Healthy Banana Bread

Hi everyone!  It’s Jennifer from The Chronicles of Home with another healthy recipe for you.  I picked up a recipe card from my Whole Foods’ bakery counter a few weeks ago for Flax and Honey Banana Bread and have been so excited to make it.  I adapted the recipe a bit but the results were delicious and just the healthy bread I was hoping for.

The bread was sweet but not too sweet, hearty and satisfying but still just the right amount of cakiness to it.  The banana and coconut flavors complement each other so beautifully.  My girls gobbled this up for breakfast the morning I made it and happily ate more that afternoon as a snack.  I’ll be adding this to my repertoire and will probably make two loaves next time so I have one to freeze!

Coconut Flax Banana Bread

3/4 c. mashed bananas ( about 2)

3/4 c. unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1/4 c. honey

1 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour

2 tbsp. flaxseed meal

1 1/4 c. shredded coconut

1 tbsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350º.  Line a loaf pan with parchment paper down the length and the width.

In a large bowl, whisk banana, almond milk, and honey.  Add flour, flaxseed, 1 c. coconut, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.  Fold with rubber spatula just to combine.

Transfer to pan, sprinkle with remaining 1/4 c. coconut and bake until golden and cooked through (test with a toothpick), about 55 minutes.

Let cool a few minutes, then lift out of pan using parchment and slice with a serrated knife.

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Thank you for this post from contributing writer, Jennifer, of The Chronicles of Home.  You'll definitely want to check out her blog for more amazing recipes, beautiful home decor, and easy-to-follw DIY projects!

Healthy Spirits: New Arrivals CASTRO

 1. Anderson Valley Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout

2. Ommegang Iron Throne

3. Rodenbach Classic

4. Bruery Tradewinds Triple

5. Bruery White Oak

Healthy Spirits: New Arrivals CASTRO

New stuff at CASTRO

1. Logsdon Farmhouse Cerasus (Limit 2 Per Customer)

2. Jester King Noble King

3. Cambridge Tripel Threat

4. Prairie Artisan Ales: Prairie Somewhere, 'Merica, Funky Galaxy and Prairie Gold

5. Saint Somewhere Serge

6. To-Ol Goliat Coffe Stout and Sleep Over Coffee IIPA

7. Salopian Entire Butt Porter (an excellent historical re-creation of the early porter style that will be interesting to fans of English beer history)

8. Wadsworth Old Timer

9. Haandbryggeriet Haandbakk(Flanders Red)

10. Haandbryggeriet Haandbic (Sour with cranberries and currants)

11. Haandbryggeriet Odin's Tipple (Imperial Stout)

12. Bear Republic Black Racer (Imperial Black IPA)

Voting With Your Feet: Avoiding Abusive Teachers

by Baxter

Another View of Clear Water by Nina Zolotow

After Nina posted yesterday about abusive yoga teachers (see When to Fire Your Yoga Teacher), we received a follow-up message from another reader who had a similar experience of being humiliated when she attended the workshop of a visiting teacher to her community. In her case, she voted with her feet and did not attend a follow-up visit by the same teacher this year, but instead chose to study with a local teacher, and loved her experience. 

In discussing the humiliating teacher’s behavior with her regular teacher, the student was told, “That’s how they do it in India.” Well, this may indeed be true, but does it make this kind of behavior acceptable? In my own experience of studying with many teachers over the past 19 years at workshops and conferences and retreats, I have come across my fair share of angry, condescending, overtly or subtly demeaning behavior by teachers from at least two different traditions. In fact, I  studied with a well-regarded teacher a few times before a more subtle way of demeaning students on a fairly regular basis made me decide to give up the class despite some "good" asana instructions I was learning.  I could not justify continuing to support that kind of treatment of me or my fellow students.

 I also heard stories about a teacher I came to respect about how he had been a bear to study with when he was younger and how he had mellowed out as he aged. I felt blessed to have missed his “abusive” period since I learned so much and witnessed compassionate behavior from him regularly. I did carry a background concern about whether the other side might re-surface at some point; fortunately, I never had to encounter that situation from this particular teacher.

I do feel that teachers who study in a “lineage” that permits or even subtly approves of this bullying, degrading treatment of students tend to be more likely to participate in such behavior and maybe are even drawn to it. I don’t want to get into some deep exploration of trauma and its long-term effects, as it is a complex topic and I am not an expert in it. But, as Nina pointed out yesterday, you can vote with your feet, and I myself have done so more than once over the years. And that old observation that a happy customer tells one person about their experience, but a dissatisfied one will tell ten certainly has played out for me. I am asked all the time for referrals to other teachers or recommendations for teachers to study with at conferences. If a student happens to ask about a teacher I have had a bad experience with, I will recommend someone else instead.  I do not always go into the why of it, but do on occasion share my specific experience if I know that my personal experience was also confirmed by other yoga friends of mine. The good news is that we have more and more choices all around the country—and even internationally—when it comes to yoga instructors. So, don’t settle for anything less than a good instructor who is also respectful and kind.  

Healthy Spirits: ICE CREAM!

A great write-up on our ice creams!

http://www.examiner.com/article/healthy-spirits-scoops-up-beer-ice-cream

The BIG Dream

That God-Sized dream- hit a bump in the road with it about a month ago.  I was bummed but was going to reevaluate and take a visit to the bank (because as is often the case- $$ was the factor).  Well, through a series of events "someone" (and I honestly have no clue who) has provided me with the funds to fulfill that dream.  So, this past Thursday I signed up to be a health coach through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition.  This will start in May.  When I found out that someone was providing me this opportunity I was speechless (one of the few times in my life) and then immediately the doubt/fear of failure started creeping in.  However, as several people (including my dad) have lovingly reminded me- God has provided this for me to have this opportunity- He is not doing this to lead me to failure.  So, while I don't understand it I accept the gift and relish the opportunity and challenge to pursue my dream.  And, since I am not to know who it is and since I can't repay them directly my plan is to pay it forward in whatever way I can, whenever I can. 

 

I have been asked several times WHY I want to be a health coach- I think part of it goes to my job- the child obesity rate is outrageous and I can possibly pursue the working with children and their families (both in and out of school settings).  The other part goes to my kidney stone issues- my dietary restrictions are a little overwhelming and as someone who was barely treading water while trying to figure it all out- who better to help guide others in the same boat- than one who has been there?  So, for those who are struggling with those God-sized dreams- they may not happen right away or with the same "speed" as mine but keep plugging away and praying and you just never know...

Oh, and just for fun!  Monday was opening day for baseball- those who know me know that I am an Atlanta Braves fan (and have been for a LONG time) so- just for my dad- I HAVE to share this- he will know why- LOVE you! (and I can hear Skip Carey's voice...)

When to Fire Your Yoga Teacher

by Nina

Clear Water by Nina Zolotow

Yet another famous yoga teacher has been in the news recently for improper conduct. A former student has sued Bikram Choudhury, accusing him of sexual harassment, discrimination and defamation (see Lawsuit Accuses Founder of Yoga Empire of Misconduct).

Well, I could go on about that, and the tendency toward sexual abuse that appears to be a serious risk for some high-profile male teachers, but actually I’d like to focus on something a little more mundane. Recently we at YFHA received an email from one of our readers saying that she, a very long-time student, had attended a class where the female teacher had humiliated her in front of the class by angrily correcting her pose (which she was adapting for her particular body type) telling her that she was doing it completely “wrong.” This experience made our correspondent very upset. So, you see, abuse by yoga teachers comes in many forms, including simple verbal abuse and even, so I’ve heard, physical abuse.

Our correspondent was still trying to decide how she should handle this—maybe she should be considering forgiveness?—and asked us to address some of the issues that this situation raised. Because our reader was so upset, I decided to respond immediately by writing directly to her. And it was actually pretty easy for me to respond, because I said what I always tell people in this situation: you should never study with a teacher who you don’t respect or who doesn’t respect you.

In this case, I recommended, talking with the teacher, if possible—since it was a one-time occurrence, maybe she was just having a bad day—and seeing if an apology was forthcoming. But if a confrontation was out of the question or if the teacher defended her behavior, I recommended simply leaving the class for good. After all, you are paying your teacher to help you. Why would you put up with mistreatment? And isn’t the only way to stop this kind of behavior to vote with your feet (and your wallet)?

The question is, why does this kind of behavior continue? Why aren’t these teachers shunned by everyone? This brings us back to the NY Times article on Bikram because it included a quote that I found very perceptive about why students of any school of yoga will put up with inappropriate behavior from their teachers.

“Vulnerability and devotion are big parts of the practice,” said Benjamin Lorr, the author of the memoir Hellbent: Obsession, Pain, and the Search for Something like Transcendence in Competitive Yoga. “Bikram creates this mentality that the outside is phony. There is no path but this path, and everything that happens in this path is just a part of your yoga, that you have to learn to be strong and get past it.”

I think this myth that “There is no path but this path, and everything that happens in this path is just part of your yoga” is cultivated by more than one school of yoga and maybe even by some teachers in all the schools. Students feel like they can’t leave the teacher because of their emotional investment in "the path," their financial investment in "the path," or because they’ve been encouraged to believe this is a “good” teacher to guide them on "the path." And it takes strength and courage to resist this ideology.

But can a teacher who is abusive or corrupt really have anything important to teach you?

So, please, don’t hesitate to fire a yoga teacher who is mistreating you in any way. And if your teacher isn’t mistreating you in particular, but you witness him or her mistreating other students, you might want to consider the same action. That is the only way we can bring about change. And, trust me, there are many wonderful teachers out there who know that being a “good” teacher means something different than being able to get you into challenging poses or giving you access to some particular “lineage” of yoga.