Posts In: good health

from Kirstin Green

Looking for the perfect meal to complement your yoga practice? Maybe you just need a jolt of inspiration for the weekday dinner line-up. May we suggest…

Cucumber-Avocado Salad with Carrot-Ginger Dressing

Sometimes, it is all about the presentation! Enjoy this bright, colorful, fresh, raw, vegan salad on a hot summer day.

SALAD
1 1/2 lbs cucumber (I used a very long one from the garden)
1 avocado
2 green onions
pinch or two of sesame seeds

DRESSING
2 small carrots (about 3 ounces)
1 tablespoon white onion
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon fresh ginger (about 1 inch, peeled)
1 tablespoon miso
1 teaspoon maple syrup
1/4 cup rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup neutral oil (I prefer avocado oil)

Combine all ingredients for the dressing in a blender and whirl at high speed until very smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your preferences.

Cut the cucumber lengthwise in half, and then quarters. Cut into bite sized pieces and put in a bowl with about 1/3 cup of the dressing. Toss to coat. Move these onto a beautiful plate or platter.

Cut the avocado in half and scoop the flesh out in one piece from the peel. Slice thinly and use your hand to press the slices into a fan on the cutting board. Slide a knife or spatula under the avocado fan to carefully move it on top of the dressed cucumber.

Sprinkle sliced green onions over the top of the cucumbers and avocado. Finish with sesame seeds and some nice salt. Serve, and enjoy!

(Alternatively, chop up the avocado, toss with the cucumbers and dressing, and eat right out of the mixing bowl!)

Kirstin Green is a former restaurateur and an avid home cook with a long-standing connection to the Yoga One family. After completing the 200 hour YTT back in 2008, she created several mosaic art pieces for the downtown studio. She is well traveled and committed to living a life filled with sensory and aesthetic beauty, filling her days with gardening, art-making, baking and cooking. These days, she is shaping a new career in Expressive Arts Therapy with a special focus on the art of food.

from Kirstin Green

Looking for the perfect meal to complement your yoga practice? Maybe you just need a jolt of inspiration for the weekday dinner line-up. May we suggest…

Jackfruit Tacos
This recipe was adapted from Vegan Huggs 

2 tablespoons oil
1 small onion, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 14 oz cans young jackfruit in water or brine, rinsed and drained well
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano or Italian seasoning 
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Salt, to taste
1 cup vegetable broth
Corn tortillas
Sliced avocado
Shredded cabbage
Salsa Crema or plain yogurt
Anything you like on a taco!

Shred the jackfruit in a food processor. Pulse a few times to get a “shredded meat” texture. Don’t over pulse or it will be mushy. If you don’t have a food processor, you can chop the jackfruit up by hand. 

Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 30-60 seconds until fragrant. Add the tomato paste and cook for a couple of minutes, until it darkens a little bit. Add the spices and sauté for another minute until fragrant. Add the shredded jackfruit and sauté for about 3 minutes.  
Pour in the vegetable broth and simmer until the liquid has cooked down completely, about 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add more if needed. Remove from heat. 

Warm up your corn tortillas in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook for 30 seconds on each side. Build tacos to your taste. I made a quick pickle relish with green beans, fresh corn, shallots and jalapeños and it was delicious on the tacos!

Kirstin Green is a former restaurateur and an avid home cook with a long-standing connection to the Yoga One family. After completing the 200 hour YTT back in 2008, she created several mosaic art pieces for the downtown studio. She is well traveled and committed to living a life filled with sensory and aesthetic beauty, filling her days with gardening, art-making, baking and cooking. These days, she is shaping a new career in Expressive Arts Therapy with a special focus on the art of food.

from Kirstin Green

Looking for the perfect meal to complement your yoga practice? Maybe you just need a jolt of inspiration for the weekday dinner line-up. May we suggest…

If you haven’t heard of or tried aquafaba, this is a great chance to do so! It might seem strange to use the liquid from a can of chickpeas as an emulsifying agent but I promise it works and creates a creamy texture with no nuts, seeds, or dairy. This recipe was adapted from Save the Food.

1/4 cup aquafaba (chickpea liquid)
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup vegetable oil (such as grapeseed)
1/2 cup fresh parsley and chives
1 tsp dried dill
1 lemon, juiced

In a blender, add the aquafaba and cream of tartar. Blend, gradually increasing speed for about 1 minute. Add the mustard, garlic, onion powder, salt and pepper. With blender on low speed, slowly stream in oil until thickened. Pulse in herbs and lemon.

Try it over your favorite salad, with a plate of crudités, or drizzled over a goddess bowl of rice and veggies. Enjoy!

Kirstin Green is a former restaurateur and an avid home cook with a long-standing connection to the Yoga One family. After completing the 200 hour YTT back in 2008, she created several mosaic art pieces for the downtown studio. She is well traveled and committed to living a life filled with sensory and aesthetic beauty, filling her days with gardening, art-making, baking and cooking. These days, she is shaping a new career in Expressive Arts Therapy with a special focus on the art of food.

from Kirstin Green

Looking for the perfect meal to complement your yoga practice? Maybe you just need a jolt of inspiration for the weekday dinner line-up. May we suggest…

Creamy Hemp Seed Salad Dressing (base recipe)

2 TBS hemp seeds
1/4 cup lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
1/8 cup fresh orange juice (optional)
1/2 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic
Salt & black pepper to taste

Using a blender, combine ingredients together until creamy. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach desired consistency. 

Variations (add to base recipe before blending)

Cilantro-Lime: 1 bunch cilantro, sub lime juice for the lemon juice (toss a jalapeno in too, if that’s your jam)

Honey-Mustard: 1 tablespoon each of dijon mustard and honey

Herb-Ranch: one bunch of parsley, 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Umami-Ginger: sub sesame oil for olive oil, 1 teaspoon miso or soy sauce for salt, and a nob of ginger

Roasted Garlic: if you’ve got roasted garlic laying around, toss a bunch of that in there. (omit the fresh garlic) It’s off the hook.

Basil-Tomato: 1/2 cup fresh basil, and 1/2 cup fresh tomato

Kirstin Green is a former restaurateur and an avid home cook with a long-standing connection to the Yoga One family. After completing the 200 hour YTT back in 2008, she created several mosaic art pieces for the downtown studio. She is well traveled and committed to living a life filled with sensory and aesthetic beauty, filling her days with gardening, art-making, baking and cooking. These days, she is shaping a new career in Expressive Arts Therapy with a special focus on the art of food.

from Kirstin Green

Looking for the perfect meal to complement your yoga practice? Maybe you just need a jolt of inspiration for the weekday dinner line-up. May we suggest…

Game Changing Grilled Kale

I cannot stress enough how much I love this stuff.  Dress it up or eat it straight off the stems with your hands, oil dripping down your chin. I don’t really want to eat kale any other way these days. This recipe’s chewy, smoky, juiciness satisfies me at a very primal level.

Plan on one bunch of kale per person. You’ll want to fire up your barbecue for this one.

1 bunch of kale (curly is awesome but any will work)
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup oil (avocado, sunflower, olive are my faves)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 lemon

Wash, drain and place the kale in a large bowl. In a blender, blend the garlic, oil, pepper and salt together. Pour over the kale and toss to coat.

Over low heat, place the kale leaves on the grill. Cook for a couple of minutes and flip, and cook for a couple of more minutes on the other side, until the leaves are soft and edges starting to char just a little bit. Don’t over-grill, as the burnt ones aren’t as awesome to eat.

Remove from the grill. Squeeze lemon juice over leaves and go to town.

This recipe originally published at KirstinGreen.com

Kirstin Green is a former restaurateur and an avid home cook with a long-standing connection to the Yoga One family. After completing the 200 hour YTT back in 2008, she created several mosaic art pieces for the downtown studio. She is well traveled and committed to living a life filled with sensory and aesthetic beauty, filling her days with gardening, art-making, baking and cooking. These days, she is shaping a new career in Expressive Arts Therapy with a special focus on the art of food.

from Jackie Liu

Looking for the perfect meal to complement your yoga practice? Maybe you just need a jolt of inspiration for the weekday dinner line-up. May we suggest…

Sweet Coconut Black Rice & Beans

• 1 cup black rice (also known as forbidden rice)
• 1 can full fat coconut milk**not the stuff that comes in a carton
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 can aduki beans, (also known as adzuki, azuki, or red beans)
• 3 Tbs maple syrup (or any sweetener you like)
• 1/4 tsp salt **omit if your can of beans are salted
• optional: for more protein, add 1/3 cup quinoa to the rice (before cooking) and up the water to a total of 2 cups. 

Pour the whole can of coconut milk into a pot. Add the rice and water (plus quinoa, if using), and stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then cover and simmer for about an hour, or until the liquid is mostly gone. Make sure to give it a good stir every now and then to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom. Don’t worry if it does, it’ll unstick itself when you add the beans. 

While the rice is cooking, drain and rinse your beans, but KEEP THE JUICE! Heat up the juice so it’s warm to the touch. Add 1Tbs maple syrup and then add the beans back to the juice and stir. Let those soak until the rice is done. 

When most of the liquid is gone from the rice pot, remove from heat. Stir in the beans plus the juice and add the remaining maple syrup and salt. The moisture from the bean juice will help free the sticky bits from the bottom of the pot. 

Serve warm or cold. Top with almond milk or more coconut milk, hemp seeds, chia seeds, fruit, more sweetener, whatever you like!

Jackie Liu 

Jackie’s relationship with yoga began in 2008 but it wasn’t firmly planted until 2018 when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. The practice of syncing breath with movement helped quiet her mind and soothe her body. She recently completed the Yoga One 200-hour Teacher Training and wants to use yoga to create positive change and serve as many humans as possible. Outside of yoga she is a self-proclaimed snack expert, and writes about food and cancer for fun: https://tinyletter.com/JackieLiu/

by Laura McCorry

When my military husband was deployed, I kept a list on a whiteboard of things I could do to boost my spirits when I was feeling down and lonely. Some were aimed at fostering good mental health, like connecting with other people, while some were simply indulgent treats I was giving myself pre-permission to have and enjoy.

I highly encourage everyone to make your own list and keep it handy! It doesn’t matter if you’re going through the toughest season of your life or if you feel on top of the world –

No matter who you are, no matter what’s going on, you are here and you are deserving of love, especially from yourself!

Here are some suggestions if I had to re-write the list today:

1. Call a friend
2. Buy a treat at a bakery
3. Go for a walk
4. Get a massage
5. Take a yoga class
6. Make a coffee date
7. Make a wine date
8. Write a letter
9. Make a pot of tea
10. Be a tourist in your own town
11. Go outside
12. Visit a state park
13. Video chat with family
14. Make art
15. Read a book
16. Go to a museum
17. Listen to music
18. Meditate
19. Start a gratitude journal

Laura McCorry
Contributing Writer

Yoga and Laura had an on-again-off-again relationship from 2004 until 2009 when they decided to move in together and there’s been no looking back since. Passionate about both yoga and writing, Laura loves to introduce others to the joys and benefits of yoga and healthy living.

Contact: laura(AT)yogaonesandiego(DOT)com