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Root2Rise, a Pleasantville Newcomer, Offers Delicious Vegan, Gluten-Free Options

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Root2RiseNY Chef Mike Kagan, Jyoti Tewani and Raj Tewani.
Photo by Adrianna Cmiel-Walsh

Raj and Jyoti Tewani are a married couple who manage Root2Rise. A gluten-free, vegan, 100% plant-based, locally sourced, and organic restaurant. Their foods are made with no processed ingredients, no preservatives, no refined sugar, and all their items are made fresh every day. Their inspiration for the restaurant came from Jyoti’s passion for cooking healthy meals. She believes your body is a temple and you should always be mindful as to what you put into it. 

After their kids had grown and Jyoti had practiced healthy and gluten-free cooking for years, she thought the next step in her life had to be culinary school. Since she’d always liked helping people through food, she also thought she could expand even more with the proper training. 

After culinary school, Jyoti continued her mission by preparing meals and diet plans for people in her community. She helped so many people lose weight and adapt to a healthier diet. When asked how she was able to help so many people her husband Raj Tweni stated, “She has the knowledge to help heal.” Even after helping lots of people, her mission was still not over. 

Jyoti and Raj wanted to open a cafe that met their dietary goals. Unfortunately, their opening got delayed because of the March 2020 pandemic and again a year later when the news broke that the delta variant had come to the United States. Even though they had these setbacks, they managed to open their cafe Root2Rise in February of 2021.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Family on a Mission

 Jyoti and Chef Mike Kagan made it their mission to create a delicious vegan and gluten-free menu. For months they went to multiple restaurants and cafes tasting their vegan and gluten-free options. They did this to not only perfect their menu but make sure it was the best. 

 Chef Kagan worked relentlessly until he perfected their gluten-free bagel and naan bread.

 If their bread options are not for you, their 100% plant-based meat substitutes are definitely worth trying alongside their “addictive” mulligatawny soup. If you are interested in eating healthy and delicious foods from a local business, it is worth paying a visit to Root2Rise. Visit root2riseny.com

Virtual Cooking Class on Preventing Osteoporosis from Northern Westchester Hospital: July 12

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Northern Westchester Hospital’s Center for Healthy Living registered dietitian Amy Rosenfeld, here in her kitchen/studio, offers a cooking class on reducing your disease risk to osteoporosis. This free, online class on July 12 from 12-1 p.m., will teach you some culinary tips, simple recipes, proper nutrition and the connection between the foods we eat and reducing the risk of osteoporosis. Photo courtesy of Northwell Health

Mount Kisco, NY–This July Northern Westchester Hospital’s (NWH) Center for Health Living featured webinar is a cooking class on reducing your disease risk to osteoporosis at any age. During the online class registered dietitian Amy Rosenfeld will talk about the connection between the foods we eat and reducing the risk for osteoporosis. Amy will also teach you proper nutrition recommendations, some simple recipes and some culinary tips and tricks. Other classes in July will be virtual and include chair yoga, and smoking cessation. All programs are free unless otherwise specified.

The other classes in July will be virtual and include chair yoga, and smoking cessation. These classes help support the community, and benefit people’s mental and physical health. All programs are free unless otherwise specified.

Located next to the Whole Foods Market at Chappaqua Crossing, the Center for Healthy Living provides the local community with well-being and youth engagement programming. The center’s interactive virtual lectures and pop-up events allows the community to reach wellness goals, make educated health decisions, and seek engagement and service opportunities. For a full list of upcoming free events and registration, visit Eventbrite.com.

 

FEATURED EVENT:

Cooking for Reducing Disease Risk: Osteoporosis

Cost: Free

July 12, 12:00-1:00 pm, Live over Zoom

Cost: Free

Reducing your risk for chronic disease starts in the kitchen. The foods we eat and prepare for our families can be nourishing, satisfying AND healthy. Join registered dietitian Amy Rosenfeld for a discussion about the connection between the foods we eat and reducing the risk for osteoporosis. Amy will discuss nutrition recommendations for strong bones and help you put these recommendations into action in your kitchen. Amy will demonstrate simple, healthy recipes, as well as culinary tips and tricks to encourage you to make nutritious foods part of your everyday routine.

Register at: Cooking for Reducing Disease Risk: Osteoporosis

OTHER EVENTS:

Chair Yoga

Cost: Free

Thursdays ONLY: July 7, 14, 21, 28 – 11:00 am-12:00 pm, Live over Zoom

Chair Yoga is one of the gentlest forms of yoga available, adapting poses through creative use of a chair. Emphasis will be on breathing, balance, and moving at your own pace.

Register at: Chair Yoga

Smoking Cessation

Cost: Free

July 6, 13, 27, Live over Microsoft Teams

We know it’s challenging to quit smoking – we are here to help. This support group is facilitated by a Northern Westchester Hospital Respiratory Therapist. For specific information, contact NWHSmokingCessation@northwell.edu 

Register at: Smoking Cessation

 

NWH Calendar Listings are Courtesy of Northern Westchester Hospital

Athletic Conditioning with Club Fit’s Mat Rios

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Calling all athletes! Summer may be here, but the 2022-2023 school year is just around the corner, so why stop your training now? Club Fit’s cutting-edge fitness training programs have expanded into the world of sports. Get conditioned for your travel team, junior varsity, varsity, or collegiate sport by training with our Athletic Conditioning Coach and Master Trainer Mat Rios. Don’t wait and possibly fall behind the pack; allow Club Fit tp  jump start your training and get you ready for your upcoming season today.

In addition to his CPR and First Aid Certifications, Mat is an NCSF Certified Master Trainer who has his B.S. in Exercise Science from Mercy College and Associates in Sports Medicine from WCC, where he was named student of the year in his program. Mat specializes in training athletes of various sports including soccer, baseball, basketball, lacrosse, football, volleyball, tennis, wrestling, hockey, and field hockey. Mat’s education and experience has allowed him to learn how to train and develop athletes of all ages where he continues to help his clients see progress in their sports and overall health.

Mat’s passion for working with kids and training athletes stems from working at a day camp, babysitting, and playing soccer since he was a young child, all the way to a collegiate level at WCC. Due to his extensive knowledge and dedication, he became the Personal Trainer for this Division 3 soccer team at the age of 20.

Mat’s training program will utilize many areas of the Club’s 100,000 square foot air-conditioned facility including but not limited to an indoor track, functional fitness turf, cardio and weight machines, TRX straps, and multiple studios.

Mat’s Philosophy of Fitness states “if you never failed, you never tried hard enough” so come test your limits with him at Club Fit. Athletic Conditioning with Mat is open to anyone ages 12 and up who are serious at improving their health and their athletic performance. Want your friends to join you? Small group training options are also available, and non-members are welcome.

For more information, contact Donna Berta at dberta@clubfit.com or 914-250-2769 and come stop by the Club for a free tour at 584 North State Road, Briarcliff Manor. Club Fit can’t wait to hear from you and help you improve your game!

 

 

Bar/Bat Mitzvah Training at Chabad

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At Chabad: A unique approach to Bar/Bat Mitzvah training… regardless of where the celebration and service will be taking place.

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Our emphasis in preparing for Bar /Bat Mitzvah is to foster an awareness that this milestone is only the beginning of Jewish life. We achieve this by providing each child the opportunity to function as a Jew no matter what life brings.

We believe that the most important event in the life of a young person, should be more than just rote memorization leading up to an anxiety-ridden recital of the Torah.

Our emphasis is to foster an awareness that this milestone is only the beginning of Jewish life and help attain a greater appreciation of a Jewish adult’s responsibilities.

Private tutoring, arranged to accommodate today’s demanding lifestyle, is available upon request to help you prepare for this special day

 

Wellness Garden Gives Back in the Time of COVID

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Staff members at Northern Westchester Hospital (NWH) gathered in the new Wellness Garden to enjoy a bounty of summer produce, learn how to care for plants, and taste some of the first harvest.  

Vegetables from the garden will be “prescribed” to patients who face food insecurity when they are discharged.  The patients will leave the hospital with fresh, organic, ready to eat fruits and vegetables selected to meet their nutritional needs by staff dieticians.

Northern Westchester Hospital staff in the Wellness Garden

However, the garden was created to provide more than physical nourishment. It also serves as a sanctuary for hospital staff, who plant, weed and harvest the garden on a voluntary basis.

The garden is the culmination of a year-long effort on the part of Zack Couzens, who graduated from high school this spring and dedicated his Eagle Scout project to the heroes of Northern Westchester Hospital. He and his fellow scouts, classmates, family, and more than 30 volunteers built the 27 raised beds that comprise the garden. He also created a GoFundMepage that raised more than $3500 for the project, double his original fundraising goal.

Zack was inspired to give back to the hospital because of the care it provided for his family. In March 2020, his parents were among the first Covid-19 cases in Putnam County to be admitted to NWH. In the harrowing weeks that followed, his mother was released, but his father was put on a ventilator and spent three weeks in the hospital. Zack, who was born 10 weeks early, weighing only two pounds, eight ounces, also owes his life to the care he received at Northern Westchester.

“The Hospital has given so much to my family, saving both my parents’ lives, and my own,” he says. “Fortunately, everyone recovered, in large part, due to the extraordinary care my family received. My hope is that when people look back at the Covid-19 pandemic, this garden–dedicated to the heroes of Northern Westchester Hospital–will remind them of how the hospital’s staff worked tirelessly to keep the community members well.”

Northern Westchester Hospital leaders recognized that many staff were themselves recovering from their experience with the pandemic.  A Wellness, Recognition and Resilience Committee was formed to further support NWH providers during this unprecedented time and the idea of a Wellness Garden.

“The idea quickly grew beyond helping staff,” says Rebecca Martin, a committee member and the senior director of Dining Services at the Hospital. “We realized that if we built a garden of raised beds, we would be able to grow organic vegetables for the community.”

Story courtesy of Northern Westchester Hospital