Super Easy Super Delicious Vegan Tomato Soup

September 15, 2016September 15, 2016Abigail Cox

Guys it’s already fall! Summer flew by, but I’m not upset about it because fall means cozy sweaters, cute boots, hot yoga, and delicious fall recipes. Speaking of recipes, let’s talk soup. I LOVE soup, but I have never been a great soup creator to be completely honest. That’s why I start simple when it comes to soup 😉

Today for lunch I made a straight up 5 star italian tomato soup. Sounds pretty basic, but there was a flavor explosion going on in my mouth! My kids loved it and slurped up the very last drop. Also the mouth watering tomato herb aroma flowing through the house wasn’t too bad either!

This particular tomato soup is so easy and takes about an hour to make from scratch! Not to mention it’s vegan as well:) Vegan tomato soup… yes please!!!

Vegan Tomato Soup Ingredients:

2 lbs of fresh organic tomatoes (different varieties ensures maximum flavor! I used heirloom and your typical on the vine tomatoes.)
1-2 organic shallots peeled and cut into chunks
2 orgainc garlic cloves peeled and cut into chunks
3 springs of organic thyme, leaves picked from stem
1-2 tablespoons of organic extra virgin olive oil
Salt + pepper
½ heaping cup of raw cashews (soaked for at least 2-3 hours and drained)
1 tablespoon organic tomato paste
¼ cup organic basil (fresh)
2- 2 ½ cups of vegetable stock
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Steps to Make Your Super Delicious Vegan Tomato Soup:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Slice your tomatoes. For larger tomatoes slice into quarters and for smaller slice into halves, if cherry tomatoes leave as is. Place your sliced tomatoes on baking sheet.
Cozy up the garlic and shallots to the sliced tomatoes on the baking sheet.
Sprinkle thyme leaves over the tomatoes, garlic, and shallots.
Then drizzle the 1-2 tbsps olive oil over the tomatoes, garlic, and shallots. Add salt and pepper to season the tomatoes. Then place baking sheet in oven for about 30-35 minutes.
While tomatoes are in the oven blend cashews, tomato paste, basil, vegetable stock together. Set aside.
When tomatoes are starting to look wrinkled/roasted and your mouth is watering from the very fragrant tomatoes then go ahead and pull those babies out. Add the tomatoes, garlic, and shallots to the blended cashew mixture and blend on high until your have a smooth puree soup texture. (If you have to blend a few tomatoes at a time due to space in your blender that is perfectly okay!)
Once all blended and smooth go ahead and add the soup to a pot and bring to a simmer. Add in the balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper to taste!
Enjoy your delicious restaurant style soup:)

Healthy Cauliflower Soup Recipe

September 15, 2016Autumn Adams

I’m always trying to find ways to incorporate more veggies into my diet and Steve and I have been on a cauliflower kick lately or maybe I should say still! We make this AMAZING creamy cauliflower soup every fall and winter, so it’s not a surprise that it would show up here. The hazelnuts really give this soup a rich, creamy texture. It’s perfect for the cooler fall weather we’ve been having in Bend.

Toasted Hazelnut and Cauliflower Soup Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower, florets only
3-4 large shallots, sliced into 1/4 inch ribbons
2/3 cup toasted hazelnuts
4 roasted garlic cloves, minced
7-8 cups of veggie broth
2 T. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Easy Instructions for Your Hazelnut and Cauliflower Soup

1. Toast the hazelnuts in the toaster oven or regular oven. Our toaster oven gets nice and hot and it took less than 8 minutes to get them a nice golden color. Be careful not to burn the hazelnuts. Once the hazelnuts are toasted remove the skins by rolling them between your hands. Discard the skins.

2. Heat oil on medium in a large soup pot. Add shallots and saute until soft and then add garlic being careful not to burn the garlic.

3. Add the cauliflower florets to the pot and saute for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Now it’s time to add the veggie broth. Start with 5-6 cups. Bring it to a boil, then let it simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes. Depending on how much liquid cooks off you may want to add another cup or two of broth, so your soup won’t turn out like baby food.

5. Once the cauliflower is tender and the broth has simmered down let it cool slightly, then add it to your blender or food processor with the toasted hazelnuts. Blend until the soup reaches your desired consistency. I was able to put the entire batch into our blender, but it might be necessary to blend in batches. (Note: sometimes I like to pre-blend/process the toasted hazelnuts, it seems to give the soup a creamier texture)

Travel Insurance For Yoga Retreats

September 1, 2016September 8, 2016Autumn Adams

I get asked about yoga retreat travel insurance A TON! Even if your yoga retreat host doesn’t require retreat travel insurance I recommend that you purchase a basic policy. For the majority of my retreats I require travel insurance for my participants and that is simply to protect all parties involved. Travel insurance, depending on your plan, can help cover your expenses if you get delayed, your baggage is lost, you end up in the hospital, or you need to cancel due to a family emergency. It’s a crucial part of trip planning… especially when investing in a weeklong yoga retreat.

Here are a few yoga retreat travel insurance companies to get you moving in the right direction. As far as I know there aren’t any companies that specifically focus on travel insurance for yoga retreats, but the following are all reliable companies that will protect you should you need coverage for your next yoga retreat.

John Lewis – UK based. Easy to book online. Also has multitrip coverage. Sweet!

World Nomads – Multiple countries. Easy to get a quote online with easy to use comparison table to book the right insurance for you. Recommended by Lonely Planet.

Travel Guard– One of the larger travel insurance providers, but their website was a little clunky to use.

Insuremytrip.com and Squaremouth.com are great resources for comparing multiple options. There are so many travel insurance options on the market. It’s important to do your research and pick the best one for you.

It is also important to book your yoga retreat travel insurance as soon as you have your retreat and your flight booked. Most travel insurance options have a time limit between purchase of your travel and purchase of your travel insurance… sometimes it’s only two weeks.

Depending on the cost of your trip and the coverage you need/want you can expect to pay anywhere from $40-200… I’m sure there are probably some higher and some lower. Most travel insurance packages seem to be under $100 per person, not too bad for a little peace of mind.

See you on retreat!

Love and Light,

Autumn

A Mudra for Energy and Vitality: Pran Mudra

August 29, 2016June 1, 2020Autumn Adams

Hey yogis it’s Mudra Monday again. Pran mudra, or life mudra, is your hand mudra for the week and it’s a great mudra for energy and vitality. If you’re feeling low energy or you have a case of the “blahs”, this mudra can be super helpful when trying to overcome these doldrums. It helps boost our sense of vitality and helps improve our energy. I like to incorporate it into my asana practice, but I also find it powerful when done in my meditation practice.

A Mudra for Vitality: Pran Mudra Practice

To practice pran mudra guide your thumb to touch both your little finger and ring finger. Middle finger and index finger are extended straight. Practice this mudra with both hands. This mudra is best used in meditation and pranayama. Find a comfortable seat for meditation and pranayama and then draw your hands into the mudra and rest them on the back of your thighs/knees.

I like to practice this energizing mudra with a very simple pranayama called Sama Vritti. I find that combining Sama Vritti with Pran mudra gives me a sense of balanced energy and vitality. I’m energized, but still grounded. Sama vritti is an equal length inhale and exhale. This pranayama can be combined with the chant of “So hum” for maximum benefit. Chant “So” on the inhale and “hum” on the exhale. I like to imagine life force energy flowing into my body on each inhale and nourishing my cells on the exhale. Our minds are so powerful, let me know if you have a visualization that helps your practice.

Feel free to practice pran mudra for 5-30 minutes each day.

Benefits:

Pran mudra activates Muladhara (our root chakra) and pelvic floor, in addition to our third chakra, Manipura. Our third chakra is our center of personal power and self confidence. This simple hand mudra has many benefits, for example: it increases vitality while reducing fatigue, it improves our assertiveness, self confidence, courage and ability to see things through. When combined with slow, conscious deep breaths pran mudra is calming and can help overcome nervousness.

This mudra, in addition to improving confidence and courage can also help you envision your future in accordance with your dharma. According to Anodea Judith’s book Creating on Purpose “When you act from vision, rather than what the world tells you is possible, your life becomes energized, and your vision becomes contagious to others.” It’s time to take charge and live your ideal life. If you’re not happy with your current situation I encourage you to begin a mudra practice and to also begin working with a sankalpa.

This mudra activates prana, our life force, by uniting fire, water and earth elements.

Affirmations:

“I have the fortitude, confidence and courage to achieve what my heart desires.”

“My energy stores are plentiful. I feel vibrant and alive.”

Do you already practice pran mudra? Have you experienced its benefits? Send me a message I’d love to hear about it!

Do you want to learn more about mudras? Check out this Intro to Mudras blog post or grab Gertrud Hirschi’s mudra book… it’s amazing or… check out my book, where you’ll find 30 different mudras and meditations.

Love and Light,

Autumn

*Some of the links above are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. These earnings help make the maintenance of this blog possible. You can rest assured that I only link to products I know and love.

Neem Oil Cleansing Method

August 26, 2016August 26, 2016Autumn Adams

Hey yogis, today I’m going to talk about skincare, specifically the oil cleansing method. A year or two ago I started having some “weird” flare ups around my mouth, chin, nose, and also near my eyes. I eventually realized that I had perioral dermatitis. I also realized that the docs don’t really know what causes it and that steroid creams would make it worse. Great!

After tons of online research and using my face as a testing lab… I narrowed down a skincare regime that has been working for months. I do know that if I start to slack off my skin will flare up again. I use a combination of calendula cream (or homemade calendula balm) along with the oil cleansing method to keep my skin in check.

Why do I use the oil cleansing method? It’s natural and synthetic chemical free! Oil dissolves oil. And I live in a super dry climate and it manages to keep my skin moisturized enough that I don’t need more than a spot treatment of calendula balm.

If oil cleansing is new to you, know that there is an adjustment period until you get your oil blend down to the right combination.

My recipe for oil cleansing:

3 T. Castor oil
3 T. Grapeseed or apricot kernal oil
1/4 t. Neem oil
3 drops lavender essential oil

I store it in an airtight 4 oz. mason jar in a drawer in my bathroom. Why do I choose the ingredients I do? Castor oil is antibacterial and astringent, so it’s good at removing the gunk from your face, but it is also very drying. Grapeseed oil is good for my sensitive skin and apricot kernal oil is good for dry skin. Neem has many natural properties like: anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-septic and antifungal. Neem is also good for those with dry, irritated skin, so it’s a must for me. When choosing your ingredients it is important to use good quality organic products, so you’re not putting synthetic chemicals on your face.

To wash I pre-rinse my face with warm water. I then pour a little of the oil into the palm of my hand. Then using the fingertips of the other hand I gently massage the oil into my face for a couple of minutes and let the oil set for a few seconds. To wash it off I use a CLEAN washcloth. I run the washcloth under hot water, wring it out and drape the washcloth over my face to “steam” and soften the oil. Then I use the washcloth to wipe the oil off. This will usually take a couple of swipes (rinsing the washcloth in between). I softly pat my skin dry and voila!

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