Yoga is not just exercise; it is a lifestyle. Exercise alone will not keep you healthy. For optimal health, you need yoga exercise combined with daily mindfulness practice, meditation, and mindful nutrition. You may have wondered what keeps the Spira yoga teachers looking so vibrant, and healthy into their 40’s and 50’s. Here is your answer in three short bullet points!
We feed your mind: i.) We meditate and practice mindfulness daily!– Check out 200-hour Self-Enrichment, 40 days, and Making Friends with Stress Workshops under “Yoga Beyond Asana” tab on our website. ii.) We read! Check out our book recommendations: https://spirapoweryoga.com/books or read our reflections: https://spirapoweryoga.com/category/reflections-from-the-mat
We exercise daily – Take a Spira Power Yoga class 3-6 times a week.
We eat right – nourishing home cooked food made from scratch!
Spira’s Soulfood blog is dedicated to giving you weekly recipes from your yoga teachers kitchen. Nothing staged, nothing artificial in our food or our presentation. What you see on this blog is what we eat at home. We cook it, we take pictures, and we share it with the community.
– Wanna contribute? Write to us: info@spirapoweryoga.com
Today’s recipe comes to us from Bridget.
Bridget is a beautiful person inside and out. She is also multi-talented; a Licensed Nutritionist in a high-stress corporate setting, a Mom, a Yogi, and a supportive staff here at Spira. Her talents make her the perfect recipe writer! She has been practicing at Spira for many years, last year she took Spira’s 200-hour Teacher Training/Self Enrichment, and she is currently a Karma-Yoga staff on Fridays.
Oh, top secret, well I guess not that top secret if I am writing this, but exciting… I am getting together with Bridget to re-invent Spira’s 40 days of Introspection into a Nutritional startup for your year! Keep your eyes peeled for a brand new 40 Days experience with more nutrition and even better cues for mindfulness! Imagine starting your new year with a professional Nutritionist and a Mindfulness teacher on top of your yoga exercise…
Shredded Chicken Stuffed Peppers with Pico de Gallo By Bridget Sturza
This meal was a hit with my family-even my 2 year old loved it, and he even “helped” prepare the dish. It was created with what I had on hand using leftover chicken that I braised the day before, and also leftover kaniwa. Kaniwa is very similar to quinoa, but I find it to be more flavorful and nutty. You can find it at most specialty stores such as Metropolitan market, or PCC. Although feel free to use your grain of choice i.e. quinoa, couscous, rice, etc. Tomatoes are still going strong, and my generous neighbor who grows them offered me her surplus which I happily accepted. I often connect to people through food, and am grateful for my community/neighbors as we share food and ideas on how to make it taste good. I picked up the peppers from the farmers market unable to resist the odd shapes and sizes-nature is wonderful. Adjust ingredients to taste, especially the spices. I love cilantro, but if you don’t, parsley is a great substitute.
Veggies are my friends!
Ingredients:
Stuffed Peppers
4 – 5 Bell peppers (mine were different shapes and sizes)
2-3 cups Shredded chicken
2 c Shredded cheese, divided (I used a combo of pepper jack and cheddar)
1 to 2 cups cooked Kaniwa, or other grain of choice
2-3 teaspoons Chili powder
2 teaspoons Smoked paprika (regular is fine)
2 teaspoons Cumin
Pico de Gallo
2 to 3 cups Cherry tomatoes, diced
2-3 Garlic cloves, minced
1/4 to 1/3 cup Red onion, diced
1 bunch Cilantro (or parsley), chopped
1 lime, juiced
Salt and pepper
Sour Cream
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Grease a 9×11 baking dish with olive or coconut oil.
Slice bell peppers lengthwise and remove the seeds.
In a large mixing bowl combine the shredded chicken, 1 cup shredded cheese (reserve 1 cup to top the peppers before baking), kaniwa, chili powder, paprika, cumin, and salt & pepper to taste.
Stuff peppers with chicken mixture evenly, and top with remaining cheese.
Place in 425 degree oven for 25 – 30 minutes until cheese is melted.
Meanwhile dice the tomatoes and onion, mince the garlic, and chop the cilantro.
In a serving bowl combine the tomatoes, onion, garlic, cilantro, dash of salt, and lime juice.
Once peppers are done, remove from oven and serve immediately. Top with pico de gallo and a dollop of sour cream.
