It’s actually raining here on the Central Coast as I write this and for once, it’s lasting more than just a mere five minutes. In the background, there are police sirens blasting, heading to accidents because California people do NOT know how to drive in the rain! Having lived on both the East Coast and in the Midwest, I thought I had had my fair share of rain but after not having any and living through the worst drought in history, I’ll admit I pray for rain daily. My rain buckets are sitting outside anxiously awaiting to be filled so that I can recycle that water and use it to feed my plants, avocado and orange tree, and for my dogs to take swigs of each time they pass by!
Andy and I also started placing a large bucket in the shower to collect the cold water as it begins to heat up, right before we get it. It’s amazing how many inches of water you can collect in less than 30 seconds! So when it’s not raining, we’re still saving a bunch of water by collecting the overflow from the shower and of course by drinking wine instead of water! I listened to the most fascinating NPR story the other morning about how it takes one gallon of water to produce one almond and for every one pound of beef, 2500 gallons of water. That puts it all in perspective if you ask me.
Saving water, one drop at a time!
To survive the drought people need to be worrying about what they eat in addition to how long our showers are, how many times were flush the toilet and how much water we consume to clean our dishes and to launder our clothes. As a California resident, I take the responsibility of conservation very seriously and I want you to share your drought efforts with me so I have some new ideas! I’m loving just sitting here and listening to the rain as I write… rarely do I get to hear that precious sound!
I’m being completely selfish today and baking cookies for myself. Yup. You read right! Don’t hate me, but because the sun is like always shining here, I feel guilty when I’m not outside and taking full advantage of the day. The old me who hated the Chicago winters would want this for the Cali me so I’m fulfilling the promise! But today, it feels different. The sky is gray, the rain is heavy and loud and all I feel like doing is baking and reading and drinking tea, in that order!
I wanted to make a cookie recipe that’s for every Body, like yoga. You knew there would be a tie in to yoga now didn’t you? A friend of mine posted a picture of a cheesy pizza she was making the night before practicing with my friend and the very talented Ashtanga teacher Kino MacGregor and I couldn’t believe she would and could brave that kind of meal before getting up at the crack of dawn to do the Primary Series, shock full of twists and forward bends. Gas anyone?!! I would have skipped the pizza and had a salad with some healthy cookies for dessert. (And yes, healthy cookies do exist… we’re getting to that!)
I know we’ve talked before about eating foods that support your practice and lifestyle so you’re not the gassy girl on the purple mat tooting away or the yoga teacher who is crop dusting the room as she walks around it. The same goes for dessert and after dinner snacks… and yes, I occasionally snack after dinner. Why lie? Sometimes dinner isn’t filling enough or I’ve had a day that was so busy I didn’t have time to eat much or I know I won’t be able to sleep if I’m thinking about having a piece of chocolate. I’m human and so are you so stop feeling guilty when you’re a little bit hungrier than you usually are!
So back to cookies, I made this recipe today using the stuff in my pantry since I’m not going anywhere in the rain… I’m enjoying staying inside for once! This cookies have NO sugar, NO butter, NO eggs, NO gluten and NO dairy. Basically they’re a NO BRAINER kind of cookie if you ask me… they’re begging to be eaten and enjoyed without guilt! Just a few side notes: I used gluten free rolled oats but you can use regular oats too. Also, I was out of vanilla extract so I used almond extract instead… so much tastier, I have to admit! If you have any laying around, try the substitution!
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NO Brainer Cookies- makes 18-20
Ingredients:
-3 ripe bananas
-2 cups rolled oats (I used gluten-free)
-1/4 cup almond butter or peanut butter
-1/4 cup almond or coconut milk
-2 packets of Trader Joe’s Handful of Nuts (or use any nuts)
-1 tsp almond extract
-1 tsp of cinnamon and nutmeg
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven. If you are using frozen bananas, defrost in the oven before using.
2. Add all of the ingredients to a large bowl and mix well.
3. Then, using a potato masher, add in the bananas and mash up.
4. Using a spoon, scoop small balls onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
5. Bake for 20 minutes. Enjoy these moist and good for everybody/ every Body cookies!
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Before I go, let’s talk books, because today a reader, tomorrow a leader! I just finished Folly by Susan Minot, one of my favorite writers ever. Her writing style is unlike anyone else’s I’ve read and this story takes place in New England just before the war when men were being shipped off and promising girls they would come back for them. It was a sad love story about two people who you think are destined to be with each but can’t seem to make it work.
Secondly, I’ve just finished the audio version of Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air about his courageous and horrifying climb to the summit of Mount Everest in 1996 and the many lives the mountain took due to ice storms and lack of experience. I didn’t know that such climbs are made possible because of supplemental oxygen and the use of sherpas. I feel like I learned so much about climbing from this memoir and to hear the experience first hand from his own voice made it that more intense.
Lastly, I’ve just started listening to The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls and I am hooked and finding every excuse to listen to it, like while I was baking cookies this afternoon! Her parents were a whack job and I find myself laughing, yelling and gasping out loud as I listen. One minute she’s three-years-old and cooking hot dogs by herself, another minute her body has caught fire and her mother is too busy painting to notice.. it’s unreal, scary and a remarkably gutsy story to tell and share.
