Salmon and Broccoli

This was a quick and easy dinner that involved two yoga power foods: salmon and broccoli.  It also keeps well in the refrigerator and makes a wonderful addition to salads or wraps.  I doubled the recipe for extra leftovers!  This photo doesn't do it justice; this was delicious!  I added a few shakes of dill to the recipe, too.


For a side dish, I steamed some broccoli and topped it with parmesan, cayenne and lime juice.

Salmon Loaf (serves 4) by French Fries to Flaxseeds


Ingredients

• 2 Cans (213 g) salmon (wild sockeye is preferred)
• 6 – 7 Soda crackers, crumbled
• 1 Tsp. lemon juice
• 3 Tbsp. milk
• 1 Tbsp. melted butter
• Pepper to taste
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tsp. dried or fresh dill

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Mix all ingredients, except eggs.
3. Beat eggs until fluffy, then fold into mixture.
4. Spread mixture into small loaf pan.
5. Bake for 45 min, or until golden and crispy on top.

A Little Bit of Sweetness

In addition to be a Carb Addict, I have a Sweet-capital T-ooth.  And I love to bake. This addiction doesn't make hot yoga any easier.  As I sweat in class, I feel especially light-headed and queazy on days I eat too much processed sugar.  Should we add "processed sugar" to the list?  I believe so.

So yeah.  There's that problem. 

Oh and - 

I love, love, love nut butters!  Especially almond butter!  I love a teaspoon in my oatmeal or dipping fruit and carrots in them!  Yet, is this a problem, too?  Studies show that it is not.  Almond butter has become extremely popular over the past few years with health food bloggers, especially.  Known as one of the "healthy nuts," almonds have proven to lower cholesterol and contain protein, calcium, fiber, magnesium, folic acid, potassium, and vitamin E.

Therefore, raw almonds as snacks 2 hours before hot yoga or almond butter in my breakfast oatmeal does my body good.  The natural sweetness also tames the Sweet Tooth!  So far, hot yoga has tamed it somewhat, but I need little tricks, and almond butter is one of them.  My Sweet Tooth used to be a size 16, I'd say now it's more of a size 10 or 12?  (Women's, not Juniors)  Though, I still love to bake as a hobby.  It's very meditative and relaxing for me.  And, your house smells so good!  I give a lot of my baked goods to yogi friends so I don't eat them all ;-p  One can get carried away with nut butters, so I try to only have only 1-2 teaspoons a day if I am in need of duh buttah.

I recently purchased MaraNatha's new Dark Chocolate Almond Spread since I am a huge fan of Nutella  (uh, who isn't).  Whereas Nutella is very sweet and made with hazelnuts, this AB/Chocolate spread has very subtle hints of cocoa that isn't too overbearing on the palette.  It tastes more like almond butter ("AB") than a chocolate spread.  I also like coconut-based spreads like Artisina's Cacao Bliss.  This stuff goes for around $8/jar, but it is well worth the money.  If you are craving a piece of chocolate, just have a teaspoon of this stuff and you'll get not only the health benefits of almonds, but also satisfy your sweet tooth!

p.s. Another trick for Sweet Tooths is to keep a huge supply of different sweet teas around.  After supper is usually when I want something sweet.  All those years of habit - opening the freezer to select what flavor of ice cream is still with me.  Instead, you open your pantry door to see a vast selection of yummy teas!  Just a splash of cream, and it really does fight off the sugar demons!  These teas have no nutritional value, but are obviously way better to consume than cookies or cake.  Anything that can slay the sugar beast for me is worth the few extra calories.  Plus, it's kind of fun to have a cup after supper.  I understand now why tea time is so important in other cultures.  It can be very relaxing.

Here are some of Celestial Seasonings favorites:

 

Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup

If you haven't noticed yet, I'm a bit obsessive about soup in the winter.  It's all I want when it's 45 degrees in our house with our broken heater!  We are hopefully getting our furnace replaced this week, but until then, I have to get my heat from our measly space heaters and chipotle peppers!  When we lived in Chicago, we lived right down the street from a Mexican market.  There, Dave and I would scan the aisles like we were in a new library.  I love going to ethnic food stores and finding new products.  Even if you discover just one item that looks tasty to you, you can add so much to your experience as a cook.  For me, it was when I discovered canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.  There is something about their smoky, rich and yes, spicy flavor that is so amazing.  I sometimes add this to soups, or sautes, or marinades or even low-fat cream cheese for a delicious spread or dip!  Careful, thought, you just need one or peppers because they are caliente!!! Anytime I find a recipe that calls for this "little can of wonder," I can't resist.  I recently made a chipotle recipe from one of my favorite foodie bloggers who is also a Texpatriate.  This is a big batch recipe you can make in advance for lunches and quick dinners when you get home from yoga.  The accent of lime really makes this soup special. This was also oh so satisfying after hot yoga.  Enjoy!

Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup by the Homesick Texan.
 

Ingredients
2 pounds of sweet potatoes (about two large or three skinny ones), peeled and cubed
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
4 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
2-4 chipotles in adobo (depending on your heat tolerance) chopped
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Juice of one lime
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Salt and black pepper to taste
 

Optional Garnish:

Sour cream or Greek yogurt

Sprinkle of Cinnamon

Pecans


The Method
Heat the olive oil on medium low in a large soup pot, and cook the onions, celery and carrot for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for one more minute.

Add the sweet potatoes, broth, chipotles, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg to the pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer, covered, for 20 minutes or until sweet potatoes are tender.

Let the soup cool, and then in batches, puree it in the blender. If you prefer, you can use an immersion blender in the pot instead.

Once the soup has been pureed, stir in the lime juice and add salt and black pepper to taste.

Serve topped with a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt.

Snack Attack!

It happens to all of us.  2pm, 3pm, 4pm rolls around at work.  Your blood sugar drops.  You get snackish.  You try really hard to ignore it, but the thought of not eating a morsel until 8pm after hot yoga class makes your stomach quiver.  My acupuncturist says I should make myself a cup of green tea to trick my stomach.  This sometimes works, but sometimes it doesn't it.  I've played it safe for the most part with my snacking.  I usually only want a snack in the afternoon since I eat lunch at 12:30pm every day.  I will say that string cheese doesn't work well for me on yoga days.  I used to have a string cheese and V8 as an afternoon snack but the cheese (see post) just doesn't do my body any favors in class later that day.  This is a great South Beachy snack on off-days, for sure, though!  I began a conversation with my body at this point.  I asked, "what do you want" and it said, "to digest."  It wants and needs protein and potassium before I go to class.  Here is my list thusfar of tasty, flavorful snacks that really help me out on afternoons when I have this conversation with my body.  They've never given me grief in class, don't taste like cardboard or like diet food and even help my endurance! 


1.) Bananas  - sometimes I cut them in half vertically and smear the inside with almond butter to make a banana boat sandwich!  Great snack a few hours before class.

2.) Synergy - a raw Kombucha power drink found in most health food stores.  It's fizzy, kind of strong at first, but you feel like a million bucks after one of these.  These are a good re-charger for after class.

3.) Emerald Cocoa Roast Almonds - so delicious!  They come in a handy bottle with a cap that holds the perfect portion size.  Otherwise, I'd keep eating these addictive little morsels!  Another great snack a few hours before class.

4.) Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Cliff Bars or Carrot Cake Cliff Bars - been eating these babies since college.  They never fail me.  These 2 flavors are the best in my book.  I usually nibble on half of one of these if I feel snackish in the afternoons.  They are loaded with vitamins and minerals and are very dense, so half usually does it for me.  Another before class snack.

Vegan Curry

I realized that I've been posting a lot of carnivore recipes.  Though I tend to frugally use meat as an accent or side dish rather than the main dish of most of my recipes, I think that a vegetarian dish can be just as tasty.  The V-Word can freak a lot of people out.  How can no meat AND no dairy possibly satiate my appetite?  Well, this my dears, will do that and more.  I've been making this curry at least once a month for many years.  It was one of the first recipes that got me interested in the chemistry of food, and it's a flexible recipe that you can keep new and exciting each time you make it.  You can mix and match veggies, types of rice, seasoning amount and it always, always turns out delicious!  Again, the star of the show is COCONUT.  The sweet thing about this recipe is not only the coconut but that it is extremely fast to make. When I came home from yoga the other night, I whipped this together in no time.  This Hot Yoga Food ("HYF") creation definitely fulfills the wellness factor with ingredients like cinnamon (good for the blood), vegetables and warmth of the dish. 

This time I used my spicy curry powder.

I suggest you cook whatever rice you want first so it will be waiting to be drenched in the curry when you finish the recipe.  I usually throw a stick of cinnamon in the rice water as it boils.

HYF's Vegan Curry Ingredients

2 T. Olive oil

2 Carrots, peeled & diced

1 Onion, diced

1 Green bell pepper, diced

1 Red bell pepper, diced

1 Head of Cauliflower, chopped into flowerets

1 T. Garlic

1 T. Curry powder

1 T. Cinnamon powder

1 t. Turmeric

1/2 t. Ground Cloves

1/2 t. Cayenne

1 can Coconut milk

Optional Garnish:

Greek yogurt

Sesame seeds

The Method

In a large saute pan (at least a 3 inches high), cook the onions in olive oil on medium heat until they are soft.  Then, add the carrots, bell pepper and cauliflower.  Cook until veggies are soft.  Next, add garlic and all the spices.  Stir the spices in until all the veggies are coated.  Your kitchen should start smelling really good about now.  Lastly, pour the coconut milk over the vegetables and stir.  Cover and simmer on low heat until the vegetables are soft.  You can add water to keep the mixture nice and saucy.  Serve by pouring a serving of curry over a few scoops of rice. Garnish with Greek or plain yogurt and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.  Viola!

Want.

Recipes coming soon!  I promise!  I took a week off last week for medical reasons.  This week I am back in action!  For now, I will leave you with YOGA COOKIE CUTTERS!!!!?????    want....