This month’s article is a little bittersweet for me as it’s my last one. I’m off to Vancouver to start my diploma in Holistic Nutrition in September and with that a whole host of other new adventures!

I’ll leave you with one of my all-time favourite recipes, which in its original form, takes full advantage of one of the best summer ingredients at the Farmers’ market, basil. If you’d like to experiment a little you can use any seasonal leafy green that’s available, switch up the nuts with seeds and go cheese-free. Pesto is great when sautéed with kale, Swiss chard or broccoli. Also use it tossed with pasta, topping your morning egg scramble or as a sandwich spread. The possibilities are endless!

Happy Cooking!
Jacinthe
Yoga teacher & kitchen advocate
Find this recipe and more at www.foodwithpresence.com

Basil, Cashew and Lemon Pesto

2 cups (packed) fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup cashews
1 garlic clove
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/2 lemon, zested and juiced
2/3 cup olive oil (add a little more or less, depending on the consistency you’re going for)
salt and pepper to taste

In a food processor or blender, combine all ingredients except olive oil and pulse until smooth. With the machine on, drizzle in olive oil until you’ve reached your desired consistency. Divide into 250 ml containers and freeze for up to 3 months or refrigerate for up to 7 days.

Modifications:
Pine nuts are typical in a classic pesto, but I like to mix it up with any type of nuts I have on hand.
Arugula, spinach, cilantro, parsley, canned artichokes or any other greens can be substituted for basil.
Omit the Parmesan for a vegan version.

It seems this Summer is off to a much wetter and cooler start than usual in Calgary. It seems a bit odd to be thinking of ways to keep warm, but alas, that’s what I’m doing! If you are too, here’s a little something (besides hot yoga!) to do just that. It also aids digestion (fennel and ginger) and maintains balance of the doshas.

Happy Cooking!

Jacinthe
Yoga teacher & kitchen advocate
Find this recipe and more at www.foodwithpresence.com

Homemade Chai Concentrate

2 Litres water
15 black peppercorns
15 whole cardamom pods
6” fresh ginger, sliced
5 whole cloves
5 whole allspice
5 cinnamon sticks
3 Tbsps fennel seeds
3 whole star anise
3 Tbsps black or rooibos tea, heaping

Heat water in a large pot until boiling. Add all spices and simmer for 15 minutes to 1 hour, depending on how strong you like your chai. Turn off heat and add tea, letting steep about 10 minutes. Strain and serve with cream, milk, almond milk, soy or any other milk preference, and honey. Store in mason jars in the fridge for homemade chai at any time!

Sometimes the simplest things in life are the most satisfying: a 5-minute asana practice in the morning, remembering to breathe evenly when you’re sitting at a red light, or a smile from a stranger on the sidewalk. My favourite simple treasures are starting to arrive in farmers’ markets everywhere – fresh berries! There’s something so delectable about a perfectly plump blueberry, raspberry or strawberry.

This simple crumble is the dessert to showcase berries in all their glory and is quick enough to make for unexpected guests, to celebrate something great, or for any evening of the week, really! For different twists substitute any type of fruit you would usually make pie with, experiment with different flour, oats and flaked grains for the crumble, or try replacing the basil with rosemary.

Summer Crumble

6 cups berries (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries)
zest of one lemon
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp basil, sliced thin
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup butter, unsalted

Toss berries with lemon zest, vinegar and basil in a 9”x9” baking dish and set aside. In a separate bowl, rub together sugar, flour and butter until pea-sized pieces are formed. Sprinkle on top of berries and bake at 400ºF for 30 minutes, or until centre is golden and bubbly.

Spring is here and with it the promise of warm weather. Many people decide to do a detox around this time of year as we shed the cold of Winter, the heavy foods we ate and the cozy activities we took part in.

Just as this month’s newsletter intro was talking about allowing yourself time to emerge as Spring or any other season does, be patient with yourself if you are embarking on a detox of your own. Going through the process can be trying at times, exhausting at others, and downright unpleasant. Don’t give up! Generally you won’t feel great while detoxing; the body is getting a chance to feel hungry, dive into its fat stores and reset its metabolism. Our body fat is where toxins from what we normally eat, our environment and our emotions is stored. Thus, feeling rundown while detoxing.

It’s important to eat well while detoxing - really, all the time - and have a plan. Map out what you’ll eat every few days, make large quantities of a few dishes to always have ready, and have all the ingredients you need on-hand. This will help you stay on track and reach your goals.

This month’s recipe is sure to be a staple in any Spring detox and work to quell any cravings that arise. Make a large batch of dressing separately, store it in a mason jar, then use it when you need it.

Spring Greens Detox Salad (slightly modified from Naturopathic Medicine Health Care Centre)

2 cups dandelion leaves (kale, beet greens or endive)
1 cup spinach leaves or mesclun
1/4 red onion, thinly slice, soaked in 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar and water
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, stems and leaves, chopped

Dressing:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons flaxseed oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, or freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon anise seed (optional)
2 teaspoons fresh peppermint, chopped
2 teaspoons tamari
2 1/2 teaspoons grainy mustard or miso

Place all greens, onions, almonds and cilantro in a large bowl. Mix dressing ingredients separately. Pour over greens just before serving.

We will start here: once you are full, anything else is waste. You can put the waste in the compost/worm bin or you can put the waste inside your body as a third helping.

Garbage is better outside the body then inside. The body uses what it needs and anything else is extra to be passed on, or put out of the way if it cannot easily be gotten rid of. Drinking all of your daily water needs in one sitting first thing in the morning is a good example of the way the body thinks. You can imagine what will happen and it is clearly not going to help you in your evening yoga class. Just like this water situation, eating past the point of contentment adds stress to the body; because it takes longer for waste food to be dealt with than waste water, this stress lingers for days, if not longer.

The body does not worry nearly as far into the future as we do; it knows only the present. I often like to contemplate this trust that the body displays, a knowing that there is enough and that tomorrow is another day. This trust can be seen all through nature as well. Watch the apple trees in the park or the grasses alongside the road, unable to move to find water, shade, or shelter. I wonder what it is that they know to allow such patience and fearless acceptance, complete trust that things will work out. They have some understanding of larger cycles, a wisdom that merges our concepts of scarcity and abundance into balanced expression.

Too often our attention is drawn to the gravity of lack, to the point where we lose our ability to surrender fully to the counter action of abundance. Nature avoids this trap. Notice the complete thankfulness she shows in these times of abundance: a flower in full sun is able to feel the warmth of each ray as if it has no memory of cloudy days, and a leaf dripping with rain is fully content as if everyday after will be drought free. The same wisdom is available to be directly experienced in the body. When you feel hungry, the first helping of food feels like a celebration. There is lightness and clarity when we allow abundance to fully take hold. Our contentment only changes to heaviness and stagnation once eating becomes mechanical and our thoughts of past lack or future scarcity crowd our experience of present abundance. Eating with awareness and without distraction leads to being able to pick out this changing experience and gives the chance to trust and experience this abundance that nature knows – fullness without excess.

The same principle can be practiced on the mat. Just enough expression or depth in a pose provides the feeling of exuberance and challenge and you leave feeling light and clear. But over doing it causes the sore heaviness of injury and a cloudy disconnected feeling. Practice slowly, aware of when the sensations turn from challenge and embracement into defensiveness. Stop before inclusive strength gives way to desperate gripping and before directed conscious flexibility warps into disconnected laxity.

If disease is a state out-of-balance then perhaps its primary cause is too much food. If it happens on this obvious level then surely it happens on subtler levels too, with too many thoughts. But please, don’t think about this one too hard!

Hari OM!

By John Pattison

I had a student ask me about gluten-free lunch ideas and as it turns out, I’ve been formulating an article to address just such a thing.

One of the most challenging things about going gluten-free is trying to recreate foods - breads, pastries, pastas - exactly how you remember them to be. It doesn’t help that the mind tends to embellish fond memories, especially when it comes to food. This presents the perfect opportunity to practice aprigraha or non-attachment. An exact replica of your favourite gluten-y food may never exist. Practice letting go, accepting what is, and move forward, in this case to other recipes (of which there are many!) that are still delicious, nutritious, and satisfying.

Cooking gluten-free is not the end of the world; it just requires a little more preparation. What you may find the least overwhelming to start out with is to incorporate gluten-free grains into “regular” recipes; substitute quinoa for couscous, millet for cereal, or bulk-out a vegetable salad with buckwheat using this month’s recipe. You’ll likely find that making a few different dishes with these grains is more palatable, as they can tend to be heavy when eaten in large quantities. Think of it as making a buffet for yourself!

For more information on cooking gluten-free, I've compiled a summary of gluten-free grains and how to use them over on my blog. You’ll also love this gluten-free recipe for the most delicious chocolate cake ever!

As many of you remember, the Bodhi Tree opened its doors on February 18th, 2002, with the vision of making a difference in just one person's life. Little did we know what a beautiful collective would come out of that vision.

What a decade it has been as we approach our 10th birthday! From a humble start of 9 people per day and only Lisa Whitford and Céleste Needham teaching, you are now a part of a growing centre with an average of 175 people a day and a staff of 79. We thank you for sharing so many experiences and making this community what it is today - your community! 

Here's how we're celebrating:

See you there!