Gracious Living JULY Yoga Classes in Toronto at TOTUM:
Wed and Fri 9:30am to 10:30am:
Gracious Living Energizing Hatha
Tues 8:30pm to 9:30pm:
Gracious Living Core Yoga
Thurs 7:30pm to 8:30pm:
Gracious Living Detox Yoga
Sat 3:00pm to 4:00pm:
Gracious Living Yoga for Runners & Athletes
SATURDAY July 14 in Toronto:
Gracious Living SUMMER SMOOTHIE Workshop….click here
a selection of yummy salad dressings for the January juice fasters as promised! raw, vegan, healthy, anti-inflammatory, easy, delicious…..would you expect anything else?!
CREAMY BASIL GINGER SALAD DRESSING 
Blend till smooth and creamy.
*variation: CREAMY TOMATO DRESSING
exact same dressing as above BUT add a ripe tomato as well!
click here to learn how to speed ripen your avocados!
CREAMY CURRY CARROT DRESSING
Blend till creamy and smooth.
*variation: CURRY CARROT SALAD DRESSING
same as above BUT f you don’t have an avocado, then you can use approximately 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil instead.
click here for Gracious Living Banana Coconut Curry Salad Dressing
walking around the streets of Toronto freezing my butt off (heading back to tropical climates next week! yipeeeeee) and noticed it’s chestnut season in all the grocery seasons. inspired by these chestnut sightings and since i don’t usually eat them, i thought i would do some experimenting….what i LOVE to do ( i like to refer to myself as a kitchen scientist!)
made a fantastic vegan chestnut almond ginger soup which i am sharing….not to mention a vegan apple pie with chestnut hemp pie crust. yup…..and i even made an apple ginger guacamole! (it worked kids, it worked!)
first, let me tell you about the oh so glorious chestnut:
nutritionally, chestnuts are similar to brown rice and offer a sweet,subtle flavor. this means they are high in fibre, and compared to all other nuts, extremely low in calories AND fat!
CHESNUT ALMOND GINGER SOUP
You need to cut & steam the chestnuts first to make them soft and edible.
Carefully cut chestnuts by making a single, 1/8th-inch deep slit across the center (equator) on the rounded side of the nut. A sharp knife or kitchen shears allows for piercing the shell as you cut. Chestnuts contain a high percentage of water, which turns to steam as it cooks and must escape the shell. 
When cut properly, chestnuts will open when fully cooked, much like a clamshell. The chestnut meat easily pops out of the opening and is ready to eat as is, or use in a recipe.
To steam chestnuts: Place cut chestnuts in a steam-basket in a pan with 1/2 inch
of water. Bring water to a boil and steam chestnuts until the chestnut meats separate from the shell and chestnuts are soft. (i did mine for about 45 min)
Ingredients:
