Anger Management and Enlightenment on a Plate

I work out 4-5 times a week yet the weighing scale is slowly sliding upwards this month - I blame it on water retention, then stress and then lack of sleep...but in my heart of hearts I know it is my love of all things sweet and carbs ( read : rice)...this week saw me buying dessert by the truck load : Rubicon Carrot Cake , Beckmann's Bearclaw and the famous Beckmann's Cinnamon Roll ...the siren call of sugar the last two weeks has been irresistible. So, even though tomorrow I plan to start being firmer in saying  "No to dessert" for the month... I have with me a "goodbye for now" slice of carrot cake to tide me over...omigod...the frosting on the cake should be outlawed...it is that good !!!

Some things have put me on short fuse this week - boxed perceptions, implicit put-downs, etc. etc...I remind myself a million times that I shouldn't get angry, but when the emotion comes it comes. I understand anger is a manifestation of all things negative, a distortion of my true nature - yes I know the consequences are most harmful to but one person - me. Most of my anger is on past actions/events...reality is does it really help to waste emotions on something which cannot be altered...I tell myself to Be in the Present Moment (not lament past decisions). About 8 years back I had attended a seminar on Art of Living. One of the things taught was - For every rhythm in the mind, there is a corresponding rhythm in the breath and for every rhythm in the breath there is a corresponding emotion. So, when you cannot handle your mind directly, you can handle it through breath...I am conscious about breathing my mind calm. I wish I  could say I am 100% there but the truth is this is  work in progess.

Tomorrow is Poornima and I will remake this wonderful "Good Karma Porridge" for the Fam. Here is how it looks

To make it you need :

• 1/2 Cup Organic Quinoa (wash a couple times in cold water and keep aside)
• 1 large Organic sweet potato  
• 1 Cup Trader Joe's Vanilla Coconut Milk
• Organic Sweetened Coconut Cream (to thicken)
• Raw Sugar ( to taste) 

Boil the sweet potato ( 3-5 minutes). In parallel cook the quinoa in the vanilla coconut milk (10-12 minutes)

 Mash the sweet potato into the cooked quinoa. Now add 2-3 tablespoons of Organic sweetened coconut cream (adjust based on how sweet and creamy you want your pudding). Add sugar if desired.

Eat hot or cold - but remember to sprinkle liberally - toasted walnuts and cranberries. Enjoy for breakfast or as a healthy guilt free dessert. It is your good karma that you discovered this ancient Incan grain...savor

I am posting this recipe for my father...who saw the picture and asked me at least 5 times for the recipe (picture is taken on my camera phone)

So how is the week  treating you thus far? 

Unseemly Taste & a Tiring day...

A long long day...brown bag lunch for K2 for a field trip, a car to be serviced, a spreadsheet to rebuild, a sweaty Zumba class...and I was looking forward to relaxing to a Farro Salad at Pasta Pomodaro...but my precocious son threw me a curve ball...Ma, how about we eat at home? The kid who probably single-handedly kept Pasta Pomodaro afloat was saying No to eating there...

We went to Whole Foods - I grabbed yet  another dozen of the Think Thin Bars, a clamshell of Organic Spinach when I felt an insistent tug...my son was pulling me toward the cheese section (Paul - the awesome cheese dude) - this is where he gets to take a tour of the world of cheese...his favorite kind Blue Cheese. P gave him the stinkiest of them all - roaring forties...not only did K2 finish a big chunk, he charmed P into "gifting" him a chunk of cheese - need I say I was impressed.

The past three days have been filled with sleepless nights and busy days...so most of the time my mind just wants to go blank....so what better way to decompress than a mindless romance novel...so my self-education for the past 2 nights has been this racy book - Love is Murder...want to judge me go ahead...but it has been so fabulous reading a book without thinking about it...

 

My Ma's first question to me was - what did you eat? For K2 and me, I made today a 10 minute stew with Soofoo (it has barley, black lentils, green lentils, brown lentils, Buckwheat, Brown Rice, Oats, Rye Berries, Wheat Berries), Opo Squash laced with ginger and shallots -- cooked in a tomato base. K2 seems to love this weird one pot dish which is awesome.

What else is moving and shaking in my world? I constantly get haunted by the verse from Frost's poem -

The woods are lovely, dark and deep, 

But I have promises to keep, 

And miles to go before I sleep, 

And miles to go before I sleep...

Yet for tonight I will settle for but one night of deep, worry-free sleep.