Fear....And Easy Peasy Pad Thai

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us." -Marianne Williamson

This last summer was a complete summer of personal growth for me. But it never ends! We are never complete, and that is amazing because we have opportunities to learn and grow through our whole lives.

This week I learned an important lesson about fear. Not fear of heights or spiders, not the dangerous kind of fear or the life threatening kind, the deeper, internal kind of fear. The kind that causes us to lash out, become defensive, possessive, guarded. Luckily I learned the lesson by experiencing a different level of love.

It started with an argument with my significant other. You know them, we've all had them. One of those recurring arguments about something you think about often, something that worries you about the future. Then in the middle of the argument he stopped me, remembering something he had recently read.

Everything I was worrying about wasn't backed up by optimism and hope, I was speaking out of fear.

Fear that I will miss chances, that I will wait until it's too late, that I will miss out on something. And it was coming from both sides. At that moment we just wanted to laugh! It hit us like a ton of bricks, as the saying goes.

I've realized that is how most people make decisions, go through life. With fear. Fear of failure, fear of a broken heart, the list goes on and on.

Now, I don't have all the answers. But since this revelation, I have started to become extra sensitive to where my thoughts are coming from. Hope, or Fear? And if the latter, I try to turn it around immediately, to open myself to possibilities, to hope.

In yoga I take one pose at a time, never worrying about what the next one will be, carefully concentrating and moving with my breath. I can do that in life too, taking one life event at time, and yes, planning and hoping and looking forward to what lies ahead. And it's contagious! And thankfully, I'm lucky enough to be with someone who can help me stay hopeful, and vice versa. :)


Speaking of looking forward to things, here is the recipe! If you've skipped my ramblings just to get to the pictures, well, here they are :) Enjoy!
(here's my disclaimer, I found this recipe on another blog, and I made a few changes but not many. http://browniesfordinner.com/2010/05/11/easy-pad-thai/ In my defense, she found it somewhere too! Hopefully if she ever comes across this, we can be friends haha)

Easy Peasy Pad Thai

Ingredients:

8 oz of rice noodles

Cilantro (a couple of handfuls)

Crushed peanuts (about 1/2 a cup, or more if you want)

2 TBS lime juice, plus some lime wedges for garnish

2 TBS brown sugar

3 TBS Soy Sauce (I prefer lower sodium)

Sriracha (as much as your heart desires! I used a couple of teaspoons)

Green Onions, or scallions as they are called

2 eggs

Garlic

Extra Virgin Olive oil

First things first, make the sauce. Combine soy sauce, lime juice, and brown sugar in a bowl and stir. Add sriracha if you're feeling spicy! Set aside.

Now chop up the scallions, the bottom whiter parts chopped and the top green parts left in strings. Also your garlic, cilantro (not pictured, though I can't imagine why?) and the peanuts.

Soak the noodles the way the package directs you, in hot water. In the meantime, saute up some garlic  and the white chopped onion parts in some EVOO.

Mmmmmm already smells amazing. Add eggs, scramble! When all fluffy, refrain from eating and set aside onto a plate.

Drain your noodles well and add them to the pan. Add sauce and the green tops of the onions.



Stir and then add in the scrambled eggs, break up slowly. Add crushed peanuts and garnish with cilantro.

See? EASY PEASY!

And super delicious. Sometimes I get that Pad Thai craving and this hit the spot.



"Enchiladas"

I put enchiladas in quotes because this recipe probably goes against most traditional recipes. But do not judge, friends! They were delicious :) And *gasp* healthy.....surprised? Nah, I knew you wouldn't be.
Ingredients (sorry all, you know I don't do exact amounts. Rachel Ray always says "eyeball it" and that's the best way to go in my opinion.)

- Red Enchilada sauce (just a can or bottle of whatever, I got mine from Whole Foods but whatever floats YOUR boat is great)

- 1 small Zuchinni (this one was from my parent's garden, I'm a lucky girl, I know)

- 1 small yellow squash (also homegrown!)

- 1 yellow bell pepper (farmer's market)

- 1 red bell pepper (same)

- 1/2 a red onion (or more if you want, but I don't love onions)

- Soyrizo (just adds that extra YUM)

- Garlic clove

- Whole wheat flour tortillas

- Cheese (I used monterey jack, pepper jack would have been amaaazing)

- Extra Virgin Olive Oil, just to saute everything up

So I heated some EVOO, then threw in the onions and garlic. After they were soft I threw in the soyrizo and the rest of the veggies. Meal on it's own, really, but I wanted to get a bit fancier. ALSO REALLY IMPORTANT! Don't overcook these, I love love LOVE the way my mom's veggies are always still a little crunchy and not soggy. To me, soggy veggies might just be the worst thing ever. Honestly I think a lot of people get turned off by veggies because it's so common to have overcooked, flavorless or too salty veggies. Just, STOP! They are so much better when they still taste fresh. (There are exceptions, like soups of course, but in this case, don't overcook these)

I love these casserole dishes, from my mom, just cute and vintage-y. And they will last me forever. So I put in some sauce. Keep in mind I don't know if this is correct, I just wanted to avoid any extra oil if I could!

I got my whole wheat tortillas ready, sprinkle some cheese in there (skipped the frying stage for obvious reasons, too much oil and too much work. I still have burn marks from the last time I tried to fry tofu.)

Don't ask me why I took the pic that long ways. I was in a rush. Anyway, then throw in some sauce and some of the veggie mix.

These would make great tacos on their own, with some beans, lettuce and salsa. But we aren't done yet!

Awwww they are kinda cute! All nestled up. I thought I took a picture of them drenched in sauce and with more cheese on top but I guess I forgot. Just picture it in your head :) Put in the oven at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes and OMGGGG cheesy veggie mess. Awesome. 

I drove these over to the boyfriends house, longest car ride ever! But worth the wait, even he said so :)

"F'ing great" -Alex 

There you have it, friends. OH! By the way, I'm a yoga teacher now, so expect some changes around these parts! 

Love and Yoga,

-Sharon Jeanette 

Pita "Pizza"

Ok so this is nothing like a pizza, I just didn't know what else to call it! I'm a creative thinker, but not with naming things. I once had a Betta Fish for 2 years without a name.

But I digress, here's what's for dinner tonight. As usual it was last minute, super cheap, and consisted of what I already had in the fridge.

I had half an avocado that was a little ripe for my personal taste, so I made a sauce from it.

-1/2 or a whole Avocado
-Pinch of garlic powder
-Juice from half a lime
-Black pepper
-I added a little water in, but you can add greek yogurt or plain soy/almond/whatever milk in.

Stuck it all in the blender and YUM

Then I do what I usually so and heated some olive oil and threw in some garlic.

I know you don't need a picture. I'm going to post one anyway :)

Then I crumbled in some tofu. I used the extra firm, sprouted, organic kind because it was on sale, but you can use any firm tofu. I added some black pepper and a splash of balsamic, but that's it. Let it brown and get kind of crispy, I think that's the secret to good tofu. Don't rush it.

(I forgot to take pictures of that, sorry, I was so hungry!)

I spread the avocado sauce on a toasted WHOLE WHEAT Pita, sprinkled some baby spinach on it, then the tofu on top. I was starving after hot yoga today so I started digging in before taking a picture. Luckily I remembered just in time, here's the final product!

This only has a little bit of olive oil, NO ADDED SALT, and no animal products! Plus the omegas from that avocado, protein from the tofu, fiber from that whole wheat pita, and folic acid/iron/all kinds of good stuff from the spinach. Hearty enough to fill me up without weighing me down. Also that burst of flavor from the Avo sauce just pulled everything together. Win!

I'll start posting more for my dedicated 4 readers ;) I'm still hoping this grows!

Salad with spicy peanut dressing :)

So I just got back from vacation, and honestly, it's been a rough couple of days! This morning was better, but I still had some stuff lingering. At first I fought the faint lingering discomfort, trying to force myself into just feeling better. After all, logically I know I should be fine! Wasn't working. I went to yoga this morning and focused on letting that last bit of crap go. I focused on this to the point that I was still forcing it, and getting frustrated. Finally at some point, some triangle pose or chatarunga, I just let myself feel like crap. I felt that last bit of awful, sad, angry and resentful. Then on an updog, it was gone. I mean, I was working on these emotions for a couple of days at this point and I was ready to let them go. But to truly let them go, I had to let myself finish feeling them, without resisting. As soon as I allowed myself to feel that last bit of negativity, I REALLY felt it, and then it was gone. I finished the class in elation, and I think it was the best shavasana I've ever experienced!

My entire day changed for the better in that moment, and I came home after class and without any plans, went home and made this salad. I'm not good with creative names, so this is simply am unplanned salad with spicy peanut dressing :) I threw in whatever I had and after a large bowl, I am full but not weighed down. Moral of this story? I don't really know, everyone has different ways of feeling better, today mine was yoga, I just hope you all find yours <3

I chopped up a whole head of romaine lettuce

Some Spinach

Tomatos

 Cucumbers

Sweet white corn (like I said I just used whatever I had in the fridge)

Feel free to just throw together whatever veggies you have as well, if I had tofu or green onion those would have gone in too.

Now for the best part, the dressing! I just sauteed a bit of garlic in some extra virgin olive oil (just a little) and then threw in some natural creamy peanut butter to melt it a bit.

Then added about a tablespoon of soy sauce, and a couple tablespoons of water to thin it out. Keep the heat low here, you just want to melt it down. Since I wanted this to be spicy, I added Sriracha! Yummmm

It was a little thick, so I added a bit of olive oil (just a tiny bit) and some more water. That's it! the texture isn't super thin, so this is more of a dressing you glob on and then mix in. It's worth the effort, trust me!

Sooooooo good. This post was on a whim, so I didn't get specific with measurements, sorry folks! The dressing is so simple though, make it to your own taste of salty and spicy, you'll be fine :)

Wishing everyone a beautiful week!
Love,
Sharon

Easy Vegan Cilantro Lime Rice

So my dear friend Stephanie and I were texting the other day, about nothing in particular, when she told me something absurd! She was grabbing breakfast at a cafe or something, and saw two girls sharing a bowl of granola. ONE bowl of granola. Now, I like granola as much as the next hippy, but this was too much! Surely these girls were sharing their bowl as a post breakfast snack!
Let me back up one sec, Stephanie and I have hearty appetites. We are smaller girls, but one thing she and I share in common is our love of food, she's actually a better cook than I am. We go to breakfast any change we get, and we go all out! Eggs, hashbrowns, toast, coffee mmmmmmm (breakfast is my all time favorite meal of the day). And she correctly pointed out that if we were to ever share one bowl of granola, it would definitely be after we polished off our plate of eggs and hashbrowns.

Now I'm sounding far too judgmental. But don't judge me, granola isn't even as healthy as most people think, it's mostly sugar! 

Now that store was semi pointless, but today's simple recipe had one goal in mind. I'm broke, but I want to feel FULL! Being Veg, the beans and rice offer a complete protein, and I just love cilantro. Now that I'm done rambling, let's get to the food!

So I forgot to take pics of the ingredients but here's the list:
-2 cups brown rice
-1 can black beans
-1 tomato
-Juice of 2 limes
-Handful of cilantro
-1/2 handful of basil (I added this at the last minute. You don't have to, but it was delicious)

So make the rice using your rice cooker or stovetop (I prefer the latter) using a bit of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Also you can use white rice, but I really recommend brown rice. It's much healthier!

In the meantime, chop up the tomatoes, the cilantro, and juice the lemons, open the can of beans, and don't overcook the rice.

Easy peasy! Drain the beans and throw in with the rice, along with the tomatoes and cilantro.

While I was mixing I saw this weird bean. Not gonna lie, I threw it out.

Ok back to the tomatoes

And this is when I added the basil, plus a bit of salt, pepper and some tapatillo. Yum.

Simple. Healthy. HEARTY. Also super versatile. If you're not vegan, add some cheese, put in a burrito, serve with eggs, whatever you want! I know you don't really need a recipe to make a dish like this, I just like to share my simple (not to mention CHEAP) dishes as well as the more intricate ones. :)

Stay safe, everyone!

I'm back! With veggie lettuce wraps :)

Oh no! It's been forever! Things got crazy with school, but a month long absence should not happen again :)

So without further delay, here are some veggie lettuce wraps, quite delish! And shhhh...but the whole recipe cost me about 6$!

I started with some extra firm tofu, sweet corn, lettuce, soy sauce, and just a touch of balsamic. I also added black pepper and ground flax (not pictured here). 

Get some olive oil good and hot and break up the tofu, it will start sizzling so be careful!

Keep breaking up the tofu while it gets good and brown.

Add the sweet, sweet corn..

Here's where I added the pepper/flax mixture, you can use just pepper, or chili powder, or anything you'd like, really. I'd hold off and the salt though, because the soy sauce has more than enough.

Cook it up a bit, but don't overcook, you don't want the corn to turn to mush.

Put on a lettuce leaf and chomp away!Mmmmmmm

And I have enough to feed at least 4 people (with average appetites...so maybe 2 if they eat like me). On 6$! I'm taking it to a vegetarian potluck, hopefully it gets good reviews :)

Some time in the future when I make these again, I may put some avocado slices on it, that would be perfection! But I'm on a budget now, so until next time!

Love,
Sharon
:)

Mindful Eating...and Udon soup with Green Tea Broth

Have you ever eaten something, only to come to the last bite with little to no recollection of what you just ate and/or the process of eating it? I know I have, and then I’m left unsatisfied and more likely to eat again, whether I’m still hungry or not. I'm always a full time student or worker with at least one, more realistically two, jobs and always rushing everything! A few years ago I came across the concept of Mindful Eating. It completely changed my relationship with food. In between the classes, finals, papers, and working hours, I found ways to work around it and start enjoying, and I mean REALLY enjoying, my meals. I did some research on the subject but for the most part it was trial and error with a busy schedule. Here are the key concepts of mindful eating put into 3 steps that are realistic and easy to remember.

1) Be Present while eating. Got a lot on your mind? We all do. Try not to zone out during meals, try to really BE there. Pay attention to your meal, the presentation of it, the smells, your environment. Notice how your food looks, the colors, we all know we eat with our eyes first!
2) Slow Down. Chew! Notice every bite and really concentrate on it, make sure you are chewing your food enough. This also helps with digestion. Notice the different tastes and textures of every bite, all the flavors that are present in this meal. I promise you, you will feel more satisfied, and more than likely you will eat less and be way less likely to reach for an unnecessary dessert later.
3) When possible (Ideally always), sit down to eat. No, not in front of the TV! When you sit down to eat, just eat. Even if you are eating with friends or family, make sure to take your time and really notice everything going on with your meal. Sometimes I have to eat while walking from class to work or vice versa. When this happens I just try to make sure that even though I'm walking, I eat slow and REALLY notice what I'm eating.
 

Seems simple enough, really, but from experience I know these can be difficult at times. Is it worth it? Yes, absolutely. Eating mindfully can turn the simplest meals into the best ones. Be easy with yourself, and patient, it will pay off :) 

Now for the recipe: Udon Soup with Green Tea Broth

I found this on Yahoo awhile back, it's super simple, grab some green tea (Loose or in bags), udon noodles, salt. I added tofu and green onions, but really, the sky is the limit with this recipe, add whatever you want! Maybe some tomatoes, scrambled eggs, cashews, onions, cucumbers, I could go on and on....

Boil some water, when it's boiling turn off the heat and steep your tea bags. I know there's a whole science to green tea, I had someone explain it to me once. The only thing I remember for SURE is to never make green tea in boiling water, hot but not boiling. Steep for 5-10 minutes. While it was steeping I cubed the tofu and chopped up the green onions. I LOVE green onions, which is weird because I really can't stand regular onions...hmm...

 When tea is ready, take out bags and put the flame back on, throw in some salt. I should have measured exactly buuuut I just used a palm-full, which I learned from Rachel Ray is about a tablespoon. The thing is, I think this varies with hand size. Just taste it to make sure it's not too salty, that's the safest bet ;) When boiling, put the noodles in. They don't take long to cook, but when you sense they are almost ready put the tofu in there. Stir. When all is said and done, use the onions to garnish the soup. 

Super simple. Delish. Healthy. Satisfying. 

 For me this was a meal, but it could definitely just be an appetizer or snack. That's all for now, I'll post again soon :)

"May the star that lies deep within light the way to your dreams" 

- Dodinsky