Category: Food

The Lotus Kitchen-Roasted Carrot, Asparagus and Ginger Soup

My latest recipe, a roasted carrot, asparagus and ginger soup is perfect for when you need that extra energy and open up your chakras. This recipe and more are from my upcoming book, The Lotus Kitchen, with Gwen Keannelly, a vegan cook book that combines good eats with a yoga practice.

Let me know how you like it.

Enjoy,

– Skip

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium red onions, sliced
1 (4 inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled
6 cloves garlic, peeled
8 cups vegetable stock
2 pounds carrots
2 pounds asparagus
Pinch of kosher salt
½ teaspoon white pepper

Roughly chop the carrots, asparagus, red onions, peeled ginger and garlic. Toss with olive oil and place on sheet pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast for about one hour until tender. Move to soup pot and add the stock. Simmer over medium heat until the carrots are tender. Puree and season with salt and pepper. Serves 4-6

The Yoga Practice:

As children we’re told to eat our carrots to improve vision. Jnana yoga is the practice of seeing clearly what is right and what is real. As we dive into this soup, ask the Universe to show you what is real, and what is the illusion you have made up for yourself to protect you from transformation. One pose that allows us to see the truth of our strength is the Warrior Pose. When we stand erect and channel the warrior within, we begin to clearly see our strength. The practice is to see who and what you are. You are a divine being who is strong and full or power.

Warrior One Pose (Virabhadrasana One) Instruction:

The Warrior pose cultivates the qualities of a warrior – honesty, righteousness, standing up for justice. Stand tall and focused on your mat. Step the left leg back into a long leg lunge and turn the foot diagonal to the left corner. Deepen the front knee to a 45-degree bend and reach the arms strong over head.

 

Chris Chen Eats Raw, Sweet Beet Soup, Body Connection, Inspired Conversations

Blog Highlights of the WeekKelli-custom hat1

 

Vegan Recipes – Lotus Kitchen – Sweet Beet Soup

Skip Jennings & Gwen Keannelly

Skip Jennings & Gwen Keannelly

Welcome to The Lotus Kitchen, a place of being and a space of the mind where yoga and vegetarian cooking entwine. This book intends to offer more than a gingerly curated collection of healthy and boldly flavored recipes; it’s a beacon that shines light toward an awakened way of life. A journey that encourages you to explore an engaged and meaningful pathway to empowerment through yoga and enhance your existing practice with thoughtful food preparation and mindful eating.

Look for more Lotus Kitchen Recipes soon online and in stores.

Sweet Beet Soup

Beets are a gift for the body temple. They provide an energy boost, purify the blood, offer tryptophan to nurture mental health and contain vitamins A and C and niacin. They’re available year round and this soup is a colorful way to nourish guests and self.

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium red onions
1 (4 inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled
6 cloves garlic, peeled
8 cups vegetable stock
2 pounds beets
2 pounds carrots
Pinch of kosher salt
½ teaspoon white pepper

Roughly chop the carrots, beets, red onions, peeled ginger and garlic. Toss with olive oil and place on sheet pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast for about one hour until tender. Move to soup pot and add the stock. Simmer over medium heat until the carrots are tender. Puree and season with salt and pepper. Serves 6

The Practice: Beets are also a top source of nitrates, which when converted to nitric oxide actually expands veins and arteries, allowing more blood to flow and carry oxygen to the brain. This makes beets a perfect wisdom food. Yoga stimulates the mind that creates clarity in one’s life.  The Hatha yoga pose shoulder stand or any inverted pose is for brain health.   The upside down poses allows oxygen to flow to the brain, while releasing pressure from the legs.  Shoulder stand is an excellent yoga pose. Like the beets it nourishes the brain with well-needed oxygen and rich blood flow.

Shoulder Stand Pose (Salamba Sarvangasana) Instruction: Lie flat on your mat and breathe easy.  Place both feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart with toes facing forward.  Tuck your chin towards the chest and place your hands to the side of the body on the floor.  Lift your hips and knees to the sky; raise your hands to your lumbar spine.  Steady your body by placing the weight of your body onto the elbows and shoulders.  When ready, extend the leg toward the sky.  While practicing the shoulder stand, visualize the oxygen flowing to the brain with ease and grace.  Create a mantra that incorporates the affirmations that the brain is full of oxygen; therefore thoughts are clear.

The Shift With Skip Radio Guest – Charles Chen

Charles ChenThis is the perfect show for anyone who wants to go hardcore healthy and learn to eat raw foods. Our special guest on the ShiftWithSkip Radio Podcast, Charles Chen is going to share with you all about his 7 Day Detox program. Plus, Charles describes first hand how to eat raw (in a fun and exciting way).

Charles was like many people who didn’t like how they felt eating the ever present processed foods, he was overweight and needed a change. Eating raw changed his life and can change yours too! 

Listen On-Demand

My segment with Charles Chen is available On-Demand here
Visit Charles Chen’s web page: RawYouth.org

Stay up to date with my latest guests or listen to past shows On-Demand via my radio page.

My Live shows are currently on break, but return January 2015 every Wednesday at 10 AM PST

Mango & Blueberries, Water Fun, Train with Me and some Music

This past week’s Blog highlights

Enjoy,

– Skip

Vegan Recipes – Lotus Kitchen – Blueberry Mango Salad

Lotus Kitchen - Skip Jennings & Gwen Keannelly

Skip Jennings & Gwen Keannelly

Today’s Vegan recipe, Blueberry Mango Salad, is from my upcoming book, The Lotus Kitchen with Gwen Kenneally. Blueberries have some of the highest amounts of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties in nature. Coupled with mangos, agave nectar and finished with crystallized ginger it’s absolutely delicious.

In addition, this and most of the recipes in the book are paired with a practice and yoga balance piece and this week’s pose, savasana, is at the bottom.

Look for the Lotus Kitchen Recipes soon online and in stores.

Enjoy,

-Skip

Blueberry Mango Salad

4 limes
1 cup water
¼ cup agave nectar
2 large mangos, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
3 cups blueberries
1/4 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger

Blueberry Mango SaladRemove zest from one lime in strips with a vegetable peeler and cut any white pith from strips with a sharp knife. Squeeze juice from limes. Bring zest, water, and agave to a boil in a saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice. Let syrup stand 20 minutes, then remove zest with a slotted spoon and discard. Toss together mangoes, blueberries and syrup in a large bowl and sprinkle with ginger. Serves 4

The Practice: The nectar and sweetness of the fruit in this salad reminds us that the practice of yoga is sweet nectar as well. When we finish our daily practice of yoga we are reminded of how sweet life is. Physical practice brings us to a place of surrender and final relaxation called Shavasana, the corpse pose.  “Life is Good.”  To get to the nectar of yoga, we must work through the practice. The journey, in this experience, is to recognize the preparation of the salad is very much like the practice of yoga.  Once the salad is complete, sit and is still; enjoy every bite.  “Life is God.”
Yoga Corpse Pose (Savasana)Corpse Pose (Savasana) Instruction: We lay on our backs in full rest experiencing the pleasures of the breath and moment. It is also the final meditation of the practice where we remember that life is really really good.

 

Stepping outside the Black Box: The Power of Invitation by Emill Kim

Anxiously clutching rosary beads in my hand, I walked through the quiet church. Every one of my movement possessed a certain gravitas in the still of this sacred space. This was the church of my boyhood; I had gone to school here, learned my catechism, grown up here, and lost my faith here.

I stood quietly at the foot of the statue of the Virgin mother. I have been a student, a scientist, a doctor, some would say a scholar at times. But here, in this place I was a penitent asking for grace.

In this internal and external space, I felt my energy release.

I wept openly.

********************************

There are several expressions.

“We don’t know what we don’t know.”
“We are blind to our own problems.”
“It’s hard to see when you are in the middle of it.”

These are a few common aphorisms that transcend language and culture; The instinctual acknolweldgement of the limits of our perspective coming from our mortal origins.

One of the biggest clinical challenge I have is when someone cannot understand that their lifestyle, fears, and beliefs is the source of their pathology.

That chronic disorders, debilitating pain, lack of healing can comes from a belief structure not rooted in truth but in fear.

If the mind believes something to be true then it will be expressed as truth in their reality. Physical reality starts first in the body. They are a locked self contained black box. Not aware of what they don’t know.

********************************

A question, “Why does one meditate?”

There are several answers but one popular response is that it “quiets the mind.” Although a great answer my follow up question is always

“Toward what end?”

There is an esoteric framework that we all hold reverent when practicing traditional spiritual practices. Their ways and promised outcomes we hold sacrosanct and beyond question. After devoting my adult life to studying such phenomena, I have developed a certain amount of pragmatism concerning everything.

The most desirable quality in any and all of my personal practices is efficacy coupled with efficiency.

I need it to work.
I need my efforts to affect a desireable change.

Thinking in the black box does not do this.
The self contained system is self referential.

*******************************

I posed this question to my friend, Ken, a highly gifted intuitive and one of the few people I have met who has used their gift to live a very comfortable life. Ken, once a civil servant, started developmenting his intuitive skills in adulthodd and began using his insights and impressions in both his investments in stocks and real estate. Coming from a relatively small humble start, he has reached a point in his life where he has amassed a considerable amount of wealth.

He told me the reason he meditates is to see things that is hidden from his mortal perspective. The goal of his meditation is reaching a particular point of resonance where he feels connected to the universe (or the collective unconscious). In that space he opens himself (asks) for information and insight.

This is a far cry and much different practice than thinking about nothing and performing triangle pose. Ken is explicitly connecting to the source with the intent of transcending his small self to connect to the larger Self.

*****************************

Our lives are on a path created by our lives up to this point.
The readjustments and recalibrations of this path are continually made but solely by our own manipulation of information.

As I’ve already described, some people are on paths of pain, suffering, and misery that are caused by misinformation. Their recalibrations are based on a narrative that has perpetuated illness. Although I can provide information to help them to change their course, their cognitive filter can also be altered by fear, ignorance, weariness, and closed energy

****************************

As I sat weeping in the church, I could feel the weight of the intents imparted into this space, the collective reverance, my own connection, hit me strongly. In that moment, my personal moment connection, I asked to be given grace.

Grace isn’t a particularly Catholic or Christian term, it is the invitation of our larger essence into our lives. When we set an intention for something good to come into our lives, we are asking for enormity of what we are to channel into our existence for our to receive our hearts longing.

This is grace.

My friend Ken had shown me that meditation was more than ‘thinking about nothing.’ It was an invitation for the cosmos, universe, God consciousness, collective unconscious, God, Allah, Ascended masters, angels, whatever, to come into our lives to provide special insight and wisdom.

If the overt spirituality of this is disagreeable, then we call call it the subconscious or collective mind. Whatever the case, when we are lost, feeling powerless, or just completely confused about our life path, journey, this is a good moment to ask for:

The spiritual non-sequitor.

Insight that comes from “left field,”

Something beyond the black box of our body, of our community, of our humanity, of our known world, to come grace us with energy and a glimpse of our divinity.

**********************************

In those moments of inhertied fear, doubt, anger, and uncertainty, I have made it my practice to take a deep breath and ask for help. The more I have been asking, the more I get a response. It’s been frankly wonderful but,

This takes practice.

Although a very powerful tool, it takes practice to,

Admit that you don’t know.
Surrender control.
Ask for wisdom.
Recognize the connection.

These blog post is my way of saying thank you for my gifts of grace.
These blogs are more than an invitation to you into something larger.
They are are reminders to recognize your connection.

Ernest Holmes, noted spiritual philosopher, once said,

“It is the nature of the Universe to give us what we are able to take.
It cannot give us more.
It has given all, we have not accepted the greater git.”

To receive more, sometimes you just have to ask for more.
Give an invitation and accept the invitation.
Reach out and you’ll be met halfway 

Namaste,

Emill (aka Dr. Kim).

Emill.kim@gmail.com

facebook.com/dr.emillkim

New Classes, Practice, Sexy Radio, Lotus Kitchen, Peculiar Children

Some blog highlights of the past week

Skip Jennings & Gwen Keannelly

Skip Jennings & Gwen Keannelly

– Skip

Vegan Pre-Workout Prep

Vegan Pro DrinkThe team here at SkipJennings.com has been sampling a variety of pre-workout drinks. To be honest, some of them were better suited for places we’ll not share. Well, this past week we sampled  #VegaSport Pre-Workout Energizer and my goodness it tastes so much better than any other brand we’ve tried so far. It tastes great and gave us hope that there are good pre-workout drinks that are good for you AND taste delicious. Vega Sport doesn’t use any harsh additives only mother good natural ingredients that make you feel ready for your workout.

Vega Sport Pre-Workout Energizer comes in individual packaging that’s measured out just right so you can rip off the top and add it to your water bottle in seconds flat. No need to measure out. It’s convenient and really does give you the energy you need without a crash. Natural supplements like this won’t make you feel sick, you feel great. Learn more about VegaSport here

– The Skip Jennings Team

Privacy Settings
We use cookies to enhance your experience while using our website. If you are using our Services via a browser you can restrict, block or remove cookies through your web browser settings. We also use content and scripts from third parties that may use tracking technologies. You can selectively provide your consent below to allow such third party embeds. For complete information about the cookies we use, data we collect and how we process them, please check our Privacy Policy
Youtube
Consent to display content from - Youtube
Vimeo
Consent to display content from - Vimeo
Google Maps
Consent to display content from - Google