For the last two summers, I’ve had the best time teaching stand-up paddleboard yoga with BIG SUP Yoga at a beautiful spring fed lake here in Houston (288 Lake). Spending time in nature, soaking up the sun, floating on water and doing yoga! It’s my favorite thing to do in this entire town. I always feel like I’m on a mini vacation right here at home.
Curry Chickpea Salad, Italian White Bean Asparagus Salad + Black Bean Avocado Salad
Recently, I’ve had several conversations with people about how to make sure you get enough protein following a vegan diet. Honestly, this is the most common conversation that I have about eating vegan. The answer for me is by eating a healthy variety of whole plant-based foods that includes beans, nuts, nut butters, seeds, tempeh, tofu and some whole grains like quinoa.
I’m not big on tracking this kind of thing and I don’t count calories, but for a nutrition class I took while I was in culinary school I was required to track my food intake for two weeks. What I found is that my vegan diet met all of my protein needs perfectly. So I don’t sweat this too much. My focus and energy is directed toward holistic wellness and I trust that my healthy lifestyle will always support me.
Matt Frazier, an ultramarathoner and author of the book No Meat Athlete says “If you’re eating enough for your activity level and consuming a variety of whole foods, you will get all of the protein you need.” He explains that for his weight and activity level he needs about 2,500 calories per day and shoots to get about 10% or 250 calories from protein.
Foodie Yoga Girl made the big leap from the blogosphere into the real world last weekend with her very first cooking class event. The hands-on class was in honor of my friend Heather’s birthday. I shared Heather’s raw oatmeal raisin cookie recipe a while back. She and I met during our yoga teacher training. She’s lovely and it was so much fun being a part of her celebration.
For the class, we set up three stations, each focusing on a different cooking method. One group was in charge of baking jerk tofu. Another group at the stove made sauteed plantains and cilantro lime rice. And the third group (Heather’s parents who were visiting from Colorado) was in charge of this beautiful recipe for Caribbean Cobb Salad.
This just might be my favorite after-yoga dinner. So easy. Great flavors. Tons of nutrients and protein to refuel the body.
I usually take yoga classes in the mornings. I’ve always believed I had my best energy then. And, it’s just a lot easier getting class in once my kids are out of the house and at school.
But this evening, I took a power yoga class from my friend Beata. She is a beautiful yogi and has gone through the same training program that I am doing. Her class is fun, rigorous and builds a lot of heat. When I finished, I was relaxed, energized and well, pretty darn hungry.
So, I made this little meal for myself. I cheated and baked my sweet potato in the convection oven. If you have one, try cutting the potato in half and then baking it for about 6-8 minutes. It comes out crisp on the outside and creamy on the inside…so awesome. Otherwise, just bake the potato in the oven the way you normally would. Try cutting it in half, though. It cuts down on the cooking time quite a bit.
While the potato was cooking, I made a topping with onions, red pepper, carrots, collard greens and black beans. I seasoned it all with a caribbean jerk seasoning. I mashed down the cooked potatoes a little and softened them with some coconut oil.
You and your hungry yoga self are going to love this…
I had a lot of filling leftover from last night’s Black Bean + Roasted Chayote Tacos, so I put it in my Vitamix with about 2 cups of vegetable broth and turned it into a creamy soup. I topped the soup with Honey Lime Tofu Crema and a few tortilla strips.
To make the crema, mix 1/2 cup Tofutti Sour Cream, juice of 1/2 lime and 1-2 tsp mesquite honey or agave. Spoon the crema into a squirt bottle and add decorative pattern to the soup. Top with crispy tortilla strips.
I’d never even heard of Migas until I moved to Houston a few years ago. A Tex-Mex dish usually served at breakfast, Migas are basically scrambled eggs, with tortillas, refried beans, veggies and salsa. I like to eat them for breakfast, lunch or dinner. In an effort to make it a little more heart healthy and vegan, I make mine with tofu, black beans and lots of vegetables.
Migas are a great dish if you like to improvise as I do. You can add flour or corn tortillas, beans or no beans and whatever veggies you have in the fridge. I like mine a little spicy and add cumin, red pepper flakes and a Penzey spice mix called Arizona Dreaming.
First Decide what you want in your Migas:
foodie yoga girl 