Add protein powder, cocoa powder, almond milk, banana and ice to a blender. Blend until smooth.
Pour into a glass and use a spoon to stir in peanut butter powder.
My recipe: I couldn’t find peanut butter powder so used a tablespoon of natural peanut butter to blend with other ingredients. Plus halved the amount of banana.
This month I checked out of the library the new book published last month: Cooking as Therapy: how to improve mental health through cooking. Each chapter on how to heal what you feel features three recipes: a Fast Lane, Easy Rider, and Scenic Route that take 5 minutes, 30 minutes, and an hour respectively.
You’re supposed to wash your hands before you begin and I forgot this.
In Session Four: Surviving Sadness I used the Fast Lane: Top It All Off Treat. I chose this recipe first not because I was depressed. Anyone who’s feeling ordinary sadness or is grieving could follow this recipe.
The ice cream sundae in the photo above is what I created to Top It All Off as my Treat. Who could resist having ice cream as a form of therapy?
In each chapter the author who is an LCSW features recipes she’s preplanned for readers to use. At the end of the book she gives readers a list of food ingredients and methods for using the food on your own. To create unique recipes customized to what you’re going through.
I recommend installing Cooking as Therapy on a Kindle or iPad or checking it out of the library if you can’t afford to buy it.
A library is a free college of knowledge. And hey today if you return a book late as long as it’s checked back in a lot of libraries will remove the fine you incurred.
I’m going to Top It All Off again every so often. My first foray into doing this sparked an ingenious idea I had for a celebration to host at the beginning of the year like Kwanzaa only for individuals living in recovery.
The recipe calls for high-quality pistachio ice cream. I found this in the spring issue of Magnolia Journal. Again this photo is not as pretty as the one in the magazine.
The Van Leeuwen ice cream doesn’t have the chemical additive of natural flavor. In this regard I will buy the product again.
Alas, ice cream of any kind is high in saturated fat and added sugars.
As an every so often treat though I think this recipe can’t be beat.
Use short glasses.
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One scoop premium-quality pistachio ice cream.
Espresso poured on to taste.
Sprinkle pistachios on. Drizzle honey atop if you’d like.
The recipe for this snack I took from the Eating Well Eating for Energy magazine. It’s a quick simple and easy healthful alternative to processed food snacks.
To make the sweet potato toast:
Cut 1/4-inch thick slices from the center of the potato. Toast until tender and starting to brown 12 to 15 minutes.
I used the oven and heated 2 potato slices for 30 minutes because it took longer to toast the slices.
Apple & Smoked Gouda
On each slice add:
2 Tbsp. shredded smoked Gouda + 4 apple slices
+ 1 tsp. toasted coconut
+ 1/2 tsp. maple syrup
+1/8 tsp. flaky sea salt
This is the tastiest snack that I had for dinner using 2 slices of sweet potatoes.
It could be the ideal snack post-workout if you exercise in a home gym.
In a bowl, whisk together vinegar and honey to dissolve. Add nectarine slices and toss to coat.
Let marinate 10 minutes. Add oil and pepper and toss to coat.
Grill or toast bread and spread with ricotta. Then spoon nectarines and juices on top.
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Though the recipe is supposed to serve 2 I had the two bruschetta slices on my own.
I used the kind of small peppermill you buy at the supermarket to twist and grind the pepper.
Keep the bottles and ingredients together in one place like on a cutting board in the sink. This will make cleanup easier. I used an ordinary soup bowl to marinate the nectarines in. You can use a small glass mixing bowl.
I took this recipe from allrecipes.com. Just say no to boxed instant pudding with food dye. Per serving this had 33g sugar so it’s best reserved for an every-so-often treat.
To its credit the recipe per serving has 6g protein.
The recipe serves 4. Yet I used only 3 crystal bowls filled up near to the top.
For a summertime and year-round treat I say yes to this pudding from scratch.
The chocolate pudding tastes like real chocolate. Not the chemical chocolate taste of the instant boxed kind.
I had a bowl of this chocolate for breakfast. It tastes delish. I recommend steering clear of products in supermarkets. Instead use recipes or create on your own recipes for food like this that you can make from scratch.
Though you were supposed to stir constantly for 20 minutes on medium heat I have a hotter flame. So I stirred the mixture for only 10 minutes.
Here’s the recipe:
Chocolate Cornstarch Pudding
1/2 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 3/4 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Stir together sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt in a saucepan. Place over medium heat and stir in milk.
Bring to a boil, and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a metal spoon.
remove from heat, and stir in butter and vanilla.
Let cool briefly, and serve warm, or chill in the refrigerator until serving.
Full and Robust Life Hacks 