#conscious living

afghan bean curry (lubya) | I love this recipe from the curious chickpea because it’s so easy to make and the only thing you have to chop is the onion and garlic! I added some greek yoghurt on top to add some creaminess to the tomatoes

ingredients:

↠ 2 tbsp coconut oil

↠ 1 tbsp coriander seed

↠ 1 tsp cumin seed

↠ 1 x 400g can whole tomatoes

↠ 1 small red onion, diced & some reserved for garnish

↠ 4 cloves garlic, minced

↠ 1 cup vegetable broth

↠ 2 x 400g cans kidney beans, rinsed & drained

↠ 1 tsp ground black pepper

↠ 1 tsp salt

↠ coriander for garnish

↠ basmati rice to serve

method:

↠ melt 1 tablespoon of oil in a heavy bottomed pot over medium-low heat. add the coriander and cumin and cook for about a minute or until the aromatic and a shade darker. keep a close eye on them so they don’t burn.

↠ add the tomatoes and their juices to the pot and mash them a little. cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for around 7 minutes until they break down and are saucy. transfer to a blender and blend until smooth, making sure to vent.

↠ heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the pot and melt over medium-low heat. add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and starting to turn golden. then add the minced garlic, and continue cooking for an additional 5 minutes, stirring often so it doesn’t burn.

↠ once the onions are nice and caramelised add the broth, the spiced tomato sauce, kidney beans, salt and pepper. simmer uncovered on low heat for about 15 minutes. adjust seasonings to taste.

↠ garnish with coriander and minced red onion and serve with basmati rice.

spraying so much lavender directly into my face to de-stress and freshen up haha. this toner recipe is from ECO. modern essentials toxic-free home ritual subscription box. they’re a gold coast based company that have a great recycling program too (more to come in a blog post soon).

if you’ve been following me for a while you know I don’t push products or codes at you, but if you feel inclined to stock up on some essential oils or beauty products (I have used their serums for a long time - affordable and lush af) use this link to help a sis out while she’s waiting on that jobkeeper payment: https://lddy.no/fek0

oily to combination skin:

↠ brew enough medium strength green tea to fill a small spray bottle

↠ add 1 drop lavender for every 10mls of tea

↠ shake well before use

normal to dry skin:

↠ brew enough medium strength chamomile tea to fill a small spray bottle

↠ add 1 drop frankincense for every 10mls of tea

↠ shake well before use

a sweet leek carbonara recipe for all you pasta isolation hoarders out there. I got this from jamie oliver’s veg book. the original recipe is below but to make it vegan I used dairy free butter, vegan cheeze and nutritional yeast instead of eggs. oh and chilli because it’s not a kristy dish unless it tastes like burning

ingredients:

↠ 2 leeks

↠ 4 cloves of garlic

↠ 4 sprigs fresh thyme

↠ 1 knob of butter

↠ olive oil

↠ 300g spaghetti

↠ 50g pecorino cheese

↠ 1 large egg

method:

↠ trim, wash and finely slice the leeks. peel and finely slice garlic and pick the thyme leaves, then place in a large casserole pan on a medium heat with the butter and 1 tablespoon of oil. once sizzling, stir in the leeks and 400ml of water, then cover and simmer gently over a low heat for 40 minutes or until sweet and soft, stirring occasionally. season with sea salt and black pepper.

↠ when the leeks are almost done, cook the pasta in a large pain of boiling slated water according to the packet instructions, then drain, reserving a mugful of starchy cooking water. toss the drained pasta into the leek pan, then remove from the heat and wait 2 minutes for the pan to cool slightly while you finely grate the cheese and beat it with the egg.

↠ loosen the egg mixture with a splash of reserved cooking water, then pour over the pasta, tossing vigorously. season to perfection and adjust the consistency with the extra cooking water if needed

I love me some palak paneer & found this vegan alternative with tofu from the @minimalistbaker. you can make it in 30 minutes!

ingredients:

↠ 425g block firm tofu

↠ 3½ tsp curry powder

↠ 15 ml coconut aminos

↠ ¼ tsp sea salt

↠ 2 tsp nutritional yeast

↠ 170 g loosely packed fresh spinach

↠ 40 ml avocado or coconut oil

↠ 1½ tsp cumin seed or ground cumin

↠ 15 g minced ginger

↠ 1 medium diced white onion

↠ 1 chilli (serrano or jalapeno)

↠ 180 g can diced tomatoes

↠ 4 cloves garlic

↠ 60-120 ml vegetable broth or water

↠ 2 tsp curry powder

↠ 1 tsp garam masala

↠ 60 ml full fat coconut milk

method:

↠ preheat oven to 220°c. drain, pat dry then cube the tofu.

↠ in a bowl season tofu with 1½ tsp curry powder, coconut aminos, sea salt, & nutritional yeast.

↠ heat a medium sized pan on medium heat (if using stainless steel add a little oil so it doesn’t stick). add tofu & sauté 3-4 minutes, or until a couple of sides are browned. transfer to oven & bake for 15 minutes. if you prefer firmer tofu, bake longer. if you want softer tofu that mocks paneer, bake less. set aside to rest in the pan.

↠ meanwhile, boil water in a large pot halfway full.

↠ heat a large pan over medium heat. add half the oil, cumin seed, ginger, onion & chilli. sauté for about 5 minutes until onion is soft & translucent.

↠ add diced tomatoes & garlic. sauté 3-4 minutes or until tomato has softened.

↠ add spinach to boiling water & cook 2 minutes. strain & rinse with cold water. drain well.

↠ add tomato mixture, spinach & vegetable broth or water to a blender & blend into a smooth sauce. add more broth or water if necessary.

↠ heat the same same pan over medium heat. add remaining oil, curry powder & garam masala & cook for 30 seconds.

↠ add the spinach sauce & cook the mixture over medium-low heat for about 3-4 minutes to deepen the flavours. if it bubbles too much, lower heat to a simmer. add coconut milk and stir.

↠ taste and adjust flavour as needed, adding salt or coconut aminos to deepen the flavour and curry powder for more rich curry flavour.

one of my environmental resolutions is to try and not buy any new clothes (undies excluded). I’m actually pretty good with this already - except for when an event is coming up as I use that as an reason to buy something new. but now I have a lot of pretty things I’ve only rocked once or twice that I can totally wear again. to freshen up a wardrobe I love a clothes swap, and we’ve done this a few times now with the teachers at stretch yoga. it’s great especially if you can’t be bothered selling your old clothes. contact some pals, plan a date, sort through your wardrobe and get swapping. there’s also lots of groups on facebook with meet ups too

the best way to get things done is to simply begin ️✨

I have so many diaries from when I was in school. my favourite entry to this day was: dear diary, today I found out I need braces. NOOOOOOOOOOOOO. with my glasses too, I’ll look so ugly (oh young kristy).

yesterday I noticed that I was resisting to write. I was coming up with all these excuses and realised I was resisting because I didn’t want to be honest with myself. I didn’t want to write down the crappy feelings I had for the first day of the year. the new year is all about being fresh and optimistic and I was hungover and had a little bit of PPD (post party depression). but as I started to write it was therapeutic as it made me really think about why I was feeling what I was. it then led to me calling mitch and having such an honest conversation which left us both feeling really great and how to approach a similar situation. journaling allows you to explore, to have an honest conversation with yourself, and help figure out what really matters and is important to you.

journaling doesn’t have to be an elaborate thing. all you need is some pen and paper and a couple of sentences. for me I’m writing one thing I’m grateful for, my mood and try to unravel why, and in the calendar part and big highlights. the hardest part is just starting the habit but can you stack it on something else like when you’re having your morning coffee?

I found this post by @simplyfiercely helpful. she suggests asking yourself these questions : how do you feel right now? why do you feel that way? how do you want to feel? what can you do to feel that way?

www.simplyfiercely.com/start-journaling

this last period I’ve tried out reusable tampons. I like the idea because teaching yoga means tight yoga pants so feeling bulky never feels cute, but these didn’t work too well for me. they weren’t super absorbent so I had to wear my period undies with them but in saying that I bought the regular size and not heavy. changing them was fine at home because I could rinse out straight away, but when I had a full day at the studio and pulled it out I was like uhh what do I do because I didn’t have anything to place it in. also, is it too much in a public restroom to wash or empty out reusable sanitary items? I’m not comfortable with it personally but I would understand if a woman chose to do it ❣️

feel into the body. the breath. the heart beat. it’s easy to get frustrated when things aren’t going well but keep coming back to that brightness, goodness, the love and feed off of that ☀️

well, hot dang. I’ve taught over 2000 hours of this marvellous thing we call yoga when I stepped into teacher training my thinking was that I could teach maybe once a week, but yoga is all I have done ever since. I am super grateful to be able to do this, and for all the teachers who have taught me, and to all my fellow teachers and friends who keep inspiring me. and most of all so ridiculously thankful for everyone who’s taken the time to come to one of my classes and practice with me

constipation. yeah I said it. and this morning smoothie recommendation from my friend got things moving blueberries, banana, spinach, protein + acai powder topped with almond milk

I made this sweet potato mac and cheese recipe from @onegreenplanet. 

the original recipe is below however I would definitely cute the nutmeg quantity by half and if you’re not a fan of spice the cayenne by half too.

ingredients:

2 medium sweet potatoes

450g dried pasta shells

1/3 cup vegan butter

1/3 cup flour

2 cups unsweetened non-dairy milk

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp dijon mustard

2 tsp white miso

½ tsp cayenne

1 tsp nutmeg

½ tsp salt

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

2 cups baby spinach, chopped

ground pepper, to taste

method:

↠ preheat oven to 220°c. poke a few holes with a fork into sweet potatoes and wrap them in foil. bake until cooked through, about 60 minutes. when sweet potatoes are cooked and slightly cool, scoop out the flesh and discard the skins. set flesh aside.

↠ cook pasta according to package instructions. drain and set aside.

in a medium pot, melt the butter. stir in flour and cook, stirring frequently for 3-5 minutes until mixture thickens. stir in half the non-dairy milk and continue stirring another 2 minutes or so as mixture continues to thicken. stir in sweet potatoes. add in remaining milk, garlic, mustard, miso, cayenne, nutmeg, nutritional yeast, and salt. continue cooking another few minutes until a thick sauce consistency is reached.

↠ transfer sauce to a blender and blend until smooth. place cooked pasta into the sauce pot. over low heat, pour blended sauce over pasta and stir well. stir in baby spinach and cook about 2 minutes until pasta is warm and spinach is wilted. serve with freshly ground pepper.

getting amongst the lunch specials at saiko teppanyaki in fortitude valley, brisbane. tofu, pumpkin, carrot, onion, zucchini, sweet potato, eggplant, mushroom and cabbage

uhhhh dis vegan mac and cheese udon noodle dish blew my mind. the sauce is miso and siracha. the tofu bites were so good too. everything on the menu at netherworld in brisbane is vegan and it’s a bloody good time with craft beer, arcade & board games. if anyone wants to go take me 

have you got amongst the beeswax wraps train yet? reusable, washable & sustainable. these cute ones are fromnurture earth, locally made in brisbane

I’m trying to make some more fun salads so gave this warm pear & spinach salad a go from honestlyhealthy. it’s supposed to be with figs but as they aren’t in season I used pear instead

ingredients:
↠ ½ red onion, sliced
↠ 60g green beans, sliced
↠ 1 tbsp sunflower oil
↠ 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
↠ 1 pear or 3 figs
↠ 2 tbsp water
↠ 80g spinach
↠ 5g parsley
↠ 30g pistachios, chopped

method:
↠ saute the onions and beans in a mixture of sunflower oil & apple cider vinegar for 2 minutes.
↠ slice the pear/figs in half and put them cut side down in the pan among with the onions and beans and cook for 1 minute on each side. after you flip them, add the water and leave for another minute.
↠ serve on a bed of spinach leaves and garnish with the parsley and pistachios.

got pepe’s last week and had a bunch of chips leftover so loaded nachos was definitely on the cards. I used ‘the best damn vegan nachos’ recipe from @minimalistbaker. the cashew-less queso is delicious and a nice break from using nuts all the time. I also went for refried beans instead of black beans because, cravings. 

check out the recipe here: www.minimalistbaker.com/the-best-damn-vegan-nachos/

how have I not tried no no’s until now? all the salads are vegan and the falafel is

how cute are the new reusable ceramic cups sally flannerymade for stretch yoga? 

made these roast chickpeas with cumin and chilli as a snacky poo for the week

ingredients:
↠ 2 tablespoons pumpkin oil
↠ 1 tablespoon ground cumin
↠ 1 teaspoon garlic powder
↠ ½ teaspoon chilli powder
↠ 1 pinch sea salt
↠ 1 pinch ground black pepper
↠ 1 dash chilli togarashi powder
↠ 1 (400g) tin chickpeas, rinsed and drained

method:
↠ preheat the oven to 180°c.
↠ whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl adding the chickpeas last to toss and coat.
↠ spread a single layer on a baking tray.
↠ roast in the oven for 45 minutes stirring occasionally until nicely brown & crispy.

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8 Visualization Techniques Worth Trying

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