Vegan Lunch Ideas!

I've been having bread issues lately. My bread label says "Gluten Free" "No Soy" AND "No Dairy" but of course it has eggs. Even the good guys can be deceiving :( big sigh. I'm on a hunt for a new kind of bread, it's just tricky. I don't mind finding new bread though, because Udi's is honestly kind of rubbery...Matt's bread is vegan and DELICIOUS but it has gluten and gives me a headache if I eat it. Another big sigh. If anyone has ideas/suggestions/brands, please let me know. I need vegan, gluten free, soy free bread. Anyways....

*Update: I found a rice/almond bread that is vegan and gluten free but for the most part I just stopped eating bread lol! I just put everything I would put on a sandwich on top of a spinach salad, or bring leftovers. 


Here are some ideas for your vegan lunch at work:

The classic sandwich! 

Toasted bread, pesto spread on one side, miso mayo on the other. Tomato slices with avocado slices, topped with vegan Daiya cheese. I've been eating this sandwich for 4+ years and it never gets old. It's quick and easy to make and perfect for when you are packing for two. We also bring chips and sometimes cookies or some other chocolate goodness.

I love this Raw Vegan Pesto Recipe from www.asimplyrawlife.blogspot.com/

Vegan Sundried Tomato Spinach Basil Pesto Spread

1 cup sundried tomatoes

3/4 cup pine nuts

1 cup spinach

1 cup basil

2 table spoons olive oil

3 teaspoons nutritional yeast

1 clove garlic

1 lime, juice of

1/2 teaspoon salt

Blend all the ingredients together in a food processor and blended well.  Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator.

Delicious!

Salads:

Spinach, tomato, avocado, garbanzo beans, chopped almonds and sunflower seeds. Unfortunately I took this picture before I piled on the quinoa! An excellent addition. I use Bragg's Healthy vinaigrette on everything! It is just apple cider vinegar + olive oil. 

I pack this salad for lunch 2-3 times a week, even more if I'm out of gluten free bread.

This is a spinach, tomato, avocado, cucumber salad with rice and black beans on top. Apples on the side! & yes, that is a "spill" plate underneath my salad plate, lol. I tend to make a mess. 

I like salads that have rice, black beans, navy beans, garbanzo beans, quinoa, or lentils, etc on top. Adds protein & starch! It's best to have starchy carbs at lunch time because it helps give you energy for the rest of the day.

Add chopped dates, pears, or apples to salads for some extra flavor!

Rice & Beans:

Every Saturday morning I make a hefty amount of either rice & beans, rice & lentils, + I add some kind of steamed veggie to the mix. That way I have a large supply around to throw on top of salads, have as a side with a sandwich, or for an afternoon snack if I need a pick me up. The best thing about it is, you can eat it cold! Or if you want you can heat it up. I like it cold, on top of salads.

This is white rice with black lentils. Steamed some kale, chopped it up in the processor, and added it all together.

Very similar variation, this time with black beans and brown rice with chopped steamed kale added in. And of course salt & pepper to taste! I put it in this giant pyrex bowl that I have a lid for and stick it in the fridge to be waiting for me at my convenience.

Start with white or brown or wild rice, about 1-2 cups depending on how much you want to make.

Add either:

Black beans

Black lentils, red lentils, yellow lentils, white, green etc.

Garbanzo beans

Navy beans

Kidney beans

Rice+beans=protein.

I make everything in a rice cooker/food steamer. I start the rice, then add the veggie that I'm steaming and keep my eye on it to make sure it doesn't over steam. If I'm cooking lentils, I stick them right in there to cook with the rice at the same time. Add beans afterward if they are from a can, or if soaked over night, you can add them to cook with the rice if that is your preference.

Then add steamed vegetable(s) of your choice:

Kale

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Carrots

Nuts or Sprouted grains/beans

Sunflower seeds

Mung beans

Sprouts

(Whatever you like!)

You can even add a sauce of your choice. Just make sure that it doesn't make the mixture soggy and that it won't ferment and start to taste weird! Be careful with jarred/canned sauces as well. They could have preservatives and that is a strait ticket to migraine land for someone like me. I make a homemade sauce if I want it, but usually salt and pepper is enough. It's best to add oil and/or sauce to it when you transfer some of it to a bowl or onto a salad. 

Other lunch ideas: Leftovers!

Sometimes I bring a random assortment of food for lunch. Like today, I brought leftover vegan mac n cheese with zucchini, a half almond butter sandwich, a banana, an avocado, and a kind bar. Random I know, but I'm out of tomatoes so I couldn't make my yummy sandwich. Also, I don't want my avocado to go bad, so I brought it to eat whole since I didn't make the sandwich. I like to eat left overs within 2-3 days and I made this vegan mac on Monday night, so it only makes sense to eat it today! I have even put a similar vegan mac leftovers on top of a salad or on top of rice and beans. I love mixing food, so it doesn't bother me, but if your picky keep it separate :) 

I like to stock my fridge with foods on the weekends so that I have plenty to eat during the week. I have so many food allergies that eating out simply isn't an option for me. Being "forced" to cook my own food and be conscious of what goes into my body is seriously a blessing in disguise. For years I was plagued with headaches, migraines, and nausea and had no idea what was causing it. When I learned about my allergies, food seemed like my enemy. But then I discovered that food could be my medicine, and my entire whole world flipped upside down. I LOVE being able to give my body nutritious, healthy, delicious food. Lately I've been cooking a lot, and I'm starting to get curious about raw food, just because here and there, I still get a headache or I feel groggy, and I know that it has to have been something I ate. So maybe soon I'll experiment with raw "cooking" and post it on here! I'm excited to give it a shot, but also pretty intimidated. I'll let you know how it goes!

Mural update!

The Mural is finished and installed at Klyde Warren Park in between uptown and downtown Dallas!

Here are some pics from our install:

the crew rolling it onto the wall, stapling as we go

(that is a keep off the grass sign by the way, IN THE PARK lol)

view from the other side

the bubble wall, kids playing in bubbles

this is a cool lil collage that Amy made with the walls meeting and the bottom picture is the park.

<3 I need to get more pictures. These don't even show how long it is! It is 300 feet!

The Egg by Andy Weir

Here is a story I like :)

The Egg

By: Andy Weir

You were on your way home when you died.

It was a car accident. Nothing particularly remarkable, but fatal nonetheless. You left behind a wife and two children. It was a painless death. The EMTs tried their best to save you, but to no avail. Your body was so utterly shattered you were better off, trust me.

And that’s when you met me.

“What… what happened?” You asked. “Where am I?”

“You died,” I said, matter-of-factly. No point in mincing words.

“There was a… a truck and it was skidding…”

“Yup,” I said.

“I… I died?”

“Yup. But don’t feel bad about it. Everyone dies,” I said.

You looked around. There was nothingness. Just you and me. “What is this place?” You asked. “Is this the afterlife?”

“More or less,” I said.

“Are you god?” You asked.

“Yup,” I replied. “I’m God.”

“My kids… my wife,” you said.

“What about them?”

“Will they be all right?”

“That’s what I like to see,” I said. “You just died and your main concern is for your family. That’s good stuff right there.”

You looked at me with fascination. To you, I didn’t look like God. I just looked like some man. Or possibly a woman. Some vague authority figure, maybe. More of a grammar school teacher than the almighty.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “They’ll be fine. Your kids will remember you as perfect in every way. They didn’t have time to grow contempt for you. Your wife will cry on the outside, but will be secretly relieved. To be fair, your marriage was falling apart. If it’s any consolation, she’ll feel very guilty for feeling relieved.”

“Oh,” you said. “So what happens now? Do I go to heaven or hell or something?”

“Neither,” I said. “You’ll be reincarnated.”

“Ah,” you said. “So the Hindus were right,”

“All religions are right in their own way,” I said. “Walk with me.”

You followed along as we strode through the void. “Where are we going?”

“Nowhere in particular,” I said. “It’s just nice to walk while we talk.”

“So what’s the point, then?” You asked. “When I get reborn, I’ll just be a blank slate, right? A baby. So all my experiences and everything I did in this life won’t matter.”

“Not so!” I said. “You have within you all the knowledge and experiences of all your past lives. You just don’t remember them right now.”

I stopped walking and took you by the shoulders. “Your soul is more magnificent, beautiful, and gigantic than you can possibly imagine. A human mind can only contain a tiny fraction of what you are. It’s like sticking your finger in a glass of water to see if it’s hot or cold. You put a tiny part of yourself into the vessel, and when you bring it back out, you’ve gained all the experiences it had.

“You’ve been in a human for the last 48 years, so you haven’t stretched out yet and felt the rest of your immense consciousness. If we hung out here for long enough, you’d start remembering everything. But there’s no point to doing that between each life.”

“How many times have I been reincarnated, then?”

“Oh lots. Lots and lots. An in to lots of different lives.” I said. “This time around, you’ll be a Chinese peasant girl in 540 AD.”

“Wait, what?” You stammered. “You’re sending me back in time?”

“Well, I guess technically. Time, as you know it, only exists in your universe. Things are different where I come from.”

“Where you come from?” You said.

“Oh sure,” I explained “I come from somewhere. Somewhere else. And there are others like me. I know you’ll want to know what it’s like there, but honestly you wouldn’t understand.”

“Oh,” you said, a little let down. “But wait. If I get reincarnated to other places in time, I could have interacted with myself at some point.”

“Sure. Happens all the time. And with both lives only aware of their own lifespan you don’t even know it’s happening.”

“So what’s the point of it all?”

“Seriously?” I asked. “Seriously? You’re asking me for the meaning of life? Isn’t that a little stereotypical?”

“Well it’s a reasonable question,” you persisted.

I looked you in the eye. “The meaning of life, the reason I made this whole universe, is for you to mature.”

“You mean mankind? You want us to mature?”

“No, just you. I made this whole universe for you. With each new life you grow and mature and become a larger and greater intellect.”

“Just me? What about everyone else?”

“There is no one else,” I said. “In this universe, there’s just you and me.”

You stared blankly at me. “But all the people on earth…”

“All you. Different incarnations of you.”

“Wait. I’m everyone!?”

“Now you’re getting it,” I said, with a congratulatory slap on the back.

“I’m every human being who ever lived?”

“Or who will ever live, yes.”

“I’m Abraham Lincoln?”

“And you’re John Wilkes Booth, too,” I added.

“I’m Hitler?” You said, appalled.

“And you’re the millions he killed.”

“I’m Jesus?”

“And you’re everyone who followed him.”

You fell silent.

“Every time you victimized someone,” I said, “you were victimizing yourself. Every act of kindness you’ve done, you’ve done to yourself. Every happy and sad moment ever experienced by any human was, or will be, experienced by you.”

You thought for a long time.

“Why?” You asked me. “Why do all this?”

“Because someday, you will become like me. Because that’s what you are. You’re one of my kind. You’re my child.”

“Whoa,” you said, incredulous. “You mean I’m a god?”

“No. Not yet. You’re a fetus. You’re still growing. Once you’ve lived every human life throughout all time, you will have grown enough to be born.”

“So the whole universe,” you said, “it’s just…”

“An egg.” I answered. “Now it’s time for you to move on to your next life.”

And I sent you on your way.

<3

Vegan Banana Walnut Muffins!

You can make this recipe in no time! I made them this morning before work and it took about 10-15 minutes to get the batter together, and the muffins have to bake for 25 minutes. Made it to work on time! I didn't take pictures of the process because I am so terrible at baking, I assumed I would fail. But I didn't! Yipee!! & Yum! (I won't make that mistake next time, I WILL conquer baking! :)

The best part about these muffins is that since the bananas are moist, you don't need egg or egg replacer. My husband has been begging me for muffins lately, and after doing research on somewhere in Dallas to buy vegan muffins, I came across this recipe and decided to give it a shot! All of these ingredients are things I always have on hand in the kitchen, so it was the perfect thing to whip up on a whim. 

What you need:

3 Ripe Bananas

1/4 cup oil or Earth Balance Vegan Butter, softened

1 cup Sugar

2 cups baking flour or gluten free flour

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 cup chopped Walnuts (you can leave this out if you don't have any walnuts)

Preheat your oven to 360 degrees.

In a large bowl, mash the bananas with a fork till soft. Add the oil or vegan butter and sugar and mix together.

In a separate bowl, combine together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Combine with the banana mixture, stirring gently just to combine. 

I processed my walnuts and added them to the mixture last.

Grease or line a muffin pan, and fill each muffin about 2/3 full with batter. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

*You can use many different variations for this recipe! You can use gluten free flour or whole wheat flour, you can mix in some ground flax for some added fiber, and you can even use agave instead of sugar. Happy baking!


*****UPDATE 10/12/12*****

I made these muffins again this morning! Instead of 2 cups baking flour, I used 1 and 3/4 cups whole wheat flour and 1/4 cup ground flax. I also ran out of walnuts, so instead of mixing in nuts, I put pecans on top right before baking. They were so rich and decadent! All kinds of yum....

what is consciousness

As consciousness expands, our species evolves

There are a lot of misconceptions out there about the word "consciousness". In order to understand consciousness, we cannot really turn it into something 'real' or tangible. It is a state, but it is not static, and it is not a being all by itself. It is a quality of being. Consciousness and unconsciousness are two sides of the same reality: Soul. These experiences of conscious and unconscious are constantly blending and our mind paints an image of how they interact.

What I'm getting at here is that even though there are different forms of consciousness perceived, they are not hierarchical but in fact horizontal. This means that no consciousness is better than the next, and that we are all moving toward each other instead of trying to rise above each other. The consciousness of a rock is perhaps different than the consciousness of an animal or a human, but it is still consciousness nonetheless. I personally believe that a rock or an animals consciousness is actually probably more connected to the whole, or unity consciousness than a human. That being said, I do not believe that some modes of consciousness are "superior" to others. Westerners have been conditioned with the desire to progress vertically, but that paradigm is dying. Our future will be one of horizontal consciousness and empathic connections with each other. 

I have taken a few quotes from a friend's blog, he is excellent at explaining consciousness but it is super philosophical lol, I try to translate his words into something easier to understand:
http://www.soulspelunker.com/ It is a great blog with a wealth of information.

"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift." ~Albert Einstein

this painting is a meditation on the word Gnosis.

I chose a sphere to represent earth, and I chose red because I believe Gnosis runs in our veins.

in the painting, the plane of existence is taking a new shape, starting from within.

Gnosis means “inner spiritual knowledge”

it is within us all. it is inherent. it is intuitive.

you have complete access to the wisdom if you so choose.

We all have intuition, we all have inner knowledge (Gnosis) that guides us. This is proof that consciousness is not achieved by a chemical substance or any other outside force, but instead by going deeply inward. A substance might get you on that path, just as much as a near death experience or spiritual high might. But once you get to the path, there is still a lot of work to be done. If you want to be literal about it, conscious means aware, and unconscious means unaware. This could be a way to describe a sleeping or waking person, an ill or healthy person. This is psychological consciousness, more physical or literal. The consciousness that I speak of is philosophical consciousness, a state or quality of being with a capacity of sentience (the ability to feel) and subjectivity. Even these definitions are misleading, because all the various modes of consciousness cannot be classified into neat categories. The primordial consciousness in the universe is ever changing, ever spinning and ever creating new forms of matter. 

So what is consciousness on the day to day? How can someone be more conscious?
I personally like to think of consciousness as the inability to be ignorant. You are mindful of your actions and aware of the possible consequences. For example, I do not believe in throwing things "away", or actually I just don't believe in the "away" part. When I put something in the garbage can, my whole world kind of pauses for a second, and for that second, the garbage can disappears, I'm on a ledge, and I'm throwing my garbage into a huge stinking landfill. This is something that I know will be a result of my action, so instead of pretending the garbage is "away," I am instead fully aware of where it is going. On many occasions, this causes me to rethink my garbage, or really put a lot of effort into not creating so much trash from my existence, and also recycling. Consciousness isn't glorifying. It is not an exalted title. It is actually a very humbling situation to be in. The more conscious you are, the less you are confused in your own daily life. You begin to know what to expect.

Photograph by Rob Woodcox

The world is waking up, everyone is beginning to come out of their box...

Okay so back to our theme of veganism: How does consciousness apply?
Most people have no idea where their food comes from. The concept of animal suffering is swept under the rug our entire lives. We are taught that the slaughter of animals is a "necessary" evil. But what kind of evil is necessary? The answer is none. No evil is necessary. There are other people that say, we have to eat meat to survive. Oh really? Are you barely surviving? Do you know anyone that is in survival mode? I sure don't. I've been thriving on plant based foods for years, I never get sick or spend money at the doctor, but I see people that eat meat with the flu and colds and other dis-ease year after year. So maybe they really do think they are barely surviving, who knows.

For me, it is as simple as not being able to be ignorant of where meat on a plate came from. Maybe it's my personal conscious or consciousness, but when I see meat, raw at the grocery store or cooked and on a plate, I can see the entire life of that animal, and it is not a good life. That is why I decide not to eat it. When I see cheese or milk, I see a mother cow being artificially inseminated (raped) so that she will produce milk, having her baby stolen from her when it's born, and being milked until her udders are bleeding. This is not appetizing to me. When I see chicken, I see a warehouse full of chickens, thousands of live ones, and hundreds of dead trampled ones on the ground. I see them being sucked through a tube before slaughter and shoved into a tiny drawer with 20 other chickens. When I see eggs, I see hens that have literally never walked, sitting their entire life on a shelf, in a cage with thousands of others. When I see bacon or pork, I see a large mother pig in a cage so small that she can't even stand up in it. Her skin rubs up on the bars of her prison and it is irritated and she is bleeding. Her babies are fighting for her teets excitedly, having no idea that their destiny is the same. So many animals suffer for our "comforts" or "luxuries," but you reap what you sow. If you enjoy something that came from another being suffering, you inherit that karma, and guess what, what goes around really does come back around.

Animals all over the world suffer for more than just food, but I won't get into those horrifying truths. If you are interested in helping animals, do some research and see what you can do. Do whatever resonates with your life and your highest truth.

Vegetarian body = Cosmic Mind

We are citizens of the Universe

That most primordial heartbeat of Love calls us home to the place of union with the Oneness of all that is.

"If one is trying to practice meditation and is still eating meat, he would be like a man closing his ears and shouting loudly, and then asserting that he heard nothing."

-Surangama Sutra

From Doreen Virtue's book Eating In the Light

friday thoughts

Hello, Dallas. City Yogi :)

Week one of the blog is going strong, going well. I'm going to work hard to dedicate more time to it everyday. I've had a lot of good reactions to the blog, and I know that some of you are following closely. I've already made some posts for next week, but I just have to tell you, wonderful readers, I'm working on a mural for the next two and a half weeks, so I will be very busy. It is over 300 feet long, and it is for Klyde Warren Park (http://www.klydewarrenpark.org/) here in downtown Dallas. Just FYI, if you're wondering where I am :) 

A reader pointed out to me something very interesting about peanut butter, since I had suggested having it on toast for breakfast, on a banana, or in a smoothie. I did some research, and found out that Peanuts are susceptible to a mold called Aspergillis which produces aflatoxins (a known carcinogen) that can inflame and impair the liver, even possibly leading to cancer or liver shutdown. In most cases, the mold cannot be seen in peanut butter, and it's very hard to eliminate it from peanut butter. Even if the fungus is killed through heating, the aflatoxins can still remain :( Sad, I know. I love PB. 

So what can you do about it? You can keep your peanut butter in the fridge, but was it in the fridge when you bought it or off the shelf? Just consider that. There is no way to determine how much mold has grown since the peanut butter hit the shelf at the grocery store. Fresh ground peanut butter could be a safer route, but it needs to be refrigerated and eaten within a week. Almond butter is the safest route in terms of aflatoxins, but it could be more expensive. It's up to you. If you live in an area that isn't dry and has any amount of humidity, I would say you definitely need to switch to fresh ground, in the fridge for a week or less, or fully make the switch to almond butter, especially if you like to enjoy nut butters on a daily basis. This is my recommendation and what I'm going to implicate in my own home, but you should do your own research.

We might eliminate peanut butter all together just for the simple fact that I have had problems with candida before. I'm actually pretty upset I didn't get the warning on peanut butter sooner. Sometimes I don't eat it for weeks, but sometimes I eat it every single day for weeks! Luckily, I like almond butter so it won't be that difficult to switch. If you can't let go of PB, go organic, buy the best possible, and keep it in the fridge. 

This is the article about it that I found most helpful:

(http://www.openeyehealth.com/2011/05/dangerous-mold-in-peanut-butter/)

A couple of weeks ago an artist friend asked me if he could photograph me doing some yoga on top of our warehouse. It is part of a series he is doing on different people and their lives in the city. I don't have access to the pictures that he took yet, but my hubby was on site and took a couple of wonderful shots of me :) That's where the picture at the top and below came from. Enjoy.

Watch out for posts next week about:

Vegan Lunch Ideas

Consciousness? What does this word mean?

Recipe Wednesday

Hopefully a post about the progress of the mural!

Have a great weekend! Namaste <3

our wonder full chakra system

Did you know that your brain is not only located in your head? Your brain continues all the way down your spine. The spine is an extension of the brain. Located along the spine, from the base of the tail bone all the way up to the crown of the head, are 7 energy centers that guide us and help us. There are thousands of chakras in the body, but the 7 located along the spine are the main circuits in the Chakra system.

Kundalini backpiece, brass, thread, and plastic. 2010 Copyright Mary Mecca

What are chakras? Chakra is a Sanskrit term meaning spinning wheel of energy or wheel of light. Your chakras are the energetic blueprint for uniting your body and mind. These energy centers or Chakras connect with one another like pools flowing into one another.

Let's begin at the base of the spine:

Muladhara - Red - 4 Petals

Sacred Vowel - Lam

This is your root, located at the base of the spine. Your center of stability. Your foundation. When the Root chakra is in balance, you have your feet firmly planted in the ground. The element of this chakra is earth.

To open your Muladhara chakra, you must let go of anything that you fear.

If your Root chakra is blocked, you may feel unstable, you may try to compensate for this instability with material things. The blockage can manifest in lower back pain & hip pain.

Yoga: Standing Poses

Swadhistana - Orange - 6 Petals

Sacred Vowel - Vam

Your Sacral Chakra is your sexual center and also your creative center. It is located directly above your sexual organs. When the Sacral chakra is in balance, you easily solve problems, have flowing creativity, and have ease in your relationships. You can express your emotions easily without getting carried away in them. When this chakra is open you are forgiving, you are not angry, and you are not holding grudges against others. The element of this chakra is water.

To open Swadhistana, you must let go of guilt. 

If your Sacral chakra is blocked, you may have dysfunctional sexual activity, unsure about innovative decisions, or full of anger. The blockage can manifest in problems with the reproductive organs.

Yoga: Forward Bends

Manipura - Yellow - 10 Petals

Sacred Vowel - Ram

Your Solar Plexus is where you derive your physical energy for your life. It is located behind the naval. When the Solar Plexus is balanced, you feel very affirmed and comfortable in your life. You see that you have choices, you are humble and empowered. When this chakra is open you are full of energy, excited, ready to give and to receive. The element of this chakra is fire.

To open Manipura, you must let go of shame.

If your Solar Plexus is blocked, you may have problems with feeling like a victim all the time. The blockage may manifest into problems with your internal organs, your digestive system, and stomach ulcers.

Yoga: Twists

Anahata - Green - 12 Petals

Sacred Vowel - Yam

Your Heart chakra is your center for Love. It is located in the middle of the chest at the sternum. When your heart chakra is balanced, you are loving, you can give to others without expecting anything in return. When your heart is as open as the sky, you feel free. The element of this chakra is of course, Love.

To open Anahata, you must let go of grief.

If your Heart chakra is blocked, you might be holding onto the death of a loved one or the death of a relationship. The blockage may manifest in poor circulation, high blood pressure, lack of compassion, and intolerance.

Yoga: Backbends and shoulder openers

Vishuddha - Blue - 16 Petals

Sacred Vowel - Ham

Your throat chakra is located in the throat by the adam's apple. It is your center for speech and communication. When your throat chakra is in balance, you are able to speak your truth. You are able to say what you mean, and mean what you say. Your voice and your personal vibration will be pure. The element of this chakra is truth.

To open Vishuddha, you must let go of all lies and falsities. 

If your throat chakra is blocked, you will find yourself being misinterpreted by others. You will not be able to find the words to describe the way you feel or something that you need to say. The blockage may manifest in breathing problems, sore throat, word vomit (talkative), anxiety, inability to speak your opinion.

Yoga: Shoulder stand, plow pose, blind man's pose

Ajna - Indigo - 2 Petals

Sacred Vowel - Sham

Your third eye chakra is your center of intuition. This is the place where your inner guide resides, showing you the way. When your third eye chakra is balanced, you are able to follow your intuition into positive experiences. You will have insight and be able to share that insight with others. The element of this chakra is gnosis.

To open Ajna, you must let go of the illusion of separation between yourself and others.

If your third eye chakra is blocked, you will be scatter brained, spacey, have too many thoughts at once, and forgetfulness. The blockage may manifest in migraines, poor eyesight, tension, and the inability to stay focused.

Yoga: Child's pose

Sahasrara - Violet/Clear/All Colors - Infinite petals

Sacred Vowel - Aum

Your crown chakra is your connection to your life on earth. This chakra rules over unity, divinity, and Oneness with the Universe. It is the base of the spiritual body. It is located slightly above the crown of the head but is connected to the brain, the pineal and pituitary glands, and their hormones. When your Crown Chakra is balanced, you are free from desire and earthly attachment. The element of this chakra is thought.

To open Sahasrara, you must let go of anything earthly that you are attached to.

If your crown chakra is blocked, you may suffer from confusion, headaches, hallucinations, mental illness, worry, and a dominant ego.

Yoga: Headstand, Handstand

Chakra Body piece, 925 silver, plastic, spray paint. 2009 Copyright Mary Mecca

Chakras work individually and cooperatively at the same time. You can work on them separately, but it is a good idea to focus on all of them at the same time. One of your chakras could be imbalanced because another one in the system is throwing it off. Blocks in the chakras are muddy energy, causing not enough energy to be circulated throughout your body. If your energy is muddy or groggy, it is very important to practice visualizing the pulling in of white light to clear the darkness. You can do this with meditation, breathing (moving your intelligent prana), Yoga, and visualizing the white light cleansing your body. Try chanting the Sacred Vowels on a regular basis, every day perhaps. I enjoy chanting them in the shower, but I also chant during meditation or before my yoga practice. My husband really enjoys the sounds because he can feel the vibration in his own body. He sometimes joins in, but I think he enjoys listening a little too much :) Try doing it alone, with someone else, or a large group! It is energizing!

Always replace negative thoughts with positive ones. Replace dark thoughts with joyful ones. Visualize your energy in balance. The two pieces of my art work that I've included in this post were my own meditations into the chakra system. For me to visualize them inside my body, I needed to create something tangible outside of my body. This worked for me and helped me to remember that they are there, even if I can't see them. These pieces became very important for me to continue and strengthen my work in meditation. No, I don't wear them out on the street :p but I used my entire body to create them, labored over the pieces, meditated on the meaning, and poured my love and creativity into bringing them into existence. 

Open up your spine, Open up your mind.

Namaste

Recipe Wednesday!

So here is a concoction I whipped up last night for my husband and I. It is a vegan dish. Basically, we buy all the ingredients that we like (+we always have our pantry staples that I mentioned in my second post). For a long time I did the whole, find a recipe, buy the ingredients, make-it thing. But I kept forgetting an ingredient and it tasted bad, or my husband will never want it again. He likes to keep things fresh and always try new flavors. We used to eat eggplant with red sauce a lot, but of course, he's sick of it now. So I've been playing around with new sauces and gravies. And now I will share with you!

Italian Flavored Falafel, Fried Eggplant, and Quinoa Pasta with "Cheese" Sauce

What you need:
1 can chickpeas
1/2 cup of Italian Breadcrumbs (I processed 2 slices of bread with oregano)
1 medium eggplant 
2 servings of Quinoa Pasta (1/2 a box usually)
1 tbsp ground flax
1/4 cup warm water
4 tbsp coconut oil

Sauce:
Mozzarella Daiya Cheese www.daiyafoods.com/
1/4 cup Almond Milk
3 tbsp Earth Balance Vegan Butter
3 tbsp Brown Rice Flour
1/4 cup Vegetable Broth
Salt & Pepper

How to Prepare Eggplant (for any dish)

1. Start first by skinning and then cutting up the eggplant into whatever size you would like in your  mouth :) Place the eggplant onto paper towels. I know, not the most eco-friendly but one time I did it on a towel and the eggplant tasted like my detergent :-/
2. Salt the eggplant, and use another paper towel and your hand to squish out all of the water. And yes that is an infamous Rachel Ray trash bowl in the middle picture, so perfect for dumping into my compost pile after I'm done cooking!
3. Your paper towel should look like the picture on the right, all covered in eggplant juice. Now let the eggplant sit for about 10 minutes.
*This allows your eggplant to cook faster and taste better. If you've had problems cooking eggplant before, it could be that it was too full of water.

Now before we prepare our falafel mixture...

How to Make a Flax Egg (to be used as a binder for falafel, veggie burgers, or veggie scrambles)

1. Heat up 1/4 cup of water in the microwave & mix in 1 tbsp of ground flax. If you are making a lot of falafel (or any other dish), just double your flax egg.

2. Stir it up with a fork and set it aside for 10 minutes.

* Now's a good time to get your Quinoa Pasta cooking according to the package instructions!

Now for the rest of the Falafel:
Open your can of chick peas, drain, and rinse.
Process your chick peas with the breadcrumbs, or process them and then transfer to a bowl and hand mix with the bread crumbs. (You can add whatever spices you want to. Maybe throw in chopped onion or parsley, etc. Make this falafel yours!) Make sure that flax egg has sat for a good 7-10 minutes, and then mix it into your chick pea breadcrumb mixture with your hands. Taste it! Add salt and pepper if you need to. It should already taste pretty good in this form before you fry it!

Left pic is before I added the flax egg binder, right picture is after.

The flax egg makes it so much easier to roll your mixture up into balls and transfer them and also having them stick together while frying.

Heat up 2 tbsp coconut oil. When it is heated, carefully transfer your lil balls into the pan!

Flip me!! Don't forget to heat both sides throughout, then remove from the pan. Add two more tbsp of coconut oil, and begin frying the eggplant until crispy brown.

Okay so now for this sauce! 

Everything you need for this sauce + any other sauce. Only thing not pictured is the Daiya vegan cheese. (I forgot to get it in the pic!)

1. In a small sauce pan, melt the earth balance vegan butter. Once it is melted, whisk in the brown rice flour until it is completely mixed.

2. Add the almond milk and again, mix completely. Then let it sit for 3-4 minutes and thicken. This is your roux (pronounced ROO). The roux is very important and can be a base for ANY sauce that you want to make. From here, you can literally add whatever you want to the mix. 

3. Continue by adding the vegetable broth, whisk it in. Then add the Daiya. Add salt and pepper to taste. Voila! Yummy cheese sauce. 

FOR FUTURE REFERENCE: 

If you just want to make gravy, to the roux add: extra vegetable broth, and extra 2 tbsp of vegan butter and 1 tbsp extra of rice flour, & lots of salt and pepper to taste. No cheese. Perfect for mashed potatoes.

You can also add pureed cauliflower with a little white wine for another sauce variation. For a yellow "cheese" sauce, puree a cooked potato and carrots, then add to your sauce.

Drain your pasta and mix it thoroughly with the cheese sauce. Plate the pasta with the eggplant on top of it and the falafel on the side or on top, depending on your preference. I ended up slathering the cheese sauce all over everything because it was so good.

My Husband licked his plate clean. Nough' said.

Where's the protein?

In the falafel, since it was made from protein rich chickpeas, about 12g. Chickpeas have iron too!

Quinoa Pasta has about 4g protein per serving. 

I love me some good carbs:
Eggplant: very low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Vitamin K, Thiamin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Potassium and Manganese, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber. 
Daiya Cheese: about 7g

So obviously, you don't have to follow my recipe exactly! That's the point. I'm just trying to share the things that I do to create fun combinations. I won't lie, my husband's boredom with the same food has actually made cooking very fun for me. I'm always trying to make new things, always trying to please his taste buds. I had so much fun whipping this dinner up! I got to be creative, use what I already had on hand, and it was a challenge to make a new sauce that I've never made before. I'm looking forward to sharing new combinations that I come up with in the kitchen! 

Namaste <3