 It's that time of year when the stores go pumpkin crazy and we are happily joining in... BUT this easy VEGAN PUMPKIN COCONUT SOUP Recipe is worth it, we promise!!
1 onion, diced 3 tbsp vegan margarine 2 cups vegetable broth 1 14 ounce can coconut milk 1 15 ounce can pumpkin 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp curry 1/2 tsp ginger dash salt In a large pot, sautée the onions in the margarine for 3 to 5 minutes, until onions turn soft. Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Allow to simmer over low heat for at least 20 minutes, stirring occasionally... If you want to make it heartier, add 1/2-3/4 cup of cooked rice. Serve and ENJOY! Your Energy is Your #1 Asset, by Stephanie
As I've delved deeper into my being, freeing myself of that which doesn't bring me JOY, I realized something. Your energy IS your #1 asset. Think about it. If you have all the means in the world, yet you lack energy to live your life, what's the point? If you don't (yet) have the means you want, and you lack the energy, now that's a harder path. I break down energy flow as input and output. Input = energy you take in. Output = energy you give out. If you are engaging with life and taking in energy which makes you feel "good/energized/expansive", yay for you! You are more likely to give out the goodness too! On the contrary, if you are engaging with life and taking in energy which makes you feel "bad/drained/contracted", you may want to delve deeper as to "what and why". In this case, you are also more likely to give out this "bad" energy. Yikes, right!! Don't fret. The key is to understand energy. With understanding you regain control. For simplicity, how you engage with life in the 3 main areas below will reveal how you are either feeding your energy or depleting it. Body - Physical Stuff Examples Include: Food, Vitamins, Sleep, Movement, Self Care Routine -- Think nourishment for your body! As a rule, the better quality your food, vitamins and sleep, the better energy you will have. As for movement-- the key is consistent, often and enjoyable!! Movement is the fastest way to shift your energy. For self-care routine- these are the ways you take care of your "vessel" with rejuvenating practices like massage, yoga and energy healing. PS: If you're a vitamin person like me, check out this Healthprint Assessment from Shaklee. I've been waiting over 13 years for Shaklee to come out with it!! Mind - Mental / Emotional Stuff Examples Include: Mental discipline, Emotional Regulation -- Think calm mind and balanced emotions For many of us, the amount of mental and emotional energy we expend on stress, worry, fear and doubt is draining. This area is often the hardest to "get under control" and yet with practice, it's the most powerful. How to reign it in? Practices like meditation help tremendously. Yes, a good workout often shifts your mood, yet I have found it is short term. For long term success, a consistent meditation practice is suggested. Note: If mental and emotional stuff is a result of relationship challenges, which is often the case, meditation in combination with energy work is profound. Think of the weeding your internal garden of that which doesn't serve as I wrote about last week here. Spirit- Connection to Yourself / Life Purpose Examples Include: Practices that nourish your connection to your self and your life purpose Many of us are so busy in the doing, we neglect to notice how we are being. We end up feeling disconnected and lose sight of why we are "here". Discovering and then consistently feeding your spiritual self will feed your energetic well and replenish you. Examples of this include anything that brings you a sense of peace, well-being and joy. Petting your cat, cooking for your family, calling instead of texting, meeting up instead of facebook-ing it...and so much more. Go play and discover!! As you reflect on each of these 3 areas- body, mind and spirit- notice the places where your energy is fed and the places where your energy gets depleted. Managing your energy starts with awareness. With awareness you have choice as to where you focus your attention -- your energy. Where your attention goes, your energy flows!!  A few weeks ago I had the experience of weeding my physical garden. Profound. In 41 years of living, it was the first time I engaged in this activity. Previously, there was simply no desire. I didn't feel connected to gardening, and quite frankly, I felt there were more important things to do. Well. Always a student, I learned 3 valuable lessons during the process. As I weeded my literal garden, here's what I learned about my inner garden, aka, my life: 1. Clearing Out Makes Space Clearing out the weeds makes space. So what? Well, when we weed the garden, we have the opportunity to clear out and make space for what we want to seed and bloom. We get the opportunity to ask the question, what shall I plant? Do I want to plant seeds of beauty or not? Same with life. As we clear out old, toxic, inherited thought forms, patterns, habits, behaviors, and in turn ways of being, we make room to seed what we want! 2. Some Roots Are Stubborn And Tools Are Needed I was weeding using my bare hands to feel all of it. Some weeds came out effortlessly. Others we so deeply rooted and stubborn I cut up my hands. After enduring enough physical pain I realized -- there are tools for these stubborn ones and I will use them! No more suffering. Ah, the same is true in life. The places where we have deeply rooted ways of being, that are stubborn to clear out, often require tools. It's no coincidence that the 5 days leading up to my weeding event I was deeply immersed in my own shamanic energy healing using tools to clear deep seated roots -- both ancestral and karmic -- as well as cutting energetic cords to people, entities and situations that no longer served me. While the process was challenging at times, nothing feels sweeter than finally ripping the toxic root out once and for all!! 3. Choosing Beauty IS Peace After the weeding of my garden was complete, I felt a wave of peace wash over me. Seeing the cleared space (pictured below) was a BIG relief...like a 2 ton weight was lifted off of my shoulders. My decision to weed my garden the day I did was rooted in my desire to create more beauty around me. By beauty I mean engaging with thoughts, words and actions that uplift and inspire...leaving someone or something more special, more nourished...more beautiful. By choosing to plant seeds of beauty all around me, inside and outside, I feel deep peace.   Coconut Creamed Spinach
Rich, creamy, and intensely satisfying, this dairy-free, vegan creamed spinach is a classic accompaniment to grilled steak or tofu!, or pair it with eggs for a modern take on eggs florentine. Yield: 2 to 4 servings Active Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 20 minutes Ingredients: Coconut oil 1 pound baby spinach 2 shallots, thinly sliced 1 clove garlic, minced 3/4 cup coconut milk 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast Juice of 1 lemon 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated Sea salt and pepper Zest of 1 lemon Directions: Heat a knob of coconut oil in a large skillet and cook the spinach until just wilted. Transfer the spinach to a colander to drain out excess water. In a small saucepan, sweat the shallots and garlic. Whisk in the coconut milk, dijon, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and nutmeg. Cook and reduce slightly. Press excess water out of the spinach and return to the large skillet over medium heat. Pour in the coconut milk mixture, stir, and heat until warmed. Be careful not to overcook so that the spinach retains its bright color. Season with salt, pepper, and lemon zest. Serve warm. Physical Pain, by Stephanie
Did you know that physical pain in the body is often a sign that something else in our being is needing our attention? True, sometimes our physical body gets injured, and we literally are "in pain". Other times, our emotional, mental and/or spiritual body gets injured. Over time, this injury may manifest physically as "pain". Why does this happen? It happens to help us. Really? How is pain helpful? Well, pain is discomfort and the discomfort is meant to get our attention so we deal with the "injury" and heal it. Here at the Sanctuary there are many ways we support this process of uncovering pain. How so? In addition to relieving physical pain, massage and yoga are often doorways for us to explore the other types of pain: emotional, mental and spiritual. For those of us ready to enter through the doorway to a deeper place, we may be curious about reiki energy healing or shamanic energy healing. These forms of energy healing are designed to bring us more fully into "what's really going on" so we may heal at the rootlevel. The result? The pain is gone once and for all. Speaking of pulling up those roots...more on this next time! |
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