|
Makes approximately 1 gallon At Urban Yoga Chicago we have Yogi Tea available for all of our classes and events. Our clients quickly learn to just come on in and help themselves to a cup before or after class. Yogi Tea is health promoting, delicious, soothing, fragrant and a great coffee substitute. In the science of yogic foods the spices used are said to have the following properties:
Instructions: Yogi Tea takes on the energy we put into it (as does all of our food) so begin by playing your favorite mantra music. Chant mantra as you mindfully wash and slice ginger (Note:when we use organic ginger we do not peel it) and measure out the spices. Combine water, spices & ginger in a large pot, cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Continue to chant. Once boiling, remove the cover and add the black tea (if using). Turn heat down to medium high and boil actively for 15 minutes. Next, cover the pot and reduce to simmer for 30 minutes. As the tea brews, mindfully engage in whatever activity you choose breathing consciously through your nose, enjoying the spicy aroma of the tea. Move slowly and enjoy this time. When the tea is done, remove from heat and strain into jars for storage. Be sure to pour a cup for yourself to sit down and savor. If not serving immediately, allow tea to cool completely, uncovered before refrigerating. Yogi Tea may be stored in refrigerator up to two weeks, but let’s face it - it’s too good to last that long! Serve with milk and sweetener to taste.
0 Comments
I often get asked where I get certain macronutrients like protein and omegas, especially being an active plant-based runner. I appreciate this question because this lifestyle is very important to me and I do pay attention to make sure I'm eating a well balanced and healthy diet. Occasionally, I go to Cronometer and plug in all the food I consume over a 1-3 day period to see how I'm doing. If I am consistently low in a particular nutrient or mineral, I look up the foods that contain those nutrients and add them into my diet. This is how I learned that one Brazil nut a day will meet my nutritional needs for Selenium, pretty cool. I also supplement daily with B12 (recommended for everyone on a plant-based/vegan diet), Vitamin D, Magnesium and a Multivitamin.
I find breakfast to be the easiest meal to load up on protein, omegas and carbs. I can make a smoothie, oatmeal or these overnight oats and load in my flax, chia and hemp seeds as well as fruit, nuts and nut butter to make a healthy and satisfying breakfast. I recently discovered overnight oats and have been experimenting with different combinations. This is a forgiving recipe and I haven't had a bad batch yet. I especially enjoy these oats after a run or when I have a long morning ahead of me.
Instructions: In a glass storage container, smash banana with a fork. Add in the rest of the ingredients. Combine all the ingredients and cover. These oats can be ready in as little as 2 hours. When I am preparing them in the morning, I leave them covered, on my counter. This allows the berries to thaw and is enough time for the oats to soften. If you are preparing the night before, leave them in the refrigerator. Stir before serving and top with a tablespoon of nut butter or a few chopped walnuts for additional protein and texture. Note: I prefer soy milk for added calcium and protein and add in the cacao and maca for flavor as well as a mood and energy boost. Here are the macronutrients for this recipe (without the almond butter or walnuts): 769 calories 98.2 grams of carbs, 76% of daily target 21.8 grams of fiber, 87% of daily target 11.9 grams omega 3, 1081% of daily target 5.7 grams omega 6, 47% of daily target 23 grams protein, 50% of daily target 342.9 mg calcium, 34% of daily target Our tastebuds have been enjoying this dish so much, this is our third batch this spring. Lemon gives a zing to the asparagus and the peas provide a sweet snap in the mouth. You can pull this creamy, flavorful dish together in less than 30 minutes.
Ingredients: 1 lb spaghetti 1 bundle fresh asparagus, washed 1 cup frozen peas 1 lemon, juiced 1 jalapeño pepper, diced 4 cloves garlic, minced 4 Tbsp Olive Oil 1 tsp Better than Bouillon 1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast Salt and White Pepper to taste Instructions: Prepare spaghetti according to package instructions. Meanwhile, fill a wide sauté pan with 1-2 inches of water and heat over high heat bringing it to a boil. Chop asparagus into 1 inch pieces, on an angle and add to the boiling water. Cover and reduce heat to medium. Cook for 2-5 minutes until asparagus is just tender, but retains a bite and it's green color. Drain water, remove from pan and set aside. Heat 3 Tbsp olive oil over low heat, add minced garlic and jalapeño, heating this gently, stirring occasionally, softening the garlic and infusing the oil with the flavors of garlic and jalapeño. Place frozen peas in colander. When pasta is cooked, reserve one cup of cooking liquid and drain the pasta in colander, thawing the peas in the process. Return the peas and pasta to the pot with the heat turned off. To the pasta add 1 Tbsp olive oil, half of the nutritional yeast, lemon juice and salt to taste, using tongs stir to combine, seasoning the pasta, cover and set aside. To the olive oil pan, add bouillon and reserved pasta cooking liquid, turn heat up to low-medium and stir to combine, melting the bouillon into the sauce. Once combined, pour sauce over the pasta and toss. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Top plated pasta with a nice sprinkle of nutritional yeast and a drizzle of olive oil. 
This is a quick and healthy meal that looks like spring. It's simple and beautiful.
I'm looking for ways to incorporate Flax Oil into my diet so I don't have to take a spoonful at night (bleh). Adding the oil to this bowl infused it with those important Omega 3 oils without adding any off-putting taste. Ingredients: 3/4 cup cooked white basmati rice 3 oz baked Teriyaki Tofu (or tofu of your choice), sliced thin 1/2 avocado 3 oz baby arugula (a little more than half of a 5 oz bag) 1/3 cup vegan kimchi 1 Tbsp Sesame Oil 1/2 Tbsp Hemp Seeds 1 Tbsp Tamari 1/2 tsp garlic powder Salt and Pepper Optional: 1 Tbsp Flax Seed Oil
Makes 1 large smoothie Ingredients: 1 cup frozen blueberries 1 ripe banana 2 stalks of celery 1 Tbsp Cacao powder 1 tsp Maca Powder 1 tsp Macha 1 Tbsp Flax Seed Oil 1 Tbsp ground Flax Seed 1 Tbsp Hemp Seed 1 Tbsp Chia Seed 1 cup non-dairy milk or 1/2 cup non-dairy milk + 1/2 cup water* Handful of Ice Optional: 1-2 dates Add all of the ingredients to high speed blender and blend until smooth. This smoothie is an excellent way to incorporate omega fatty acids into your diet. I was inspired to try this because I have started taking Flax Oil and a spoonful on it's own does not taste good! I also had some left over celery in the fridge and I really like the flavor this gave the smoothie. *Note: The additional liquid makes this a drinkable smoothie, if you prefer this as a bowl, use half the liquid. The smoothie doesn't need the additional sweetness from the dates, but I added one before my long run because I like the energy boost dates provide.
1 Tbsp Gochugaru (may substitute 1/2 Tbsp Crushed Red chilis) 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper 1/4 tsp cayenne Instructions: Heat oil over medium heat and add the veggies. Stir to combine and sauce for about 5-7 minutes until they begin to soften. Add the spices and stir to combine. Add the broth, bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook until the veggies are tender and cooked through, add the chickpeas and heat through. Add the cocounut milk and cook on low for 10-15 minutes. Season with Bragg's, salt, pepper and cayenne.
To prepare:
Instructions:
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp grapeseed oil 2 cups cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained 2 bunches kale (I used Lacinto), chopped thin 1 onion, diced 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 jalepeno pepper, finely diced 4 Tbsp sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil, sliced 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (optional) Juice of one lemon (about 3 Tbsp) Salt and Pepper to taste 1 package of Brown Rice spaghetti (or whole wheat pasta) 2 Tbsp Olive Oil 1-2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast To prepare, bring a large pot of water to boil and make pasta according to package instructions. In a large saute pan, heat grapeseed oil over medium heat and add diced onion. Saute the onion allowing it to soften and brown slightly for about 5-7 minutes, add the jalepeno and garlic and stir for about one minute until garlic is fragrant. Add kale and stir to coat in the oil and onion mixture, add the chick peas, tomatoes, season with garlic powder, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper. Cover and cook over medium heat until kale is tender, about 10-15 minutes. Once kale is tender, add lemon juice and adjust seasonings to taste, reduce heat to low and cover until pasta is cooked. Once pasta is done, reserve 1 cup of pasta water, drain pasta, rinse (rinsing rice pasta removes starch, making it less sticky and easier to incorporate the sauce) and return to the pot. Drizzle pasta with olive oil, 1/2 cup of pasta water, nutritional yeast and salt, stir to combine. Add kale mixture to the pasta with the remaining pasta water, stir well. Serve with another drizzle of olive oil and sprinkling of nutritional yeast. 
It's -19º with a -45º windchill today. 🥶 Cooking dried beans kept the kitchen warm and infused the air with much needed humidity keeping us extra toasty warm all morning. I like to prepare my own beans because they are less expensive than canned and I can control what I add to them making them easier to digest.
Beans are an excellent source of fiber, protein and an array of vitamins & minerals including potassium, iron and magnesium. The cooking time remains the same whether cooking 1 cup of beans or 1 pound of beans, so I like to prepare my beans in large quantities and store in the freezer to have on hand. Fortunately, as I was stocking up in preparation for the polar vortex, I noticed the bulk beans were on sale so I stocked up purchasing about 2lbs each of Pinto, Kidney and Garbanzo (aka Chick Peas) beans. I will admit, when I saw my stash soaking I thought I may have over done it, but it all worked out. 😬 This recipe includes my tips for helping to reduce gas from beans including the use of baking soda to soak the beans and cooking with any combination of bay leaf, ginger and kombu. Ingredients: Dry beans 1/4 tsp baking soda 2-3 bay leaves 2 inches of ginger, cut in half 1.5 sheets of kombu Cold water Start by placing your dried beans in a large bowl, sprinkle with baking soda and cover with cold water. Fill the bowl with enough water so the beans have space to plump up as they absorb water in the soaking process. Cover the bowl and leave on counter to soak over night, at least 8 hours.
Once boiling, remove the lid and use a spoon to scoop off the white foam that forms in the pot. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook until beans are tender, 1-2 hours is typical depending on the type. The pinto beans cooked fastest and the garbanzos took the longest, but I prefer my beans to be quite tender, especially garbanzo beans.
Test for doneness and when beans are tender, remove from heat. Drain the beans* in colander, remove ginger, kombu and bay leaves and allow to cool. I have found the kombu sometimes breaks up when cooking making a few small pieces difficult to remove. You may either rinse this off the beans or store with the beans, the small amount will not impact the taste. *You may reserve and store with cooking liquid if you wish. I discard the liquid and store beans on their own. If you are planning to use the beans right away, drain beans (or use the cooking liquid) and season according to your recipe. I like repurpose glass jars for freezer storage (no, they don't break in the freezer). Once cooled, use a measuring cup or large spoon to scoop the beans into jars or containers for storage. Screw top on tightly and store in the freezer. When ready to use, beans will need about 2 hours to thaw so you can remove them from the jar. Beans store in the freezer for up to 6 months. Here is my finished product, I didn't have quite enough jars for this volume of beans (like I said, I was ambitious!), but I know we will have chili soon so I packaged pinto and kidney beans together in freezer bags for 2 batches of chili. We are ready for the rest of winter! 
|
AuthorI am an animal loving-Vegan runner, I practice and teach Kundalini Yoga and I love to cook and eat flavorful plant-based food. Archives
December 2019
Categories
All
|
