Casey Cutkomp Fitness and Wellness Accountability Coach

16/10/2023

16/03/2023

Eat kale, be happy. Recipe Tuesday: Delicious White Bean and Kale Soup! Do we sing the praises of kale enough? While kale has grown significantly in popularity in recent years, the power of this superfood can’t be overstated. It is high in vitamin C, calcium, potassium, and has been found in studies to literally make people happier: a 2013 Harvard study proved a strong association between participants' levels of optimism and their levels of carotenoid antioxidants, found in green vegetables like kale. Celebrate the end of winter with a tribute to this magical vegetable, and feel the joy. https://bit.ly/3FJ3QZh

21/12/2022

Plants and animals don’t fight the winter; they don’t pretend it’s not happening and attempt to carry on living the same lives that they lived in the summer. They prepare. They adapt. They perform extraordinary acts of metamorphosis to get them through. Winter is a time of withdrawing from the world, maximising scant resources, carrying out acts of brutal efficiency and vanishing from sight; but that’s where the transformation occurs. Winter is not the death of the life cycle, but its crucible.

~ Katherine May: Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times
(With thanks to the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids)

[Art: Anna Speshilova]

21/11/2022

Kripalu Yoga teacher Jess Frey invites you to take a moment to pause and ask yourself, What am I practicing in this moment? What do I want to be practicing? What matters to me most right now?

08/11/2022

She sat at the back and they said she was shy,
She led from the front and they hated her pride,
They asked her advice and then questioned her guidance,
They branded her loud, then were shocked by her silence,
When she shared no ambition they said it was sad,
So she told them her dreams and they said she was mad,
They told her they'd listen, then covered their ears,
And gave her a hug while they laughed at her fears,
And she listened to all of it thinking she should,
Be the girl they told her to be best as she could,
But one day she asked what was best for herself,
Instead of trying to please everyone else,
So she walked to the forest and stood with the trees,
She heard the wind whisper and dance with the leaves,
She spoke to the willow, the elm and the pine,
And she told them what she'd been told time after time,
She told them she felt she was never enough,
She was either too little or far far too much,
Too loud or too quiet, too fierce or too weak,
Too wise or too foolish, too bold or too meek,
Then she found a small clearing surrounded by firs,
And she stopped...and she heard what the trees said to her,
And she sat there for hours not wanting to leave,
For the forest said nothing, it just let her breathe.

[I created the image with an excerpt from the beautiful inspirational poem by Hemsley-Talking to the Wild]
Image created by me ~ Dee DiGioia, a nature loving, tree loving gal who found her most special wise and inspirational spirit guide, "Mama Oak" in a protected nature preserve of ancient oaks. With her I sit and breathe and she helps me to discover the answers within.

06/03/2022

Making home made yogurt

Ingredients:

*One gallon of milk (% of choice)
*Half cup of dry milk (non fat)
*Half cup of unflavored yogurt (% of choice)
*Digital Thermometer
*Makes app. 4 quarts (we used 4 wide mouth quart Masson jars)
* Sous Vide equipment or you can use a large cooler fille with hot water. We use an Anova water bath.

Instructions:

1. Heat gallon of milk and half cup dry milk on stove top to 200 degrees for five minutes.
2. Let Cool to 110 degrees.
3. Add yogurt to cooled milk and stir until mixed.
4. Add yogurt to mason jars that have been cleaned and sanitized (dishwasher recommended).
5. Let jars remain at 110 degree temperature four at least four hours to set/culture. We used a sous vide water bath which made it much easier than using a cooler filled with hot water (which we’ve used in the past).
6. Refrigerate and be prepared to eat a lot of yogurt or share with friends and family. Alternatively you can cut the recipe in half.
7. Enjoy! Making your own yogurt cuts cost significantly and it’s easy to do with the right equipment.

02/01/2022

Grounding into the new year. 🙌✨💫Grounding is a way to relieve stress and anxiety by creating space for feelings through distraction and focusing on present moment awareness. One of the easiest ways for me to feel more grounded is to be in nature. I instantly feel more connected and safe with the earth underfoot, the wind or sun on my skin, the sounds of the animals or babbling brook; or the fresh air or smells of nature. My sensitive soul feels wrapped in warm blanket of oneness. I honor, respect and highly value these places where nature is dominant. It is a place where I can return to for healing from a world that sometime feels overstimulating and ‘too much’. However, since it is not practical to be in the woods or on my surfboard or skiing or running or just lying on the beach in all situations, alas, I have other practices to help ground me. Practices that help me in everyday ways. The one pictured here was from a solo adventure to find fir needles. The practice of making the sachet or bringing it with me places and holding it or taking a deep sniff of the balsam fir reminds me of being in the woods and that memory is my distraction. The smell of the needles bring me back to the woods where I feel safe, held, supported and loved. Another practical tool I have is my early morning daily physical practice to connect to my body, mind and soul. ?

24/11/2021

05/11/2021

There is no better time than now to set your children up with the skills, tools, and techniques needed for becoming conscious, compassionate, and emotionally intelligent individuals. Here’s how.

02/09/2021

P e a c e✌🏼H o p e🕊 L o v e♥️. . .

These 3 things. They can be elusive. But find them WITHIN you… and elevate your life. knows what’s up. That’s why he joins me at the barre & on the beach to connect 🦄. SO much of the work I do with is just as much about how you on the inside, as how you look and feel on the outside. Aesthetics & physical strength are nice… But finding happiness & contentment with what you have and who you ARE?… well that is downright priceless. All the abs in the world won’t eliminate the stress and anxiety that can destroy us from within. Rippling muscles won’t protect us from the damage of not loving & valuing ourselves exactly as we are.. even as we aspire to more. We must care for ourselves in mind, body AND spirit. And that takes more consistency and practice than handstands & arm balances. I’m always here for you… every day. Holding your hand, & helping you .. even as I make you sweat 💦, burn 🔥 & define your body. So together, let’s practice self love, self care & enjoying every precious moment of this life 🙏🏻. Find out how my 4 minute “I am” meditations morning & evening can chance your life in just 8min a day. Xoxo Elise

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