legged friends, and doing an inverted lotus pose whilst hanging from a silk hammock? The course that yoga has taken over the last forty years is truly fascinating.

Read Full Post >

February offers no down time between holidays. We swiftly eat our way through Super Bowl, Valentine’s and straight in to Mardi Gras (French for “Fat Tuesday”). It’s probably the most appropriately named holiday on the calendar, fully embracing its food focus. It’s a one-day feast and celebration before the 40-day fast that Catholics follow before Easter.

The hub of Mardi Gras celebrations in the US take place in New Orleans, which has an air of an on-going party anyway. But next week, on Tuesday, February 21, people will gather to throw one of the biggest parties of the year!

Traditional New Orleans foods, like jambalaya or a crawfish boil, will be the focal point of any proper Mardi Grad party. But few are as easy to make and easily adapted into a healthier version than the muffaletta sandwich, which is synonymous with Louisiana cuisine.
Read Full Post >

A party like Super Bowl should have one big meal, it should have a lot of little favorites. You don’t want anyone to get too full too soon, that game lasts four hours in case you haven’t heard!

Slider sandwiches are the perfect way to give a little bit of a whole lot and keep your crowd satisfied for hours. We like them because they’re practically built-in portion control. Don’t grill half-pound burgers, make tiny ones on tiny buns. Sliders allow you to to enjoy something often though of as “off-limits” for healthy eaters, but in these smaller packages you can give in a little bit guilt-free.

Our BBQ Pork Sliders are made with lean pork tenderloin, your favorite barbecue sauce, and topped with a homemade coleslaw. They’re super simple to make. You could start and have your platter stacked with sandwiches in about an hour! Talk about the perfect last-minute crowd pleaser. If you’ve got time though, this can all be made ahead of time and assembled as your guests are arriving.

Ingredients

One pork tenderloin (about 1 ¼ lbs.)
½ cup plus 1 Tbsp. barbecue sauce
3 cups bagged Classic Cole Slaw (shredded cabbage and carrots)
3 Tbsp. reduced-fat mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. fat-free milk
1 ½ tsp. cider or white vinegar
½ cup plus 2 Tbsp. sliced scallions
12 dinner rolls or slider buns, split and warmed or toasted if desired
Read Full Post >

We’re just two days out from Super Bowl Sunday and the anticipation is building! There’s not much to do between now and kick-off except plan Super Bowl recipes and watch Super Bowl commercials. A staple of any proper football tailgate (whether at an actual tailgate or on your sofa) is buffalo chicken. The popular buffalo flavor has many iterations, and this morning, the web wants to know all about buffalo chicken dip.

Yesterday, Mike Valenti published his buffalo chicken dip recipe on CBS Detroit. It looks tasty, no one wonder people are scrambling to find it. However, it also doesn’t look very good for you at all. His original recipe includes regular cream cheese, ranch dressing, an entire rotisserie chicken, and regular cheddar cheese. We estimate a serving of his has at least 487 calories per 3.2-ounce serving. So, we did what we do best, we gave his dip a makeover!

We trimmed a lot of calories, fat, and saturated fat off of his recipe. You’ll get the exact same results, just as much flavor, and feel way better about eating it. With the adjustments we’ve made, the recipe now has about 206 calories per 3.2 oz. serving (this does not include the chips).

DIR’s Buffalo Chicken Dip

Ingredients

• 2 8-oz. packages of reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
• 16 oz. 0% fat plain Greek yogurt
• 1 ranch dip seasoning packet
• 3/4 cup Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
• 24 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast shredded and skin removed (bake, grill, or stew in the slow cooker with some of the hot sauce)
• 1/2 cup shredded low-fat cheddar cheese
  Read Full Post >

Abra Pappa for NutritiousAmerica.com

I am not a sports fan… but I do love a great football movie (like Rudy, oh I cry and cry). I imagine that’s what the actual game feels like to sports fans? Regardless, I am a healthy food advocate and I know what goes on at Super Bowl parties. The food is typically a wasteland of processed, packaged food, filled with weird chemicals and fake flavors, and of course tons of unhealthy fat, sodium and sugar. I don’t want to spoil your Super Bowl fun, I want to increase it. After all, wouldn’t it be better to eat food that gives you tons of energy to emphatically scream at the TV screen all the way through the fourth quarter?

I love the idea of hosting a Super Bowl dip party, snack-y food that you can continue to munch on throughout the game. Just don’t tell your guests they are healthy dips, that’s your little secret. So put down that pre-made grocery store dip (food-like-product) and walk away from the shelf.

Here are some healthy dips and dipping agents worthy of an endzone dance.
Read Full Post >