Let's talk food.
Who doesn't like the subject? At Yogaion retreats I take this subject very seriously as I am a total foodie myself! Luckily it is not hard to provide delicious meals at the retreat from breakfast to dinner. First of all because we have an amazing chef who pores all her love in preparing the menu's and meals for all the guests. But also because Portugal is a great country for food. There are so many wonderful farmers markets around so that our motto of providing healthy, mostly organic but at least 99% local & seasonal produce on the table is not a difficult feat at all.
So what's healthy eating?
That's not an easy one as one person's food might be another person's poison. So we try to adhere to a few philosophies during the retreat.
-all the food is prepared with loads of love
- It's delicious & mouth watering
-(beyond) organic, seasonal & local
-"non processed"
-it's plant based
About the last principle, all though I do believe that eating a diet based primarily on veggie & fruits is the way to go. The main reason the retreat meals are vegetarian/ vegan is to follow the yogic philosophies.
I am saying this because after being a vegetarian myself for years and a vegan for some of it, I found out 2 years ago that I had a serious bean allergy and lighter cow's milk one ( great when you are on a vegetarian diet, right?). This unfortunately caused leaky gut syndrome & some other nasties which with a radical change in my diet I was able to heal.
Besides still eating mostly veggie, I also started eating small amounts of local farm raised animals, grass fed & outdoor living, local caught fish and loads of bone broths cooked for hours. So even though the food at the retreat will stay plant based according to the Yogic principles of only eating vegetarian, the reason I am saying this here, is that I do really believe that each one of us has to find out for oneself what is most healthy for us as individuals. Also the non vegetarian among us have no need to worry as everything is so delish that none of the guests ever miss their carnivore side during the week ;-)
So what is healthy? I think that only each one of us can decide that for ourselves and just like our Yoga practice is an exploration of one self so is our diet. It changes a long with you & it's up to you to stay in touch with yourself.
What about that third principle beyond Organic?
In Daoism the concept of Di Tao refers to beyond organic . Di Tao literally means “Earth Tao,” but its real meaning is “the authentic true source.” So what does this mean in terms of the food during the retreat? It means that we source local, seasonal products from small farmers that not only don't use pesticides on their crop but also add that extra bit of loving energy to their soil, seeds & plants. So that when it arrives on our plates that energy that has been put into it also feeds us.
With love Shaini