Three A Day

Three A Day. Now that  definitely sounds like a prescription or daily allowance recommendation. For example, "Take these three times a day and your pain will be gone in no time," or "you need three or more servings of vegetables a day." 

Even though I can speak for my veggie intake (which you will see soon,) the real three a day I am referring to is not in reference to either. Instead, it explains how my Sunday was spent. Let me explain. Sunday was my first official "class time" for registered yoga teacher training (as opposed to my Wednesday night Mysore practice). During this time, I was lucky enough to take part in two "feedbacks". (For those of you that do not know, a feedback is a class taught by teacher trainees in which the students tell them how they are doing as a teacher afterwards.) 

Unfortunately, I had ate right before since I was unaware of what was ahead. Chocolate brownie oats with strawberries are delicious...

...but not right before two yoga classes. Ooof.

Luckily, the feedbacks went well regardless. It was a lot to take in but I definitely enjoyed participating. Now that my RYT (registered yoga teacher) trainer and I have formally decided upon moving forward, I can look forward to feedbacks of my own very soon. After talking with her, I also have been assigned a mentor (or "big sister" as my trainer calls her) and a plan. I am so honored to be working under both of these inspiring women. I feel especially excited because my mentor is the "big sister" that I already feel I have a connection with. How perfect! 

Directly following the two feedbacks, I was off to a Vinyasa class with my mom. Yes, this was my third class for the day. I should also mention that the three classes all followed each other. Talk about non-stop yoga! 

After I finished my three a day, I was ready for a shower and some serious eats. In that order. 

Speaking of showers, did you know that Ayurvedic teachings encourage students to rub their sweat back into their skin? I know that may sound crazy, but it actually makes me more mindful. To me it kind of represents how the work of yoga, which can be physically shown by sweat, should be savored and embraced. Basically, our yoga practice should carry with us throughout our day instead of just being physical exercise that ends when we leave the room. 

Sweat-rubbing aside, my tummy was calling for one thing: my favorite wrap combo. 

After preparing my dinner, I most definitely relaxed. A bowl of my favorite treat (kabocha!) was in order as well. This was a treat for both my mind and body, both of which had worked hard.

To save you from lots of random snacky photos (of which I did not take), I can sum up my night by saying that my hunger was increased from my physical activity, and I continued to snack, snack, snack. 

Thanks to this, I was not a raging beast in the morning. Always a good thing, my friends, always a good thing. Since Monday's are my day off from community service, I took it easy and had time to prepare warm oats. 

I am so very happy that I did because these were crazy delicious. Seriously, I always love the blueberry-strawberry combo but this was like no other. 

Maybe it had something to do with absolutely succulent, local strawberries (which were also an amazing deal---wahoo!)...

...or the addition of my rare blackraspberries. Swoon.

Anyway, back to the three a day thing. I mentioned at the beginning that I could also speak for my daily veggie requirements. I am always shocked when I hear that most Americans do not meet the USDA's requirement of 5 servings of vegetables and fruits a day. Sometimes I actually worry that I get too many. Haha, just kidding, but I do try to get some variety. How many servings of vegetables and fruits do you get a day? What is your favorite way or food to get them?

Some of my favorites in the past few days have been salads, stir-fries, and straight-up veg. Mind you, these are definitely not new methods for ST&VE, but they are delicious and versatile none the less. I can eat bowls and bowls of steamed broccoli and cauliflower just as much as the next guy (oh wait, that is not common? Nevermind...), but I also enjoy playing with endless possibilities of combinations and flavors. 

Apparently I was having a little to much fun playing tonight because my resulting Mexican-inspired stir-fry was so voluminous that it called for my biggest plate. Obviously I am serious about my veggies.

With my veggies, I had the usual grain suspect: millet. If you have not tried millet yet, you are seriously missing out. It is fluffy, nutty, and light while still being filling. Please, try it for yourself. And for when you do, you are welcome. 

I also had some avocado slices. I really enjoyed how its creaminess nicely complemented the spicy and hot flavors in my stir-fry. I am starting to grow fond of avocados, but still only eat it in small forkfuls at a time. 

Another veggie that is new for me is the purple asparagus (on the left) I picked up at the farmer's market. I steamed it up last night with green asparagus (on the right), zucchini, cauliflower, and broccoli. I also made millet and topped it with my homemade vegan lemony garlic scape pesto (recipe to come, inspired by two of my favorite bloggers, Angela and Ashley) and chickpeas. 

Unfortunately, I had trouble taking pictures of this meal, which is quite sad because the colors were beautiful. I later realized that it was because I had changed my camera's settings so that my grandmother could take a picture of her magnolia tree. I did manage to get a fun picture of the pesto looking heart-shaped, though.

As for the purple asparagus, even with the camera-glitches, you can probably tell they were NOT purple. Well, they were perfectly purple... until I steamed them. My neighbor who sold them to me said that they would turn green, but would not divulge much else in hopes of me seeing it for myself. Silly me, I thought that they would magically turn green over time, not when cooked! Hehe. Either way, I could definitely tell a taste difference. They were a bit sweeter and meaty-ier (not a fan of this word, but I do not think hearty really says it well). No complaints from me! 

Oh, and just for fun, here is the photo that my grandmother took of the magnolias. She absolutely adores them. What is your favorite flower? I have a special place in my heart for sunflowers because my other grandmother, who has now passed on, used to grow them for me when I was younger. I was convinced she had some kind of magic over them because I had never seen sunflowers grow so big and beautiful. I think her secret was growing with love.

On the salad front, I enjoyed a snack plate that was basically a very simple, deconstructed salad of romaine lettuce, carrots, and Mary's Crackers. 

For a more traditional salad, I ate this beauty for lunch. 

Talk about veggies galore! I steamed yellow squash and asparagus to go with raw sweet peas, carrots, and cucumbers on a bed of romaine lettuce. 

Naturally there were chickpeas included as well. This was such a great mix! I loved that there were both raw and cooked components, giving me a range of textures. 

Personally, I am a salad-purist, for lack of a better term. I usually prefer my salads naked (without dressing) to let the natural flavor of the veggies shine through. I do, however, enjoy different textures and methods of preparation. Do you eat your salad veggies raw or mixed? Do you like to dress your salads? What are your favorite combinations?

Have a lovely Humpday, everyone!

xox, 

Mandiee