Yoga, Health, and Wellness Articles + Recipes

Here is another autumn dish. There is something in the air that makes me crave all the warm foods and this stew is definitely warm. Real comfort food that makes you feel warm inside out. And this warmth is very needed if you decide to pick the mushrooms yourself as I did. It is rather chilly outside already! Please make sure you always only pick the mushrooms you are familiar with and only from the places far away from big roads and cities. Estonia is a nice place to live because we still have plenty of wilt forests and I just love foraging.

Are you searching for a cake to serve your family and friends this holiday season? A dessert that’ll impress your guests but won’t take you hours to make? We’ve got the cake for you! Our new Pistachio Olive Oil Cake with Cacao Cashew Ganache makes a fantastic holiday dinner centerpiece. It’s the perfect recipe to have in your back pocket for any occasion.

We like to stick to a light soup for our pre-feast holiday meals. It takes the guesswork out of what to eat while you’re working to get your big meal together for later. So today we’re sharing one of our favorites: Creamy Pumpkin Sage Soup. Bursting with rich flavor and a smooth creaminess, this soup will warm your belly and enliven your taste buds just in time for the crisp fall weather. You might even want to add this to your menu instead of eating it beforehand. It’s sure to impress your guests and they’ll never know it’s good for them!

The holidays are almost here! This year we want to switch up dessert with something a little different. So today we’re sharing this beautiful and mouth-watering Apple Tart! This is our nourishing (and allergy-friendly!) alternative to the classic apple pie. It has all of the familiar, comforting spices you’d expect, but the creamy apple puree base and gorgeously caramelized apple topping give the texture a boost.

Giving up caffeine can be hard! That’s why we created this detox-promoting, coffee-flavored alternative to soften the blow of going sans coffee. Enter, the Dandelion Root Koffe Latte. Dandelion root, often associated with the pesky dandelion weed, has been used for centuries to treat depression, scurvy, and even diabetes. It’s difficult to find dandelion root in most health food stores, so your best bet is to buy it online. We bought our dandelion root and chicory from Frontier Natural Products and Starwest Botanicals. A great liver detoxifier, dandelion root is also known for aiding in digestion and weight loss.

Right now I can’t imagine any other recipe that would be more suited for autumn than these stuffed vegetables. They are warm, slightly spicy, and full of seasonal fresh vegetables. So-so good! I am not a big fan of autumn as it tends to be rainy and dark in Estonia, and spring is still very far away, but I absolutely love all the fresh produce available and I like to make the most of it. There are probably a million different recipes for stuffed vegetables. I once went to a yoga retreat in Morocco and as they offered cooking classes too, I got to learn how to make Moroccan-style stuffed vegetables. They used minced meat as the main filling ingredient, but as I very rarely consume animal products, I figured lentils might be a good substitute. I just remembered that all the cooking classes in Morocco were private classes in a tiny local kitchen and fully in French, which I don’t speak. It seems that food is a universal language because I managed to understand everything just fine.

Looking at the calendar and seeing the Halloween is near I am almost sure that everybody has too much pumpkin. I love pumpkin, but there is always too much of it. As I hate food waste, I always roast all the pumpkin I have leftover, squeeze extra water out of it, and keep the puree in the freezer. The flesh is easy to use for soups, cakes, and risottos and it lasts there forever. Today's recipe is also based on the pumpkin puree, but in case you don’t have that waiting in the fridge, just roast the cubes of pumpkin in the oven and use the puree fresh. In this case, you don’t need to squeeze out all the water, just use it instead of some of the stock. What do you do with all the pumpkin leftover from Halloween? Let us know in the comments!

When the cold weather has gradually manifested itself, pumpkin soup warms our souls. You can prepare this delicious gluten-free pumpkin soup recipe, both with and without cream. Ingredients: 500g (about 2 slices) pumpkin 1 potato

The chillier it gets the more soups and stews find a way to my table. And why wouldn’t they if they are so easy to make and delicious each time! I must admit that even though this type of food is very easy to prepare in bulk, I usually still only cook for one lunch or dinner. But this does not mean that you should cook for each separate meal. Feel free to double or triple the recipe and eat it several days in a row or even freeze it for future quick dinners. I completely understand that cooking is not something that everybody loves to do and if you are one of those people just prep ahead. It is 100 times better to have a few homemade healthy meals waiting for you in the fridge or freezer, than quickly ordering something random from the local fast food joint. Not that there would be anything wrong with enjoying a burger now and then. Oh, and I kept the soup 100% plant-based and did not even add any vegan creams because the potatoes and beans are creamy in nature. But if you like things extra creamy go ahead and add cream cheese or sour cream of your choice right before blending.

Here in Estonia, the season is slowly changing to autumn and this means loads of produce from vine ripe tomatoes to mushrooms in the forests. And of course, loads of apples. Apples are the superstar here in this breakfast bowl. I never peel apples if I know where they are from – most of the nutrients are directly under the skin and I don’t see any reason to waste them. The other very nutritious part of the apple is its seeds, so I often eat those too. To use in recipes, I still prefer to remove the cores for smoother results.

October is here! The weather is finally starting to turn a little cooler and we can feel the beginnings of the comfy fall vibes. We’re looking forward to hot drinks, warm blankets, jackets, scarves, and chilly walks among the fallen leaves. And we’re also looking forward to all of the baking that comes with the fall and winter seasons. We can probably all agree that almost nothing goes better with cozy sweater weather than a warm baked good.

It’s officially Fall in Colorado, and we’re already feeling the pumpkin madness. Enter the Pumpkin Spice Green Smoothie! Below is a savory-sweet and spicy green smoothie that we’ve been enjoying as an afternoon snack. Think nostalgic and warming healthy snack for you and your kiddos. You could even give it to your kiddos as a nutrient boost pre-trick-or-treating next month! We love the transition into Fall, but we recognize that it’s the season that we’re faced with tough decisions. The temptations start to roll in with the cooler weather and long list of holidays. So what do we do when faced with sugary treats?

Here is a hot recipe for you. And if I say hot, I mean really hot. But then again you can regulate it down a notch if you don’t like heat. I love heat and here is my recipe for homemade hot sauce I prepare every time I happen to have too many chilies. Chilies are powerful antioxidants and I personally feel they just make me happy! I did not give you a type of chilies OR the type of vinegar I use in the recipe, because this formula of a recipe really works with all different kinds of chilies and different kinds of vinegar in my experience. If you are not a lover of extreme heat, opt for milder chilies like long red ones or green jalapenos maybe. If you like heat, make sure you throw something spicier in too, or make the whole sauce out of scotch bonnets or bird's eye chilies. Habaneros have an awesome fruity taste and also quite a bit of heat. So, it is up to you and your taste buds.

Chickpeas are one of my favorite ingredients. They are extremely versatile, they work well in curries, vegetable patties, salads, and even in desserts. To be honest, sometimes I eat them straight out of a jar. Not often, but it does happen in some busy times when I don’t even have time to shop for fresh produce. Fortunately, I am quite good with time management and these times do not happen often. Besides – I don’t think that 10 minutes to prep a full meal is that much and this is about how long this simple recipe takes. If you are good with knives you most likely only need 5 minutes to make the salad. But even the most inexperienced cooks should be ready with the salad in 10 minutes. The secret to this recipe lays in the sauce. The combination of tahini, lemon, and yogurt is irresistible with just about anything and I often use it as a dip for fresh cucumber.

Berries are loaded with phytonutrients that prevent cell damage that comes with aging. Studies show that people who eat 2 cups of berries a week experience less mental decline compared to those who don’t. Berries are also known to enhance your immune system and limit your chances of developing Parkinson’s. For those who are looking to lose weight, try to consume 2-4 cups of berries a week. The cayenne and turmeric also help increase fat metabolism which is necessary for weight loss. This healthy smoothie is the perfect replacement for a mid-morning snack; it tastes delicious and will keep you full during the day. Get yourself into the habit of making a healthy smoothie every morning. They are quick and simple to prepare. If you don’t have them in the morning, try having them sometime during the day with a side of something light like a salad or sandwich.

Today I invite you to take a trip to your fridge and clean it out properly. I hate food waste and make a fridge clean-out type of dish at least once a month to use up all the odd ends of produce that are still good, but maybe not for very long. I will go for a vacation soon and this means nobody will eat anything out of my fridge for the next few weeks. So everything that is there needs to be used before I leave! I do share a recipe of what exactly went into my soup this time, but feel free to customize. In case you have any other veggies waiting to be used up – go for it! Carrots, potatoes, cauliflower, zucchini. They all work wonderfully! I usually always use onion in the base of my soups, but this time I did not have any. If you do, throw it in with leeks and celery. Adding the vegetables, always try to figure out which ones take the longest to cook and add them in first. If you have something that you don’t wish to puree, maybe it works as a topping? If you are a meat-eater, just crisp up all the odd ends of your sausages and bacon. If you eat cheese, maybe just sprinkle it on top or melt it in. The options are endless and these types of recipes always work out. And in addition to a good meal, you also get some peace of mind because you avoid food waste. Win-win!

When was the last time you thought about your hormones? When it comes to health and well-being, hormones don’t typically take center stage. But hormones play a big role in healthy organ function, metabolism, bone health, and even our sleep (think melatonin). Jules and I are both in our forties, and we both had babies over 40. So needless to say, hormones have been on our minds. We’re focused on up-leveling our hormone health so we can look forward to maintaining energy and strength as we age. What do we do to keep our hormone production healthy? We seek out nutritious foods that will help balance our hormones.

Today I am sharing a different idea for you to try out on your next pizza evening. My aunt has a wonderful summerhouse and a few years back we built a wood pizza oven there that takes several hours to heat up and bakes the most amazing pizzas in very high heat. So every time I visit, there is pizza. A lot of it! This time I made a nice sourdough base, but I am not sharing the dough recipe with you as it takes around a week to make (assuming that you don’t already have a sourdough starter living in your fridge). Obviously, you also don’t need to spend an entire weekend building an oven. Your regular pizza base recipe and the regular oven will be totally okay to use. As always, we had a ton of veggies, different cheeses, and other toppings to play around with so everyone can make their own pizza exactly how they like it.

Sometimes the only thing you need is a cake. Feels familiar? So let me introduce you to a chocolate and beetroot cake. No need to be afraid – we do use a lot of beets in this recipe, but you can’t taste it in the result. Also, if you are afraid of too many beets, then just skip the beetroot powder in the frosting (yes, there also is a frosting!) and substitute this with pink pitaya powder or just fresh berries or skip it altogether. The main purpose of the powder here is to color the “cheesecake” frosting into a nice pink-purple color anyway, so if you are happy with white, just go for it. The cake itself is quite moist and decadent anyway and a few of my friends have mentioned that this is the best vegan cake they have ever had. To make it even more luscious, I added a whipped tofu frosting for extra moisture. And of course, I needed to go the extra mile and also candied some beetroot ribbons. For this, I first created a sugar syrup – 1 cup of water and ½ cups of regular sugar. Bring to boil, add beetroot ribbons (or just very thinly cut beetroot slices), and simmer them for 30 minutes until they turn slightly translucent). Then drain them and leave them to cool. I also cooked the rest of the syrup down to beetroot caramel, but I am honestly not sure yet, where or how I will use this.

This is the easiest recipe ever and I usually don’t even bother writing down recipes this simple, but this drink has been on my menu almost every day this summer, so I figured it makes sense to jot this one down. In Estonia, where I live, we usually have a few weeks of real summer if we are lucky. Estonian summer means something around 70°F for days and 50-60°F during nights, so rather chilly. But this year has surprised us with a real heatwave and we have had the temperatures around and even over 80°F for almost 6 weeks already. This also means that the temperature inside my apartment is constantly around 80°F and this is not so nice anymore... At one point I seriously considered just sleeping in a hammock on my terrace where there is at least a little wind. But generally, I am rather happy with the hot weather.

We’ve officially entered the dog days of summer in Colorado, which according to Wikipedia is an expression that “refers to the hot, sultry days of summer especially in the Northern Hemisphere.” Today we’ve got the antidote to the dog days of summer – Chocolate Ice Cream! Check out the decadent summery sweet treat recipe below featuring frozen bananas and raw cacao. This ice cream is 100% vegan and dairy-free, making it truly 100% guilt free! And it’s so rich and chocolatey that you’ll never miss the real thing. Guilt-free ice cream? Sign us up!

Labor Day weekend is not too far away in the United States and it’s known to be the last big hurrah of the summer. With that in mind, we wanted to make certain that we “cooked” up the very best recipes for your barbecue weekend. Ditch the pies, cookies, and other sugary treats and opt for this Farm Fresh Raw Peach Tart, which is truly a slice of heaven. The key to this recipe is the ripe succulent peaches that are overflowing at the supermarket and local farmstands. I sourced the peaches for this recipe from Ela Family Farms in Hotchkiss, Colorado, and boy can you tell that these peaches didn’t travel very far! Whether buying peaches from your farmer or grocery store, the key is knowing which ones to choose. A quick tip for picking peaches is to use your schnoz. Yes, your sniffer! A peach is ripe and ready to be eaten when you can smell it’s sweet ripe fragrance.

Enjoy this simple and delicious yellow smoothie. Tropical flavors are great for waking you up in the morning. The use of Greek yogurt provides you with much-needed protein that you require to keep you going for the rest of the day. Bananas are the most important ingredients in most healthy smoothies, as they are loaded with potassium, magnesium and create a thick lining in your stomach which protects your digestive system. Make yourself this smoothie in the mornings and you have your healthy breakfast in a mug! Ingredients:

Mushrooms are good! One of my favorite things to forage, but of course, spring is not the high season for mushrooms (at least not in Estonia), so today I used king oyster mushrooms. I have made the same recipe with button mushrooms and while still delicious, king oysters work the best here. I like that they are not too watery and of course, the fact that 2 mushrooms are enough to make up dinner for one person helps as they are so simple to prepare. The mushroom recipe itself is very simple too, and I usually always have all the ingredients waiting in my fridge or cupboard.

Snacks are meant to be simple! While I do love spending time in the kitchen and sometimes don’t mind spending hours and hours to make a few little snacks, sometimes it makes sense to just whip up a quick dip, serve it with colorful veggies and call it a day. This is exactly what I did today and as I had some roasted carrots leftover from yesterday's dinner these found their way into my little dip. I am sure the dip would also work with roasted beetroot or maybe even sweet potato – whatever you happen to have leftover.