UA-141369524-4

Relaxing Easy Autumn Bread Recipes to Inspire You

autumn leaves inspires autumn creativity and autumn bread recipes for me that i share in this blog article.
When you blend autumn leaves together, they look like a colorful painting that life is. And that can give you inspiration for expressing creativity and your creative talents! One way I like to stay creative and express creativity is through baking. I share autumn recipe inspiration below that can help YOU find your colors. 🌈
Autumn bread recipes can be comforting for the soul. After baked, the hearty loafs with sweet or savory flavors bring moments of joy and satisfaction.

And creating your own easy autumn bread recipes is easy when you know what to do! You probably already have the few essential bread making ingredients needed in your kitchen cupboard. So you’re already half-way (or more) there to spark your inspiration. 🎨

After you’ve practiced and perfected your foundational bread making skills (aka making progress over perfection), you realize you don’t need “special” recipes to create your own bread masterpiece that will wow your taste buds and friends.

…And that can even be a table centerpiece for a few days, just long enough for you to have that enjoyment factor before it wears off. 😉

The simple things like bread can bring the most joy in this life. 🎉

And with satisfied feelings, bread baking is more an art, than a science experiment with baking measurements (in case that scares you off).

Bread chemistry science happens in the oven, so it’s mostly outta your hands! That can be comforting and take the pressure off.

And below step-by-step, I show you the easiest bread you can make and bake.

Your part is to put your love in your bread dough making process, and not to get mired down with complicated step-by-steps that doesn’t always pan out.

…And I learned this over many self-taught bread lessons. The a-ha is that sticking to the basics pans out every time. And that’s good for balancing Vata where the balance recipe is consistency.

The secret in making good bread is using your calm energy and heart where you enjoy the process. And maybe finding your bread making relaxing place, kinda like the one you find outdoors on a perfect fall day with no clouds in the sky.And then when the clouds roll in, spend time in your kitchen making progress on your bread baking skills. 🥖

Bread Making 101

Starting with pizza dough or crust is one easy way to learn bread making.

Because pizza crust is bread, and even if there’s no or low rise (or you don’t get it exactly right the first time), it usually tastes great. And will get eaten in minutes if you have delicious ingredients as toppings.

Oh, btw, did I mention I was a pizza maker for 4 teenage years, lol?

So in many ways, I got my feet wet with bread baking lessons starting from a young age. And in my more mature weekly recent home baking experiences, my pizza making lessons come inspired from those years.

When I do the bread in the young at heart way, then  it works out. And you can do this too with practice.

You need four common ingredients: bread flour, water, salt, and instant yeast.

(Tip: keep the salt and yeast in separate corners of the flour before the dough is formed, as salt can kill the yeast early on).

After breaking down the gluten by kneading and then forming a cohesive dough ball, you can let the dough rest and proof in a covered plastic bowl for a couple hours or longer. That’s proof that even bread need rest! 😁

You will get the hang of the elastic dough texture (like soft Play-doh) after you do it a few times. It becomes some of the easiest baking prep you can do!

Instead of intricately cutting out cookies or delicately icing your cake just right, bread doesn’t need slicing or icing precision. You might add a decorative incision or a glaze at the end, but those take less focused gaze on your part.

You can make rustic and airy bread when feeling a bit Kapha tired because it doesn’t require finesse (for my Great British Baking show friends who like to make cottage loafs). 🎪

Spice up autumn bread recipes with cinnamon like this bread muffin.

The hardest part (if there is one), is remembering to make and prep the dough hours or a day in advance, so the dough has time to proof. You let nature of time do the work.

So here are the easy steps to by pass flops. This is the skinny on what does work for quick bread making wins… and without making skinny bread! 🍞

Learn to Make Inspired French Bread Pizza  Crust

Once called “poor man’s bread,” this is actually an American invention that students love. In the public high school cafeteria I ate in, French bread pizza made a debut on certain days kinda like Taco Tuesdays.

With the same 4 ingredients you make pizza crust dough (mentioned above). After proofed, move the dough over to your baking sheet, and shape your dough in an oval or more football shape than a pizza circle.

Use a little bench flour to prevent sticky dough on your hands and the baking sheet.

When you’re about ready to bake and your oven is pre-heated to 350°F/180°C, you can flatten the dough center if you’ll be adding  toppings that are wet like tomatoes.

Or make your traditional French bread pizza with cheese and sauce only, and leave the center alone so it can rise in the middle (or the reason why you proofed the dough in the first place).

The trick to airy bread loafs, is to gently handle your dough (kinda like in baking cakes where at times you want to fold in your batter or ingredients like meringue whites, so you don’t flatten and knock out the air you just worked on).BUT, you’re the artisan, so you decide!

And then bake (or be-ake! in Great British Bake Off terms).

Healthy Autumn Bread for Balancing Vata and Kapha

Keeping bread healthy, breads that have light airy pockets like French bread interiors or pita bread will not be as heavy and can melt in the mouth.

Here’s the quick bread breakdown low-down on body science:

When bread first enters our mouths, the breakdown starts as an enzyme called amylase in your mouth that initiates the process. Bread is one of the unique foods that doesn’t have to get to your gut first to start digesting (breakdown).

And it’s also one food, if not chewed well in the mouth, that can sit in your stomach like lead (or at least feel that way).

If you have a Vata sensitive stomach or bloating that’s common, or more a Kapha body who’s trying to lose weight, then not eating as much dense bread like sandwich rolls and fast food buns definitely helps your healthy cause.

Whole grain and sprouted breads are wholesome alternatives that could be a game changer for your heartier and healthier bread life.

3 Sweet A-B-C Healthy Recipes (From Autumn Bread Recipes)

And when you have a sweet tooth, these are some autumn healthy wise tips and healthy recipes that can easily turn into healthy autumn bread recipes.

What I most appreciate about easy autumn bread recipes are the intense hearty flavors. Hearty is anti-inflammatory spices and ingredients. It’s healthy comforting food alongside your meals.

You can sweeten pair with a divine pear and cinnamon duo or add a chai tea flavor twist. And you can turn autumn bread recipes into a bread cake, scone, or muffin recipe with just a few simple tweaks. 

Sweet autumn bread recipes like these braided bread ones often have cinnamon or chai spices.

And these 3 sweet autumn baking recipes below are the healthy (my fave kind!)… with these ABC’s: apple, banana, or citrus orange. And loaded with other fall healthy spice and vinegar ingredients. And have no shortage of flavor burst wow! 🤩

Fall Apple Bundt Bread Cake with ACV (or pears) are loaded with polyphenols and apple cider vinegar is shown to lower blood sugar levels that’s good for losing weight and reducing risk of diabetes.

Healthy Fall Apple Bundt Cake Recipe

Chocolate Banana Cake Bread – banana and cocoa is loaded with polyphenols. Both will help to put a smile on your face so you don’t have to reach for processed foods and refined sugar sweets that lead to weight gain.

Chocolate Banana Cake Bread Recipe

Orange Scone – orange zest as a sweetner is loaded with Vitamin C and flavanoids. High in fiber and water content, that will help you feel full so you don’t eat other “bad” sweets with refined sugars.

Orange Scone Recipe

And before I leave you this week, I’m sharing some work inspiration from having professionally planned thousands of party menus with Lebanese food stirring up memories because of the pomegranates, that are an in-season autumn fruit. The red rubies are a dazzling pop of color that leave a juicy finish.

What do ya think?

 

S’mores Waffles + The Secrets to Getting The Life You Want

waffles are a metaphor for getting the life you want in abundance
Fall waffle s’mores 🧇

Waffles are a metaphor for getting the life you want. Looking at each waffle cell can help remind you that you’re not limited to syrup or honey in just one cell. There can be a sweet overflowing abundance.

This week I made a sweet snack: waffle s’mores. S’more please! 😋

What I love about waffle machines are that you can make individual, or to-order waffles in my home kitchen restaurant (haha). My way is imperfect (aka easy!) and fast. You have waffles in less than 5 minutes and enjoy in less time.

And without having to fire up the oven or a sautee pan when you’re not in the mood or it’s warm outside (like these 80-degree November days). I have a simple Cuisinart waffle maker that you can find (or a similar one) with a Black Friday deal. To justify with inflation, you’ll save money not cranking up the oven!

Then when you use an oil spray bottle, you don’t need to add oil in your waffle batter recipe. You use less and that can be healthy good and economical. And spraying, makes waffl-ing fast (...ok, what is the term for cooking waffles?). 🧇

In a pinch, you can use an emptied regular 16.9 oz water bottle. Then screw a clean spray nozzle spray to the bottle, like the kind you use to water mist a plant that’s easy to find at a convenience store, if one’s not in your home.

And then add pour in your choice of mild oil. You can choose from canola and coconut, to light EVOOs. Then lightly spray the waffle maker, top and bottom. And with light oils you can make savory waffles, and not just sweet ones. Just sayin’! 💡

And whatever kind you choose,the waffles come out easy… sometimes in seconds, and you get this nice browned waffle.  

Ahhh… and there it is, fast and easy. Forget about pancakes.🥞 Those are so-last year. Now, I just made the pancake people unhappy.

Just kidding, but I probably will stick to waffles myself.

…And you?

Sharing about waffles, I’m reminded of some franchise hotel breakfasts where they have self-waffle machines. So that’s where you may have practiced before too. Those are the sweet morning kind served indoors. I made the s’mores kind good also for outdoors. 🪵

So, to make the melted waffle sandwich, just tear or cut with a knife your waffles into 4 or quarter sections, and use 2 sections for the top and bottom “buns.” Add your sandwich ingredients like chocolate and marsmallow in the middle (check that the middle layer ingredients don’t go over the sides of the waffles). Then put your sandwich back in the waffle maker until your sandwich ingredients are melted (like a panini maker).

All this can take less than 5 minutes to make when you become a pro waffle maker.

On the lighter topics, this is my new home kitchen tool obsession. 😊

And speaking of home, most of us spend our days checking on people, things, pets, plants, a chore’s progress, or what we’re making.
 
But often we forget to check on the most important thing…  Ourselves.  It’s easy to distract ourselves with what we can see in front of our eyes (that’s not always a mirror).
 
Our eyes are the gateway to our soul and influence our mind.
 
Changing to Abundance Mentality (For Getting the Life You Want)
 

And when I gradually switched from a victim mindset to an abundant one, that’s when I could start manifesting and co-creating new and better things. That’s creativity in the highest.

Wow, that’s a big leap forward but that’s where I’m going this week.

Because I believe there’s nothing more important than getting ourselves and our mind-body aligned with what we want in life.

Our decisions come from the lens we look out from. And in how we nurture our lives. We can make fear-based decisions that don’t help us.

I know this because I lived for the first 35 years of my life with a victim lens that I wasn’t even aware of. You can learn this in relationships where you react. And those reactions give you highlighted feedback.

And you can learn from other clues. Like when I created a vision board when they were popular (maybe they still are?), none of the pictures I cut out and pasted on the board panned out because I was looking from the wrong lens. Those ideas came from the same limiting victim mind that I used to look out from in my everyday life.

And after a massive corporate layoff I was part of, I had a chance to make bolder self-improvement changes as I restarted my life in most areas.

That’s when I connected the dots, expanded my horizons, and put to use my knowledge of the mind-body connection.

And I worked to slow down stress. That’s not totally doable or ideal working in the city. But, it was a big step forward from my past.

Plus, living in a city environment, there are more options, like many yoga studios and classes to choose from. And the environment you’re in can help to center your intentions as it did for me.

And in the slow seasons of life when I was waiting for areas to pan out, I evolved into a better version of myself. 

As I leaned into character trait desires I wanted in mind, body, and spirit, they gradually became my life in alignment.

And the veil of the victim mentality disappeared somewhere in those seasons. And when it did, I could see that in the past I held myself back. You know, those parts of you that make up you, but that your work never sees.

And changing those parts change you. For a better life, an adult walks or runs, and a butterfly flies. Neither creatures crawl around with the earlier life limitations.

With the ability to look up and out, you gain abundance with a higher viewpoint, which helps you to better look in.

Changing Perspectives (For Getting the Life You Want)
 

And that starts by changing thoughts. Last time I shared on negative energy and that’s how life can be unless we proactively make the switch throughout the day so we can get to our abundant thinking.

Sometimes it’s easier to change the home thermostat temperature from cool to heat, than our minds.

We don’t do the switch if we’re not conscious because we have to fight against ego thoughts.

We can live tormented in our negative thoughts without catching on to how much time wasting it’s causing us.

Friend, I lived liked that for many years. So making up for lost time 😂, I choose to never live like that again. And you can too!

You can tell your ego to take a hike! And walk away from others’ egos, and not feeding their egos when they’re acting up.

If you’re aware of the concept of ego and how it’s the root of most people problems, then you’re ahead of the pack. And most high ego folks aren’t reading this because you know, they know it all. 😉

But most don’t consider themselves high in ego compared to so-and-so [insert a name] and those they see in the world acting out.  The ego is much more subtle. It’s part of the air.
 
And just by comparing, that’s ego in action.
 
Recognizing Ego in Others (For Getting the Life You Want)
 

When I moved away from the Washington DC area, only then did I realize how polluted the air was, full of egos. It’s a great city with a lot to offer, but living there carries unique burdens.

It isn’t that other parts of America aren’t impacted by politics, but there it is in the air and not just on television or yard signs. People living there are very careful when speaking about politics (a big no-no), and a faux pas to mention in formal public setting conversations. And even informal ones.

Those ways trickled down to the suburbs where I spent most of my time. And early on in my work days, I would encounter other people’s egos all the time in management. I didn’t know what happened to that calm person from a few hours ago.

Today if I encounter those situations, I remove myself. Life’s too short. And that takes you steps away from getting the life you want.

Being under an ego spell, the other person doesn’t realize they’re engulfed by their ego at that moment (but they could if they chose to be more aware). They could choose the better thought channels.

But when it’s too late, they can appear like the Incredible Hulk compared to the normal person they usually are. Where did David go?

They act and say things that are off-base or aren’t how they usually react. You feel a huge disconnect as they try to rile you up with their words.

When you come back to that person later, the person remembers what or at least part of what you said and hopefully what they said. So that’s why it’s good to plant seeds when they’re unconscious. But just enough so you can get out alive, lol.

And often looking back, they’re sorry for what they said that no longer makes sense to them anymore why they struck a chord that way.

Were they just having a bad day? Did their medication not kick in? Or, does the person have split personalities?

Everyone, just blame it on what they ate (that’s not anti-inflammatory 😊), so you all can move on …and keep your ego at peace.

And as we’re only weeks away from the Holidays, I want to bring in the theme of peace as much as possible. That helps us stay calm and is just what the doctor ordered. 🍎

 

3 Easy Healthy Soup Recipes With Low Sodium

Healthy comfort bisque soup

I have 3 easy healthy soup recipes below that you can make (with  low sodium and sea salt if you like). Before 2020, I never made my own soups. And today, I only keep a backup can in my pantry.

And you can too!… if that’s what you aspire to even if you don’t know how JUST YET.

But with delicious plant-based ingredients, you can make soup broths that you easily turn into clam chowder with a potato soup base. You impress yourself and everyone you make the soup for!

After you learn to make homemade soups in simple steps, you’ll probably not go back to store soup cans as these have delicious natural flavors without all the sodium!

And you’re doing your body healthy good. And probably saving a few dollars if that matters.

And these are the 3 easy healthy soup recipes I’m sharing below:

1. Mushroom soup (with old-fashioned but not-out-of-style oats)

2. Carrot soup (with digestive-wonder root, ginger) 

3. Clam chowder (New England style that’s my personal favorite made from potato soup)

If you want to skip my introduction here (even though there’s good, healthy information that I’ve wittled down and most recipe sites are longwinded ,but this recipe article is not), you won’t hurt my feelings… and you can head straight down to the easy recipes at the end.

And if you want to learn a few healthy moves, such as Ayurvedic healthy balance acts, then here we go:

Let’s start with some soup ingredients that I’ve incorporated below, were not my faves as a child. And as I grew up, I decided I like ginger when that was not my way. I gave it another try and it stuck.

Like many kids, I like processed, sugary, and salty foods and that didn’t change as I grew into my adult Vata self.

And for any of us, we can modify our choices and influence our healthy change.

You can impact and change your health one flavor (and easy healthy soup) at a time.

Vatas especially (and some Kaphas) cuddle up to comfort food in the cooler months and the soups below will be warming and great for the transition seasons.

When we have a Vata imbalance that any of us can have, we love and crave our sweet and salty balance. One minute you want a sugar fix and the next a crisp snack with salt.

If you want to learn more about what’s going on with your body now (and tips to restore), take the body balance quiz.

Most recipes you see, say “salt to taste” or a pinch of salt. In baking, there’s always a pinch of salt and it really adds to the flavor. A ¼ teaspoon is about 5-6 pinches of salt.

If a recipe calls for 1 teaspoon, I usually use A LOT less. Why? Because health is in moderation.

And as a home baker… I rarely use butter unless it’s for celebrational traditional holiday bakes or Christmas cookies and special cakes that wouldn’t be the same without… but for everyday anti-inflammatory baking, I tweak a lot. I use healthy oils and natural sweet ingredients.

Like these ball of energy bites are homemade of grits where I added oatmeal, chocolate chip, Greek yogurt, whole wheat flour, applesauce, and honey.

And they’re complete yum, and NO-GUILT enjoyment, hitting the spot if you have a sweet tooth (that I’m an expert about). 😋energy bites

In creating bakes, I dream up healthy recipes from the baking basics 😉 (…btw, lemme know if you would like to know what baking subs I use, and when in general, as I’d be happy to share those if you’re interested).

I’m involved in a beta chef’s cooking healthy eating group collaboration with RDs that provides culinary teaching and recipe input to a healthy strategy program.

I love food, and my background includes working with thousands of party planning events (and started my career in hotel catering that you already know if you’ve been reading some of my previous blog posts).

I’d hardly consider myself a chef-ette, but I have always had an adult culinary arts interest

…after hotels, I left the hospitality industry and went into more traditional Corporate America work, and then came back to the hospitality working world doing  Mediterranean-cuisine (Lebanese, Spanish, and Italian) event planning for about a dozen foodie restaurants.

That’s really when my good food (gastronomy) tastes and senses were re-ignited and I had a chance to re-marry with my “food is medicine” approach to life.

…And if you come to my blog every week, you can plan on a lot of healthy inspiration in my upcoming blog posts (and get past those nasty winter blues).

And that’s especially good if you want to stay balanced from comfort stress eating that can get the best of us as we enter cooler months and warm holidays … and as we try to finish up stressful deadlines for the year!.

To bypass any winter mood funks and balance us, start the year with a healthy amount of a prime soup ingredient… salt.

Salt Talk For Your Soups

For soups, I avoid iodized salt. I don’t usually add table salt (like the ones in the packets) unless that’s all that’s available and the food isn’t already salted.

I alway buy “unsalted” ingredients when given an option.

If you eat out or eat prepared foods from groceries and restaurants, then you probably get enough salt. And probably more than enough salt in our highly processed foods.

When I’m cooking, I use sea salt (non-iodized) for everything and everyday use.

And then I use coarser natural sea salts like Celtic sea salt (or Himalayan or fleur de sel) for preparing meats to be baked in the oven, and for certain cooked vegetables.

Celtic sea salt is great for your rubs and on top as a garnish (not so much in mixing). The crystals are larger so they don’t blend as great as smaller salt granules. And I also Himalayan sea salt for additional healthy minerals.

And the gastronomic person in me, says coarser salt is absolutely necessary for the right flavor and texture on veggies like Brussel sprouts and edamame if you want a culinary meal experience (and not a bland one). Salt is as important as the veggie itself.

stuffed pepper
Turkey and rice stuffed bell pepper idea for soups or holiday meals

You can get away without using salt on certain veggies like broccoli or okra that hold their own tastes. If you add them to soups, the salt is usually already added.

So here are the 3 easy healthy soups that’ll help you with your salt cravings…

Easy Healthy Soup Recipes

Easy Healthy Soup #1: Mushroom Oat Soup

Cook mushrooms in a pot until soft, and add slow-cook oats. Mushrooms are immune-boosting and are alkaline. If you want, add a little cooking sherry, truffle oil, and saffron to get culinary fancy.

mushroom soup

Easy Healthy Soup #2: Carrot Ginger Soup

Print Recipe
carrot ginger soup recipe.
Print

Carrot Ginger Soup

Course Soup
Cuisine American

Ingredients

  • cooked carrots
  • ginger juice
  • ginger spice
  • ginger, chopped
  • sunflower seeds (optional)
  • dried parsley (optional)
  • cumin and Old Bay (optional)

Instructions

  • Cook carrots on medium heat. When soft, mash carrots.
  • Add ginger spiced and chopped ginger bits (if you prefer for a more pungent bite good for Kapha). You can also use ginger juice for less chunks, and spices.
  • Zhugh with sunflower seeds and dried parsley if desired.

Cook carrots in water until soft, then mash and grate or squeeze ginger juices in the soup. You can finish off with alt-milk for a creamy-effect or  just leave as is. That’s probably the way a.k.a. without ginger I would’ve preferred as a child 🧒🏻).

healthy soup recipes

Easy Potato Soup or New England Clam Chowder

This is easier to make than you may think! You can make delicious chowder from a simple potato soup base.

Peel and cook common Russet potatoes in a pot with water. You would do the same step if you were making mashed potatoes.

Then decide if you want a creamy soup. And if you do, pour out some of the water and then mash potatoes in the same stovetop pot.  Still with the stove heat on, add in your ready-to-eat clams (3 large potatoes to about 5 ounces of clams you can cook or use a can).

I like to zhugh up with aromatic herbs, either fresh or with ground herb spices like cilantro, parsley, oregano, and/or basil.

If you’re not sure if you should add any herbs into your soup (if you’re feeding others), then parsley and thyme spices are less strong (more universally likable) and can be added in of left to individual tastes.

potato healthy soup recipes
Potato base soup

If you’re looking for a few easy-to-make snack ideas to go along with your healthy soup recipes or just to eat on their own, you can try…

Baked kale chips…

Or, homemade baked crackers – zesty za’atar crackers…

Or, popcorn…

Another different twist and take on changing up tastes, is this idea… instead of adding salt, you could add a ‘lil vinegar to your potato snacks and soup.

I like to add ACV vinegar but you could also try malt, red, or white vinegar…  they’re healthier and also give the food a bit of a tangy bite.

I like to also add my daily spices (turmeric, black or white pepper once in awhile). I skip needing any salt after all those changes 😉.

So hopefully you are soup-er excited to make your comfort homemade and easy healthy soup recipes, and maybe you even choose to change up a way that you snack.

FREE Intermittent Fasting Guide For Healthy Living

X