New Series: Yogi Lunch #1

As I mentioned, I've started my yoga teacher training. Of course, one of the first questions that came to mind during our Friday night orientation is what am I going to eat for lunch during our 9 hour training days? As the intern, one of my duties is to arrive at 8:30 am (yikes!) to open the studio before everyone else arrive for the Saturday and Sunday intensive training days. We begin with 3 hours of asana (or physical) practice each day, then break for lunch and then have a couple of hours of seminar (this week we covered the lifestyle of a yogi with an introduction to Ayurveda and developing a home practice) and finally end with more asana practice. As much as  I love breakfast, I can't really stomach any food that close to waking and definitely prefer practicing yoga on an empty stomach. That means breakfast on training days will consist of warm water with lemon and perhaps a spoonful of bee pollen or a piece of fruit if I feel I need a little something. That means lunch needs to be my main fuel-up for the day. It is actually preferable to make lunch your biggest meal of the day, as that is when digestion is strongest. I began to brainstorm some credentials for my new mid-day meal:
-transportable
-cooked, yet enjoyable at room-temperature
-healthy (duh)
-delicious (duh)
-filling enough to satisfy me until dinner at least 6 hours later, yet easily digested so I can comfortably do yoga a few hours after consumption
-uses seasonal ingredients 
-simple enough to prep the night before

Here is what lunch looked like my first weekend of training::

Saturday: 1/2 cup brown rice, home-make ruby sauerkraut and hijiki-brocoli stir fry with chickpeas and sesame seeds

This was a lot of food for me! I forgot how doing lots of yoga can make you loose your appetite initially. I managed to scarf most of it down though because I woke up at 7am, rode my bike to the studio and then did 3 hours of intense asana practice on an empty stomach and knew my body needed it. I was happy I had this to refuel with, but during our break between seminars I wish a had brought a little snack or something. I tried to buy and orange from this fruit store near by, but it looked kind of shady, so I passed and waited until dinner. 

Sunday: Steamed sweet potato with dulse seaweed and sesame seeds, lightly steamed kale and two apples and tea for snacks.

This lunch was perfectly simple, a good combo of carbs and protein with greens to rejuvenate. Tea bags are also key- we have a hot water dispenser at the studio so it was nice to have something warm to sip on when sitting still during the seminars. 

Stay tuned for more yogi lunches!

P.S. These are great lunches not only if you are rolling around on a mat for hours, but if you need something that fits in a bag to bring to class/ the office/ out on appointments with you. Hope they inspire some creative mid-day munching!