1. Cook rice. Boil 3 cups water-add rice and cook for 20minutes. Turn off heat, keep covered to steam done.
2. Meanwhile, in a food processor: chop up bread, transfer into a large bowl. (If you don’t have a food processor, chop in small pieces)
3. Repeat with nuts, adding to same bowl
4. Repeat with parsley, adding to same bowl
5. Repeat with onions, adding to same bowl
6. Mix all ingredients together, including rice. Put in glass baking dish and cover with foil.
7. Bake about 1hour at 400 degrees. Halfway through, mix and return to oven.

• 3 CUPS ALMONDS (I USE ROASTED UNSALTED)
• 5 DATES – PITTED
• 1 tsp. VANILLA

• 4 APPLES
• ½ CUP RAISINS
• 4 DATES – PITTED
• CINNAMON
• ½ tsp. VANILLA

CRUST

1. Add Almonds to Food Processor and chop til small.
2. Add pitted dates and vanilla and process til mixture binds.
3. You can add a Tablespoon or 2 of water if needed
4. Spread Mixture out into pie plate and press firmly along the bottom and sides
5. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes to set the crust.

FILLING

1. Quarter and core apples. You can leave skins on.
   Put in food processor using the shredder/grater attachment.
2. Move the apples to a bowl and squeeze out the excess juice into a glass. Drink it 🙂
3. Chop the raisins and dates in the processor. Add shredded apples, cinnamon and vanilla. Don’t over process or you’ll have applesauce~
4. After mixing, return to a bowl and mix a bit by hand to make it a consistent mixture.
5. Add apple mixture to pie crust and refrigerate for an hour or more.

Great with Whipped Cream or Ice Cream.

Enjoy~

My love affair with Yoga continues:

I’m so happy to have come to that place where I don’t have to be knocked around by every mishap, every plan gone awry.  Not to say I never get frazzled, annoyed, thrown off guard.  Probably many times a week, maybe even every day, but the way my body, mind and heart respond to the experience has dramatically changed over the years since yoga is an integral part of my everyday life.  The breath!  It is the key, bringing me back to center, an anchor, bringing a pillar of strength to my being.

Taking one long deep breath can bring me back to center, quiet the mind and bring me to a place of focus.  Sometimes when my mind is full of information, worry, planning, I can’t remember things, I can only access the first letter of a word or name I am trying to think of.  I begin to feel tense and blocked.  If I come back to my breath and simply notice it, lengthen it, notice the temperature, where it is in my body, my body and mind settle and things start to flow.  So simple, but yet, I often forget.  But I am fortunate to have the resource to remind myself; I call it remindfulness 🙂

 “Emotions come and go like clouds in a windy sky.  Conscious Breathing is my anchor.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh

In thinking about the New Year, I wanted to move beyond making a list of what I

would do or not do. While I think having goals is helpful, I feel concerned that I

sometimes create too many expectations, creating tension in my life.

Moving towards creating balance is my focus, being mindful of my habits and

shortcomings, while maintaining a sense of balance in my outlook towards myself

and others. Looking towards balance brings comfort and clarity, without a lot of

pressure. Returning to my breath, my center~

We spend a lot of time clinging to what we love and pushing away what makes us

uncomfortable. If we can find a balance between the two and soften our

expectations, we create less suffering in our lives.

I have begun to notice the ups and downs of my days and weeks as beautiful clouds

in the sky, passing by, without attachment, and it brings more balance to my days.

Tree Pose is a beautiful expression of balance; the sense of hovering in the center

and bringing our body and mind back to focus. It takes our full concentration and

sincerity to find balance in Tree Pose; or even to try to steady ourselves.

Try Tree Pose with your branches facing down in an upside down ‘V’ bringing more

of a broad foundation to your tree. Then slowly begin to raise your arms to a ‘T’,

palms facing up and perhaps eventually lifting them to the sky. Feel your center,

your strength, a sense of grounding yet reaching towards your hopes and dreams.

May all beings experience balance in life and feel a sense of stability, strength and

calm~

DRY INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup almond meal or almond flour
• 1 1/2 cup gluten-free rolled oats (or any oats if you’re not sensitive)
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup brown sugar or sugar of your choice
• 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
• 3 tablespoons mini dark chocolate chips (or finely chopped chocolate)
• 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda

WET INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon ground flax + 2 tablespoons water, mixed together
• 1/4 cup “drippy” raw almond butter (or other all-natural nut butter)
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Whisk together the ground flax and water in a small mug and set aside so it can gel up.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients.
4. In another medium sized bowl, stir together the wet ingredients, including the flax ‘egg’ until thoroughly combined.
5. Add the wet mixture on top of the dry mixture and stir well until combined. This will take quite a bit of stirring until all of the dry patches of flour are gone.
6. Portion small balls of dough (just smaller than golf balls) onto the baking sheet, spacing them a couple inches apart. I flatten them before baking
7. Bake cookies for 13-15 minutes until light golden brown on the bottom. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack until completely cool. The cookies will break apart easily until cooled, so be careful.

Enjoy~

SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE~

I love that I can see yoga bringing steadiness into my being not only in a cumulative way over time, but actually as I practice.  I find that in the beginning of my practice the dialogue is running pretty fast in my mind.  The ups and downs of my thoughts, planning, worrying, take me all over the map and create a bit of anxiety and body tension.  I keep coming back to my breath, move slowly and mindfully through the poses and before I know it I’m feeling steady and more balanced in my body and mind, and there is an absence of the ticker tape of the mind, I am in the zone and it brings calm and a smile to my face~

“Life is short, so we must move very slowly”  ~ Thai proverb

My love affair with Yoga continues:
I’m so happy to have come to that place where I don’t have to be knocked around by every mishap, every plan gone awry.  Not to say I never get frazzled, annoyed, thrown off guard.  Probably many times a week, maybe even every day, but the way my body, mind and heart respond to the experience has dramatically changed over the years since yoga is an integral part of my everyday life.  The breath!  It is the key, bringing me back to center, an anchor, bringing a pillar of strength to my being.
Taking one long deep breath can bring me back to center, quiet the mind and bring me to a place of focus.  Sometimes when my mind is full of information, worry, planning, I can’t remember things, I can only access the first letter of a word or name I am trying to think of.  I begin to feel tense and blocked.  If I come back to my breath and simply notice it, lengthen it, notice the temperature, where it is in my body, my body and mind settle and things start to flow.  So simple, but yet, I often forget.  But I am fortunate to have the resource to remind myself, I call it remindfulness~
“Emotions come and go like clouds in a windy sky.  Conscious Breathing is my anchor.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh

COMING BACK TO CENTER – PRESENT MOMENT

We often live in the cycle of ‘doing’ and spend less time ‘being’.

If we simply take a moment to notice the breath, truly noticing, the coolness as it comes in our nose, the warmth as it comes out the nose or the mouth, the heart lifting as we inhale, and the release on exhaling, we can truly experience a mindful moment and bring calm and awareness to our day and our life~

Paying attention to our life experience without judgment or expectation is a challenge, but so important to cultivate in order to live authentically.  When we push away discomfort, we can create more suffering, rather than noticing with an open heart. Like yoga, mindfulness is a practice we need to nurture, coming back to the present moment, the present experience, settling the wandering mind, quieting for even a moment~