Sunday smoothies

• 1 stalk celery
• 4 large stalks of kale
• 2 bulk carrots
• 2 tablespoons ground chia seeds
• 1/2 banana
• about 12 oz water (I would have used Almond milk, but I'm out. Also, use more or less water to create desired thick or thinness, mine's super thin)

I should warn you that this drink is not sweet at all, but it does taste very clean and healthy. After having a bagel and a latte for breakfast this morning, this tastes like exactly what I need :)

Here's another smoothie idea, which I haven't tried yet, but sounds amazing. The recipe is from my friend, Dana Walters.

• 2 big handfuls spinach
•  half handful parsley
• half handful mint
• 1/3 banana
• heaping tablespoon almond butter
• heaping tablespoon coconut milk
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon chia seeds

gluten free taquito

 

Last night, I decided I wanted to make some more green chile sauce. I made it for the first time last weekend and it was a huge hit. I loved it, my friends loved it and my husband loved it. I made a double batch and it was more than enough to feed five people and have leftovers for a couple days. I wanted to make sure I had enough for a few days again, so I made another double batch. I really should have taken into consideration that I was feeding five people the first time because I now have so much I am literally going to have to put it on everything I eat until it's gone! But, I don't think that will be a problem. The above photo is what the sauce looks like before it gets all blended up. My husband said, "So it's basically a salad?" Well, I guess it could be seen that way. All of the ingredients are raw, so it's super easy to make, and also pretty inexpensive. I buy as much as I can from the bulk section, and I find that helpful in saving money. 

Here are the ingredients, pulled straight from Kathryn Budig's article on MindBodyGreen:

Green Chili Sauce (raw)

1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 to 2 anaheim chilies  - start with one and add more as necessary to reach level of heat
1/4 cup + 2 T olive oil
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 bunch of cilantro
1 + 1/4 tsp salt
1 cup water
1 tsp. red chili flakes
1/2 tsp. pepper

*seeded jalapeno may be substituted for Anaheim chilies

Instructions:

Place all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth. 
Chill and enjoy!

After the sauce was made, I needed something to put it on. I know this isn't the healthiest option, so excuse me, but it's what I felt like (plus it was really easy). Let me first explain to you my history with refried beans. 

I've been eating refried beans for about 8 years now. I never really had them as a kid, so I don't know where this obsession came from. I can remember sitting in the couch in my first apartment eating them straight out of the can, and eventually I graduated to heating them in the microwave. Years and years later, I took another leap and started heating them on the stove (once I realized how bad microwaves are). Refried beans were a staple in my diet for a very long time, a complete must-have in my cabinet at all times. In fact, when I had my friends over for dinner last weekend, one of them said, "Remember when you used to eat refried beans everyday?" Of course I remember, it wasn't that long ago. But I really have changed my eating habits immensely since I learned that I actually can cook, and not only that, but I also very much enjoy it. 

Another thing I should explain is that I am a creature of habit when it comes to the food I eat. I will eat a variation of the same thing every day for years. Some of the things I literally ate every single day for at least a couple years in the past include wheat thins, fettucine alfredo lean cuisines, refried beans and iceberg lettuce with Kraft sharp cheddar cheese crumbles (had to be that brand and kind specifically) and croutons with light ranch dressing. Now I realize that those things are not good for me, but can you see how someone with no real knowledge of actual healthy food could be duped? Well, as I very well know now, not all salads are healthy, and lean cuisines and other frozen meals are packed with chemicals. I still eat variations of the same thing every day, but those variations now include grains such as brown rice or quinoa with leafy greens and some sort of vegetable. All fresh and organic. 

I'm currently in this place of trying to get myself healthy. I wouldn't call myself unhealthy, I'm really just trying to get everything in my body working its best. In the past month, I have given up coffee. Holy wow, that's something I never thought I would do, but somehow I don't miss it. When I was working with Hema in LA, we drank tea with almond milk every day and I enjoyed it so much that I brought the tradition home with me. There was one day in LA that I had an Americano (black, as I drink them), but I actually felt better when I drank only tea. I still do caffeine, Earl Grey is my favorite, but I only have one cup (sometimes two) and only in the morning. After noon I switch to decaf or caffeine free. My husband also nixed coffee in favor of tea, so that makes it a really easy change to stick with. Also, after battling digestive issues, I have decided to slash my gluten intake back to nearly none at all. That's one that my cheese pizza and french bread loving husband won't give up, so we still have it in the house. I do, however, feel a lot better when I eat gluten-free, dairy-free food. Which brings me back to last night's dinner- a gluten free, dairy free taquito with green chile sauce.

I used a brown rice wrap from Trader Joe's. I laid it flat and used the back of a spoon to spread a thin layer of my beloved refried beans all over its surface. Make sure it's a thin layer, unless you want a really fat taquito. From there, I put a very small amount of olive oil in a pan and let it heat up. The I laid my glorious little bean pie in the pan, beans up. I gave it just a few minutes to get warm, then I slid it off onto a plate and rolled it up. It was like a magnificent little bean swirl. I dipped it in green chile sauce and loved every bite.

I realize that this blog has been more about food and less about yoga recently, but that's just where I'm at right now. Healthy food and yoga go together so nicely. Everything I post about is so simple, but I post it because I realize there must be other people out there who want to be healthy, but just aren't quite sure where to start. This is why I fell in love so hard with green smoothies, because they're healthy and delicious but I didn't have to cook anything! Just wash everything, toss it in a blender, press a button and voila! The food I make is so simple and tasty and I hope I've inspired you to try it!

quinoa bowl

I am so excited about creating healthy goodness in my kitchen and I can't stop sharing about it! I realized while I was in Los Angeles with Hemalayaa that cooking doesn't need to be complex. In fact, I'm learning that simple is better. This bowl was so easy, so delicious and so nutritious!

• 1/2 cup red quinoa, cooked
• 1/4 bunch of kale (washed, chopped & very lightly sauteed in a very small amount of olive oil)
• 1/2 roma tomato, chopped & uncooked
• 1/2 small zucchini, chopped & uncooked
• 1/2 avocado, sliced
• celtic sea salt
• Bragg's liquid aminos

Mmmmmmmmmm!

healthy breakfast bowl

Simple easy breakfast! This took less than 15 minutes to prepare.

3 large red chard leaves (chopped and lightly sauteed in a little bit of olive oil)
2 scrambled eggs
1/2 avocado
handful of walnuts
green chile sauce, celtic sea salt & nutritional yeast flakes sprinkled on top

Just mix everything together & ENJOY!

breakfast

Good Morning!

I am back in Portland this morning after spending 8 days in Los Angeles with Hemalayaa and Diane Hudock. I recently began working as an assistant to these two teachers, so this was a working trip.

First, let me talk a little bit about Diane. Diane is an incredible teacher who has been teaching for nearly two decades. She teaches at Black Dog Yoga in Sherman Oaks and leads a killer class. She's funny (hilarious, really), knowledgeable and offers fantastic adjustments. Seriously, if you're in LA, go to her class.

I spent most of my time in LA with Hemalayaa. We are working on several big projects right now, the largest being a glorious retreat at Calliote Canyon in Ojai in March and the HEMA Wellness Program in May. In between all the work we're putting in for these two projects, we ate, rode our bikes, took walks & hiked in Bronson Canyon. Notice I put the eating part first. I learned so much about cooking from her. If you keep up with this blog, you know that I do not like to cook, but I do love to eat healthy, wholesome food. She taught me that cooking doesn't have to be difficult or intricate to taste really good and be really good for you. This morning for breakfast I made a bowl with brown rice, kale, chard, avocado, egg & walnuts. Seriously, so good. She started a new blog called A Recipe For Better Living where she'll be sharing everything from food recipes to natural remedies. I urge you to check it out.

While I already miss sunny and warm Los Angeles, I can also say that I am happy to be back in Portland with my husband and get back to teaching. I missed it!

Have a splendid week :)

new playlist

I was introduced to Thievery Corporation and The Album Leaf in summer 2010 by Dana Walters. They have since become two of my favorite groups, not just for yoga, but in general. I even got to see The Album Leaf play live and it was completely surreal. After listening to them for a year in a half in my classes, it was an incredible experience to see and hear them in person. I wish I could have them play live for some of my classes. Maybe one day? Until then, I'll keep enjoying their music on my playlists :) Here's a new one I created this morning.

• The Album Leaf: Window
• Thievery Corporation: False Flag Dub
• Thievery Corporation: Fragments
• Thievery Corporation: Web of Deception
• Thievery Corporation: Take My Soul
• The Album Leaf: Writings On The Wall
• The Album Leaf: Red-Eye
• The Album Leaf: See In You
• The Album Leaf: Broken Arrow
• The Album Leaf: Into The Sea
• The Album Leaf: Always For You
• The Album Leaf: Wishful Thinking

mat reviews

If you follow my facebook page, you know that I recently treated myself to a couple of new Manduka mats. After practicing on each of them over the past couple of weeks, I'm ready to write up some reviews, and also share with you how they stack up to other mats I've owned.

Manduka Black Mat Pro

 At $94, this mat is an investment. But, a worthwhile one if you ask me. It comes with a lifetime guarantee, so as long as you don't let it get stolen (I know of two people who have had theirs stolen!), you'll have it for the rest of your life. It has a texture unlike any other mat I've practiced on, and unlike other reviews, I didn't have to break mine in or let it air out. I was nervous when I read that people had issues with the grip when it was new. Many of the reviews said to scrub the mat with sea salt and let it hang to dry in order to maximize the grip, but I live in an apartment and have no space to let this monster of a mat air dry. I was happy to find that my mat was grippy right from the start. There was and still is a bit of a smell, but I don't find it to be too strong and it definitely doesn't bother me. The mat is cushy, but not squishy. It's firm and supportive. The only downside is that this mat is pretty heavy. Manduka suggested that I purchase the mat bag to go along with it, but I really didn't want to throw down an extra $55 so I just use a cheap mat strap that I got for free at a festival. It works just fine! Overall, I am very happy with this mat and look forward to putting in many many hours of practice on it :)

 

Manduka eKO Lite 3mm

 I got this mat on Amazon for $42. I ordered it in addition to the Black Mat Pro because I wanted something lighter and more suitable for travel (and toting from class to class). I have mixed feelings about this mat because I love the grip and it only weighs 2 pounds. It rolls up small and you can even fold it like a sweater and toss it in a suitcase. The downside to this mat is mainly the smell. It's made from natural tree rubber and the smell is quite overpowering. My hands smell like rubber when I'm done practicing, and so does anything else that's touched the mat. This mat also tends to bunch up a bit. I find myself straightening it out sometimes, but not constantly. For a mat that weighs two pounds and is only 3mm thick, I'd say that's to be expected and I don't find that to be a real issue. It's mostly just the smell I've got a problem with! Here's hoping it goes away eventually.

Jade Harmony Mat

I own two of these. One for just over three years, the other for just over one year. The older one is shot. I've practiced on it quite a bit (it was my first really nice mat) and it shows There is quite a bit of wear on the front and back of the mat and parts of it have begun to disintegrate. It is important to know that you should not leave your Jade Mat in the car, as the cold and sunlight will break it down and it will completely lose all grip. I rarely ever use this mat anymore, mostly because I find it unsafe. Since I did store mine in my car, it lost all grip (and I do mean all grip) and jumpbacks from forward fold to chatturanga mean the mat will slip all over the floor. Same thing with a jump from down dog to forward fold. I will say that I remember the smell being pretty intense when I first got this mat, but I was living alone in an apartment with a great space to leave it unrolled. Eventually the smell went away. This particular mat was regular length and cost $70.

The newer of these two mats is an extra-long length and the cost is $75. I hate to say this, but I don't love this mat. I have practiced on it quite a bit but I just don't get good energy from it. As silly as this may sound, I think it's the color. It is orange, and I had energy-related issues with a red mat I once owned. Aside from the color, I have issues with the overpowering scent of rubber with this mat. I've had it for over a year, but it still smells like rubber. Unless you unroll it on a pristine floor, things will get stuck to it. Hair, dust, dirt, whatever is underneath it. I find that it pulls my hair when I lift into wheel and also makes my hair rather staticky. I don't recall having these issues with my olive Jade mat, and for some reason I think my energy just does not do well with the color orange. Yes, I feel very strongly about that. 

My overall assessment of the Jade mats is this: If you're looking to invest in an expensive mat, go for the Manduka Pro. They also carry a Pro Lite that I've heard wonderful things about and it's available for $72.

Cheap Mats

You know the kind. These are the mats you can get at Target for $20, they have a waffle-like pattern on them. I have a purple one that I got for my 17th birthday. Notice I said have, not had. I still love and use this mat. Everything about it is average. Yes, you may slip a bit on it, especially if you work up a sweat while practicing. You may need to roll it up for extra knee support during cat/cow or camel. But, I find these mats to be great starter mats. I used this mat solely for four years before upgrading to something more expensive and I loved it. If you're new to yoga or are thinking about starting, I recommend one of these mats. Once you've been practicing for a while and you're hooked, then you can splurge on a more expensive one, but only then if you really want to. 

I think the important thing to keep in mind here is that you don't need fancy, expensive stuff in order to practice yoga. Some companies would have you believe that those things will somehow enhance your practice, but the truth is that all you need is a willing heart and spirit.

Namaste.