Roasted Brussels sprouts are one of my favorite foods. Not only are they incredibly healthy but when they are cooked properly, they taste heavenly. In fact, a tray of these gems won’t last long – I gobble them up right out of the oven.
Hiking the Salkantay Trail with REI: A Luxury Trek
If you like adventure but also like the luxuries of indoor plumbing and hair dryers, then hiking the Salkantay trail with REI is the trip for you! This past August, my husband and I hiked the Salkantay lodge to lodge trail with REI. This stunning 43 mile (6 day) hike in the Peruvian Andes includes a 15, 200 ft. pass, dips down through the rain forest, and finishes at the legendary city of Machu Picchu. It’s one of REI’s highest rated trips and I can see why.
After completing the Tour De Mount Blanc with REI 2 years ago and loving it, we chose them again for this adventure. I wince at the rates, but in the end, you can’t put a price on an amazing experience. REI adventure travel is seamlessly organized and they hire the best local guides. Their active vacations are for anyone who wants an adventure with pampered accommodations.
Hiking the Salkantay Trail to Machu Picchu: Photo Blog
This is a photo journey of my 5 day hike to Machu Picchu on the Salkantay trail.
(Above) llama love at Machu Picchu.
Vegan Friendly Restaurants in Cusco, Peru
Cusco is a fun, energetic city that sits 11,200 ft. in the Peruvian Andes. It’s old world charm, hospitable locals, and delicious restaurants attract a variety of visitors. Budget conscious backpackers stay at inexpensive youth hostels while older folk opt for boutique hotels and fine restaurants. Even though meat dishes such as lomo saltado (beef stir fry) or guinea pig (cuy) are traditional cuisine, Cusco has great vegan friendly restaurants and is one of the most vegan friendly cities I’ve ever been to.
Traveling as a vegan is not always easy but I was excited to find so many restaurants with vegan friendly options labeled clearly on their menu. My Green Point Vegan Restaurant is 100% vegan and has excellent, organic cuisine. I found the food in Cusco to be light and healthy with a variety of beautiful produce.
Golden Broth: Lighter Thai “faux” Coconut Soup
A few weeks ago my husband was feeling run down and unwell. He complained of a sore throat and felt a cold might be coming on. I wanted to make him a healing soup. It had to be something warm that contained a ton of ginger and turmeric. Since he loves the coconut soup at our local Vietnamese restaurant, I had the idea for trying to recreate it using coconut oil, ginger, shiitake mushrooms and spices.
Healthy Hummus and Why You Want to Make Your Own
I love this Roasted Red Pepper Hummus. It’s got a velvety smooth texture that melts in your mouth. The roasted red peppers in this tasty recipe not only create a super creamy texture (without any added oil) but they add a deep, warming flavor that is enhanced with a pinch of cayenne. The result is a healthy, delicious dip with toasted pita, carrots, snap peas, cucumber, celery, or grainy crackers.
Hummus is a healthy dip but store-bought hummus can be deceiving and less healthy than you think. This post shows you how to make amazing hummus at home and what to avoid when buying it at the store.
Meditating on Light: A Simple Practice
Why would we want to meditate on light? Because light is the essence of who we are. Without it, we would not be alive. Light births and lives in all things. Even the creatures at the bottom of the ocean generate their own light. Therefore, when we focus our attention on our own light, we are reminded of what we are at our very core.
Grain-Free Buddha Bowl
I love greens. Spinach, kale, swiss chard, bok choy, broccoli, rappini, etc. and Buddha bowls are a great way to incorporate more greens into your diet. My goal is to have greens with every meal (ideally). But this doesn’t always happen so I like to enjoy them in salads, smoothies and Buddha Bowls.
The thing about greens is that once you start eating them daily, your body will want more of them. Swiss chard, kale and spinach are so nutritiously dense, they perk up your body like a plant watered with chlorophyll. My husband, who was not a big vege eater, now requests steamed greens and kale salads. And when I travel and don’t get my full allotment of greens, I can’t help but fill my fridge with them immediately upon my return.
Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies
With Angela Liddon’s help, I have found my inner domestic side. I was NOT a baker. I didn’t trust myself to bake well and lacked the basic equipment and fancy mixers needed. I heard women talk about how they “LAHVED” to bake and were impressed by the gorgeous indulgences they produced, but the joy of baking was lost on me.
Part of it was my attitude. I grew up with a single mom in the heart of New York City. Her liberal, career woman lifestyle didn’t include baking. The mere idea of baking implied a domesticity she couldn’t relate to. The message I received was that “independent” women don’t bake.
End of Summer Roasted Tomato Soup
As the summer comes to an end, I feel a yearning for light soups. The air is cooler and the sun’s arc is shifting. But I know summer is really over when vendors at the farmers market sell the last of their summer tomatoes for a mere dollar a pound.
It seems that flavorful tomatoes are hard to come by these days. Many are tasteless. So when I happen upon a sweet one, I cherish it. No chance of roasting or cooking these valued gems. I savor them raw to experience their full tomato glory. But now that the heat of the summer sun is passing and I can get juicy tomatoes at a deep discount, I happily buy a bag to make this light and charming end o summer roasted tomato soup.