Well, we had a wonderful Eating Healthy seminar yesterday.
Our guide, Bethanne Kashkett, supported by her husband Kenny (shown here), led us through a tantalizing array of tasty recipes and healthy eating treats.
We started off with a special green smoothie with blueberries to keep us cool on this sun-baked day, and then we delved into an array of exotic salads, unique casseroles, and organic delights.
One of Bethanne’s favorites was this special mung bean pasta dish. That’s right the noodles were made from organic mung bean flour – that means they were not at all acidic like regular pasta and their consistency was wonderful, unlike some whole wheat pastas that can tend to be grainy. Then of course the dish was loaded with fresh veggies from both land and sea – and spiced just right! It was tasty beyond belief!!
After that we got into spiralizing!! See how, using a very simple hand-operated spriralizer (not expensive), we were able to make an ordinary zucchini into a beautiful, exotic shape and form. A great way to have a cool noodle experience during our hot Maryland summers.
Of course no dish would be complete without Bethanne’s great dressings and sauces! Anyone who has been to these programs before knows how quickly Bethanne’s dishes transition
from the simple into the sublime.
See here how magnificently this dish turned out!!
Loaded with zesty herbs & spices, this carefully made tomato sauce (with no seeds at all) was a hot ticket on this summer afternoon!
In total we made seven different dishes for our lunch and dinner menu featuring legumes, veggies, herbs and spices and, of course, love and care.
Our main menu included these items: Not-tuna pate in collard green wraps,
Land and sea salad with mung bean noodles, Raw slaw with kale, Sprouted lentil salad, Corn and black bean salad with brown rice, & Raw zucchini pasta and sundried tomato marinara sauce. It was all quite delicious!!!
Everyone received a terrific handout / booklet that featured pages of recipes, shopping lists and key nutritional facts. Bethanne’s easy speaking style also allowed everyone to take lots of notes and ask many excellent questions during the program. And there was plenty of opportunity to help in cooking, chopping, slicing, rolling, mixing and more!

Then of course there was dessert: Sweet seed cookies (shown here), Coconut milk ice cream sweetened with agave, Sorbet sweetened with agave, Fresh luscious berries, Raw dark chocolate sauce made with raw cacao, and Chocolate chia cookies!
Everything was quite yummy – and everyone got to go up for seconds on dessert. We have secret photos of that on file!!
All in all we had a wonderful turnout and everyone left satiated, eager to try new recipes and food choices, and armed with lots of food packed up in containers for meals to come!
Healthy eating is part and parcel of our yoga practice and a great way to treat your body (& mind) right. Plus our food choices affect our environment, both locally and globally. Our diet plays such an important role in who we are and how we interact with our world. And Bethanne, as usual, proved to be a gentle, kind, knowledgeable, and sumptuous guide for this event.
Many thanks to Tessa Giannini who provided seamless support for a smooth-running program.
Hope you will all consider coming to our next Eating Health program next December!! Here is what we did last year during the holidays!!
We held our first-ever Eating Healthy seminar yesterday – and what a great success it was – all credit goes to our chef Bethanne Kashkett, her husband Kenny, and all of you who attended.
Quite amazing – on a dreary, rainy Sunday – all 27 of our registrants came out – that’s right, perfect attendance!!
After a short, staggered intro by yours truly, Bethanne neatly led us in a moment of silence to connect within and create a sentient space without. Thereafter it was not long before Bethanne got us going with all kinds of tasty edibles accompanied by great information and instruction. Everything was based on organic, vegan / vegetarian fare.
The event was structured around a mock day: Breakfast -> lunch -> dinner -> dessert. And what a day it was – quite yummy indeed.
Breakfast featured a variety of raw foods such as sliced apples with raw almond butter, soaked oat groats with fruit, frozen banana and berry smoothies, coconut milk yogurt, freshly baked blueberry tea scones, crispy rice cereal bars, mochi (traditional Japanese food of steamed, pounded brown rice) and jam. Along the way we all tried rice milk, hemp milk and almond milk.
As if that was not enough, we all got to try these delicious breakfast quesadillas: sprouted corn tortillas with soy cheese and mixed chard greens.
And that was just breakfast!! And believe me when I say there were a few items I neglected to mention.
Then Bethanne segued us into a wonderful lunch and dinner combo. At that point things got a little more participatory as various people came up to help steer the ship. They cut, stirred and engaged in other elements of food preparation.
Here is Bill Whitman, husband of Elsie, giving Bethanne a hand with things. Others who came up to help included Lindsay (she was gracious to share LOTS of time), Denise, Steve, and others.
The lunch / dinner combo included a variety of tastes and samples from a wonderful immune building soup spiced with turmeric, ginger and a host of health-supportive herbs and flavorings plus a variety of greens such as a kale / tahini salad and cultured veggies.
The grand buffet bar at the end included a wide array of main dishes from around the world including, but not limited to: coconut brown rice with cauliflower/ potato curry, tortilla pie (wheat tortilla layered with refried beans, quinoa, black beans, salsa, and veggie mix), whole grain pasta with tempeh marinara, veggie fried rice, sprouts, holiday wild rice salad w/ pomegranate dressing, kale salad, and salad crunchies (sprouted buckwheat, sunflower, sesame, and hemp seeds).
There were so many tantalizing tastes, unique food combinations, interesting ingredients – all prepared with an experienced hand and a loving heart.
And then there was dessert – wow! – which was an event all its own. To say there were six different desserts would be an underestimation. Let’s see now there were: ginger snap cookies with holiday pumpkin/soy cream cheese dip, gingerbread, tea poached pears, jam bars, crispy rice balls, alternative ice cream, beat cake, as well as a candle to celebrate Elsie’s birthday!!
Amazingly, the entire event neatly fit into the 2:30p – 5:30p time frame and everyone got to take home plenty of food in their tupperware containers.
Certainly there is more to say about the program so I heartily welcome those in attendance to share their thoughts and experiences.
Of course, all readers, yogis / yoginis, foodies, and members of our universal human family are invited to share and comment.
Bethanne please do correct me on any errors, either of commission or omission, with regards to the names of the various scrumptious dishes that were presented.
Finally, thanks so much to Krista for helping serve & clear and taking photos, and to Alisha for her tireless and good-natured support in the kitchen. While I lazily strolled the hall with a dish rag over my shoulder as if I was really working(!), Alisha kept everything in order: neat and clean.
Thanks again to everyone for attending and I look forward to seeing you for the next round in the spring!!
Please watch for the gallery of photos from this event soon to be posted on our website.
Yesterday at a yoga outing, I learned of a refreshing drink. Sarah David (Mon Nite NECC) let me in on one of her tasty specials. And that is what I share with you today! Thanks Sarah!
Cucumber Water: Fill a pitcher with water. Thinly slice 1/2 or 3/4 of a large cucumber and add to your water pitcher. Cut a few lemon or lime wedges and add to the water mixture. Refrigerate and let sit overnight.
Voila! You now have a very refreshing drink that carries a very subtle taste.
We all know that best is to drink a minimum of 2 liters of water every day. Drinking 3 or 4 is even better. Sometimes we may desire something other than just plain water. Store-bought fruit juices are not good options as they are highly acidic and filled with sugar, artificial flavors, and preservatives. And soda is obviously out.
The above cucumber water drink is an excellent alternative. It is highly alkaline, easy to make, inexpensive, and offers a subtle taste sensation that is quite refreshing.
Keep in mind that using an organic cucumber is probably best. If this is not an option, then at least peel the cucumber to remove that layer of wax that invariably is applied to today’s cucumbers. The same applies to the lemon / lime wedges.
Hope you all enjoy! And do write in with your favorite drink recipes as well, or any variation along this theme!!