Carrot Cake Bliss Balls

Carrot Cake Bliss Balls

Ingredients: 

• 3 CUPS (360G) PECANS 
• 20 FRESH PITTED DATES 
• 2 CARROTS (160G), PEELED AND GRATED 
• 1 TEASPOON GROUND CINNAMON 
• ½ TEASPOON GROUND NUTMEG 
• ½ TEASPOON GROUND GINGER 
• 1⅓ CUPS (130G) LSA MIX+

Recipe

1. Place 1 cup (120g) of the pecans in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Place in a small bowl and set aside. 
2. Place the dates, carrot, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, LSA mix and remaining pecans in the food processor and process for 1–2 minutes or until the mixture comes together.
3. Roll tablespoons of the mixture into balls and roll in the chopped pecan to coat. Makes 28. 

+ LSA is a mixture of ground linseeds, sunflower seeds and almonds. Find it in the health food aisle of the supermarket. Tip: The bliss balls will keep refrigerated for 2–3 weeks.

Relaxation Tip from Suze Retera

Starting your Monday on a positive note!

Relaxation tip from Suze Retera

Do you find it hard to make self care a part of your daily live? Sometimes it seems harder than it really is. When you are leading a busy life, self care is extra important. But when it becomes another thing on your to do list, it might give more stress than care. 

The trick is to keep it simple, short and consistent. I will share my favourite and simple self care exercises with you: 

Taking a 1 minute break to take 5 deep and slow breaths with your eyes closed is already a great way to take care of yourself and calm your nervous system. It can be dome any time, anywhere. Do this a few times a day and increase to 5 minutes of slow deep breathing if you have the time. 

Take 10-15 minutes when you come home or just before you go to bed to lay down in a comfortable position, possibly making use of props, and relax in savasana or listen to a yoga nidra recording. This will help you release the activities of the day and sets the tone for a good night sleep.

Suze Retera teaches a Masterclass on a Saturday once a month, Slow Flow on Tuesday from 18:45-20:00 & Sunday from 10:30-12:00 and Vinyasa on Sunday from 9:00-10:15.

Veggie Burgers With Cilantro Lime Tahini Sauce

Veggie Burgers With Cilantro Lime Tahini Sauce

Ingredients: 

FOR THE BURGERS:

• 1.5 cups grated yam (I used a sweet potato in a pinch)
• 2 large garlic cloves, peeled
• 3/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 small piece of fresh ginger (1 cm cube), peeled
• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (about 1.5 cups)
• 2 tablespoons ground flax mixed with 3 tablespoons water
• 3/4 cup rolled oats, ground into a flour (use gluten-free if necessary)
• 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon coconut aminos or low-sodium tamari
• 1/2-3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt or pink Himalayan salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric

FOR THE CILANTRO-LIME TAHINI SAUCE (makes 1/2 cup):

• 1 small garlic clove, peeled
• 2/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, or to taste
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• salt and pepper, to taste

Recipe

1. FOR THE BURGERS: Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a large baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
2. Peel the yam. Using the regular-sized grate hole, grate the yam until you have 1 1/2 lightly packed cups. I used the grater attachment disc in my food processor to save time (it takes less than 20 seconds). Place into large bowl.
3. Remove grater attachment from food processor, and add the regular "s" blade. Mince the garlic, cilantro, and ginger until finely chopped.
4. Add drained chickpeas and process again until finely chopped, but leave some texture. Scoop this mixture into a large bowl.
5. In a small bowl, stir together the flax and water mixture.
6. Grind the oats into a flour using a blender or a food processor. Or you can use 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon pre-ground oat flour. Stir this into the mixture along with the flax mixture.
7. Now stir in the oil, aminos/tamari, salt/pepper, and spices until thoroughly combined. Adjust to taste if desired.
8. Shape 6-8 patties, packing the mixture firmly together. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, then carefully flip, and bake for another 18-23 minutes until golden and firm. Cool on pan.
9. FOR THE CILANTRO SAUCE: Mince garlic in a food processor, followed by the cilantro. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and process until smooth and creamy.
10. Serve the patties with a generous dollop of sauce and optional homemade salsa (from OSG cookbook, p.95) with a bun or lettuce wrap.

Octopus And Squid Evolution Is Officially Weirder Than We Could Have Ever Imagined

Octopus And Squid Evolution Is Officially Weirder Than We Could Have Ever Imagined

They edit their own genes! 

Just when we thought octopuses couldn't be any weirder, it turns out that they and their cephalopod brethren evolve differently from nearly every other organism on the planet.

In a surprising twist, scientists have discovered that octopuses, along with some squid and cuttlefish species, routinely edit their RNA (ribonucleic acid) sequences to adapt to their environment.

This is weird because that's really not how adaptations usually happen in multicellular animals. When an organism changes in some fundamental way, it typically starts with a genetic mutation - a change to the DNA.

Those genetic changes are then translated into action by DNA's molecular sidekick, RNA. You can think of DNA instructions as a recipe, while RNA is the chef that orchestrates the cooking in the kitchen of each cell, producing necessary proteins that keep the whole organism going.

But RNA doesn't just blindly execute instructions - occasionally it improvises with some of the ingredients, changing which proteins are produced in the cell in a rare process called RNA editing.

When such an edit happens, it can change how the proteins work, allowing the organism to fine-tune its genetic information without actually undergoing any genetic mutations. But most organisms don't really bother with this method, as it's messy and causes problems more often that solving them.

"The consensus among folks who study such things is Mother Nature gave RNA editing a try, found it wanting, and largely abandoned it," Anna Vlasits reports forWired.

But now it looks like cephalopods didn't get the memo.

In 2015, researchers discovered that the common squid has edited more than 60 percent of RNA in its nervous system. Those edits essentially changed its brain physiology, presumably to adapt to various temperature conditions in the ocean.

Now the team is back with an even more startling finding - at least two species of octopus and one cuttlefish do the same thing on a regular basis. To draw evolutionary comparisons, they also looked at a nautilus and a gastropod slug, and found their RNA-editing prowess to be lacking.

"This shows that high levels of RNA editing is not generally a molluscan thing; it's an invention of the coleoid cephalopods," says co-lead researcher, Joshua Rosenthal of the US Marine Biological Laboratory.

The researchers analysed hundreds of thousands of RNA recording sites in these animals, who belong to the coleoid subclass of cephalopods. They found that clever RNA editing was especially common in the coleoid nervous system.

"I wonder if it has to do with their extremely developed brains," geneticist Kazuko Nishikura from the US Wistar Institute, who wasn't involved in the study, told Ed Yong at The Atlantic. 

It's true that coleoid cephalopods are exceptionally intelligent. There are countless riveting octopus escape artist stories out there, not to mention evidence of tool use, and that one eight-armed guy at a New Zealand aquarium who learned to photograph people. (Yes, really.)

So it's certainly a compelling hypothesis that octopus smarts might come from their unconventionally high reliance on RNA edits to keep the brain going.

"There is something fundamentally different going on in these cephalopods," says Rosenthal.

But it's not just that these animals are adept at fixing up their RNA as needed - the team found that this ability came with a distinct evolutionary tradeoff, which sets them apart from the rest of the animal world.

In terms of run-of-the-mill genomic evolution (the one that uses genetic mutations, as mentioned above), coleoids have been evolving really, really slowly. The researchers think that this has been a necessary sacrifice - if you find a mechanism that helps you survive, just keep using it.

"The conclusion here is that in order to maintain this flexibility to edit RNA, the coleoids have had to give up the ability to evolve in the surrounding regions - a lot," says Rosenthal.

As the next step, the team will now be developing genetic models of cephalopods so they can trace how and when this RNA editing kicks in. 

"It could be something as simple as temperature changes or as complicated as experience, a form of memory," says Rosenthal.

The findings have been published in Cell.
Article comes from Science Alert

Octopuses are incredibly smart!

Balance Tip from Ramon Kinkel

Starting your Moday on a positive note!

Balance Tip from Ramon Kinkel

Pose: Anuloma Vuloma (or Alternate Nostril Breathing). A powerful pranayama to re-balance the energies in your body and start the week with a sharp focus!

The Right nostril is called Pingala Nadi (sun principle or the body) ,the left nostril represents Ida Nadi (moon principle or the mind). In alternate nostril breathing, one inhales through right and exhales through left, then inhales through left and exhales through right. This purifies the Ida and the Pingala Nadis. This purification brings balance to body and mind. Metabolic processes will be balanced.

The purpose of the Alternate Nostril Breathing is to balance the physical energy and the mental energy. It is recommended for all types of problems. As Hatha Yoga principle says that the health conditions are due to imbalance between this Ida and Pingala. Alternate Nostril Breathing balances this two forces.

Benefits of the exercise are:

1. Excellent breathing technique to calm and center the mind.

2. Our mind has a tendency to keep regretting or glorifying the past and getting anxious about the future. Nadi Shodhan pranayama helps to bring the mind back to the present moment.

3. Works therapeutically for most circulatory and respiratory problems.

4. Releases accumulated stress in the mind and body effectively and helps relax.

5. Helps harmonize the left and right hemispheres of the brain, which correlate to the logical and emotional sides of our personality.

6. Helps purify and balance the nadis - the subtle energy channels, thereby ensuring smooth flow of prana (life force) through the body.

7. Maintains body temperature.

Ramon Kinkel teaches Traditional Hatha Yoga every Monday from 18:30-19:45. You can also join him once a month from 20:00-21:45 at the special Yoga & Pranayama class. 

The Ultimate Guide To Water Kefir

Probiotic - Water Kefir

Water kefir is a light, naturally fermented, effervescent probiotic beverage with a diverse range of flavors and textures. Depending on how you prepare it, your water kefir can be sweet or sour with a texture ranging from light and sparkling to deep and yeasty.

It can even become a little bit alcoholic which may be of interest to some (around 0.5% or more depending on how long you ferment it and conditions).

Water kefir is made by mixing water kefir crystals or “grains” with water and sugar, and allowing the mixture time to ferment. These grains are actually Symbiotic Colonies Of Bacteria & Yeast (aka, SCOBYs), and come in the form of beautiful, translucent-jelly-crystals. In the right environmental conditions they can more than double in quantity every day!

Water kefir grains thrive on a mineral and carbohydrate-rich liquid diet. They can live in sugar water, fruit juices, coconut water, in soy/almond/rice milk, or even honey. Adding whole fruits to your kefir can give your SCOBYs a natural yeast boost, and enhance the flavor.

These little grains metabolize sugars into beneficial acids, releasing B vitamins and other healthy enzymes which aid digestion and nutrient absorption.

Why is it good for you?

This video explains why a healthy gut is good for you.

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The Recipe

Fermentation Fases

When making water kefir, there are generally two phases of fermentation. During each phase, the probiotic concentration of your kefir increases and the sugars you have added decrease as they are consumed by the kefir cultures. Kefir fermentation is anaerobic, which means that no oxygen is required for your cultures to work their magic.

Primary Fermentation

This is the first phase of fermentation, and takes place with your kefir grains present in the solution. During this phase, your ferment’s flavor and texture is heavily influenced by any fruits or roots present.

Fermentation proceeds at a faster rate, due to the large population of microorganisms (kefir grains) present.

Secondary Fermentation

This phase begins after the kefir grains are removed from your kefir. Your beverage will continue to ferment due to the invisible bacterial cultures still present.

Often additional sugar-source (i.e. syrups, fresh fruits, jam) is added during this phase and in a closed vessel or bottle so that carbonation can build.

What Kefir Grains Do I Use?

First off, make sure you get WATER KEFIR grains. There is a difference between milk kefir and water kefir grains, and they are not interchangeable.

Next up, you’ll have to decide if you want powdered, dehydrated or live kefir grains.

Powdered Kefir Grains

• Unlimited Shelf-Life
• Use immediately
• Doesn't reproduce

Powdered kefir has unlimited shelf-life and is ready for immediate use. However, it generally isn’t able to reproduce for more than a few batches of kefir. You will have to keep buying more.

Dehydrated Kefir Grains

• Unlimited Shelf-Life
• Requires re-hydration
• Lifetime supply

Dehydrated kefir grains have a nearly unlimited shelf-life, but you need to rehydrate them for a few days before you can use them. Once they’re out of “hibernation”, they will multiply indefinitely.

Hydrated / Live Kefir Grains

• Limited Shelf-Life 
• Use immediately
• Lifetime supply

Live kefir grains are delivered in a sugar-water solution. They don’t live indefinitely without regular care, but they are ready for immediate use and will multiply, providing you with a lifetime supply of kefir grains.

Re-hydrating Kefir Grains

If you’ve purchased dehydrated water kefir grains, you will need to “activate” (aka rehydrate) them first.

You will need:

• 1 tablespoon dehydrated water kefir grains

• 4 cups (1L) of boiled & warm water

• ½ cup (100G) of sugar (raw cane sugar, white refined sugar is fine, jaggery, coconut sugar, maple syrup, honey, agave syrup, rice syrup, barley malt)

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Instructions:

1. Add ½ cup (100g) of sugar to 4 cups (1L) of warm, dechlorinated water in a clean, non-metal vessel (glass jar or a plastic bottle).
    
2. Stir till sugar is completely dissolved. Allow the sugar-water to cool to room temperature.
    
3. Once the sugar water is completely cooled (hot water can kill your kefir!) add 1 tablespoon of dehydrated kefir grains.
    
4. Do NOT seal the container! Your kefir needs to breathe, and gas build-up in a sealed container could lead to explosions. Cover your jar with a paper towel, or a coffee filter, or a dishcloth, and secure in place with a rubber band.
    
5. Wait 3 days.
    
6. Strain the re-hydrated kefir crystals out of the water and throw away the rehydration liquid - it will not have been significantly cultured by the rehydrating grains and is not so flavorful.
    
7. Use your activated kefir grains in your first recipe!

Basic Water Kefir Recipe

Now that you have your live, hydrated water kefir crystals, it’s time to make your first basic water kefir! (I'll be making one of my favorites - a refreshing fig-lemon-goji berry tonic.) 

You will need:

• 1 tablespoon active (hydrated) water kefir grains

• 4 cups (1L) boiled & warm water

• ½ cup of sugar (raw cane sugar, white refined sugar is fine, jaggery, coconut sugar, maple syrup, honey, agave syrup, rice syrup, barley malt)

• Dried or fresh fruits & roots for flavoring (for example: dried figs, cherries, lemon slices, apple slices, sarsaparilla, fresh ginger, goji berries, dates, etc)

• (Optional) Flavored syrups, juices and extracts (lavender, vanilla, apple juice...)

Instructions:

1. Make your sugar solution. Add ½ cup (100g) of sugar to 4 cups (1L) of boiled, still warm water in a jar or plastic bottle. Stir till sugar is completely dissolved. Allow the sugar-water to cool to room temperature.

2. Add active kefir grains. Once the sugar water is completely cooled (again, hot water can kill your kefir!) add 1 tablespoon of active kefir grains.

NOTE: the more grains you have, the faster they digest available sugars, thus the faster your kefir will be ready. You may need to add more sugar and water.

3. Add dried and fresh fruits. The extra yeasts from the skin of the fruits help the fermentation process as your kefir grains eat the sugars and create more carbonation while adding fruity natural flavours.

4. Seal your container. Water kefir grains do not need oxygen to survive (like a kombucha SCOBY does), so your vessel can be sealed or lightly capped. The tighter the cap, the more carbonation builds up. I use a wide mouth jar so i can get fruit and the grains out and in more easily than a bottle neck

NOTE: over-carbonation can be dangerous, especially in glass containers! Open the cap every 1-2 days to release air-pressure and to avoid explosions.

5. Watch your ferment. After 48 hours, the fruit that sank to the bottom of your jar should now be floating at top. This means carbonation and fermentation are happening!

6. Pour the flavorful, effervescent liquid into a bottle while straining out the kefir grains.Place your grains in another sugar-water solution. These happy fellas have probably doubled in quantity, and are ready for your next ferment.

NOTE: You are what you eat, and your water kefir grains are no different. Expect them to change color according to the sweeteners, flavours and added ingredients you ferment them with. When you use hibiscus tea and honey to make a ferment it changes the grains pink!

7. The liquid product, now separated from the grains, is “Water Kefir’ and will continue to ferment and carbonate in the sealed bottle (secondary fermentation). This beverage can be cooled and enjoyed as is. 

Optionally, you can enhance it further with herbs such as mint and cardamom, sweeteners such as sugar or honey, and various flavored syrups. You can even use it as a “starter” for other sodas & vegetable ferments, or instead of yeast for baking... the possibilities are limitless!

NOTE: Your final beverage will have MUCH fewer calories than your initial ferment. Water kefir feeds on sugars, digesting them and releasing CO2 (carbonation) in the process. Water kefir bacteria can eat maple syrup and agave syrup, unlike kombucha cultures. Sugar-free sweeteners such as stevia will NOT feed your kefir, but feel free to add it to your finished product for an low-calorie sweet taste!

Water Kefir Flavors

Now that you have the basic recipe for making water kefir, it’s time to start experimenting!

Every water kefir has 3 variables:

• Sugar you feed your grains
• Fruits and herbs you feed your kefir grains (primary fermenation)
• Flavorings and syrups you add AFTER you’ve removed your grains (secondary fermentation)

Maintaining Your Kefir

1. Feed regularly. Water kefir grains want to be fed every 2-3 day
    
2. Keep at room temperature. Your kefir ferments best at a room temperature environment (again, if they are kept in cooler places, they are less active and need to be fed less often).
    
3. Refresh sugar-water. As your grains ferment, over time they create a sour, acidic environment. For our digestion and palate this is great, but an environment that is too acidic can be harmful to your grains. 
   
   If you don’t regularly change their sugar water (strain and reintroduce into a fresh sugar water solution), the organisms in your kefir grains will “pickle” themselves, eventually dying and then decomposing into nothing in their liquid habitats.
    
4. Mid-term storage. Going away for up to 2 weeks? Put fresh your grains in a fresh sugar-water solution and place in the fridge to slow fermentation.
    
5. Long-term storage. Going away for a longer than 2 weeks? Strain your grains into a plastic bag or freezer safe (non-metallic!) container, and place in your freezer. They can survive for months in this “hibernation” state. 
   
   When you are ready to use them again, put the ice-chunk of kefir grains back into a sugar-water solution, where it will thaw and start eating again. Add some “welcome-home” fruits, a cleaned eggshell for extra calcium, or a pinch of baking-soda for minerals.
    
6. Too many grains? They multiply fast, and this can easily become an issue for you. Try dehydrating your grains using a dehydrator, or simply spreading them out on a plate with good air circulation. 
   
   As long as the grains are not heated to a temperature over 130 degrees, they will not die and can be re-hydrated when the time comes. This is also a great method for people moving overseas or as a backup!
    
7. Vessels and Equipment. I prefer using glass as it’s transparent, I can see what is happening inside and there is no chance or plastic leaking anything into my kefir to hurt me or my kefir grains. 
   
   Stainless steel can work, but again, you can’t see what’s happening inside, and I like to avoid using metal whenever possible as metal is an irritant to the grains. One exception is the strainer. If you have a plastic sieve, great, but brief contact with a metal strainer is not a problem.

Interested in reading more? This article was inspired by https://ediblealchemy.co/water-kefir/ Check it for further inspiration!