Lifestyle

Yogival’s Summer Quinoa Salad

 

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of quinoa
  • 10 cherry tomatoeshart
  • 1 bunch of kale
  • 1 sweet onion
  • 5 stems of cilantro
  • ½ cup of your favorite feta or mild cheese
  • Olive Oil
  • 1 lemon
  • Salt
  • Garlic Salt
  • Black Pepper

 

Directions

  • Cook 2 cups of quinoa (follow instructions on bag), cool down to room temperature in large bowl
  • Cut up 10 cherry tomatoes in half
  • Mince a bunch of kale (flat leaf kind, I will look up what it is called) or put in food processor
  • Finely chop 1/2 to a full sweet onion
  • Finely chop 5 stems of cilantro
  • Add small chunks of your favorite feta or mild cheese to quinoa in the bowl
  • Mix all the veggies separate from the quinoa and add 1/8th cup of olive oil, juice from 1/2 a lemon, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp garlic salt and dash or two of black pepper (or season to taste)
  • Mix veggies and quinoa together

I typically serve this dish at room temperature, but you can refrigerate leftovers and eat cold! Enjoy!

summer-greenie-recipe-yogival

about-squareThe YogiVal smoothie is the smoothie I have been drinking as a meal replacement the last few years 5 days a week. I love this smoothie because it is packed with nutrition, energizing greens, flax seed oil for my brain and joints, cashews for good fat (and they add body to the smoothie), protein powder for great protein, and berries to sweeten the smoothie and add anti-oxidants to my daily diet.

sm-yogivalI have listed the sugar, protein,fat and calorie count as I am not trying to hide the fact that this smoothie has a lot of calories and is full of good fat. I feel this is the best nutrition I give myself all day and allows me to stay productive at work most of the afternoon and replenish any electrolytes I sweat out in yoga or my workouts. It also has such a good balance of fat and minimal sugar that I don’t have sugar crashes or food cravings for 3 to 4 hours. It also helps keep my blood sugar so stable, I am ready to eat a meal of greens and protein instead of craving carbs later in the day. I also find it saves time and money from ordering in or going out.

Feel free to tweak this smoothie to your taste. When I started drinking these smoothies I used vanilla almond milk, then regular before I went to unsweetened. I also started with less green powder and increased it over time. I also use to use other fruits like pineapple and mango, but just found the sugar too high and not the same health benefits as cherries, blueberries or raspberries. I also eliminated bananas for the same reason, but feel free to add them when you get started as bananas add great sweetness and consistency when you are just starting out. I make my smoothie in my VitaMix blender in the morning and put it in a big mason jar and carry it in a refrigerated lunch bag to keep it cold until I can put it in my fridge at work. I encourage you to use this as a guide to make a smoothie that you like, that gives you plenty of nutrition, good fat, protein and calories to keep you going for a few hours. Feel free to check in with me and let me know how it works for you or what tweaks you made that increased the nutrition content.

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Green smoothieYogiVal Juice

There is no better way to pack a lot of nutrition into your body and do amazing things for your immune and digestive system than juicing. My juicing recipe is yummy and packed with nutrition and is ideal for after a sweaty workout. (the cooling elements of the cucumber and celery along with their organic sodium make them ideal for a post Bikram drink along with any serious workout.)

YogiVal’s juicing recipe

1 fuji apple (cold and crip), 3 stalks of celery, 1 cucumber, ½ bunch parsley, 2 to 3 kale stalks

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I will also give you some thoughts I have about juicing. I recommend drinking fresh made juice on an empty stomach, and try to not eat anything for at least a half hour to let it all absorb. If you ever feel depleted or sluggish, start juicing. Once again, play around with your ingredients. A lot of folks juice spinach instead of kale, but I am not a fan of spinach. You can also add veggies like carrots and beets which are fun to juice, they just have a higher sugar content than I want from a juice. But , if you want to start either a juicing or smoothie program, find a recipe that works for you , and over time, tweak it to have less sugar and more nutrition. The more you start eating this fresh and nutritious way, the more you will crave it.

Delicious Home Made Vinaigrette

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This is a delicious home made vinaigrette from culinary inspiration and friend, Gillian Chesse Home made vinaigrette recipe yogival saladat California Culinary Retreats. Gillian has been a long-time friend of mine and always continues to inspire me in my day-to-day to nutrition. Not only are her creations delicious but healthy! Take a look at her website, www.californiaculinaryretreats.com for pictures and upcoming retreats.

The image on the right shows a nice diversion from an ordinary salad! It is blanched fava beans and green beans with roasted cherry tomatoes tossed in the vinaigrette.

 

Recipe:
1 small shallot finely chopped
2-3 tablespoons champagne vinegar
Soak shallot in vinegar for 30 minutes then add the following:
Big pinch of salt
Fresh ground pepperChefs
Teaspoon or more of jam
Teaspoon of dijon mustard
Teaspoon of fresh chopped thyme leaves
Mix well then add:
1/4 cup or so Olive oil

Enjoy!