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Dahl Baht

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I always prefer to eat whole grains.  I find their taste and texture far more interesting and satisfying  and, of course, the nutrition is superior by miles (especially B vitamins, fiber, and protein).  Finding whole grains while on the road can be challenging, especially in the while rice obsessed cultures of South America and Asia, where I have spent the last 16 months.

I am fully over the white rice.  If I ever eat white rice again it will be too soon (o.k., sushi clause, definitely a sushi clause to this statement).

What really did it for me was the Dahl Baht lunches eaten while hiking in the Annapurna area of Nepal a few weeks ago.  Dahl Baht is the mainstay of the Nepali diet and a cheap source of energy while trekking through the Himalaya, the “dahl” is the mung beans and the “baht” is the rice.  It is served up on a pie pan-like tray and consists of  small bowls  of very salty and watery mung beans, vegetable curry (the best of which is full of green beans and cauliflower, the worst of which is just potatoes), a papad (lentil wafer), and a giant mound of white rice.  The traditional way to eat Dahl Baht is to dump the contents of the bowls over the rice, mix it together with you right hand and scoop it into your mouth.  My way of eating Dahl Baht is to chow down on the dahl and curry and hope the server isn’t to confused when he comes around to offer seconds of everything and my rice pile is still a mile high.

Dear travel yoga mat, you are worth your weight

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My yoga mat has revolutionized working out on the road.  I no longer have an excuse of a dirty/cold/hard hotel floor.  I just throw down my Gaiam travel yoga mat and get to work.

My mat was given to me by one very generous house-guest I hosted in Lima last May.  She handed over many useful and thoughtful items from her suitcase before heading back to Los Angles but the mat proves to be the most valuable of these gifts.

One way the mat aids in my workouts is that I feel obliged to use it regularly if I am going to dedicate that space and weight in my impressively small backpack (we’re talking 35 liters!).

With exercising, like many things in life, getting started can be the hardest part.  There is something about laying out my mat that helps me commit and move past any reluctance to get moving.