I know it’s the last of summer days and time for BBQ – lots of invites over beer, wine, sausages, ribs, meat, meat, meat – How does one avoid while remaining on this program? Embrace the grill life, yes. But, be pleasantly surprised when you take a little break from all that inflammatory foods – grill veggies, grill fried tofu “steaks” marinated in savory sauce. Zen monks in Kyoto eat all plant based foods and still manage to get up crack of dawn or even way before sunrise to engage in pretty hard workout, getting on their hands and knees in the cold, cleaning their abode, martial arts like training, sitting upright for hours chanting and meditating – then into the kitchen to prepare the special foods – that takes energy, stamina, endurance … strength.
Brown Pasta Bowl – toppings can be anything colorful – in this one, beets soaked in sweet sushi vinegar over night, grilled green onions, savory black beans, baby carrots marinated in beet juice and lemon over brown rice pasta – garnished with Italian parsley, all organic.
Stir-mix, not fry, garnish and bed of pasta with green sauces – 2 kinds (1) walnut pesto (2) Trader Joes Zhoug herbal sauce “with Yemeni roots” (warning – quite spicy)… sprinkle roasted sunflower seeds. Other ideas would be with quinoa, avocados, red onions, some colorful peppers. If you are really cutting back, with brown rice mixed with cauliflower pearls or spiraled zucchini ribbons …
Making Chai … with Shasta spring water:) This will replace my usual coffee intake for the 10 days and beyond. I love coffee and know that coffee is not bad for you if taken in moderation – for example just a cup or two in the morning – have been known to have benefits – but as with anything, it’s about the excesses. As a body-lab, for the 10 days, switching to black tea chai & matcha or green tea pre-3pm and herbal chai after 3pm.
Locally there’s a yoga teacher who treats Chai Saturday mornings to all her students after her classes – a tradition for over a decade – all I have is respect … she’s so generous – chai after morning practice highly recommended !