Raw Snickers Bar

I love baking sugar laden cakes, scrumptious desserts and fat filled treats, yet I never eat them. You could call me some what of a 'feeder' as I love to cook and bake for other people but not myself. 

I decided to make this Donna Hay Raw Snickers Bar as a way to create a delicious treat that I would actually eat. This was the perfect treat to curb my mid afternoon cravings as well as sticking (roughly) to my healthy eating habits. This recipe is gluten free, lactose free and refined sugar free (depending on what chocolate you choose).

Although this recipe is 'healthier' than that of a cream filled sponge cake, be mindful that it would still be classified as a 'sometimes food' and wouldn't recommend eating the whole batch at once.  The good fats from the natural peanut butter, and high sugar levels from the dates and organic chocolate, making it quite calorie dense. Nonetheless, prepare yourself for mouth-wateringly, orgasmic goodness.

ENJOY

xx

INGREDIENTS 

400g Fresh Dates, Pitted

1/3 Cup Natural Smooth Peanut Butter 

2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

1 Cup Puffed Brown Rice 

1/2 Cup Unsalted Roasted Peanuts, Roughly Chopped

80g Raw Organic 70% Dark Chocolate, Melted

METHOD

Place the dates, peanut butter and vanilla in a food processor. Process for 2-4 minutes or until the mixture comes together to form a paste

Place the date mixture, puffed rice and peanuts in a large bowl and mix to combine

Press the mixture into a lightly greased pan lined with non-stick baking paper

Melt the chocolate over hot water and be careful not to burn

Once melted, pour the melted chocolate over the date mixture. Spread evenly with a knife

Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes or until set

Remove from the pan, slice into piece using a hot knife and keep refrigerated until ready to serve. 

Recipe not created by myself. Find original recipe here 

You are the difference

So, far we’ve been told where to be and what to do every second of our life - everything we have ever known our whole life has been outlined for us. If we try to break out from this - we are disciplined. We have created a system which runs us, although we don’t rule the system anymore, the system rules us. 

So now we are trained to be fearful of being different. The funny thing is we are all so different, yet we are all trying to be the same, not out of choice but out of fear. So where are we now? We are at the end of our schooling life and what paths do we have laid out ahead of us? University or a job… nothing else. That’s it. Anything else isn’t supported or allowed. So we decide what the outcome of our life will be at 17 years old.

So where to next? Well this is the real catch - I am willing to offer you 3 million dollars - but here comes the truth no one wants you to know, or they hope you will overlook. I’ll give you 3 million dollars but you have to give me 50 years of your life. You wouldn’t take it and I doubt many would. So then… why do you? You accept what you’re told and you get a job, you work for an average wage for the rest of your life and then you realise you’re now 67 years old. You have a little bit of money saved, but your life expectancy has increased dramatically. You can’t retire so you work another 10. You are now 77 and are thinking of retiring. You check your savings and see what you can spare each year until you are 90. You are just surviving, for the rest of your life.

Now you’ve reached your final few hours. You’re on your death bed and if you are lucky, you are surrounded by your family. You are so thankful of all the times you had and the family you raised. This is the pure joy of life and the whole point of it. In your last few hours you realise, you spent 90% of your life, living in your office, worrying about paying for your bills, scared of speaking out for fear that people may ridicule you. So ultimately you’ve spent your life fearful. Fearful of what might happen, what might not happen and what has happened. 

We believe we have choice, but we don’t - but you don’t know this. The world is being run to profit the few and deny the many. Your whole life you have been tricked into idolising things which are in fact of no value to the human race or this planet. But you think if you achieve money, social status, becoming better than your neighbour, you’ll be happy. You’re lying there in tears because you realise that the only time you should have been comparing yourself to your neighbour was to see if they were in fact okay. You then realise you are still stuck in this mind frame they bred into you. You shouldn’t have only focused on your neighbour but on the planet and everything on it. We have a responsibility to the planet to take care of it and give back more than we take, but we are out of balance. The planet is dying and so are you and you realise there is nothing you can do about it. Your time is running out and you look back and realise that you never completed your life purpose. Then you remember that you’re not dead yet. With what little energy you have left, you write a small but powerful note to those who have not been awakened.

So what will your note say?

-Em Carey

The person who wrote this wonderful piece is Em Carey and she has encompassed all I am feeling in several paragraphs. I have been reading it over and over again. Continuing to ask myself, what will my note say? 

Winter Warmer - Pumpkin Soup

It may not be every ones cup of tea, but the good old faithful pumpkin soup is hard to pass on a cold, rainy day. I've recently been battling a temperature and a sore throat so I thought what better way to nourish my body then with a bowl full of pumpkin and sweet potato. My pumpkin soup recipe is so healthy and filling making it my go to, quick, easy and oh so delicious winter meal.  

INGREDIENTS 

1 1/2 Sweet potato

1/3 large butternut pumpkin 

3 cloves of garlic 

Coconut Oil 

Vegetable stock

Pinch of cinnamon 

Pinch of nutmeg

METHOD

Peel the sweet potato and pumpkin. Cut into small pieces. 

Scatter the sweet potato and pumpkin on a baking tray. 

Peel the garlic cloves and add to the baking tray. 

Drizzle with coconut oil and pop into the oven at about 180C

After approximately 40 minutes the sweet potato and pumpkin should be soft and fragrant.

Once soft, add the pieces to a large pot. Pour in vegetable stock and add cinnamon and nutmeg and place over heat. 

Bring to the boil and cook for approximately 15 minutes.

Once all flavours have combined and heated through, take the pot off heat. 

Leave to cool for a little bit.

Once the mixture has cooled, use a blender or thermomix to blend into a smooth mixture.

Serve with a sprinkle of spring onion, cheese and a dash of sour cream (if you aren't vegan).

Sooo DELICIOUS. 

This is the type of meal that I make up on the spot and don't measure. So if you are after more flavour add extra cinnamon and nutmeg, cook the sweet potato and pumpkin with onion or add more vegetables to the mix. If you want a thinner soup just add more stock or water to the mix and this will add more moisture to the soup. 

CAKE FACE

I caught a taxi the other night and struck up a conversation with the lovely man driving the cab. We spoke for the 20 minutes it took to get me home. He spoke fondly of his wife and family, I spoke of my night and my plans for the weekend. Very casual, idle chit chat, but it was nice to connect with a complete stranger who you knew was a kind, generous soul. As I was hopping out of the taxi he said 'are you from here, Sydney I mean?'. I told him that I wasn't and he said 'I can tell, please don't let this place change you.' I walked the rest of the way home with his statement going round and round in my head.

I have always been one of those people who says good morning to every random stranger that walks past or is happy to strike up a conversation with anyone. Always happy to offer a helping hand or to meet new people. I found the taxi drivers comment distressing because it meant that to him, I was a minority. To him most people were the opposite, cold, distant and not eager to go out of their way to be kind. 

I felt so disheartened by this. Happy that he thought well of me, but disheartened that there were so many individuals out there who were the opposite. I was sad in human kind for the way we have become. That a simple small thing for someone is now viewed as a hassle; to be kind to a stranger is now few and far between. 

So when I went to coffee the other day I was so surprised when the waiter gave me free cake. The man had no hidden agenda it was just a beautiful sunday morning and he felt like being selfless and providing myself and my friend with cake. Immediately my spirits soared and my faith was once again restored in human kind. I know what you are probably thinking 'is this chick on crack, he gave her some cake' but it is about more than the cake. It is about doing a nice gesture that you as an individual gain nothing from. It is about being kind without receiving any benefits from your kindness. Instead of doing something out of selfishness this was an act purely out of compassion. 

To the man at the coffee shop you will never know just what that piece of cake meant. Other than it being absolutely delicious (summer bod you can wait) it showed me that there are still people out there willing to do things for others without benefit for themselves. Thanks Mr cake man.

XOXO

SENSITIVE RESOLUTIONS

I am constantly searching for inspiration and motivation, regularly scrolling through pages of novels and websites for people, places and things that stimulate me. Last week I was doing just that and came across health and wellness blogger, Caroline Groth. I get so excited when I come across someone with a love of life, a deep honesty for hardships but an overall positive energy; Caroline is all of those things and more. Oh and did I mention her love for my favourite meal of the day, breakfast?!

I spent the day scrolling through each post, ‘stalking’ her Instagram, envying her amazing outlook on life, epic food posts and loving all the thoughts she cared to share with her followers. There was one Instagram photo (I can’t remember what it looked like probably some amazing photo of her in a tricky Yoga pose or of her delicious breakfast), anyway, the photo was followed by the following caption:

'I used to dislike being sensitive. I thought it made me weak. But take away that single trait, and you take away the very essence of who I am. You take away my conscience, my ability to empathize, my intuition, my creativity, my deep appreciation of the little things, my vivid inner life, my keen awareness to others pain and my passion for it all. Love who you are and every little bits that come with it'

This one post connected with me immediately as I am one sensitive soul. Like Caroline, I hated being sensitive and often viewed it as an extremely negative attribute to have, that was until I read this! I can say with complete honesty that yes sometimes I am WAY to sensitive, but her words made me take on a different approach towards my sensitive nature. Instead of viewing it negatively I could now see that this one trait did provide me with so many other things that I overlook. My empathy for others, my intuition into how people are feeling, my love for all things, my ability to understand and my passion for love and life.

I was dumbfounded that a single paragraph could change my whole outlook on the person I am. This has taught me to always keep my mind open to knew interpretations and everything can be made into a positive, we just have to see it that way.   

Check out Caroline's blog Greener Resolutions, and please note all images were taken from her personal Instagram which can be found here.