FT Recipes: Kale!

By Martha Hicks Leta

Most adults with busy lives become creatures of habit when it comes to cooking and eating. At the grocery store, if we get there at all, we tend to stick with the same familiar staples. In the produce aisle that usually means the same boring rotation of broccoli, green beans and lettuce, leaving an entire spectrum of leafy greens, unexplored.

Kale, for instance, is a dark leafy member of the cabbage family that thrives in cooler weather. If you’ve spent any time in fishing villages like New Bedford or Provincetown or if you are of Portuguese descent, you’re probably familiar with kale as a staple in things like Portuguese Kale soup, which runs a close second in these parts to traditional New England clam chowder, and yet it’s a much healthier alternative.

As a nutritional powerhouse, kale is unsurpassed. Says expert Teris Espinosa at Fitness Together in North Attelboro, “Kale is packed with nutrients. It is a great source of fiber, protein, thiamin, riboflavin, folate, iron, magnesium and phosphorus, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin B6, potassium, copper and manganese.”

This sort of nutritional punch delivers myriad benefits, such as lowering cholesterol, fighting free radicals that cause cancer, improving eye health, and reducing risk of heart disease, even more so when it is eaten cooked instead of raw.
“Kale is great in so many ways,” says Espinosa. “Delicious in smoothies! Add it to some fruit, almond milk and protein, blend it and yumm! You can brush some olive oil on it add a little sea salt and bake it to make kale chips.”

Before you go charging for the kale a few caveats from Web MD expert Kathleen M. Zelman, MPH, RD, LD. “Vitamin K is necessary for a wide variety of bodily functions, including normal blood clotting, antioxidant activity, and bone health. But too much vitamin K can pose problems for some people. Anyone taking anticoagulants such as Warfarin should avoid kale because the high level of vitamin K may interfere with the drugs. Consult your doctor before adding kale to your diet.”
If Kale is in your dietary wheelhouse, add it to your protein shake to replenish after a challenging FT workout,. To do so, you should thoroughly wash the kale leaves and remove the stem, which can be a bit too fibrous for most blenders to handle. If you want to go hog wild, you can blanch and freeze it before blending. This will allow you to use only what you need and you can save money by buying it in bulk. Try these delicious kale recipes for extra nutrients in your diet:

Post FT Workout Smoothie

In a blender combine:
1 cup almond milk
1 scoop of your favorite protein/whey powder
3 ice cubes
1 handful of washed kale leaves without the spines
1 handful of frozen blueberries
1 banana

Crank it up and enjoy!

FT North Attleboro Kale Chips

1 bunch kale
1 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
1 clove garlic minced

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Thoroughly wash and dry kale. Remove leaves from stem and spine. Cut or tear leaves into bite size pieces. In a bowl lightly coat kale pieces with EVOO and garlic. Sprinkle with sea salt. (For variety add chili flakes and paprika.) Place kale pieces in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment, or coated with non-stick spray.
Bake for 12-14 minutes.

To find an FT Studio near you check out FTGetsResults.

Fitness Together North Attleboro Acquires Franklin Studio

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By Martha Hicks Leta

In an ideal world we’d all have jobs that paid us well for doing what we love and what we’re good at and we’d get to be surrounded by our favorite people most, if not all the time. We’d go to work every day knowing that our chosen profession is having a positive impact on each and every one of our clients and the community as a whole. In an ideal world, this is what we’d all have. As many Fitness Together owners will tell you from experience, this is a pretty good way to make a living.

Meet Jerry and Teris Espinosa. Lifelong athletes and fitness enthusiasts, the couple have enjoyed lending their expertise and passion for fitness to their clients as owners of Fitness Together in Jerry’s hometown of North Attleboro, MA since 2008.

With a range of certifications from personal and group training to AED and CPR, the couple has a combined 50 years of experience in every possible aspect of the professional fitness field, from coaching high school sports, to teaching group classes to managing national health club chains and of course, one on one and small group training.

“Jerry and Teris are exceptional owners in the Fitness Together system,” says Benjie Moser, Northeast regional director of Fitness Together, Inc.  “They have shown their excellence over the last four years with their North Attleboro location.”

So when Jerry and Teris had the opportunity to take over the Fitness Together studio in Franklin, they gave it serious thought. When Jerry’s brother Michael, also a life long competitive athlete, fitness enthusiast and former health club executive, agreed to come on board, they knew they had a winning proposition.

Jerry and Teris will continue to run their studio in North Attleboro with the same degree of excellence they’ve brought for the past four years, but they see this as an opportunity to better serve the communities around both studios.

“We will be building off of our model of 1 on 1 and Personalized Small Group Training, while carrying over Franklin’s existing best practices in raising the bar in 1 on 1 and Small Group Functional Training in the area,” says Jerry. “This, combined with Nutrition Together and Cardio Together, will provide the Complete Wellness Solution.”

As for Teris, she is thrilled to have the chance to impact an even broader sampling of the area population. “It has always been our dream to help transform people’s lives through proper nutrition and exercise. It is exciting to see someone’s life change for the better when they are able to move easier and have more energy. “

Benjie Moser, who attended the opening celebration at the Franklin Fitness Together studio on Tuesday, March 27 was impressed by the Espinosa’s commitment to fitness and their connection with the community. “The town of Franklin should be very excited to have such passionate owners as their fitness leaders. We also welcome, Michael Espinosa as manager and co-owner of this location!”

We wish the Espinosas well as they begin this next exciting chapter of their Fitness Together careers. If you’re in North Attleboro or Franklin, be sure to stop in and say ‘hi’!

FT Franklin

FT North Attleboro

For other studios across Eastern New England, go to FTGetsResults.com

Fitness Tip Of The Week from Teris Espinosa, North Attleboro Fitness Together

Walking the plank
BY MATT KAKLEY SUN CHRONICLE STAFF

Teris Espinosa of Fitness Together in North Attleboro demonstrates a traditional plank exercise. (Staff photo by Martin Gavin)

Learn how to perfect your technique to strengthen muscles and relieve pain

While performing a plank exercise may appear simple, it can be anything but easy to perform it to perfection.

The static exercise, which strengthens core muscles in the abs, back and hips, stabilizes your spine and can help to prevent back injuries, requires great form to be done well, according to Teris Espinosa, co-owner of Fitness Together in North Attleboro.

We recently asked Espinosa to demonstrate and explain the proper form and techniques for a plank so that you, too, can begin getting the most out of the exercise.

To begin, get on all fours and put lay your forearms flat on the ground. Your arms should be shoulder-width apart, with your hands flat in front of you. Your arms and forearms should be perpendicular, with your elbows directly below your shoulders.

Then, raise your body weight up on your toes, making sure you knees are no longer touching the ground. Beginners should start with their feet about shoulder-width apart, though moving them closer together will make the exercise more difficult.

Espinosa shows a variation on a plank exercise. (Staff photo by Martin Gavin)

Espinosa shows a variation on a plank exercise. (Staff photo by Martin Gavin)

As you raise your body up, you want to pull your belly button in, so your back doesn’t arch and your rear doesn’t sag. Your back and legs should remain as straight as possible, creating the appearance of a plank, hence the exercise’s name.

You want to make sure you take deep, full breaths while holding the position, never trying to hold your breath for the duration.

The length of time you need to hold the position can vary greatly by your experience and overall health. While a good target can be to hold the position for 45 seconds, a beginner should not be disheartened if they can only hold it for 10 or 15 seconds, Espinosa says.

The key, she says, is to gradually increase the time you hold the pose over time, with some experts being able to hold the position for over 3 minutes.

There are several variations of the plank you can try once you think you’ve mastered the basic version. Epsinosa suggests side planks, or doing a traditional plank with your feet elevated on a Bosu ball for added resistance.

Espinosa demonstrates a plank exercise using a Bosu under her feet. (Staff photo by Martin Gavin)

North Attleboro Sun Chronicle

Fitness Together North Attleboro