Gisele Bundchen joked during an appearance Friday on The Tonight Showthat her meditation practice helped the New England Patriots win Super Bowl 51.

I channeled some great energy and, really, I feel like a little responsible, Bundchen told host Jimmy Fallon. I brought love and peace and clarity and calmness into the game. It shifted after that, I must tell you.

The supermodel said that, in addition to helping relieve anxiety of Super Bowl proportions, her regular meditation practice helps relieve daily stress.

Of course, meditation isnt just for the rich and famous. The practice has become more popular as scientists study the ways in which meditation can generate changes in the brains physical structure, leading to positive changes in mood, stress levels, and mental focus.

Gena Bean, founder of local meditation centerMindful Boston, said her center serves people from all walks of life.

People often come to me looking for a break from hectic times, she said, especially in Boston, where there are so many people with type A personalities.

Mindfulness meditation might sound like something that requires a guru, but there are ways to experience the benefits that dont require a lifestyle change.

With meditation, we work on building the foundation that holds us up every day, Bean said.

She had some suggestions for people who are curious about the practice but arent sure where to start.

Practice a body scan

Bean said the body scan is a popular meditation method for all levels of meditators, and it can be practiced anywhereeven sitting in your cubicle.

To start, find a comfortable position, either sitting or lying down. (Its important that your body is supported so youre able to relax your muscles.) If its possible to remove distractions from your environment, go for it, but its OK if the only time you can find is at the office or while your kids are napping. You can leave your eyes open or close them.

Once youre comfortable, the practice is as the name suggests: Starting with your toes, slowly work your way up your body, focusing on the sensations in each region. If your mind wanders, gently steer it back to the body scan. Breathing deeply helps increase relaxation for some people, but it isnt necessary.

Body scans can last anywhere between one minute and 45 minutes, according to Bean.

The great thing about the body scan is that the results are often immediate; afterward, you should feel a sense of calm and relaxation.

Get some tech assistance

If you have trouble directing your own body scan, Bean guides one on YouTube:

Using tech for meditation might seem counterintuitive; however, Bean said apps can be great tools for beginners and regular meditators alike. Shes particularly fond ofInsight Timer, a free app offering guided meditations from some of the worlds most well-known meditation experts.

Find a group

According to Bean, group meditation offers more than just a social dynamic. She believes so strongly in the benefits of group meditation that she names it as the reason she chose to start Mindful Boston.

To know youre not alone youre not the only person who ever wanted to jump out of their skin thats the best way to get involved, Bean said.

Some meditators say they experience a deeper sense of relaxation when practicing in a group versus alone, and meditating in a group can help beginners feel more relaxed.

To help get beginners started, Mindful Boston offers occasional free, non-religiousCommunity Meditation Nights, during which participants engage in guided meditation together. Mindful Bostons upcoming Community Meditation Night will be held on Wednesday, May 17 at the Boston Marathon Adidas RunBase in Back Bay. The meditation will last between 15 and 25 minutes, and the event will include a brief discussion about meditation during which participants can ask questions. All ages are welcome, and the event usually includes around 40 participants, though Bean has aspirations to grow the event to around 200 people.

Community meditation nights are the best way for people to learn about meditation in a low-key environment, Bean said.

Dont judge yourself

Meditating isnt a one-size-fits-all solution, Bean said.

It might take beginners a while to find a practice that works for them, and some people might find that meditating doesnt help them as well as it helps others.

Bean uses a food analogy to help dissuade people from judging themselves (and others) when it comes to meditation:

Sushi might be weird at first, but theres no way to know you like it until you start eating it, she said. Meditation doesnt have to be any more judgmental than what you choose to eat. Sushi isnt for everyone, and meditation isnt for everyone.

See more here:

How to make like Gisele Bundchen and meditate away the chaos - Boston.com

Home News Paul Bail Invites FSU Students to Free Meditation Class inLeominster

By thepointfitchburgstate on 11 May 2017

by Holly Wentworth-

Paul Bail, Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor and a meditation teacher, invites Fitchburg State students to come to his meditation class, located at the Leominster Public Library on Mondays, other than holidays, from 7 pm to 8 pm. According to Bail, in his experience of meditating, hes found that it has improved his mental focus, memory, sleep, energy level, the speed of his decision process, and the judgment of himself and others. He believes that with meditation, it can help benefit Fitchburg State students as well.

When Bail first started doing meditation in Houston, TX, he tried transcendental meditation, which is a technique that involves the use of sound or mantra that helps people get into a meditative state, which lasts 15-20 minutes per day. Bail discovered that the benefits he got from transcendental meditation were remarkable. He commented that its not like super powers, but you do notice improvement in yourself.

Once Bail moved back home to Central Mass, he found that there were no meditation groups within the area. Bail didnt want to meditate on his own because its easier with outside support, like dieting, he said. To fulfill his need for a group meditation, he often drove to Boston to go to classes. However, it did not take long for him to get tired of the drive into Boston, and he ended up going to the meditation classes less and less. Finally, nine years ago, Bail decided that he would just teach his own meditation class so people from Central Mass could participate too, and that way it would keep him obligated and disciplined by showing up every week. Luckily, the Leominster Public Library was renovating at that time for an expansion of rooms that community groups could use for free. Bail took upon the opportunity and its been the best thing for him.

Finally, nine years ago, Bail decided that he would just teach his own meditation class so people from Central Mass could participate too, and that way it would keep him obligated and disciplined by showing up every week. Luckily, the Leominster Public Library was renovating at that time for an expansion of rooms that community groups could use for free. Bail took upon the opportunity and its been the best thing for him.

His Leominster Meditation group has grown to an average of eight people per class, but sometimes it can get as high as 15 people. Bail enjoys teaching meditation because it gives him the same benefits if he wasnt teaching it. He also says that he enjoys meeting different people.

How Bails Meditation Class Works: Bails meditation class begins with the first session where there is a little bit of movement, which allows you to get into your body and sensations. He says not to worry if youre doing it right or not, but many people still worry, especially if its their first time. From there, he goes into a session where you are being aware of your breath and where you feel your breath mostly, such as the nostrils, chest, abdomen, or whole body. He tells people to choose wherever is easiest for you to focus, and just focus on the sensations of the breath. The last part of the session is a heart centered meditation. Bail tells people to start by thinking about somebody they care about and wish them happiness, then think about yourself and wish yourself happiness, and then send it out to the world in general and wish everyone else happiness. He asks people to notice and reflect on the feeling they get by wishing happiness among everyone. By doing that, he says that it opens their hearts and puts them in a caring mood and allows them to focus on that feeling. The reason why Bail has three meditation sessions to his class is because he hopes that someone will connect with at least one of them.

When asked if he thinks meditation works for everyone he said that it might only work for someone who gives it a chance and who wants to do it. He also said that if theres anybody that thinks it might be beneficial to them, then they should have an opportunity to try it.

If youre interested in trying Paul Bails meditation class, its every Monday, other than holidays from 7pm-8pm at the Leominster Public Library, no prior experience or commitment is needed. It would be a great time to go and relax, especially since finals are coming. Hope to see you there!

Like Loading...

Categories: News

See original here:

Paul Bail Invites FSU Students to Free Meditation Class in Leominster - Fitchburg Point

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) or in deep space missions have lower physical fitness and exercise capacity as their heart and blood vessels become less effective at transporting oxygen to muscles, a new study has found.

Researchers set out to find why astronauts' exercise capacity decreases between 30 and 50% in long-duration spaceflight.

"It is a dramatic decrease," said Carl Ade, assistant professor at Kansas State University in the US.

"When your cardiovascular function decreases, your aerobic exercise capacity goes down. You can't perform physically challenging activities anymore," said Ade.

"While earlier studies suggest that this happens because of changes in heart function, our data suggests that there are some things happening at the level of the heart, but also at the level of the microcirculation within capillaries," he said.

In addition to improving astronaut health and providing valuable information for future long-duration spaceflights, the research also can help Earth-bound clinical patients with heart failure, Ade said.

While in outer space or on the ISS, astronauts have to perform many physically demanding tasks, from the simpler task of opening a capsule door to potentially more intense future planetary tasks such as helping a fallen crew member.

Just as important is making sure astronauts can perform life-saving tasks when they return to gravity - tasks that could include an emergency landing on Earth or performing extravehicular activities on the surface of Mars, Ade said.

For the study, researchers used data from NASA's Johnson Space Centre on nine astronauts who spent about six months aboard the ISS. The data included exercise measurements before and after their time in outer space.

The astronauts performed a stationary bike exercise test several months before they launched to the ISS.

The researchers established the astronauts' exercise capacity through measurements - such as oxygen uptake, cardiac output, haemoglobin concentration and arterial saturation - that illustrate how effectively the body transports oxygen to the muscle mitochondria.

Within a couple of days of returning to earth, the astronauts performed the same stationary bike exercise test to determine changes in aerobic exercise capacity. By comparing the two sets of data, the researchers saw a 30 to 50% decrease in maximal oxygen uptake.

Maximal oxygen uptake is the maximum rate of oxygen that is consumed during exercise and shows the cardio-respiratory health of a person.

The researchers attribute this decrease to the way that microgravity changes the interaction between blood vessel capillaries and red blood cells, but say that more research is needed to understand what is happening in the capillaries.

"If we can understand why maximal oxygen uptake is going down, that allows us to come up with targeted interventions, whether that be exercise or pharmacological interventions," Ade said.

"This important new information can help these astronauts and prevent any adverse performance changes in their job," he said.

Read this article:

Astronauts have lower physical fitness, excercise capacity in spaceflight: Study - Daily News & Analysis

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana High Court today observed that it cannot issue any direction against Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu's participation in a television show due to absence of any statutory provisions.

"People emulate these things.... No doubt those in public life should excercise restraint, but how far can we go? We can't start moral policing of politicians," a bench of Justices S S Saron and Darshan Singh observed.

The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Chandigarh-based advocate H C Arora against Sidhu's continuation with 'the Kapil Sharma show' after becoming a minister in the Amarinder Singh Government.

The court, however, did not accept the plea of the advocate general, who had questioned the "maintainability' of the PIL, and asked him to respond to various issues raised in the petition.

Earlier, the state Advocate General, Atul Nanda, argued that in the absence of provisions, the court of law cannot interfere.

He contended that there is no convention, "but even if it is assumed that it existed, the court can't issue a direction for enforcement of convention in the absence of any law".

Asked by the bench whether a convention can be enforced, Nanda cited the judgements of the Supreme Court. He submitted a 600-page compilation of precedents where the courts have categorically stated that they will not enforce conventions.

The bench heard the arguments of the parties for about two hours.

"Lakhs of people follow the example set by ministers, and public conduct of ministers is being watched.

"In such a situation, can a minister resort to a conduct which is not in consonance with the dignity and status of a Cabinet Minister?" the bench asked the advocate general.

Nanda maintained that Sidhu has not violated the code of conduct for ministers.

On the other hand, the petitioner argued that the Cabinet Minister is not only participating in the comedy show, but is also appearing in an advertisement, and promoting a "magic machine" for learning spoken English.

Such conduct of a minister must be interfered with, the petitioner submitted.

Arora quoted a 2004 judgement of the Supreme Court in Jayalalitha's case, wherein referring to enforceability of Code of Conduct, the apex court had observed that "morally speaking, can there be one law for small officials of the government and another law for the chief minister...?"

The petitioner argued saying, "a stage has come, when the high court should come forward to interfere in the matter of code of conduct, as a Cabinet Minister promoting 'magic English speaking machines' is something unheard of in the past."

The advocate general, however, interjected and told the HC that this advertisement was shot by Sidhu several years ago.

On being asked by the petitioner, he could not disclose as to when the contract for this advertisement is expiring.

The advocate general argued that the code of conduct for ministers is not enforceable through courts.

At this stage, the bench repeatedly asked him, "Assuming that the code of conduct is not enforceable through courts, then the question would arise - whether it is worth the paper on which it is written?"

"We may feel that Sidhu while working as a minister and a television actor may be ethically wrong, but this is no violation of law. We can only stop him from working if he is violating a law and not on the basis of moral or conduct grounds.

"Participating in a television show is an engagement of an artiste and not a business or employment. The petitioner should prove that it was a propriety or conflict of interest issue," the bench observed.

The next hearing will be on August 2.

Read more from the original source:

Can't moral police politicians: HC on Navjot Singh Sidhu's TV show case - Economic Times

sport

LOCAL sport aerobics athletes started their season in fine style, with a series of strong results in the FISAF Super Series Event held at Sportz Central.

More than 300 competitors from Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Newcastle converged on Coffs Harbour but it was the CASS Energy competitors, small in number but big on performance, who stole the show, with each local winning a medal to give the team five gold and three bronze.

Team coach Cassie Scully was impressed with her athletes' performances.

"It's a great confidence boost going into the FISAF State Championships on June 3, Scully said.

AEROBICS STARS

Natalie Giri, Isabella Van Wijk - first Cadet Pairs

Brooklyn Leonard, Paris Warncken - first Junior Pairs

Gabi Nash, Tess Reynolds - third Junior Pairs

Shaelea Ralston - first Senior Novice

Tess Reynolds - first Junior Novice

Paris Warncken - first Junior International

Brooklyn Leonard - third Junior International

Natalie Giri - third Cadet International

View original post here:

CASS Energy wins sport aerobics day - Coffs Coast Advocate

After months of mulling a plea deal, New York Citys most infamous vegan has admitted to taking part in a scheme to defraud investors in her popular, star-studded Gramercy eatery.

Celeb restaurateur Sarma Melngailis steadied herself at the defense table Wednesday as she agreed to plead guilty to charges of grand larceny, criminal tax fraud, and a scheme to defraud in exchange for five years probation and a split six-month sentence.

Per the sentencing guidelines, she will only serve four months behind bars.

Melngailis voice quivered as she hid behind her shimmering golden hairwhile copping to the various charges before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun.

Chun said that even sympathetic investors in the now-shuttered Pure Food and Wine who were swindled by Melngailis and her estranged, career-criminal hubby, Anthony Strangis submitted letters asking the judge to spare her from jail.

The restaurant was once a hot spot frequented by the likes of Alec Baldwin and Chelsea Clinton.

Melngailis and Strangis were nabbed in May 2016 after allegedly stealing $844,000 from investors, failing to pay $400,000 in sales tax, and shortchanging employees by more than $40,000 in wages, prosecutors said at the time.

The couple then flitted off on a yearlong spending spree that eventually landed them at a Tennessee hotel, where they were discovered by cops after placing a decidedly non-vegan order at a nearby Dominos pizza.

The jurist admitted Wednesday that, after poring over case material, it was clear to him that there was evidence the 44-year-old had been trying to run her business in good faith while becoming further entangled in her abusive marriage.

She was badly abused and controlled by a lifelong predator and fraudster, defense attorney Jeffrey Lichtman, referencing Strangis, said as a quivering Melngailis stood nearby.

Calling the purported gambling addict a complete maniac, Lichtman added: There is not a cage big enough, literally or figuratively, that can hold [Strangis]. His only concern upon getting out will be finding his next victim, so he can go on, not working, preying upon someone elses hard work.

She must surrender to court on June 21, when she will be transported to state jail. It was not yet clear which penitentiary she would be housed in. If she runs, she could face up to 15 years in prison, Chun reminded her.

Melngailis declined comment as she left court accompanied by family, her eyes red.

The hefty Strangis, who also goes by the name Shane Fox, is scheduled to walk free May 22 after a year behind bars, per the terms of his plea deal. Strangis, who claims Melngailis threw him under the bus, pleaded guilty in March.

Follow this link:

'Vegan Bernie Madoff' takes plea deal for swindling investors | New ... - New York Post

Guiness, now no longer made using fish bladder. Yumi Kimura/CC BY-SA 2.0

A version of this post originally appeared on Tedium, a twice-weekly newsletter that hunts for the end of the long tail.

Meat is in the news a lot these days, it seems.

One study claims that animal fat might lower your cholesterol level, while a completely different one suggests meat affects your gut bacteria or causes blood clots.

And there are always stories about meat being where it shouldnt benotably, when the startup Clear Foods analyzed a bunch of hot dogs and found that many veggie dogs had remnants of meat on them due to the production processenough to make any vegan lose his-or-her you-know-what.

And earlier this month, Guinness finally finished its years-long process of getting the fish out of its beer. When this news first gained notice a couple of years ago, a number of folks had a specific reaction: Wait, they used fish bladders to make Guinness?

They know, they know, and the folks at the Guinness factory in Dublin have been working on cutting back their use of isinglass, the fish bladder long used to filter its iconic Irish beers.

All brewers want to use the latest and the best technology, weve been researching for a decade about how we can reduce the amount lost in the filtration process so we were excited that this might work, Guinness master brewer Stephen Kilcullen told The Times of London. Its great though that it means people who havent had a pint in a while can have one now.

The announcement that the company was moving away from using isinglass in 2015 mostly had the effect of shocking lazy vegetarians concerned about things such as ethics, but even when Guinness was still using it, the amount was minute.

The isinglass is retained in the floor of the vat but it is possible that minute quantities might be carried over into the beer, the company explained in 2013. You can read more about Isinglass over at Smithsonian magazine.

Of course, Guinness is far from the only thing that vegans have had to worry about over the years.

For example, many vegetarians dont take the full plunge towards veganism because they feel like theyd miss cheese too much. Problem is, some kinds of cheese happen to be made with a certain part of the cow that cant be acquired without killing said cow.

The material, rennet, is procured from the lining of a cows fourth stomach, and is often used as a way to encourage cheese to curdle. Thanks to the declining cost of artificial or plant-based ways of doing the same thing, major food-makers have slowly moved away from relying so heavily on a material that must be acquired by killing a cowand the list is growing.

However, there are a few kinds of cheese out there that require rennet to reach their full potential. One of those cheeses is Parmesan (formally known as Parmigiano Reggiano), one of the most popular kind of hard cheese there is.

Like a number of other traditional foods originally made in Europe, it has a protected designation of origin, meaning that it can only technically be called Parmesan if its made in a certain part of Italy, using a traditional production process. And sorry to tell you, eggplant Parmesan fans, rennet is part of that traditional production process.

Even without keeping the vegetarians in mind, this can create unusual complications for those that have diets that vary from the norm. For example, that traditional production process makes it difficult to make a kosher variation on Parmesan, because it has to go through two separate processes to ensure that it follows traditional standards as well as religious ones. It was so complicated, in fact, that it wasnt until 2015 that a kosher variation on Parmesan debutedcomplete with Star of David on the cheese block.

But if youre vegetarian and hankering for some of the hard stuff, make sure youre looking for vegetarian Parmesan or Parmesan-style cheese on store shelves. Youre not getting the real thing, but youll at least be able to live with yourself the next day.

The concerns with unexpectedly non-vegan options arent just limited to foods, either. Take the outer layers of paintball capsules, which are generally made of gelatin, a form of collagen generally derived from animal bones. (If you like Jell-O, geltabs, or marshmallows, youre also a gelatin user.)

Tattoo ink, traditionally made of bone char, falls into the same category, and animal products are often used in maintaining that tattoo. However, there are some vegan-friendly alternatives out there, so you can still get an ugly tattoo if you would so like.

More surprisingly, guitars are made from animal parts in some cases, especially in the case of acoustic guitars. The nut and saddle of the guitar, two parts that hold the strings in place, are often made from bone, often not limited to one kind of animal. All of which is actually an improvement from the days when instruments were made using ivory.

And if youre wearing Converse All-Stars, you may be skipping the leather, but you may not be out of the woods with your canvas shoes. Converse has traditionally shied away from calling its footwear vegan. The reason? Simply put, theres a chance that the glue they use may be of animal origin, though they cant be sure. Sounds reassuring, doesnt it? The issue Chucks and their animal-derived glue has long been a matter of online debate. (The debate hasnt stopped PETA from recommending Chucks to people.)

Of all the surprisingly non-vegan options out there, the most surprising might be fabric softenerwhich contains animal fat. No, really. Wired reported in 2008 that Downy uses dehydrogenated tallow dimethyl ammonium chloride, a material derived from the rendered fat of cattle, sheep, and horses, to keep your clothes silky smooth.

Or take condoms, another object known for not necessarily being vegan, though one thats also made some strides in recent years, even if some folks, like the author Aine Collierwho literally wrote the book on condomsremain skeptical.

It wasnt about the quality of the condom. Many were absolute crap, she once told NPR of the phenomenon. But people were buying them with the eye. They loved the packaging, because it fit the lifestyle they were trying to lead. And I think thats exactly what this fair trade, biodegradable, green, vegan condom sales thing is all about. Its just marketing.

All of this is to say that veganism is challenging and hard to get perfect even in the best of circumstances, meaning that when it comes to manufacturing food or other products, were probably never going to get it 100 percent right. Were already too far down the rabbit holea rabbit hole probably filled with many rabbits that have been turned into random chemicals for human consumption.

So maybe Guinness going vegan isnt that big of a deal in the scheme of things, though consider the plight of folks like Paul Vogel, a founder of the Vegan Society of Ireland. He hasnt been able to drink a pint of Guinness for nearly two decades. He recently got another chance, after he became one of the first people to drink a vegan pint of Guinness.

Its nice. I remember what it tasted like because its so distinctive. Its creamy but has that bite, Vogel told The Times of London. I remember what it tasted like because its so distinctive. Its creamy but has that bite.

Still, Vogel later admitted that hes probably going to stick with wine.

A version of this post originally appeared on Tedium, a twice-weekly newsletter that hunts for the end of the long tail.

See more here:

The Surprising Challenges of Making Things Vegan - Atlas Obscura

Written by Katherine Sullivan | May 10, 2017

During a school board meeting on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Board of Education approved a pilot program that will introduce vegan lunches at select Los Angeles schools beginning in August.

In 2013, the LAUSD introduced the Meatless Monday program, in which school cafeterias served only vegetable-based foods on the first day of each school week. In March 2016, the school board committed to serving only antibiotic- and hormone-free chicken products, the first large district to do so in the U.S. Then, in May 2016, PETA supporter Pamela Anderson and Lila Copeland, a 14-year-old student at the time, lobbied for Healthy Freedom, a campaign that aims to introduce a daily vegan meal option at every LAUSD school.

Fast-forward to one year later, and the LAUSDthe second-largest school district in the U.S.is inching closer and closer to providing plant-based lunches districtwide.

LAUSD Board President Steve Zimmer told KPCC, We have had a demand and when we get a demand like this from our community, we institute a pilot to find out is this something that we really could implement district wide. Zimmer, who is a vegetarian himself, believes that schools should offer plant-based meal options and that doing so could help ensure that students develop healthy eating habits.

In a similar move, the board agreed last month to ban school participation in McTeachers Night fundraising events, which are hosted by McDonalds. This resolutionalso supported by Zimmersought to distance LAUSD schools from corporations, like McDonalds, that market unhealthy products.

The boards decision is a significant one. School districts in California and across the U.S. look to large districts like the LAUSD for direction and may soon take similar steps to prioritize students health and wellness.

But students and school districts arent the only ones who can make a positive change for themselves and the world. If youre inspired by the LAUSDs decision to support plant-based diets, click the button below to order your own free vegan starter kitjoin the movement!

Order Your Vegan Starter Kit

Have you heard of TeachKind, PETAs humane-education division? It offers free resourcesincluding lesson plans, classroom materials, and presentationsthat are designed to help K12 schools and educators teach kids to be kind to animals. Click the button below to learn more.

Learn More About TeachKind

See the original post here:

Second-Largest School District in the US to Start Vegan Meal Pilot Program - PETA (blog) (press release)

In this episode of Dining on a Dime, host Lucas Peterson heads to the East Bay, where Oaklands finest vegan cuisine awaits alongside a multitude of classic cars. Confused? The vegan restaurant, Hella Vegan Eats, was originally a pop-up inside Classic Cars West, a car showroom for vintage automobiles. It was so successful that it became permanent: The restaurant occupies a great outdoor space and is staffed with a welcoming (and fabulously dressed) group of people.

Not everyone who works at Hella Vegan adheres to any dietary restrictions. One staff member shares that although she eats meat, shell often choose the food at Hella Vegan because its so good. To put that claim to the test, Peterson stocked up on chicken and waffles, biscuits and gravy, and a tofu scramble (all free of animal products, of course). As he digs into breakfast, Peterson gets a little philosophical: If you look at it from the perspective of, well, the goal is to stop suffering, then I think that there is a very strong argument to vegetarianism [...] there are good vegan options; I for one welcome our new vegan overlords.

Watch the full video about to see how items like fried chicken and waffles match up to the non-vegan equivalents.

Click here to watch more episodes of Dining on a Dime | Subscribe to Eater on YouTube

Read the rest here:

Watch: Vegan Fare and Classic Cars at Hella Vegan Eats - Eater

Vegan macaroni and cheese with broccoli is a rich and creamy bowl of comfort food. My family calls it Mac and Trees!

My kidloves mac and cheese, but the boxed macs (vegan or not) arent exactly health food. Theyre high in salt and usually have zero vegetables. This vegan macaroni and cheese with broccoli is my home-spun version thats a lot healthierand almost as easy to throw together. Just make the blender sauce while the macaroni cooks, then toss it all together at the end.

This sauce is quick and easy in a high speed blender, but you can make it in a regular blender. In this video, I use my Nutribullet, but Ive made this sauce many times in my now-broken 2006 Magic Bullet. It takes longer, but its totally doable. Just dont give up! Keep scraping down the sides and blending more until you reach a smooth, creamy consistency. A lump-free sauce is key to making your Mac and Treessuper delicious, so its worth the extra time!

Yields 4 servings

Vegan Macaroni and Cheese with Broccoli

Vegan macaroni and cheese with broccoli is a rich and creamy bowl of comfort food. My family calls it Mac and Trees!

15 minPrep Time

15 minCook Time

30 minTotal Time

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

6.6.15

Photos by Becky Striepe.

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

See original here:

Vegan Macaroni and Cheese with Broccoli - Care2.com