Things I love, that lift my spirit… Part 1: “music and mayo”

I love, love, love, love, love MUSIC.

I love, love, love, love, love teaching Christ-centered yoga, and using music that helps to center my mind on good, lovely, admirable, excellent thoughts as I practice!

And I love, love, love, love, love….mayonnaise.

WHAT?!?!?

Yes, it’s true.  I ADORE ME SOME MAYO.  When I was a kid, my dad loved Miracle Whip, and my mom loved Helmann’s….for a long time, I followed Daddy’s footsteps.  I don’t know when it happened, exactly, but at some point in my life, I made the switch.  I crossed over.  I became a mayo-girl.

Hmmmph.

Guess what?

Mayonnaise is not exactly good for you.  Depending on how it is made, it can be downright horrendous for you, in fact.  And still, dag-nabbit, it’s yummy.  You can take marvelously healthy things like apples and nuts and celery and coat them with some mayo to make a Waldorf Salad…and you have lost a little of the good-n-healthy…maybe more than a little, depending where you got it…and how much mayo was put in…

Now, I have made mayo at home the old-fashioned way, with egg and oil and cooking in a saucepan forever, and drizzing and whirring, and….phew!  And let me just say, it tastes great, and honestly, the homemade version has less ingredients, and in moderation?  not so bad…

BUT!

These days I make a much leaner, meaner,and thank-You-so-much easier “mayo”, and I have just got to share it with you!

I also want to share my 2 latest playlists for my All-levels Vessels of Clay Yoga classes….

So, first, let’s lift our spirits with that mayo recipe…and no, I am not promoting that we get our comfort or peace from food!  However, a little bit of a good, healthy thing added to our super-healthy foods will definitely keep us from feeling deprived, depressed, and ready to run to the nearest convenience store for the packaged-food-poison of our choice…and how many of you know that when you do that, your spirit, not just your body, feels horrible?!?  So, let’s choose this instead:

Beannaise (from The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook by Jo Stepaniak)

2 cups drained cooked or canned white beans (one 15- or 16-ounce can)

2 Tbsps fresh lemon juice

1 Tbsp white wine vinegar ( I use Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar)

1/2 tsp salt (I use himalayan sea salt)

1/4 tsp dry mustard

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil*

1/3 cup organic canola or safflower oil(or a blend of both)*

(I also add a pinch of cayenne pepper, which is what one does when making “traditional” homemade mayo anyway!)

“Place the beans, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and dry mustard in a blender or food processor fitted with a metal blade.  Process until very creamy.  With the appliance running, drizzle in the oils in a slow, steady stream through the cap opening in the lid. (It’s ok if you cannot do this with your appliance…I can’t either…just add little bits at time…maybe split the oil into 2 sets.) Continue processing until well blended, stopping to scrape down the sides of the container as needed.  Chill thoroughly before using. Keeps about 7 days in the refrigerator.  May be frozen.”

{Here is my little eco-friendly commercial:  my local friends see me using old glass jars for everything from drinking fresh veggie juice or green smoothies to storing leftovers or…yep, my Beannaise.  Why store things in a plastic container which is leaching all kinds of yucky stuff into your food, when you already have plenty of glass jars just from buying things like pasta sauce, pickles, or peanut butter?  Sure, they will stack up eventually, and you will need to make a trip to the recycling center, but until then, save the various sizes (those pure-fruit jam jars are great for bringing little drinks in your lunch box, or for salad dressings, while the mason jar sizes are great for hummus, Beannaise, bigger portions of homemade dressings, leftovers, and well, for this southern girl, drinking some “healthy” sweet tea!) AND support your health while lowering your addition to rising energy costs, etc…

–just a thought!}

*For the fats, I go a few different ways…I have mixed olive oil and flax oil before (flax is ok as long as you don’t cook it over 400 degrees, or it becomes a hydrogenated oil), or olive oil and walnut oil, or whatever…if you have a flavor-infused oil, that could make an interesting mayo!  Something I REALLY like to do, is use 1 part EVOO to 1 part Veganaise–a vegan mayo product.  It gives it that much more mayo flavor on top of what your recipe is giving.  Recently, I used the last little bits of all the mayo’s we had in our fridge, as well as oil…some were an omega-3 brand, some were a “light” helmann’s, and some were Veganaise…plus the EVOO.  Obviously, it is up to you what is ok in your sense of moderation…just pray about it and wait for peace.  With all of the beans, you get much more fiber and protein than you do in your usual mayo!!!

Beannaise from "The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook"

For those who dig this stuff, here is the nutritional information provided with the original recipe’s ingredients:

per 2 Tbsp:

calories- 96, protein- 2g, fat- 8g, carb- 5g, calcium- 18mg, sodium- 60mg.

By the way, this book is a great book full of recipes for making “cheez” out of nuts, beans, and other items, as well as making sauces, spreads, entrees, etc all while being dairy free…This particular recipe is free of gluten, soy, nuts, yeast and corn…so, this cookbook addresses a myriad of food-related allergies…

It also has some great charts on how much calcium can be found in  plants vs dairy, and how much better balance one can find in protein, fats, and carbs in plant-based foods vs other more “traditional” ideas….

Check it out:   

http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Uncheese-Cookbook-Delicious-Dairy-Free/dp/1570671516/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1307918406&sr=8-1

Ps…I have been known to keep mine longer than 7 days…but usually not much longer, because I use it up!!!

Now for the music portion of our spirit-lifting!

I have been in desperate need to get some new playlists going, but I have not been able to schedule the time to do it!  It literally takes me a few hours to do just one playlist…I have so much fun finding music, putting it together, seeing if the transitions are right…and then, one has to factor the technology aspect, a.k.a., are i-tunes and my i-pod going to engage together swimmingly today?  So, you see how I might put this project off to time when I can focus…

That being said, I STILL didn’t have much time last week, but I was determined.  Luckily, I started a playlist a few months ago that only needed a bit of tweaking, AND I decided to use one of my favorite teacher/friend’s playlist as a resource as well…thank goodness for the sharing of playlists…it is just another way that we as members of the church can come alongside each other, help each other out, and build each other up!  So, I tweaked my own playlist, then downloaded the music from hers and added a few more songs to make it long enough for my class, et Voila!  2 new playlists for the summer!  (and one of my favorite things about that process: when I can’t fit something in, it goes into the next playlist…so I am already halfway done with a few more; Hallelujah!!!)

{By the way, if you would like to know where my most favorite yoga studio is, where I trained to become a Christ-centered yoga teacher and to get my Registered Yoga Teacher certification, click here to be blessed!:

www.yahwehyoga.com

To read my graduate story, scroll down until you find “Robyn Hurst” on this page:

http://yahwehyoga.com/category/your-stories/

And now, back to the music!!!}

“In The Waiting“ (Robyn’s original–for encouraging focus as we wait upon the Lord…praising, praying, and moving, and praying some more!)

1. Effortless Relaxation pt 1     Steven Halpern 
2. Castle Lullaby     Roger Hudson
3. It Is Well with My Soul    Various Instumental
4. While We Wait     Jack Johnson
5. You are Worthy     Instrumental, background vocal track
6. Majesty (Here I am)     Delirious?
7. In the Waiting     Greg Long
8. While I’m Waiting     John Waller
9. Wait     Mat Kearney
10. Open Up the Sky     The Refuge
11. Waiting Room     LaRue
12. The Sound of Sunshine     Michael Franti & Spearhead
13. Live High     Jason Mraz
14. There will be a Day     Jeremy Camp
15. Amazing Grace (ft. Ginny Owens)     Jim Brickman
16. Sweet Hour of Prayer     Classic Worship
17. I Surrender All     Classic Worship
18. “prayer”     instrumental backing track
19. Ideal Weight, Part 1o     Steven Halpern
20. Jerusalem     Steven Halpern

“My Savior is My Peace” (modified version of Court’s Restorative playlist)

1. Journey to Peace, Pt. 1     Liquid Mind
2. Adagio for Sleep     Liquid Mind
3. Holy! Holy! Holy!     Avalon
4. In Christ Alone     Bethany Dillon & Matt Hammitt
5. Do You Know This Man?     1000 generations
6. Better than a Hallelujah     Amy Grant
7. You Alone     African Village Band
8. Intimacy     Jonathan David Helser
9. You Alone     David Crowder Band
10. Only You     David Crowder Band
11. Jehovah Shalom     Shannon Wexelberg
12. All the way my Savior Leads Me     Chris Tomlin
13. All That You Have is your Soul     Emmylou Harris
14. Blessed Always     Donna De Lory
15. Journey to Peace Pt. 2     Liquid Mind
16. Accelerating Self-Healing     Steven Halpern

hmmmmm…..just thinking about these songs inspires me….

I hope the same for you!  Peace out (in Him), my home-ginis and mayo (or miracle whip) lovers!

Ps—for the Miracle Whip lovers…no discrimination here…if you need more of a tang, add a little sweet to the above recipe,  like Truvia or honey, and see if that does the trick…maybe a little more lemon as well..it’s all up to your taste buds!!!

James 5:13

The Prayer of Faith

 ¹³ Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.

Isaiah 61:3

 ³To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He might be glorified.”

And don’t forget the give-a-way this week!  Leave a comment below, maybe tell me your favorite mayo or miracle whip story, or share if one of the songs listed above is a favorite of yours?  I will enter your name into a drawing to be held Friday, June 17th, for a yoga mat bag! ( If you have entered on another day, you CAN enter AGAIN here!)

(This is for Southwest Missouri delivery only, unless you are willing to pay the shipping charges up-front—which I am totally willing to work with—…and thank you for understanding!!!)  Feel free to leave a comment even if you are not entering the give-a-way! (but please, let me know either way…)