Mouthwatering cashew nut sweets with coconut and dates

Heavenly cashew nut sweets, so irresistible, I can not stop myself tasting one after another! The best thing about them - raw, sugar-free, bursting with flavour and nutrients!

Try making those at home, so easy and quick to make and incredibly tasty! :))

Ingredients:
1/2 cup cashew nuts
1 cup fresh grated coconut
2/3 cup chopped dates
1 tea spoon cinnamon powder
1 tea spoon cardamon powder
3 tea spoons rose water (you can put normal water as well)
Sesame seed to sprinkle

Mix all ingredients together - you need to end up with a sticky very thick consistency. Now you can roll small balls, or if you have a cookie cutter, place the mixture into cling foil (so that it does not stick to the surface and the rolling pin), roll with a rolling pin into 2 cm thick base and cut shapes with the cookie cutter. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and if you can resist, place in the fridge for 2 hours.  Enjoooooyyyy!!! :))) Sooooo Yummy!

Nutritious packed lunch - raw buckwheat and spinach dip with carrot sticks

Just a suggestion for a delicious nutritious packed lunch that you can prepare from the night before.

A very easy and quick to make dip, you just need to soak some buckwheat from the night before. Again, no point mentioning the amount of minerals and vitamins that it contains and the energy boost that will give you throughout the second half of the day.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup buckwheat soaked overnight, drained
A bunch of red spinach (you can use green as well, but the red spinach gives the dip that lovely purple shade)
A bunch of parsley and basil
1 garlic clove
Sea salt
Lemon juice of 1/2 lemon

Blend all ingredients, add some water if the consistency too thick, taste for seasoning, and put in a box for the next day. In the morning you just need to chop some carrot sticks and your amazingly delicious lunch is ready! Enjoy!!! :)))

Papaya and Spinach salad sprinkled with bean sprouts and flax seeds

This is a great salad - the papaya gives it a bit of sweetness and makes it quite unique :)). It is great for a packed lunch because it contains a lot of nutrients that will boost your energy level and keep you going throughout the day!

Ingredients:
A small bunch of spinach leaves
A bunch of dark salad leaves, rocket, parsley and basil
2 slices Papaya
1/4 small Onion - finely sliced
Flax seeds to sprinkle on the top
A handful of sprouted mung beans (soak mung beans over night, in the morning spread them on a tray and leave them for a few days until start to sprout. Rinse with fresh water every morning and evening)

Seasoning:
Lemon juice, olive oil, sea salt - put together in a small glass jar and shake until everything blends nicely

Arrange all ingredients in a plate, pour the seasoning on the top and enjoy! :))))

Energy bomb in a bowl - Green raw soup

This is an amazing raw soup, it could be eaten cold if you want to refresh yourself after a long hot day, or you can warm it up a little - no more than 60oC!

It is packed with vitamins and minerals, all ready to be absorbed by your body with minimum digestive effort.

Ingredients:
1 Tomato (you can peel it if you have time)
1 Cucumber
1/2 Bell Pepper
Bunch of leaves - salad leaves, spinach, rocket, or anything else you have in the fridge
Bunch of parsley and basil
1 small Onion
1 clove Garlic
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Sea Salt to taste

Blend all ingredients, add a bit of water of too thick and taste for seasoning. I like drizzling a bit of Organic First Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil (i have not put lots of words together, oil like this do exist! ;)))

Bon Apeti! Enjoy!!!!!!!

Irresistible breakfast - Mango and Banana smoothie

This is my all time favourite breakfast, it is soooo delicious and filling, keeps me going until lunchtime. Not to mention the numerous health benefits of the mango and banana - they protect against cancer, rich in potassium, pre-biotic dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidant compounds...

Ingredients:
1 large Mango
2 Bananas
A few almonds (soaked overnight) - you can skip this if you don't have any
1/2 cup water

Put all ingredients together and blend, blend, blend .... If it is too thick, add a bit more water. You want to consistency to be like baby food, not too runny. Drink with a straw, or eat it with a spoon :)).
                                                           
                                                               Aaaahhhhh sooo good!

Raw sprouted spelt and avocado dip

Many of my friend have been asking me for raw food recipes and finally I have the time to list a few :)).

I will start with a delicious Raw Spelt and Avocado dip - bursting with nutrients and very filling. I normally eat it with carrot ticks, pepper, radish, cucumber sticks, french beans, cauliflower chunks or any other vegetables I have available.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Spelt (organic if you can find), cover it with water and soak overnight;
1 large Avocado
Bunch of rocket leaves, parsley and basil (basil is important because it gives a very nice flavour to the dip)
1 kale leave (you can also use spinach or any other dark green leaves that you have available)
1 small onion (provided you don't have a hot date later on ;)))
Salt to season (use Eden, Cornish or Celtic sea salt)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1-2 table spoons water

Put all ingredients together and blend with lots of love :)). If the consistency is very thick, put a bit more water until nice and soft, but not runny. Taste it and add salt or lemon juice if required. It should be very, very nice!

Have it with vegetable sticks or wholegrain pitta bread/chapatti. Yuuuummmmyyyy!

You can also make this recipe with soaked over night buckwheat instead of spelt. The most importance thing is to experiment and have fun! :))

Testimonials from my Yoga students

I though I would share something with all of you.

Yesterday I received two beautiful e-mails from my students sharing their experience with Yoga that almost brought tears in my eyes (happy tears of course! :)))


Subject: Nelis Yoga Classes - A MUST

Dear All,

This is to bring to your attention that I was a part of Neli’ Yoga classes yesterday.

It was really helpful and the session was mind blowing . I would urge each and every one to attend at least one session and feel the impact of the yoga classes and what changes it can bring to one’s life .

Thank you Neli for your dedication, hard work and the cause for a Healthy body and Mind, do Keep up the good work.

Regards,

Sachin U.V


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Dear Friends,

I endorse Sachin’s viewpoint.

Neli’s yoga classes have been a stress buster for me as well, particularly after having gone through a recent personal tragedy. I have now become a regular at the ladies’ class and it has made a BIG difference to me!

Neli- I applaud you on your dedication and the fact that you have been taking a personal and a keen interest in your colleagues’ well being!

Thank you very much and keep it up.

Regards,

Kavita


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And this is another e-mail I received a while ago:
Dear Friends,

It was 6:00 a.m. on a Friday morning, yesterday, Sunil & I were at the Abu Dhabi, Corniche, near the beach side. We had a Yoga session on the beach with Neli as our Yoga Instructor.

Neli had done all the arrangements on her own to help us experience the true essence of Yoga.

The 90 minutes experience was breath taking. As the dawn was breaking, with a gust of fresh breeze to dry your sweat and gazing the blue sky as you lay in Shawaasan.

It was an exuberant experience which can be experienced only if you are there to experience it.

While doing the Yoga session one was present to his fitness levels.

Neli was at her very best, in full command, and I felt that she was born to be a Yoga Teacher.

The best part of it was to see Neli’s dedication towards the entire process of transformation which she yearned to bring about in her student’s Yogic experience.

I would not like to make a request, but I would like each one of you to realize that if you ever wanted something good for yourself, you only have to make an effort to be present to experience it and you will soon realize what you have missed all these years.

It will be advisable to carry your own Yoga Mats to help the person who is arranging it for YOU!

Best Regards,

Sameer

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I feel so grateful and blessed to have the opportunity to share the magical experience that Yoga gives us and to help people find their own path to happiness..... :)))))

GOING OUT: IT'S KAYOGA TIME IN ABU DHABI

Last Friday morning Kara from the local newspaper Sport 360 joined us for Kayoga and wrote a great article about her experience....

GOING OUT: IT'S KAYOGA TIME IN ABU DHABI
Jan 10, 2012 0



by Kara Martin

Early risers: Noukhada’s Kayoga begins at 8am on Fridays.


If by chance you have equal parts with love for kayaking and yoga, there’s now a meet-up in Abu Dhabi tailored especially for you. You’ll have to get out of bed bright and early on a Friday to do it, though. Last weekend, I opted to forego my Thursday night out to take on my first Kayoga session.

Kayoga is one of the latest ventures by Abu Dhabi’s most famed eco-tour operator Noukhada in partnership with Anaadi Yoga founder Neli.

With a menu that boasts everything from island and mangrove tours to kayaking, kayak fishing, sailing and even cycling and blokarting (a completely wind-powered way to whip around the track), the emphasis with Noukhada seems to be on experiencing the great outdoors and a good clean adventure without exploiting the environment. And that I love.

Not so much the 7.45am meet-up time down a dirt road to the Mangroves just off Salam St., but the minute I joined the surprisingly large and chattering gathering and grabbed a paddle and life jacket, I’d got over it and was ready to have some fun. The cool breeze and the sight of the placid and peaceful water certainly helped too.

Our Kayoga session started with a group stretch aimed at balancing and aligning the body posture, coupled with short Pranayama (breathing) exercises. This helped to loosen up the stiffness around the neck and shoulders and prepare the arms and core for some paddling and balancing in the kayak.

Then, it was into the waiting kayaks for a 20-minute paddle through the lush Mangroves.

If you’re lucky, along the way you should see hungry gulls, scuttling crabs, sea eagles, and even curious foxes, to name a few protected species, but save for one elegantly slender egret, I guess they were all asleep at that time or in hiding.

We parked up at a small sand and mud opening in the thick bushes and wandered into the unknown with our yoga mats until we came to a convenient little clearing and set up for our one hour Hatha yoga session in the great outdoors.

Sun-kissed and breathing deep of the pure and highly oxygenated air, Neli guided our small group through a series of beginner-to-intermediate-level asanas (or postures) such as The Chair and other balancing postures, Cobra and Warrior I, II, and III coupled with Pranayama and to end off, a bit of meditation in Corpse Pose, which was slightly interrupted by a group of bellowing teenagers in kayaks some way off (but who’s to say a bit of a giggle isn’t welcome in your mood-lifting yoga practice?)

The best bit? Doing leg raisers while flat on our backs, because throwing our toes up and seeing nothing above but a vast blue sky, which seemed to belong to us alone for a day, to me that drew the perfect picture of bliss.

The hard part, however, was then having to shake ourselves out of our deep relaxation to drag the kayaks back out again for the 20-minute leg home. Still, I can’t think of a more refreshing start to the morning.



The Verdict: Meet you on the Mangroves for fun, fitness and plenty of fresh air.

What: Kayoga.

When: Fridays at 8am.

Where: Just off Salam St near the Substation and Angsana resort. Full location details can be found on the Noukhada website.

Price: Dh170, inclusive of all equipment.

Contact: info@noukhada.ae or call 02 650 3600 or 050 721 8928.

Kayoga at the Mangroves is one of the Top Recommended activities by Sport 360

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4. Do Asanas and Aqua Sports on the Mangroves

Now, this is completely new to Abu Dhabi and we’re dying to try it so expect a review shortly. Ever heard of Kayoga? Every morning at 8am, some sporty yogis meet on the Mangroves for a guided paddle to a lush hidden island.

There, yoga instructor Neli guides students into a rejuvenating one hour Hatha Yoga practice designed to strengthen the body, improve flexibility, massage the internal organs…and, well, just generally make you feel alright all over.

What’s more, you’ll be doing it surrounded by the most beautiful, untouched natural scenery. Sessions are Dh170 per person, kayaking equipment and mats included. You heard it here first!

www.noukhada.ae /02 650 3600

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