Vegan Banana Bread

Hello all! 

So as you all know (or even if you are new to reading this), I'm trying to live a more holistic life. This includes eating a diet that is meant to aid my body in self-healing, maintaining balance and energy, and get rid of toxins. I will go into detail on a later post about what that means for me! 

For now, let us talk about the glorious super food banana bread. Ok, it doesn't really qualify as a super food, BUT banana bread has the potential to be a filling, healthy, delicious food that is great for a snack, dessert, or even breakfast. This particular B-bread happens to be vegan and soy free! Um, noms. So without further ado, here is the recipe:

INGREDIENTS

 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds + 6 tablespoons room temperature water

1/4 C olive oil

 
1/3 C sugar

 
2/3 C unsweetened organic applesauce

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 C smashed bananas (about)

 
2 C whole wheat flour

2 scoops of Stevia (I used the little spoon that came in the Stevia bottle)

 
1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup walnuts or chocolate chips (or both)

 

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease the baking dish. I used two loaf pans since I was making two different loafs. 

Mix the flax seeds and water and set aside.

Combine olive oil, sugar, apple sauce, vanilla extract, and bananas. Mix well. I had a handy helper with strong arms to assist ;)

  

 Mix the flax seed and water combination (it should be gooey like egg whites) into the wet ingredients.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, Stevia, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well. Slowly, add the dry mixture into the wet mixture and stir.it.up. Making sure all the dry ingredients have been "soaked up" by the wet ingredients. 

Add your chocolate chips!

 

Or walnuts and cinnamon! 

Pour batters into the loaf pans and put in the oven.

I baked these smaller loafs for about 25 minutes. If you are making one thick loaf, I recommend baking for 45 minutes! Always use a toothpick or butter knife to check the center if you are unsure. As long as it comes out clean (and not gooey) then you are good! 

Let them cool (and let the aroma of delicious banana bread fill the air)

Then dig in! Can you tell which one Joe liked best? He loves chocolate.

  This is so moist and delicious. The chocolate chip one is perfectly sweet while the cinnamon walnut is rich and hearty. I hope you enjoy!!!

Green Smoothie Recipe

Hello!
So, I can't express my happiness that I've finally found a green smoothie recipe that is drinkable. After two total misses, I was beginning to lose hope that I would be able to participate in the health benefits of a green smoothie. Thankfully, this morning was a total home run. So without further ado, here is the recipe:

2 giant handfuls of spinach leaves

1 small banana

8 raspberries

5 strawberries

3/4 C of pineapple

1/2 C filtered water 

A few ice cubes

All organic is the way to go if you can! I bought the strawberries and raspberries at Trader Joes and the bananas, spinach, and pineapple at Whole Foods!

Blend and enjoy!

I've had a few questions about body ph balance and why it is important. Just like with any area in your life, maintaining balance is essential to making sure things run efficiently. The foods you eat determine on the PH scale where your body will be. I posted an article a few days ago about how eating dairy totally throws your bodies balance off and makes it more acidic. This can lead to many health problems including dis-ease with the liver and kidneys. 

Here are a few articles that offer great information and more depth reasons as to why eating a balance diet means more than just maintaining your weight!

 http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-3400/What-You-Need-to-Know-About-pH.html

http://www.livestrong.com/article/458880-why-is-ph-balance-important/


-Namaste

 

 

New Beginnings

Hello friends!

I decided it was time to revamp my blog. You see, there are changes on the horizon. As I am preparing to start school at SWIHA (The Southwest Institute of the Healing Arts), I have been flooded with an overwhelming amount of great ideas of what I want my future to be. Deciding to go to school for yoga was literally a last minute decision. I have been working towards ASU for the last 2+ years and to suddenly change my mind seemed ridiculous. However, whenever I thought about going to ASU and my future studies there, something just didn't feel right. It wasn't just nervous butterflies or the thought of experiencing something new, it was anxiety, depression, a feeling of inaccuracy. Like this is not what I am suppose to be doing.

Luckily, I have some really good listeners in my life who were there to offer their support and advice. Joe (the bf to anyone who doesn't know him) was a major source of support. He helped make a pros and cons list of going to school at ASU vs SWIHA. He helped looked at things from the perspective of the future. We examined things from a financial stand point. We looked at when we wanted to have kids and how schooling would fall into place with that. I had made an appointment with SWIHA to speak with an adviser and truthfully, I just wanted to see how the experience went. Did I feel comfortable or was this not the option either.

Well, as many of you know now, SWIHA was the right choice. I was not nervous at all while speaking with the adviser and enrolling in classes (except when I signed the loan papers, but c'mon...I've never had a loan out and I think everyone would be nervous about that). At the end of the day, I became a student of the 800 hour yoga teacher/therapist program. My classes break down like so:

First 200 hours of yoga teaching (after completing this, I can legally teach a yoga class!!!)

Additional 200 hours of advanced yoga classes (this is so important as I can become more versatile and employable as a yoga teacher)

200 hours dedicated to a second certificate (I the Holistic Nutrition)

200 hours towards electives...and I don't mean boring "take a humanities class" electives, I mean awesome things like Aromatherapy Yoga, learning about the chakras, learning how to buy produce/proteins on a budget, and even teaching yoga to kids.

What I love about the classes offered at SWIHA is that there are so many classes you can take that will benefit you towards your career goals. Not like at a traditional university where you have to take certain electives or math classes even if that is the last time you will ever see the material and they aren't part of your degree. SWIHA is an accredited school, but they give you the option to shape how you want your future to go. This was just a better fit for me.

So...now that I've probably lost half of the people that started reading and bored the ones continuing to read, here is my point: this blog is here to not only document my journeys through school-I'm sure there will be many awkwardly hilarious moments as I learn yoga-but it is also a place where I can teach, give, accept, and learn things that I can use for my future goals. I want to own a yoga studio and teach people how to eat healthy and holistically on a budget. I want to change the way people feel and open their lives to one of more fulfillment and happiness. This is where I'm hoping to start all those wonderful things.

So, thank you for reading and being part of this journey. I hope you have found the wonderful feeling of peace when you know you are doing what you were put on this earth to do.