I’ve heard it said, that “there are two types of people in the world: those who love vanilla and those who make fun of those who love vanilla.”

When I was in elementary school and was taking after-school Spanish lessons, half way through the class, we’d always have a milk and cookie break. We’d wait in line, and walk up to the table at the front of the room, where the attendant would ask each of us, “vanilla or chocolate?” in Spanish. I can still see the red plastic milk crates, almost completely full of little, damp, waxy chocolate milk cartons, with somewhere between 2 and 5 white milks thrown in. I remember being the boring one, the one who chose vanilla. Where everyone else loved chocolate milk, I always preferred full-fat vanilla, por favor.

Fast forward to today, I am still the boring vanilla chooser. Apparently more than 60% prefer chocolate over vanilla, but not I. You can insult me to my grave on this, and I’m always going to choose vanilla.

I can’t say exactly what this “says” about a person, although I imagine folks who like chocolate are more passionate and charming, and those of us who prefer vanilla are more open-hearted and impulsive (but I just made all that up). All I can say for sure is that whether it’s protein powder or ice cream, vanilla for the win.

When I gave up coffee (which meant I also gave up cream), I decided that I wasn’t ready to give up my predawn “hot bevvie” ritual – that would have most certainly sent me over the edge.

So I started experimenting… and some years later, I am very happy to announce that I have come up with the most lovely, nourishing, nutrient-packed beverage. I’ve kept it to myself for some years, but recently on retreats, I decided to share it, and it was a big hit… so big that I was told, flat out, “you GOTTA share this!”

So I am. (And I do hope you love it as much as I do!)

I hope you find this to be both easy to whip up and delicious, and perhaps you’ll enjoy knowing that this year I am putting together decades of decadent recipes that have wooed and impressed retreat guests for years.

XOm,

Britt

Usually baked goods using non-wheat flours come out more dense, but in these biscuits, using barley flour, ghee and buttermilk, they come out fluffy and light. Delicious with a little honey fresh out of the oven!

1 cup barley flour
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp ghee (or butter)
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1 Tbsp brown rice syrup
pumpkin seeds (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375 F. 

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, flax, baking powder and salt. Add the ghee and work in with your fingertips until there are no more little clumps. Into a measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and beat in the egg and brown rice syrup until homogenous. Mix liquid into flour without overworking. Drop by large spoonfuls onto a lightly greased cookie sheet. You may want to top with a sprinkling of pumpkin seeds (if using, or sprinkle with cinnamon and raw sugar, or a few fresh blueberries, whatever sounds good to you) and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

Makes 6 biscuits.

FOR INDIVIDUAL DOSHAS
VATAS choose wheat, oat, or rice flour instead of barley
PITTAS replace buttermilk with diluted plain yogurt
KAPHAS reduce ghee to 1 Tbsp; replace buttermilk with diluted yogurt and replace brown rice syrup with fruit juice concentrate or just leave it out

Isn’t this recipe fantastic?  I think so!  I followed Canada-based foodie, Claudia Davila, for years, preparing  and sharing her recipes with my followers.  When I finally contacted her to tell her how much I love her food stuff, it dawned on me that I could share her recipes right here with you!  Magic happens when we share the light!

Hi ya. How ’bout we don’t waste any time?

I know you want to get the move on so you can make yourself a batch of these little wonders.  

And let’s just say that these little chocolate chip cookies pack some serious Prana.  They are a modification from the classic chocolate chip cookie.  I took a tried and true concoction, made a few tweakaroos, and here’s what we got: a delicious healing madhu of all madhu (that means sweet of all sweets) to ground and nourish you… just in case you wouldn’t otherwise make it through the winter.  

I wouldn’t let that happen to you.  

Okay, so on with the delish.

2 ¼ cup sprouted spelt flour (or all purpose flour if gluten is all good in your world –spelt is okay for many who are trying to decrease gluten, but if you are going totally GF… then a GF flour mix may be a better option)

1 ½ teaspoon non-alum baking soda

½ teaspoon Himalayan salt (plus more for sprinkling)

2 sticks (I cup) unsalted butter

1 cup granulated maple syrup crystals or 1 cup dark brown sugar

1/8 c granulated unrefined sugar

1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk

2 t real vanilla extract

1 T plain greek yogurt

2 t fresh ground cardamom

1+ c Sunspire dark chocolate chips

1 c chopped raw walnuts

Instructions

1.     Mix together your flour, baking soda, and Himalayan salt in a bowl and set aside.

2.     Melt 2 sticks of butter in a sauce pan over medium low heat.  This is the process of making ghee.   You can find the recipe for Ghee on this site too.

For this recipe, make the ghee and when you think it is done, you’re going to go just a little longer… Pay extra close attention to the butter solids that are on the bottom of the saucepan —  as soon as they start to shift from golden to dark golden, remove promptly from heat and pour the ghee into a new bowl to make sure it does not continue cooking (and burn). This is super important.  If it burns you’ll have to start over (no pressure – and remember when you make ghee you want to be infusing it with only good things… no stress, no fear, no TV or news… just LUV).

3.     Mix the butter and sugars (including maple syrup crystals if you are using that instead of brown sugar) with an electric mixer. 

4.     Add your egg (whole), then your extra yolk, then vanilla, Greek yogurt, and cardamom.  Beat until well combined.

5.     Add your dry flour mixture just until combined, and then add your chocolate chips and chopped walnuts.

6.     Preheat your oven to 350. 

7.     Chill your dough for 30 minutes in the freezer, covered. 

8.     Use a ¼ cup measuring cup and fill it almost to the top.  Slip a spoon handle in the edge to release it from the measuring cup.  Flip bottom side up and press down with the palm of your hand to spread slightly. 

9.     Cookies should be placed 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet, and then sprinkled with a little extra Himalayan salt.

10.   Bake the cookies for approximately 10 minutes at 350 until the edges of the cookies begin to turn a golden brown.  They may not look done throughout, but that’s okay, if the edges are golden brown the inside will be soft but baked through.

11.   Cool the cookies on the rack for a few minutes.  Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheet after about five minutes, and transfer them to a wire rack or counter top to cool completely.

This recipe makes 24 cookies…  that will last all of about 15 minutes.  But it’s all good, because they are seriously good for you…. and will most definitely advance you toward Moksha.*  (wink.)

Love you Yogi(ni).

Britt

P.S.  *Ayurveda is the sister science of Yoga.  It complements asana practice, meditation, and pranayama by increasing one’s awareness and application of yogic principles in the real world, and particularly in the kitchen.  Here are some ways in which this cookie is powerfully good for you….

Ghee (here’s a previous blog on how to make it)  — soothing, nourishing, lubricating, and very sattvic (harmonizing).  It is one of the most potent healing balms and carriers for goodness in the ayurvedic tradition.

Cardamom is a very useful and effective herb.  It enhances appetite, provides detoxification support, and helps with data related digestive issues such as gas , stomach cramps or acidity.  It is also supportive in the relief of respiratory conditions often associated with winter weather.

Himalayan Salt is considered to be one of the most superior salts available, and is systemically warming, sattvic and is said to promote a positive attitude and purity of mind.

Why Spelt Flour?  Although not principally ayurvedic, the above chosen spelt flour, being both sprouted (more prana/life force rich) rather than your contemporary wheat flour, allows the body to take a little break from processed flour with high levels of gluten.   Although spelt does have gluten, studies suggest that it may be appropriate for those who are only moderately gluten sensitive.

Okay, now go make some cookies!  

Namaste, 

Britt

There is something about the combination of lemon and blueberry that, when done right, can be made right for any season.  This recipe is one I particular love for its moist texture and the secret knowing that despite how delicious it is, the nutritional value is way up there.  The unrefined, organic dry goods combined with anti-oxidant rich, heart-healthy grape-seed oil makes this a winner in taste and health.  (You know me, I am always on the look out for recipes that can be used for breakfast, a meal, and dessert interchangeably!)

Like most recipes I come across on the internet, if it looks interesting to me, I scour the recipe for ways I can make it more nutritious and equally delicious, and for me, and this recipe, I must say, it is ALL THAT!

Now, let’s get on with this sweetness, shall we?

INGREDIENTS:

1 ½ cups sprouted wheat flour (you can also use oat, spelt, or a combination of one of these + almond meal — the texture changes, but the flavor remains)
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup unrefined coconut sugar
1 cup plain Greek yogurt (choose your fat content — I tend to go middle of the road)
4 eggs
3 tsp. grated lemon zest
½ tsp. vanilla & ½ tsp. pure lemon extract
½ cup grape seed oil
1 cup frozen wild blueberries (the tiny ones:  see instructions for more)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and coat with nonstick cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, yogurt, eggs, zest, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients in 3 batches, whisking to incorporate after each addition. Fold in oil and stir carefully until uniformly combined. Fold in the frozen blueberries (fresh out of the freezer) and stir until just incorporated.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Be sure not to over-bake.  Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
Cool completely before serving.

Note:  if you’d like a slightly more “dessert” style bread, melt 1/2 cup of salted butter and add it to room temperature honey with a squeeze of lemon juice and drizzle it over the loaf before cutting.  (please don’t heat the honey — just the butter — heating honey is an Ayurvedic “no-no”. )

Original, unedited recipe can be found at culinaryhill.com. 

I must say, there is one dressing that is my all-time fave and go-to.  I don’t buy salad dressings, I make them, and seldom does a day go by when this little beauty isn’t sitting on my counter ready to make something that needs a little pick-me-up just all that more delicious.  I put this dressing on my quinoa, my salads, my sweet potatoes, my kale.  It is delicious on hard-boiled eggs, pot-stickers and cabbage.  When guests are on retreat with me, this is the one recipe that gets the most requests and I love it, and trust you will too.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cup Olive OIl

1 cup Balsamic Vinegar

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 teasp. salt

1/2 teasp. pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

DIRECTIONS: 

Pretty simple, you just mix it all together.  The quantities, I must confess, are based upon personal preference of the one making the dressing.  What I know is that I use 2 “parts” olive oil to 1 “part” balsamic vinegar, add a “glub” of maple syrup, a good dash of salt and a little less pepper than salt.  I like salt more than pepper, and don’t like things super sweet, but you can play with this and make it yours.  I let it sit on the counter for up to two weeks, using it as I need it.  It gets better a few days in as the garlic infuses the entire dressing. 

You are not going to be the same person tomorrow you are today.  

Your soul, call it what you will, is the ever evolving, always expanding, sometimes quiet, other times ravenous, center of your entire being.  And it is carrying you around, pushing your life one way and another from the inside — out.  

It is this part of you which is
asking you to live responsively, consciously,
and in full color.  

It is also this part of you, that the unconscious people in your life fear most.  

Strangers, neighbors, old friends, even your family — they both want to know this rich and robust part of you, and simultaneously fear this nakedly honest, wide open, tender, get-straight-to-the-point YOU.

The necessary departure from talk about where you encountered the recipe for that delicious dessert, or your upcoming landscaping project… and the required entrance into truth-talk and what hurts and is unknown and possibly completely and utterly out of your control (and everyone else’s for that matter) — THAT is what scares the buhjeezusout of people who are… well…. “normal”.

What these people don’t know, and what you will come to know is that it is this part of you — which is the source of your power, your acceptance of who you are, exactly as you are, (and everyone else)…. And best of all, it is abiding in this eternal part of you where you are at home wherever you roam and where you are always loved, always supported and always free.

How does one get to know this part of oneself?  

The milk and honey of who you are beneath it all.

Here’s what I know works:

Turn to nature. Again and again.  This part of youisnature.  This part of you, waiting to be known,is born ofnature,fed bynature, andinspired bynature.  Go to the sea — the forest — the riverbank.  Annoint your brow with the holy waters you find, and say this sweet and simple invocation: 

“Father, Mother, God…

All the heavenly saints, sages, and angels 

who have gone before me…             

please shine down upon me your wisdom light,

so that I may reclaim Truth in my life —

so that I may live in Love, guided by connection,

and held in the grace and trust of the universe.  

Help me to see, again, who I am;

the part of me that was there before

I was even given my name,

and the part of me that is eternal,

even after my persona has turned to dust. 

Please guide me on each breath, each decision,

and in each challenge I face this day. 

Om. Amen. Aha.”  

Let creation move through you.  Create.  Yes, create.  Buy flowers and arrange them with the eyes of innocence and the hands of a child.  Reorganize your closet, and re-gift anything and everything that does not make your heart sing.   Play music — a little louder than you might otherwise — while you make dessert some morning… from live and organic foods, and eat dessert for breakfast.  Paint a wall.  Doodle for 30 minutes while sipping mint tea  in pigtails.   Put your headset on and listen to this or this or this while washing the dishes.

Yup, Chocolate.

I tend to be one of those slightly odd individuals who does not gravitate toward chocolate.  Strange, I know. However, chocolate makes me happy in its purest form because it is equally nutritious as it is delicious, and I’m all about knowing I can eat dessert for breakfast.

For the record, more than 90% of the time, my diet consists of real food.  Seldom do I take wheat, dairy, alcohol, sugar, or animal products, to hit the big ones.  I also take a few herbs and supplements that vary based upon the needs of my body.

Oh, and lately?  Chocolate.  I am also taking chocolate.

That being said, I’d like to shar a favorite recipe of mine. One that my students have begun calling, “mouth-gasms”…. if you had any doubt about making these little bites of yum.

I recommend this recipe to anyone who is interested in a nearly perfect, healthy dessert bite.

Ingredients:

You will need mini baking papers (about 1/4 the size of a standard muffin paper), and a round, metal pan to place them in for freezing.

Chocolate Ingredients:

1/2 cup cacao powder
1/4 cup maple syrup (or a sweet syrup of your choice)
1/4 cup coconut oil (melted)
1/8 teaspoon organic almond extract
1/4 teaspoon organic vanilla extract

Filling Ingredients:

1/2 cup cashew butter (or any nut butter of your choice will work)
1+ tablespoon cacao nibs (optional, but ohh so worth it for the crunch)
1 tablespoon maple syrup (or again, whatever sweetener you fancy)

Sprinkle:

Teeny, tiny dash of fresh ground Himalayan pink salt

Directions:

1. Combine the chocolate ingredients above.

2. Use a spoon to spread this mixture on the bottom of each mini baking paper.  Your chocolate should be about 1/4+ inch thick and fill approximately 18 papers. You may use all of the chocolate.  (Note:  Melting the coconut oil in a pan of hot tap water will allow the chocolate to be thin enough to spread flat in each paper.)

3. Put these prepared liners in the round, metal pan (to help each cup maintain its shape) and place in the freezer. (I used a 10×10 round cake pan and 18 fit in it perfectly.)

4. While the cups are setting in the freezer, combine the filling ingredients, again mixing well.

5. Once your filling is ready, take the muffin pan out of the freezer and fill each cup with the cashew filling, spreading evenly among the quantity of papers.  Note:  I found that the filling ingredients to be a bit stiff, therefore I opted to dip my finger in remaining liquid coconut oil and spread the filling around on top of the chilled chocolate.  Works great!)

6. Sprinkle a tiny bit of salt (like 5-10 pieces)

7. Place the cups back in the freezer for 10-30 minutes.

8. Peel the cupcake liners off and enjoy!

THAT, my friends, is a “mouth-gasm”

A bit more seriously:  Ayuredically, this dessert is great if you are looking for a little energy boost in a way that does not vitiate vata.  It is sweet, salty, and nourishing to the dhatus (tissues), and is a great snack for the new or full moon, or for women during menses… OR just a great pick-me-up coupled with a chai.

Coming off of another phenomenal retreat weekend, I am touched by the stars and hearts in the students’ eyes as they head off to their homes.  I am continually amazed by the coming together of so many souls and lives — first a bit apprehensive, and as the weekend unfolds each heart slowly opens and offers itself up to a collective experience of truth, kindness, laughter, relaxation and community.  

It dawned on me while guiding a long and luscious meditation and root chakra practice on Saturday that “we need YOU”.  This means that the world needs the divine feminine energy — the conscientious, rich, and nourishing energy that comes from awakening your sleepy and shy soul.  So, if you can’t make it to the YogaFarm for a retreat or daycation, my greatest hope is that you are doing something — anything — to clear your heart, shine the mirror, and awaken to your true nature.  You are just so marvelous, I wouldn’t want you to miss that part.  Ever.

All this talk about Love and Truth makes me hungry.  So, how about we fill your belly with some of that Luv?

After each retreat, I have so many scrumptious treats left behind to nourish my family here. Tonight, for example, I pulled out of the freezer a few frozen banana chunks that had been cooked in ghee and cardamom and served with one of our breakfasts.  I made an incredible little “dessert drink” for my Love and I out of these little jewels.  

It was so incredibly delicious, I couldn’t help but share (the recipe I mean.  I ate the smoothie already.  Sorry!)

 

Banana Coconut Cacao Smoothie

1/2 cup frozen ripe bananas (you know the ones that turn brown on your counter — peel them, throw them in an airtight container, and freeze them)

2 cups organic rice milk

1 heaping teaspoon coconut milk

1 heaping teaspoon raw almond butter

3 dates, pitted

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

pinch of Himalayan salt

1 heaping teaspoon raw cacao powder

1 heaping teaspoon raw cacao nibs

Blend it all together in a Vitamix (or the likes) and eat!  

I get soon excited about these things that are delicious enough for dessert, filling enough for a meal, and nutritious enough to start your day with as breakfast!  

Enjoy!  

And hope to see you at the YogaFarm ♥