Apple Sauce

Apple Sauce is an easy to make, nutritious and fun way to eat apples while eating healthy

Ingredients:
4 Tablespoons of Water
2 Lbs of apples
1 oz of sugar
Lemon juice (optional)

Steps:
1) Peel and slice the apples


2) Pour the water into a medium to large sized saucepan and add low-medium heat
3) Place the apples in the saucepan
4) "Stir occasionally to ensure each piece is coated with juice, this is to prevent the apple discoloring" (MacDonald,27)

5) Add the sugar and continue to "stir until the apple has broken down into a fluffy mass" (Macdonald)
6) Enjoy!

This was super easy to make (less than a half hour) and was delicious as well!

If you made this, would you add any other ingredients to enhance the recipe? Perhaps cinnamon?
Macdonald, Janet W. The Basic Basics How to Cook from A-Z. London: Grub Street, 1998. Print.

Yet More Questions

Chances are that you're here because you kinda understood my previous post, or you needed some more explanation about that post. To do so, I'll pose the question of "where/what is home". This was a question from the book that I found rather interesting. A couple responses the author recorded included someone's definition of what a home is not, how a house becomes a home, and what a real home is. These all seem to not get to the point, though they do achieve their goal of further defining what home is. This is due to home not having a so-to-speak true definition if you really think about it. This is not helped when you factor in the dictionary definition, which is a permanent place of residence, and especially one of family or household. But this definition does not satisfy some, as their families aren't the most friendly, or their general place of residence is also hostile or not quite what they need. This leads to another couple of lines in the book that interested me, "But your roots are in Germany,' one woman says to her. 'It's not my home,' she replies firmly and falls silent" (Phillips 60). Your roots cannot be the only idea that leads to a home. Of course, the discussion ends rather abruptly, without a definitive answer of course, simply more questions. I suppose that this question may raise some interest elsewhere, so if you have some kind of input, then feel free to comment about what a home is to you.

Hummingbird Pancakes

Hummingbird Pancakes

What makes the Hummingbird Pancakes so special, you ask? Trisha Yearwood says, "Hummingbird cake has been popular in the South since the mid- nineteenth century. It has always included some combination of bananas, pineapple, and pecans" (Yearwood, 25). The significance of various foods ranging from bananas to pecans has given its name to help it really grab the attention of food lovers to try the infamous Hummingbird Pancakes so they can decide whether it lives up to its names. And please it does not disappoint!

"First, heat a nonstick griddle. In a large bowl, combine the baking mix and the cinnamon. In a separate bowl, whisk together the half and half, bananas, pineapple, sugar, egg, and butter until smooth. nd the wet mixture to the dry, and stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened, taking care not to overmix. Fold in the pecans. Then, using a 1/4-cup measure, pour the batter into the griddle and cook for 2 - 4 minutes, watching for the tops of the pancakes to start bubbling. Flip and cook for 2-4 minutes. Repeat the process with the remaining batter. Serve with sliced bananas and strawberries" (Yearwood, 25). 

Trisha insist that you skip the syrup and just top it with your "desired fruit, and dig in" (Yearwood, 25). The sweetness that the Hummingbird Pancakes make for your taste buds is so delightful you cannot oblige. The secret that I learned from the Hummingbird Pancakes that includes ingredients - pineapple, and cinnamon to give the pancakes sweet taste but yet a satisfying nectar treat. Who would've known what can come from a circle!

Questions: What other ingredients can you add to your own pancake recipe that will entice your tastebuds? 

Yearwood, Trisha. "Hummingbird Pancakes." Trisha's Table: My Feel-good Favorites for a Balanced Life. NYC, New York: Clarkson, 2015. 25. Print. 

Recipe:

1 1/2 cups baking mix (I like Bisquick)

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 cups half and half

1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained

1/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

3 tablespoons salted butter, melted

1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped

Sliced bananas and strawberries for serving





On ball defense

Basketball Skills and Drills

Krause, Jerry. Basketball Skills and Drills. Human Kinetics, 2008. Print.

In this post the goal is to learn efficient on ball defensive techniques.

"On defense, players should use a sliding motion. They should keep their feet at shoulder width and use short, quick shuffle steps. This technique is called the push step, or step and slide. The lead foot moves in the desired direction from the force of the trail foot at the same time as a short, quick push step is taken. The force from the push step comes from a power push from the trail foot, which moves the body and transfers the weight to the lead foot, quickly followed by a pulling slide step taken with the trail foot to regain basic position, without bringing the feet together. Players should keep their feet wide at all times. Step and slide, low and wide, you can't get too low, you can't get too wide. The lead step and the pull and slide steps are short and the stance is kept low and wide. Players should learn to execute defensive starts and slides in side to side, forward, backward, and diagonal directions with the head level. Head bouncing show a player is rising out of the stance and a player loses advantage of the floor. The player reduces quickness of motion and wastes time and space. The head must be kept level." (Krause 23).

When playing on ball defense, players should slide with quick, and low movements. Players shouldn't bring the feet together or get out of his stance. Players should push with the opposite foot of the direction they're going, and they should always keep their head level.

When I was doing this during drills I had a problem with bringing my feet together so I would shrink and lose space. But overall my movements were quick, and since I'm already naturally quick, I could cover space fast.

1. Stay in a low, wide stance












2. Push off with the opposite foot














3. Keep head level












4. Also go backwards, diagonal, and forwards.

The benefit of this is any team can use an on ball defensive stopper against any good offensive player. The offensive player will not be able to create much space due the quick steps and low stance of the defensive player.

Volleyball Conditioning - Quickness and Agility

Hi everyone! This is my second blog post regarding Complete Conditioning for Volleyball by Steve Oldenburg. This post will be focused on quickness and agility. The exercise I will mention today is called the "Crossover Step" and will help improve my quickness and agility in volleyball. Although this book centers on volleyball, you can use this exercise simply for yourself, or any sport you may do. The crossover step will help improve your lateral sprint acceleration while learning proper mechanics and posture (Oldenburg 149).


You will begin by standing in "Go" posture. This position allows you to be ready to move in any direction. (see figure d)


You will perform what is called a single crossover step to the right on the coach's demand and then sink back into go posture (Oldenburg 149).


When you start the movement, you want to "focus on pushing the inside of the left forefoot into the floor to propel the body to the right," (Oldenburg 150). As your body moves to the right, your right foot must also lift off the floor and take a step to the right, says Oldenburg (figure a).




Figure A

Next, you will "drive the left knee across the body to the right," seen in figure b (Oldenburg 151) .

Figure B

Then, "drive the left forefoot down into the floor just past the right foot," seen in figure c (Oldenburg 151).

Figure C

Lastly, square your hips back and slightly bend your knees back into go posture, seen in figure d(Oldenburg 151).

Figure D

Be sure to do the same and go to the left!

This exercise is helpful to me because it works on the same skills required while playing volleyball. When playing back row, it is very important to be able to react quickly and efficiently to the ball. I hope this post helps the volleyball players reading this and anyone whose sport requires quick acceleration and reflexes.

Oldenburg, Steve. "Quickness and Agility." Complete Conditioning for Volleyball. Champaign: Human Kinetics, 2015. 149-51. Print.

How to Make: Banana Sugar Body Scrub

How to Make: Banana Sugar Body Scrub

Picture this: you walk into your local beauty supply store (Sephora, Ulta, etc.) in search of a new product you can use that will soften your skin and take care of the damage that was afflicted upon it by the harsh dryness of winter. Seems like a simple task, right? Wrong. You find yourself facing multiple aisles filled with hundreds of different multi-colored tubes of body washes and scrubs promising that they will solve the ever present conflict of imperfect skin. You pluck one of the eye-catching tubes of the aisle and read the ingredients. All that can be found is an insanely large paragraph containing twenty letter words that you can hardly pronounce, let alone know the meaning of. According to Lauren Conrad, widely known beauty and fashion expert, this is just how you know that this specific product will serve neither you, nor your skin any justice. But she does remind us that “all things that sound terrible aren’t necessarily bad. After all, even water is a chemical. (H2O).” (Conrad 24) Now finding a seemingly simple product to solve a basic problem has become a daunting challenge.

DON’T PANIC YET! You still can easily solve the horrible dry skin situation you are facing without 1. Spending way too much money on so called “luxury” products that aren’t even that great. 2. Tackling the intimidating aisles of endless products. 3. Putting chemicals onto your skin that aren’t even allowed in countless countries across the world. (Yeah, our FDA still allows them!) How do you avoid all of these negative factors that come with purchasing any skin product from a beauty supplier? The answer is simple. Create your own body products at home! This way you know exactly what is going onto your skin and after a little bit of research, the amazing benefits you will get out of using all natural ingredients that are most likely sitting in your cupboards just waiting to be put to use!

ONE QUICK REMINDER FROM LAUREN CONRAD: There are many other things you can easily do make you and your skin the happiest and healthiest it can be. Remember “your skin is your body’s largest organ and it needs hydration to function at its best. Drink plenty of water and your skin cells will be plump and healthy.” (Conrad 31)

Now, let’s get to work on making that Banana Sugar Body Scrub!

HERE IS WHAT YOU’LL NEED

One ripe banana (Doesn’t have to be ripe, but the softer, the better!)

3 tablespoons brown sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Break up the banana into chunks and drop them into a medium-sized bowl. Mash the banana chunks thoroughly, but not too much. You still want texture in your scrub! Once the bananas are mashed, add in the brown sugar and vanilla extract and combine the three ingredients together.

Here is an idea of what the end product will look like.

The great thing about these scrubs, is you can put them into cute mason jars or other containers and give them away as great gifts. Everyone loves a new, homemade body scrub!

Hopefully you try this recipe at home and feel free to research other ones to try out as well! There are so many incredible types of scrubs that people have created that will quickly replace all of your store bought ones. I promise these homemade scrubs will leave your skin looking and feeling happier and healthier than ever before. Happy scrubbing!

My final question to you: what are other ingredients you have heard of that help with skin dehydration specifically?

Conrad, Lauren, and Elise Loehnen. Lauren Conrad Beauty. New York: HarperCollins, 2012. Print.

Blood Circulating Stretch

Lower Spine, Rib Cage, and Upper Thighs: Dandayamana-Dhanurasana (Standing Bow Pose)

School, sports, friends and family all are essentials in my life. It's hard to juggle all of those things while trying not to become crazy. This stress-relieving stretch has allowed my blood to circulate my body and allow my lungs to open up, give me some time to breathe away all my stress. "Most of us live busy lives. We rush from one place to another, taking in different impressions from our surroundings, constantly exposed to new people and situations. We don't get much time to let ourselves really relax. Restorative yoga gives us time and space to be present in the moment, let go of old tension and heal our bodies within" (Brathen 112).

Step 1) Come into a standing position. Take deep breathes. While taking those breathes, don't think about anything that's been causing stress in your life.

Step 2) Be sure to start with your knees touching together to ensure proper balance and alignment. The standing leg is your foundation. Lift up your left arm and grab your right toe with your right hand while keeping your body in a straight line. Have your palm face up so your shoulders are in an open position and ready to stretch.

* If you feel more comfortable doing this stretch with your other leg, feel free to switch the footing in this step.

Step 3) Position your hand so you have a good grasp of your ankle. Point your left arm in front of you. Then, raise your right arm until your arms are in a straight line while lifting up your leg. 

Helpful Hint: Point your toe!

Step 4) Put your flexibility to the test and lift your right arm along with your right leg higher. Keep your left arm pointing in front of you. Stay present; be mindful as you go into this position while keeping your chest up. Keep your weight toward the front of your foot, watching that it doesn't move back into the heel as you lift your leg higher. Hold for as long as possible while taking deep breathes, then bring your foot back down to the ground.

Step 5) Challenge yourself to do this stretch often to increase your flexibility and balance. Lock your leg and keep your chest up. Squeeze all the muscles in your leg to keep good form.

This stretch isn't about being flexible. The Standing Bow Pose "moves all the blood from one side of the body to the other, then back again. It builds patience, determination, and concentration" (Brathen 115).

This has helped me relieve stress when I get home from a long day of school. After doing this stress, I am able to put my full focus and concentration on my homework, then have time to socialize with my friends and family.

Brathen, Rachel. Yoga Girl. New York: Touchstone, 2014. Print.

What are some essentials in your life that are hard to juggle? How has this stretch help you find peace and balance between those essentials?

Jump Exercises

Jump Exercises

Jumps are a big part of cheerleading. We use them to create excitement on the sidelines and in competition routines (Webber 64). In order to get your jumps to the best of your ability you want to do exercise that will help improve your flexibility and strength. To help my jumps out I used Varsity's Ultimate Guide to Cheerleading. They have 3 exercises that help to build strength and flexibility so your jumps will look there best.






The first exercise is lunges.

 Start with your feet together. Step forward with one leg and "bend both knees until they are both close to ninety-degree angles." (Webber 64) This ninety-degree angle helps to ensure you get the most out of the exercise. This helps to build muscle in your legs to give you the power you need for your jumps.






The next exercise is the Sitting toe touch

 You want to lie flat on your back and then using your core, bring your upper body up and legs up out to form a seated toe touch. Then slowly lower yourself back down (Webber 64). While lowering yourself back down you want to "Concentrate on keeping your  legs straight and toes pointed." (Webber 64) This will help you to have good forms in your legs.

The last exercise is the seated straddle lift.



Your going to start in a straddle and then lift your lift leg. This works your hip flexor muscle. You want to stay sitting up as straight as possible. This exercise makes you more flexible and build muscle.

These jump exercise help to build strength and flexibility so you have great form and height in your jumps. I can use these exercise to help my own jumps for games and competitions. My book made it very clear how to do the exercises and in the correct way.

If your a cheerleader, do you do any different exercises to help your jumps?

The Editors of Varsity, and Rebecca Webber. Varsity's Ultimate Guide to Cheerleading. N.p.: Poppy, 2014. Print