Super Cookies for Super People

I've been seeing a lot of healthy cookies or cookies to snack on after yoga or a great workout floating around the interweb, so I've decided to jump on the make-you-feel good cookies boat and create some! These cookies are amazingly yummy and are great as a snack or an after-school treat. They're gluten-free, vegan and super healthy!! :)

Ingredients:

1 cup of rolled oats

1 cup of quinoa flakes

3/4 cup of shredded coconut

1 flax or chia egg ( 1 and a half tablespoon of chia or flax with 3 and a half tablespoons of water, leave it for a while to let it do its thing) or 1 egg if you ain't veggo :)

80g of coconut oil

any amount of your choice of sweetener

miscellaneous add-ins such as crushed almonds, cacao nibs, chocolate chips etc..

What to do?

Pre-heat the oven to 160 degree celsius.

Mix everything up in a bowl!

Let the mixture sit for a bit.

Squish them into tiny balls and flatten them onto a baking sheet. (I made 12 sort of big cookies)

Stick them in the one for 15-20 minutes.

Let cool and enjoy!

xoxo!

Super Late New Year Takeaways 2013

During the New year, my family and I went to a beautiful resort for to unwind and relax. During this time, I got the opportunity to reflect and think about some things. I wrote them down in a notebook and stashed it in my bag. Just a few days ago, it fell out of that bag while I was rummaging through it and thought I should share them.

Before I write about what my reflections and take-homes were, it would make a lot more sense if I described that time of year for me to you. During that year, I was taking AP (advanced placement) world history and had signed up for drama and a sport after school. We do things differently at here at our school. It ends at 3.45pm and sports or any other after school activities starts at 4 and ends at 5 or 6. My family and I would have dinner at around 6.30 and get home at around 8. This leaves me barely enough time to do my homework and study as well as I'd like to, and if I did study and do my homework with effort, I usually ended up staying up 'till 12 or 1 in the morning. AP world history takes me about 2 hours. Plus my other subjects took a while to do too. In the mornings, I'd throw in a bit of yoga to chill out otherwise I'd go crazy from all the work, meaning I'd get up earlier than everyone else. It was tough, though I managed to get through it. 

I learnt a lot about myself during that year. What I could accomplish and what I had to let go to do better in other areas. One of the things I found myself doing a lot was taking a step back and breathing. When you feel as if you're drowning in a pile of work, take a step back a breathe. Take five minutes off whatever you're doing and take deep breaths. Think how you're going to get through this, let go of unimportant things and work you can do later. Ask yourself why you chose to do this in the first place, and if your answer is because you had no choice, then think how it can benefit you. Put yourself in the shoes of a 3-year old. They are curious, alert and they think they are on top of the world and that everything is about them. 

The second thing I learnt was that when you do things with ease and listen to your body, everything works out in the end. My new friend and favorite yogi Tara Stiles and her husband Mike Taylor are always saying how working with ease is always the way to go. When you work with ease and listen to your body, you will see how things are for you not against you. At the beginning of the year, I started out as the kind of person who had to finish things to the end no matter what. I ignored my body telling me to rest and forced myself to sit for hours studying and finishing my homework. In the end, I was tired and frustrated because I did not understand a single thing. When you work with ease and listen to your body, you'll find its super responsive to everything you do. It will tell you to stop and go do something else, or it might nudge you on and tell you to finish whatever it is you are doing. In the middle of the year, I made a promise to myself that I will tune in and listen to my body from now on. At the beginning it was weird, because I was taking a lot more breaks than usual. I was not used to being free, so I was still a little shaky. In the end, I found that I got a lot more done efficiently. I understood more things and realized I did not need to spend so much time understanding concepts. 

The last thing I took away from that year was to just enjoy life. You only live once and why not enjoy the life you have now? I realized I was being too strict with myself, I wasn't giving myself any time to unwind and take it all in. I was always overwhelmed with projects, whether they were required or whether they were just things I wanted to go over because I wasn't sure I would understand them. During that time, I was also super picky with my food. I was a health nut. Seriously. Going out for meals with my family was tough for me as we usually went to restaurants that cooked not-so-good for you meals. It was during this time I learnt that eating something unhealthy does not mean its the end of the world. Treating yourself once in a while is a way of saying thanks to your body. By doing this, you're allowing yourself freedom, and when you're free, you'll feel as if nothing is holding you back from anything you want to do. Feeling good and giving yourself the opportunity to connect you back to you is one of the greatest things you can do for yourself no matter where you are. It helps you accomplish more things and at the same time, why wouldn't you want to know yourself? You're great just the way you are!! :) 

Here are some pictures from the resort we went to!

xoxo

Vegan Chocolate Mud Cake

Chocolate has been my go-to comfort food for as long as I can remember. I love chocolate, especially chocolate flavored treats. When I was little, I remember during Christmas or any birthday party events, I'd skip meals just so I could dive straight to the dessert table and gorge myself with anything chocolate related! My favorite were mud cakes. My moms friend knew I had a weakness for them, and she would bake the most decadent, chocolate-y, moist mud cake to bring to birthday parties or get-togethers.

Mud cakes aren't very good for you as they contain lots of butter, sugar, and cream. It usually leaves you feeling heavy, sick and uncomfortable, though I did not mind that feeling once upon a time. A week ago, I craved that chocolate-y goodness and found a lightened up vegan recipe that turned out super wonderful and reminded me of the mud cakes my moms friend made!!

Ingredients:

1 cup coconut oil

400g dark vegan chocolate (or normal dark chocolate if you aren't concerned with it being vegan)

3/4 cuppa coconut sugar (or whatever sugar you have on hand)

1 cup of water

1/4 cup of orange juice

3/4 cup of flour

3/4 cup of self-raising flour

1 cup of cacao powder

3 egg replacers (I used 4 tablespoons of chia seeds mixed with ground flaxseeds)

1/2 cuppa almond cream, or coconut cream, or regular cream. (Whatever cream you can get your hands on!)

What to do?

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celcius.

Melt 200 grams of chocolate, add in your sugar, juice and coconut oil. Leave it for a bit to cool.

Combine your flours, cacao powder and egg replacers.

Pour in your chocolate-y mix and fold it in.

Pour into an 8-inch pan and bake until toothpick comes out clean! (I forgot to check how long I baked mine for but I think it was approximately 20 minutes, sorry!!)

Take the cake out and let it cool while you make the ganache.

Melt the rest of the chocolate with the cream and pour it over your cake. Decorate with whatever pretty tidbits you have around! I used almonds, cacao nibs, macadamias and bee pollen.

Enjoy!! xoxo