It is fair to say that I am officially obsessed with these.

Amber Shea of Almost Vegan came up with an amazing recipe for a raw blondie that is to die for! Somehow, it actually tastes baked although it’s completely raw.

You may check out the recipe and think, “Whatever, just another Larabar configuration,” but you’d be wrong. The mixture is drier than a Larabar, so it has a crumbly bread-like texture that really feels like a chewy blondie when you bite into it. The brown sugar gives it an unmistakable dessert-like quality, rather than a fruity energy bar. And the salt! I don’t know how but the salt really does the job of imitating a golden buttery baked good quite well.

I just made myself a stash of these to last me a while. I actually ran out of dates and subbed apricots for the version you see pictured, still insane but not as good as the original. I eat it directly out of the ramekin rather than plating it cause I just can’t wait.

I don’t follow a raw foods diet at all, but whenever I see a recipe like this that allows me to enjoy all the pleasures of a rich dessert while giving my body a dose of whole and healthy foods, I get excited.

OMG, make yourself one. You won’t be disappointed!

January 27, 2011 Alayna Discussion 10 comments

Good morning! No, great morning!

I am feeling super jazzed today for two reasons…

First, because I have gorgeous and creamy steel-cut oats that I made with my rice cooker.

Seriously, these rice-cooker oats are life-changing levels of good!

I just put 1/4 cup of steel-cut oats, a spoonful of ground flax, a spoonful of chia seeds, half a banana torn up, and 1 cup of almond milk into the rice cooker and put it on the porridge setting. It took about an hour and 20 minutes, but it was so worth the wait! Next time I’ll prep everything the night before and set a timer so I can wake up to a hot delicious oatmeal morning!

And second, because my body feels so relaxed and stress-free from attending my first ever hot yoga class last night!

I attended a 90 minute class at Atlanta Hot Yoga with 3 lovely ladies: Lee from In My Tummy, Kristy from Kristy Runs, and Laura from Laura Dishes.

I was interested to try it, but not sure if it was going to be right for me. Turns out, I love hot yoga! I think I may have stumbled on to something that I’m going to really enjoy.

I have always had some balance issues because of my scoliosis offsetting my spinal alignment, and I could tell that I had more issues with holding poses when on my left leg, but as the class went on I got better at maintaining my balance, and I think that with regular practice it could really help me. I expected to wake up sore all over, but actually it’s just the opposite. A lot of tension I’ve been holding in my upper back is nearly gone, I find it easier to sit up straight, I don’t have a neckache like I often do in the mornings, and I just feel so light and stress-free. Jackpot!

I think taking up a regular yoga practice, not only just for fun but also as a supplement to my chiropractic care, could be beneficial for me in maintaining flexibility and overall good health.

Thanks girls, for a fun exercise date and for turning me on to a new hobby! If anyone is interested in trying out Decatur Hot Yoga with me, I’m there!

January 25, 2011 Alayna Discussion, Fitness 4 comments

So, I said yesterday that I’ve made a new goal for this year to try to discover and indulge some of my passions more. This didn’t just come into my head over breakfast though, it’s something that I’ve been struggling with for a very long time.

If you’ve read my 10 things post, you know that I was very much an “art kid” in high school and really for my whole life up until that point and then suddenly got really burned out with it and decided not to go to art school for college right as the year ended. But not only did I realize that I didn’t want art as a career anymore, I completely lost my passion for it. In the 9+ years since I graduated from high school I haven’t created a single piece of art for my own enjoyment. I’ve done pieces for family members and quick pieces to fill space on a wall in a bleak apartment, but nothing for myself or made purely out of my own passion.

So there’s that, but then there’s also another problem. I don’t know how to explain it without the risk of sounding like I just want to compliment myself and impress people, but I assure you that I’m not trying to be smug.

It’s this: Growing up, I was always one of the smartest people I knew. I won’t go into detail about what all made me feel that way, all I know is that I don’t feel that way so much anymore.

I haven’t felt truly intelligent in years, and I desperately I want to feel that way again. Not smugly though, I don’t need to feel smarter than others, I just want to feel like I have a breadth of knowledge that allows me to contribute to interesting conversations better, bring up new ideas, and command a bit of respect for my authority on some topics. I don’t think I should be ashamed for wanting to feel like I know things again.

This year I’m going to try to discover new interests and indulge old ones to a greater degree in an effort to learn as much as I can. That’s why Jeff and I are getting more into tea, we are both trying to become damn near experts on our teas of choice and on tea in general. I have many, many other projects I’m going to work on this year as well to help me learn more and be more creative and I’ll talk about those things as they come up.

So, I declare this year to be about self-improvement for me. I hope that I can come out of it feeling like a more well-rounded, confident, and interesting person. I hope that I can use the knowledge that I gain this year to affect real change in my life. I want to learn about things I’m interested in as well as things I find totally uninteresting, but important. I want to create art again. I want to try new things. I want to use my brain.

What about you? What part of yourself needs to be indulged more?

January 23, 2011 Alayna Discussion 3 comments