Women’s Surf Camps

This is a delicous dish for lunch time.

Flame Roasted Gazpacho
4 C Tomato juice, fresh
4 large Roma tomatoes, grilled (1 ½ C chopped)
2 / 3 C Filtered water or vegetable stock
2 / 3 C Cucumber, peeled, seeded & diced
2 / 3 C Corn, fresh or frozen
½ C Green bell pepper, diced
1 / 3 C Red onion, diced
3 Tbl Lime juice, fresh squeezed
3 Tbl Cilantro, minced
1 Tbl shoyu, or to taste
1 Tbl Basil, minced
1 ¼ tsp Cumin powder, toasted
1 tsp Garlic, minced
1 tsp Jalapeño pepper, seeded & minced, ½ tsp Chili powder, ½ tsp Hot
sauce (optional)
Pinch Cayenne pepper
Sea salt, to taste
Black pepper, ground to taste

Preparation:
1. Place tomatoes and juice in blender and blend until smooth. Place in a
large mixing bowl with remaining ingredients and mix well. Serve chilled, the
colder the better.

Variations:
Commercially-available Spicy Tomato Vegetable Juice may replace tomato
juice, and canned fire roasted tomatoes may replace grilled tomatoes. For a
Live Gazpacho, do not grill the tomatoes, roast the jalapeño pepper or toast
the cumin powder and use freshly-juiced tomatoes.

A stand out at our SwellWomen retreats is our very own private chef, Chef Phill DeMott. Chef Phill DeMott comes to us with over 35 years of culinary experience ranging from New Orleans to Thailand and everywhere in between.  If you are looking for private chef services, please contact Chef Phill DeMott at 808.283.1425.

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Quinoa Tabouleh

Quinoa is a super grain with tons of protein.

Ingredients:

4 cups water
2 cup red quinoa
1 pinch salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tomatoes, diced
1 cucumber, diced
2 bunches green onions, diced
2 carrots, grated
1 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:

1. In a saucepan bring water to a boil. Add quinoa and a pinch of salt.
Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Allow to cool to
room temperature; fluff with a fork.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine olive oil, sea salt, lemon juice,
tomatoes, cucumber, green onions, carrots and parsley. Stir in cooled
quinoa.

A stand out at our SwellWomen retreats is our very own private chef, Chef Phill DeMott. Chef Phill DeMott comes to us with over 35 years of culinary experience ranging from New Orleans to Thailand and everywhere in between.  If you are looking for private chef services, please contact Chef Phill DeMott at 808.283.1425.

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For all you girls huddled somewhere cold and landlocked, here are some fabulous reasons why you should never, ever think of going on a women’s surf camp.
Who wants to get on a plane and go somewhere nice and warm and tropical? Who wants to participate in a women’s surf camp week with yoga? If I haven’t managed to convince you yet that your next vacation should be spent in your living room, preferably still cooking meals and cleaning for the rest of the household, then here are some other excellent reasons to NOT attend a women’s surf camp.

1. You Will Get In Shape. Who wants to lose a few pounds and shape up? Going to a women’s surf camp and doing surf and yoga for a week could really banish some of that cellulite. Doesn’t ironing help with flabby arms?

2. You Will Make New Friends. Who has time for new friends? Who needs new friends? Especially ones with similar interests. What a drag having more people to e-mail Christmas and birthday cards to.

3. You May Quit Your Job. Aren’t you happy complaining about your boring job and your awful boss? Why would you want to go to a women’s surf camp and risk being inspired to change your life?

4. All your Vacations Will Be Surf vacations. Once you get the surfing bug you will want to travel to places with beaches and sun and surf. Too much nice warm sparkling blue water for me. Give me smog, clouds and crowds any day.

5. You Will Get A Leash Tan. How inconvenient. That strip of white skin around your ankle that proves you have been off at a women’s surf camp and having fun.

6. You Might Develop A New Interest. Isn’t your day already full enough with cooking and cleaning for others? Don’t you have some shirts you can mend or some ironing to do? You might start getting inspired to do other things outside the home.

7. You could easily enjoy yourself. Who needs to chill out? Who needs to be self indulgent while they get their massage? Who needs someone else to cook them three nutritious meals daily? Why would you want to have a break at a women’s surf camp? Especially a vacation involving wellness, surf and yoga.

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Enjoy Ellen Barone’s e-mail interview about SwellWomen! Just press PLAY above.

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Thanks MSN.COM for featuring SwellWomen!

In other great news today…

Wouldn’t it be nice if that’s how the news started each and every newscast? Well, kudos to msn.com for featuring and article on the Top 10 Places to Get in Shape to promote physical vacations that include wellness too! We are happy to have been voted #4 on their list.

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Have you ever wondered how to prepare physically for a surf in the ocean or even an entire surf week! Yoga is one way to really get your muscles ready and stretched before going out into the ocean. Peggy Hall, from YogaforSurfers.com has introduced many yoga poses that help with surfing. If you are going to hit the surf soon, why not check out these Free Yoga Stretches for Surfing. Just take a second to sign in and access your surf stretches. We know your mind is ready to surf, but is your body?

Let yoga help your surfing.

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Image from ellenbarone.com

Sometimes we have sisters who come to our retreats and it’s always so fun for them to enjoy quality time and adventure. It’s often a time for sister’s to reconnect who live in different states. My sister and I decided to start doing a little getaway once a year, too. Ellen Barone’s article is perfect to check out for inspiration. Here is an excerpt:

Is traveling with your sister on vacation a recipe for disaster? It doesn’t have to be as long as you lay down some ground rules first. Here are a few travel-tested truths for keeping peace in the sister hood.

1)Leave the baggage at home.

2) Privatize.

3)  Get thee to chocolate.

4) Play well with others.

5) Money, money, money.

To read about her tips, visit Ellen Barone’s website here.

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If this doesn’t want to make you surf, I don’t know what will.

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Our friends at Carve Designs are offering a pretty amazing give-a-way! Free Surf Clothes for one year, yes, that’s right. I’ve already signed up! Sign up here to win.

Yes, this is real!

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Here is a little video I made from a look out spot near our home. It’s the first JAWS session of the winter and it was BIG. Enjoy!

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