I just finished my first of eleven modules on the road to becoming a yoga teacher. It was probably the most physically challenging activity I have done since high school sports tryouts. By day three of five days, every muscle in my body was sore and not happy with me. I came home each night from the 9-hour day and all I could manage to do was lie in the bathtub, transfer to the couch, then to bed. But by day four and five I was surprisingly re-energized and ready to keep working. I have some training to do in order to get in the necessary yoga shape, but I left the first module feeling excited for what is to come.
Our teacher for the past five days was quite entertaining. While we were holding an intense pose, he would talk and talk and try to keep our minds distracted from the burning in our thighs and the sweat dripping on our mats. One thing he said that resonated with me during these chats was in order to appreciate the luxurious things in life; you need to experience the less luxurious things in life. You need to work hard in order to appreciate rest; you need to go camping in the woods to appreciate staying at a 5-star hotel, and you need to eat healthy to appreciate the occasional dessert. Anything will get boring if you don’t switch things up a bit.
We all know how much I love my dessert, so in order to stay healthy and happy and appreciate my daily sweet treat; I need to eat healthy most of the time. Because I live to eat, the healthy food I do eat has to be tasty. And that is how I came up with this fall salad filled with seasonal fruits and the ever popular healthy grain; quinoa.
A mix of sweet and crunchy, tangy and creamy, this is the perfect lunch or side salad.
So go out and eat healthy this next week so you can truly appreciate the deliciousness that Thanksgiving will bring.
- 1 persimmon, chopped
- 2 heaping spoonfuls of pomegranate seeds
- ¼ cup almonds, chopped
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- handful of leafy greens (arugula, spinach, or mache)
- goat cheese to taste
- 1/2 small red onion, sliced thinly
- balsamic vinegar & olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- Add all your salad fixings to a medium bowl. Dress the salad with balsamic vinegar and olive oil, or your favorite vinaigrette dressing.
- Feel free to mix it up depending on what you have! Sub in feta cheese, walnuts, shallots, or leave out something you don’t like.
2 Responses
Caitlin, this salad look so good! My sister has a pomegranate tree, and she has more pomegranate’s than she knows what to do with. Definitely going to use them to make this.
So were you really doing yoga for 9 hours? That’s crazy! Bet you slept good at night : )
Can’t wait to take yoga classes from you in the future!