Grocery Finds, No Bake Vegan Flaxseed Cookies, Internet & Mood

TGIF friends!  What a week!  Why did I feel like I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off?  Oh wait, because I was!   Birthday festivities, yoga classes to teach, errands, the usual chaos.  Today I went and got my hair done.  Isn't it just the best feeling when you go from meh with your roots to oh-yeah-baby when your color is freshened up!? Well, for me it is!  Sorry I didn't snap a fresh picture but will post one tomorrow.  The color looks very similar to the picture here.

Tell me about your plans for the big Superbowl Weekend?  As I mentioned yesterday, I will be doing precisely nothing on Sunday other than relishing in the silence at home.  Yay!  Saturday morning always involves yoga so that'll be nice, too.  I'm pursing the highest level of yoga certification and on Saturday mornings I hit up the Teacher Training aspect of my practice and study with my two teacher gurus and the other yogis and yoginis in the teacher training program.  I also found out that my graduation date is in 2 weeks!

I'm glad you enjoyed yesterday's mega post on everything from my Pottery Painting Trip with Skylar

Great memories were made, indeed.  As well as a cute coffee mug.

And thanks for your feedback about whether you enjoy Coconut Oil and for the compliments on my Coconut-Ginger Roasted Veggies and Salads

 Glad you liked my Natural Tips & Remedies for Colds, Flus, and Sickness.  Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts about what you do, and whether or not you think natural remedies are effective.  I loved hearing everyone's take on it!

But Moving Along...
And as I mentioned in this post, I hit up Trader Joe's before we came home and made Raw Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies the other day.

At TJ's, I found all kinds of new-to-me things!

Coffee.  Fair Trade Organic Ethiopian.
If you've missed my previous thoughts on Organic Foods and that I don't always choose them and why, here you go.  But this is organic...awesome!

Oh and recently I discovered TJ's Fair Trade Organic French Roast

It's rich, bold, but not bitter.  The label says "bright" and I would agree.  It's perfect and it's been in rotation with my beloved Sumatra, as well.

But yesterday's TJ's employee, who sounded like he enjoys his coffee almost as much as I do, recommended the Ethiopian.

and he mentioned that you can "taste a subtle hint of blueberry."

Normally when people say things like that, I feel like they've been smokin' blueberries for a little too long, but honestly, very subtly, you can taste a hint of blueberry and I am loving this find!   

$8 bucks for a 12 oz can, too.  Extremely reasonable for organic fair trade if you ask me.

Next some plantain chips.  

Yes they have honey in them but some vegans are ok with (local) honey, and I am also one of them.

But these plantain chips are crunchy, sweet, and help remedy my midnight sweet tooth while I'm blog surfing.

The plantain chips are probably better for me than this stuff.   

But it sure tastes good!

The Crunch Fest Continued as I threw some Oriental Rice Crackers in the cart.

There were the standard issue organic greens, cucumber, and yellow pepper.

And then this bag of organic pears:  5 nice sized pears for $1.99  Score!!!!!!

And a pint of blueberries ($3.99) and 2 pints of cherries ($4.49).  Bananas are 19 cents each.  I am only putting prices to encourage you WF shoppers to take the plunge, come shop where us cheap kids shop: TJ's and save yourself some moola!  And if you're one of those readers who doesn't have a TJ's, so sorry!!!!  Costco maybe?  Sorry you don't have a TJ's!

And for all my baking and unbaking needs: feast your eyes on my cocoa, chocolate and sugar!  I can't help it, this excites me!  My creative juices about what I'm going to make next start flowing!

As a sidebar, after consulting with Alisa of One Frugal Foodie, and she also Wrote This Book: Go Dairy Free which I reviewed here

and she also founded the site, Go Dairy Free so suffice to say, she knows what has milk in it and what doesn't....

...and I consulted with Hannah Kaminsky who wrote My Sweet Vegan which I previously reviewed here...

But back to the sidebar, both Hannah and Alisa said that although TJ's chocolate chips can't be certified vegan because of course there can be trace dairy cross-contamination, they both use them in their dairy-free and vegan cooking.  That's music to my ears!   If you want certified, try the Enjoy Life or the Sunspire Brands, both excellent, but 3 times the price of a bag of TJ's chips.

Back to my Shopping Trip...
In order to get your Balls On, you always need medjools.

Lots of medjools for lots of balls.

Balls like Raw Vegan Vanilla Peanut Butter (or Sunflower Seed Butter) Balls

Or high Raw Vegan Gingerbread Balls

 

Or Raw Vegan Chocolate Fudge Balls

Medjool Dates are always needed and will never go to waste in this house!   Or in Sheri's, she buys them by the case!

I came home and got my rabbit food going:  Greens, Brussels, Cauli, Zukes, Cukes, Carrots, Tomatoes, Red, Yellow, & Orange Bell Peppers.

And dressed it with my Maple Ginger Dijon Vinaigrette.  An easy & great dressing!  Nic made it and she told me she really enjoyed it, too!

And for dessert, we made raw flax cookies with coconut oil and with maple syrup, being that I already had the maple syrup out and all, from making the salad dressing, of course.

Averie's No-Bake 3-Ingredient Vegan Flaxseed Cookies
Take 1 c flax seeds and Grind. 
I used toasted flax which will gave the cookies a slight peanut buttery flavor, even though there's no actual PB in here.

Add 2 Tbsp Coconut Oil + 1/4 c Maple Syrup

Blend again

Take out and mold into 4 cookies

Drizzle with syrup or agave, garnish with raisins!
Other options include: garnishing with nuts, fresh or dried fruit, chocolate or carob chips, nut butter, raw vegan cashew cream, add a tsp of vanilla extract to the batch, you name it, go for it...

And if you make a double-batch, they wrap up realllly well for out-n-about snacks.  Enjoy!

These are a 3 Ingredient, 5-Minute, high Raw, No-Bake Wonder!  They're healthy as cookies go, filled with good fats, filling yet light, not too sweet but sweet enough...I really enjoy them!

Skylar loved them!

More Mommy, she said!

Okay, no problem, get your fiber flax on, honey!

Yoga Today is Kapotasana (King Pigeon Pose).  Please do not try this unless your back is thoroughly warmed up as well as your quads.  Yoga is not a competition and so please don't force yourself into a pose.  I don't want you to hurt yourself.  This is a pose to work towards with patience, compassion, and mindfulness for any limitations your body has.  That said, it's a beautiful pose, your heart opens, love and lightness enter, and peacefulness & calm ensue over my being when I am in this asana!

Tip of the Day: Maybe we should Unplug More!  Yesterday I read a brief article about the Internet Making Us Depressed.   The article mentioned that "internet addicts are more likely to be depressed than those who surf the Web a normal amount."  Do you agree or not?  Do you find that too much screen time leaves you feeling icky and anxious, or do you enjoy it and love the knowledge, information, and learning that takes place when you're on the internet?   

For me, it's a mixture of both; I do need to do yoga, go for a walk, be outdoors!, be with my family, but I also am a lifelong learner, I have an unquenchable thirst for new info & knowledge and appreciate the internet and how it helps me to learn and feeds my brain.  But with anything in life, we must find balance.  I admit that I struggle with finding balance in how much time I spend on my computer, but hey, we're all works in progress, right! 

Questions:
Do you struggle to find balance in your blogging or online life vs. your real life?  If you've found balance, what has helped?  And if you aren't in balance with it, do you have anything lined up to help become more balanced?

How Does Computer & Screen Time Affect Your Mood?

Flax Seeds.  Do you like them?  What's your favorite kind of seed?  Favorite kind of nut?   
For me it's sunflower seeds & flax seeds and cashews!

Getting your hair done...do you wait til you can't stand it anymore or are you on a schedule?  Like every 6 or 8 or 10 weeks?  
I used to be on a schedule but now am a mother and  in the wait til I can't stand it camp!

Stay Tuned For Weekly Recap and The Highlights of the Week...