Category: Meals

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Strong Beats Skinny Any Day

On this Valentine’s Day, I wish for everyone out there to feel loved. Romantic love is wonderful–and I hope you all have or find that kind of love–but the love I am referring to is the love you have for yourself. I wish everyone the feeling of self-love because it is from that place where all else grows. It may sound cliché, but I truly believe that we must first love ourselves in order to love (and be good to/for) anyone else.

For me, loving my whole self is a work in progress. I’m not 100% there but for the first time in a very long time I can say whole-heartedly, I love my body, and mean it. Contrary to our societal ideal of being thin or skinny, I love my body for its strength. For all those out there that make the goal of your fitness and diet efforts losing weight and dropping sizes, it is so much healthier and more powerful to change your focus and strive to arrive at a place where you can honestly say (and believe) the words, I feel strong. 

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Physical strength is absolutely one part of achieving this feeling. I practice yoga daily and have watched my muscles  lengthen and grow. I’ve experienced elation as certain asanas have improved and other challenge postures I never thought possible have found expression through my body. While this kind of strength is empowering in its own right, it is an intangible strength that I first learned about when I traveled to Senegal five years ago that I wish all women could feel. This ineffable, life-changing concept boils down to one word: fayda. Fayda (figh-da) is a distinctly female trait meaning courage, pride, and attitude in Wolof (Senegal’s official  local language).

What it meant to me then and still does now is strength–beautiful, unabashed inner resolve that you are, and have always been, who you were meant to be.

Like many women (and men too, though we ashamedly don’t talk about their perspective as much) I have struggled with body image issues. I’ve always been a bit of a peanut but once those teenage hormones kick in, all of our bodies change in one form or another. That change can be really hard to cope with. Couple that with the way our media and society praise and promote the thinnest of the thin and no wonder so many young people have an unhealthy relationship with food and exercise.

Let me tell you a little story. In college, I discovered a love for rock climbing. I made great friends while doing it but at a certain point started to dislike the way my body looked. Vanity told me that the muscles I was developing were detracting from my femininity and a nagging little voice in my head whispered, what guy is going to like a girl with muscles like that? While that’s not the only reason I stopped climbing–time, travel, and transitions also played a role–I shudder to think that even one iota of why I backed away from something I loved that much was for aesthetic reasons, and ultimately the manifestation of a lack of self-confidence.

No one should ever be made to feel that in order to be beautiful you have to fit into a certain size or look like a stick-figure celebrity. A beautiful body is one that is strong and functional, not one that is so frail that a strong gust of wind could take you out.

You know what I think is beautiful? A mom who can hold her five- and two-year-old sons on her hips and still muster the power to grab a couple grocery bags out of the trunk. That’s functional fitness. That’s beauty. That’s strength.

Resistance training–which is bound to build your muscles–is an important part of maintaining overall wellness. Muscles help reinforce and protect our skeletal structure, guarding us against injury and inability as we age. Whether you decide that weight lifting or isometric bodyweight training (like yoga) is the way to go for your body, do something and don’t be afraid to be strong.

I am strong is a great mantra to find love and honor for your body and being. Be your own Valentine today and make it your own.

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Sweetly Salted Nut Butter Power Cookies

After drooling over a photo of grain-free peanut butter chocolate chip cookies posted by my friend Jehan on Instagram, I decided to put my own twist on a healthy, garbanzo bean-based power cookie. If you’re gluten-free, garbanzo bean flour is just about the best “alternative” flour out there. Unlike other bean flours and substitutes like almond meal, it doesn’t need to be combined with regular flour.

Not convinced? Check out this nutritional tête à tête:

Garbanzo Bean Flour:

  • 1/4 cup contains 110 calories
  • 6g protein
  • 18g of carbohydrate (of which 5g is dietary fiber)
  • 10% of the daily value for iron

Whole Wheat Flour:

  • 1/4 cup contains 110 calories
  • 4g of protein
  • 23g of carbohydrate (of which 4g is dietary fiber)
  • 6% of the daily value for iron

Brown Rice Flour:

  • 1/4 cup contains 140 calories
  • 3g of protein
  • 31g of carbohydrate (of which only 1g is dietary fiber)
  • 4% of the daily value for iron

Let’s all clap for the heavyweight champ: Garbanzo Bean Flour!

These power cookies are full of protein, dietary fiber, vitamin E, iron and a delicious kick of sea salt, dark chocolate and your favorite natural nut butter.  If you’re constantly on-the-go, this is the perfect snack to tuck in your purse, backpack or hipster messenger bag for a healthy pre- or post-workout way to (re)fuel your body.

Chocolate Nut Butter Power Cookies

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What You’ll Need:

  • 3/4 cup natural almond or peanut butter (raw, unsalted)
  • 1/3 cup raw honey (+2 tbs hot water)
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups garbanzo bean flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp  baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp table salt
  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips
  • 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt (to spring on top)

How to Make Them:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.
  2. In a KitchenAid mixer or food processor, mix your nut butter, raw honey and water until smooth. Add in apple sauce, egg and vanilla extract and blend again.
  3. Slowly fold in the dry mix, blending as you go.
  4. Mix in the chocolate chips with a baking spatula. (Don’t be alarmed if it doesn’t look like the typical cookie mix. It is meant to be very thick and sticky.)
  5. With wet hands, form into 1″ balls. Place balls 1″ apart on a piece of parchment paper. Gently press down on each with a fork, criss-crossing imprints if you want to be fancy.
  6. Sprinkle each cookie with a few grains of coarse sea salt (if you’re into the whole salted-sweets crazy like I am:). Bake for ~10 min.

If you try this recipe out, let me know what you think. The dough can be hard to work with but these tasty power cookies are worth it!

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Sweet Sesame Raw Kale Salad

If you’re reading my blog, chances are you know what kale is. Chances are even greater that you’re mildy obsessed with it. If this hasn’t happened yet, just you wait, pretty soon you’ll be buying the 2 lb big bag and putting this green goodness into anything you can think of–and for good reason!

Kale gets its emerald green hue from high levels of two disease-fighting carotenoids (lutein and zeaxanthin). These nutrients are part of the cellular makeup of your eye and help protect those peepers against harmful blue light and ultimately macular degeneration–the leading cause of eyesight loss in Americans over 60.

You like to see right? (Rhetorical question obviously.) Seriously though, go buy some kale and make this raw salad (or my kale chips) and do your part to protect that precious vision. Life is too beautiful not to see it through.

Sweet Sesame Raw Kale Salad

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What You’ll Need:

  • 2 tbs toasted sesame seeds
  • 2 tbs sesame seed oil
  • 2 tbs rice vinegar
  • 1 tbs light soy sauce
  • 2 tsp honey
  • 1 tbs fresh ginger, grated
  • 6 cups (or handfuls) curly kale, chopped

How to Make It:

  1. Mix all ingredients except kale in a mason jar (or any small container with a snug lid). Give the contents a good shake until combined.
  2. Put chopped kale (stems removed) in a large mixing bowl. Pour dressing on top and massage kale (yes, massage) for 1-2 min until thoroughly coated. (Manipulating the raw kale like this helps the dressing seep into the leaves, softening the kale and making it easier to digest.)
  3. Cover and let marinate in the fridge for at least an hour. I like to leave mine overnight.

BONUS TIP: this makes for a yummy dressing on just about any salad. Try it over cold soba noodles or shredded romaine with some raw cashews, blood orange segments, and lightly pan-fried tofu for a healthy vegetarian lunch.

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Snack Attack: Baked ‘Tater Chips

For all my readers that grew up in the ’90s, remember those incredibly catchy Pringles® ads featuring the slogan, “once you pop you just can’t stop”? The company has long since abandoned that tagline and I bet I know why. It basically states that their product is addicting, and rightfully so it turns out. Fact: most of the processed snack foods out there are addictive down to the cellular level. Why? Because they are loaded with fat, sugar and salt which trigger our neural pathways to release dopamine, the feel good hormone. Our bodies in turn come to believe that these foods are awesome, conveying a feeling of reward back to the brain. So we go back for more, again and again, and all too often when we’re not even hungry or in need of the calories (a.k.a. energy). Pringles® and many other brands of chips play tricks on our bodies and minds. So how do we break the cycle of addiction? Make your own healthier version, or better yet, make mine!

My recipe combines sweet and purple passion potatoes with za’atar spice, grapeseed oil and a touch of salt for a nutrient-packed snack food that puts those greasy flakes to shame. Sweet potatoes are packed with vitamins A and C and purple passion potatoes are a great low-calorie source of anthocyanin, a powerful antioxidant. A recent study has shown promising evidence that grapes and grape products, such as grapeseed oil, could help to lower the high rate of death from cardiovascular disease by improving blood flow and lowering cholesterol levels. And if you haven’t tried za’atar spice, you’re missing out. It is full of flavor and packed with heart-healthy herbs.

Ditch the greasy guilt and opt for this healthy alternative. Your taste buds won’t be disappointed!

What You’ll Need:

  • 2 tbs grapeseed oil
  • 2 tbs za’atar spice
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 medium sweet potatoes
  • 1/2 lb small “purple passion” potatoes

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How to Make Them:

  1. Peel veggies and cut into 1/8-inch slices (using either a mandoline or chef’s knife). Place in a large bowl and toss with 1-2 tbs of grapeseed oil. Combine spice and sprinkle over veggies. Toss to coat evenly.
  2. Arrange in a single layer on cooling racks set atop ungreased baking pans (you’ll likely need two or to make these in batches). Bake at 375° for 15-25 min (depending on the oven) until golden brown. Make sure to flip them once about halfway through.
  3. Let cool for 10-20 min then enjoy!
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Great Grains: Farro & Leek Risotto

In our slim-obsessed society we often lump carbohydrates into one demonized category to be avoided at all costs. Carbophobes, listen up!! Not only are whole grains an excellent source of vitamin E, they’re crucial to your metabolism because they’re rich in B-complex vitamins. They’re also packed full of dietary fiber–a.k.a. your best ally against over-eating and weight gain.

So how can you work these great grains into your diet? How about a delicious whole grain risotto recipe using farro and featuring another dietary supastar–leeks!

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Leeks are a great source of Vitamin A. In fact, one serving contains up to 1/3 of your daily recommended value. As a member of the onion family they are a great source of allicin, which has proven anti-fungal and antibacterial properties–part of what gives these green tubers prebiotic properties. Prebiotics have been proven to alleviate symptoms of IBS and may reduce the risk of certain kinds of cancer.

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What You’ll Need:

  • 6 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken stock
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 red onion, diced
  • 3 leeks, white and light green parts only, rinsed thoroughly and sliced into rings
  • 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 cup Arborio rice
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 2 cups cooked farro (3/4 cup uncooked)
  • 1 cup fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • 2 tbs fresh lemon juice

How to Make It:

  1. Bring stock to a simmer in a medium saucepan over low heat.
  2. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy saucepan. Add diced onion and a pinch of salt, sautéing for 3-4 min. Then add leeks and sauté another 2-3 min. Once onions and leeks begin to soften, add garlic and Arborio rice. Cook about 3 min, or until rice begins to crackle.
  3. Pour in wine and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the wine has almost completely disappeared. Stir in one ladleful of simmering stock. The stock should bubble not boil. Cook, stirring often, until it’s almost absorbed. Add another ladleful and continue cooking like this (adding more liquid when the rice is almost dry) until you’ve used up most of your stock and the rice is al dente.
  4. Stir in the pre-cooked farro (make it according to the directions on the package), parsley  fresh lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. and herbs. Add another ladleful of stock and continue to cook for a minute, then a remove from the heat.
  5. The risotto should be creamy but not runny. If it’s dry, add a little stock.

Making this will be a labor of love. You’re constantly ladling and stirring, so grab a glass of wine and don’t drift too far from the stove. It’ll be worth it, I promise!

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Eggplant and Bulgur Lasagna w/ Nutritional Yeast “Gratin”

A couple months ago, I devised a moderate cleanse meant to reset your eating habits and remind you how good you can feel when you eat clean, simple, real food. At the time one of my readers asked how they could incorporate nutritional yeast into the program. Say what? That was the first I’d heard of such a thing but I’m so grateful she brought it to my attention. Nutritional yeast is a complete protein and an excellent source of  B-complex vitamins, including B-12. It’s naturally low-fat and low-sodium. Best of all, this “Hippie Dust” gives recipes a creamy, nutty and cheesy flavor without sugar, dairy, or gluten. Vegans and the gluten-intolerant rejoice! So if you don’t know, now ya know.

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Knowing how good this stuff is for you, I wanted to come up with a recipe that would be so good it would convince you that something with a name like ‘nutritional yeast’ is actually delicious. Thus, Eggplant and Bulgur Lasagna w/ Nutritional Yeast “Gratin” was born. Okay, so it’s not really lasagna, nor is it topped with a true gratin, but it is a layered, warm, hearty meal with a tasty cheesy topping. Onto the recipe!

For starters, my HOMEMADE TOMATO SAUCE (which can be used in many things):

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What You’ll Need:

  • 1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 4 large fresh tomatoes, diced (skin on)
  • 1 tbs tomato paste
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1/2 tsp cane sugar (optional)*
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/4 tsp allspice
  • 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

How to Make It:

  1.  Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add your chopped onion (with a pinch of salt) and sauté until tender. Add the garlic and sauté another few minutes until fragrant. Pour in your dry white wine (it should bubble and hiss) and deglaze the bottom of the pan. 
  2. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar and spices. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer for 10-15 min. At the end add your parsley and turn off the heat. (You could also add fresh basil and/or oregano here if you’re a fan).

Now that you have that step out of the way, here’s what you’ll need for the rest of the “lasagna” fixings…

ROASTED EGGPLANT:

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What You’ll Need:

  • 1 large eggplant
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tbs olive oil

How to Make It:

  1. Preheat your oven to 450°F.
  2. Cut your eggplant lengthwise into six 1/4″ slices.
  3. Generously salt both sides of each piece and set aside for 10-15 min. This will help remove excess moisture and any bitterness.
  4. Rinse eggplant and pat dry.
  5. Using a nonstick baking sheet, distribute your eggplant in a single layer. Lightly salt and oil the pieces on both sides.
  6. Bake for 1o min, remove and set aside.

MAKING BULGUR:

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What You’ll Need:

  • 1 cup bulgur
  • 2 cups water

How to Make It:

  1. Bring 1 cup of bulgur and 2 cups of water to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 10-15 min.
  2. Remove from heat and set aside.

ASSEMBLING THE WHOLE SHEBANG: 

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In a large (9″ x 13″) baking dish, start with a thin layer of tomato sauce. Then add half of your cooked bulgur. Top the bulgur with three slices of roasted eggplant.

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Repeat, ending with whatever is left of your tomato sauce.

Finish with la pièce de résistance, the “Gratin” topping:

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What You’ll Need:

  • 1/2 cup Nutritional Yeast
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1/2 tsp paprika

How to Make It:

  1. Mix nutritional yeast and breadcrumbs in a bowl with salt and pepper to taste. 
  2. Sprinkle evenly over the top of your lasagna.
  3. Dust the “gratin” with paprika for a bright finishing touch.
  4. Cover the pan with tin foil and place in your oven (pre-heated to 350°F this time) for 30 min. Uncover and cook an additional 10 min. Let cool for at least 10 min before serving.

Top each serving with 2 tbs of fresh, chopped parsley for an added hit of flavor. This will keep in your fridge for up to a week and can also be frozen for up to a month. Enjoy!

*One of my brilliant fellow yogis who shares my passion for finding healthy alternatives to traditional meals suggested the following: “instead of cane sugar just add a whole carrot then remove it when you are done. It add sweetness to the sauce and cuts the acidity of the tomatoes just like sugar.”

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Baked Apple Chips w/ Cinnamon

Admittedly, a lot of the recipes I put on my blog are not the most simple of sorts. They have a lot of ingredients and if you don’t already love to cook, the multitude of steps might scare you off before you even try. This recipe for Baked Apple Chips with Cinnamon is truly E-A-S-Y. It’s just two simple ingredients and requires nothing more than a knife, oven and cookie sheet. If you have a mandoline (not to be confused with the mandolin), it’ll make your life even easier!

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Having recently started my Sports Nutrition and Performance degree, you know I have to drop some nutrition knowledge on my readers. To start with, apples–a superfood–are rich in a phytochemical called quercetin. Quercetin is a proven cancer preventative. Be sure to leave the skin on because the highest concentration of this good stuff is found right up under and within the skin. Apples are also a great source of dietary fiber and boron, a mineral that may reduce the risk of developing osteoarthritis and help decrease joint pain, swelling and stiffness.

Believe it or not, the real nutritional rock star of this combo might just be the cinnamon. If apples are a superfood, cinnamon is definitely a super-spice. First off, it has anti-inflammatory and anti-clotting properties. Little know fact, cinnamon helps fight against bacteria that can lead to yeast infections and ulcers. Cinnamon has also been found to lower bad cholesterol (LDL) and may be effective  against diabetes because it helps control glucose levels in the blood. Finally, cinnamon is a powerful antioxidant and interacts with proteins that regulate growth-promoting signals, thereby suppressing the growth of tumor cells. In a nutshell, it’s one hell of a natural remedy for a lot of degenerative diseases we all want to avoid.

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What You’ll Need:

  • 3 small or 2 large apples, cored and thinly sliced (I like Honey Crisps, sweet and tangy!)
  • Cinnamon to taste

How to Make Them:

  1. Preheat oven to 250 °F
  2. Use a mandolin to slice your apples 1/8″ thick (or do it the good old fashioned way with a knife)
  3. Using a nonstick cookie sheet (or lining a regular cookie sheet with parchment paper), lay out your apple slices
  4. Sprinkle with cinnamon
  5. Bake at 250 °F for 1 1/2 to 2 hours (depending on the oven). After 45 min to an hour, flip them so they’ll bake evenly. Be sure to check on them after 45 min and every 15 min after that because you don’t want to burn them
  6. Once they’re slightly crispy to the touch (but not burnt and brittle) remove them from the oven and allow to cool

The best part about this recipe?  It’ll make your kitchen smell like warm apple pie…mmmm.

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Sunday Spread: BBQ Pulled Chicken w/ Asian Broccoli Slaw & Kale Chips

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about my Jerk Chicken Sunday Spread. Well with NFL playoff season in full swing–GO PATS!–I decided y’all might enjoy another modified comfort food recipe, and one that will keep your guests happy and healthy. This Sunday Spread is tailgate-inspired with its sandwich, slaw and chip combo. The recipes are nutrient-dense and tasty as can be…leaving a little wiggle room for some of my signature perfect Manhattans (*insert devilish grin here*).

For starters, homemade BBQ sauce is the way to go. Not only do you know exactly what you’re eating and avoid a lot of preservatives, but you also get to control the acidity, sweetness and spice levels. At 32 g of lean protein per serving, the chicken in these sammys gives you a good dose of your recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of protein–which for adult women is 46 g and adult men 56 g. Cruciferous vegetables like the broccoli and kale used in these side dishes are packed with disease-fighting nutrients, including several carotenoids, vitamins C, E, and K, folate, and dietary fiber.

Get to cookin’ and enjoy this football-friendly Sunday spread, guilt-free!

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SLOW-COOKER BBQ PULLED CHICKEN

What You’ll Need:

  • 2 lbs chicken (about 4 chicken breasts or 5 chicken thighs)
  • 1 white onion, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3/4 cup all-natural ketchup
  • 1/4 cup sun-dried tomato paste
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tbs chili powder
  • 1 tbs brown sugar
  • 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp dry mustard
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 tsp allspice
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 6 whole wheat sandwich rolls

How to Make It:

  1.  Grab a mix bowl and combine the garlic, ketchup, tomato paste, vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, paprika, cumin, allspice and cinnamon. Give it a good whisk until smooth and well blended.
  2. Add your chicken breasts or thighs in a single layer at the bottom of your slow cooker. Sprinkle the diced onions evenly overtop. Pour your BBQ sauce mixture on top, cover and set heat to low. Let cook for 4-5 hours like this.
  3. Remove chicken from slow cooker. The chicken should be pretty much cooked-through, but now it’s time to shred. Using two forks, gently pull apart the chicken into stringy pieces and/or small chunks. Once you’ve shredded the lot, add it back to the sauce in your slow cooker and cook another 1-2 hours.

ASIAN BROCCOLI SLAW

What You’ll Need:

  • 1 package pre-shredded broccoli slaw mix (your could use the cole slaw mix here as a substitute or shred your own cabbage and carrots)
  • 2 tbs green onions, sliced thin
  • 2 tbs fresh cilantro, minced

For the dressing:

  • 2 tbs sesame oil
  • 2 tbs low sodium soy sauce
  • 2 tbs honey
  • 1 tbs rice vinegar
  • 1 tbs lemon juice
  • 1 tbs fresh ginger, grated

How to Make It:

  1.  Whisk all dressing ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Add slaw mix, green onions and cilantro. Toss together until well-coated and combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

BBQ-INSPIRED KALE CHIPS

What You’ll Need:

  •  1 head kale (whatever variety you like best)
  • 3 tbs olive oil
  • 1 tsp dry mustard
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp allspice
  • salt and pepper, to taste

How to Make Them:

  1. Pre-heat over to 300°F. Wash, stem and cut kale into bite size pieces.
  2. Toss kale and olive oil together in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle spices as evenly as possible over the kale then mix thoroughly with your hands, massaging the kale, for 1-2 min. 
  3. Place wire cooling racks on two cookie sheets. Spread coated kale leaves over both wire racks. (Note: the wire cooling racks allow heat to crisp the kale from top and bottom. Without this added elevation your chips will be soggy and oily.) Bake for 20-30 min depending on the oven. Keep an eye on them for the last 10 min or so to ensure they don’t burn.
  4. Remove from oven, flake them into a bowl and enjoy!
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Steady As She Goes

Life has recently lobbed a few lemons my way—a handful of issues in my new apt, boy trouble just when things were going so well, and a lovely bout of pink eye. Despite the dents in my otherwise very fortunate life, I’ve managed to respond with a good deal of resiliency–okay there was one sniffle-fest, but I fully attribute to exhaustion. You may think I’ve been drinking the Kool-Aid when I say this but I genuinely attribute my rapid bounce-back rate to my yoga practice.

No, I’m not in the camp that believes yoga is a panacea and that no matter how difficult life gets one can peacefully levitate in lotus position above it all. Let’s be real. Honestly? I feel rather shitty right now. Moving is stressful, heartache seriously hurts, and eye infections–well, goes without saying, they aren’t much fun. Yoga has taught me to acknowledge and embrace the highs as well as the lows in life. By cultivating self-awareness I’ve learned to welcome all feelings (shitty included), treat myself with kindness and compassion (especially when times get tough), and then Let It Go.

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Yoga comes from the root ‘yog’, which translated means to unite, merge or bring together. The ultimate goal of yoga (and several Eastern religions)—Samadhi—is all about emancipation from duality. Right versus wrong. Good versus evil. Happy versus sad. The list goes on. Yoga’s role is to bring these oppositions together, thereby ‘releasing’ you from your suffering. Truth be told though, I think it would be pretty boring if we didn’t get to experience the rise and fall of life’s mercurial waves.

The way I see it, yoga’s ultimate function is to restore balance to your life when events or emotions throw you off course. If your head and heart or mind and body fall out of sync, yoga can help repair those disconnections and make you feel whole again.

In life, we  often find that we’ve reached these incredible climaxes–a new love interest, amazing job opportunity, or an epic adventure. Unfortunately, there is almost always a flip side. When you’re floating on cloud nine, it’s all too easy to fall mercilessly.  So what then, when you’ve hit rock bottom? The only way up is to get your feet beneath you, root down, and rise until your sense of balance is restored. Contentment is found in that middle ground where reality meets fantasy, where the pragmatist and the dreamer meld. Think about when you’re at the beginning of your practice, standing grounded in tadasana (mountain pose), fingertips reaching up to the sky and you pull your hands down into prayer in front of your heart. You’re channeling those dual energies, root and rise, into one centered state of ease and serenity.

The challenge is to root without grasping, to rise without lifting off. But when you do find that balance, that sense of letting go, then you begin to see that the world around you is balanced too. That even on your  toughest days it is possible to see a cheery yellow iris in bloom (in January in DC no less!) and soften with a smile, or to thaw a frost-bitten heart by enjoying the simple pleasure of a yummy latte from your new local coffee spot.

Ah yes, everything will be okay.

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A Very Veggie-ful Frittata

I don’t know about you, but after what feels like 3 weeks of gluttony and (wonderful) indulgence, my body is beginning to rebel. Feed me veggies! It says with a pleading pout. Alas, another healthy recipe here to the rescue! Inspired by Martha Rose Shuman’s New York Times frittata recipe, I decided this was the perfect way to ease back into healthy eating. This is definitely guilt-free comfort food and a great way to get back on track without having to sacrifice on flavor and satisfaction. It makes for an easy supper or delicious brunch. Best of all, it’s packed with protein, nutrient-rich veggies, and fresh antioxidant-rich herbs–basil and parsley.

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What You’ll Need:

  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 2 shallots, minced
  • 1/2 yellow onion, diced
  • 2 large cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 cup of mushrooms, sliced (any variety you like)
  • 1 cup of zucchini, diced
  • 20 grape tomatoes, halved and seeded
  • 10 eggs
  • 1/4 cup fresh basil, shredded
  • 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, minced
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • 6 slices prosciutto (look for a low-sodium variety)

How to Make It:

  1.  Heat 1 tbs olive oil in a large nonstick and oven-safe frying pan over medium heat. Add shallots and onions, cooking 5-7 minutes or until tender. Add a small pinch of salt and your minced garlic. Stir another minute or so. 
  2. Add zucchini, mushrooms and tomatoes (with another small pinch of salt). Sauté another 5-7 min, or until zucchini and mushrooms are tender and tomatoes are soft. Remove from heat and set veggies aside in a bowl. Rinse and dry pan.
  3. Whisk your eggs with a couple tbs of water in a bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste, 1/2 the parsley and basil, and veggie mix.
  4. Heat 1 tbs olive oil in the same pan used before. Test to see if it’s ready by dropping a touch of egg in the pan–if it sizzles and cooks on the spot, you’re good to go. Add your egg mixture and give the pan a few swirls to distribute the veggies evenly. For the first 3-4 min, tilt the pan slightly while lifting the edges of the frittata with a spatula in your other hand a few times. This lets the egg run underneath and form a good firm base.
  5. Reduce heat to low and cover. Let cook for 10 min like this. Periodically, remove the cover to loosen the frittata with a spatula, preventing the bottom from burning.
  6. Remove the cover and fan 6 slices of prosciutto around the top of your  frittata. Finish it under the broiler for 3 min, keeping an eye on it so it doesn’t burn.
  7. Remove from oven and let sit for 5-10 min. Garnish with the remaining basil and parsley. And if you aren’t lactose-intolerant (like me) this would be amazing with your favorite shredded cheese on top.

Serve right out of the pan, rustic style, and enjoy!