Month: October 2023

Double Dark Chocolate Muffins

by stephsimply, posted in Recipes

with gluten free and vegan options

“All you need is love.  But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.”–Charles M. Schulz

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Dark Chocolate Love 🍫❤️

My love for dark chocolate is no secret.  Even as a kid, on the rare occasion, typically around Christmas, when those Hershey miniature chocolates were given as part of Christmas presents, I would trade my milk chocolate for the special dark bar.  Now, I know that bar is only made of about 45% dark chocolate, but at the time, it was the darkest chocolate for which I was aware.  

Back then, I didn’t eat dark chocolate because it was good for me–who knew in the 70s?  I just liked that bittersweet taste.  Plus, we rarely had candy as a kid, so eating a Hershey’s bar, even the miniature kind, was a real treat.  

As an adult, I still like the bittersweet taste of dark chocolate, but I had to learn to develop a healthy relationship with food, especially chocolate, and it wasn’t always easy.  Who doesn’t love good food, especially tasty sweets?  Over the decades, however, I have decided what our grandparents taught us was right all along.  Eat your fruits and vegetables first, but always save a little space for a sweet treat!

Make a batch and share the chocolate joy!

I don’t bake desserts weekly like my grandmother used to do, but I do enjoy baking when my time allows.  And, if I am baking something with dark chocolate in it, well, that’s all the more fun.

  My sister-in-law, Jacki, recently sent me a recipe she found in a Woman’s World magazine which is very similar to a variation I found on the website, It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken. My recipe adaptation, listed below, is a hybrid of the two recipes based upon my own personal dietary needs as I have to eat gluten-free due to celiac disease, but I also choose to eat plant-based.  Therefore, feel free to adjust and tweak ingredients based upon your family’s preferences.

While I recognize, this recipe probably isn’t the most healthy choice for everyday, it does offer several benefits, making it a justifiable splurge.  First, there is oat flour, which is full of fiber, protein, vitamins, and nutrients, and it can help lower cholesterol.  Secondly, there is both cacao powder–an unprocessed version for cocoa powder, but you can always use cocoa powder–and dark chocolate chips, both of which contain magnesium, antioxidants, and flavonols.. The antioxidants can help lower cholesterol, and the flavonols offer numerous benefits such as supporting heart health, balancing the immune system, and boosting brain function to name a few of the benefits.  

Double the chocolate; double your pleasure!

Flexible and Adaptable REcipe 💜

Lastly, I forgo eggs and oil in baking when possible due to the fact that fats cause me reflux issues–and that’s no fun!  The cider vinegar makes a great egg replacement and helps the muffins rise.  Plus, you won’t even taste it once baked!  While the apple sauce retains the muffins’ moisture content without adding saturated fat.  

Even with all of these adaptations, please do not think I am saying this is an ultra-healthy breakfast recipe because oatmeal with fresh fruit, or avocado on whole grain toast, are probably healthier choices.  However, for a special weekend or holiday treat, or even as a dessert, these muffins are full of a rich chocolatey flavor and texture that is oh-so-yummy!  Serve them warm and drizzle your favorite topping over them or eat them plain.  These muffins freeze well–for up to three months in an airtight container–for future weekend treats, so you can be sure none of your muffins go to waste. 

From my home to yours, as always, I wish you (mostly) healthy, happy, and homemade fun!  Let me know what you think of these!

Make a batch and share the chocolate joy! 💖

Double Dark Chocolate Muffins

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cup oat flour (Can substitute all-purpose flour or gluten-free all purpose flour)

¾ sugar

½ cup cacao or cocoa powder 

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon instant espresso powder, optional

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup favorite milk (I use plant-based)

½ cup applesauce (Can use equal amount of oil, if preferred)

2 tablespoons almond or peanut butter, melted 

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

¾ + ¼  cup dark chocolate chips (I used plant-based and gluten-free version)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Line 12 muffin tins with cupcake cups

In large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cacao powder, baking powder, and salt

Melt peanut butter in microwave for 20-30 seconds

Fold in milk, applesauce, peanut butter, and vinegar

Stir in ¾ cup chocolate chips

Divide batter evenly among cups

Top cupcakes with remaining chocolate chips (I like to use mini chocolate chips on top.)

Bake 18-22 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean

Allow to cool 10 or so minutes before serving

Makes 12 muffins which can be stored at cool room temperature for up to three days, or frozen in an airtight container for quick reheated treats

Feel free to dunk!

Always wanting more? Try looking inward instead

Featured by stephsimply, posted in Simple Observations and Musings
Photo by Jensen R on Pexels.com

“Things are just that–things.  They don’t make us who we are.  They make us look better on the outside, even when we’re hollow on the inside.  They’re an illusion–the shiny objects that distract us from the really important things.”–Chelle Bliss 

Trapped in the Wax 🕯️

  The day had been cool and cloudy, and I had come home with a bit of fresh produce, including a variety of fruit.  Given the weather, I thought it seemed like the perfect time to light the fragrant candle, a gift from a student.  I did not think about the fact that fresh fruit, during certain times of the year, is often accompanied by tiny little flying insects.

There they were, though, tiny bugs trapped in the melted wax because they had been drawn to the light of the candle.  Their attraction to shiny things had caused their demise in the end.  I wonder what they sensed the candle light could offer them–if they felt the candle’s sparkling flame would somehow improve their lives.  

Did those bugs confuse the candlelight with sunlight or moonlight?  Did they think it would help them navigate through the otherwise overcast day?  Perhaps, those pests confused the candlelight with bright flowers that nourish insects with nectar?  Were they trying to escape some unseen predator and sense that the bright light would blind their predator from seeing them.  Then again, maybe they were the predators looking for a meal, or were they looking for a suitable mate?  

They were so attracted to the flames, they lost their way and became stuck in the melted wax.

Attracted to the Brilliance ✨

Even science doesn’t seem to know the exact reasons bugs are drawn to light, and it made me wonder why humans, likewise, are drawn to shiny things?  Big vehicles, the bigger and shinier the better.  Large homes filled with sparkling appliances, a multitude of large screens, and a variety of other collections, depending upon a person’s interests and means. Closets gorged on a feast of clothes and shoes. Not to mention the cultural attitude about prosperity: those with means have been “blessed.” (I’m not sure what that means for the rest of us.) 

Then there is the shininess of beauty, youth, and attractiveness, especially since our culture tends to place more value on the looks of youth over the experience and wisdom that comes with aging. Cosmetic injections, surgeries, and implants to change looks and/or stave off aging, no matter your gender.  Your face should be blemish-free–no saggy eyes, no droopy chin, and while a few laugh lines are acceptable on men, wrinkles are not so appealing on women. 

Photo by Jack Sparrow on Pexels.com

Window shopping 🛍️

We are attracted to the nectar of status, wealth, and beauty, and yet we are often as trapped as those insects, feeling as if what we have of it is not enough.  This drives us into a perpetual cycle of needing more things, needing more investments, needing more dressings to make us look shiny to others. We are window shopping the lives of others to see if our own shop window is as appealing and competitive-looking as our peers.

Do we, like insects, confuse the brilliance of status and/or youthful beauty with the light of inner peace that can help shine a path through life?  Do we sense that when times get overcast, the more things we have, the better able we will be to find our way through dark times?  Could our obsession with window dressings come from our own insatiable, ego-driven hunger?  Perhaps, we have an unspoken belief that we can protect ourselves from bad things happening to us if we attain a certain income status.  Then again, maybe these objects make us feel/seem more attractive to others, in the hope of luring some attention.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Is it enough? 🤔

While I recognize that the words I write sound hyper-critical, please know that I am asking these same questions of myself.  Should I do more to “improve” my looks? Is my career enough at this point in my life? Afterall, I am choosing to remain an educator, rather than administrator, because I still find intrinsic value in what I do, even though it doesn’t have the same monetary value? 

My husband and I have a home, and it may not be the best.  But, it is dry, safe, and warm.  We have food on the table, and we certainly have clothes–albeit not necessarily the most up-to-date styles. At the end of my life, I often remind myself, I can’t take any of it with me.  Nonetheless, I also know I must save for those end-of-life years, for which I hope/think we are doing enough, but is it?  

Why do I sometimes feel I am not doing enough? Why do I feel like I should do more? Am I trapped in the wax of envy?  Am I trapped in the wax of our cultural beliefs of worth and value? Am I the only one with these questions/feelings? I don’t think so.

Photo by Arthur Brognoli on Pexels.com

Self-Reflection 🙏

I’ve concluded that it is only through self-reflection, contemplation, and meditative prayer that the answers are found.  What is right for me, may not be right for others.  By examining our attachments, we can begin to ask ourselves what things/what part of our lives are bringing us true fulfillment, and which are merely fueling our ego?  When we look deeply, we see that many, if not most of our things, paint an illusion of happiness for us.  

Much of what we have externally is impermanent.  Even our relationships, as much as we value them–have a limited time.  Therefore, through introspection, we can perhaps see the importance of living more fully in the present moment, completing our responsibilities without attaching to specific outcomes (because we really aren’t in as much control as we think we are) and surrendering the outcomes of our efforts to a higher power. 

By shifting our focus more frequently to our internal world, we can begin to detach more from our external trappings. Then, we can learn to dampen the sounds of our ego’s attachments to societal values, and discover richness and fulfillment that comes from fostering our own spiritual growth and the expanding sense of peace that comes with it. The more we shift to an internal focus, the less trapped we feel, and the more we can enjoy and appreciate this gift of living. 

Photo by James Wheeler on Pexels.com

Loneliness is a major health problem, and we can be part of the cure

Featured by stephsimply, posted in Simple Observations and Musings

“Be somebody who makes everyone feel like somebody.”–unknown

Photo by Bob Price on Pexels.com

The Write Stuff ✏️

It was supposed to be a creative writing piece.  A visual writing prompt given for the sole purpose of working with new vocabulary words.  On the white board, I projected a picture of a fully clothed person, leaning against the wall of what appeared to be a school, but the physical person was invisible.  The clothes the person was wearing were gender neutral.  I assigned no gender, race, religion, etc. to this person.  My directions were for the freshmen students to use their current vocabulary words to write this person’s story.  

Most of the time, when I assign such a piece, only a handful of students really get jazzed about the chosen topic/challenge of the week.  I am a realistic teacher and writer, so I get it. Not every topic can be inspiring.  

However, this past week was different.  Nearly every student was engaged, focused, and wanted more time to write.  This was unusual since I did not assign a required length to this writing assignment.  Rather, I required the correct use of all of the vocabulary words and that students fully write to the prompt. 

This picture of a student, Madeline Garcia, was taken with permission to demonstrate students’ feeling of loneliness. While she was not one who wrote that she felt invisible, she was happy to help out with the photo illustration.

Invisible Ink ✒️

Given the nature of my job and the number of students/grade levels I teach, it took me a couple of days before I read those creative writing responses. What surprised me the most was the repeated theme of feeling “invisible” to others.  Depending upon the student’s situation/perception, this included friends, social groups, family, and other important adults in their life such as teachers, pastors, and coaches. It was clear to me that social isolation and loneliness is a very real phenomena amongst an age group known for their social connectivity. 

To be sure, there were those students who wrote fantastical, fictional stories, and there were those who did the bare minimum with little creativity in order to complete the task.  However, a large number of students wrote heart-wrenching stories of feeling overlooked, disregarded, or ignored by people they consider to be important in their lives.  Many students spoke of possessing good qualities that went unnoticed or unappreciated by others.  They described the utter loneliness they felt inside, even when surrounded by others.

Photo by Anna Tarazevich on Pexels.com

Public Health Warning ⚠️

I was reminded of a couple of podcasts interviews I have listened to with the current U.S. Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, in which he discussed an advisory he released this past spring (2023) proclaiming loneliness and social isolation a public health epidemic in the United States.  According to his findings, as seen in a release from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, loneliness is as bad as smoking on our health.  When we experience long-term loneliness and social isolation, it can put us at risk for heart disease, stroke, and dementia. 

However, for teens, this feeling of extreme loneliness, according to Murthy, predates COVID, despite all of the social media connections.  Murthy warns that loneliness and social isolation negatively affects the mental health of all who experience it, but he states that it is especially troubling for teens. In fact, Murthy went on to issue another advisory this past June (2023) regarding youth and their use of social media, warning that extreme exposure, defined as more than three hours per day, is a major contributor to the uptick of teen anxiety and depression.

Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com

Face-to-face, heart-to-heart💖

Reflecting on my own student’s writing, it is clear, at least anecdotally, that loneliness is a very real feeling among teens. Of course, I do not want to totally dismiss the use of social media among teens as I know there are numerous benefits that can be found. However, it was interesting to note that when talking with all of my students, at all three grade levels (7, 8, 9), most stated they would rather spend time in person with their friends than text or connect with them via a social media platform.  Of course, there were a few outliers, but by and large, most spoke of the fact that since COVID, they place greater value on spending time with their friends and family face-to-face.

As it turns out, my students’ stories reinforce the fact that we all have the basic need to love and be loved.  We want to know that someone sees us, respects us, and truly “gets” us.  Knowing that we matter to someone, that we make a difference, is paramount to our mental health. 

When we engage with others face-to-face, we experience the nuances of communication–tone, facial expression, body language and so forth.  Eye contact can communicate so much without words, and it can be an even more powerful tool when combined with meaningful words. I imagine that our most successful earliest ancestors survived by staying with their pack–not venturing out on their own to face the dangers and predators of the world.  The same is true now, only our dangers and predators are more subtle and cunning.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Our problem; Our Solution

Of course, it’s easy to dismiss my students’ writing as the grievances of angsty youth.  In fact, Dear Reader, you could tell me, “It’s your problem, Stephanie.  I didn’t choose education as a career.”   However, have you ever noticed that when you peel the “y” off of the word your, you are left with the word our.  

This is our problem, and while I cannot pretend I have the answers for such a far-reaching issue, I do believe in the power of small acts of kindness.  We can look for ways to help others, and I don’t just mean the traditional “Give money to the City Mission” or “Work at the Salvation Army” serving Thanksgiving dinner.  Not that I am putting either of those down–they are worthwhile deeds.  Instead, I am referring to our day-to-day real-life interactions and encounters.  How can we make a difference daily?

Can we give our loved ones, including friends and family, more of our undivided attention for a few minutes with the cell phone put away?  Can we make more eye contact and speak a few kind words with the person who serves your coffee, lunch, or an employee at your favorite grocery store?  Can we take time to help another person with the door, or be more patient with that co-worker that honestly gets on your nerves?  

Photo by RDNE Stock project on Pexels.com

kindness matters😎

The list could go on, but my point is this. Small acts of service communicate to others that they matter and that they are not invisible to you. I know it is easier said than done, given the fast pace of life.  Believe me, I struggle with it too!  What I do know is that little acts of service or kindness makes us feel good, and more importantly, can also impact another person’s life.  At the very least, it allows us to feel our own agency in addressing the problem of loneliness.

I conclude, with a small prayer of hope.  May we begin to lead more people-centered lives, so we can truly see one another’s need to matter. 🙏

Stuck On Flat Ground

Featured by stephsimply, posted in Simple Observations and Musings

“What you do makes a difference.  And you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”–Jane Goodall

Photo by Christina Morillo on Pexels.com

Sweeping ArounD 🧹

During the pandemic, I purchased a Roomba, an iRobot vacuum for which I could set a schedule for regular sweepings of the house.  There were three of us at the time, working from home and interacting a whole lot more with our two cats.  Thus, there was more than the normal amount of traffic in the main areas of our house, so the Roomba seemed like a good investment. 

It was great fun watching that little disc, affectionately named “Spot,” zip around the house whisking away the hair and dust while we worked.  At first, it seemed to move throughout the house in no certain order.  However, once its internal navigating system became familiar with the layout of our house, it didn’t take long for it to begin trekking over the carpet in precise patterns. We watched it move with intention, seemingly knowing where it was, where it wanted to go, and where it wanted to end before the battery needed to be recharged.

Photo by Kindel Media on Pexels.com

Stuck AGain 🤔

Lately, however, it’s been sending me messages that it ended its job, “stuck.”  At first, I wondered how it was possible for Roomba to be stuck on a flat surface? I supposed its battery simply didn’t have the strength it once had. Now, the problem has grown even bigger, not only is it still sending me messages that it is “stuck,”  but it is also no longer functioning properly, pushing the cat hair into multiple mini-piles all over the carpet.  Now, we come home to find the Roomba, at a stand still in the middle of an open, flat area of our house.  It’s as if it is so focused on getting finished before its battery dies that it’s not taking to properly execute its job–sweep the dust and cat hair.

 This reminded me that sometime in life, it’s not necessarily the challenges that get us,  but instead, it’s the everyday routine that can cause us to get stuck in a rut.  Our own internal navigation system focuses so much on the destination–be it the end of the day, the end of the work-week, the number of days until a holiday/vacation, the number of years to retirement, and so forth–that we forget to pay attention to the road over which we travel. Navigation systems require two things: Knowing where you are, and where you want to be? However, if you don’t pay attention to the route, you won’t get to your destination.

No Stopping until We Reach our Destination ✈️

Too often we are so focused on our self-defined destination that we forget where we are and overlook not only the pothole in the road or traffic jam ahead, but we also ignore the beautiful scenery that lines the route. Our eyes become so fixated on “the end” that we will blunder and stumble through the motions of life, forgetting that we have a purpose in the here and now, not just once we reach our destination. In the same way that part of traveling is paying attention to the route in order to arrive safely, we too cannot fully and satisfactorily arrive at any self-determined destination without fully focusing on the route in between.

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Agency over Urgency🚘

As a young teenage driver, my parents often advised me to,  “Give yourself enough time to arrive safely at your destination.”  This is a great reminder for moving through life.  It reduces urgency, so that we can have agency.  Remembering that we have a certain level of agency in situations, no matter what our jobs/roles/responsibilities are, serves as a reminder that we have a certain level of choice as to where we put our attention and how we choose to react to the proverbial potholes in the road of life.

When we were new drivers, we needed to master small tasks, such as, navigating traffic, how/when to turn at a stop sign, how to safely pass another driver, and so forth. Working on these skills over time was part of the process to becoming a successful driver.  Likewise, as young adults, we approached life and our newly found adult role with the trepidation of a newly licensed driver.  Over time, just like with driving, the more we participate in our new roles, the more our knowledge increases.  It’s only natural that we begin to modify and adapt our navigational skills as we gain a better understanding of where we are and the direction our life is taking.

Photo by Anna Tarazevich on Pexels.com

Inner Tune Up 🔧

However, it is easy to get stuck in the routine and lose sight of the actual route over which we travel.  We go through the motions, driving through life, but not really engaging with it. That’s when, like my iRobot, we need to reach out for “I-support” and perhaps do some trouble shooting.  We can do this through meditation, self-examination/reflection and also by connecting with the faith-based community of our choice, a trusted friend, family-member, or fellow mentor.  Through the process of self-reflection and reaching out to a trusted group or person, we can tune-up our inner-GPS, ensuring we are focused on our values and traveling, aka working, in alignment with them.

People-Centered Living 😃

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

When we focus more on our values, it helps us adhere to our destination’s route, but with less emphasis on the journey’s end and more emphasis on what is in front of us in the here and now. By observing who, or what, is in our day-to-day encounters, we might begin to see that we are more than our work.  Instead, we begin to live a more people-centered life, and not just work-centered lives.

Additionally, when we truly take the time to refocus on our values, we are taking time to also tune-up and adjust our own inner world, our internal navigation system. In the same way a fully functioning navigation system gets our cars to our ultimate destination, our internal pilot will wander all over the place without a robust, healthy internal world.  When our internal navigating system is off, we, too, become stuck on flat ground like my Roomba.

There’s nothing wrong with a daily routine.  They are necessary to complete life tasks.  However, let us not allow their regularity to cause us to overlook the very things that can feed our souls and enrich our life.  Let us take time to remember our core values, so that we are mindful of the destination without urgency, and use our agency to engage with the opportunities along the way.