Love and Lemon Bars🍋💕

I think homemade food is one of the greatest gifts of love there is. We have almost completely lost touch with cooking and baking from scratch because of how our lifestyles have progressed. It’s sad to me that kids now think cookie dough comes in a plastic tube from the grocery shelf. Or that soup comes from a can or box. When we prepare food for ourselves or for others we are literally putting our energy into the food. That’s why a home-cooked meal can feel so comforting. Especially when it’s made for us by someone we love.

On Mother’s Day I packed up all of the ingredients to make lemon bars and took them to my mom’s house. I know she loves them and I wanted her house to smell good from the baking. This was my gift to her and I poured love into every step.

  
It wasn’t long until my boyfriend started bugging me to make him his own lemon bars. He requested several times and because I love him I made them yesterday just for him. I am not even eating them right now because I’m on a clean 2 week meal plan.

Baking has always been therapy for me. It’s meditative and consuming. It’s hard to worry about “big stuff” when you are measuring out spoonfuls of powder and mixing up yellow batter to a frothy foam.

This recipe is super simple and basic. Real ingredients, real lemons, real love

  
Base:

1 cup flour

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Combine and press into an 8×8 baking pan. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes

Filling:

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

Juice of one whole lemon

1 tablespoon lemon zest- use a grater lightly over washed lemon skin

pinch of baking powder

Pour over crust and bake 20-25 minutes until golden. Lightly sprinkle top with powdered sugar.

Finding Balance ……and Berries🍓

️Spring is finally here in Middle Tennessee after a long, harsh winter. Proof was at the 12south farmers market yesterday where fresh local strawberries were on display.  There’s no going back now…….That is a theme in my life right now- no going back.  As I have navigated my way the last couple years between career moves and lifestyle changes I’ve found myself wondering about what propels us forward. Sometimes we choose to move, sometimes we are forced, but either way there is movement. Just like the seasons our lives change constantly. And for every ending, there has to be a fresh sweet beginning- like the berries.

My my life now is centered around trying to find BALANCE. Usually that means trying to find more time, but for me it’s more internal.  Balance between past and future, self and others, work and play, physical and spiritual…….

Local strawberries will be around for just a few short weeks. The sweetness and goodness they offer is fleeting so enjoy them to the fullest. The present moment is like that too. I try to not get caught up in the future or dwell on the past, but instead relish the ripe present moment.

Simple Chicken-Wild Rice Soup

I like simple things. Simple food, simple exercise, and simple recipes. I don’t like: trendy, complicated work-outs, exhausting preparation in the kitchen, or weird food on menus of restaurants that are trying too hard. No Thanks, I don’t want to try “Pad-Thai Ice-Cream” no matter how real it tastes.

I think when food gets too mixed up, we lose the point that food is fuel and can be enjoyed in it’s natural state. When we make food into an emotional experience, that’s when the problems start. I like to taste the real-ness of the food, not someone’s idea of what it should taste like. I go light on condiments and seasoning and I cook things that I can still recognize when they are finished. When I am craving simple comfort I make this easy, nourishing, Chicken Soup. which is very similar to my Stay Well Soup.

I started by boiling a 3-4 pound hen and adding fresh herbs. I picked what was in my garden which at this time of year is Rosemary, and then snipped some fresh Thyme that I have growing in the house. I added onion, dried dill, black pepper, and garlic. After about an hour, remove hen and let cool enough to remove meat from bones. It should basically fall off.

Save broth and add chopped carrots and celery. Bring to a low simmer until veggies are soft. Place meat back in pot and continue to cook. Add any other seasonings you wish at this point. I am staying away from salt so I used Mrs. Dash.

Add chicken meat to soup and let simmer.

Next cook wild rice in 2 parts water, 1 part rice. Bring to boil, cover, let steam for 30 minutes or until rice is soft. Add rice to chicken soup.

I added in some fresh baby spinach near the end to give it some green and vitamin C.

Simple. Delicious. Nourishing.

Check out my vegan broccoli soup here

Winter Wrap-Up + Snowday Cookies

It’s March and winter won’t let go! Yesterday we had ice and snow and today the snow has stayed because it’s so cold. That is not normal this time of year. It seems all I’ve been doing the last few weeks is trying to stay warm! I’ve been gravitating towards warm, comfort foods and vitamin C packed citrus. (Oh and the snow day prompted me to bake cookies!)

My yoga student brought me some oranges and grapefruits fresh from an organic grove. I’ve been cutting way back on fruit since following my lean meal plan, but I couldn’t not try these. I split the grapefruit in half, sprinkled a small amount of brown sugar on top, and broiled for 3-4 minutes to let the sugar caramelize.

It was so good and juicy! The oranges were like candy and I limited myself to 2 of those.

I’ve also been enjoying healthy bowls of food for simple lunches and dinners. My boyfriend isn’t a fan of this, he likes a knife and fork,  but I love the idea of throwing everything together in a bowl and sprinkling with nutritional yeast. It’s simple and easier to clean up. I start with rice or a grain, then add a protein, and top with cooked veggies. I’ve made this with tempeh and tahini and called it a “Buddha Bowl” 

Lola got a spring haircut a bit too early. She is shaved down to a slick coat and it’s still pretty cold out, but I think she loves it- her energy level is way up and she’s acting like a puppy. She’s been curling up with us on the furniture whenever possible as if she knows how cute she looks.

The ultimate snowy day activity for me is baking! I have not baked in a long time and yesterday it was so fun to make these chocolate chip/oatmeal/peanut butter cookies.

Recipe:
1/4 stick butter, 1/2 cup coconut oil, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 cup honey, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 peanut butter, 1 and 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour, 1 teaspoon each of salt, baking soda, baking powder, 2 cups rolled oats, 1 cup chocolate chips, 3/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut.

Mix all wet ingredients, add flour, coconut, chips and oats. Drop on parchment paper lined cookie sheet and bake 10 minutes at 375.

They are SO good and I love that there is no white sugar or white flour in them. Check out my other healthy cookie recipe for Tahini Cookies 

Enjoy!