It Doesn't Taste Like Dirt!

At the VegNews vegan yoga retreat, every lunch and dinner started with two questions: What flavor is the juice? What flavor is the dip?

All the food - all vegan - was made onsite, from fresh, local ingredients. I couldn't even begin to list the fruits that were made into juices and the veggies that were made into dip - different kinds each day. Unbelievably, my favorite dip of all was the beet dip! 

I have truly given beets a fair chance; I've tried them, usually roasted (what vegetable doesn't taste great roasted?), peeled before or after baking, and no matter what, they taste dirty. Sorry, I mean, "earthy".

But I promise, this dip doesn't taste dirty at all! Just sweet and delicious (and colorful)!

Haramara Vegetable Dip

Recipe by Chef Hugo Gutierrez of Haramara Retreat (with minor modifications)

2 cups vegetable, peeled and cut into large pieces (beet, carrot, eggplant, broccoli, zucchini, spinach, bell pepper, cauliflower, etc.)
1 garlic clove, peeled and coarsely chopped
Juice of one lime
1/4 - 1/2 cup avocado oil or olive oil
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon pepper (or to taste)

1. Steam or boil vegetable until soft and brightly colored. (I boiled the beets for about 45 minutes.) Drain water.
2. While vegetables are still hot, place in blender, along with rest of ingredients. (I'd recommend starting with 1/4 cup of oil - the original recipe says 3/4 cup, but I ended up using a total of about 1/3 cup.)
3. Blend until smooth.

Laughing Lotus Urban Oasis Kickstarter Project

After going on the first VegNews yoga retreat last year, I sought out somewhere to continue my yoga practice. Previously, I had learned some poses via a book (Dynamic Yoga*), and taken a few classes at various gyms. Despite living so close to the hippy-ness of Portland, I found there weren't very many yoga studios in the suburbs. I go to classes at Blissful Energy Yoga Center occasionally; it's somewhere in between a gym (physical) yoga class and a yoga (spiritual/meditative) yoga class. Once in a while I also make it to SE Portland to the Bhaktishop Yoga Center, which is more of the balance of physical-mental-spiritual. 

With Jasmine at this year's yoga retreat

If I lived in San Francisco, however, I would go to Laughing Lotus - a studio co-founded by Jasmine, the teacher at the yoga retreat. (They also have a studio in New York.) The Laughing Lotus philosophy of conscious living includes veganism - after all, how can you live at peace with the world while still contributing to the horrors of the farming industry? (They don't require anything diet-wise of their students, but teachers in training must take steps towards veganism.)

Laughing Lotus is raising money on kickstarter to build an "urban oasis", adding onto their studio with a vegan cafe and parklet. After hearing Jasmine describe the community it will enhance, I'm much more determined to plan a trip to San Francisco in the near future!

If you have an interest in yoga, veganism, and/or San Francisco, please watch their video and consider donating to their campaign. The project needs to be fully pledged by January 1st in order to be funded.




Note: I am not affiliated in any way with the Laughing Lotus or their kickstarter project; I'm merely spreading the word about a project I believe in and people I care about.

*Powells.com partner program link

VegNews Vegan Yoga Retreat 2012

While I'm off running in the 41 degree rain, I thought I'd let you enjoy some pictures from last month when it was 85 degrees and sunny - the second annual VegNews vegan yoga retreat at Haramara retreat in Sayulita, Mexico. 

With our lovely yoga instructor, Jasmine

The Views

Holiday Half Training: Week 12 & VegNews Vegan Yoga Retreat Recap

Workouts:

Note: Saturday of the prior week through Saturday of this week was spent at the VegNews vegan yoga retreat at Haramara Retreat, Sayulita, Mexico. In addition to formal workouts, I estimate that I walked at least 1.5 miles a day on the hilly trails of the property while at the yoga retreat.

Monday: 2 hour yoga class + 90 minute yoga class

Tuesday: 2 hour yoga class + 90 minute yoga class + 1.5 mile run (17:39 pace) - I was exploring the roads around the property, and, unsurprisingly, came across lots of hills, resulting in a quite a few walking breaks.

Wednesday: 90 minute yoga class - midway through the week, we got a light day to give our bodies a breather. 3.5 hours of yoga day is tough, go figure!

Thursday: 2 hour yoga class + 90 minute yoga class + 0.5 mile run (11:41 pace) - I picked a straight-ish bit of trail with only a moderate incline, and ran 0.05 mile hill repeats.

Friday: 2 hour yoga class + 90 minute yoga class + 1.5 mile run (13:39 pace) - I found a route with some, but fewer, hills.

Saturday: 90 minute yoga class

Sunday: 1 mile walk + 5 minutes of yoga (the walk and yoga are components of what I'm hoping will be my new morning routine) + 6.3 mile run  (12:27 pace) - It was nice all morning, then by the time I went out for what I intended to be 10 miles (still haven't done a double digit training run - ever, after almost 3 half marathons), it was raining on and off. But wanting to get out of the rain, and/or all the hill walking I did in Mexico, resulted in the fastest long run I've ever had!

Total miles: 9.8

Holiday Half Training: Week 11 Recap

Workouts:

Sunday: 2 hour yoga class + 90 minutes yoga class

Total miles: 0

So... that was an off week. Monday through Wednesday was spent cleaning my apartment, coming up with something vegan to make for Thanksgiving dinner, laundry, packing, and catching up on homework. Thursday was Thanksgiving - my family picked me up and we drove from Portland to Tacoma in the morning. Friday I meant to do a long run of at least 6 miles, but the rain never let up for more than a few minutes at a time.

Then Saturday was spent traveling - to Mexico for the second annual VegNews vegan yoga retreat! I went last year, as well, and it's a great chance to rest and refresh when the rain has already started for the winter, before tax season starts. There are yoga classes twice a day and great vegan food (ok, my food-texture issues apply to some of it, but objectively it's great food, and I enjoyed more of it this year than I did last year). 

It's held at Haramara Retreat near Sayulita, Mexico. The only electricity is in the kitchen, so the guest casas are lit by kerosene lanterns and candles. It's right on the beach, nestled into the hillside in the jungle. I used my Garmin to measure the hilly path from the grande casa where I stayed to the restaurant, and it was 0.25 miles - so we estimated we walked at least 1 - 2 miles a day. More details and pictures to come soon.