Monthly Archives: July 2014

(Makes 30  2 1/2-inch cookies)

Recipe: Mint Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

I have Derek's lovely sister to thank for this recipe! The only thing that I changed was the addition of liquid peppermint stevia and a little less maple syrup!

Ingredients:

Recipe: Mint Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

1 ½ cups oat flour*

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon (make sure you don't grab chilli powder)!

2 cups raw walnuts

3 Tablespoons melted coconut oil

1 cup 100% pure maple syrup

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups rolled oats

12 ounces or 1 ½ cups chocolate chips        

5-8 drops of Sweet Leaf liquid stevia (Peppermint) or more depending on your personal minty desire

**Not in full ingredients photo, stevia and rolled oats**

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper (I didn't do this, but depending on your pan you might need to.

*If you need to make oat flour, place 1 ¾ cups rolled oats in a food processor and process until powdery (I bought mine).

2. Place oat flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a mixing bowl and whisk together.

3. Place walnuts in a food processor and blend into a fine meal.  Add oil, maple syrup and vanilla and process until mixture has the consistency of natural nut butter.

Recipe: Mint Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

4. Stir walnut mixture into flour mixture. Fold in 2 cups rolled oats and chocolate chips. Add 5-8 drops of peppermint stevia, or more, to desired minty taste!

Recipe: Mint Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Recipe: Mint Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Recipe: Mint Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

 

5. Use a 1 ¾ -inch ice cream scooper to form dough into balls, and place on baking sheets.  You can fit 12 on a sheet.  Flatten cookies slightly with a damp hand.  Bake 13-15 minutes or until cookies begin to brown and tops look dry.

Recipe: Mint Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

6. Cool a few minutes and then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe: Mint Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

7. Enjoy!

Recipe: Mint Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Today was awesome, it began with fresh juice and a hike up to Diamond Head Crater!

Recipe: Mint Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Recipe: Mint Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Recipe: Mint Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Recipe: Mint Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Recipe: Mint Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Recipe: Mint Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Continued with some yoga, plenty of reading, and a long phone conversation with my man friend in California...and it ended with these cookies! YUM!

With Love,

laura mary

Recipe: Yoga Fuel

All Organic Open Face Sandwich

I made this lunch today, post yoga teaching and practicing, to fuel up for an energy-full day of more yoga!

Ingredients:

Coconut oil

Dijon mustard

One avocado

A ton of garlic

Mushrooms (sliced)

Red onion

Yellow and red bell peppers,

Broccoli

A few dashes of tamari

Whole wheat bread toasted

Extra firm tofu

Homemade almond milk (optional)

Raw whole cashews

Fruit Bowl: 2 mangoes, blueberries, banana, red grapes

Preparation:

-Saute garlic (minced) and onions (chopped) in a tablespoon of coconut oil

-Add mushrooms (chopped), then bell peppers (chopped), then broccoli (chopped), then tamari

-Saute tofu in coconut oil and dash of tamari

-Toast bread then add Dijon to taste

-Slice Avocado and add to one piece of bread

-Scoop sautéed veggies and add to one pieced of bread

-Fruit Bowl: Chop 2 mangoes and combine with blueberries, red grapes, banana

-Serve with a handful of raw organic cashews on the side and 1 glass of almond milk

YUM!

Enjoy!

With Love,

laura mary

 

 

Photo Nov 11, 3 39 52 PM

Ingredients:

  • 3 very ripe bananas minimum
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil (liquid)
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 tsp pink Himalayan salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts

Photo Nov 11, 1 01 09 PM

Preparation:

Pre-heat oven to 360 degrees.

In a large bowl, mash the bananas with a fork till soft. Add the coconut oil and maple syrup and cream together.

In a separate bowl, combine together the flour, salt, and baking soda.

Photo Nov 11, 1 12 42 PMPour dry ingredients into the banana mixture, stirring gently. You can either include the chopped walnuts on top of the muffins after you've transferred the batter to the muffin tray, mix them into the batter, or go without the nuts!

Photo Nov 11, 1 13 25 PMGrease a muffin pan very lightly with coconut oil, and fill each muffin about 2/3 full with batter. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean (it might need a few more minutes, depending on your oven).

Photo Nov 11, 1 27 48 PM These muffins are delicious and really easy to make. I never wait for the them to cool, I like to dig right in…

Photo Nov 11, 3 39 52 PMEnjoy! Feel free to share the recipe with friends and please let me know how you like them.

With Love,

laura mary

Today has been up and down. I've felt energized one moment and then tired the next. The juice had me thinking at times throughout the day that this cleanse was a good thing, and at other times, my body was telling me it wanted more. One thing is for certain, my body is very happy about the amount of fruits, vegetables, and greens I am consuming. Mentally, I miss eating food with substance. I miss eating chocolate (daily occurrence), drinking coffee, and feeling like my normal self.

I woke up this morning, had one juice that was leftover from yesterday (thank god). Then I taught a beach yoga private right here.

Juice Cleanse: Day 2

I picked up my juices, shots, and salad at Juice Box Hawaii around 10:30am.

Next, I gulped down this delicious "Spicy Carrot" juice.

Juice Cleanse: Day 2

Followed immediately by this "Green Lemonade," so GOOD!

Juice Cleanse: Day 2

I then bounced off to teach my next class, though I am not sure if it was quite a bounce.

When I got home from class I drank the "Summer Salad" juice. I did a bit of work at home and within 1 hour, I decided to eat the salad. The salad tonight was delicious. I ate it too quickly to take a photo.

I have two more juices left "Red Queen" and "JuiceBox Hero" and one lemon-ginger shot. Overall, I am consuming a ridiculous amount of fruits and veggies and cleaning house pretty well!

Full Disclosure

I am the worst juice cleanser, ever. I've noticed a major mood shift in myself because I haven't consumed enough today. You've been warned, don't mess with this girl until Thursday. 

In an effort to improve my funky mood, I decided to jump in the water tonight for sunset, and I got lucky, there was a big double bow!

Juice Cleanse: Day 2

 

 

 

 

With Love,

laura mary

Juice Cleanse: Day 1

Juice Box Hawaii Cleanse: Day 1

No coffee and no food for three days, sign me up! That sounds like the worst experience, ever. Anyways, here I am, right in it. I haven’t had any coffee, and I feel totally fine without the coffee. I do love the morning routine of enjoying a nice warm brew, the aroma, the memories, the habit, amazing. Even though I love me some coffee, it is good to switch it up sometimes, so I was actually happy to take a break from coffee consumption, food, however, not so much.

Today: 6 juices, 2 juice shots, 1 small kale salad with strawberries, blueberries, and tomatoes. In theory--Yum!Juice Cleanse: Day 1

Let me just tell you all, I was the kid in high school that needed to eat a snack half way through practice so that I didn’t get light headed and pass out. I did in fact pass out at one high school basketball practice. I continued this snacking tradition through college as well. Knowing my fainting tendencies, I was more than a bit apprehensive about how I would fair with a cleanse. My main worry was that I wouldn’t have enough energy to function throughout the day.

I chose to do my cleanse with Juice Box Hawaii because their juice is straight up amazingly delicious. They work with you to create juices that you find yummy.

I went into this cleanse with a few intentions:

1- To try it.

2- To write about the experience honestly.

3- To ultimately gain a sense of whether or not I feel it’s a healthy habit.

4- To be extremely gentle and nourishing with myself, only gentle yoga, naps were okay, beach, etc. (tough life, I know).

What really happened?

I made it most of the day.

I was complaining to my friend all day about how much I wanted to eat real food, and wining about how hungry I was; I was really great company (Taryn, you are a trooper). We did a small hike (not so gentle of me, view pictured below), and my fast metabolism went through that juice so quickly and was eager and ready for the next one while I still had two sips left. I thought I was doomed. Day 1 and I can’t even survive? People all over the world go hungry everyday.

Juice Cleanse: Day 1

However, my intention was never to feel hungry, to lose weight, or to feel really deprived. Why didn’t deprivation cross my mind given that all I had to consume all day were 6 fresh juices, 2 shots (wheatgrass and lemon), and one small kale, strawberry, blueberry, tomato salad? Not sure.

When 5pm rolled around and I was starving, I swallowed my pride and let go of the thought that I was somehow “failing” and had a piece of toast (o.m.g). Yep, I had toast. And guess what, I am still alive, the world is still spinning, I am still on a cleanse (mostly). I called my Dad earlier in the day to explain my starvation/light headed predicament, he said, “do what’s natural,” Derek said, “Don’t quit!”. I circled back to my intention which was to try it and not feel deprived. I certainly felt deprived.

I am going to continue with my cleanse, maybe the next two days go better, but I live an active lifestyle as a full-time yogi and yoga teacher. I am a lover of food. I mean a real lover. This is going to sound very western of me, but the thought of not being able to have food made me feel anxious. I had switched my juice cleanse perspective from excitement to fear, I was scared that I was going to hate it and that I would be locked in. But having that little piece of toast eliminated the fear for me, now I know that if I wanted to I could always eat a piece of toast. I wasn’t going to shrivel up and pass out.

My Advice...

Before, you begin a cleanse, check your motives. Fresh juices are extremely beneficial for your health and unquestionably great additions to your current eating regimen, but a full-on cleanse is intense. Just be aware of your motives. As for me, it was investigative. I was dubious of the benefits of a cleanse; the first day of my cleanse proved to be a lot harder because I hadn’t yet bought into the cleanse mania. I still need to do my own research on the benefits. I would also caution you against doing a non-whole-foods based cleanse, for example with synthetic powders, be very weary!

It is now 8:30pm and I just had my second to last juice, I actually feed really good. I think, if you’ve made it to the point where you have signed up for a cleanse, you are more than likely on the right track to taking control of your health and your life in a positive way.

Cleanse is a big buzz word these days and sure there are pros to sticking with the cleanse 100% but for me it didn’t outweigh the fact that I wanted to go to bed and it was 5pm. I weighed the pros and cons and went with toast. So be it, and life goes on.

Truth be told. Hopefully, tomorrow goes a bit better. One thing is for certain these juices are amazing! Thank you Juice Box Hawaii!

With Love,

laura mary

 

 

Yoga Teaching: An Amateur's Perspective

The other day I interviewed for a yoga instructor position at a fancy schmancy resort.

The first question I was asked was, “How long have you been teaching yoga for?” My answer, “two years.” Right away, the interviewer sat up a little straighter and said, “Oh, just two years?” She had automatically written me off. The interview was over. She had decided that the measure of a good yoga instructor was time and time alone. It was a very business-y interview, not very yoga-minded.

I hardly had space to rebuttal and suggest that I wasn’t sure that was the ideal measure of a yoga instructor’s merit. For one, I’ve probably taught a whole lot more yoga that many instructors who have taught for decades even. I’ve taught at 6+ locations all over the island not including privates and events. At one studio alone, I’ve taught around 7,000 students. I don’t have exact numbers from the other studios, but the number is quite high. While the number of connections and classes you have had with students is in some cases related to time, it is clear to me that more years does not necessarily equate to more connections.

Additionally, using the number of student connections as a measure is also somewhat insignificant; in my opinion, a yoga teacher is a healer of sorts. People come to yoga for all sorts of reasons, but ultimately what they find is themselves; they begin to feel more love within and around themselves, more peace, and they find more direction in life. Thus, yoga instructors, play a very important role, they must be personable, vulnerable, open, have something to share, something to give, and of course know how to teach asana. No short task. More than anything, good teachers are just comfortable with being themselves. They are comfortable with sharing the good and the bad, acknowledging their flub ups, because we are all in this beautiful life together being our perfectly imperfect selves, AKA human.

The best way to interview a yoga instructor is to simply have them teach you a class.

Newbie Status

There are several benefits to being a “newbie,” even though I didn’t realize two years qualified one as falling under newbie status (can you tell me ego was hurt?). I can only hope to maintain this inspired, "newbie," or amateur yoga teacher mind throughout all the rest of my years teaching.

I remember when I met Katie, one of my absolute favorite yoga teachers, ever. She was fresh out of her teacher training. First of all, not only was I shocked to have heard she was newly certified after having experienced her beautiful and inspiring class, but the knowledge didn’t matter to me. What this very special lady had to share was beyond anything simply years or teaching experience could have provided her, because she was teaching more than just asanas, she was sharing and spreading love (and continues to, everyday). She is pure love in a person.

It’s not really about what you say to students, they probably won’t remember your words, it’s about how you make them feel. The latter is what they will remember, what will truly leave an imprint on their heart.

Why is it that sometimes newbies shine so bright?

When you start new work, of any kind, you are creative, incredibly involved, and you put everything into it; in Katie’s case, her heart and soul. Overtime, amateurs progress and grow, and often that once novel experience, in our case teaching, becomes a practiced skill. Anything practiced becomes repetitive and then it becomes a skill.

“All great discoveries are made by amateurs.” –Osho

For the amateur, everything is a surprise; everything is an extension of this passion. As a yoga teacher, with each passing day/month/year, I hope to never settle, I hope to always switch it up, change, invent, delete, and be free from repetition.

I hope to remain in my amateur state of mind, so that I am always growing, learning, and forcing myself to step outside of my comfort zone with both teaching and life.

Because that is the space in which we all grow: the space of not knowing, the space where the excitement lies, the nerves, the passion, the ‘fewf I made it through alive and now I feel stronger than ever’ feeling.

This doesn't mean you need to hike all three peaks of Olomana to feel excitement, nerves, the 'fewf I made it through alive' feeling. We have nerves and fears sometimes for good reason, they are called survival instincts. But it is about constantly stepping outside of the comfort zone, even in small ways.

For me, I am facing my ocean fears and swimming in water where I know there are sharks, but as Derek says, "They're juveniles," and apparently harmless (baby hammerheads). I swam today, I am by no means an adrenaline junkie, but I knew there was no real danger. However, It was outside of my comfort zone (in a big way) and when I finished, I felt energized and alive for the rest of the day.

Lesson: Hold on to the amateurs' perspective, always. Keep stepping out into the unknown. Everyday surf in the space where your comfort zone ends and novelty begins.

Let me know how your adventures go!

With Love,

laura mary