Category Archives: Inspiration

by | CATEGORY: beauty smarts, Delectable Delights, Food Smarts, Inspiration, Recipes

Lately, and Zucchini Noodles with Avocado Cream

IMG_3417Hello my delectable! How’s your summer going? Mine is, well, going! It’s crazy how quickly it’s passing. I feel like I just pulled out my sandals! Just wanted to pop in and share what I’m loving lately, what I’m doing lately, and what I think you’ll love too! There’s too much to even list, but this is a start. Look for more “lately” posts for weird and random current obsessions from now on. And read till the end to find out how to use up all the zucchini that’s kicking around right now!

1. Beautycounter! I love it. I sell it (I think I told you). I wear it. It’s much much safer than conventional beauty and it offers options for just about everything. I love, love, love the new makeup, and the cleansing balm is my favorite thing of all time. Also, the overnight peel. Amaze. Really. Put this on at night, look better in the morning. I think I’m personally a skincare minimalist, and I am a little more detailed with makeup, but whichever way you lean, beautycounter has something you’ll love. Let me introduce you two! Contact me to find your new favorites. Or explore the lineup here. #switchtosafer

2. I’ve been attending the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, to put a more formal spin on my coaching. I started in May with the accelerated 6 month program, and it’s re-inspiring me with health and coaching in a lot of ways. But also reinforcing what I know for sure. Nice to know I know what I know. Wait, what? You get it. In any case I’ll be sharing some thoughts inspired by the learning. And I’m offering free intro coaching sessions as part of my requirement for school. Interested? Contact me to set up a call. As a thank you I will follow up with some free tips to start you on the way towards your goals.

3. I’ve been teaching more. I seem to talk and sing a lot in these classes, and I tell you what it’s kind of a nice change. I love that I get to share my love of the practice with a tiny bit more theory than I do just cranking people into a bind. Though hey that’s great too. Check me out at Euphoria Yoga in Woodstock 11:30 am Thursday the 16th and Thursdays thereafter. And stay tuned for updates! I hope to host a few pop ups, include some recipes and treats, and generally step it up. What are YOU craving in a yoga class or gathering this late summer and early fall?

4. It’s zucchini season! Yup it’s full force right now. Did you know August 8 was National Sneak Some Zucchini on Your Neighbor’s Porch Day? It is. It’s a thing. They even give you instructions. You sneak over there quietly, leave your zucchini and run away.

But there are lots of great ways to use it up, even if you’re sick of it. This latest one is a go-to of mine, but I don’t know if I’ve ever published it. Sometimes I don’t even sauté the noodles, I’m that lazy, and they’re good raw too. But it’s only a 5 minute stove top affair if you want them cooked. The dish is shown here with some raw mushroom falafels I pulled out of an old recipe book, but it doesn’t really need anything fancy. My favorite toppings are ripe summer cherry tomatoes and raw pine nuts with an extra swirl of olive oil and a sprinkle of basil. But you could put any protein you like on top too.

And with that, here’s how you can use up the zucchini I leave on your porch…

Have a delectable week. And don’t forget to contact me for your free health history.

Zucchini Noodles with Avocado Cream
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A zoodle recipe so decadent you won't miss the wheat or dairy, so easy you won't mind cooking dinner.
Servings Prep Time
4 10 minutes
Cook Time
5minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 10 minutes
Cook Time
5minutes
Zucchini Noodles with Avocado Cream
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
A zoodle recipe so decadent you won't miss the wheat or dairy, so easy you won't mind cooking dinner.
Servings Prep Time
4 10 minutes
Cook Time
5minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 10 minutes
Cook Time
5minutes
Ingredients
  • 4 zucchinimedium sized, or 2 larger zucchini
  • 2 Tbsp. Avocado Oilor other neutral, heat resistant oil
  • 2-4 cloves garlicminced
Cream Sauce
Servings:
Units:
Instructions
Cream Sauce
  1. Slice the avocados in half and scoop out the flesh adding it to the bowl of your food processor. I like the small bowl, since it gives the blades more contact with the small amount of avocado for easier blending.
  2. Add remaining ingredients to the food processor and process until smooth and creamy. You may have to stop and scrape down the sides a couple of times.
  3. Taste, and add seasoning and more oil to taste, and then blend again until completely smooth.
Noodles
  1. To make the noodles, cut the ends off your zucchini and make noodles according to your spiralizer's instructions.
  2. In a heavy bottomed skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat, add the garlic and stir to cook, about 3 minutes. Don't let it burn! If it seems to be sizzling, turn down the heat to medium.
  3. Add the zucchini noodles to the pan and sauté until just soft. Don't cook too long or they will shrink a lot and release too much water.
To Serve
  1. Divide the noodles among four plates. Place a large dollop of cream sauce on each and toss to coat well. Top with desired "fixins" and enjoy!
  2. Notes: 1. Never, ever, ever add salt to the zucchini noodles until ready to serve. They will release water like crazy and the whole thing will be a soggy mess. 2. You might have extra cream sauce left over. It's great as a dip too! A squeeze of lemon on top, or a floater of olive oil, can help keep it from browning. Refrigerate until ready to use...if it even lasts past dinner. 3. Nutritional yeast is also a great topper. Replaces parmesan well as a topping.
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by | CATEGORY: Delectable Delights, Food Smarts, Inspiration

Thanksgiving Stuffing Skillet Bake

skillet 1As Thanksgiving approaches I am reminded of how grateful I am to have so many I people I love. People I love to cook for. Also how much I wish there were less traffic and intense planning leading up to said cooking…

But never mind that now.

I’ve noticed that quite a few folks are still looking for Thanksgiving mains that don’t involve poultry or meat of any kind. READ MORE >

by | CATEGORY: Delectable Delights, Food Smarts, foundations, Inspiration, Yoga

My Shiny Happy Life

imageMy life is all rainbows and unicorns. That’s right, every morning I wake up and little birds help me put on my yoga clothes. I meditate calmly with no monkey mind for a full hour, after which I drink pure lemon water from the stream before getting on my mat for a focused, intense yoga practice on my own. After that the day flows easily with the perfect healthy food, all of which I make myself. Abundant clients throw themselves at me willy nilly. I easily handle all personal interactions. If there is the rare time of stress, I handle it with equanimity, without being overly reactive. I NEVER go crazy and do something self destructive. I am totally at peace, regardless of what life throws at me.

Yeah, and if you believe that I have some ocean-front property in the Everglades you might like.

No, the truth is I am a work in progress, just like everyone else. And despite the beautiful veggie/smoothie/raw dessert shots I splash all over IG, I also eat out too often, just to get out of the house when being a solo-preneur makes me feel trapped. I am also more reactive than I’d like. In face, yesterday I was upset by a personal interaction and totally lost my cool, ate all my travel snacks in a row and then ended up beating myself up for an hour or two. But because of so much yoga practice and work on myself, these times are rarer and rarer. I have more ‘wins’, more grace and calm breathing through crisis as time goes on.

I think it’s easy in this digital world to see only one side of things. I have FOMO too by the way! SO much. I should definitely quit Facebook. Yeah, right. That’s gonna happen.

Even though I try to show some of the messiness and talk about the ‘hard parts’ of life too, I’m not sure it completely hits home. And it’s important to show the struggle. After all, how can someone help you out of the ditch if they haven’t experienced what it’s like to be stuck down there themselves?

Understand this: whatever emotional eating issue, body image crisis, lack of motivation, beating yourself up, perfectionist, pendulum swinging thing you are going through, I have been there. More than once. And after so many years of slogging around at the bottom of that ditch, I know how to help you climb out of it.

That doesn’t mean life will be all rainbows and unicorns and kale salads. Though today was a great day of meditation, yoga, healthy food, productivity and calm mind, tomorrow I may wake up, check facebook from my bed and haul off to the diner for a stack of pancakes slathered in syrup while stewing over all my faults. I really hope I don’t, but if I do, I won’t whip myself erotically after the fact. I will walk around the block, drink a green juice (or maybe a great glass of red wine) and get over it.

This is balance. Just like some of those crazy yoga inversions, it is not a static spot. You don’t land there and say “ah, balance, there you are.” And just stay stock still. You have to make constant micro-adjustments to stay there.

Can you get down with that? Then let’s get there! My 90-day bespoke program is designed to help you tune into your own needs, joys, likes and dislikes and tune up the vibration to help you find that place of balance that is delectable and sustainable for you.

Book your free consultation now and let’s get going>>

With love, lemon water and (raw) chocolate covered cookies.

-Laura

by | CATEGORY: Delectable Delights, Food Smarts, health, Inspiration, Recipes

World’s Easiest Matcha Latte

matcha shotIf you’ve been anywhere near instagram lately, or have read the menus at your local coffee and tea shops, you may have noticed a craze for a bright green tea called Matcha. It is everywhere suddenly! Even my favorite little local coffee shop is offering a matcha latte. And, it’s a pretty healthy craze. Matcha is loaded with antioxidants, even more than ‘regular’ brewed green tea, due to the fact that you drink the whole ground leaf rather than just brewing the leaves and tossing them.

And it has a whole host of other benefits. This is pretty good roundup of matcha’s powers. And this is a great description of how it gives you calm focus. Love that!

I love matcha as a supplement to my daily routine, but every now and then I’ll go a little further and trade in my beloved coffee for a matcha only month. When I recently did that and started posting pictures of my yummy drinks, I got a lot of comments from people who want to love it, but just don’t.

Well, in all honesty, you don’t have to drink it! Coffee has antioxidants too…and hey, I drink coffee most of the time. If you can handle the super charged feeling of drinking coffee, and it’s your love, go for it. Brightly colored fruits and vegetables have antioxidants too. Red wine… No one superfood can ‘fix’ your health. But, if you really want to drink matcha and are unsure what to do with it, I have a few tips and a recipe that may make you a believer.

Tip #1:

If you’re new to matcha and it’s too grassy/bitter/pungent for you, try ceremonial grade. People will try to sell you on the culinary variety if you’re making a latte out of it, but I find culinary matchas rather bitter, and often muddy tasting (and kind of a muddy green color too, as opposed to bright green like fresh spring peas). I like the smoothness and sweet quality of the higher grade. There are many ceremonial matchas that are affordable. Just do some experimenting until you find what you like. Here’s a link to the best matcha guide of all time, you’re sure to find something here.

Tip #2:

Make a latte. Yes, it is more traditional to drink it straight up, but tradition isn’t everything. It will be just as good for you in a creamy treat-like latte that you actually want to drink. Though there is some evidence to suggest that pairing matcha with dairy products negates the antioxidant effect, so go for nut milks or coconut milk.

Tip #3:

Make it into dessert. Got a favorite vegan vanilla ice cream/smoothie/chia pudding/raw tart recipe? Add a little matcha and turn up the flavor and health benefits.

And finally, here is my favorite matcha latte recipe. To enjoy it hot, use hot water. To enjoy it cold, use cold water and pour it over ice. Like it creamier? Add more coconut oil or cashews. Like it stronger? Add more matcha. Like it sweeter? Add more honey. Or less if you go for that slightly bitter quality.You can’t ruin it. And it’s much faster than brewing coffee.

World's Easiest Matcha Latte
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Servings Prep Time
1 2minutes
Servings Prep Time
1 2minutes
World's Easiest Matcha Latte
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Servings Prep Time
1 2minutes
Servings Prep Time
1 2minutes
Ingredients
Servings:
Units:
Instructions
  1. Blend well, preferably in a high speed blender, until frothy and creamy.
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by | CATEGORY: Inspiration, tips, Yoga

Getting “Real” with Yoga at Home

IMG_2215Today I got on my mat. Ok, I get on my mat most days, but today felt special. After a long week of holidays and family and travel, and ‘make do’ practices, I’m finally home and was expecting a friend to join me for an asana and breathing session chez moi. I thought “Now I will finally have a real practice!” But winter arrived unexpectedly today, and my yoga buddy wasn’t able to drive. I was back to facing the idea of a solo practice. In times past this might have spelled the end of my ‘get back in gear’ plans, but somehow today’s practice was amazing, focused and sweetly sweaty. It felt just as ‘real’ as any day in the shala. How’d that happen?

Well, partly after all these years I’ve finally grown up in my practice. I still LOVE being in the room with a lot of other devoted folks and all that energy, but my mat and my own breath are familiar to me, and the habit is ingrained. I can make the energy myself if I need to. And partly I’ve developed a few rituals over the past several months of mainly self practice that have really helped me make the most of my alone time and keep the yoga fires burning, even without community around me. Here are a few:

  1. Lemon water. I get up in the morning and drink it first thing. It makes me feel virtuous and begins the ritual of the morning. Ok, I drink my coffee after that too, but the lemon water is what makes it feel like I’m beginning my day in a healthy way and setting the tone for the practice.
  2. I set a time in my mind for getting on my mat and when the clock strikes that time, I “ekam inhale.” Practicing at the same time every day is even better, but though I don’t always manage to do that, I set a time in my mind the night before and keep it like an appointment.
  3. A little rebellion. I often practice to music, at least for the opening sun salutes and standing postures. There I said it, ashtanga police be damned. Sometimes a driving beat is helpful in getting me going or keeping me flowing. I respond deeply to rhythms. They draw my breath, heartbeat and mind all into one pointed focus.

Looking for inspiration to get on your mat, go to a class, or design your sustainable delectable life and practice? I’d love to help! I’m working on a free gift for you—a cheat sheet of my ten top tips for getting on the mat regularly. In the meantime, share your unique struggles with me via email or comments and let’s see if we can start your motivational tuneup!

And, coming in the New Year, I’m launching a new program for creating a healthy-yet-balanced life that includes a dedicated yoga practice AND room for mindful indulgence. In short, A Life Delectable. To get first dibs when the program launches and keep up to date on the latest tips and recipes, don’t forget to sign up for email updates and ‘like’ the A Life Delectable facebook page!

And now back to my New Year’s Eve healthy indulgent menu planning…

Wishing you happiness, health and lots of dark chocolate in the coming year,

Laura

by | CATEGORY: foundations, Inspiration, tips, Yoga

The Pose I Wish Wasn’t

Eka Pada Bakasana A
A number of months ago my friends at the Ashtanga Dispatch hosted an Instagram Challenge, and one of the required poses was “the pose you wish…wasn’t.” So yeah, my immediate reaction was to avoid that challenge! But seriously folks, there are very few poses I wish didn’t exist. Though there are plenty of poses that challenge me, I find most of them enjoyable to work on. But there are one or two poses that feel more than challenging. They feel impossible. As if there is no finger hold. Nowhere to begin. Like they were designed just to show me my limits. There’s no work, just a feeling of inadequacy. READ MORE >

by | CATEGORY: foundations, Inspiration, tips, Yoga

Crazy Pants, Body Image and Musings on an IG Challenge

baddha hasta sirsasana D“You know, there really is so much too much of you!”-A Tale of Two Cities.

This is sometimes how I feel about myself. Too many thoughts, too loud, too curly, too curvy, too many asanas, singing when I should chant, talking when I should be silent. Part of my journey of yoga: embracing it all. There is exactly as much of me as there should be. Yes, self-transformation can be good, but self-acceptance is even better. If it’s true as the Baghavad Gita says, that “yoga is the practice of tolerating the consequences of being who you are,” then I may be slowly, slowly almost practicing yoga. I see the growth and the stuck places too, everywhere in my life. And it’s evidenced in my yoga pants and my Instagram account. Say what??? READ MORE >