One of my favorite cookbook authors from theppk.com says, “I could call these White Bean, Nectarine and Asparagus Lettuce Wraps With Edamame Pesto, but I’m afraid you’d fall asleep reading that!”

“Sometimes location just guides your hand in the kitchen. In the Northeast, I gravitate towards root vegetables, in California I sneak avocado into absolutely everything, and when I’m in the Pacific Northwest, a tiny fairy with stretched earlobes and full sleeves whispers in my ear, “Put some fruit in that.”  (Since I’m in California I give you permission to have your avocado and fruit both!  Break the rules!)”

“I’m like “Wha?! Fruit on my pizza? Fruit in my sausages? Fruit in my beans?” And the fairy is like “Yes, yes and yes!” And I’m like “What are you listening to?” (because she has an iPod shuffle on) and she’s like, “Nothing, you’ve never heard of it.” Then she brushes her black and white bangs out of her eyes.”

Click here for the full recipe…

The U.S. Department of Agriculture replaced their old school pyramid with the new MyPlate graphic.  The interweb is all abuzz like a kid in a candy store. Is this really that big of a deal? I wonder how much do people really turn to the government for this type of advice and how much this graphic will change the trend of increasing obesity and unhealthiness in general.  Is this possibly another band aid for a bigger problem?  Maybe we can consider what drives us and our kids to overeat in the first place?  The 2000-3000 marketing messages the average person sees/hears each day?  The stress of the “economy” or not being able to support oneself or ones family?  Big business agriculture and their constant agenda to keep turning profit?  The fact that ketchup is considered a vegetable in school lunches? Don’t get me wrong, I like the plate.  And I like ketchup. And cheese. Wait, I’m losing my train of thought here… the plate is actually how I try to eat in general, and it’s a pie graph, who doesn’t love a good pie?

Some organizations mention that MyPlate is at odds with agriculture subsidies that promote high-fat, high-calorie food products. It’s also at odds with the fact that fast foods, unhealthy foods, freaking taste good and we are human after all.

Interesting thoughts to say the least. I appreciate what Mrs. Obama is trying to accomplish in her fight against obesity and hope that this is a step in the right direction. Let’s hit farmers market this weekend, shall we? Eat some carrots and strawberries with your breakfast.

My favorite healthful meals.  This is my list of  “go-to” recipes that make eating healthier not feel like eating cardboard, but feel like eating morsels of heaven.  Inspired by my friend “Caldeiri” and the infinite other people out there who try to change their eating habits for the better and also try to get their partners or the people around them to do so as well.

If your friend or partner who really loves meat or cheese starts to lose it and starts muttering something about “the evil baby corn”, or something along those lines, don’t make them hate veggies forever!   I advise adding cheese or avocado to save the day!  Baby steps my friends, baby steps.

1. Crock Pot Beans – It’s so easy and cheap to make your own beans. I use this recipe and immediately use some in a soup or salad, and freeze the rest in one cup servings to use in place of canned beans or as emergency bean burritos for lunch when I haven’t grocery shopped. Soak a bag (pound) of beans (black or pinto are my faves) in cold water in the fridge overnight. In the morning drain and rinse the beans. Add them to the crock pot, covered with about an inch or two of water. Add one onion peeled and quartered, two cloves garlic peeled and crushed, two bay leaves, lots of cumin (a few tablespoons). Cook on high all day (6-8 hrs). At the end of the day you come home to yumminess. Serve with rice and cilantro and whatever fits your fancy.
2. Butternut Squash Risotto – You can omit the parmesan to make it vegan, but this is my favorite way to use a butternut squash, leftovers are great, wonderful main dish not focused on meat. I also suggest not omitting the white wine or butter, I often use two buck chuck or whatever I have, but if you omit the wine the final product suffers.
3. Esalen Kale Salad – I have fallen in love with kale recently. This salad has led to my demise. Lovely the way it is, but is also fine with substitutions.  I like to add beans to make it more of a meal.
4. Lentil Stew – This stew is a favorite for winter, also freezes well. I found it in a magazine a long time ago, and have been making it for years. My first veggie meal before I even knew what a veggie was.
5. White Bean Kale Soup – Just found this one to fulfill my kale obsession. Good and simple and has lent itself well to my “whatever’s leftover from farmers” kind of cooking.
6. Khichadi – My favorite easy, healthy, lunch meal. Love it with peas, lemon pepper, feta. Also good with lentils and shows up in a many cookbooks and mulajara or something like that.
7. Minestrone – A great basic soup recipe, you could make it with whatever you wanted and I have used this as a template for many variations. I have added veggie sausage, omitted/added pasta, added different beans, veggies, parmesan, avocado chunks you name it. Everyone I’ve served it to loves it too. If you haven’t noticed, I love stews that are more of a meal, like they used to say in Chunky Soup commercials. Screw buying them canned though, homemade is so much better!
8. Black Bean Quinoa Salad – (This recipe and the following are from my favorite cookbook ever, the Veganomicon) I use this as a staple recipe. I use whatever beans I have on hand, whatever grain I have on hand (usually rice or quinoa). It’s really simple and tasty. Even better with avocado.
9. Mac Daddy – Vegan mac and cheese? Yes. It’s good. Try it.
10. Scrambled Tofu – This is actually better than scrambled eggs because it gets better leftover. A few slices of avocado, roasted potatoes, and you’ve got a pretty good breakfast burrito.
11. Vegetable Korma – This is a bonus recipe. It’s the best vegetable curry I’ve ever made. It’s not exactly “light” but it’s vegan. So good. Try it if you like Indian food or curry. I’d say it’s more of a weekend meal, it took me 1.5 hours to make it from start to finish, but the leftovers were even better. Great for potlucks.

Comments? Suggestions? What are your favorite recipes, veggie or not?

What is a cleanse? It is taking the opportunity to clean your insides and give your digestion and major organs a break from the constant onslaught of crap by eating cleaner, maybe less processed, lighter diet, or eating more veggies and fruits, Mother Earth’s Natural Detoxifiers and Medicine.  I don’t know about you, but I want to live until I’m 100, practicing yoga and riding my bike until the end.  I want to do what I can to live my life to the fullest and I feel like that starts with what I put in my mouth, as it so directly relates to how I feel and my health.  I’m not sure western medicine, doctors and insurance companies as we know them, will be able to save us from degenerative diseases.  They’re not right now.  I want to do what I can to prevent these diseases and I think Mother Nature has provided us a little support in doing so with her luscious bounty.  Ok, I’ll get off my soap box now.  I just thought I’d share all this for those who are interested.  Feel free to stop now before you succumb to my ramblings any further!  Stay tuned for next weeks episode.  I’m sure it’ll be less soap-boxy, more roxy-boxy.

• Do you want to? Seriously? Why?  Think about these things before you jump on this train.  Because you’ll need to remember it on the day you feel like shit.  Yea, there will be at least one of those days.
• If you’re doing it because you don’t like the way you look, you might want to reconsider.
• Eating is a must. Fasting is for the birds.
• Ease your way into it. Don’t expect to go from walking to running overnight. Your first try at detoxing or cleansing might be to just give up something that you tend to overindulge in for a few days. Then maybe longer. If you’re into Ayurveda you might go for a short khichadi cleanse. Only move on to more challenging cleanses or detoxes when you are truly comfortable with the previous one. For many people eating a clean, vegan diet without processed foods is just too challenging and different than what they’re used to.
• Get support. I have tried juice fasting, no carbs, competing with my boyfriend, you name it, but only when I did my first group cleanse was I able to stick to it and realize the benefits that I didn’t even think I needed. Get a nutritionist or an ayurvedic specialist to help you with your first efforts. Even better, get a friend to join you.
• Don’t be such a hard ass. If you don’t like something about your cleanse, change it. That doesn’t mean you should just jump ship and eat the first pizza you stumble upon. If you don’t like khichadi, eat a different bean, grain, veggie with your own spices. If something is really grossing you out, or really pissing you off, don’t do it. But before you jump ship think about what you can do that will still be nourishing and healthful and allow you to keep aligned with your goals of cleansing.
• Soup is salvation. Avocado is dreamy. Rice cakes aren’t just diet food. Veggies will become sparkly again.

My Results After 14 Days…
My skin is clearer and more radiant, I lost 5 pounds and 5 inches from my body, my digestion feels great and more consistent, my chronic sinus induced sore throat is gone, no cravings for crap UNLESS I go too long without eating or have other stress on my plate. It was very enlightening to notice that I crave lower quality foods when I’m stressed, or when I don’t plan well. It was also a great surprise that my throat feels so much better. I have had a chronically hoarse voice for the last two years and have had a difficult time figuring out why. All of these things I didn’t realize were problematic until I felt what it is like to be free of them.

My meditation practice felt easy and my mind more clear.  The internal and mental benefits are not to be ignored.  I feel more at ease in my life.  I’m not letting the little things get me down.

The jury is still out as to whether I really needed to lose any weight in the first place. We’ll see how much my “pleasurable 5 pounds” stay off and how much my eating habits change over the long term. I suppose even this is a baby step in the right direction. It’s been a week so far, I have not had a problem eating three meals a day, smaller portions, and am eating more fruits and veggies and minimizing cheese and wheat. I haven’t even brought cheese into the house yet. Now, that’s a true feat that’s bound to end sooner rather than later.

If you want to know exactly what I did to reap these benefits, see the resources below. I participated in the Longer Cleanse with Dr. John Douillard, an Ayurvedic Practitioner and Chiropractor based in Boulder, Colorado, land of No-Gluten as he describes it.

Resources

Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook

Vegan with a Vegence

The New Detox Diet: The Complete Guide for Lifelong Vitality With Recipes, Menus, and Detox Plans

A Short Ayurvedic Home Cleanse

A Longer Ayurvedic Cleanse

My favorite healthy recipe

My favorite vegan(ish) meals

Yet, amidst what could have built into a stressed out roxtar, there were some great moments too. I got to say a final goodbye to my grandmother before she passed away. I got to be with my family during a difficult loss. I spent 2 days breathing in the fresh, clean mountain air in Colorado. I enjoyed dinner with friends, working with inspirational yogis, and practicing yoga on my travel mat. I saw an Elk. There’s always the other side of the coin, eh?

I have decided that my next “career” step should be to complete my 200 hour yoga certification with Shiva Rea. I have already studied 100 hours with her, and she is the kind of teacher that rocks my world, that takes me outside of my box every time I practice with her, that inspires me to be more than just a yoga teacher, but a living embodiment of something sweeter. I have to read 6 books, practice with her for 180 hours, and record 30 minutes of a class. I look forward to becoming a better teacher.

Wait, I have so much to say! I have also found renewed love for Kitcheree recently. Now that fall has landed, SLO is seeing it’s first rain in 9 months, my body is loving this warming, balanced dish. I shall remind you of it’s simplicity. If you work in the MINDBODY office and have wondered what that glorious aroma coming from the kitchen is every Monday, look no further.

Roxtar Lunchtime Khichdi (Kitcheree) Recipe
Yummy, heatlhy, ancient Indian comfort food. Who wants Lipton rice packets, Ramen noodles, or other instant food when you can make this? I make little dry packets of this and leave it in my office for those days when I don’t bring lunch. If you can’t cook at work, it’s a great dinner that turns into lunch leftovers kind of meal.

Prep Time: 0 min
Cook Time: 25 min
Ready In: 25 min
Yields: 1-2 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup white basmati rice
1/4 cup lentils (split mung beans are good too)
1/2 veggie bouillon cube, preferably the sea salt variety
1 tsp to 2 tbsp dry ginger root (latter amount if high pitta)
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves, italian seasoning, braggs dry seasoning
1/4 tsp ground cumin
pinch fennel seeds
dash powdered garlic (omit if high pitta)
+/- 2 cups H2O (at cooking time)
(optional) random veggies scrounged up from wherever you can find them

DIRECTIONS:
1. Put all dry ingredients in a cute little baggie. Tie the top in a knot. Hide it in your desk or cupboard for future consumption.
2. When ready to chow down, add 2 cups water, bring to boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered. As rice and beans are cooking, chop and add veggies such as carrots, zucchini, broccoli, if you have these goodies around. I use this as my opportunity to eat the leftovers from my weekly veggie farm share.
2. Cook for approximately 20 minutes, until most of the liquid is absorbed but the consistency is smooth, not mushy and sticky.
3. When done, take the pot of of heat and add ghee (clarified butter), or whatever butter like product you eat, salt, braggs liquid amino acids to taste. I like garlic pepper, or lemon pepper too.

FOOTNOTES:
Adding 1 cup of frozen peas right at the end of cooking is really good. I like to top it with a bit of feta and eat it with pita and hummus. I have also seen it made with fresh cilantro. Yum.

Also known as kitcheree, this yummy, heatlhy, ancient Indian comfort food heals the digestive system. It is often used in Ayurveda (yogic nutrition) to help cleanse the body with the changing of the seasons. Who wants Lipton rice packets, Ramen noodles, or other instant food when you can make something that tastes better and is good for you, just as easily? I make little dry packets of this and leave it in my office for those days when I don’t bring lunch. I also cook it when I travel, on a hotplate in my hotel rooms.  If you can’t cook at work, it’s a great dinner that turns into lunch leftovers kind of meal.

Prep Time: 0 min
Cook Time: 25 min
Ready In: 25 min
Yields: 1-2 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup white basmati rice
1/4 cup lentils (split mung beans are great too, ideal for cleansing, get ‘em at the SLO Co-Op)
1/2 veggie bouillon cube, preferably the sea salt variety
1 tsp to 2 tbsp dry ginger root
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves, italian seasoning, braggs dry seasoning
1/4 tsp ground cumin
pinch fennel seeds
dash powdered garlic (omit if high pitta)
+/- 2 cups H2O (at cooking time)
(optional) random veggies scrounged up from wherever you can find them

DIRECTIONS:
1. Put all dry ingredients in a cute little baggie. Tie the top in a knot. Hide it in your desk or cupboard for future consumption.
2. When ready to chow down, add 2 cups water, bring to boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered. As rice and beans are cooking, chop and add veggies such as carrots, zucchini, broccoli, if you have these goodies around. I use this as my opportunity to eat the leftovers from my weekly veggie farm share.
2. Cook for approximately 20-25 minutes, until most of the liquid is absorbed but the consistency is smooth, not mushy and sticky.
3. When done, take the pot of of heat and add ghee (clarified butter), or whatever butter like product you prefer, salt, braggs liquid amino acids to taste. I like garlic pepper, or lemon pepper too.

FOOTNOTES:
Adding 1 cup of frozen peas right at the end of cooking is really good. I like to top it with a bit of feta and eat it with pita and hummus. I have also seen it made with fresh cilantro.

Another variation: substitute nutmeg or something similar for the cumin and add cubed squash right at the beginning of cooking (I added half of a small butternut squash, peeled and diced, about 1 cup).