If you are needing holiday inspiration….
This might not be the best place to find it. What a year it has been and continues to be. Anyone else feeling like the year 2023 kind of yanked the rug out from beneath their feet too or it is just me? It hasn’t been all bad or hard, but it feels like those things have been relentless. So instead of delving into that, I am going to share a recipe from a newsletter from years gone by that might be a fun thing to try out. I have no idea who is actually reading any of this but in case you find yourself in this tiny corner of the internet and want to try out a dairy free alternative to some of the richest beverages this time of year has to offer, read on friend.
Originally sent out in my December 2017 (wow, it’s been a while!)
This time of year can be filled to the brim with sweets and snacks, meals and desserts that are delicious but might not end up making you feel that great when you've finished eating or drinking them. You know that I'm a huge fan of water and staying hydrated as much as you can with it, but it can be nice to have a healthier alternative of a holiday staple to indulge in during this season. I'll keep this newsletter short and sweet (literally!) so that you can give this beauty a try and maybe start a new tradition. Here's how you can make a homemade, healthier, and plant based version of a holiday favorite:
Nut Milk, holiday style
4 cups filtered water
1 cup Almonds (*that have been soaked overnight and rinsed*)
6-8 dates, depending on desired sweetness
pinch of sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
(you can also add other holiday spices like cardamom and vanilla, I just didn't have any on hand)
Soak dates in hot water for 10 minutes, then drain and add to blender. Place remaining ingredients in blender (higt powered ones are bes)t and blend on high for 1-2 minutes, or until well combined. Strain liquid through a nut milk bag or an old t-shirt into a large bowl. Pour into a glass jar or other resealable container and refrigerate for up to 5 days. Keep the pulp to add to baking (I love using mine in our granola). Enjoy!
(inspired by a recipe from Desiree Neilsen, www.desireerd.com)
Lessons I learned from my failed workshop
On a whim, I thought it would be a great idea last week to host a cooking class style workshop and was so excited about it. I have been wanting to get back into doing workshops for a while now and although life with littles never feels predictable I thought I would ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’, to get back into the game. And woof did I learn some very important things! Since becoming a parent I have learned that if something is not working, it may be a sign that I need to lower and/or change my expectations. And how life giving it has been to embrace that I can and at time should change my expectations/plans/thoughts because that is something in my power that I can do. Back to my workshop. I decided on the Wednesday that it would be a good idea to plan to do it on the Friday night, two days away. I worked on a pdf handout and posted on socials that I was going to be doing this, which during this season of life is something that is a bit out of my comfort zone. And also. like many other things in my life, my relationship with social media has been shifting and changing so posting and being present on that platform can be challenging for me. I was super excited when I was able to pick up some incredible ingredients for the recipes I was making at our CSA the afternoon of the workshop. I had everything prepped and even brought out my ring light (thank you Heather and Ralph!), had it all prepped and ready to go. And then…….
crickets
For the first 10 minutes, no one showed up.
And then one person did. Hooray! But then said that they weren’t able to stay.
So, then I tried to record it for the people who had shown interest in the workshop. And realized I didn’t have the right account to record a zoom meeting ….
From there, I made a quick pivot and switched to a live on Instagram so that at least it would be recorded. And had one person show up (who also ended up being present in my house, thanks B :), with one other popping on at the very end.
Was it a success? Did it feel like a success? 100% !
It wasn’t what I thought it would be, but I learned some really valuable lessons for going forward and doing this thing again. Next time I will:
Plan on holding the workshop on a weeknight, as an online gathering on a Friday night in the summer is probably not the time that people are going to want to me on their screens
If I am hosting it on zoom, make sure I have the account that allows me to record it!
Know that I can use a live on Instagram to record it as the number of views for the workshop has been pretty good for me
Give people a little more time to put it on their calendars, two days was not enough advance notice for most people
I’m finding, especially these days, that if I come from a place of curiosity and with a mindset open to learning (especially from my mistakes!), that when things don’t go the way that I wanted them to go or expected them to go it is much easier to move on without going down the rabbit hole of negative self talk. My kids are always learning, and even though I’ve been around a lot longer than them it helps to remember that I am always learning new things too, if only I am open to it.
I am a……..
What in the world and how in the world do I answer that question? There are so many things that I do and make me who I am. Do you ever find it hard or overwhelming to make sense of all of the things that make you you? Here are just a few things/titles that I claim in my life as me:
mother
partner/wife (although I prefer partner, wife makes me feel too old!)
sister
friend
daughter
stitcher/seamstress
health coach
good listener
cook
bibliophile (I LOVE LOVE LOVE reading!)
writer
I am proud to claim all of these titles and feel honoured that I have the freedom and privilege to do so. One thing that I am really getting into these days/months/years is getting back into writing for myself. With two kids under 5 running around in my life it takes scheduling, to make the time to do it. And to keep this blog post short and sweet I thought I would send you down an internet rabbit hole of some of the articles that I have written about my motherhood journey for PSTPRTM, a media platform that aims to make the postpartum experience a little less WTF and more supported. You’re welcome :)
I Chose NOT to Be a Stay at Home Parent
Congee: The Nourishing Postpartum Recipe that Practically Makes Itself
More writing to come friends. I promise that it won’t take me another two years to write a blog post! It may not be super consistent in this season of life (#twokidsunderfive #iliketosleeptoo) but I will be popping in here more often. Welcome back!
Just breathe
How simple is that sentiment and idea? Just breathe. And yet it can be so hard to do sometimes. If living in 2020 is teaching me anything, it is that there is always an opportunity to come back to your breath, check in with yourself, with your body, and to take a minute (or two or 15…..) and just let go. I thought that I was pretty good at letting things go. And then I had a baby. And letting go of the things that were not working for me or for my family became a necessity. There is so much more to learn when it comes to letting things go for me. I think that it’s safe to say that this is a life long journey and opportunity to learn, to get curious, and practice being non-judgmental. Every time I feel like I’ve mastered something I am reminded that this is just the beginning. It seems that it is pretty normal to embrace that fact that the older we get the less we really, truly know which seems kind of backwards but doesn’t life feel backwards sometimes? Some of the things that I have been learning to let go of this year so far:
Letting go of what I want to be able to do when it comes to moving my body and staying active, and being more patient with the healing process. After getting into a car accident right before everything was shut down due to Covid-19, I have been trying to let go of wanting to do all of the things that were easier and less painful to do before getting injured. It kind of reminds me of that struggling to be patient with healing and recovering from child birth season that I went through not so long ago.
Letting go of the ideal that I had for raising a child who absolutely adores veggies and all things healthy. Or who just adores eating all of the time
Letting go of not being able to control when I work (my other job, being a seamstress for film and theatre in the costume department)
Letting go of the guilt that I sometimes feel for not wanting to be a stay-at-home parent and missing work
Letting go of playing the (lame) comparison game that I always lose at (does anyone ever win this game?)
Letting go of what I thought motherhood/adulthood/life was going to be like
So many things to let go of, and quite honestly things that I could (and probably will) write other blog posts about in the near future.
What are you struggling to let go of in the season? What would letting go fully look like and feel like to you? I’d love to hear from you. Here’s to letting go of things over and over and over, and then finding more and new things to let go of. Let’s lighter our loads and just breathe. In and out, in and out. Deeply in and out
How are you taking care of yourself these days?
This year has brought so many unexpected experiences for most of us that sometimes it can be hard to know what to do. It feels as though our world has been turned upside down by the global pandemic and with so much social change taking place (this good and hard work that will continue for the rest of our lives). I don’t know about you but I find it easy to sink into a space of feeling so overwhelmed about what I can do, what I need to do, what should have been done already and what my limitations are. I often get frustrated that I am not ‘doing enough’ and before you know it I am in a head space of comparison. Which is rarely a good place to be in if you ask me. I’m not sure that I’ve ever gone down that comparison rabbit hole and have ended up anywhere productive or positive in the end. I’ve been thinking about this a lot these days too. It’s been oh so easy to compare myself to all of the ‘perfect’ people on social media during this pandemic and think that I am somehow lacking because I am not:
training for a marathon/triathlon
making sourdough everything (I have a recipe I’ve been meaning to try but….)
doing yoga/meditation/gratitude practices daily, or multiple times a day depending on how ‘perfect’ I feel
creating all things handmade and lovely, including masks for my family and me because I am a seamstress too……
Instead some of my days are filled with:
losing my shit and yelling at my toddler (not my finest hours, but I am practicing being real and present with them. And asking forgiveness. Starting this practice early)
not doing the exercises I know will help me as I continue to recover from my car accident earlier this year
rushing through meals when what I really want to practice is being present and take deep breaths. And CHEW my food
And all to easily I am reminded by that little voice that only knows how to be hard on me that I am not doing enough to bring about massive social change because I have the privilege to do so. All of these things are true. And yet what is also true is that I am a mom of a toddler, one tiny human being who thinks that it’s okay to lick me when they are angry (thank goodness they aren’t biting me daily). In these days of so much uncertainty I am grateful that I am here for G, that I can have this time with him as he grows and changes so rapidly. And that also means that I don’t have the same amount of time as someone who doesn’t have a kid. And that is OKAY. But I also want to make sure that I am not using this as an excuse to not do the important work of learning and unlearning. Of listening and not speaking. Of having challenging and awkward conversations. Of staying present to all of the feelings, especially the ones that are hard and uncomfortable. We make time for what is important to us. It is always a balance of taking care of ourselves and not getting complacent. Not pushing ourselves too hard or getting too comfortable. And for me this looks like checking in with my body, and also checking in with those who know me and love me the best, eating foods that nourish me and help me get through the day, drink enough water, get enough rest, move my body, and not try to control everything.
How are you doing these days and in this particular time? Here’s to politely ignoring that little voice that doesn’t usually have anything nice to say and taking a break from playing the comparison game.