Tag Archives: breakfast

the weekend nurture menu: easy as she goes

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[As always, gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined-sugar-free!]

When you’re faced with one of the big challenges of your life, you must remember the practices that make you healthy and happy.

Thus far, studying for the bar exam is one of the biggest challenges of my life. Not only is the studying a challenge, but maintaining balance, keeping up with other commitments, and practicing my values is where I come up against the hurdles.

One of the most important lessons: life does not have to be so difficult and if you’re making it more difficult, why? While challenge is essential for a life of learning and growth, sometimes you have to give yourself a break.

This weekend, I thought it was important to give myself a break, still maintaining my balance. With only six ingredients, this salad is super easy! Also, I adore these colors. When you’re staring at black and white for 15 hours a day, red, yellow, and green have never been so beautiful.

tomato, avocado, and white bean salad
about 3-4 servings

  • 1/3 c quinoa, rinsed
  • 2 avocados, cubed
  • ½ bunch of cilantro, chopped
  • 1 lime
  • 15oz can organic white kidney beans, rinsed
  • 1 c organic cherry tomatoes (red, yellow, or both), halved
  • salt and pepper
  1. Boil 2/3 c water in a medium saucepan.
  2. While the water is boiling, toast the quinoa in a dry skillet over high heat. When you hear the quinoa start to pop, pour into the boiling water. [Keep an eye on the quinoa so it doesn’t burn.] Cover and let simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes.
  3. Put the cubed avo in a medium bowl with the cilantro and lime.
  4. Fold in the beans, tomatoes, and quinoa. Add salt and pepper to taste.

sweet and easy…

Not only are these cookies easy to make, but they’re easy to grab and go! While I regularly start my day with an alkaline green smoothie, that is not the easy that I’m looking for this week. Sometimes you need a quick, delicious, and nutritious treat to motivate you… This is it!

Per usual, modify the ingredients to your senses. Try different types of fruit and nuts and enjoy every second of your creativity!

blueberry coconut pecan breakfast cookies
About 15 cookies

  • 1 1/2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
  • 1 c unsweetened coconut flakes
  • 1 tablespoon golden flaxmeal
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 c coarsely chopped pecans
  • 1/2 c dried blueberries
  • 3 very ripe bananas, mashed
  • 1/4 c coconut oil, warm enough to be liquid
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup, grade B
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • coconut oil cooking spray
  1. Preheat oven to 350°. Coat baking sheet with cooking spray.
  2. Combine oats, coconut, flaxmeal, salt, pecans, and blueberries.
  3. Mix bananas, oil, maple syrup, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
  4. Flatten 2 tablespoons of mixture onto baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes or until fragrant and golden. Cool on pan.

[adapted from kumquatblog.com]

Know that you don’t have to make your life so hard… easy as you go.

Happy eating, happy life!

xo, S

practice empowerment… mind, body, and soul

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People often say to me, “Saren, you have such a positive outlook.” I usually give them a funny look. I respond, “No, I don’t practice positive thinking. I practice empowered thinking.”

Being positive means looking at the bright side–finding the silver lining. While sometimes useful, if you want to watch the sunrise, but you’re facing west, no amount of positive thinking will get you to see the sun. In contrast, if you look at the situation and say, “What can I learn? What is the lesson here?” you go from not seeing the sunrise, to learning, feeling empowered, and getting something out of the situation no matter what.

You always have a choice: be a victim or feel empowered.

From stubbing your toe (which just happened!) to your fiancé breaking off the engagement, you can wallow in what happened “to you”–taking it as a personal affront of your worth… OR you can turn it around by asking how it can be a blessing. (Yes, stubbing your toe CAN be a blessing to learn about your reactions.)

Never let setbacks and challenges turn into a reflection of your worth. This is a victim illusion. Whether you’ve tapped into it or not, there is a source of abundance inside of you. When you use what the universe has given you to find or further your abundance, you stop taking things as such heart-wrenching personal afflictions. Positive thinking will then come naturally and you will feel incredibly powerful.

By empowering yourself, you begin to see that EVERYTHING that happens to you is actually happening to make you a better person. These things, big or small, are not meant to break you. The universe will not give you anything you cannot handle. No, these experiences are meant to help teach you who you are!

Empowering your mind should go hand-in-hand with empowering your body and soul. Here is a recipe that helps with my empowerment…

lemon apple cake (Vegan, Gluten Free, No Added Sugar)
serves 8-10

Dry

almond meal

  • 1½ cup Spelt Flour
  • ¼ flaxseed meal
  • ¾ cup almond meal (or use the leftover almonds from your almond milk)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp allspice

Wet

  • 1½ cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1 cup unsweetened almond milk (or other non dairy milk) mixed with 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar (this makes a buttermilk)
  • 2 tbsp grade B maple syrup

Add-ins

  • 4 large apples, peeled and cored. 1 apples sliced, 3 apples cut into small chunks
  • 1 cup raisins
  • 1 cup pecans
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Generously coat a pan with baking spray. You can either use a spring-form pan and put the toppings top or use a non-spring form pan and line the toppings on the bottom.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the lemon zest to the flour and mix it together with your fingers to release the lemon flavor; Add raisins and pecans and stir until well coated and evenly distributed; set aside.
  3. In another large bowl whisk together the wet ingredients. Add dry ingredients and stir delicately with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until well incorporated. Fold in the apple chunks.
  4. Pour the batter into your prepared ring pan.
  5. Practice mind empowerment.
  6. Bake in the middle of the oven  for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow cake to cool for 5-10 minutes then remove from pan and cool completely on a cooling rack.

“Be thankful, thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire.  If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don’t know something, for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.  During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations, because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for your mistakes.  They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you are tired and weary, because it means you’ve made a difference.

It is easy to be thankful for the good things.  A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are also thankful for setbacks.

Find a way to be thankful for your troubles and they can become your blessings.“