I don’t know who needs to hear this, but I love Caesar dressing and just to be clear the roasted garlic is the ultimate game changer! To make this salad even more next level, char your romaine! I know, I know…weird. Romaine lettuce can handle it. It’s not a baby lettuce and it doesn’t have fragile leaves. Romaine is a “hold your own” type of lettuce and can handle heat and grill lines. Romaine is tough! Trust the process!

To prep your lettuce, I cut it in half lengthwise and soak and carefully scrub very well. I will repeat up to 3 times depending on how dirty the lettuce is. Next, you will need to dry cut side down while you prep your dressing.

This dressing is so garlicky and cheesy and so delicious! It’s time to get into pungent salty dressings to level up your salad dishes! I’ve been wanting all the fresh bitter lettuces and spring greens. Spring is a great time to be alive!

You can use fresh garlic, but I would use 2 – 3 cloves because it’s not cooked and more pungent. Unless you like that. Go for it! I love garlic too! Just make enough to share cause garlic breath likes a crowd!

Add to blender:

1 whole bulb of roasted garlic, cloves separated from peels. I squeeze them out.

2 tsp. anchovy paste or 5-6 anchovy fillets.

2 tsp. worchestershire sauce

1 juiced lemon or 2 T.

¼ grated parm

2 egg yolks

1 T. Dijon mustard

Salt & pepper per taste

Turn on blender and slowly add ¼ – ½ C neutral oil i.e. canola, vegetable

It will be thick and you can add water if you like it thinner and taste again for salt and pepper.

I will lightly spray oil on the cut side of my romaine and grill for a few minutes on the cut side only. You can use bagged croutons or toss bread cubes in oil and garlic and toast in the oven or airfryer.

Take your romaine half and schmear your dressing on generously or as lightly as you like and top with crunchy croutons.

Enjoy!!

**Take note with how you feel and journal. Remember food is an experience and taste is so super important. If you don’t like an ingredient I shared then replace it with your favorite(s). Food is personal and if you can tweak this to fit your tastes then I have done my job. I love to share my experiences and most importantly if what I’m eating will pay me and my body back with health and nourishment then I will try it all!**

This information is for education purposes, and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Life Asanas and Pranayama Mama recommends that you consult with a qualified healthcare professional before using any recommended herbal products, particularly if you take other medications, or if you are nursing, pregnant, or expecting to become pregnant.

Photographs are created by Life Asanas and Pranayama Mama.

When I think of Spring, I see green and smell life emerging from the long, winter slumber. This is the perfect time to forage nettles and get them processed for a steamy, comforting bowl of soup. This is a great season to get in the grassy, slightly peppery, leafy greens. It is amazing that nature grows something so amazing and tasty right outside your front door without even needing to plant it yourself.  

Soup is my Spring comfort nourishment. I would have to say it’s one of my favorite dinner meals before my yoga practice. There are so many vitamins and nutrients in this one delicious bowl. It’s ok to sip your daily vitamins and be enveloped in peacefulness, knowing your body is being healed from the inside out. 

I’m going to be 1,000% transparent and this soup definitely tastes “green”. I love this soup because its fresh green taste dances on my tongue. But, if you love anything else like bacon, green onion, cheese, potatoes…the world is the limit! Add it! Make it your own. I merely provided a backdrop for your artistic creations. 

Meet my recipe of a living soup. What is a living soup, you ask? It is a soup using more living ingredients vs processed, unknown ingredients. I add fresh picked nettles, kale, and fresh picked spring onions. There is a lot of protein added from the soaked brown lentils as well as the nettles. This soup is a powerhouse of nourishment your body needs. 

As far as flavor goes, the charred spring onions bring a depth of smokiness to the soup. I like to add lentils to contribute to the creaminess, but you can also use butter beans. I brighten the living soup with a generous splash of lemon juice.  

This soup has a touch of all six tastes in Ayurveyda so you will be satiated by the flavors. Nettles are astringent, bitter, sweet, and salty. Kale is bitter and the spring onions are pungent. I add lemon juice to add sour. What a flavor explosion! Daily soup vitamins to get your body prepared for Summertime 😊  

Recipe: 

2 C. nettles 

2 C. kale 

1 bunch spring onions, charred 

1 bulb roasted garlic 

3/4 C. soaked brown lentils 

3 C. onion broth (simmer 4 C. water with spring onions for 45 minutes) 

Juice of 1 lemon or 2 T. lemon juice. 

Add kale, nettles, and charred onions to a blender and add water, garlic and lentils in batches with the onion broth until well blended and smooth. Then add lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 6 servings.

Enjoy!

**Take note with how you feel and journal. Remember food is an experience and taste is so super important. If you don’t like an ingredient I shared then replace it with your favorite(s). Food is personal and if you can tweak this to fit your tastes then I have done my job. I love to share my experiences and most importantly if what I’m eating will pay me and my body back with health and nourishment then I will try it all!**

This information is for education purposes, and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Life Asanas and Pranayama Mama recommends that you consult with a qualified healthcare professional before using any recommended herbal products, particularly if you take other medications, or if you are nursing, pregnant, or expecting to become pregnant.

Photographs are created by Life Asanas and Pranayama Mama.

If you forage it and whirl it in your blender with roasted garlic and pan roasted walnuts, they will come. You can stir it with noodles, add to eggs for omelets, or smear on crunchy sprouted toast and top with an egg and some microgreens 🙂 Yum-O!

There are tons of benefits with nettles. They are a powerhouse punch of nutrients, purifies blood and flushes toxins among many other amazing benefits. I got caught up in these benefits and they are my “why”. You definitely want to get an expert’s advice on where to forage for them or identification.

I would say that nettles taste like spinach. If you love spinach then these powerful friends will be a great accessory to your salad, smoothie, soup, tea, or pesto. Don’t forget they need to be placed in boiling water up to 90 seconds and immediately placed in an ice bath. Because they are blanched the bright green color should stay strong for a while although with any vegetation the sooner you eat it the more nutrients you receive. I would also consider tincturing this over the growing season.

Recipe:

1. 1 small bulb roasted garlic or 2 T. Slice off top of garlic bulb and add 1 tsp oil, salt & pepper and cover in foil and bake 30 – 40 min @ 350 degrees or 20 min in airfryer.
2. 1 C. prepared nettles Clean nettles and add to boiling water up to 90 seconds, immediately place in ice bath to completely stop cooking process.
3. 1/4 C. toasted walnuts Add to hot, dry pan on the stove 5 min or less. As soon as you smell the walnuts take them out.
4. 2 T – 1/4 C. Nutritional yeast or parmesan (I love my nooch!)
5. 1 T. Summer savory herb or any herb you love!
6. 1 – 4 T. drizzled olive oil (I typically use 1 T. and add 1 – 2 T water)

Add all 1st five ingredients to a food processor, blender, or mortar and pestle. Mix well and slowly drizzle in olive oil to taste. Add water if you want to thin it out more. Keep it chunkier if you prefer. Salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy! I love mine on toasted brioche with an over medium egg and some fresh farmers market sprouts. Yum yum! I cannot wait for you to try it and share your favorite way to eat it!

**Take note with how you feel and journal. Remember food is an experience and taste is so super important. If you don’t like an ingredient I shared then replace it with your favorite(s). Food is personal and if you can tweak this to fit your tastes then I have done my job. I love to share my experiences and most importantly if what I’m eating will pay me and my body back with health and nourishment then I will try it all!**

This information is for education purposes, and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Life Asanas and Pranayama Mama recommends that you consult with a qualified healthcare professional before using any recommended herbal products, particularly if you take other medications, or if you are nursing, pregnant, or expecting to become pregnant.

Photographs are created by Life Asanas and Pranayama Mama.

I survived the week! I have found that my some of my daily practice changes dramatically when I’m outside of my safe environment I’ve been busy creating. I am paying for my decisions of later, heavier dinners and lack of yoga and meditation. I am not upset about it but glad for the experience so now I can tweak my habits to continue my journey of a better life and mindset. A lot of learning going on here!  

I have plans to make nettle & kale soup for my weekly lunch or dinner. I bought all my salad items as well and plan to prep them later today so I can just sprinkle them on my salad throughout the week. This’ll guarantee I have “fast food” to keep me going. I don’t tend to snack but if I do get snacky I will indulge on apples or kombucha. Apples are “drying” to my Kapha dosha and only help me be balanced. 

I woke up this morning to one of my favorite non fruit breakfasts, garlic nettle pesto toast with an over medium egg and lots of pepper (CLICK HERE for RECIPE)! I added savory I got from the local farmers market, and this is a must try! Make sure to boil your cleaned nettles for 30 – 90 seconds (about 1 and a half minutes) to ensure the sting is removed and safe to eat.  

I have been training from Youtube on Wim Hof breathing techniques. I am interested in all the benefits of this guided breathing practice. You can see HERE. It’s breathing in through your nose and exhaling through your mouth 30 times in a controlled technique and holding your breath up to 1 ½ minutes. Those numbers make me intimidated to hold my breath for so long. Can I? Will I pass out? All the thoughts. Mind over matter or am I setting myself up for failure? It’s so crazy how much I tend to stand in my way and convince my being it cannot do the said feat. That I will lose and do not even try. I know this is not my truth. I’m still in infancy but the benefits of increased energy and reduced stress levels I have felt keep me curious and coming back.  

Meditation is my connection back to myself. I find that resetting my inner and outer self is something I should practice morning and night. I prefer to do a guided meditation off the Insight app and as I get more consistent, I will work on my focus of quiet mediation. That requires a lot of focus on my breath to keep my mind grounded. The goal is to slip in between sleep and consciousness. I have been here before a few times and my smart watch shows I’m in light sleep. Pretty cool! 

There are a lot of tweaks I’d like to attempt this week, but I will take this slow. It’s not a race for me and the learning process is the most important and what works for me may not work for you. For me, intermittent fasting from 5pm – 10 am works well with my body. It may not work for you, but practice make perfect. Be transparent with yourself. This is your journey and so personal. 

If you are looking for a nutrient dense flavor packed lunch/dinner for this week, please try my nettle kale soup. It’s oniony with my spring onions (freshly picked), slightly grassy from the nettles and a nice roasted cruciferous taste in the background from kale. I will share my recipe on Tuesday. In the meantime, try my Garlic Nettle Pesto. I enjoy it on toast, but you can toss it with salad or mix with pasta and/or veggies. Yum yum!

Take in every breath with purpose and stand strong. I find that if I start out with expectations every week, I hold myself accountable. I might not always prevail but if I am doing my practice more days than not, I am winning. If I find where I went wrong, I can practice keeping on track by being aware of the triggers. This is a life change so remember that and give yourself all the grace. It’s fun to check in each week and relearn how to be accepting and proud of all I did do the past week. I have come so far and it’s not for nothing. Just breathe….

Namaste, friends!

All artwork created by Amaia.

All pictures by Lenape Spiritual Yogi Awakened.

Happy Sunday, friends! 

What a beautiful beginning to April as I bask in the sun writing my third blog. This has been a week full of busy! I’m itching for human interactions outside in the glorious, Spring weather. I’m also beginning my garden plans this weekend and working on some projects in the yard.  I am in a privileged place of peace, love, and tranquility at this moment so I will soak it all in because who knows what tomorrow will bring. Am I right?

I’m Spring cleaning my mind and relationship with food and hunger starting Monday. My goal is to get my digestion and mind reset and ready for my favorite season, Summer! In my Ayurveda class, we are learning to listen to our bodies and trust information we have within ourselves. That means all my tracking I do to sleep, walk, exercise, etc. I am unplugging from. I feel an odd sense of sadness and I’m super curious as to why. Off the top of my head, I think it’s because I use the tools to hold me accountable. I also just freed up 30 minutes of my day that I spend tracking so I can spend it on something else. 

I will also be eating a more mono diet these next few weeks. Not quite boring, but I’ll make a bigger batch of foods that I can eat throughout my week for lunch/dinner. I’ll be preparing my body for my upcoming 24 hour fast. Nothing sensational will be happening over here as far as my tastebuds are concerned. But still, I will journal all the feelings as I tend to my digestion and clear out any undigested foods. Undigested foods lie on your tongue as well, so scrape that flapper in your mouth. Your body will thank you 🙂

I also have plans to learn to forage with my friends and learn how to identify and cook bitter spring greens. Think, nettles, dandelions, clover buds, etc. I will share some amazing lessons as I learn them too. I love, love to learn. Especially, how to live with less and soak up more of my small little world living all around me. Gosh, I just want to lay on the ground and have the sun lay its rays all around me, warming me.

I have been super curious with Reiki, so I decided to have an hour session. It was so interesting! I laid on a warm table with whatever clothing I was comfortable with. She laid her clean hands on my face, and she explained to me she will place her hands over a chakra point until she feels it is time to leave for the next spot.

She uses her hands to heal as well on any trouble areas requested. I have a left knee pain, so she picked that up without me mentioning it. We laughed at that, and she said her psychic is not as good as other practitioners. She found my head and 3^rd eye chakras to be closed but not in a way she was familiar. She explained that it was swirling and moving but it was “work in progress now” like a lot of creative work going on. I felt that on a million levels because that is the Wednesday after I started my blog. 

She opened my heart chakra, and my solar plexus chakra was too open, so she closed it a bit. If you are not familiar with chakras, they are spinning wheels of energy within line of our spine up to the top of our head. Click Here to learn more about chakras. I am not a chakra know it all, but I really enjoy learning about them. I really feel balanced which it may all be a “head” thing but even if it is, it is an enjoyable place to rest. 

I am still working on being comfortable in my baby head stands. I can now go through crow into tripod but have not worked up the courage to push my legs up into the air. Word on the street is when your head, shoulders, and lower back fully align your legs float up. I need that to happen cause nothing else has been working. I also brought up a request to my yoga studio to have another inversion workshop soon. I missed their last one so do not be afraid to speak up and suggest workshops on poses you are currently working on. Or even see if your favorite teacher is offering one on one training. 

I have travel coming up for my day job so I will be enjoying some time meeting new people in warmer weather. I know if I fail to plan, I will plan to fail. I have been researching the lay of the land around my hotel, so I am aware of best, better, and way better options to eat. I also have been researching yoga studios nearby. I’m better to sleep and enjoy my upcoming week when I plan.

Today is a new day and as long as the rain holds off, I’ll be working on yard projects. I really want to start planting, but I’ll hold off for a few more weeks. I live in zone 6. I have lots of kitchen work to do so I wish you all a great Sunday! Do something that makes you happy. 

The Midwest be like….

Namaste, friends! 

All artwork created by Amaia.

All pictures by Lenape Spiritual Yogi Awakened.

Happy Sunday Funday, Friends!

Yup, just like that in the beginning of class. I didn’t expect my morning yoga session to be so emotional, but I let it flow. I used to hide my tears and fight the urge to cry. Truth is, I feel a lot lighter, and my mind feels clearer after my cry fest. My yoga teacher tells me it’s energy that needs to be released so it feels good knowing what doesn’t serve me is gone, for the moment. The only truth I know is this journey has been a huge awakening that I am so grateful for, and I will always be a W.I.P. (work in progress).  

I’m trying to bring myself on or over my edge every breath and yoga practice. When I’m holding a pose for 5 breaths my mind immediately wants to bring me out of my pose. It’s uncomfortable and my mind is running immediately to the “release” button. I must focus on my breath and every breath in and out. The more I breathe into my body part the less it’s invading my mind. I can reach lower or higher and have more power in my asana. My best yoga sessions are when my mind brings breath and my body flows with fluidity. It’s really a beautiful feeling and soul cleansing. 

Speaking of cleansing, I tried a float tank last week. They claim to detoxify, relax, and tame anxiety among other benefits. At 1st look I didn’t understand how you could possibly relax and abolish stress and anxiety while entering a tomb with a door. Welcome to my life. 

I quickly undressed and showered to neutralize my pH balance before float time. I climbed in and it was neither hot nor cold. I bet it’s set at 98.6. There was a light and a switch inside the tank. The host told me they would play music when it’s time to get out so I can enjoy the peace without fear of going over my time. It was so quiet, and I used a floating neck pillow to sprawl out. After what felt like 10 min, I was brave enough to close the door. I waited another 10 min and turned off the light. I must say I was so relaxed that I might’ve dozed off. I felt like a new woman when I left. I’ll be back, no doubt. Sidenote: everything you touch with wet float hands turns to salt.  

I never really thought I was a stressed person and felt like I handled it well. I don’t. I realized this week that I am not immune. I have been spending a lot more time on my mat this week to cope with my newly inherited stress baby. Everyone should utilize their crutch during stressful times, whether it be good or bad. I have four yoga teachers I have bonded with and have all my trust. Their knowledge and insight on what I am not seeing or feeling is inspiring and makes me want to delve deeper into my practice. It truly takes a village, right? Don’t sell yourself short, take up all the space and spend the investment and time on yourself. You will not regret it. I love repeating my morning mantras and remind myself I was born with a purpose. We all are. W.I.P. 

I know with spring being here I’ll be spending way more time outdoors enjoying the tranquility. I started my seedlings of Chamomile, Lavender, sage, basil, echinacea, and yarrow. They are sprouting and some are 4″. I find peace in my hobbies, and I learn a lot about myself when challenged so I cannot wait to see what this garden season brings me. I’m hoping an abundance of joy!  

I will be sharing recipes soon every Tuesday, I’m thinking, so stay tuned! I love to cook and tweak recipes to me and my family’s taste. I love all foods and ethnic cuisines so be prepared for an assortment! Food and family are my love language. 

**Bekah tip – grocery shop for the week on Saturday evening. Everyone is somewhere else and it’s awesome!! 

 
Namastè, friends! 

All artwork created by Amaia.

All pictures by Lenape Spiritual Yogi Awakened.