SIP + STIR

UPCOMING CLASSES

THE PURPOSE

Fueled by my dad's incurable blood disorder, I attended the Institute of Integrative Nutrition in NYC, where I met and fell in love with Ayurveda, which turned out to be yoga's big sister science (and the most sensible way to look at food, ever). Upon graduating in 2007, I founded Nourish + Flourish, with the intention of helping people eat CURATIVELY + HAPPILY.

...and here’s what I found. When I suggested a client top her salad with pomegranate seeds, she didn’t know how to open a pomegranate. When I advised an avocado-a-day, she didn’t know how to tell if one was ripe.

BAM. the Sip + Stir cooking series was born.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Imagine showing up to a yoga class and watching the teacher do all the poses? Pft, what fun would that be? At a Sip + Stir class, you might be asked to massage kale for the first time in your life, or to open a beer for a friend while she sautes an onion. Be prepared to circle up, laugh, + contribute.

Expect a night out.. and expect a few shifts to be made by the time you get home.

THE MENU

The menu, like our practice, is always changing.

In the summer, we might get sticky and sweet with bars that’ll get you all the way to Maine and back with 3 annoying kids in the backseat. In the fall, we get steady + grounded after all that summer travel. (We basically kick back and let the root vegetables do all the work.) In the winter, we lean on food to celebrate, gather, and warm the frick up. And in the spring, we clean the pipes, and begin again.

***Classes held at Yoga Mandali are vegetarian.***

INVESTMENT

$40 includes food, drink, and recipes on point with the season.

FOOD PHILOSOPHY

I used to think food was about rules + recipes, but then found yoga, where I learned to let instinct win. When it comes to food, I listen to my body, and want you to listen to yours.

CONFESSION

I’m not a vegetarian. You read that right.

I teach vegetarian cooking classes and I’m a total has-been!

Like many folks new to yoga, I dove all the way in. Was aiming for sincerity and therefore, quit meat. I was a nuisance at mealtime at big ol’ family gatherings.. survived a couple of Thanksgivings.. even got pregnant. For my first baby, I clung to my vegetarian tenets tight and ate lentils and dark leafy greens up the wazoo——and did just fine, iron-wise.

Second baby? I had to supplement my diet with Floradix, which got my iron levels up to the low end of normal (which translates, as far as one's energy goes: meh.) But my 3rd pregnancy? I was so anemic, it wasn't even funny. I was freezing ALL the time. Then my dog died. I was uber-pregnant and a wreck. My midwife prescribed, of all things: meatballs. I sobbed some more, went home, ate some meatballs, and bam, iron levels restored. Along with it, my mood + pizazz. Have I been pounding burgers ever since? God no. But I do tune in, and allllll the way in, twice a year during our bi-annual fall + spring detox.. when I run on a check on the engine, my edges, and boundaries, which believe it, people: move. Even your beliefs are allowed to shift. How ‘bout THAT?

WHO TO THANK

A gigantic shout out to our legit + local sponsors: Four Seasons Natural Food Store + Browns Brewery. Sip + Stir is nothing without your painstaking attention to quality. I also want to personally recommend Brown’s latest creation: JOANN.. it’s your shining chance to raise one to THE MOTHER.

ABOUT SUZE

I am a recovering perfectionist, semi-recovered jock, and fully recovered vegetarian. I’m addicted to caffeine and look forward to a cold one with my husband at the end of the day. I am reliant on my yoga block and the Blessed Mother. My favorite chant is Loka Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu. My favorite cue "let the head go." My favorite foods are kale + cake. And my favorite teachers are my 3 kids... they rock my world.