Yoga-ing

Happy Monday, everybody!

Here's hoping for a brilliant and productive week for all :)

Mine started out with a pre-yoga snack:

Half a whole wheat English muffin (more on that in a second) with a schmear of almond butter + a baby apple.

And of course, an iced coffee...

I drove over to Hollywood to scoop up my great pal Mindy and together we headed to Runyon Canyon for a free outdoor yoga class.

I'd never done yoga outside, but let me tell you, it was one of the most freeing, magical exercise experiences I've ever had. Despite the beating sun (thank God for shade) and uneven ground (what doesn't tip you over makes you stronger I say), it was absolutely beautiful to practice yoga while inhaling so many natural aromas- grass, flowers, dust- and listening to the sounds around us- birds, the wind, happy people prepping for hikes.

Two things I love: stretching my body and being outside... making this the perfect form of exercise pour moi.

Mindy and I plan on making this a weekly Monday ritual. It's such a fab way to start out the week.

I came home and blended up this little gem:

(frozen banana chunks, the last of my frozen berries and cherries mix, scoop of Sun Warrior protein, water and almond milk)

About that earlier pictured whole wheat english muffin...

In my last nutrition class, we touched on a concept in the health food world known as "the whole grain truth." It basically calls into question many of the big bread company's labels that describe their products as "whole wheat" or "whole grain." While many of these companies claim to sell healthy products, after checking the facts, you'd be shocked to see that they're usually stretching the truth a tad too far for comfort, and your health.

Curious, I looked at my package of English muffins, claiming to be "Double Fiber" and "made with whole grain."

Low and behold, the first ingredient listed is "unbleached enriched wheat flour!"

Two things to take from this observatioin:

1. When looking at the ingredients listed on any food packaging, they are always listed in order from highest volume ingredient on down, meaning my English muffins contain mostly ENRICHED wheat flour.
2. As I've said before, WHOLE, UNPROCESSED FOOD is the way to go- any sort of "enriched flour" does not fit into this category. Be it unbleached or white, enriched flour is made by extracting the natural health benefit-containers in whole wheat (bran and germ) and "enriching" the new product with so-called essential vitamins and minerals to make up for the loss. By doing this, the food companies are prolonging their product's shelf life and "upping" the nutritional value in name and label only.

For a more detailed description of the effects and production of enriched flours, check out this article.

Moral of the story: Don't fall prey to big food companies decorating their packaging with promising health claims! On your next trip to the grocery store, check out the ingredient lists and look for bread products with whole wheat, whole grain or whole oats listed as ingredient NUMERO UNO.

Ok, I've officially stepped off the soap box... For now ;)

I'm off to shower, work on my scene for class tonight, head to the grocery store and make a little treat for the week (to be revealed later).

Enjoy your afternoon :)

Mantra: Take action!