Loving these words by Eckhart Tolle and the truth they hold. Doing the inner work to release our fears and bad habits can be challenging at times, for often we have held on to them sometimes for years! But on the other side is where the beauty unfolds. And the outside slowly does start to fall into place. By putting trust in ourselves to honour our power within, we cultivate a knowing that slowly starts to remind us that our fears and conditioned way of living does not have to continue. That all is actually going to be alright if we allow and be patient with our healing journey. That we are perfect just the way we are, yet so capable of making changes to grow and learn! Living with RA and all the chronic symptoms I have experienced (more to be explained in another post) has instilled in me a deep desire to keep evolving and strive to nurture my body and mind to the best of my abilities. My daily focus now is to give myself proper nutrition, exercise, relaxation, breathing and continue to cultivate a healthy mindset that allows me to trust this journey!

You may be thinking ya that's real easy to say lady! But hear me out. I believe there are no mistakes in our life, all events are blessings given to us to learn from. Think about whatever challenge you are facing in your life right now and what lesson there could be to learn from it? An example of this in my life occurred about 9 months ago when I was in a car accident that aggressively re-flared my Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and also brought on other new symptoms. But the blessing in this accident was that it pushed me even deeper into my healing and showed me there was still so much to learn! It has been a roller coaster of a ride these last 9 months, but I am slowly starting to feel better, and little changes to my diet and stress levels are making a difference. I will go more into my food philosophy in another post, as I have tried many approaches to eating over the last 3 years (lacto-vegetarian, dairy/free-gluten/free, low carb/grain free, paleo, you name it!). I knew certain foods were causing flare ups yet I didn't fully have a clear approach that was working for me. But since switching back to a primarily plant based diet with lots of raw fruits and veggies, daily juicing, gluten/dairy free, along with keeping my meals simple and as pure as possible, I am slowly feeling better. It does not mean everything has vanished, but my inflammation markers are improving and slowly symptoms are calming down. I am so thankful for the healing powers of food and the new energy and strength it is giving to my body, the guidance I am receiving along with my other self care practices that help keep me grounded (see 8 Tips to Building a Self Care Foundation).

So today I am sharing a recipe that has become a staple meal in our home. It is simple to make, with pure ingredients and SO yummy!!!

As Swami Sivananda says, "Purity of mind depends on purity of food." So what better way to purify our mind and body than with a plate full of TACOS!!!! Ahhh, bet you didn't see that one coming;)

QUINOA TACOS with Cilantro Chutney

Ingredients:

1 cup of quinoa (I prefer white)

1 head of romaine lettuce

Seasonings:

2 tsp of ground cumin

1tsp ground chili powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 Tbspn of coconut oil

Cilantro Chutney:

1 bunch of fresh cilantro

1 bunch of fresh mint

2 cloves of garlic

1 1/2 Tbspn lime juice

2 Tbspn boiling water

1/2 tspn sea salt

1 Chili pepper if you like spicey! (I omit this:)

Instructions:

1. Cook quinoa for appropriate time in rice cooker (my life saver in the kitchen!) or in a saucepan on the stove. The advantage of the rice cooker is that it cooks it to perfection and switches off when it is ready. Either way, fluff with fork when cooked and let it rest for 10 minutes or so.

2. Preheat oven to 380 F

3. Now that the quinoa has cooled a little, mix in the seasonings and coconut oil. Stir until combined. Spread the mixture onto a baking sheet and put in oven for roughly 30 minutes, stirring halfway. The quinoa will start to brown and get crispy when it's done.

4. Spread onto lettuce wraps and add all your fav fixings! We usually do green salsa, avocados and cilantro chutney to keep it dairy free/gluten free!

5. For an easy Indian cilantro chutney you can simply blend the above mentioned ingredients with the boiling water until it is smooth. Add a little more water if need be, very slowly as it can easily become liquidy.

AND VOILA! Tacos made easy! Enough tacoing about it, time to enjoy:)

Sending you love and light on your own path,

xo Amy