Herbs & Yoga

Favorite products and where to get them!

When I am on the go, busy or traveling I bring a bag of greens with me everywhere. That way I can indulge in the local fruits, varieties of sourdough bread and chocolates and have my greens once or twice a day so that I know I am getting my minerals. Greens are the key to success on a vegan diet. Sometimes eating 1-2 pounds of greens a day is not a possibility due to availability, lifestyle and cost so this powder can ensure that you are supplementing with organic whole green foods. Convenience and health in a bag. 

Essona Greens are Raw, Organic and proudly made in the USA!

BUY HERE!

 

 

Yoga Mats:

Currently, I have 3 favorite mats! And you know I have tried them all. What makes me love a mat are the following criteria:

  1. And most important – it needs to be made out of non-toxic materials.
  2. . It has to be thin, sticky and playable enough. Rubber and cork are my preferred materials. Cork is naturally an antibacterial material so it is a favorite of mine.
  3. I would favor smaller companies over famous ones. US-based preferably but cork is sourced in China for my beloved Gaia Guy Mat. However, it is a small US based company and they have my support. Everything is derived sustainably and I love their products.

BUY HERE!

The next one is a popular one amongst all yogis. Also made out of natural rubber. Rubber is quite durable and it will last you for years to come. I use the eKO Lite one. It is the perfect thickness and weight. Anything thicker than that can be challenging for balancing poses. The weight with rubber can also be an issue when traveling so the light versions of mats are always always always my choice. Who needs a 15-pound mat? Not I 🙂

BUY it on AMAZON!

 

HERBS!!!

I love herbs and I will be building this category with all my favorites.

Astragalus is perfect for raw vegans. It can warm up the spleen and the internal organs and help you stay raw for as long as you are benefiting from it. It is an adaptogenic and longevity herb known for its immune boosting properties. If you want to simply add it to your smoothies and tonics then you must get an extract rather than the whole herbs. The whole herb has to be brewed before use. This extract tastes like toffee caramel and it makes your tonic lattes addictively delicious.  

BUY it on AMAZON!

 

I love the beauty, immunity and vitality-enhancing Shizandra! It is lab tested for chemical and other residues. It is a super berry for women. It is very good for beautifying the skin and it increases cellular immune function and thus significantly enhances the SOD activity of brain, liver, spleen SOD. Hence, it has immunity-improving, anti-oxidation, and anti-aging effects;

 

 

BUY it on AMAZON!

Hawthorn 

It is a great antioxidant tea. Good for the heart, circulatory system, capillaries, nervous system, digestion and stomach, and anti-aging. I buy it in powder and steep it in water. Then I place the strained tea in the fridge and use it my lattes as a concentrate. This Starwest one is great. It is an herb for the heart – spiritual and physical heart both. If you suffer from a heartache nourish your physical heart with the tea infusion.

Food

I am a believer in a higher grade matcha. There is a very big difference between the different matcha brands and grades. The ceremonial grade is amazing- the taste is phenomenal and it has a better “mental high” and a higher l-theanine content so better for sleep. This one is great JAS

If you have culinary grade matcha you can use it in lattes and smoothies and tonics but I do not recommend using it on its own because most brands taste subpar. In a herbal concoction, it can be a good tea option. This is a good middle-grade Japanese matcha.

Just recently I purchased a new one which is Premium Grade- that is in between ceremonial and culinary grade and I love it!!!! It is crisp and green and delicious. I posted a few instastories about it. SENCHA MATCHA 

 

Let’s talk about STEVIA

People either love it or hate it. I think if you do not like it then just stick to maple syrup, date paste, palm sugar, unrefined cane sugar, molasses and honey. (I am a beegan rather than a vegan because I have honey on occasion).

Personally, I love sweet foods and food in general so i take my drinks with stevia. I don’t drink my sweets.

In order to avoid extra simple sugars in my drinks I make most of my herbal elixirs with coconut butter and stevia.

If you wanna go the very natural route then just soak the dry stevia leaves in water and then use that sweet water to add to your drinks. Organic stevia leaf powder .

I love this brand. Better Stevia Pure Extract . It has 2500 servings in this small container so it will last you a long time. No additives or fillers.

For a fun spin, I get the flavored ones from SWEETLEAF. My favorite flavors are Vanilla Creme, English Toffee and Coconut. They are less economic if you consider servings per bottle so keep that in mind.

Please let me know if any of the links are not working and I will update them.

As for the debate about the safety of stevia I am always suspicious of studies done by the competitor which happens to be a synthetic sweetener. I will take any herb over aspartame or the other unnatural sweeteners.

Other natural sweetener worth mentioning is Monk’s Fruit.