Another Recipe: Colcannon

Besides yoga, my next favorite thing to do is cook. Well, then there's dancing, I'm not sure where that fits in. Regardless, I really, really love to cook. And I love to help other people see that it's not very hard to make delicious food and nourish themselves very well. I love taking really basic and inexpensive items to make something really deelish. Less-privileged people than we around the world have been making excellent food out of the most basic ingredients. We can learn from them!

Here's one of my favorites, it's perfect for phase one of the cleanse (and forever more if you ask me). It's a "modern-day" take on a classic Irish dish called "Colcannon"

Cube 1 lb of red, purple or fingerling potatoes, place in a large pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, simmer 15-20 minutes until tender. Drain and return to medium heat for 1-2 minutes to steam off any excess water

Meanwhile, bring large pot of water to a boil. When boiling, add a couple pinches of salt and 1 lb of kale with all tough stems removed. I slice along the stems and then do a rough chop of the leaves. Cook for 5 minutes, drain and set aside.

Heat 2-3 Tbs of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add about 3 cups of sliced shitake mushrooms (or any other kind, really) and 3 cloves of pressed garlic. Saute for 5-7 minutes or until shrooms are soft. Stir in kale, cook for 1 more minute. Season with salt and pepper.

Fold kale/mushrooms mixture into potatoes and serve. You can sprinkle a little gomasio on this (sesame seeds with sea salt) or serve with a sliced avocado for a little extra fat. An extra glug of olive oil before serving is good too. Make sure you season it, at least salt & pep.

Ingredients:
1 lb potatoes
1 lb kale
2-3 Tbs olive oil
3 cups sliced shitake mushrooms
3 cloves garlic

Enjoy! I hope you find these helpful.

Welcome Newbies

As an oldie, in more ways than one, some words of wisdom to the newbies. Shop, prepare and eat early and often. Start now. Hit those bottle of stuff today. I hope you are having as much fun as me.

Anticipation leads to Attachment

Hello Friends,
As I begin thinking too much about all the foods I will eliminate during cleanse week I realize that I'm stepping out of the present moment. Instead I ask, "What is happening right now, in this time and space?" It's pre-cleanse week and although it's important to prepare for next week, I will narrow my focus in this moment and take steps towards depleting my caffeine consumption. First begrudgingly, then with the acknowledgement that I am caring for my body on a higher level.

May we journey together from our yogic center and release attachment to our habits and embrace something new in each moment to come.

Om Love,
Anita

P.S. I strongly encourage journaling along the way--very insightful!!!

A Few Of My Favorite Things...

Last night Jeff and I enjoyed a hearty dinner I thought I might share with all of you, especially if you are a first-timer and are used to having something substantial stick to your ribs.

I cut up several red potatoes (skin on) and about 3 large sweet potatoes (skin off). I put these in a large non-stick* roasting pan. Then I chopped up two shallots and pressed 3 cloves of garlic into the pan as well. I then chopped up some fresh rosemary and fresh thyme (leaves only, not the stalks) and tossed that in as well. Finally, I doused it all with EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) and used a big spoon to toss and coat everything and distribute the garlic and shallots. Then I put this in a pre-heated 375 degree oven until the 'taters started to form a little crust and were cooked through. I tossed it all once or twice while cooking. I made enough for our dinner, Jeff's lunch today and at least two or three other meals so it's a great staple for cleanse week.

*Though I don't usually like the idea of non-stick, it's really great for roasting like this because if not, the yummy crusty part sticks to the pan when you scrape the potatoes out. With non-stick it stays on the potatoes.

With it I served asparagus that I tossed in EVOO with a little salt and then put on the grill for just a few minutes, turning it once and a few minutes on the other side. And while that was on the grill, I pressed a few more cloves of garlic into some EVOO in a saute pan over medium heat and added a ton of fresh spinach, which has to be turned and tossed continually so it all cooks.

It was delicious, totally satisfying and very Phase 1 of the cleanse. The key is to eat enough and eat things you really like! It may just mean dismantling what you think a meal consists of (meat, starch, side). Anyway, thought I'd share those ideas, especially the potato combo. Making it all in advance is great. So today I'll just warm some of my potatoes up in a pan and add a salad for lunch. Enjoy!

Earthlings

I'm not really into the idea of using disgusting images to "encourage" someone to not eat meat, but I do think we should make educated choices. As a result, I am providing a link to a documentary called "Earthlings". The film is about humans using animals as pets, food, clothing, etc. Maybe this will make it easier to reduce meat and dairy this week.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1282796533661048967

P.S. Did I mention my addiction to technology? I think I checked the blog site around 10 times yesterday in anticipation of a new post. Also, if someone could post the secret to enlightenment on the blog during this cleanse, that would be great. Thanks. :)

Hey Cara...

I am ever so curious about your first pre-cleanse day. Did you eat out? Did you go to grocery shopping? Did you cook? Please, tell all!

How about the rest of the gang? Brad, are you practicing getting up early? Ashley B., are you sippin' on green tea? Gina, have you already created your sweat lodge?

WELCOME to the Spring Yoga Immersion & Cleanse!

Hello everyone! This blog is a great communal space where we can all come together to relate our experiences and offer each other support. It's a space to both ask for and give support and help you remember you are not alone! Over the last several cleanses, there seem to be a few people very comfortable with posting here and most people feel like they don't have anything interesting or worthy to say so remain silent. Please don't underestimate your contribution to this experience. In fact, everyone's contribution is essential.

I'd like to ask everyone to post a little introduction or hello and say something about yourself. You can just click the "Comments" button below this post and leave your little shout out to everyone. Since we're not all living together during this experience, we have to go the extra mile to make a connection with each other. And sometimes just going outside your comfort zone in this way is a big part of the cleanse experience.

I'm looking forward to seeing all of you on Friday night at KSY West - 7:00pm sharp!

One love,
Gina

Spring Cleanse 2008

Namaste Beloveds!

Here's a little reminder about our upcoming Spring Cleanse 2008. If you're planning on joining us and help me guide our new friends through the process, the registration deadline is coming up - Friday, March 21st!

The kickoff meeting will be on Friday, March 28th after the Yin/Yang class at the downtown studio.

The pre-cleanse week will begin after that meeting and the actual cleanse week will be April 6-12.

This year's format is a little different, we'll meet as a collective every other day and on the "off" days, you'll choose a class that works into your schedule. So the group sessions are Sun-Tu-Th-Sat downtown and Mon-Wed-Fri-Sat in Blue Springs. We all practice together on the final Saturday. If this is confusing at all, check out the website or let me know.

It's been a full year since our last cleanse -and it definitely feels like it's TIME! I'd love to cleanse with you again!

One love,
Gina