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.

THE JOYS OF UNEMPLOYMENT

I'm right in the middle of a glorious day.

If i hadn't already spoilt it all with the title, I could have tried to let you guess what the rainbow-coloured source of all this time and serenity was but, there you go: it's my newly-refound-unemployment.

I'm usually a supporter of the refrain "Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got 'till it's gone" but, in this case, damn, didn't I know how much I was longing for some jobless time and, no, I don't miss my job.
However, I don't get any kind of social subsidy to finance my happiness, which honestly it's a kind of sad since it means that, one day or another, I'll have to get another job.
From my side, I'll try to hold on as long as I can 'cause, as we all know, money doesn't make you happy, happiness does.

I'm just back in Belgium after some very longed-for family-time (as strange as it sounds, you get to miss also a big, fat, invasive italian family when you're apart for long enough), where I enjoyed the cuddles of my grandma's (do you still get cuddled on the knees of your grandma? That's when I'm so thankful of being this tiny), the constant shouting of everyone else at any kind of gathering (yah, I enjoyed also that), and some awesome, fat italian food.
Because italian food can be much greasier than you think; especially if my grandma is somehow involved.

Anyway, as awesome as it was, it got to be a bit too much (the food. Well, the grease, actually), especially in consideration of the fact that, for the previous month, I had fed myself on seeds and berries.

So, here comes my first detox recipe that, luckily, is also SO tasty.

You can find the original recipe of these Roasted portobello with Kale following the link to Whole Living. I followed the original recipe step by step (ok, almost. But honestly, what am I supposed to do with half an onion? I might just as well chop it all, right?) so, I was saying, step by step but, since I didn't have any Portobello, i just used regular champignons (say 10 for two people. They shrink quite a lot) and it was just so good.
So, no stress about the Portobello's.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup white vinegar (personally, also a bit less would be fine)
• 1 TBS honey
• 4 cloves garlic
• olive oil
• salt&pepper
• 10 champignons
• 1 red onion
• 1/2 tsp red chili flakes (this makes it rather spicy)
• a lot of sliced/chopped (?) kale

Directions:

1. To make the vinaigrette, combine vinegar, honey, two cloves of garlic (chopped) and a TBS olive oil in a little bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Arrange the mushrooms on a baking dish, drizzle with the vinaigrette and let marinate, covered, for at least 30 minutes.
3. Turn the oven on to 400°F/200°C and roast the mushrooms for 30 mins, flipping once.
4. Meanwhile, heat some oil in a pan and add your diced red onion, 2 cloves of garlic (sliced) and the chili flakes. cook more or less 5 mins. Add the kale and kook for another 4 mins.
5. Serve the mushrooms topped with the kale.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   This is pop-art.