Going Steady With Commitment

Funny how a single agreed upon date on the calendar can collectively move millions of people to decide to be, do and feel better.  What is so magical about January 1 energy?

At the beginning of every new year, people traditionally have looked themselves in the mirror and taken stock of their lives. And then resolve to create their best life this new year. A flurry of vision boarding, affirmation statements, exercising, self-help book reading, detoxing, meditating, and dieting begins.

This is the year I will try harder and stick with it no matter what!

And then slowly, as the excitement and brightness of the start of the new year fades into the everyday reality of living life, our resuscitated resolutions start to fade as well.

Forgot to pick up veggies to juice. Such a hard day at work cannot think about exercising. Oops, ate that bagel/chocolate bar/muffin/pizza slice. Lost it with the kids. Forgot to sit and meditate again. Cannot ever seem to remember to take those vitamins. I earned that glass of wine today.

Life can be busy, stressful and rushed. So often we feel pulled in ten different directions at once. And dumped on. A slip up or two seems to erase all of those good intentions we had going just a few weeks ago.

And when we slip up, we tell ourselves it’s just too hard. I’m not strong enough. I don’t care anyhow. Well, I tried. I just can’t seem to. I don’t have the time.

And we fall back into our old, comfortable, self-sabotaging habits.

Decided: this year will be different for me.

I am breaking up with “resolutions” and going steady with “commitment.”

Daily commitment. Hourly commitment. Commitment in this very moment.

Going steady with commitment means that I truly, deeply, soulfully want this for myself. And it allows me to be human. I know what my heart wants to accomplish this year. I’ve vision boarded it. I’ve written my goals and deadlines down on paper. I’ve told people about it – spoken it out loud. Now I get to choose to commit to it. And I am committed to it No Matter What!

My commitment to manifesting my desires is so strong that when I slip up it’s okay. I recommit in the very next breath and Go On! Some days are so smooth that I stand strong and I do all the necessary things to support what I’ve committed to and I glide toward my goals  Other days are messier and I may waver a couple of times when I needed to make wiser choices and then I stumble toward my goals.

But it’s all good because I keep moving forward and toward!

Happy, “Committed” 2014!

May all of your goals be reached one day, one hour, one moment at a time.

Live Long And Prosper Raw Veggie Noodles

Raw Coconut Aminos are a soy-free seasoning sauce and is slightly sweeter and milder than soy sauce. It’s made from the ‘sap’ of the nutrient-dense coconut and has 17 naturally occurring amino acids. It has a low glycemic level plus minerals, Vitamin C, B Vitamins and a nearly neutral pH level. So yum! If you cannot find it (please try – even Amazon carries it!)

In Chinese culture, noodles represent longevity since they are usually served in long strands. Cabbage represents prosperity and luck. Soba (buckwheat) noodles are traditionally eaten on New Years Eve in Japan. 

Wishing you a long, prosperous and healthy life! Happy New Year!

1 package (6.5 ounces) rice stick (maifun) noodles, soba noodles or brown rice spaghetti noodles

½ of a medium-sized cabbage, thinly shredded

¼ cup shredded basil leaves

3 small golden beets, shredded

1 red pepper, thinly sliced

6 scallions, thinly sliced

Spiced Noodle Dressing:

¼ cup olive oil

Juice from 1 lemon

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon s’chug (middle eastern red pepper spice paste) or 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste

5 tablespoons raw coconut amino acids (if substituting with Bragg’s or soy sauce, please add to taste)

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Garnish:

¼ cup sesame seeds, toasted in a dry skillet until just fragrant and golden

A handful of shredded basil leaves

How To Make Live Long And Prosper Raw Veggie Noodles:

Cook noodles until al dente or according to package directions. If using rice stick noodles, they just need to be soaked in warm water. Rinse noodles with cold water and drain. Set aside in a large bowl.

Add the prepared cabbage, basil leaves, beets, red pepper and scallions to the noodles and toss to combine.

Make the dressing by combining all of the dressing ingredients into a mixing bowl, whisking well to incorporate.

Pour the dressing over the noodle-vegetable mixture. Toss well to ensure dressing is thoroughly integrated. Taste and season with salt if desired.

Transfer to a lovely serving bowl. Sprinkle with the toasted sesame seeds and the additional shredded basil.

Makes 6 – 8 slippery, satisfying, delightfully spiced, crunchy servings!

 

 

 

 

 

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Deep

I’ve always been accused of being too serious; too “deep” by people my entire life. Somehow, I came into this world with a great soul-weight and gravitas.  Adults would look at the little girl me and say things like, “She would be so pretty if only she would smile!” I remember wondering why I couldn’t seem to laugh and do stupid things like so many of my friends enjoyed doing while we were growing up.

As an adult and a mom, I still tend to be solemn. There is so much sadness in the world, so many people to help, so many things I still want to accomplish. Thankfully – isn’t the Universe perfect? – I became a preschool teacher. The messiest, silliest, sparkles-always-stuck-to-her-skin kind of teacher.  And when I do laugh, it’s the laugh that has tears running down my cheeks!

I’ve made my peace with my earnestness. And I’ve found ways to balance it out. For me, that’s good enough.

Chocolate Cocoa Nib-Chia Seed Protein Bars

These bars are deeply chocolate-y and have a satisfying chew to them. Although the cocoa nibs are not sweet, somehow they almost taste like chocolate chips when they are mixed into the rest of the ingredients.

These bars are packed with vegan protein and fiber. The cocoa nibs are high in magnesium, iron, chromium and antioxidants. Chia seeds are a great source of Omega 3’s, fiber, antioxidants and minerals.

But most importantly, these taste even better than they look! Seriously 🙂

2 cups sunflower seed butter or almond butter

½ cup agave nectar or honey

5 individual packets of pure stevia

2 cups Arbonne Chocolate Protein Shake Mix

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

¼ cup Arbonne Fiber Boost

3 cups gluten-free oats

½  cup sliced almonds, if desired

¼ cup chia seeds

¼ cup to ½ cup water

½ cup cocoa nibs, divided in half

How To Make Chocolate Cocoa Nib-Chia Seeds Protein Bars:

Mix all of the ingredients – except the cocoa nibs – into a large mixing bowl in the order given.

Add in ¼ cup cocoa nibs. Stir. Add more water as needed so the mixture is still thick, but not too dry and/or crumbly.

Spoon this into a 13-inch by 9-inch baking pan.  With slightly wet hands, flatten mixture into the pan evenly.

Sprinkle the remaining cocoa nibs over the top and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Cut into bars of any size that suits you! Will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks. For longer storage, wrap each bar in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 2 months.

Makes: about 45 bars, depending on the size you choose to cut them into!

 

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Awaken Protein Shake

March 6, 2013

  Simple Knowing Some mornings you just know you need something  nourishing to make your cells sing and your soul awaken to the beautiful potential of the day. This was it for me today. I humbly share it with you. With love and gratitude. Xo T Awaken Protein Shake 1 cup of water (I use […]

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Healthy Yum Chocolate Pudding

February 13, 2013

Trust I recently saw a post on FaceBook that said something like “Sometimes the only transportation available is to take a leap of faith!” That rings true to me, especially lately. When Life and Circumstances lead me to a place that I know is the precipice to another level of helpful growth, sometimes fear sets […]

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“Carrot Cake” Protein Bars

February 10, 2013

The 70’s Revisited The 70’s were a great time for me to be growing up. The public school education system had plenty of money and funded fabulous learning trips, speakers and in-school programs. My teachers were allowed to teach creatively. One of them played Simon and Garfunkel, Beatles and Neil Young songs in class to […]

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Lentil Soup with Smoky Onions

February 2, 2013

Change I now love and appreciate the magical way orangey-red lentils turn a golden hue when they are cooked. However, it did take me a while to get to that place of love! I vividly remember the first time I cooked red lentils – I was surprised and disappointed by their transformation. I had expected […]

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Strawberry-Almond Protein Bars for Valentine’s Day

January 29, 2013

Loving For me, the challenge with having a special day to celebrate love is to not have it seem forced or unnatural. With all this “love attention” magnified on only one day out of the entire year, things can get a little unbalanced. Sure, it’s great to cook a special meal or go out for […]

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Vegan “Cream” Of Mushroom Soup

January 15, 2013

Comfort I associate mushrooms with comfort food. And with my dad. He would make delicious sautéed mushrooms and onions to heap onto grilled steaks. He pickled mushrooms with garlic, made thyme-mushroom omlettes and reconstituted dried mushrooms to add to his mushroom-barley soup. His soup was great, but I naively preferred the canned version of mushroom […]

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Harvest Lasagna with Pumpkin Bechamel

November 24, 2012

Traditions I adore traditions! The memories, feelings and scents they hold – the tastes, familiarity and comfort. For me, all of those things wrapped up in a tradition. But what do you do when you or your life’s circumstances have changed and you can no longer “do tradition” as you used to? Such was my […]

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Thanksgiving Protein Shake

November 24, 2012

Grateful Imagine – we’ve created a national holiday as a time to sit and reflect on all that is right and good in our lives, our family, our community and our world! A time to acknowledge that although we each may have our personal struggles, there are also people and events and things that we […]

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