Tear dates, place in glass container and top with boiling water. Cover and let sit 20 minutes. Scoop flesh from avocados and place in blender with remaining ingredients. Add dates and water. Process on high, scraping sides often, until smooth and creamy. A healthy treat!
CREATE 8-Mar Fennel Slaw 19-Mar Roasted Squash Seeds 26-Mar Curried Squash Cubes MOVE 1-Mar Dr. Seuss Exercise Poem 9-Mar Stretch with Strap 30-Mar Athletic Yoga promo SING 10-Mar Hey Seniors - Free Music!
Preheat oven to 400F. Peel and cut squash. Mix spices with oil in small bowl. Blend well with squash, adding a sprinkling of water if needed to get it to spread evenly. Spread on a baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes, toss, and bake another 15 minutes or until desired tenderness. Great as a side dish, or as hors d’oeuvres served with toothpicks.
Rinse seeds and set to dry on a lint-free towel about 24 hours. When dry, heat oven to 375F. Mix seeds with oil and spices. Spread out on baking sheet. Bake about 8 minutes (seeds may make popping sounds). Let cool. Store in an airtight container.
Put barley and rice together in a pot with 2 cups water. Boil, then simmer, covered, 40 minutes, checking water level. Allow to cool while preparing salad and dressing. Shred fennel, cabbage and apples. Tear kale into small pieces. Rinse, drain, and add beans. Whisk all remaining ingredients for dressing. Fluff rice mixture and add. Toss with dressing and serve. Note: if only eating a portion, save salad separately from rice, beans and dressing. Mix for individual servings.
CREATE 1-Feb Roasted Vegetable Soup 3-Feb New Soaps: Oat & Honey Scrub, Citrus Blossom 12-Feb Sweet Potato Hash MOVE 1-Feb Seniors' Chair Workout 16-Feb Am I in the Zone? SING 21-Feb Earth Day Concert announcement
That depends on your goals and your heart…
Target Heart Rate is the best way to make your training effective. Different zones can be used for different personal goals and different levels of fitness.
Your heart rate is the most accurate form of measuring exertion because it accounts for all aspects beyond the activity itself: the influence of stress, sleep, hunger, dehydration, temperature, and other factors that have an effect on your heart during exercise.
Find YOUR Zone
In order to make your workouts the most effective, you need to know what Zone reflects your own personal exercise goal. That will tell you where your Target Heart Rate should be during exercise, and then you can track it to make sure it gets there. You’ll need two pieces of information to find your Target Heart Rate: Resting Heart Rate and Age.
Use a Personalized Method
A VERY basic method to figuring out Target Heart Rate is 220 – Age x Zone%. This is mostly how the machines at the gym work, and also how the color zones are designated on your fitness tracking watch. However, they are often incorrect because not everyone at the same age is in the same physical condition. And your condition has a lot to do with how your heart works!
That’s why trainers use the Karvonen Formula, which will calculate YOUR personal Target Heart Rate. It starts with a number that is unique and important: the Heart Rate Reserve. Then we can multiply it by the Target Zone in which you want to exercise based on your goals.
The ZONES
| Training Zones | Description | % Heart Rate Max | Benefits/ Goals | Duration |
| 1 | Easy/Recovery | 50-59 | improves circulation, helps with heart recovery after exercise | 80-120 minutes |
| 2 | Weight Control | 60-69 | improves the body’s efficiency at converting fuel to energy | 40-80 minutes |
| 3 | Aerobic | 70-79 | improves aerobic conditioning and lung capacity, expands blood vessels | 10-40 minutes |
| 4 | Anaerobic | 80-89 | increases high speed endurance and maximum performance | 2-10 minutes |
| 5 | Max Effort | 90-100 | increases maximum performance and speed | Under 2 minutes |
Determine which Zone is your goal, then work towards it. Remember that we all have limitations, and that you can also increase your heart rate by making your exercise BIGGER, FASTER, or HEAVIER. Duration won’t necessarily get your heart rate higher, but it can be a factor in making your heart stronger overall.
Here is a sample that I made for myself with the online calculator. It gives my target heart range for each zone, which is quite handy once I know which Zones I want to work in! I might use different Zones for different workouts too.
The MATH (or skip to the online calculator below)
Terms to know before you begin
The FORMULA
The ONLINE CALCULATOR
If you don’t like math…but skip down to where it says Enter Data
Karvonen Heart Rate Calculator (topendsports.com)
Sweet and nutty. Good for any meal.
Heat oil on medium. Sauté barley until nutty brown. Add onion and potato. Stir 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water, bring to boil, then cover, lower heat, and simmer 20 minutes. Check often to stir and add water if needed. Season with salt and pepper. When soft, remove from heat. Allow to sit 5-10 minutes to absorb any excess water.
Vegans: eat as is. Vegetarians: nice topped with a fried or poached egg. Carnivores can add chicken or steak.
CAROL WING