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Monthly Archives: January 2020

Sculpt Yoga

Yoga Sculpt: What Is It and 5 Movements You Can Try At Home

Confession: I am a yoga teacher who used to hate yoga. And then I found yoga sculpt.

Growing up as a competitive athlete (playing soccer from the age of four through college), I never viewed yoga as a workout. I figured it was basically a fancy word for stretching. (Never mind I was always very self-conscious over my tight hips and severe lack of flexibility.)

When I moved to LA, I really tried to get into yoga, but I found myself often getting frustrated; I was annoyed with the slow pace, angry the people next to be were bending like pretzels with ease and restless in Savasana. Lying still for two minutes and focusing on my breath? I’ll just nama-stay-away.

But then I tried a yoga sculpt class at Corepower Yoga. Not really by choice but because my company was offering a free class and hey, if it’s free it’s for me. Still, I didn’t expect to be challenged and went in with little to no expectations. But 60 minutes later, I was transformed, having never experienced a workout quite like it.

What is Yoga Sculpt?

You see, yoga sculpt is a 60-minute class in a heated environment (usually about 93-95 degrees) that incorporates hand weights, cardio bursts and signature yoga postures. First you flow, then you go. One minute you are doing burpees or bicep curls and the next you are bowing your head to seal in your practice.

Sculpt is the perfect blend of mind and body, providing a calorie and fat-burning workout and the many mental benefits of yoga. Plus, it’s set to the beat, so you can do squats along to Lizzo’s latest bop. What’s not to love?

Two years after trying that first class, I am now a Yoga Sculpt teacher, something my teenage self would’ve refused to believe.

Given my background as an athlete, my classes are all about muscle engagement and compound movements, which work out two or more muscle groups at once. The best thing about compound movements if you can customize and modify based on your fitness level, whether you have never done a down-dog in your life or are a regular at Cross Fit.

Five Yoga Sculpt Movements You Can Try At Home

Here are five (customizable) compound movements you can try at home to give you a small sampling of what a yoga sculpt class can look like.

1. Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, Adult Version

We all remember that game we played as a kid, right? Well, this is the workout version of it that is a great way to shake up your normal plank game and seriously test your core’s stability and strength.

Starting in a high plank (shoulders stacked over your wrists, hips in line with your shoulders and the sides of your neck lengthened with your chin off your chest), slowly tap your head with your right hand then place it down; then tap it with your left hand. Your right hand will then tap your left shoulder, with your left taping your right. From there, your right hand taps your left knee as your drive it in toward your chest, repeat on the opposite side. Finally—you guessed it!—your right hand taps your left toe without driving your tailbone up towards the sky, repeat on the other side.

The key here is to go slow and control the movement, resisting the urge to swing your hips; they should remain stable thanks to your core. Repeat five times and feel free to sing the song as you do it.

2. Squats With a Controlled Pulse

Any sculpt class will contain a lot of squat variations as you are looking to engage your glutes, one of the largest muscles in your body, and leg muscles in different ways to always keep them guessing. That’s why I love adding pulses into the mix, which restricts the blood flow to your muscles, shocking them when you release the small controlled motion and go into the bigger movement.

For this one, start with your feet hips-width distance apart with a slight bend in your knees and your core engaged, with the option to hold one heavy weight at chest-level.

Squat down, keeping your knees stacked over your ankles, like you are sitting your hips down into a chair with your chest lifted. After a milli-second hold, pulse your hips up one inch and down one inch, slow and controlled, before standing back up. You really want to feel the burn in your quads here, especially controlling that small pulse up and down, keeping that controlled movement in your hips and not bouncing from your knees.

You can even add in a shoulder press here too, lifting the weight above your head as you rise in your full squat.

3. Crescent Lunge Lunges

Another lower body exercise, begin in a crescent lunge position, with your right knee stacked over your right ankle and your hips square and even with one another (think of the headlights on your car). With your shoulders stacked over your hips and your belly button pulled to your spine to fire up your core, lower your back knee to hover one to two inches off of the mat, hold for about a half-second before rising.

You can make this a compound movement (aka get even more bang for your buck!) by holding onto your weights and/or adding in a hammer curl (palms face one another, elbows glued to your side body), lifting and lowering your weights as you lift and lower your back knee.

Repeat on the other side, and it’s super important here to keep your front knee stacked over your front ankle; it should never jut out over as this movement is all about your back knee. You can also add in pulses (Can you tell I like pulses?) after your set of lunges by hovering your back knee one to two inches off of your mat and pulsing up one inch and down one inch, slow and controlled.

4. Glute Bridges With a Chest Press

Again, another compound movement possibility, as this can turn into a full-body workout if you are pressed on time or looking for an added challenge.

Lying on your back, bring your feet a little wide than hips-width distance apart and walk your heels close to your glutes. If you just want to focus on your booty, you can bring a set of weights to your hips, one in each hand to add a bit more weight to your glute bridges.

If you want to add in the chest press, bring your elbows out to a T by your sides with a weight in each hand. Throughout this exercise, keep your head and neck on the mat with your gaze straight up and no tuck of your chin to your chest.

Press through your heels to drive your hips up toward the sky, and if you are adding the chest, lift your weights to meet (but not touch) directly in front of your chest. As you lower down, hover your elbows and lower back one-to-two inches off the mat, resisting the urge to rest them down.

5. Obliques Twists in Horse Squat

This pose seems super easy. But it’s also super easy to mess up as many people end up working their arms and shoulders over those tiny oblique muscles by our rib cage. Just know that’s where we are targeting with this one.

Bring your feet farther than hips-width distance apart, with your heels in and toes pointing out. Sink down into a squat with your chest lifted, shoulders stacked over your hips and your tailbone down. Your knees should be tracking in line with your toes. You there? Great, now sit down another two inches.

Now grab your weights (one weight or two, it’s up to you!) and glue it into your chest. DO NOT LET THEM MOVE SERIOUSLY, DO NOT. PRETEND IT IS A PINT OF FROZEN FRUIT CO.’S SALTED CHOCOLATE AND DON’T LET IT GO. Now, using your left side oblique, twist your upper-body to the right before twisting back to center. Repeat on the other side, never letting your weights leave your chest. It’s a tiny, tiny, tiny movement but it is far more effective than just swinging your weights from side to side using your arms and shoulders. Also, your hips and legs aren’t moving here, so hold down in that horse squat!

Ready for more?

You can sculpt with me Saturdays at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at Corepower’s Studio City location and Mondays at 6 p.m. at the Hollywood location. And your first week of classes is free if you are a new student.

Namaste!

Tierney Bricker

This was a Guest Blog written by Tierney Bricker. Follow Tierney on Instagram at @tbrick2 or message her on Instagram if you have any questions on Yoga Sculpt. Big Love.

Everything you need to know about Matcha

Everything You Need To Know About Matcha

The beginning of January we launched, for only the second time ever, our limited edition Matcha flavor at our Santa Monica Store. If we are going to be completely honest, we had no idea how much of a hit it would be. If anything its second run in the store has been even more popular. Made from coconut cream, dates and Matcha (that is literally it) – this flavor got us wanting to learn a little more about this green-leafed, green powdered creation which (let’s face it) is taking over the world. Okay, it may not be taking over the world (yet), but it is responsible for some of the best memes out there. “I LOVE YOU SO MATCHA”, “THANK YOU SO MATCHA”, “WE’RE THE PERFECT MATCHA” and “YOU’VE MET YOUR MATCHA”.

But, what is Matcha and why has it taken us all by storm? Well, fear not, because in this blog piece we wanted to share everything you need to know about Matcha.

What is Matcha?

What on earth is Matcha?“, if you find yourself thinking this every time you enter a coffee shop (or a vegan plant-based ice cream store) then this is for you.

Derived from plants called Camellia Sinensis, Matcha is more familiarly known to you and me as Green Tea.

“Hold on you may be thinking. I have had green tea and Matcha is nothing like it”. And you are not wrong. You see whilst Matcha comes from the same leaves and plants that make your Green Tea it differs in that it is the powdered form of the Green Tea leaves.

Matcha is 100% Green Tea leaves that have been ground into a finely powdered concentrate. The result. Stronger flavor and tasting experiences. In fact, the concentration of the Green Tea leaves (by drying them out and then disintegrating them into dust) ends up completely changing the flavor of the Green Tea. Giving Matcha it’s distinctive richer and more buttery flavors as a result.

It’s just a Hollywood Fad, Right?

Actually, no. Matcha has been a popular drink in China and Japan for centuries. In fact, Matcha is old. Like really, really old. Its origins can be traced back all the way to the 7th – 10th centuries Tang Dynasty in China. Tea harvesters would steam tea leaves into bricks in order to make them easier to transport. The resulting Green Tea leaf bricks would then be re-constituted by roasting and crushing the leaves and then mixing the resulting powder with water.

Is Matcha good for you?

Yes. It is loaded (and when we say loaded we mean loaded to the max) with antioxidants. Reports put it as having 137 times more antioxidants than regular Green Tea does.

It is also loaded (there’s that word again) with polyphenols, which purportedly help prevent cancer, heart disease, and regulated blood sugar levels. It is grown in the shade so has more chlorophyll (which is the latest thing in detox) and because you are eating the whole leaves you even get some fiber.

Oh, but it does not stop there. Some reports even go as far as to say that the high levels of catechins in Green Tea can help burn calories. A study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that consuming Green Tea can increase your calorie-burning rate from 8 to 10 percent and that drinking Matcha before a workout can result in 25 percent more fat burning during exercise.

Feeling stressed? Drink Matcha. That’s right. Those little green leaves contain L-Theanine which can help create a calming and relaxing effect as well as the production of hormones dopamine and serotonin (you definitely want more of these – you can see why in our blog post 3 Ways To Instantly Increase Happiness).

Is it really that good for you? 

Yes. Did you not read the above? Now you do have to be careful with the type of Matcha you buy and use. A lot of Matchas are sweetened or contain milk. You also want to be careful with Matcha from China as these tend to have slightly elevated levels of lead in them from the soil. Always make sure you pick the best Matcha and from a reputable source.

Still not convinced by Matcha?

If you still need convincing then how about the fact that most people in Japan credit their long lives due to the high antioxidants in Matcha. You want to live long – then you should probably drink some Matcha – apparently.

Is Matcha Caffeinated?

“But, wait. I heard Matcha is caffeinated. A small cup will keep me up for hours”. 

First, the elephant in the room – caffeine. This is probably the most common question we get asked about our Matcha Vegan Plant-Based Ice Cream. In short, yes. Matcha is naturally caffeinated. Green Tea leaves contain about 5-6 per cent caffeine. A usual cup of Matcha will contain about 70mg of caffeine (approximately). A cup of coffee, by comparison, has around 163mg of caffeine.

So, yes Matcha is caffeinated but not as much as coffee. There you go. You now know the answer.

Remember, caffeine affects people in different ways. So, if you can’t have a coffee past 2pm in the afternoon you probably shouldn’t have a Matcha after this point in time either. Make some caffeine ground rules and follow them (if you are curious our Matcha Vegan Plant-Based Ice Cream only has a very small amount of Matcha in it – around 40g per gallon made – so much much less than a cup of freshly made Matcha).

In Summary…

Matcha is not a Hollywood fad. If anything it is about as close to a modern-day “superhero” any food could be. Feeling tired? Want to lose some weight? Increase happiness maybe? Or just live a long time. Then go drink some Matcha (or if you are feeling creative have some Matcha Plant-Based Vegan Ice Cream made by Frozen Fruit Co).

Big Love

P.S. Matcha is currently a limited edition flavor at our Montana Ave Store until 31 January 2020. After then…who knows.

3 Ways To Increase Happiness

3 Ways To Instantly Increase Happiness

Hello lovely people!

It is officially the second week of January and according to the internet, Monday 13 January was officially the most depressing day of the year (boo). In fact, the second Monday of the New Year is officially known as “Blue Monday”. Yep, Blue Monday is a thing. That’s why in this blog post we wanted to share with you some easy and sure-fire ways to shake off those January Blues and increase your happiness levels (and no they do not involve eating our delicious plant based ice cream – although that should be one of them) – we want to be as insightful and helpful as possible to you lovely people.

But first…

What is Blue Monday

Blue Monday is the name given to a day in January (typically the first Monday of the month – although in 2020 it is actually the second Monday of the month) claimed to be the most depressing day of the year. The concept was first coined in a 2005 press release from holiday company Sky Travel (go figure) which claimed to have calculated the date using equations. Basically, the whole thing is a pseudoscience – essentially not scientifically determined at all. That said it did get us thinking – what are some sneaky shortcuts we could use in everyday life to help us beat off those times we start to feel blue and increase those happiness levels. Because let’s face it – we all want to be happier.

It’s all about Science

The reality is our moods are very much chemical. Mostly how we feel and act are determined by a small number of chemicals in our brains: Oxytocin, Serotonin, Cortisol and Dopamine (to name the main culprits).

Oxytocin: the love feeling. It makes people feel good and is released when we feel secure and connected.

Serotonin: the feeling of calm. It makes us feel comforted.

Cortisol: the feeling of stress. It makes us engage in our fight or flight response.

Dopamine: the feeling of pleasure. Rewards us for behaviors we enjoy.

Believe it or not, there are some ways of controlling how much our bodies produce these hormones. By using little tricks we can help influence the impact these chemicals have on us.

3 Ways To Increase Happiness

1.      Positively reminiscing

One-way Serotonin is released is by positively reminiscing (i.e. thinking about positive memories). Simply reflect on your past focusing on those achievements, goals or events that made you happy. Boom – instant Serotonin boost. Look through old photos or have a specific memory to hand and a photo you carry with you to remind you of those events. Use it when you are feeling down.

2.     Reward yourself more often

Reward yourself daily for the completion of small tasks. Dopamine is released when we feel pleasure, get a reward or receive gifts. So, to get a Dopamine hit make sure you are constantly rewarding yourself for every and any little task or objective you complete. The reward does not have to be large or extravagant – it could be merely something like a cup of coffee you have been waiting to have or to watch a film if you complete a task.

3.     Embrace Hugging

Oxytocin is produced by the people around us. The moment you start to feel in a bad mood find someone, anyone (preferably someone you know and love) to hug. Hugging can help increase that warm and fuzzy feeling which helps produce Oxytocin. Hugging your spouse or partner on a regular basis can also help to increase Oxytocin and your relationship. Hugging – who knew. If you are not a hugger maybe it is time to change.

It all about Chemicals

Semi-Sonic were on to something when they sang the song “Chemicals” because the reality is it is all about chemicals. Even if we don’t feel like it is, how we act, feel and interact with others can be controlled if we learn to understand and control how our brains work. The next time you start to feel down reward yourself, reminisce and go hug someone you care about. Sometimes it is the small things that can make a difference (that and eating some plant based vegan ice cream…obviously).

Big Love

Question Mark - Riddles

Our 10 Favorite Riddles

98If you can’t tell we love a good riddle at Frozen Fruit Co. Whether it is the weekly riddle we write on our windows at the store or the one we leave at the end of our newsletter (yes, we know some of you literally scroll to the bottom of our newsletter just for the riddle…you have a problem), we just love a good riddle.
To share our appreciation of all things “riddle” we thought we would share 10 of our favorite riddles. Answers are at the bottom of this blog.
But, first…

What is a riddle?

A riddle is a statement, question or phrase which has a double or veiled meaning, put forth as a puzzle to be solved (thank you Wikipedia).
Riddles can be two types. They can be (1) enigmas; or (2) conundra.
Enigmas are problems expressed in metaphorical or allegorical language that requires careful thinking in order to solve (for example, I’m tall when I’m young and I’m short when I’m old. What am I? A candle). These are more logical based riddles.
Conundra are usually difficult questions that rely on using a play on words (for example, what is the longest word in the dictionary? Smiles, because there is a mile between each ‘s’). These are the types or riddle that make you think riddles are silly or non-sensical.

Our 10 favorite riddles

  1. The day before two days after the day before tomorrow is Saturday. What day is it today?
  2. What is the missing number 16, 06, 68, 88, [?] , 98
  3. What word has three consecutive double letters?
  4. A man rode into town on Tuesday and left two days later on Tuesday. How?
  5. I have two fruits. If you rearrange the name of 1 you get the other. What are they?
  6. I am a rare case where today comes before yesterday. What am I?
  7. What can be seen in the middle of March and April that can’t be seen at the beginning or end of either month?
  8. What gets wet while drying?
  9. What can you break, even if you never pick it up or touch it?
  10. If you have me you want to share me. If you share me, you haven’t got me. What am I?
What was your favorite riddle? Or do you have a favorite riddle? Share in the comments and you never know it may appear at the end of our newsletter.
If you haven’t signed up for our newsletter yet then do it now. Click on the link here to get the latest news, offers, and riddles.
Big Riddle Love
Answers:
1. Friday; 2. 78; 3. Bookkeeper; 4. the horse’s name was “Tuesday”; 5. Lemon and Melon; 6. A Dictionary; 7. the letter ‘r’; 8. a Towel; 9. a Promise; and 10. a Secret.
Happy New Year Human Masters

Our Year in 2019

“The way we spend our time defines who we are.” Jonathan Estrin
It is the end of another year. Goodbye 2019 and hello 2020. That means only one thing. It’s time for the Frozen Fruit Co annual review. That time of year when we look back on what 2019 meant to us and we list and share some of our favorite things from the last year. Enjoy.

Our Year in 2019

2019 was the year of “grocery pints” for us (we know, super exciting buzzword). It was the year that we launched our range of wholesale grocery pints into stores across Los Angeles. Now you may be thinking : “that is not very interesting“, but for us it is super exciting. That’s because when we started Frozen Fruit Co we never thought it would be possible to make what we do in the store and then sell it in grocery stores. Why? Well, because when we started Frozen Fruit Co we were a soft serve concept. We had only four flavors and two soft serve machines. Soft Serve, if you don’t know, does not really lend itself very well to grocery pint production. That and we only had four flavors. Fast forward 2 and a half years and we completely changed our operating model. Gone were the soft serve machines and in its placed we changed to becoming a “vegan plant based ice cream maker”. The main difference being the type of machinery we used to make our “ice cream” (for those interested, ice cream making requires batch freezing; soft serve requires continuous freezing – the two processes led to very different outcomes).
This one change completely opened up our “cooking” process. We could now develop new flavors (like coffee, salted chocolate, lemon creme, banana bread, mango lassi, matcha, and so on) all because we were not limited by what soft serve machines could or could not handle. It also meant we could now start filling grocery pints. Yay.
In March 2018, we launched into Erewhon with three flavors – Chocolate, Chocolate Mint and Passion Fruit (in case you are wondering why we didn’t launch with Salted Chocolate it was because we came up with that flavor after we got over 1,000 chocolate labels printed – hand smack!). In March, we launched into Erewhon and we haven’t looked back since. The thing we are most proud of is the fact that we list all of the ingredients that go into our “ice cream” on the front of the packaging. Something no-one else in the freezer aisles does because they contain so many ingredients, or their first ingredient is water (water is free people – it is there to make the product cheaper and lower quality).
Our goal for 2020 is to launch with three new flavors – Salted Chocolate, Lemon Creme and Coffee (yes, Coffee!). If you have any recommendations then be sure to message us: hello@frozenfruitco.com.

Our Favorite Things in 2019

Favorite Moment

Aside from having a baby (obviously), finally, selling both of our Soft Serve Machines in March 2019 (those things were heavy and took up a lot of room). Selling these also kind of officially moved us to being an “ice cream” maker.

Favorite Customer

Rotini the Pig. Yep, you read that right: Rotini the Pig. This not-so-little pink fellow stole our hearts at the Animals Rights March in August 2019. Our ice cream truck (“Truckie”) attended the event and Rotini not only got his own ice cream, but stole and ate two other people’s as well. Rotini, we salute you. If you want you can follow Rotini on Instagram (yep, he has his own Instagram) –  https://www.instagram.com/myveganpig/

Favorite Flavor

This is so so hard, but if you have to pin us down we would say Lemon Creme, followed by Matcha and then Salted Chocolate.

Favorite Truck Event

The Guinea Pig Festival. All those little guys were just so cute.

Favorite Instagram Photo

Truckie and a Giant Dog

Truckie and a Giant Dog

Least Favorite Truck Moment

Getting our Truck to pass SMOG. It took over a month to achieve and we had to replace many parts, but it now produces less emissions than a brand new gas car which is pretty amazing for a Truck made in 1991.

Favorite Riddle

“If you have me you want to share me. If you share me, you haven’t got me” (can you guess the answer)

Favorite Song

DJ Kalid – “Better”

Craziest Truck Event

Rufus Du Sol Concert, literally for the sheer number of people and how much the truck vibrated from the music (we didn’t know music went that loud).

Favorite Topping

The giant vegan marshmallows because: (1) we don’t have them very often; and (2) they are giant!

What were your favorite moments in 2019. We want to know. Share in the comments below.
Big Love
Frozen Fruit Co
P.S. don’t forget to go and find some of our grocery pints at all Erewhon locations, Besties Vegan Paradise and Clark’s Nutrition.