Not so old fashioned oatmeal cookies

Isaac Asimov wrote about the perfect snack in one of his books from the Foundation series: little balls made from "pure taste", nothing more.Like eating jelly beans with your eyes closed only they contained no calories and you never ever had the same taste twice.
Like many women I am always looking for the perfect healthy snack for my kids and myself (yeah, you guessed right: vanity, thy name is woman) so I am constantly experimenting with cookies.
I haven't find the perfect one, but these are really, really good: they taste beautiful, they're healthy, there contain  carbs and fat, sure, but at the end the good guys win :)

You will need:
one ripe banana
a half apple finely grated
150g all purpose flour
50g oat flour
50g rolled oats
1 tsp baking powder
70g cane sugar
1 tbsp Dutch process cocoa powder
(you can use natural unsweetened cocoa powder, in that case please use baking soda instead of baking powder!)
70g butter at room temperature
30g extra virgin olive oil
a pinch of salt
optional: 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Preheat oven to 360 degrees F (180° C). Peel the bananas and mash them with a fork, mix with the grated apple.
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl or in the mixer till you get a not so sticky dough. (If it’s still too sticky just cover it with some cling film and put it in the refrigerator for a half an hour).

Make little balls the size of a walnut and put them onto greased baking sheets, 2 inches apart. If the dough is still sticky, use two teaspoons.

Bake the cookies 12-15 minutes, till they are golden brown and cooked through. Remove from oven and let the cookies cool a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.

When they are not too hot anymore you pour yourself a glass of milk, or a good cup of coffee, well, tea than, and you sit in a quiet corner with your favorite book, and whatever happens outside that corner you just don't care for 10 minutes :))

Mindful Monday: How to Start a Kitchen Garden

This is it, it's May, almost the 15th so with a little luck there will be no more freezing night, time to plan you garden.

I found this great article about starting a kitchen garden on CSAHM, I think it's very good. The photo's are made by me in my own garden.

The benefits of gardening are many. Planting a vegetable garden gives us fresh food to enjoy during the summer and early fall, and we can preserve the extras to eat throughout the winter. And for kids, gardening is a fun and educational experience.

It’s a common misconception that you have to have lots of land to plant a garden. If you have a yard, you can plant a small garden outdoors. And even if you don’t, you can plant some of your favorite vegetables in a large pot. Here’s how.

Find an appropriate space for your garden. Ideally, it should receive at least eight hours of sun each day and have room for at least six square feet of planting space. It should also be close to the kitchen if possible for quick, as-needed harvesting.

If you’re planting in the ground, till the soil. If planting in a container, you’ll need to use a lighter weight soil. Try packaged potting soil from your local garden center.

Plan your garden. If planned carefully, it can yield far more than if you just throw it together. You can plant early season crops first, mid-season crops after the first harvest, and late season crops after those have been harvested. Most seed packets have instructions that tell you when to plant and harvest.

Know how tall each crop will grow. The tallest ones should be planted in the center of your garden (or the back if it is located against a wall) so that they won’t shade the shorter ones.

Pay attention to how far apart crops should be placed. Some need several feet of space between them, while others only require a few inches. For best results, draw a diagram of your garden space to scale on graph paper and plan where you will plant each crop.

Start planting. You can find cheap gardening tools at your local dollar store that will work just fine for a kitchen garden.

Water your plants each day. Gardens planted in containers tend to dry out very quickly, so you may even need to water twice a day if they get full sunlight. Keep watering until water runs out of the drainage holes.



Fertilize your garden once every two to three weeks. Read directions carefully to avoid over fertilizing, as this can damage or kill plants.

There are many types of vegetables that you can plant in a container garden. Some of the most popular include tomatoes, leaf lettuce, summer squash, cucumbers, carrots, green onions and bell peppers. Herbs may also do well alongside vegetables. Try some basil, dill, parsley, thyme or tarragon.

Planting a garden is not an activity reserved for those who own a farm. Anyone can plant vegetables, as long as they are well suited to the area’s climate. With a small initial investment, you can have enough fresh veggies to last your family several months.

Mindful Monday: We're Creative In Every Moment

I just found out that someone is copying my polymer clay designs, so I wrote a little message on my Facebook page and to my twitter:

To all the copycats: get inspiration from the things around you, find the beauty in the little things and the big ones too, chew on it, dream with it, picture it, write about it, get a notebook and make sketches, let yourself to be creative, do not build a wall around your OWN creativity from bricks of stolen goods. Please.

So this Monday I searched for some mindful stuff to help unblock creativity, because this can happen to all of us :)

"There's a lot of advice out there about "how to be creative." On the surface, this sounds great - everybody wants to come up with useful and profitable ideas, right? But when I look more closely at this kind of advice, and what drives us to seek it out, I feel concerned.

On one level, none of us needs to be taught how to create. In every moment, we're creating (or, at least, playing a part in creating) our lives. We're choosing where to go, what to eat, what to say in a conversation, and so on. We make many of these choices unconsciously, but that doesn't change the fact that we make them.

Yet, somehow, I doubt this would satisfy most people looking for creativity tips. As someone I know who often complains about her "lack of creativity" put it: "sure, I choose the words I use when I'm talking, but so what? Everybody does that."

Being Creative and Being "Special"

I think my friend's words illustrate the real concern that often motivates people to seek creativity advice. They aren't actually interested in being creative - what they really want is to be special and unique. What's more, they worry that, without outside help, they'll always be mediocre and average.

In my experience, this need to be special, and self-loathing for being "average," causes people a lot of suffering. Ironically, I've found, it also hampers our progress in our work.

Speaking for myself, it's hard to move forward in a project when I'm demanding that my work be brilliant and 100% original. With that kind of mentality, I'm likely to second-guess, and probably delete, every line I write, and be left with a blank screen after hours of effort. Worse still, perhaps, I won't have fun, and I won't feel inspired to keep writing.

It's only when I drop my need for "uniqueness" that I start making headway again. In other words, it's only when I'm willing to take the risk of "being average" that I'm able to produce anything at all.

Who's Afraid of Averageness?

And when you think about it, is "being average" really such a huge risk? What would happen if someone told you that your work was average? Would you spontaneously combust? Or maybe dissolve into a pile of steaming protoplasm?

I'm no expert on spontaneous combustion, but I can tell you that some people have said far worse things about my writing, and somehow I'm in one piece. I'm still writing, to boot, and - for better or worse - showing no signs of stopping.

So, when someone comes to me bemoaning their lack of creativity, I often invite them to try this exercise. For a moment, consider the possibility that you don't have to try to be creative. You are creating your life, through the choices you make, in every moment. Imagine what you would and could do if you fully accepted that.

If we could let go of our draining struggle to "be creative," and trust that creativity is already and always ours, I think we'd free up a lot of energy to accomplish what we want, and give the gifts we want to give, in our work."

(Chris Edgar: Inner Productivity: A Mindful Path to Efficiency and Enjoyment in Your Work)

Mindful Monday: Be Playful

1. Stop being so serious all the time! It's time to lighten up people. Sure, it's not easy to stay in a lighter frame of mind when your responsibilities are heavy. But, you have to take a break from thinking about serious stuff all the time. You can lay your burden down for a bit and play like a child. Have you noticed that no matter what is going on in a child's life, you can almost always see them set things aside to run and play? Try doing the same, good things will certainly happen.

2. Remember to "whistle while you work." Have some fun! Laugh while you do the dishes. Smile through your day and watch it infect the entire office. You don't have to get downright silly and do gymnastics in the mail room. Just make that mental shift from doing things by rote and start doing them with passion. Put fun into every activity.

3. Find a hobby that lets you use your creativity. You cannot stand around bored and tense if you are up to your eyeballs in quilting squares. Did you know that when you are being creative, you are tapping right into your spiritual side? Again, the vibrations you send out will come back to you a hundred fold. It is impossible for it to be any other way. Be creative at every opportunity in whatever way brings you the most joy.

(Robin Skeen)

Mindful Monday: Creativity

Feeling creative by Artmind

Julia Cameron on creativity:

Basic Principles:

1. Creativity is the natural order of life. Life is energy: pure creative energy.

2. There is an underlying, in-dwelling creative force infusing all of life -- including ourselves.

3. When we open ourselves to our creativity, we open ourselves to the creator's creativity within us and our lives.

4. We are, ourselves, creations. And we, in turn, are meant to continue creativity by being creative ourselves.

5. Creativity is God's gift to us. Using our creativity is our gift back to God.

6. The refusal to be creative is self-will and is counter to our true nature.

7. When we open ourselves to exploring our creativity, we open ourselves to God: good orderly direction.

8. As we open our creative channel to the creator, many gentle but powerful changes are to be expected.

9. It is safe to open ourselves up to greater and greater creativity.

10. Our creative dreams and yearnings come from a divine source. As we move toward our dreams, we move toward our divinity.

(Julia Cameron: The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity)

YannPendaries $11.00	TheHauntedHoll... $20.00	SophieBlackall $40.00
DailyColours $10.00	Huismus $99.00	theaterclouds $18.00
MyMonography $32.00	PilliPillihand... $15.50	JKphotography $21.00
KarolinFelix $14.00	schalle $25.00	EllaGajewska $105.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Mindful Monday: Laundry

KeepCalmShop

"Monday wash day" they said before all that shiny automatic washing machines and dryers came along and women didn't have the luxury not to spend a whole day washing the clothes. I know plenty of people who carry on this tradition, what actually makes a lot of sense, starting a new week with fresh, clean smells around is a very attractive though. Like this prayer says what I found somewhere on the net:

" Lord, help me wash away all my selfishness and vanity so I may serve you with perfect humility through the week ahead."

Well, this is definitely something to think about for a moment, before you load your washing machine :)

But if you find this a little too strict, let me show you Karen Maezen Miller's 4 reasons why laundry leads to happiness:

These are my top four reasons why doing the laundry can make you happy, healthy and wise:

1. Someone has to do it. And you're the only one you have to work with. Facing this truth could be the biggest aha moment in your life. Instead of expecting someone or something else to change your situation, only you can do it. A full hamper reminds us that running away from the things we would rather avoid makes our lives feel like an endless chore. Face it. Taking responsibility for your own well-being is the first step in transformation. Doing even half a load makes a difference, because big changes occur little by little.

2. You can stop looking elsewhere. We spend most of our time looking fruitlessly for more meaning, more money, and greater purpose. What we already have doesn't seem good enough. When we expect ordinary things to be more rewarding than they are, or when we devalue them as less than they are, that keeps us at arm's length from our own lives. Sort the whites from the colors and the heavy duty from the delicates. Your active attention to the matter at hand washes away the sense of inadequacy and confusion.

What's to look for anyway? The instructions are always right in front of you. The tag inside a garment tells you exactly how to care for what you hold in your hands. Not just clothing, but very bit of life comes with instructions when we are mindful enough to notice. Doing it well may take more work than we'd like, but the effort is always worth it in the long run.

3. It's cheaper than therapy. You can learn a lot about yourself by how you do the laundry. Notice the difference in the way you might tenderly handle your own or your children's clothing versus the resentment you feel about the piles your spouse leaves on the floor. Watch the way you sentimentalize a baby bootie and take offense at a pair of boxer shorts. We cling to things we like and reject what we don't like when in the end it's all the same: a blend of cotton and polyester. Laundry gives us an honest encounter with ourselves and our troublesome judgments, frustrations and fury. Seeing clearly is how we become wise.

So let's be straightforward about it. Everything shrinks, fades and falls apart. Nothing stays brand-new. The most precious things we have are fashioned of flimsy fabric. Be mindful with each moment you have and you will experience your life in a different way.

4. No one turns their nose up at a clean pair of socks. Doing the laundry is practical, and that's what makes it so gratifying. No one turns their nose up at a clean pair of socks, a fresh-smelling t-shirt, or laundered sheets. When you have them, it's called the good life. You enrobe your life in dignity when you give yourself clean laundry.

Like the wad of bills left in a pants pocket, or the spare change that turns up in the bottom of the dryer, there's a treasure to be found where you'd least expect it: the laundry. You might just find that what you think you're missing - happiness - is no farther than the bottom of the basket. What's more, you'll never run out. Every day brings the chance to slow down, pay attention, take care and engage intimately with the fabric of your own life. You'll be happy you did, and so will everyone around you.

So girls and boys, let's do some laundry with a smile :)

'Laundry' by ZsBcreations

BeautyAndSpa $96.00	decorexpressio... $28.00	thegildedbee $4.99
BeautifulHomeD... $15.50	ScrubNaturally $22.00	sophiecls $8.50
lauraamiss $34.00	kawaiigoodies $7.45	TsuraLi $3.50
mrsjonessoapbo... $60.00	stephmel $27.00	BHBKidstyle $16.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

10 tips to a mindful home

I just came across these wise words from Karen Maezen Miller and I really had to stand still for a moment to think about how good her advises are. Simple and beautiful. The only thing keeping me wishing it was fall that I could rake the fallen leaves is that it's finally spring :) Enjoy and learn:

Wake with the sun - There is no purer light than what we see when we open our eyes first thing in the morning. Resisting the morning's first waking moment instantly adds stress to your day. Avoiding the sun, you commence a chase that lasts all day long: running short of time, balance, peace and productivity.

Sit - Mindfulness without meditation is just a word. The search for mindful living is always grounded in a meditation practice. Seated meditation is the easiest and fastest way to clear your mind of anxious, fearful and stressful thoughts. Meditation puts your overactive brain on a diet, so you have more attention to bring to the real life that appears before you. You will be far more productive in the ensuing hours if you begin the day by spending five minutes actively engaged in doing nothing at all.

Make your bed - The state of your bed is the state of your head. Enfold your day in dignity. The five minutes you spend making your bed slows you down from your frantic, morning scrambling and creates a calm retreat to welcome you home at night. Plus, making your bed means you've already achieved an even more challenging feat: getting out of it.

Empty the hampers - Do the laundry without resentment or commentary and have an intimate encounter with the very fabric of life. Doing laundry is a supreme act of personal responsibility. It requires maturity, attention and discipline, and it engenders happiness. Don't believe me? See how you feel every time you reach the bottom of an empty hamper.

Wash your bowl - Rinse away self-importance and clean up your own kitchen mess. If you leave it undone, it will get sticky. An empty sink can be the single most gratifying sight of a long and tiring day.

Set a timer - If you're distracted by the weight of what's undone, set a kitchen timer and, like a monk in a monastery, devote yourself wholeheartedly to the task at hand before the bell rings. The time you'll find hidden in a kitchen timer unleashes more of your attention to the things that matter most.

Rake the leaves - Take yourself outside to rake, weed or sweep. You'll never finish for good, but you'll learn the point of pointlessness. The repetitive motion is meditative; the fresh air is enlivening. Lose yourself in doing what needs to be done, without a thought of permanent outcome or gain. You'll immediately alter your worldview.

Eat when hungry - Align your inexhaustible desires with the one true appetite. Coming clean about our food addictions and aversions is powerful and lasting medicine. Eating is so central to family life and culture that we can pass on our habits for generations to come. Mindless overeating feeds our sickness; mindful eating feeds the body's intuitive, intelligent wisdom and nourishes life well past tonight's empty plates.

Let the darkness come - Set a curfew on the Internet and TV and discover the natural balance between daylight and darkness, work and rest. Your taste for the quiet will naturally increase. When you end your day in accord with the earth's perfect rhythm, you grant the whole world a moment of pure peace.

Sleep when tired - Nothing more to it.