In yoga, we’re supposed to let our combative thoughts leave the sanctuary. However, as I’m standing in the tadasana pose, thoughts of food bring comfort as well. Such thoughts are relaxing, right? During the last class, I planned a dinner of buttery, roast potatoes with a dollop of thick yogurt served with Harissa spiced Brazilian Collard Greens mixed with chickpeas. When a particular dish is craved, it’s my body recommending an ingredient that has a certain vitamin or nutrient it needs immediately. During that dripping wet bikram class, my body was begging for good fats and carbohydrates (carbs). After all, I was waking up quite early to run a few miles the next day. I love when my body needs plenty of carbs. The media and crazy diet plans have made people unnecessarily scared of carbs, but I embrace them wholeheartedly. Eating excessive carbs are one of the joys about maintaining a regular cardio workout, because they’re an essential energy boost. Read more
Recipes
Miso Soup with Sweet Potato, Bok Choy, and Shrimp
It’s the first few days of spring, and the weather is chilly. It comes to no surprise of hearing about future snowstorms at this time of year in New York. I once experienced the four seasons in one day. The morning started warm as I left my apartment in a sundress with a raincoat that only looks pretty. 45 minutes later, I exited the train station in the city to a crisp and cold breeze, similar to the fall season. By lunchtime snow flurries larger than a quarter were drifting pass the office windows. Toward the evening, the day had returned to a pleasant warmer temperature with no evidence of snow or rain. Read more
Herbal Tuna Salad
Tuna fish is that canned essential ingredient in a well-stocked pantry. It’s not a coveted meal. It’s the lunch or dinner served the day before a paycheck, or in this Great Recession, it’s a deposit from the unemployment agency into the bank account. Yep, I know about those emergency meals. Truthfully, I crave a fresh tuna steak. Thinly sliced revealing a bright pink flesh with a tender, mouth-watering, saline taste seasoned only with good quality olive oil, sea salt, and fresh black pepper. Oh, those were the days when life was worry-free. These days, I use a can opener. Read more
Ginger Lentil Soup with Eggplant Puree
Lessons in Moments of Silence
A couple of weeks ago, a beloved neighbor passed away unexpectedly. Of all the people I know, why did it have to be him? My neighbor is known for being bright and positive, and such a statement is not of his spirit. That being said, I realize it’s a terrible thought to utter into words. Grief over a loss has mostly been my experience of late, for his passing is the fourth memorial in less than six months. My perception of life has tilted toward the negative. Attempting to wake up happy, I’m moving with a heavy heart against a strong wind that doesn’t cease to take a break. Read more
Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
My Shamrock Wine Plant gifted my apartment a beautiful gift. It blossomed tiny white and lavender flowers in the middle of a winter snowstorm, a few weeks shy of Spring. It’s been flowering ever since. Maybe in a few days, I’ll start seeing crocuses peering out from the leftover snow. Snow once glistening pretty, now gritty and soiled. It’s melting away, but perhaps more snow will arrive. This is New York after all because it still snows in April.
I’m pretty excited with anticipation. It was an emotionally harsh Winter, but the energy in the air is changing. Perhaps it’s for the better. It’s been a while since I’ve hoped, dreamed, and fantasized about the near future. However, these changes will not start unless I put in the work. March is looking quite industrious. Let’s hope it pays off. Read more