Mexico, oh Mexico

Vacation started with a long line at Customs, and then a swift move through the agent and into the warm air of Cancun Mexico.  It was in the lows 80s when we arrived on 1/20/2013 and after a long day of travel we were there.

Marley asked me a questions about every building and tree on the side of the road until arriving at the resort. We were greeted with Chocolate chip cookies, bottles of water, punch for Marley and Champagne, which we declined after all that flying.  

The resort was amazing, Dreams Riviera Cancun Mexico, an all inclusive 5 star resort with staff that does EVERYTHING for you.

I spent my mornings teaching yoga (just until 9:45) then spent the rest of the day, swimming, walking on the beach and eating. Oh did we do a lot of eating. I was terrified to get on the scale when I got back, but such is life.

Marley had a blast, her favorite part other than being able to go from one pool to another all day was the swim up bar, AKA, the "juice bar", she had everything from frozen chocolate milk (a virgin Mud Slide) to frozen lemonade, to frozen strawberry banana drink and everything in between. By the end of the week she was walking by staff saying "Hola, Cono sta (Como esta)?" she wants to move to Mexico and cried when we left, I can't say I blame her, I kind of felt the same way.

We had some amazing food, and although I veered slightly (I mean how many days can I look at a chocolate croissant and not eat one?) The staff was really accommodating and had quite a few Gluten Free and Vegetarian Options.  Many things I ordered with no cheese, etc.  The Salad bar was amazing, hummus and guacamole at every lunch and dinner we attended as well as rice noodles and rice at every meal. We certainly did not go hungry at this resort.

The bad news is I left my phone behind, which is where most of my pictures are.  I have some on my phone and will upload them soon.  

This week back to juicing and more Vegan GF recipes.  More to come soon, first stop, the food store..... stay tuned!!

Peace, Love and Namaste!

Eggplant yumminess

Before going all juice this week I had some yummy meals last week, one being a "nightshade" dinner.  For our family Christmas with my side of the family my mom, trying to accommodate my vegan, Gluten Free family decided to make an eggplant dish that was sans cheese and gluten (the family was having Stuffed Shells and Roast Beef).

It went like this- and next time I make I promise to take more pictures, but I was so excited to get to the eating part I forgot - 

Ingredients:

1 large Eggplant

2 Medium Zucchinis

1 cup baby bella Mushrooms (or whatever you like)

1 large colored Pepper

1 Jar of Spaghetti Sauce or 3 cups of homemade

Dairy Free Cheese of your choice

Servings 4-6

1. Start with 1 large eggplant and 2 medium size zucchinis, slice them to about 1/2 inch thick and spread them out on a cookie/baking sheet with Olive Oil and Salt and Pepper, put in the oven on at least 400 degrees for 10 minute on each side.

2. once crisped some, place them in a baking dish and add Mushrooms and Sliced peppers (any color I used red) and cover with Tomato Sauce of some kind, it can be homemade of a jar of your favorite Spaghetti Sauce and cover with your favorite Dairy free Cheese (we used Daiya Mozzarella) and bake on 350 for about 30 minutes.

Just out of the Oven

Serve with dinner with a salad add a Pasta or bread if you feel the need but it is so wonderful without it. You might just make a believer out of your pasta loving friends!  This dinner is one of my new favorites and I have made it several time for different occasions and people seem to love it.

It smelled so good I started eating it before I had take pictures.  But here is what  it looks like on the inside.


Give is a try, you will be amazed.  Coming soon, Pad Thai to die for!
Until then....
Peace, Love and Yoga,
Namaste!

New Years new you.....or me?!

So the Juicing has been going well. I have found a great blog with juice recipes and am loving them, as is the whole family (www.healthycrush.com).  I have officially moved to Juice only for 5 days. I know, I could do longer but I want at least a week to reincorporate solids before going to a mostly cooked menu in Mexico.

So here are some of my favorites:
The Classic Green:
1 bunch Kale
1 cucumber
4 Stalks of Celery
2 Granny Smith Apples
1/2 Lemon (peeled)
a chunk of Ginger Root

This juice is amazing, I know sounds weird which is why I eased into it with a week of juice and food.  But I really like this and I feel AMAZING. No really. I drink 12-14 oz of green juice first thing in the morning and I am ready to go.  I can teach Yoga, I can see clients, I can play hide and seek with Marley, and not the kind where I hide under the blanket on the couch where I am sitting, the get up and find a good spot kind. It's fabulous!!

Some others I have tried:
Green Pineapple (from Healthycrush.com)
1 1/2 cups Fresh Pineapple (chopped)
4 stalks of Celery
1/2 bunch of kale
1 small piece of ginger

This juice is the Bomb!!! so fruity and delicious, made me feel like I was already in Cancun sipping a green juice on the beach. Hmmm, wonder if they have that there?

My husbands favorite so far is the Carrot Juice, which I have to say I am drinking as I am writing and it is pretty darn sweet.  Almost sweeter than the Pineapple.  But good enough to get me through my next few sessions.  Here is a version from healthcrush.com

Carrot Juice:
3 Carrots
2 apples 
1/2 lemon (peeled)
piece of ginger

All the ingredients I used are organic, doesn't make sense to detox from toxins with toxins. Just sayin'! 

I am super excited about further juicing experimenting and sharing with you, and I will also share the eggplant dinner from last week, so check back.

That my friends is how I am spending my new year, juicing and packing for our trip.

Peace, Love and Yoga
Namaste!

To Kale or not to Kale

Life has finally settled, I finished teaching at the College, the grades are submitted and the holidays are over.  So it's time to get back on track with everything.  On that note, along with all my new beautiful yoga clothes and fun toys, I got a juicer for Christmas and I am having so much fun creating.

One thing I have learned already is green and orange makes brown.  So when I mixed a batch of Kale, Cucumber, Celery and apples and decided to add Carrots, it went from bright green or a jar of mud....but it tastes pretty good.

After dropping Marley at school I decided to run to Fresh Market and grab some more Kale as I juiced up all the greens in the house this morning for today juice.  While there one of the young men in produce told me there is someone who buys a case of Kale from them a week for juicing.  I love their produce, so fresh and they keep great, and although initially I didn't want to commit to one green, and wanted to try them all I have realized a few things.

1. The whole process can be time consuming, especially when you compare it to grabbing left overs or a bowl of cereal, so although variety might taste good, it is not all that practical.
2. I LOVE  Swiss Chard to eat, I definitely do Not love it to juice.
3. Spinach is great but the bunches are small
4. Kale is great for you and I do love it in juice, and I just plain love it!
5. Did I mention I love Kale?

So it looks like Kale is the winner of the greens contest for me, So since I just bought three large bunches of Kale, which I am confident will be gone by Saturday, I am off to find the perfect complements to the Kale.

I also found a juicing recipe that contains Beets.... interesting for sure. I will try that as well since I just picked some up.

The long and short of it is, I love my juicer, I love my juice and I love my Husband for overcoming the stigma related to buying your wife a kitchen appliance for Christmas and just doing it.

Marley experiencing her first "juice"and she loved it. (I know the face say not so much)

Will have some lovely recipes to come for the juicing for sure and hope to upload some pictures from dinner tonight.  Eggplant and Zucchini Mozzarella So delicious and super easy. 

Until then, 

Peace, Love and Yoga

Namaste