tahini cookies

If you or someone you know struggles with a full-body candida infection, you know how challenging eating can be. In order to starve the candida, which is fed by yeast and sugar, it's imperative that ALL sugar and carbs are totally cut out, at least temporarily until symptoms reduce. That means that, at least for a while, no chocolate, fruit, beets, carrots, dairy, nuts, potatoes, grains, squash, beans, corn...etc. We've been working on this with my husband and although it was overwhelming at first, now that we have most of the essentials for cooking and baking, I'm getting a little more confident. But obviously, when every single thing he's eating is green, the one thing he's craving more than anything is...COOKIES. Enter: stevia, an all-natural sweetener derived from a plant that is totally safe for a candida diet. 

Once we bought some stevia, I decided to get a little crazy and try to make cookies. Peanut butter cookies are one of Dave's favorites, but alas, he can't have peanut butter. I figured that tahini, which is made from ground sesame seeds and is candida-safe, would be close enough to pass in a fake cookie.

Tahini Cookies:

1/4 cup melted coconut oil
About 1 T. or 6 packets of stevia
2 eggs or flax eggs (1T. ground flax to 3T. warm water = 1 egg)
1/2 cup tahini (Here, you could use almond or peanut butter if you can have sugar)
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 buckwheat flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
About 1 cup of Almond or Coconut Milk (unsweetened)

Mix the first five ingredients - beat well. Mix the last four ingredients and add to the wet mixture. Blend together into a thick dough, adding coconut milk, as needed. Drop by spoonfuls onto a baking sheet, press flat with a fork and bake at 350º for about 8 minutes. Makes about 15 cookies. 

Dave was impressed. I thought they tasted a bit like "sugar-free peanut butter cookies," but I'm sure it's better than nothing when you're going through a candida cleanse. If anything, tahini is packed with protein, as is buckwheat flour, so they're filling and super-healthy! Make them for yourself or to impress your diabetic friends! :)

creamy avocado coleslaw

It's no secret that I'm not a big fan of cooking. I think it takes far too much precious time and needs to be done far too often. Not to mention, I truly almost set my house on fire the other night by spilling grease on a hot burner.

In an effort to keep myself out of the kitchen and avoid death, I made a salad. It makes a ton too, so it's great for a potluck or eating throughout the week.

Creamy Avocado "Coleslaw"
5-6 cups shredded purple and green cabbage
2 ripe avocados
1 chopped red pepper
1 half chopped, red onion
3 tablespoons diced cilantro leaves
Lemon juice, sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

Use a food processor or blender to mix the avocados with some of the lemon juice until creamy. Stir it into all the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl and serve! No fire extinguishers needed. :)

guided meditation - warm valley

This is a guided meditation used at our last meditation workshop at Wholehearter Yoga. It details a small journey deep into a valley of relaxation. Please feel free to read it slowly for yourself, pausing at each break, record it or read it to others to enjoy. Namaste!


Before you begin, get comfortable. You may choose a more relaxed posture leaning against a wall or using pillows, blankets...etc. Find a position that feels natural.

Warm Valley Guided Meditation

Begin by relaxing deeply.
Feel all the muscles in your body melting...from top to bottom....becoming heavy and warm.
Keeping your eyes softly closed, begin to awaken your inner eyes.

You are standing at the top of a large hill....under a tall, green canopy of trees.
You're looking down into a beautiful, lush valley.

The valley is quiet and tranquil.
Late afternoon sun shines warmly on your face, relaxing your entire body.

You begin to descend slowly down the hill, taking in your surroundings.
Thick, green foliage surrounds you and protects you.
You hear the sound of slowly moving water....birds are singing and insects thrum in the trees.
You feel a gentle, warm breeze on your face.
You feel thick, soft moss, cushioning your feet.

As you make your way further down the hill, you continue to feel calm and relaxed.

You smell fragrant, fresh plants....warm earth...and the crisp scent of the water below.

You sink deeper into the valley moving into an even deeper state of relaxation.

As you come to the fresh stream at the bottom of the valley, you feel completely safe...completely relaxed.

The water is crystal clear...and warm.

You sit down at the edge of the stream, dipping your feet into the warm water.

You sip in a deep breath of fresh air...relaxing here.


The sun moves across the sky above you.


After some time has passed, you are ready to return to the top of your hill.
Removing your toes from the water, you dry them on the warm moss of the forest floor.

Slowly padding back up the hill, you again take in your surroundings once more.
The sun has begun to set....the air is crisp with evening.

You hear crickets quietly chirping...the birds are singing their nighttime melodies.

You feel healthy, calm and content.

As you near the top of the hill, the sky has turned to vibrant shades of reds..deep pinks and orange.

You breathe in the fresh air here as you return to your original spot.



Looking out over the beautiful valley once more, you take a long, slow inhale through the nose...and sigh out the air through your mouth.

Taking some time for your body to awaken.

When you are ready to open your eyes, gently place your fingers over them for a moment.
Then, slowly open the fingers as you gently open the eyes.



Welcome back and namaste. :)

being gentle with our minds

It's easy to notice when our bodies are not prepared for a certain type of yoga class. If you've been holding tension in your shoulders, you might not be in the mood for many Sun Salutations. If you're getting sick or you've spent all day working in the heat, a hot class might not feel very rejuvenating. When certain muscles are tired or tight, it's usually very obvious as we come to our yoga mats.

But when your mind or heart is not prepared to practice, you might not know it right away. Yoga teachers often say, "honor your body" throughout class as a reminder to be mindful of each asana, but we also need to be sure we're honoring our minds and hearts. Though yoga practice is a time to get centered, mental focus sometimes can't be forced. If you're really struggling with something overwhelming, such as job loss, divorce or a death, you may benefit more from time in Savasana than anything else. 

In times of extreme sadness or stress, it's natural to seek out the peace we often find with our yoga, but it's okay if it 'doesn't work.' Sometimes we just need to offer ourselves time for equally extreme gentleness, inside and out. Though yoga can help you along the way, just be sure to take time to rest when your heart needs it.

Namaste

vintage laundry detergent?

The woman in this vintage ad looks absolutely crazed about Tide's "oceans of suds":

Deranged housewife wielding her "new washing miracle"

Should we be crazy about popular store-bought detergents too or is there a better way to clean clothes? I am on a weird mission to find out...

In the 1920's, Americans used plain soap flakes in their spiffy washing machines that were only invented 12 years prior. Soap alone didn't clean clothes efficiently or perform well in hard water and left a nasty ring around the washer. (Fill in any witty 1920's phrases of exasperation you may know.) Laundry detergent as we know it was created in 1943 by Proctor & Gamble and was surely a lifesaver, worthy of all sorts of hilarious ads showcasing adoring fans. So what's wrong with it now?

I've been hearing so much about homemade detergent lately, but have avoided buying into it for 3 solid reasons:

1.) Grating soap with a cheese grater sounds like a real pain in the butt

2.) Homemade laundry detergent has become somewhat of an annoying trend. Almost like a cult of elitist domestic snobby-pants.

3.) I don't really have any issues with my current detergent.

I started by researching the ingredients for a popular detergent:

Homemade detergent is great for sensitive skin, babies or just a more natural lifestyle.

Is all that junk REALLY necessary to clean clothes well? After stumbling over all those huge words, I realized I DO have issues with store-bought detergent nowadays. Although my all-natural detergent did not include many of these nasty ingredients, I was paying a pretty-penny for it. Even if you believe all those chemicals are safe, it still seems a bit unnecessary when homemade detergent has as little as 4 ingredients at less than half the cost. I still really didn't feel like grating soap, but then I stumbled across this humbling gem:

ADVICE TO A 1912 BRIDE

Years ago a Kentucky grandmother gave a bride the following recipe for washing clothes (phonetic spelling and all) :

1. Bild fire in back yard to heet kettle of rainwater.
2. Set tubs so smoke won’t blow in eyes if wind is pert.
3. Shave one hole cake lie soap in boilin water.
4. Sort things, make three piles. 1 pile white. 1 pile cullord. 1 pile work britches and rags.
5. To make starch stur flour in cold water to smooth then thin down with boilin water.
6. Rub dirty spots on board, scrub hard, then boil. Rub cullord but don’t boil — just rench and starch.
7. Take white things out of kettle with broom stick handle then rench, blew and starch.
8. Spred tee towels on grass.
9. Hang old rags on fence.
10. Pour rench water in flower bed.
11. Scrub porch with hot soapy water.
12. Turn tubs upside down.
13. Go put on cleen dress, smooth hair with side combs, brew cup of tee — set and rest a spell and count your blessins.

Now that I feel incredibly lazy and ungrateful for my position in society, my multitude of modern conveniences and my grammatical education, I think I can grate some darn soap. As for homemade detergent-makers being an obnoxious cult..well...there are obviously a few good reasons why everyone is jumping on this bandwagon. I decided to make some stupid laundry detergent.

Here's the laziest recipe I found for powdered detergent:

2c. Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

2c. of Baking Soda

2c. of Borax

1 bar of natural soap with no additives (I used Fels-Naptha laundry soap)

Just grate the soap with a cheese grater and then stir all the ingredients thoroughly. You only need 1-2 Tablespoons per wash load, so this will last for 80 loads of laundry....80.

Optional Fabric Softener:

White Vinegar (don't worry, it makes them soft and your clothes will not smell like salad)

Things to note:
- When I sat down to grate my Fels-Naptha soap, I was prepared for the long haul. I wore a plaid shirt, spoke in a southern drawl and channeled my inner Little House on the Prairie, but I easily grated a whole bar in 5-10 minutes. The soap is also a beautiful yellow color and smells fresh and clean. I'm weirdly excited to grate my next bar, but unless I just do one for fun, it's going to be a while.
- You really do only need 1-2 Tablespoons of this mixture...it's tempting to use more, but you just end up wasting it and needing an extra rinse cycle.
- I could not find the Super Washing Soda locally (apparently, it's sold at Walmart, but I refuse to shop there). I was able to purchase it through Amazon.
- Store-bought laundry detergent costs about 26¢ per load. With the ingredients listed above, this ends up being around 4¢ per load!

I don't know why I fought it for so long (other than the obnoxious amount of attention and popularity it received.) I have noticed no discernible difference in the freshness or cleanliness of my clothes when compared to my old detergent; it seems to work well! If you used a heavily-scented detergent, you might notice a difference, but the Fels-Naptha still gave it a light scent. So here's to grating soap and saving 22¢ every time you run the washer! :)