MINDFUL EATING

Has it ever happened to you that you're so hungry that you just start chomping on things and gulp them down, without even tasting them? Or, at least, not for the first half of whatever you're eating?

Or has it ever happened that you were so focused on the movie you were watching that, when someone asked you "How is it? Salty enough?" you suddenly realised that you didn't know?

Well, to me it's happened like, five minutes ago, and it was a real shame, cause it was really awesome. I was having my 4o'clock snack while reading a book, and I was so into it (it being the book) that it took me some 4 spoons to realise that I cannot do two things at the same time.
Well, that might be a bit harsh towards myself, there are things I can do at the same time. For sure, there are.. well, but the point is, sometimes you shouldn't. Because doing to many things at a time makes you actually more stressed and less efficient, and it doesn't make you taste your coconut milk.

Mindful eating is actually one of the first meditations you should try when you approach mindfulness.
It all start with a grape and an alien (you).
You have to pretend to be an alien, and pretend you're seeing a grape for the first time in your life and, therefore, eat it as such.
You should first touch it, analyse its shape and its texture, and the way it feels on your skin. Then you should smell it. Shake it next to your ear.
Only now you can put it in your mouth, and run over it with your tongue, feel its weight.
And then chew it, and feel the sweet explosion you were not expecting.
And so on.
Slow? For sure.
But some things are so delicious that they really deserve all that time. And if they don't maybe you shouldn't eat them at all.

Well, my 4o'clock snack was definitely worth putting the book aside.

You'll need:

• banana
• coconut milk
• oats
• raw cacao nibs 

All you need to do is to blend together half a banana and two or three (very generous) spoons of coconut milk. Pour your mixture over half a cup (or more. I guess it just depends on how hungry you are) of oats and sprinkle it all with raw cacao nibs.

It's really five minutes. (If you knew where your blender was, I'm sure it would be even less).

It's gonna take - i hope- much longer to eat it than to make it.

ENCOUNTERS

Get ready to meet your new best friend.

Today at work a miracle has happened.
I was having a crazy sugar crave. Well, maybe when you're on the border of having a panik attak it's more of a need, but still. Important thing is that I was desperate, begging only for some sugar while drawning in a sea of invoices and boring office stuff.
 And then, the miracle.
A random, desperate day, just turned into the day in which my lovely boss brings cookies.

-Just to be clear and avoid silly misunderstandings about me getting less bitter: it's no dream office. The one with scandinavian design forniture, where  flowers don't die, people are happy and your boss brings cookies... No.
Apparently no one was ever concerned with design, or windows for that matter, my plant died in one day straight and people smile only if someone has made a joke about sex.

I work in a nightmare office and my boss has brought cookies. Period.

So, back to the point, these cookies where these cookies, and they will be your new best friend.
And they will because:
they're loaded with sugar and coconut, PLUS, you need only 3 ingredients to make them PLUS they're ready in maximum top 30 minutes. -And, if 20 of those 30 minutes (negotiable) are baking time, that's to me sounds like a very good deal.-

So, for two greedy people you'll need:

• - 3 egg whites
• -110g (half a glass) sugar
• - 125gr dry grated coconut

1. divide the the yolk from the egg white (you might use the yolks the morning after to make, e.g., french toasts for breakfast).
2. put your egg whites on a very low fire, add all the sugar and stir until all the sugar has melted. Be very careful not to cook the egg white.
3. once the sugar has melted, start adding the coconut, constantly mixing. (As for anything, you have measures but, just keep on adding until the consistency feels right: firm but not too hard.)
4. with the help of a spoon form little balls with your coconut dought, and bake them until golden at 180°. (Estimated baking time: 15 mins).

Well, also real friends are cool.
So they say.

THE "I'M-GONNA-BE-SELF-SUFFICIENT" WAVE

Lately i got totally into this "I'm-gonna-be-self-sufficient" wave. So, anything I can avoid buying, I decided, I will.

It requires way more time and efforts, that's for sure but, besides from the obvious thing that it's a lot healthier, do you really wanna compare a quarter of hour queue at the bakery with having your house filled with the scent of baking bread?

To the joy of opening the oven and seeing your puffy, golden brown, crunchy-at-the-outside-soft-in-the-inside loaf of bread? I don't know, I get kind of maternal feelings when it comes to food. fEspecially food that gets all puffy, I noticed.

By the way, this is not about home-made bread.

Sorry.

Well, granola, we said. Or, we wanted to.

Then, granola. Mine got bunt. Just a tiny bit, but I took pictures of it so, even though that was the first plan, I can’t deny I did. But if you wanted to use this as an argument in favour of bought granola, my answer would be “C’mon, I know you can do better than this”. And this said, wonderful thing of home-made granola is that you can just choose anything you want. I actually got into it because I had this crazy craving for some almond-honey-coconut granola, and I just couldn’t find it anywhere. So that superdangerous loop for which the more you can’t find something the more you want it started, and I was just getting crazy over almond-honey-coconut granola.

And then, I just made it myself.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup silvered almonds
• 1/4 cup ligh-brown sugar
• 2 TBS honey
• 2 TBS (28gr) unsalted butter

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a saucepan melt together butter and honey over low heat. Then add sugar and stir until it melts completely in butter. Remove from the fire and add 2 TBS of water.

2. In a alarge bowl, stir together oats, coconut and almonds and spread the butter mixture over it. Stir everything until evenly combined.

3. Spread the granola mixture on a baking sheet and put it in the oven pre-heated to 325F°/160C°. Bake stirring frequently until golden brown, say 25-30 minutes.

4. Store in a supercute mason-jar. (No idea of how long you can actually keep it, we finished it in two days.)