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Yoga videos and Yoga Membership Site with Dr. Melissa West. Canadas 1 FREE One Hour Weekly Online Yoga Show. Yoga videos and yoga downloads.

Smoothie Saturdays

3 Ways to Reinvent Your Iced Lattes: Iced Chai Latte, Iced Turmeric Latte, and Mermaid Lemonade

Melissa's Blog Posts, Melissa's Medicinal Teas and Tinctures, Smoothie Saturdays, Thirsty Thursdays, Vegan Recipes, Yoga Questions and Yoga Answers

Iced Lattes


Are you looking to spice up your iced latte repertoire? If so, stay with me, because in the rest of this video and vlog we are going to make some super, fun iced lattes and one lemonade that are healthy for you too.

#1 Iced Turmeric Latte

Iced Turmeric Latte Recipe Ingredients:

  • 1 tsp Botanica Turmeric Golden Mylk
  • 1 cup almond milk or coconut milk

Available at Mother Natures Market on Cook Street in Victoria BC  or Here: Botanic Health

Directions: Whisk or Blend the Ingredients Together and Pour Over Ice

(Note: If you do not have access to Botanica Turmeric Golden Mylk you can blend turmeric, ginger, pepper, cinnamon, vanilla and maple syrup with the non-dairy milk)

#2 Iced Chai Latte

Iced Chai Latte Ingredients

Brew Your Preferred Combination of Chai Tea and Chaga Tea
(I am using Harmonic Arts Chaga Tea and an Herbal Chai Tea)

Available at Mother Natures Market on Cook Street in Victoria BC  or Here: Harmonic Arts

  • 1/2 cup of Chaga/Chai Blend
  • 1/2 Cup of nondairy milk
  • 1/2 tsp of vanilla
  • 1 dropper full of reishi mushroom Available at Mother Natures Market on Cook Street in Victoria BC  or Here 
  • 1 tbsp Harmonic Arts Sacred Masculine (This blend of herbs and superfoods is designed to combat stress and awaken our compassionate warrior through the energizing and grounding actions of its elements.) Available at Mother Natures Market on Cook Street in Victoria BC or Here 
  • 1 tsp. Agave nectar, honey or maple syrup

Directions: Brew Tea, let sit overnight until cold. Blend all ingredients together in blender. Pour over ice.

#3 Mermaid Lemonade

This one isn’t a latte at all. But this has quickly become my favourite summer drink. I can’t get enough of it. And even though it is healthy, my husband loves it too!

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups of filtered water
  • 1 lemon juiced
  • 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp agave nectar (or maple syrup)
  • 1/8-1/4 Organika spirulina powder

Available at Mother Natures Market on Cook Street in Victoria BC  or Here: Organika

Directions: Mix all the ingredients together and pour over ice.

Mermaid water is made with the algae spirulina which is a powerful detox. Taken alongside lemon and apple cider vinegar this is going to lower your blood sugar levels and improve the appearance of your skin.

If you made it all the way to the end of the video, give yourself a thumbs up and put, “I love these creative ways of making iced matcha” in the comments

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3 More Ways to Make Iced Matcha That You Don’t Know

Melissa's Blog Posts, Smoothie Saturdays, Thirsty Thursdays, Vegan Recipes, Yoga Questions and Yoga Answers

Iced Matcha


A few weeks ago I showed you how to make iced matcha 3 ways.

Click here to watch

In this video and blog post I am going to show you 3 more ways to make iced matcha latte that you might not have thought of yet.

Today I am excited to show you how to make these delicious iced matcha drinks for a hot summer day. These are ways of making iced matcha that you probably don’t already know.

#1 Almond Milk over Iced Matcha Ice Cubes

Ingredients

2 cups of water
1 tbsp Grade A. DōMatcha Green Tea
1 tbsp almond milk

Directions

Blend all the ingredients together, pour into ice cube tray and freeze.
Fill a glass with Do Matcha Green Tea Ice Cubes, cover with almond milk and enjoy.

#2 Salted Caramel Matcha Latte

Ingredients:

1/4 cup almond butter
1 cup medjool dates
1/2 cup vanilla almond milk unsweetened
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. Salt

Directions

Blend the almond butter, dates and 1/8 cup of almond milk, vanilla extract and salt in blender. Check consistency. Add more almond milk as needed to get salted caramel consistency.

Matcha Layer

1/2 tsp. Grade A. DōMatcha Green Tea
1/2 cup. almond milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp agave, honey or maple syrup

Directions:

Place 1 tsp. Grade A. Do Matcha Green Tea into blender.
Add 1/2 cup. cold almond milk, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp of sweetener.
Blend.

Milk Layer

1/2 cup almond milk

Assembly

Add 2 tbsp of salted caramel to bottom of the glass. Place ice on top.

Pour 1/2 cup of almond milk over the ice and salted caramel.
Top with matcha latte.

 

#3 Iced Watermelon Matcha

Iced Watermelon Matcha Recipe

1 tsp. Grade A. DōMatcha Green Tea
You can get it at Mother Natures Market and Deli on Cook Street in Victoria BC or here

8 oz. water
1 cup of seeded watermelon
1 tsp of honey, agave nectar or maple syrup
Ice

Directions:

Place 1 tsp. Grade A. Do Matcha Green Tea into bowl
Add 4 oz. cold water and whisk until foam appears and the matcha is fully suspended in liquid.
Puree watermelon and sweetener in blender until Smooth
Pour pureed watermelon and sweetener over a tall glass of ice.
Pour Do Matcha Green Tea over top of pureed watermelon.
Garnish with watermelon slice.

Please note, if you do not have a ceremonial bowl and whisk you can blend your matcha in a blender or with a handheld frother. You can also add sweetener such as honey, agave nectar, or maple syrup to taste.

If you made it all the way to the end of the video, give yourself a thumbs up and put, “I love these creative ways of making iced matcha” in the comments

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Low Sugar Smoothie Bowl for Energy Focus and Immunity

Melissa's Blog Posts, Melissa's Medicinal Teas and Tinctures, Smoothie Recipe, Smoothie Saturdays, Vegan Recipes, Yoga Questions and Yoga Answers

Energy Focus and Immunity


In this video I show you how to make a low sugar smoothie bowl for energy, focus and immunity. Often times smoothie bowls can be loaded with sugar because their base is made with high sugar fruit like bananas. Add to that the base is usually raw and it can be kind of hard on your digestion.

Smoothie Bowl Contents:

This smoothie bowl uses gently cooked and then frozen zucchini for the same smooth and creamy quality as banana without the high sugar content. Because the zucchini is steamed it is much easier on your digestive system. Zucchini is known to reduce your blood pressure because of its potassium and also the magnesium in it keeps you calm and steady.

The base also contains a nut butter and protein powder (21 g of protein) which will increase the protein content and slow down the absorption of your smoothie bowl into your blood stream as well.

Let’s talk about the 8 kinds of mushrooms in Orcankia Health Vege Pro and how they help your energy, focus and immunity.

Cordyceps Mushrooms – This is one of my personal favourite musthrooms, it is an adaptogen. Cordyceps activate your body´s own energy production in the cells.

Reishi Mushrooms – Reishi is my other favourite mushroom, it calms you down, regulates your hormones and lowers your cortisol levels

Maitake mushroom – Modulates glucose levels and increases insulin production

Agaricus Mushroom – Is known as God´s Mushroom and boost your immune system.

Shitake Mushroom – Boosts energy and life force, heals your skin, supports your liver and enlivens blood.

King Trumpet Mushroom- Is both an energy booster and an immunity booster

Yunzhi – Immune system boosting

Lion´s Mane – Brain booster, nootropic, improves memory, boosts creativity and helps concentration by activating nervous system and your brain

Toppings:

Pumpkin Seeds

The toppings for our smoothie bowl today include pumpkin seeds. One of the coolest things about pumpkin seeds is that their nutritional benefits actually improve with age. Unlike other foods that decrease in nutrient density and decompose as they age, studies at the Massachusetts Experiment Station showed that squash and pumpkin seeds stored for more than 5 months actually showed a marked increase in protein content! Out of all seeds, they are the most alkaline-forming in the body, which is good news because our bodies tend to be more acidic on the standard-american-diet (SAD) and so we are always trying to create more alkalinity in our bodies since acidity is linked to excess weight, pain and other health problems.

Pumpkin seeds are a great plant-based source of protein with 100 grams of pumpkin seeds providing a whopping 30 grams of protein. Pumpkin seeds contain phytosterols, compounds that that have been shown to reduce levels of LDL cholesterol. The L-tryptophan in pumpkin seeds helps promote a good night sleep and lowering depression. Tryptophan is converted to serotonin and niacin and serotonin not only makes you feel good, but helps you sleep better as well.

Hemp seeds are a wonderful source of protein and fiber, they are also a great source of essential fatty acids, in other words they are a good oil.

Walnuts : Help you sleep. If you want a good night’s sleep, eat some walnuts. Walnuts have bio-available melatonin, which is ahormone that helps to induce and regulate sleep. They also boost your mood if you experience stress and anxiety because of their omega-3 fatty acids. Studies have shown that people with diets low in EFAs experience more depression and stress.

Blackberries : Can improve brain help and improve memory loss caused by aging. The antioxidants in berry fruits help fight free radicals and alter how brain neurons communicate. This may help to reduce brain inflammation which can lead to cognitive and motor issues common with aging.

Recipe for Low Sugar Smoothie Bowl for Energy, Focus, and Immunity:

Smoothie Base:
1 cup frozen zucchini
1 cup almond milk
1 tbsp @organikahealth vege pro
1 tbsp nut butter

Toppings:
Nuts
Seeds
Fruit
Carob

If you live in Victoria B.C. or Sydney B.C. you can get all of these ingredients at Mother Natures Market.

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Warm Ayurvedic Stewed Apples for Autumn

Melissa's Blog Posts, Smoothie Saturdays, Thirsty Thursdays, Vegan Recipes, Yoga Questions and Yoga Answers

Ayurvedic Stewed Apples


warm-ayurvedic-stewed-apples-for-autumnWelcome to Yoga Lifestyle with Melissa 🙂

As we come into the Autumn season vata dosha can be disturbed. Autumn is a season of transition and change and is dry, rough, windy, and erratic, just like vata dosha. According to Ayurvedic medicine, like increases like, so it is a time of year that vata dosha can easily become imbalanced. Those with high vata dosha can easily start to feel anxious, nervous, spacey, confused, on edge, ungrounded, bloating, constipation, and have dry skin.

Not sure of your dosha? Take this quiz

http://store.chopra.com/dosha-quiz)

To balance vata dosha it is important to eat foods that are warming. Today we are going to stew some apples in spices that are balancing for vata dosha this autumn.

Recipe for Autumn Ayurvedic Warming Stewed Apples or Applesauce:

3 large Apples
1 cup of water
1/4 tsp Allspice
3-5 pods of green Cardamom
1 pod black cardamom
1 tsp of cinnamon
2-5 Cloves
1/2 tsp of grated nutmeg
1 tsp grated Ginger
Directions: Peel and Cut Apples. Place in Sauce Pan with water. Add Spices. Cover on Low heat until the apples break down to desired consistency for stewed apples or applesauce (about 10-15 mins). Enjoy 🙂

Benefits of Spices for Vata Dosha

  • Allspice – bloating, indigestion, diarrhea and nervous exhaustion
  • Cardamom – warming, tridoshic, reduces bloating, pacifies vata
  • Cinnamon – warming spice, balances vata
  • Clove – enhance circulation, digestion and metabolism and help counter stomach disorders such as gas, bloating and nausea.
  • Ginger – Traditional ayurveda recommends ginger for joint pain, motion sickness and to prepare the digestive tract to
  • facilitate better absorption of nutrients and better elimination of wastes.
  • Nutmeg – natural sleep aid, improves digestion, pacifying for vata

What is your favourite way to keep vata balanced for the Autumn season?

If you would like more videos for the autumn season then click here:

Free Yoga classes for Fall

We have several videos in our membership community (including recipes) for the autumn as well:

Yoga classes for Fall

Not a member? You can join here.

 

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How to Make a Smoothie Bowl

Melissa's Blog Posts, Smoothie Recipe, Smoothie Saturdays, Vegan Recipes, Yoga Questions and Yoga Answers

Easy Healthy Breakfast for School and Work Mornings that Your Kids are going to love too!


How-to-make-a-smoothie-BowlToday my friend Christine Salus is showing us how to make an easy, healthy, peanut free easy, healthy smoothie bowl that is great for those busy back to school mornings or mornings that you have to get off to work. This smoothie bowl is also a super yummy hit with kids.

Recipe for Two Smoothie Bowls

Base:

  • 1 cup Almond Milk
  • 3-4 Frozen Bananas
  • Protein Powder (We used Vanilla Vega)
  • 2 Tbsps Pumpkin Seed Butter

(I used the whole foods, yogurt setting on the blendtec)

Toppings:

  • 1 cup of Raspberries (or whatever kind of berries you like)
  • 1 tbsp Sprouted Buckwheat
  • 1 tsp Cacoa Nibs or Carob Chips

Pumpkin seeds are a great plant-based source of protein with 100 grams of pumpkin seeds providing a whopping 30 grams of protein. Pumpkin seeds contain phytosterols, compounds that that have been shown to reduce levels of LDL cholesterol. The L-tryptophan in pumpkin seeds helps promote a good night sleep and lowering depression. Tryptophan is converted to serotonin and niacin and serotonin not only makes you feel good, but helps you sleep better as well.
Pumpkin seeds contain loads of trace minerals including phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, iron and copper. It contains vitamin K, and is an excellent source of the B vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine) and folates) and vitamin E.

Buckwheat is a gluten free seed that is high in protein and fiber. 1 tbsp of sprouted buckwheat, about the amount we used in our smoothie bowl contains 1 g of protein and 1 g of fiber.
Pumpkin seeds are one of my favourite super food ingredients

The Powerful Pumpkin Seed

 

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Healthier Thriftier Vegan Mocha Frappuccino

Juicing Recipe, Melissa's Blog Posts, Smoothie Recipe, Smoothie Saturdays, Thirsty Thursdays

Thriftier Vegan Cold Coffee


Vegan-Mocha-FrapLast time I showed you how to make a healthier, thriftier vegan caramel frappuccino. This week I’m going to show you my secret no-guilt iced coffee drink. Since I suffer from migraines, I abstain from the chocolate. So, I’m going to show you how to make this with carob, however you could totally make this with raw cocoa as well. Also, one thing that has been super helpful in reducing my headaches and migraines is eliminating sugar from my diet. So I will be sweetening my frappuccino with stevia. The nice thing about carob is that it is already naturally sweet.

If you suffer from migraines, I highly recommend you check out the following books. My Migraine Miracle was a game changer for me:  as was Grain Brain

So let’s get down to making our healthier, thriftier vegan, mocha frappuccino.

Healthier, Thriftier, Vegan Mocha Frappuccino Recipe:

  • 1 cup ice
  • 1 cup of dandy blend coffee (2 generous tsp dandy blend mixed in 1 cup of boiling water, cooled)
  • 1 cup of non-dairy milk
  • For non-dairy milk recipes you could use Brazil Nut Milk: , Hazelnut Milk:  or any non-dairy milk that you have on hand)
  • 1 heaping tbsp. of carob powder (or cocoa powder)
  • 10 drops of vanilla stevia (or 1 tbsp of agave nectar or honey)
  • Blend all the ingredients in your blender and Enjoy.

 

 

 

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