Quinoa-Avocado Salad

Summer is right around the corner, and this seasonal salad is sure to satisfy your taste-buds... AND your waistline. Please enjoy this complimentary recipe!

Serves: 4

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa (soaked, rinsed, and drained)

1 3/4 cup water

1/2 cup red pepper, diced

2 scallions

1/4 cup roasted pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup organic extra-virgin olive oil

3 tbsp fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 fresh ripe avocado

Optional add-ins: black beans, organic raw goat cheese, roasted vegetables

Cook quinoa with measured water in a saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for ten minutes. Turn off heat and let sit for another ten minutes until all the water is absorbed. Remove and fluff with a fork on a tray until cool. When quinoa is cool, add peppers, scallions, and pumpkin seeds. Combine olive oil, lime juice, water, and salt. Toss with quinoa. Garnish with fresh, sliced avocado and add-ins of choice!

Here's the WHOLE Truth!

We are all told that whole grains are good for us, which is no lie. Eating whole grains such as brown rice, quinoa, millet, and barley as opposed to refined carbohydrates such as white rice or pasta, have tremendous health-boosting benefits. Whole grains are extremely nutrient-dense, meaning your body can actually metabolize this food and convert it directly into fuel to keep all systems running efficiently. Besides overwhelmingly large amounts of colon-friendly fiber, whole grains contain a plethora of micronutrients and vitamins, such as phosphorous, magnesium, calcium, and zinc.

The only catch is... the nutritional powerhouses stored inside that itty bitty grain can only be released and absorbed into your digestive system if you soak your grains prior to cooking them. A substance called phytic acid combines with the nutrients in the grain in the intestinal tract, which blocks their absorption. Whole grains also contain enzyme inhibitors, which can have a negative effect on digestion. Soaking your grains neutralizes the phytates and allows your body to absorb all of the wonderful nutrients packed inside the grain. Also, soaking grains PRE-DIGESTS your grain for you. Not a bad combo! In other countries, grains are typically soaked or fermented before cooked or consumed. For example, cultured products such as miso and tempeh, are a wonderful enzyme-rich food often consumed in Japan.

It is very simple to soak your grains. All you need to do is plan ahead! Sprouting, overnight soaking, or old-fashioned fermentation are all useful tools. According to Mary G. Enig, Ph.D., many people who are allergic to grains find significant reduction in allergic reactions when they consumed grains which have been prepared according to these procedures.

For specific soaking and sprouting instructions and more health-minded tips, e-mail me at shaynayoga@gmail.com.

I hope you really soaked up all of this information (no pun intended... okay fine... pun intended)

The Art of Letting Go

I've been interested in deepening my 'spiritual practice'. By 'spiritual practice', I am simply referring to the practice of connecting with my true nature... my source... that which exists independent of the external and perceivable reality. I used to dislike the word 'spiritual', in that I often associated it with organized religion, a funky type of garb, or an old man with a gray beard chanting in some foreign language. My association of the word with those images was my own fault, and now I use the word openly to represent my connection to nature.

Up until two weeks ago, I spent nearly four months living on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, in a tiny town called Nosara. Nature was abundant, and I felt a very raw connection to the pulsations and fluctuations of Mother Earth. For example, whenever there was a full moon, I could not sleep, and my digestion and appetite were way off. Very interesting! Anyway, I felt very 'in tune' with nature. Nowadays, I am back in the Big Apple and have been experiencing quite a bit of culture shock. I am still landing... with a bit of turbulence. But that is okay... our bodies' ability to adapt to environmental changes truly fascinates me.

Whenever I am in nature, I tend to organically sink much deeper into my spiritual practice. When in Nosara, I felt very fulfilled on many levels, even though the necessity for material posessions was scarce. I did not need to wear nice clothing, buy unnecessary trinkets, or occupy my time watching a television. I didn't even really need to spend time in large groups, chatting about nothing. I was very content by myself, hiking through the jungle, or being humbled by the starry night sky. The more I read about spiritual activation and connection to our true Self, I am constantly struck by the word 'attachment'. What does it mean to have 'attachments'? It is said that in order to be completely free, we have to detach ourselves from the pleasures of the 'mundane world', that being the material world that we are so used to identifying with. For example, think of something in your life you simply CANNOT live without... maybe it is a car, a wad of cash in your wallet, an old pair of jeans that MAY come in handy one day even though they havent fit you in ten years... you get the point. So maybe you say to yourself "Yeah, I can live without those things." Well that's great. Now let's move to a deeper level of detachment. Take a moment to think of a pet... or a friend, partner, or family member. How deep is your attachment to this person? By attachment, I do not mean love. I mean, do you depend on this person or these objects to provide you with some sort of fulfillment in your life? Who are you without these external objects/people? When you take away the car, the money, the nice clothes, the label of 'mom', 'daughter', 'girlfriend', 'son', 'lawyer', etc., WHO ARE YOU?

By detaching ourselves from identifying with the 'mundane', material world, we are therefore FREE to explore our true Self. This doesn't mean we are indifferent towards those we love. We can still learn to function in the material world... but with grace. Instead of reacting with anger and anxiety if something happens on a material level, we can maintain a level of equanimity in our minds... knowing that the external layer is only skimming the surface of the multitudes contained within us. We are multidimensional beings, and what we think, say, and do don't matter as much as it seems. Who we are is our essence.

How to detach?

Here are some tips:

First, turn off your cell phone and computer. Maybe light a candle or some incense. Take at least five minutes each day to sit quietly with your spine erect (sit against a wall if you need the support), close your eyes, and find your breath. Do not control your breath; rather, pay attention to your body as it breathes for itself. Notice what it feels like to do nothing and simply 'be'. Perhaps on the inhale breath silently siggest to yourse;f the word 'Let', and on the exhale breath, silently suggest the word, 'Go'. If thoughts arise in the mind, allow them to exist, but just come back to your breath. The more you practice this simple mediation, the more fine-tuned your perspective of what's really important will be.