Belly-warming detox soup!

Autumn is officially starting to take hold in Sydney. The days are still sunny and warm but the mornings and evenings are definitely getting colder.

And these cool, dark evenings coupled with a little bit too much indulgence over easter (mmmm hot cross buns!!!!) inspired me to cook up a huge pot of belly-warming vegetable soup for the week. 

I cook this up almost every other weekend during winter. Because I work full-time plus now with teaching yoga on the side, it is so great to have my dinner sorted out - a massive batch will last me for most of the week. I just come home, heat it up and I have got a nutritious, warming and filling dinner. 

And because it has nothing but good stuff in it, it is great for those times when you have been eating too many crappy foods and want to detox. Nothing but vegetables and legumes with a little coconut oil and lots of spices! 

And it is stupid easy to make. Like, ridiculously easy.

Ingredients:

- Lots of vegetables 

Can't make vegetable soup without 'em! I don't really have a set recipe for my soup and the veges change each time I make it. Other than that, I just chuck in whatever vegetables I felt like buying that week (or what I can find/ what is on special!). Last week this included carrots, celery, cauliflower, butternut pumpkin, broccoli, zucchini and a leek. 

- 2 brown onions 

- 2 cloves of garlic

- Coconut oil (about a tablespoon)

You can use any oil, but as you will be using it for browning the onions and leeks, I like to use coconut oil because it has a high smoking point so won't oxidise when heated at high temperatures. It is also has many other great benefits that have been written about extensively. Here is a starting point though if you are curious.

- Tumeric (2 teaspoons)

- Chilli flakes (1 - 2 teaspoons depending on how spiky you like your food)

- Cumin seeds (1 heaped tablespoon)

- Vegetable stock powder (3 teaspoons) 

- Dried lentils (3/4 cup)

You can use any kind of lentils that take your fancy - brown, green, red, yellow - it is all good. Or even swap them out for dried beans like navy beans.

- Split peas (1/2 cup)

Make it happen

Chop all the veges into bite sized chunks. If you are going to blend the soup (you can leave it chunky if you prefer), the size of the pieces doesn't matter that much but they will cook quicker if they aren't too big. Finely slice the onions and leeks (if you are using them).

Heat the coconut oil in a really big-ass pot. Once it covers the bottom of the pot, chuck in the onions. Keep stirring them until they go a nice golden colour.

Add in the turmeric, cumin seeds, chilli flakes, leek and garlic. (I just use a garlic crusher on mine but you can just as easily chop it finely with a small, sharp knife.) Keep stirring until the leek goes nice and soft.

Drop in all the veges, the lentils and the split peas and pour in enough water to cover everything with about an inch of water above it. Add the stock powder.

Give it a quick stir, take it to the boil and then allow it to simmer over a low heat with the lid on the pot.

And then you just wait! Leave it on for an hour or so, giving it a stir now and then to make sure it is all looking good.

Enjoy!

Once it is done, you can serve it straight up if you want it chunky or otherwise put it in the blender for a few seconds to make a smooth, thick soup. Add a piece of heavy, grainy bread if you want or just enjoy it as it is.

It will keep in the fridge for about a week and freezes well too. And the best thing is - it tastes even better the day after you make it.

YUM!!!!!

Smiley happy yogi

Ever since I started my yoga teacher training last year, one piece of sagely advice that I consistently receive from other teachers is to make sure I keep up my personal practice.

While it was clearly sound advice, I honestly thought it wouldn't be much of an issue for me. I mean, I LOVE yoga. There is no way that I would neglect my own practice just because I was teaching as well. If anything, teaching will just make me even more focussed on my practice.

Fast-forward 12 months, I am now teaching a couple of regular classes a week on the side of my fairly demanding full-time job. And my personal practice? Well, let's just say that it isn't receiving the kind of attention that it deserves. Yep. Everyone was right.

You see, when I'm not at work or teaching a class, I am planning my classes, trying to get more classes, volunteering to teach community classes or to help out at events - not to mention the admin that my new side-venture has created. Don't get me wrong - I am absolutely loving it (well maybe not the admin). But I feel like I am already yoga-ing all over the place before I even get to my own practice!

Motivation for my regular practice had definitely waned. Something that used to be an immense source of joy for me became something that I needed to fit into my week somewhere. Like jumping on the treadmill. Or doing the laundry.

Not great.

I had been aware that this was a less than ideal situation for a while but kind of hoped it would sort itself out over time. It wasn't until took a class with Eoin Finn (blissology.com) at the Sydney Wanderlust Festival (where I was volunteering of course!) that I realised what I needed to do to get me out of my yoga funk: Make it fun again!

You see, one of the side-effects of becoming a qualified yoga teacher was this increased awareness of every aspect of every pose that I do. As I move through my asanas, I had got into a habit of mentally checking off every point of alignment, constantly making refinements and perfecting my pose. I am even ticking off the contraindications and options that I could give to students if I was teaching the pose. Basically, every practice started to feel like I was prepping for an exam.

So when Eoin opened his class saying that we would be doing some kinda out-there, non-traditional moves (incorporating flowing transitions inspired by his love of surfing) my eyes lit up! The next hour or so was spent exploring movement, feeling into the poses and - yes - having a whole lot of fun. For the first time in ages, I felt like I could really get out of my head and not only into my body but also into my heart - letting my movements be led by what felt good instead of just doing what I was supposed to do.

Since that class, I have been on the look out for other ways that I can to bring more happy to my practice. I have been taking workshops, trying new classes, doing classes with friends and making new, upbeat playlists for my home practice. But perhaps the simplest way I have found is to just set an intention at the beginning of class to bring lightness to the class, to smile lots and to just not take it all so seriously.

Because at the end of the day, it's just yoga, right?

Namaste! xox