Category: Healthy Food

Holiday luncheon hosted by a local Japanese cooking teacher was just so amazing. Amazing in that as stuffed as you are, you feel good NOT guilty about stuffing yourself with this quality food. Normally after stuffing yourself, how do you feel?  Fat and sick? You may suffer from various not-so-good feelings normally when you over-eat.  Not with this food with its detox benefits in mind. Her cooking really brings home the idea “Food as Medicine” . Fresh ingredients are locally sourced and organic; other less known ingredients with health benefits were imported from western/southern regions of Japan.

Here’s the link with few of the dishes served but will try to translate onto this site in the near future…

Among many dishes, one and only dessert she served appealed to me especially because there’s no place you can find this kind of healthier version of a traditional sweets anywhere in the Bay Area/Silicon Valley  – typical oshiruko is a very sweet red bean soup that has a mochi, fluffy white sweet rice dumpling floating in the bowl.

Oshiruko, when done right has sweetness that’s subtle and not over-powering.  It is a dessert dish you don’t have to feel badly about upon eating but rather, feel healthier, stronger and energized from it with no worries over counting calories.  You eat this dish slowly as it’s served hot – thus, it feels you up s l o w l y… Guilt-free!  Indeed, this dessert is so good for you.   Like this dessert dish, each and every dish she served had significant health benefits.  The most convincing proof ?

I feel GOOD … no, No, NO

I feel GREAT!

So far, by far the best coconut water I have come across at Squaw Valley – reminded me of my recent article, 50 Benefits of Coconuts!

CoCo libre oxoxox Loved the pineapple coconut water – it’s organic and sooooo refreshing!

“Drink Two and Call Me in the Morning!” way better than Aspirin for dehydration induced headaches… Feel way better soon:) Packed with electrolytes… K, Na, Mg, Ca and P…we need them!

I admire Sharon Gannon. Founder of Jivamukti Yoga school in NYC. I love her teachings, I love her voice, I love her music, and … I love her food:)  Locally, her protege-like advance student, Giselle Mari teaches at several premier yoga studios in the San Francisco Peninsula. Her class is always full of joy and light. Giving this Mousse a try and will upload a photo of it soon – Too busy taste testing:)

INGREDIENTS

1 box extra firm tofu
1 box firm tofu
1 bag Vegan chocolate chips
2 Tablespoons unsweetened Cocoa powder
1 Tablespoon Raw Cacao powder
1 can (13-14oz) full fat canned coconut milk
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 Tablespoons coconut oil
2 Tablespoons vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

My dream would be to go to New York and taste this at her very own Jivamukti Café! Unfortunately, no plans to visit NYC anytime soon so with this recipe, we can make it in our very own kitchen whenever we crave … chocolate mousse decadence:)

Sharon Gannon, describing this mousse: “The mousse is light, smooth and airy and at the same time deep, dense and rich. Yogis embody a balance of both the terrestrial and celestial forces. Yogis are deeply rooted and aligned with the earth and because of that connection they are able to transcend the binding heaviness of physical existence and soar into heavenly realms of spacious delight. So the mousse is light and heavy at the same time—I think that’s really cool! Also, just fyi, I recommend using a hand mixer and saving your arms for practicing handstands!

Put tofu into a food processor add a pinch of sea salt and blend, then add maple syrup, coconut milk, vanilla extract, cocoa and cacao powder and blend again. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil in a double boiler. Add to tofu mixture the melted chocolate chips and coconut butter and thoroughly blend. Then transfer the mixture to a large bowl, using a spatula to scrap out all of the mixture. Now using a hand mixer whip for 3-5 minutes at high speed—this will lighten and more add air. Using a large spoon—spoon into serving cups or crystal champagne glasses and refrigerate till cold about 1-2 hours.

Optionally you could serve with a dollop of vegan whipped cream on the top. Makes about 10-12 servings depending on size of cups. ”

Calling for both, this recipe made me realize that there’s a difference between:

Cocoa powder vs. Cacao powder (it’s RAW)