Day 1: Wow… getting on that mat can be really hard work, right? I know. I really, truly, do. And when it’s been weeks, or months, or maybe years for some, your body aches, and burns, and hollers for you to stop. Sometimes we do stop. We do this either by physically stopping or mentally drifting off to the beach, the grocery list, the last episode of Game of Thrones, or the piece of quinoa in the floor board, ahem. It’s hard to be in our bodies. It means being fully conscious of what is happening in the now, in this very moment – whether it is sadness, pain, pleasure, fear, or ecstasy. Truth be told, this can be very uncomfortable. But, if we stay with it, if we bring our breath back to consciousness and back to this very moment, we see that nothing lasts – not even the pain.

It’s day 1 of our 30 Days of Yoga and I want to be really honest here. I vacuumed the whole freaking house, cleaned the bathroom, and did some video editing before I finally settled onto my mat. I can sit here and tell you that doing yoga in a clean house is important to me, but let’s be honest, it’s an excuse. It’s all an excuse for not just getting down to business and seeing where your body and mind are at. While it wasn’t easy, it was absolutely magical. I realized my body ached because I haven’t been on my mat. My discipline and devotion to my practice have been lacking to say the least. It’s hard being a mamma – but there again is another excuse. When I really think about what I do with my time, there is ALWAYS 30 minutes somewhere to do this work. So let’s all bring our fullest selves to our mats today, tomorrow, and for the next 29 days (and then some).

Now, I’m not going to leave you hanging without a nice little recipe for dinner. Now that you’ve spent your 30 minutes doing yoga, you probably didn’t have time to brainstorm a healthy dinner, wink wink. I’ve got your covered. This pizza is the mac daddy of comfort food meets kick-ass, nutrient rich, power-veggie-supreme. Yeah, it’s got cheese (I already told you about my weaknesses!), but you can absolutely use vegan cheese too. It starts with a gluten free whole grain crust (I like this one), then a layer of a simple tomato sauce, then sautéed red onions, sauté-steamed garlic kale, paper-thin sweet potato slices and cheese. Throw some fresh basil on top and let the flavors take you to pizza paradise.

This is a simple and healthy dish that anyone will love – even the non-believers. This crust does take a bit of time to rise and pre-bake, so that’s something to keep in mind. If I’m busy I like to do the onions and kale and prep the sweet potato earlier in the day. The other little secret to this pizza is that it’s baked on a pizza pan. We bought one that is round and has holes, but there are a million types out there. It really does make a difference, for realz.

Kale, Red Onion, and Sweet Potato Pizza: 

Ingredients:

• 1 gluten free pizza crust
• 1-2 cups tomato sauce (depending on how many pizzas you make – we made 2)
• 1 bunch of kale washed, de-ribbed, and cut into pieces
• 2 red onions, peeled and sliced
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
• 2 Tbs butter
• 1 sweet potato sliced paper thin (I use a mandolin – might be hard without one)
• .5 – 1 cup water
• 1 – 2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to the temperature required from your dough mix.

2. Prepare your pizza dough. Once risen, form onto your pizza pan.

3. Heat a large frying pan with olive oil. Sauté your garlic for a minute. Don’t let it brown as it will get bitter. Throw in your kale. I like to sauté the kale a bit with the garlic and then add my water. I start with a half cup of water and then add a little more. Cover the kale and let it steam until it is tender. Don’t overcook it. Keep it semi-bright green. Set aside.

4. Sauté your red onions in the butter until tender and caramelized. Set aside.

5. Arrange your pizza. First put your sauce on your crust by spreading from the inside to the edges. Next place a layer of the kale (if it is heavy with liquid ring it out a bit), then a layer of your onion, then the sweet potato, and finish with a nice layer of mozzarella. Throw some basil on top and toss in the oven. Enjoy!

P.S. Here is a yoga video for inspiration! Remember if you are doing the 30 Days of Yoga to post how it’s going in the comments section. 1 Day down! Good for you!!