:: YogiSutras: Yoga Blog - Journeys into Yoga ::

Just like the wind, seasons, water, and earth’s rotation, my diet went through a HUGE change last week. In short, I just lost it. I frequently will have a day where I’m off, but last week, I had a WEEK that was off. Potato chips, crumb cake, cookies, candy, crap, crap, crap.

Sunday, I made a conscious decision to pull it back together. Part of the reason I went off track was because I got lazy with my cooking. So, I pulled out my Chopra Center Cookbook and planned my meals. The day started with a trip to Whole Foods to gather all the ingredients for the recipes I selected. Here’s what I decided I would have:

Baked Yams and Tofu (although, I changed the Tofu to Chicken, and it worked great)
Granola (to snack on throughout the day)
Pumpkin Muffins (because I knew I would want something sweet)
FRUIT throughout the day.

And, a cleansing ayurveda staple that I like to make monthly (or even more often), Kitchari . it’s really delicious, and brings my cravings back in line.

So, today, my diet is back on track, and I started with my Pumpkin muffins, which have the following ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour or spelt
1/2 cup turbinado sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup raisons
1 cup low-fat soymik or rice milk (I used rice milk)
1 tbsp canola oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup mashed pumpkin

Mix the dry together, and separately mix the wet together. Then, mix them all together and pour into a muffin tin. Bake for approx 25 min at 350.

They are yummy, and only have 200 calories per muffin, 3.7 g fat, .6 g saturated fat, 37.9 g. Carbs, and 3.7 g protein

My yoga class enjoyed them after practice this morning

~Namaste

–Jennifer

On my continued quest to make my little mark in saving the world by reducing my personal and family oil consumption, I drove the Toyota Prius last night.

It’s not an Audi (BUT!), it is a really nice car. The edition I drove had leather seats. It was a hot evening, and the air conditioning kept us very cool. The dash was somewhat spaceship-like, which I got used to it very quickly. No key is required, which is a programmable-brain-shift for most humans, but I’m sure we can all adapt.

The next thing that it took getting used to was the “nob” that you use to shift from reverse to drive to park. It’s literally a little nob. Not a shifter like we’re all used to, but a single nob on the dash. I think of it as “cute”.

Backing up, I used the Backup monitor, which gave you a 3D look of everything behind you. Very cool. I took the car down a windy-road, and it hugged the road very well. Then, I took it down the highway, and while there were no twin-turbos, the car accelerated well, and the continuous shift system delivered a smooth ride.

The interior of the car is quite spaceous. If I fold down the seats, I can easily fit my three large dogs, and some Costco groceries.

The purchasing process is much like adopting a child. Yes, there is really a wait-list for this car. The process goes like this: Select your preferences, and pay a deposit (the Boulder Toyota dealer offers a REFUNDABLE $500 deposit, because the line is so long). They get on average, two Prius’ in per month. When the cars arrive, the dealer goes down the list and matches the car’s features to the right buyer, and that lucky buyer gets a call. When I was at the dealer, there was one white Prius awaiting it’s owner. Within the time it took me to test-drive the car, that lucky owner came and adopted his vehicle.

I’m getting on the list. Can’t wait to adopt my new child.

~Namaste

My husband and I went to see “Who Killed the Electric Car” this weekend. We are suckers for good documentaries.

First, I must say, the General Motors EV1 electric car was cool, and (listen GM!), I WOULD BUY ONE, RIGHT NOW. I live in Boulder, Colorado, and it is perfect for my local daily commute. Please put that on your OFFICIAL SURVEY of folks who would buy one today.

Ok, opinion aside, back to the review. Like “An Inconvenient Truth”, this movie had the thought-provoking facts behind it. Instead of pointing blame on one particular suspect, the movie methodically went through all the “suspects”, including battery technologies, the oil industry, the govermnent, the California Air Resource Board, even new, unproven technologies such as hydrogen, and, us, the consumer.

I love these fact-based movies. In the end, it did put some blame on some or all of these suspects, but the movie still left us with HOPE. We can still change our ways. We can still CHOOSE to not use oil or gas when we have alternative energies to select from.

I am still looking at hybrids. If the electric car was available today, I would rather buy that. But since the american car manufacturers gave Toyota and Honda a market advantage, (and, yes, they took advantage of that market gap), I will choose to go with a Prius or another Civic hybrid.

Listen GM, please reinstate development of the electic car. You can help us save the planet. (again, my opinion!)

~Namaste

(and use green alternatives today! YOU can help save our planet)