Lifestyle holistic guide and host of the onine cooking show, Eat with Intention, Cassandra Bodzak has a new book that illustrates her focus on wellness - EAT WITH INTENTION. It combines recipes, a bit of background on them and meditation together, which makes for a balanced book to refer to as you make a number of the tasty treats. It's a book that definitely focuses on the mind, body and soul while leaving you great items to share with family and friends.
GROUNDING SALAD
When we are ungrounded, it feels like chaos; all the thoughts in our heads are swirling, we don’t feel solid or at peace, and we don’t make the best decisions because we’re not thinking clearly. By connecting back to nature and eating more root vegetables and warm foods, we bring ourselves back to a steady, more powerful place. Roasting vegetables—especially root vegetables—gives them a grounding energy, which has an incredible power to connect us back to the earth’s core. This salad is a great balance of both: it not only quenches the desire for the greens of a salad, but it also includes hearty roasted veggies, such as Brussels sprouts, carrots, and potatoes, along with lots of great spices, to bring you back down into your root chakra.
DOWN TO EARTH MEDITATION
Ideally, you would do this meditation on a nice patch of grass or perhaps sitting on the beach; however, you can still connect yourself to the center of the earth in just a few minutes right in the comfort of your home. Find a comfortable place to sit in easy pose close
your eyes, and start focusing on your breath—in through your nose and out your mouth. Bring your attention to where you are sitting on the floor and imagine a thick rope extending out of your being, all the way down and around the core of the earth, anchor-
ing you to it. Feel that rope crystallize and strengthen, all the way from the base of your spine into the earth’s core. Take a moment to really embrace this connected, anchored, and supported feeling, knowing that you are being held so powerfully by this planet, and then carry that with you throughout your day. Sit anywhere from 3 to 20 minutes. When you are ready to re- lease and end the meditation, gently move your fingers and toes, rub your palms together, and place them over your eye sockets as your slowly open your eyes and expose them to the light.
Yield: 2 Servings
Ingredients
5 tablespoons (75 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, divided
4 baby potatoes, sliced (I prefer the
colored ones, but any kind will do!)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons fine sea salt, divided
2 teaspoons garlic powder, divided
2 teaspoons onion powder, divided
½ cup (44 g) quartered Brussels sprouts
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
1 shallot, thinly sliced
¼ cup (31 g) sliced carrot
2 teaspoons slivered almonds
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 cup (68 g) chopped kale
1 cup (29 g) spring mix salad
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C, or gas mark 7). Lightly grease 2 baking sheets with 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, combine the potatoes, oregano, 1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil, and 1 teaspoon each of the salt, garlic, and onion powder and mix until thoroughly coated. Transfer the potatoes to one of the prepared baking sheets and roast for 10 minutes, or until the edges turn crisp and golden brown.
3. Meanwhile, combine the Brussels sprouts and 1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil in a small bowl and toss with the remaining 1 teaspoon salt, garlic powder, and onion powder. Arrange them on the other prepared baking sheet and roast in the oven for 5 to 7 minutes, or
until the edges turn crisp and golden brown.
4. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and shallot and sauté for 1 minute until fragrant. Add
the sliced carrots, almonds, turmeric, curry powder, and ground coriander, reduce the heat, and lightly sauté for several minutes, until the shallots and garlic are browned.
5. Divide the kale and spring mix between 2 individual serving bowls. Add the roasted potatoes and Brussels sprouts, and then finish with the carrot mixture.
FOCUS POTION
Distractions are everywhere these days, especially with smart phones and social media vying for our attention throughout the day. My daily focusing weapon is always my meditation and reciting what I’m here to do. What’s your mission statement? I’ll give you a hint: For all of us, at its core, it is being a living example of love incarnate. When we adjust our focus through our divine purpose, we have a lot more power when it comes to steering clear of mindless distractions. This potion is a bit of a secret weapon of mine for days when shiny objects are getting the better of me. The sweet combination of grapes with the alkalizing punch of kale and celery perks you up while magical rosemary focuses all that good energy in the area you need it!
DIVINE PURPOSE VISUALIZATION
Sit in easy pose with your eyes closed and focused on your third-eye point (the space between your eyebrows). Take long, deep breaths in through your nose and out your mouth. Feel your body come into a calm balance. Now, bring what your purpose on this planet is to the top of your mind. If you are unclear of what your purpose is, use “I am here to be love,” because that is all of our main purpose. Allow it to be your mantra for a few moments, letting it roll around your head, down your spine, and through your breath flow. Now bring to mind what this would look like to you. How do you behave? How do people around you feel and act? What’s the ripple effect in the world? Allow these images to flood your mind for the next 3 to 5 minutes before bringing yourself back to your original purpose statement, taking a deep breath in, holding it, and releasing it.
Yield: 1 Serving
Ingredients
3 celery stalks
2 cups (134 g) baby kale
1 cup (150 g) grapes
3 drops rosemary essential oil
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, to garnish
1. Put celery, kale, and grapes into a juicer and juice into a large glass.
2. Stir in the rosemary oil, garnish with sprigs of rosemary, and serve immediately.
RADIANCE JUICE
Roald Dahl famously said: “If you have good thoughts, they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.” I couldn’t agree more. Beauty starts from within and permeates outward. Thinking thoughts that nourish your soul and eating foods that nourish your body are more effective than the most luxurious makeup money can buy. You can’t fake true radiance. This juice is packed with nutrients that will get you glowing from the inside out! Pineapple juice promotes healthy skin and helps prevent acne; watercress is also great for your overall health with its high levels of vitamin C; and cucumber has cooling and moisturizing properties.
RADIANT HEART MEDITATION
In this exercise, we are going to pull energy into our heart center and allow it to saturate every cell of our being, filling us with light and allowing our inner radiance to pour outward as it overflows.
Begin by sitting in easy pose and breathing long and deep. Close your eyes and focus on your heart center while using your hands to slowly and steadily pull the energy surrounding you into your heart. Your hands should stay at heart height and move from the sides of your body inward, as if you are catching a ball and bringing it into your heart. Feel the light in your heart expand and grow brighter with each motion. Continue for at least 3 minutes, gradually building up to 11 minutes. Take a deep breath in and bring your hands into your heart, right palm on top of left. Feel the energy pulsing through your heart center and allow it to distribute throughout your entire being. Imagine it filling up each cell with its loving light energy. Exhale.
Yield: 1 Serving
Ingredients
½ cup (17 g) watercress
2 cucumbers, peeled
2 limes, peeled
1 cup (166 g) pineapple chunks
1. Starting with the watercress, juice all the ingredients into a large glass.
2. Lightly stir and serve immediately
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | Cassandra Bozak
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