My Secret Spanish Style Chicken Soup Recipe
September 30, 2009 § Leave a comment
Studies show that the steam from chicken soup eases scratchy throats and treats respiratory problems with the amino acid released from chicken during cooking.
Here’s a quick and easy chicken soup recipe that you can throw together in about 40 minutes:
10 cups water
4 red potatoes
3 regular tomatoes
1 cup chopped carrots
½ cup diced onions
4 celery stalks
2 chicken breasts with skin and on the bone
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 lemon
½ cup brown rice
1 Mexican zucchini
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon pepper
½ cup Pato Sauce (optional)Prep time and cook time can be consolidated by boiling water while chopping veggies. Add about 10 cups of water to a stock pot and turn heat to high.
While water heats, chop tomatoes, zucchini, carrots, onion, potatoes, celery all into bite size pieces.
Once the water begins to boil, add 2 teaspoons of tomato paste into the boiling water. Mix it around to make sure it dissolves.
Next, scrub the two chicken breasts under cold water and throw them into the boiling water whole, no skinning, slicing or chopping. You’ll shred them apart after they’ve cooked thoroughly and the meat is ready to fall off the bone.
Add the garlic salt and pepper.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and throw the veggies and brown rice in. Let it all simmer uncovered for 45 minutes. With forks, break the chicken away from the bone. Remove the bone and skin from the pot and let soup cool.
Serve and season with lemon to taste.
Recipe serves 6.
Yoga: A Natural Pain Reliever
July 24, 2009 § Leave a comment
Would you like to experience more relaxation, fewer headaches and more patience in your life? Yoga is a perfect way to relieve those ales while learning meditation practices. It’s an alternative to working out by “working in” to tone your muscles with your mind.
Yoga helps reduce insomnia, headaches and levels of anxiety too. The yoga attitude is all about being gentle to the body. Approach practice using an ease with the body, probably something that is put on the back burner during your regular day to day to do’s.
Child’s pose eases tension from the brain. It also stretches and lengthens the back, relaxes facial muscles and eases strain from the ankles and shins. Click here for a picture of the pose.
Do you think you have restless leg syndrome aka a pharmaceutical company fabrication of a disease to sell product? Instead of turning to drugs for relief, put your legs up against a wall.
This simple little yoga pose will relieve leg fatigue, rejuvenate circulation and regulate blood pressure. It is claimed that the pose prevents varicose veins as well. Some yogis even attest to this pose preventing wrinkles.
On a side note, those with serious medical conditions such as cancer, glaucoma or heart disease do need to consult a physician before attempting inversions and the more aggressive yoga poses.
Other benefits are lower blood pressure, stress relief and patience. Try the head to knee pose for stress reduction. Go as deep into the pose as you can, remembering to be gentle to the body and consciously breathing deep.
The mind interestingly becomes intensely aware. Poses like revolving triangle pose stimulate right-left brain coordination. The pose also massages internal organs, energizes the body and relieves lower back discomfort. Again focused or meditative breathing during these poses is essential for these benefits. The most powerful benefit of the practice is proper breathing.
Benefits of proper breathing include enhanced concentration, improved digestion, improved circulation and stamina. The power of meditation can improve so many areas of brain function. It is scientifically proven to strengthen focus and enhance memory along with a slue of other benefits.
Simply focus on inhaling and exhaling. It’s ok if your mind drifts, return to focusing on your breath. Each time it meanders off on an idea, just bring it back to simply focusing on breathing. Once your focus is maintained, imagine your lungs inflating and deflating. Imagine the air circulating throughout your head, limbs, chest and torso.
This is a quite conversation with the body that enhances meditation. Do this with the above mentioned poses for a some relief. Namaste.
The Archives of My Mind 
