Category: Healthy Food

Categories
Healthy Food

Sharon Gannon’s Chocolate Mousse Recipe

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)

Categories
Healthy Food Uncategorized

A Golden Gift of Apitherapy

Few weeks ago, a couple who frequents my Thursday evening yoga class gave me a gift unexpectedly.  Honey!  I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this is no ordinary honey off a store shelf as It wasn’t purchased.  To my amazement, it came from their own beekeeping.  Wow.  In the middle of Silicon Valley, I did not know you can collect so much honey – I did not know you can harvest honey in Silicon Valley from local flowers.  Such a city girl that I am -it’s a discovery that beehives can be kept privately and harvested on your own. I heard that chicken cooping for your eggs was popular among Silicon Valley types (almost said geeks) but now, may beekeeping also be something on the rise among them?

As yoga students, these two beekeeping yogis have been very dedicated with virtually never miss attendance record for my Thursday night yoga class. It’s so lovely to see a couple practice together, side by side.  There’s just something very heart warming in watching these two lovely yogis’ backs as they head out after a class, together slinging a yoga mat.  When they say goodbye or good night, there’s a look of peace, maybe some relief and a gentle smile.  You see the Before and the After effects of a yoga practice first hand.  Having a partner or a friend to share a yoga practice with always makes it more special – and when it becomes a routine part of the schedule, all the better.  Watching them take off into the night, I am happy they yoga together to deepen what already must be a special relationship – after all, they are partners in bee keeping – and that’s pretty special.

Their hand-made label in the back of the bottle is full of fun honeybee facts:  “Bees need to provide 70,000 loads of nectar, and travel 50,000 miles to produce a single pound of honey.  Darker honey has higher mineral content and antioxidant potential.The queen bee can live to 3-5 years. Honey should not be fed to babies under the age of 1 year.”

Only few months ago, I had bought a jar of bee pollens from a local honey purveyor – In fact, these yellow mini fuzz balls of a pollen in smoothies fixed my allergies as I now breathe freely.

IMG_3288 IMG_3287Did you know that honey, aside from being a great natural sweetener is wonderful to use as an ointment to heal cuts and burns?

Apitherapy is the term given to the medicinal use of honey, bee venom, as well as honey bee products. This is a very old form of medicine that can be traced back to ancient Greece and Egypt. In the ancient times, honey was treated as medicine.This golden nectar…is precious.

Thank you Margie and Steve.  BTW, did I ever share the beehive meditation?  It’s a way to turn inward into your own beehive=brain…It really clears your mind …You two would love it:) – probably already a master at it!

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Categories
Healthy Food

Cacao Ice Cream to die for…

Cacao Ice Cream that’s not only yummy but actually good for you:) This is non-dairy, creamy, delicious and RAW.  I mentioned that you need not deprive yourself to be on some restrictive diet which does not give you the emotional lift.  There are always wise alternatives and ways to reduce calories without sacrificing the taste. There’s no need to suffer when we are so blessed with many delicious alternatives.

Having said that I can’t tell you the exact calories per serving on this because it depends on the kind of dried fruits you end up using…experiment with half portion recipe… again, controlled portion size would be best, just saying, because you might feel like finishing the whole tub otherwise.

1 3/4 cups of raw cashew nuts

3 1/2 cups filtered water

dried fruits

6 tbsp raw cacao powder
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cans or 13.5 oz coconut milk
1/4 cup maple syrup, or organic agave nectar

1. Mix all ingredients in a Vitamix until smooth and creamy.
2. Transfer to the ice cream maker and mix according to that ice cream maker’s instruction. When done,
3. Transfer the ice cream to a container, freeze as instructed.
4. May take out a little earlier before serving to bring out the creaminess.

Cacao, or the raw form of Cocoa, the main ingredient and taste dictator in chocolate, is known to be a good source of magnesium which helps relieve nervous tension that causes headaches and cramps.  Great during PMS or just plain stress.

According to Mayo Clinic’s article, when it comes to chocolate, dark chocolate with cocoa(*) content of 65 percent or higher is recommended. The article further goes on to say “Limit yourself to around 3 ounces (85 grams) a day, which is the amount some studies have shown to be helpful. Because this amount may provide up to 450 calories, you may want to cut calories in other areas or step up the exercise to compensate.”

I would be happy to exercise more if that allows me to eat more chocolate:)

(*)Recent analysis of 21 studies with 2,575 participants shows that cocoa (cacao is the raw form) consumption is associated with decreased blood pressure, improved blood vessel health, and improvement in cholesterol levels, among other benefits.

Eric L. Ding, PhD, of Harvard Medical School says the apparent health benefits come from polyphenolic flavonoids in cocoa that have the potential to prevent heart disease. Flavonoids are antioxidants that are commonly found in fruits, vegetables, tea, wine, and coffee.

This kind of finding puts a smile on my face:) and more motivated to exercise.  Blessed.