December Sanity Round Up

Posted on January 6, 2013 by Cheryl Harris

DecemberSanityChallenge-1All good things must eventually come to an end…and so must our December Sanity Roundup. I always enjoy the Sanity retreats….writing, reading other posts, the FB group and just having it a little more on my radar.

So THANK YOU, all of you! Whether you hosted, posted, commented, lurked, or joined us on FB, I really appreciate your presence and support.

Our winners are below…

I had a pretty sane holiday season, and I think the retreat helped.

  • Waiting at least 8 hours to see if I *need* to purchase something.Yep!
  • Doing at least one compassion-focused meditation daily, at least 6 days a week Yes, until the last week of Dec. I got a bug and it disrupted my rhythm.
  • Giving myself permission to have my own experience, and let people be who they are (I know this is non-specific, I’ll be posting more about this) Yes…I brought all my food for Christmas and did my own thing. And I was fine with it.
  • Journaling on what I’m proud of for 2012 at least weekly Um, didn’t do it at all. I do want to do that before I set my New Year’s  Groundhog’s day resolutions.
  • Spending at least 2 hours weekly figuring out where I want to be and coming up with my “grand master plan” for 2013, and contacting various people to find a good fit. Yep! Even starting yoga very soon.

Other posts in this year’s Sanity retreat:

And our winners!

*drumroll please*

The Nuts.com gift cert: Lillian of Happy, Healthy, Vibrant

Autographed copies of Carrie’s Mahvelous Book The Everything Gluten-Free Slow Cooker Cookbook: Includes Butternut Squash with Walnuts and Vanilla, Peruvian Roast Chicken with Red Potatoes, Lamb … hundreds more! (Everything Series)

If I don’t have your contact info (and I don’t for any of the 3) please do contact me

Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Letting go of New Year’s Gremlins

Posted on January 2, 2013 by Cheryl Harris

Sometimes I get excited with the possibility of new goals for a new year. And it also can be a measuring tape for comparison and expectations. Sometime my inner critic runs amok with…well, everything I haven’t done, and my frustrations with myself bubble up.

The idea of resolutions is one of controlling destiny. If you work hard enough, you get what you care about. And that’s powerful stuff, but also leaves the opportunity for a lot of blame.

It’s not my fault that my body hurts sometimes or I haven’t been able to have a baby or that I struggle driving and walking up stairs. It isn’t because of something I’ve done, or failed to do, or a sign that I need to work harder. I’m not being punished for something I did wrong or someone I failed to forgive. It’s not because I haven’t tried another special program or diet or new doctor. And yet there’s this lingering sense that I were smarter, stronger, more dedicated, more loving, more giving, it would go away and I’d get what I want. There’s the sense that the crap I don’t want is some sort of sign of deficiency to fix or cover up.

There is such a fine line between accepting personal responsibility for my actions, my sunsetattitude and my outlook, without becoming the sole judge, jury and jailer—the one who has learned to only accept perfection, and the one whose heart turns to stone with the idea that I have failed because my body (or my heart) is under performing in some way or that I haven’t met my own standards.

It’s not my fault. Nor is it someone else’s. There’s no blame to assign. It’s just one of those things that falls into the category of “reality at this point in time”

And compassion is the only part that can ease the suffering that I feel that I haven’t yet figured out how to wave the magic wand. I can’t mend some relationships in my life, and I sometimes struggle with my body, my emotions, my fear and insecurity. Compassion is the only part that can make it okay that I’m not as strong, as confident, as wise, as caring as I want to be.

Because it is okay. Really.

I’m perfectionist by nature (nurture?), and that remains after many years of softening around the edges. I guess that’s not my fault, either. We learn habits, and keep them around long after they’ve hit their shelf-life of usefulness.

We’re meant to be flawed, beautiful, petty and jealous, proud and insecure, breakable and heal-able, too. We’re allowed to fall apart and can choose to find the grace to put ourselves back together.

And might I dare to suggest that there are things in your life that you blame, resent and disown, too? Things that are all your “fault”, or someone else’s? Whether weight or illness or money or “bad habits” that we do our best to shove under the bed so no one can see them. We like to find fault—in ourselves, in others, because if we’re to blame, we can control it and fix it. But you can’t hate your way to wellness. And it’s impossible to learn to forgive yourself or someone else while still holding a grudge. I promise. Goodness knows I’ve tried over the  years.

I love this quote from Carl Rodgers: “The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change. “

Compassion. I like the idea of finding the beauty in imperfection, and loving what is. I think that’s my main theme for 2013, and I hope you consider trying it on, too.

Posted in cheryl's musings | 6 Comments

Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger–Kate of Eat, Recycle Repeat

Posted on December 30, 2012 by Cheryl Harris

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI love the Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger monthly event because it’s an added incentive to try something new. It was originated by Sea of Book of Yum, and Sea is our happy hostess this month. My “adopt-ee” is Kate of Eat, Recycle, Repeat. Shirley of GFE was kind enough to introduce me to Kate, and we were delighted to have Kate joining us for the December Sanity Retreat.

I admire Kate’s commitment to a green lifestyle. It was quite easy to make recycling (food and stuff) a much bigger part of my life when I was in school. Both Ithaca and Berkeley just lend themselves to that sort of lifestyle, and it’s something I need/want to get back to. I have a huge bookcase sagging with wonderful books that I don’t usually use…and, to be totally honest, a box or two from our move of 1.5 years ago. If I haven’t looked for it or missed it yet, I don’t need it. So I’m hoping gentle reminders help sub- consciously and nudge me back in the direction of de-cluttering and re-purposing.

My plan was to make Fudgy sweet potato truffles. Because they’re truffles. From sweet potatoes. No further explanation should be needed to justify this, but as a bonus, they fit into the holiday celebration theme. As my sweet potato was roasting, I heard a little voice in the back of my head saying “you really shouldn’t be eating chocolate now, you had too much over the holidays” I love chocolate more than it loves me, and can only handle it every few weeks…Undeterred, I reached for the cocoa. And it got louder. “Seriously, you’re done with the chocolate for at least a week or two.” So I went into the other room, sent a few emails and sneaked back into the kitchen and just had my hand on the cocoa canister when the little voice in my head said “I can see you….”

Okay, fine. Score 1, little voice, me, zero. No more chocolate for a few weeks.  Honest.

So, as I looked through the recipes, a few others caught my eyes, like the Baked apples and the lamb curry. And then I saw it…Sweet potato puddin spread. With chestnuts! And I adore chestnuts. I had some leftover from my Bittersweet Chestnut Fudge (hence intestinal chocolate refusal).

I made it with Macadamia cream rather than coconut milk because that’s what I had on hand. It was delicious! I added in some vanilla powder, and added some maple syrup for the (small) part I shared with E. I could also see topping it with chunks of uncrystalized dried ginger…mmm….

Do go check out Kate’s lovely reflections on emotional eating, beautiful recipes, inspirational thoughts and more!

Posted in adopt a gf blogger | 3 Comments

Sanity Goals Update

Posted on December 22, 2012 by Cheryl Harris

DecemberSanityChallenge-1 December has been a whirlwind this year. Some things have been much easier than expected at Chez Harris, and the reverse has been true, too.

The holidays do usually tenOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAd to kick up my most neurotic, overachieving, compulsive self, and I’ve been surprised at how that hasn’t happened so much so far. I’m someone who likes to bake and to share, but I generally WAY overbake. Rather than having the sense of joyful generosity, I generally feel run down, resentful and irritated at myself for doing it AGAIN.  BUT BUT BUT!  I’ve just made a few things this year. And even more surprisingly, the sky has not fallen. Nor has it caused the Apocalypse. I like this!

Meringue snowmen (above)

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Candy cane marshmallows for E

 

 

 

 

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2 kinds of cookies for me—Intense cocoa bites and hazelnut cookies. Both freeze well and are off to NC with me.

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A vegan, sugar and grain free version of Carrie’s Impossible Almond Joy Pie for a potluck at Mr. Dude’s work. However OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAwhat I came up with isn’t yet ready for prime time, so stay tuned.

And that’s IT. Which is totally a first. I would have liked to make one more thing, but just didn’t have the energy, and I’m okay with that.

As for my goals:

  • Waiting at least 8 hours to see if I *need* to purchase something.

Yep, I’ve done that, even though there are times I’ve struggled through the 24 hours. Most the time I wasn’t as tempted as usual by all the sales.

  • Doing at least one compassion-focused meditation daily, at least 6 days a week

That’s been going well. I find that heart-centered meditations help more when I’m stressed than awareness meditations.

  • Giving myself permission to have my own experience, and let people be who they are (I know this is non-specific, I’ll be posting more about this)

Hmm….we’ll see more after the holidays, yes? For me that’s the big test.

  • Journaling on what I’m proud of for 2012 at least weekly

Um, yeah, I forgot about this one. This has been the hardest one.

  • Spending at least 2 hours weekly figuring out where I want to be and coming up with my “grand master plan” for 2013, and contacting various people to find a good

I’ve done that, and even found a yoga teacher, and have plans to start soon.

Other posts in the Sanity retreat so far (and it’s not too late to join us!)

To get a “flavor” of past retreats:
http://www.gfgoodness.com/2012/08/05/a-july-self-retreat-recap/
July Self-Care Retreat and the December Sanity Retreat.

Last, but not least, we do have a FB group–if you’d like to join, you’re more than welcome. It’s a space to support and be supported, and it’s the same one we used during the last Self-Care Retreat.

Our hostess this week is Iris of the Daily Dietribe so do drop on by.

Posted in cheryl's musings, December Sanity Challenge, dessert | 2 Comments

Hazelnut Cookies–‘Tis the season!

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Cheryl Harris

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAMmmm…’tis the season for hazelnuts, and I wanted to make sure I shared these in time for the holidays! I really love them. The outside is chewy, and the inside is soft and melty-ish hazelnutty goodness. They’re definitely my newest cookie obsession, and they’re so easy that they fit perfectly along with my December Sanity theme.

I make them two ways, with chocolate chips and with hazelnut “chips” (chopped hazels). I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I actually prefer the hazelnut version…my 20 something self would keel over in shock, but it’s true.

My 20 year old self also loved things that are smack-you-over-the-head sweet, and these are not. There’s a subtle sweetness, and that’s perfect for me. If you have a sweets loving crowd, add in a dropper of liquid stevia.

And just as a bonus, they are vegan, grain-free and refined sugar free.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

1 cup almond flour
2 TBSP hazelnut butter* (MYO recipe below)
3 TBSP maple syrup
1/2 tsp hazelnut extract*
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
good pinch salt
1/3 cup chopped hazelnuts, 1/3 chocolate chips or 1 oz good quality chunks of chocolate

Preheat oven to 325. Line a cookie sheet with a silpat or parchment paper
Combine all but the chips and mix well. Stir in chopped hazels or chips, mix. Form into small balls and squish a bit. They don’t spread much.

Bake for 15-17 minutes or until the sides are browning.

These freeze well, so they get the honor to come with me to NC for Christmas.
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For the hazelnut butter, you can buy your own, OR you can roast hazelnuts in the oven, let them cool, shake off the peels and blitz in the food processor. Nothing additional is necessary. My last order from Nuts.com had little ones this time so they roast quicker, but they’re done when they smell roasty and the papery stuff comes off easily. It takes around 15 min at 350.

I’m submitting these yummy babies to Diet, Dessert and Dog’s Wellness Weekends. It is an amazing display of sugar free, vegan yum!

*optional, but optimal.

Posted in dessert, recipe | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The Bright Side–December Sanity Retreat

Posted on December 16, 2012 by Cheryl Harris

DecemberSanityChallenge-1I did write up my December Sanity Retreat post ahead of time because I’m hosting this week, but what feels the most sanity promoting right now is a focus on the beautiful, touching, loving acts of kindness that are out there every day. The media is saturated with too much heartbreak right now. Here’s a break from all that. All of the below are inspiring, touching, adorable, sweet, or neat.

Get a hanky handy.

26 Moments that restored our faith in humanity this year (If you haven’t seen these yet, they’re fantastic!!!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuKl4QoHoJY

An autistic basketball player has his moment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQWh-xXlOs

Confessions of a Jewish Mother on how here son “ruined her life”

Cub Scout wins praise for his salute

Failblog’s stream with WINs

There have been great Sanity posts so far, so join us!

Please do join us, both to take good care of your precious self and to win fun prizes!

So a recap on the challenge:

It can be on whatever YOU need to work on to stay sane during the holiday season, or whatever you want to make sure to remember so that you are living life to the fullest:

  1. Balancing commitments to others with commitments to yourself
  2. Getting in physical activity
  3. Creating a happy balance around food
  4. Getting enough sleep!
  5. Making wise financial choices
  6. Focusing more on living beings than material “stuff”
  7. Whatever else speaks to you along these lines

The challenge—write up a blog post on what you plan to do to make your holidays sane, happy and healthy. Make it specific! Not just “I’ll get more sleep”, but “I’ll get at least 7 hours of sleep, 5 days a week”. Not just “I won’t go crazy making desserts”, but “I’ll make a maximum of XX desserts, and space them out over XX time”. You know what you need to do to keep this doable, and writing it down will help you get there!

As a little added incentive, for each post on your intentions and your progress you link back here or one of the other co-hosts, you’ll be entered to receive a $50 gift certificate to Nuts.com (they are not sponsoring, I just wanted something with healthy gluten-free, vegan, sugar-free, etc. options). The delicious Ms. Carrie Forbes of Carrie of Ginger Lemon Girl has also generously donated 2 signed cookbooks. Grab the badge, if you like, which was graciously created by Jennifer Yandle Photography & Design. for “The Everything Gluten-Free Slow Cooker Cookbook”. I mean, what could be more sanity promoting than using a slow cooker?

I’ll also be joined by a wonderful group of co-hosts:

Posted in cheryl's musings, December Sanity Challenge | 1 Comment

A pause…

Posted on December 14, 2012 by Cheryl Harris

I’m hosting our December Sanity Retreat for this week, but I will be delaying my post until Monday or Tuesday, because I just am not in the right mindset for the topic I had chosen.

I’m acutely aware of the sadness, and my own desire to find ANYTHING to distract me from the fact that there’s such sorrow that things like this can, and did happen. Sometimes it feels like it would be too overwhelming to sit with the enormity of such loss, because it’s more than I can wrap my head around. And yet to some extent, sooner or later, we have to. When I choose to ignore the big beast in the room, I tend to spend my time aimlessly, and it’s exhausting, too.

I’m a sensitive person, and it feels like I can sometimes “absorb” the trauma around because I tend to deeply empathize. I’m sure I’m not alone there. I honestly don’t know the best way for me to find some way that feels authentic to acknowledge the huge suffering that so many are experiencing, either directly, or by proxy, as most of us are right now.

I am encouraged that finally THIS tragedy seems to have motivated many people to call for action NOW. Sometimes it takes something truly terrible to jolt people awake. I can only hope that this will be the silver lining of this all.

I know this is touching most people very deeply and all I can say is that I am so sorry. Please do take good care of yourself. At the end of the day, the best way to honor anyone who has lost their life is to live yours fully.

Posted in cheryl's musings, December Sanity Challenge | 3 Comments

The Zen of Candy Cane Marshmallows

Posted on December 14, 2012 by Cheryl Harris

The holiday season has this way of stirring things up. I’ve really been quite pleased so far with my Sanity plans—I’ve only bought things I’ve really wanted and waited 24 hours, I’ve avoided “baking binges”, I’ve been meditating…and then I ran *smack* into the ghost of Christmas past.

Last year I was making Candy cane marshmallows for the first time. Often the first time when I make something, I get tense because I want to do it perfectly. Whenever you use a candy thermometer, there’s a lot that can go very stickily, goop-ily wrong. I got all fussy when the gelatin glopped, but it all worked out. I gave them to E, and I proclaimed them perfect. He, of course, said, well, they’re tasty, but they’re pink. Aren’t they supposed to have candy cane swirls?

You can feel the stink eye he got from here.  He’s not mean-spirited, just a very literal person with brain/mouth filter that sometimes leaks. This year, I asked what he wanted, and indeed, it was the candy cane marshmallows.  And I felt my body tighten, thinking about how I had to do it right this time.

So they swirled. Not 100% perfectly, but they’re not pink, either. And once again I’m amazed at how I hold my breath, basing my sense of accomplishment on whether I can manage to swirl food dye adequately. Because I’ve got to do it RIGHT. It’s a theme that shows up in all sorts of places.  If I get good feedback, I can exhale and it’s all okay. It’s a good day. When I get negative feedback, it tends to really sink in and touch me deeply.

I wonder why I give up so much of my power to situations that simply matter very little.

The good news is that I usually see it for what it is nowadays, even when I fall into the same old habits.

During this holiday season, lots of cakes will fall, lots of cookies will burn, and lots of pies will flip over into lots of laps. And Aunt Ida will probably make snide comments about your clothes, or weight, or hair, or something else trivial.

We just need to keep remembering each of us gets to decide where to put our attention. We get to choose what matters.

Choose joy.

Posted in cheryl's musings, December Sanity Challenge | 8 Comments

Being gentle

Posted on December 9, 2012 by Cheryl Harris

I’ve been enjoying the opportunity to explore what I most need through the December Self-Care Retreat, and it occurs to me that my goals fall into 2 categories: things I need to do and ways I want to be with myself. The “doing” goals have been pretty easy (um, except for my journaling on what I’m proud of—I forgot that one somehow. Drat!) But it’s a lot harder with my “being” goal: Giving myself permission to have my own experience, and let people be who they are.

I find that the closer we get to the holidays, the more I hear “should” from myself and others. I should make E’s favorite cookies. I should not mind other people’s reactions. I should not get frustrated with myself. I shouldn’t be so anxious. I should….

Stop and be gentle. Whenever I can remember. And forgive myself whenever I forget.

This year, the winter and the cold has meant more pain. I’ve had chronic pain for the last 18 years so this isn’t a new thing, and it seems like my Raynaud’s is much more pronounced. My first impulse is to call up my mental cheer leading squad, which says, “Get it together, You can do this! You know how to do this! You can get through this!” and lists gobs of resources.

But the other parts of me aren’t ready to buck up, and I find that my enthusiasm for getting over it is blocking my ability to be present to the fact that at this moment, I feel pain and sorrow that this is happening…again. I’m tired, I’m irritable, I’m uncomfortable, and I’m frustrated at myself for my own response. There’s a chorus telling me that I *should* know better. I *should* be okay.

I do believe there is a power in positive thinking and choosing to focus on blessings. I also feel that wallowing in anger is a recipe for disaster and completely counterproductive. But when I use the *should* as as a way of covering over my pain and frustration, I hurt much more.

It’s the same dynamic over the holidays where I try to convince myself I’m okay with various family dynamics and how they play out. Except that I’m not, and I don’t like it. Pretending I do doesn’t change it very much, it just adds on another coating of “should”. And until I am able to acknowledge that reality, I tend to hit myself over the head not being as accepting as I’d like to be.

It’s committing to crossing out “I should feel XXX way” and substituting “at this moment, this is what I feel”. Ignoring the 8 ton elephant doesn’t actually help make him shrink, and it’s a kindness to simply validate reality.

So one of my goals is to acknowledge what’s going on for me, and do my best to accept it as is, without a layer of should or judgment. It’s a gift I’d like to give myself.

Our host for this week of the retreat is Kate of Eat, Recycle, Repeat, and she’s got a wonderful set of goals for this holiday season.

We’ve been joined by
Kathryn, of chacha’s gluten-free kitchen with her goals AND German Chocolate Bites

Please do join us, both to take good care of your precious self and to win fun prizes!

So a recap on the challenge:

It can be on whatever YOU need to work on to stay sane during the holiday season, or whatever you want to make sure to remember so that you are living life to the fullest:

  1. Balancing commitments to others with commitments to yourself
  2. Getting in physical activity
  3. Creating a happy balance around food
  4. Getting enough sleep!
  5. Making wise financial choices
  6. Focusing more on living beings than material “stuff”
  7. Whatever else speaks to you along these lines

The challenge—write up a blog post on what you plan to do to make your holidays sane, happy and healthy.  Make it specific!  Not just “I’ll get more sleep”, but “I’ll get at least 7 hours of sleep, 5 days a week”.  Not just “I won’t go crazy making desserts”, but “I’ll make a maximum of XX desserts, and space them out over XX time”.  You know what you need to do to keep this doable, and writing it down will help you get there!

As a little added incentive, for each post on your intentions and your progress you link back here or one of the other co-hosts, you’ll be entered to receive a $50 gift certificate to Nuts.com  (they are not sponsoring, I just wanted something with healthy gluten-free, vegan, sugar-free, etc. options). The delicious Ms. Carrie Forbes of Carrie of Ginger Lemon Girl has also generously donated 2 signed cookbooksGrab the badge, if you like, which was graciously created by Jennifer Yandle Photography & Design. for “The Everything Gluten-Free Slow Cooker Cookbook”. I mean, what could be more sanity promoting than using a slow cooker?

I’ll also be joined by a wonderful group of co-hosts:

Posted in cheryl's musings, self care carnival | 8 Comments

Chocolate Banana Mousse Pie-Vegan, Grain-free

Posted on December 5, 2012 by Cheryl Harris

Ah…PIE! This is so delish, so simple, so mahvelous, you must try it–stat. 10 min to prep and very little work. Sometimes we have the mousse in a pie crust, sometimes we have it straight up. Either way, this is a winner on all counts and very allergy friendly, unless you can’t have chocolate, bananas or coconut. If you’re sugar free, just use sugar-free chocolate.

Since it’s whipped in the Vitamix, you get those heavenly air-bubbles like you’d normally have in mousse, and such a light texture. And did I mention virtually no work?

I will warn you, though. Our first ceramic pie dish shattered out of the sheer awesomeness of this mousse. Or maybe that was because I dropped it. It’s hard to know for sure,  but hold on tight just in case.

The only downside is that you do really need a high powered blender. There’s no way it will get smooth enough otherwise.

Chocolate Banana Mousse Pie

  • 1 can coconut milk (either regular and lite work)
  • ¼ cup coconut flour
  • 4.5 oz dark chocolate. I use Alter Eco 85%, any GF dark chocolate will do.
  • 2.5 over-ripe bananas, frozen
  • 5 dropperfuls stevia

Prepare a crust, or just have a mousse. I use an almond crust, below.

Put coconut milk, coconut flour and bananas in a Vitamix. Let it run for a full 6-7 minutes. Scrape down the sides. Add in melted chocolate and stevia. Let run 3 minutes more. Pour out into prepared crust, refrigerate for at least 4 hours or more.

Chocolate Banana Mousse Pie

  • 1 can coconut milk (either regular and lite work)
  • ¼ cup coconut flour
  • 4.5 oz dark chocolate. I use Alter Eco 85%, any GF dark chocolate will do.
  • 2.5 over-ripe bananas, frozen
  • 5 dropperfuls stevia

Prepare a crust, or just have a mousse. I use an almond crust, below.

Put coconut milk, coconut flour and bananas in a Vitamix. Let it run for a full 6-7 minutes. Scrape down the sides. Add in melted chocolate and stevia. Let run 3 minutes more. Pour out into prepared crust, refrigerate for at least 4 hours or more.

Man! Wasn’t that easy?

Pie crust:

  • 1 3/4 cups almond flour
  • pinch of salt
  • 2 TBSP arrowroot
  • 1/4 cup of oil
  • 3 TBSP agave nectar or honey
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Mix, press down into a 9 inch pie plate.

Bake 15 minutes at 325 or until browning. Remove, let cool before filling.

This super easy dessert can be one of your many sanity savers for December. I’m also submitting it to Diet, Dessert and Dog’s Wellness Weekends . Head on over for other yummy options!

Posted in baked goods, dessert, recipe | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments