Hello lovelies!

Today, in what is now officially the last half of September, we conclude our summer “What’s In Your Blender” series. We’ve gotten some tasty, healthy recipes from our instructors, and we’re going out with a bang. Mr. Matt Sharpe, NASA-brainiac-turned-yogi, shares his smoothie recipe with us:

Happy Hump Day, my dears! Hope you all are well and enjoying the short week. Tomorrow, I head down to Big Bear for a long weekend of lounging, swimming, and, wait for it… a WATER TRAMPOLINE. I know, right? My life will soon be complete. I’m convinced that I haven’t really lived until I’ve jumped as high as I possibly can and tumbled into a lake, which is my first order of business once we get there.

Anyway, today, we’re in the kitchen with Wendy Howell, the lovely lady behind the Topher Simon photo shoot that we posted  a while back. She’s sharing her latest summer smoothie recipe with us, so take it away, Wendy!

“Try this one on for size!

2 cups strawberries

1 cup watermelon

¼ cup strawberry honey Greek yogurt

2 capfuls strawberry balsamic vinegar (hard to find …. Farmer’s Market item)

Blend and enjoy!”

Sounds deeeeeeeeeeeeelish…Imma have to track me down some of that strawberry balsamic vinegar. Thanks, Wendy!

Image courtesy of tasteofhome.com

I hate to say it, but summer is on it’s last leg… my students are back in school, the pool is quieter, and mornings have me already looking for my slippers. Pretty soon, smoothies will take a back seat to oatmeal and hot tea, as far as my breakfasts are concerned.

To help us transition from the summer of smoothies to autumn, we have the culinary queen Fiona So. Fiona is a wonder in the kitchen, and she has been kind enough to share her Sweet Walnut Soup recipe with us.

Take it away, Fiona!

“Ingredients:
1) Dried Shelled Walnut 200g
2) Dried South Almond 5g
3) Dried North Almond 5g
4) White Rice 25g
5) Water 3L
6) Coconut Milk 400ml
7) White Sugar 300g
Whipping Cream (optional)

Directions:
a) Put items 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5 in blender. If the blender is not big enough, divide the ingredients into several groups. Blend the aforementioned items into a liquid form.
b) Pour the mixture into a big cooking bowl with the use of filter, add item 6 all at once.
c) Boil the soup and keep stirring until it’s done.
d) Add item 7 and 8 into the soup. Keep stirring. Take the big cooking bowl away from the stove when it’s done.

As per the ayurveda and yoga blog, “Walnuts are good Brain stimulants, Heart healthy, immunity booster, Cancer fighter, and muscle builder” (http://www.ayurvedictalk.com/the-health-friendly-must-eat-everyday-foods/792/)”

Image courtesy of cookwork.com

Good morning lovelies,

You all met Sophie, the adorable yogini standing on her head, yesterday. Well, today, her mother, our feisty and fiercely-good-looking Thoa van Seventer, shares a smoothie that tastes delicious and actually helps you look good in a bikini. She sent the recipe from the sunny shores of Puerto Rico, and she claims she drinks this twice a day because it’s so good!

In a blender, combine:

1 cup of soy milk

1 and 1/2 tbsp of peanut butter

1 banana

2 tsp of cocoa powder

3 tbsp of silken tofu

Blend until smooth, and enjoy!

Or, as I’ve begun to think of it, Protein 2.0. I tried this smoothie this morning, and it tastes like dessert! But, according to Jeff, it’s actually really good for you. In his own words:

“This recipe was adapted from Timothy Ferriss’ book, The Four Hour Body.  The purpose of this shake is to speed recovery after strenuous workouts.  There’s an incredible amount of protein and Omega-3′s in this (as well as fiber if you’re using Hemp Protein Powder which I highly recommend).

The two egg yolks have high cholesterol which, according to Ferriss, is essential to producing testosterone which speeds muscle recovery.

Chia seeds are a super food!!  Amazingly high in omega-3′s which help the body to repair and keep inflammation down.  They also contain a tremendous amount of antioxidants.

Cinnamon is a natural way to help control blood sugar and as this shake is already low sugar, unlike many smoothies out there, it’s safe for most diabetics.

Enjoy!!”

Jeff’s Protein 2.0 Super Smoothie:

• 16 oz. milk of your choice (almond, soy, whatever)
• 4T almond butter or peanut butter
• 2T chia seeds
• Pinch of vanilla powder
• 1/2 T cinnamon
• Scoop of protein powder OR two raw eggs (make sure they’re fresh!)

Combine in a blender and process until smooth

Edna sent this along to encourage us all to try her smoothie with dandelion greens… a vegetable that I have never once before purchased, but did show up in my CSA box one time and I had no idea what they were. Now I know!

Just a preview:

By Peter Gail

Suppose your doctor tells you, on your next visit, that he has just discovered a miracle drug which, when eaten as a part of   your daily diet or taken as a beverage, could, depending on the peculiarities of your body chemistry: prevent or cure liver diseases, such as hepatitis or jaundice; act as a tonic and gentle diuretic to purify your blood, cleanse your system, dissolve kidney stones, and otherwise improve gastro-intestinal health; assist in weight reduction; cleanse your skin and eliminate acne; improve your bowel function, working equally well to relieve both constipation and diarrhea; prevent or lower high blood pressure; prevent or cure anemia; lower your serum cholesterol by as much as half; eliminate or drastically reduce acid indigestion and gas buildup by cutting the heaviness of fatty foods; prevent or cure various forms of cancer; prevent or control diabetes mellitus; and, at the same time, have no negative side effects and selectively act on only what ails you. If he gave you a prescription for this miracle medicine, would you use it religiously at first to solve whatever the problem is and then consistently for preventative body maintenance?

All the above curative functions, and more, have been attributed to one plant known to everyone, Taraxacum officinale, which means the “Official Remedy for Disorders.” We call it the common dandelion. It is so well respected, in fact, that it appears in the U.S. National Formulatory, and in the Pharmacopeias of Hungary, Poland, Switzerland, and the Soviet Union. It is one of the top 6 herbs in the Chinese herbal medicine chest.

According to the USDA Bulletin #8, “Composition of Foods” (Haytowitz and Matthews 1984), dandelions rank in the top 4 green vegetables in overall nutritional value. Minnich, in “Gardening for Better Nutrition” ranks them, out of all vegetables, including grains, seeds and greens, as tied for 9th best. According to these data, dandelions are nature’s richest green vegetable source of beta-carotene, from which Vitamin A is created, and the third richest source of Vitamin A of all foods, after cod-liver oil and beef liver! They also are particularly rich in fiber, potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and the B vitamins, thiamine and riboflavin, and are a good source of protein.

Dearest yogis!

I can’t believe it’s already August. I grew up in the Sacramento Valley (read: 112 degree summers) so it feels like summer should be coming any day now, rather than ending in a few weeks. So, to celebrate the last third of my favorite season of the year, with bikinis on the brain, and because the instructors at Yoga Belly are easily the hottest people I know (except for my honey, of course : )), here’s the start of a little blog-lovin’.

I give you: the “What’s In Your Blender” series. For the next few weeks, I’ll be bugging instructors for their favorite bootylicious blended recipes, and sharing the nutritional wealth with you. Because I love you. And because you’re beautiful. And because, as Will so eloquently laid out, “I do yoga because I want to be hot forever.”

Kicking off this series is none other than our very own Edna Barr… take it away, Edna!

In her words:

“I pretty much throw whatever is laying around in the blender!

Kale Smoothie (can use dandelion greens as well)

water (can use coconut water for better hydration or half water/OJ)
lime or lemon (no skin, seeds ok )
parsely
mint
fruit – any combination will work: TJ’s frozen mango,pineapple, banana, tangerine, strawberries. Any fresh fruit getting over ripe; toss it in there!

Depending on how much frozen fruit you used, add a few ice cubes. I just have a low end cheapo blender that works fine; you just have to let it run for a good minute. Otherwise you end up chewing your smoothie. It really is fast & easy to make; no need to chop anything. Just throw it in the blender!”

Mmmmm… happy eating/drinking, and happy Friday!

Dearest yogis!

I’ve been tragically banned from the studio with a bad case of poison oak (exacerbated by sweating) and I am craving yoga, hardcore. It’s been over a week since I’ve practiced, and I’m miserable about it.

However, my recent grounding has gotten me thinking about ways I can keep myself as healthy as possible without sweating. Obviously, me being me, I started thinking about food. More specifically, about veggies. And smoothies. And protein. (Cue: “Oh my!”)

After a little tinkering, here’s what I’m drinking right now, as I type this. I’ve lovingly dubbed it the Popeye Smoothie.

Popeye Smoothie:

1 ripe banana (frozen or unfrozen)

2 handfuls spinach

1 cup soy milk (or almond milk, rice milk, whatever… the only thing I don’t recommend is coconut water!)

1-2 tablespoons of almond butter (or peanut butter, cashew butter, whatever…)

1-2 tablespoons ground flax seeds

1 tablespoon chia seeds (optional)

1/2 ripe avocado (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a blender and pulse until smooth. Add ice, if you want it to be more smoothie-ish rather than juice-ish. It’s not the prettiest breakfast you’ll ever see, but it’s soooooo good for you! Yesterday, I actually skipped my morning coffee because I felt so energized after this bad boy.

You really can’t taste the spinach. Kale, on the other hand, is pretty noticeable. I don’t recommend it.

What are some of your favorite blends?

Image courtesy of ohsheglows.com