Magical Pointe Shoes- Swan Lake Behind the Scenes

Magical Pointe Shoes  Beyond the Pointe Shoe Box

Welcome to a new blog post section dedicated to the art of ballet! Whether you enjoy ballet as a hobby or as an art, feel free to follow this blog post as I will be posting technique explanations, performance experiences, and Holiday Classics! As a Professionally trained ballerina at the School of American Ballet in Lincoln Center, I have gained a sense of self-discipline that I aim to share and spread through these posts.  Enjoy :)


Swan Lake Behind the Scenes




In today's blog post I wanted to discuss the feeling of performing a variation on stage. When you are alone on the stage, you really have to own it. You have to put everything you got out there, so in essence, you are sharing your soul with the audience.

My lovely teacher watching back stage (Larissa) in the picture is a wonderful mentor. Her coaching is elegantly flawless. She enhances my creativity by encouraging my freedom of choosing certain choreography over others.

Swan Lake Finale

While Swan Lake is a difficult ballet to perform, especially with the uniqueness and precision of the flawlessly idealistic Odette, it felt magical to dance this variation because of all the love and dedication that went into the weekly rehearsal process beyond the pointe shoe box. 

Fall 2014 roundup

Hi Lovely! 

The fall is in full gear and that means that there is a new breeze out on the horizon. A more mellow, calm, and peaceful sentiment surrounds you if you truly tune in and focus on it. In addition, today, stop thinking about all of the things that are not right and try to limit your complaining. Smile, dance around, listen to your choice of music, and engage in goodness. 

I have written a few articles that were recently published and if you are looking for extra stress relief advice, here are the 2 links:

How to communicate effectively and calmly   (the article is on page 119*)
Tips To Calm Your Nerves When Faced With Stressful Situations

On a nice fall weekend we had some girl time and played Scrabble. Great for the brain, great for socializing :)

We are heading into the 70's, still towards the end of September!

For today's lunch here is a nice recipe:

1 tspoon Ketchup
Dash of Turmeric powder
1 tbsp Olive oil (optional)
2 handfuls of mixed greens
Steamed veggies: string beans, broccoli, carrots
Main dish- chicken cutlets (organic white meat) and cooked onion

Fresh Garden Salad Recipe

Hi Lovely!

Ready for the new week to begin? To help you transition into the busy and hectic hustle and bustle of the daily weekday, here's a great fall garden salad recipe which takes all the ingredients and makes the whole taste superb!

 Fresh Garden Salad Recipe 

So first comes the base of the salad, the largest quantity of ingredients:

- 5-10 baby tomatoes

- a few handfuls of lettuce and mixed greens

- 1/4 of an avocado

Next comes the the second layer, the yummy dressing:

- 1 tbsp ketchup 

- 1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 

- 1 teaspoon plum vinegar 

Last but certainly not least comes the topping of the salad:

- a handful of almonds 

- 1-2 cloves of garlic, chopped to your choice of thinness/thickness 

- lemon zest: about half of lemon juice

Mix up all of the ingredients if you wish. I prefer to mix all of them and them keep my almonds on a separate plate so that they don't get soggy. 

And there you have it folks! A great and tasty salad that is simple, refreshingly extravagant, and soothingly satisfying to each bite, enjoy :)

Apple banana flaxseed flaxseed oil weekend blend smoothie

Hi lovely!

Happy weekend! Now is the time to take a step back from the hectic week, honing in on your center, and gathering your peaceful state of mind and self. to help you with this transition, let's add a smoothie to your daily grind, literally, because we will be grinding all of the ingredients in a fellow blender :) Here is the complete recipe for this surprisingly sweet tasting smoothie:


Apple banana flaxseed flaxseed oil weekend blend smoothie 

- 1/2 a lemon (use its' juice)
- small piece of avocado
- 1-2 handfuls of mixed greens: lettuce, romaine, spinach, etc.
- 1 tbsp Flaxseed Oil
- 1-2 tbsp ground flaxseeds
- 1-4 of an apple
- 1-4 of a banana
- a few pieces of broccoli
- water for desired consistency


This smoothie turned out particularly smooth and creamy, which is always a fun result! Sip slowly to savor each sip and enjoy :)

 

Gingery Pumpkin seed Smoothie

Hi Lovely! 

Today's smoothie will be to your liking for sure, especially of you like that gingery taste. It's also a soothing smoothie for the more sensitive folks, so its a win-win. Here are the ingredients for this week's: Gingery Pumpkin seed Smoothie

 

- Lemon zest

- water (enough for consistency)

- 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds 

- a few small bunches raw broccoli (uncooked)

-  1/4 of an apple 

- 3 grapes 

- small piece of avocado 

- 1/4 of a banana

- a few handfuls of parsley 

- a few pieces of ginger 

- 1 tbsp green powder (Vitamineral)

 

Mix all ingredients in blender and enjoy! The taste is soothingly scrumptious and is not so intense like the smoothies with the mint flavor. It is savory yet simply delicate!

Gingery Mint Avocado Smoothie Recipe

Hi Lovely!

Let's start off the week fresh. Fresh means homemade, healthy, and deliciously satisfying. So, here's a perfect smoothie recipe for any morning highly implemented with nutritional value:

- Lemon zest
- A few leaves of parsley
- 2-3 mint leaves
- 1/4 of an avocado
- 1 date
- 1-2 small pieces of ginger
- 1-2 TBSP green powder (Vitamineral)
- 1-2 apple slices
- 1/4 of a cup of sunflower seeds
- Add water for consistency

Once the ingredients are all mixed up in the blender and you begin to pour the smoothie into a cup, you will instantly feel the gentle aroma of the mint permeating the room and that will send your taste buds through the roof! Enjoy :)

Banana Pineapple smoothie recipe

Hi Lovely!

Happy Monday! We are in mid-September and the weather is cooling down. It feels refreshingly awesome. That being said, perhaps this is the time to begin making smoothies! They have many good nutrients and vitamins, they are super quick to make, and they taste delicately delicious. Here's a great breakfast that you can make in minutes especially when you are on the go:

Green tea with lemon juice 

 

Banana Pineapple smoothie:

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 tbsp ground flax seeds

1 tbsp whey protein 

1/2 of banana

2-3 slices of pineapple 

1-2 cups of almond milk

1-2 tbsp Greens powder: should have a mix of chlorella, seaweeds, etc. I like Vitamineral

 

Enjoy :)

Yogurt parfait with a twist

Hi lovely,

Yogurt is delicious and aids in digestion if it is plain and contains live active cultures. Heres a delicious recipe that you can enjoy as a snack or lunch meal: 

Plain yogurt 

a handful of sunflower seeds 

2-3 dried apricots or applesauce 

Prepare about one cup of plain yogurt, sprinkle a handful of sunflower seeds on the yogurt, and top it off with a few dried fruits! This is a great 3-in-1 combination recipe and to complete it, drink it down with some pure coconut water. Enjoy!

Avocado egg salad delight

Hello lovely!

Here's something new: a great and super quick healthy salad recipe, perfect for any occasion or meal. The combination of these foods is satisfyingly superb. Here are the ingredients:

2 avocados 

7 eggs

2 medium eggplants

5 young leek (green onion)

2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil 

Pinch of salt 

To add to the magnificent flavor of the overall salad, mix it up with a handful of walnuts and a few spoons of cream-cheese to satisfy your palate!

Enjoy

Summer Simplicity

The summer is a time of fun, food, and freedom! There are fireworks, fourth of July, and family time. Here are some pictures and accompanying stories to them:

A scrumptious bowel of oatmeal topped with blueberries.

Time for celebrating grandpas birthday! Here is a quick snapshot of the dinner menu from dessert (chocolate brownie sponge cake) to veggies and pasta!

On an evening summer night it's always fun to drink something warm and tasty. Try making tea out of strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries.

Some exotic looking fruit and veggies from a garden: mint, strawberry, and peppers.

A nice salad for lunch consists of the following: grated carrots, cucumber, sliced onions, lettuce, and a handful of almonds!

Homemade baking is a blast. You mix ingredients and formulate something great and fun! Here's the end product of brownie cupcakes with cocoa.

Flowers brighten up anyone's day. Buy some every now and again to smell the goodness of the plants.

A quick lunch is sometimes needed, so get some blueberries, some raw mild cheddar cheese, and a green super smoothie.

When you want a light dinner have a cup of green tea with cucumbers and almonds. Top it all off with coconut oil to give you that luscious sweet flavor. Enjoy!

Walnutty Dinner with Turmeric on Top

Hi lovely!

When you're searching for a dinner recipe, you look for taste, healthiness, ingredients, and time management. I know that if the meal isn't tasty, why bother? You should ideally enjoy every meal you eat, as it makes you feel good, so focus on implementing different ingredients in order to form a delicious and fun recipe that easily consists of:

• String beans
• Turmeric
• Choose from a variety of nuts & seeds: walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, cashews, almonds.
• Garlic or Ginger 
• Coconut oil 

There are many different varieties of ingredients that you can play around with to create a successful meal that you will enjoy! Boun Appetite

Recipes for the sensitive stomach

Healthy Breakfast for Nausea

Hi all!
When it comes to leaky gut, what is it really? Well, for one thing, it is actually fairly common among all people, as these days we do not take care of our overall health. Leaky gut can be caused from:

• overuse of antibiotics

• stress*

• foods with sugar, bread, gluten, starch, wheat (JUNK FOOD)

• lack of probiotics (KEFIR)

 *Keep the stress to a minimum; practice yoga, meditation, gratitude, keep a journal, free your thoughts.

Now that you know what potentially causes it, some of the symptoms that may appear could be you feeling bloated after a meal, nauseous, or brain fog (confusion). Usually you would be allergic to soy, dairy, and eggs if you would have an extreme case. So, a stool test would be ideal to take. Genova is a good lab and there are some others if you use Google.

On those days where you are very bloated and have much brain fog, here is a great way to relieve all of that:

• Take an enzyme with every meal

• Eat more liquids than solids so that your body can easily digest all of the nutrients

• For breakfast eat some tangerines or a grapefruit.

• Wait about 10min so you can digest accordingly.

• The next three ingredients are a great little recipe that my mom came up with and it helps an upset stomach greatly with a perfect combination

• 1-2 cups of Green tea (not too strong to avoid caffeine) +  a cup of applesauce + a cup of Tvorog with 1 Tablespoon of Udo 369 oil (Flaxseed)

Enjoy :)

 

Hi lovely!

Sometimes you want a meal that is easy on your stomach. Either you have cramps or just want something soothing and scrumptious nonetheless, check out these uniquely combined ingredients that make for a great meal: 

Garlic, homemade apple sauce (sliced apples mixed in a blender with a bit of water), coconut oil, and raw cheddar cheese. To make it even better add some green tea (matcha is great) and turmeric (sounds interesting but tastes superb with the cheese combo). It is truly smooth and satisfying and if you need something to soothe and ease your sensitive stomach after or during a cold, try this quick and delicious recipe! Boun Appetite :)