It feels like an era has gone by since New York City has gotten a legit snow day! If you’re in an area impacted by the winter storm, you might choose to swap your morning routine at the gym for a full body workout shoveling snow al fresco.
When you’re shoveling snow, proper form can mean the difference between enjoying a post-workout cup of protein powder infused hot cocoa, or laying in bed nursing your aches and pains with a heating pad. Snow shoveling is not all that dissimilar from doing squats and deadlifts. Ensure that you’re shoveling with proper form, keeping your back straight, feet hip-width apart and the shovel close to your body. Pick up snow by bending and straightening your knees to lift the shovel. This squatting technique utilizes your leg muscles instead of your back (demo). And be sure to shovel manageable scoops of snow. Akin to lifting weights, it’s largely about the quality reps over quantity. This will ensure that you get the job done without incurring damage to your body.
It just so happens that today’s snow day falls on National Pancake Day. I can’t think of a better snow day breakfast than a stack of warm and fluffy silver dollar pancakes. Need a recipe? You can refer to my protein packed pancakes (see: “Protein Packed Pancakes”), or be inspired by a pancake recipe from one of history’s most revolutionary figures. Civil rights leader Rosa Parks is renowned for her audacious acts of activism, but her lesser known attributes included the joys of cooking and practicing yoga.
The United States Library of Congress has scanned and digitized Parks’ “featherlite” pancakes recipe, as well as photographs of her doing yoga.
Here’s the recipe that Parks jotted down on a manilla envelope:
In a large bowl, add the following dry ingredients and mix together:
One cup of flour
Two tablespoons of baking powder
One-half teaspoon of salt
Two tablespoons of sugar
In another bowl, add the following wet ingredients, then combine them with the dry mix:
One egg
One and one-fourth cups of milk
One-third cup of softened peanut butter
One tablespoon shortening or oil
Cook batter at 275 degrees F° on a griddle.
Parks practiced yoga for three decades, and shared her knowledge and practice within her community. Black Women's Studies scholar, author and educator, Dr. Stephanie Y. Evans explains that: “what Mrs. Parks teaches us is that self-care is part of resistance—she lived to the age of 92 because she began to center her own health needs, even as she continued with lifelong activism in Detroit and beyond” (quoted in Cadena, 2021).
Whenever forces of nature and/or life itself seemingly pile down on you, remember Rosa Parks’ life recipes for being mighty, mindful and full of delicious pancakes.
References, Notes, Suggested Reading:
Allen, Erin. “A Sense of Purpose: Organizing the Rosa Parks Collection,” Library of Congress Blogs, 11 February 2015. https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2015/02/a-sense-of-purpose-organizing-the-rosa-parks-collection/
Cadena, Monica. “The Story Behind Rosa Parks and Yoga,” Yoga Journal, 2 September 2021. https://www.yogajournal.com/yoga-101/history-of-yoga/rosa-parks-yoga-images/
Evans, Stephanie Y. “Black Women’s Historical Wellness: History as a Tool in Culturally Competent Mental Health Services,” Association of Black Women Historians, 21 June 2019. https://abwh.org/2019/06/21/black-womens-historical-wellness-history-as-a-tool-in-culturally-competent-mental-health-services/