Learning to Balance

Hi friends.

Back at it with the blog posts, and I mean I am really going to try harder this semester to get on here more often and throw some cool recipes and meaningful moments your way! I appreciate all of you who follow me, and for those who have just discovered my blog, welcome!

I’ve been a busy little bee over here once the semester started, and while it can be slightly (HA! slightly…) stressful, I’m learning to love being busy and eating up the empty time I have in-between my classes to study and be a part of more things here on my campus. I’m also starting my training for a half marathon this spring with my run club and I am OVERLY EXCITED FOR THAT (!!!!!!!!!!).

While all seems peachy, I’ve had some struggles this semester once again, and instead of hiding them I’d like to share what I’m experiencing and potentially help others who may be in the same boat as I am.

I touched on this last semester, but I am still struggling to find a happy medium here with food intake and how I respect my body. Unfortunately, I’ve reached some spells of negativity and found myself having a very hard time being in touch with my inner self. Not something I thought I’d be experiencing, as I was so excited to leave for college; but none the less, it is not something you can ignore or hide. It is what it is and this made me decide that my new year’s resolution was to move away from the eating habits I’ve developed and live more fully without dwelling on the past. It’s been a journey so far, and no, it is not easy to break habits I’ve built up…. but I guess I’m working on it.

Why do I bring this up?

I need to learn to balance things in my life better than I have, and I think that is something a lot of people can relate to. We (as in most of us) are constantly stuck in a fixed mindset that tells us right from wrong. In some cases, that’s great! You can’t go stealing things from Whole Foods! But in other cases, it may be apart of our demise. For myself, I know that is completely true, and it was very hard to come to terms with that.

I believe that my fixed mindset is a HUGE factor in why sometimes when the pizza comes out, I eat a lot more than feels okay in my body. I am constantly living in this world where I feel I need to be healthy ALL. THE. TIME. And then when I break that “rule”? Shit. Let’s get all the food down in one bite and go for more!

Let me tell you, that is NOT fun, and is NOT the way I have ever approached food. I love food, and I want to have a healthy relationship with it.

I guess here’s my point for this post: learn to love yourself and learn that every once in awhile it is okay to let go. A lot of times I feel like we get wrapped up in different things that surround us. The media, people who live near us, goals… and it’s hard when we feel like we aren’t perfect… But…. News Flash: we are not perfect. It is time to accept that. It is time we find a good balance. It is time that we love ourselves for even those small things we hate and it is time that we embrace body and mindful peace.

A challenge: break that “fixed mindset” once a day. See how good it feels, and try to incorporate it more. My goal? Leave it in the past for good. But for now, once a day seems reasonable.

Oh, and remember, balance your life, but also your relationship with food. Healthy, and not so healthy.

‘Cause pizza is reallllll good.

 

Chocolate Chickpea Bites

Hey all you people, hey all you people, hey all you people won’t you listen to meeeeeee????

GUYS, HI! It’s been a hot minute since I’ve written a post, created a funky recipe or even scrolled through the wonderful feed of WordPress… But here I am! I’m so excited to be back and I’m hoping to be a little more present this semester.

I just returned back to school from a LOVELY weekend break at home with my family. I hung out with my grandparents, was tackling by my adorable dogs and took some serious time to recollect and breathe before a month long stretch of school. Definitely needed!

Anyways, as I was home, my family and I decided to throw a small Super Bowl party consisting of… us! Yep, just us four and honestly, it was wonderful. My dad was screaming a lot (which is hilarious because he does NOT watch football unless he’s with my mom) and my dog Walter was mesmerized by the commercials and practically pressed his nose against the screen. ((ps- the Justin Timberlake commercial for Bai…. SWOON VILLE!)) We ordered pizzas, I made a veggie tray and homemade guac and we hung out together as one big Q fam…

I realized early on that we definitely needed a sweet after pizza ((I mean, come on, no dessert?!)) SO i decided to whip up a cute and easy little recipe for some tiny chocolate chip cookie bites using chickpeas and my favorite Enjoylife dairy-free chippies! SO simple, SO delicious, and SO healthy. BAM BABY.

They aren’t super sweet, but they give a good bite and satisfy your need for a little chocolate for sure.

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servings: 28 cookies 

prep time: 20 minutes 

cook time: 15 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1 Cup raw oats
• 1 can chickpeas (15 oz)
• 1/3 Cup raw cashews
• 1 very ripe banana
• 1/3 Cup pure maple syrup
• 1 pasteurized egg
• 1 Teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 Teaspoon baking powder
• 2 Tablespoons nut milk
• 1/2 Cup Enjoylife chocolate chips

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1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Blend together the raw cashews and chickpeas in a blender or food processor until the mixture becomes somewhat smooth.
3. Add in the oats, banana, extract, maple syrup, baking powder and egg as the processor is going. The mixture will become very thick (which is where the nut milk comes in!) and you may have to take some out and work in shifts.
4. Move the mixture once blended from the processor to a medium mixing bowl and add in the chocolate chips. Mix those babies in! You can also add some cacao powder to make chocolate bites, too!
5. Drop a tablespoon and a half of dough onto cookie sheets. You can press them down slightly for a cookie shape or leave them round for little bites.
6. Place cookie sheet in the oven for fifteen minutes; take them out and let them cool for two minutes.
7. DEVOUR!