UA-141369524-4

Pitta 5 Love Languages to Restore Imbalance

Pitta is a heated situation where you want to get back to love and peace. And a cooling off like ice cream can do just that. Easy chocolate soft serve recipe below. 🍦🍫

soft serve ice cream chocolate recipe.

You may not be a Pitta type, but you may have others in your life who dominate in this dosha body (and mind-body) type. If they are unaware, they can be impatient, irritated, and annoyed. Or maybe that’s you. We’re all just one step away from a Vata, Pitta, or Kapha imbalance. Restoring the balance helps us operate optimally.

And btw, this avocado tree that started from a seed in the summer, is a calming addition. It’s looking a little like a Jack and the Beanstalk, but it’s healthy. And if a plant is healthy, then it’s happy.

Happy Jack and the Beanstalk

…As humans we’re a ‘lil more complex and want it all (and have more areas that need TLC). Plus from others, we want our preferred 5 love languages met.

And if yours happens to be Gift, then I have a nice giant healthier (but just as tasty) oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe below that you can bake and gift to that Pitta someone (or yourself 😋)… and you can decorate with frosting words if you like. Remember the big cookies you could buy in the mall?

Finding ways to be kind like gifting a cookie, helps when we have someone dominant in our lives and relationships who has a Pitta imbalance. And they act less than, well… desirable or pleasant.

…and that’s because they’re probably stressed about something in their life. If things aren’t happening as they had hoped, this can be a source of sour cherry or bitter thorns that subtly weaves their way into other parts of life.

And chronic stress buildup we know is the silent ager and gateway to health inflammation. Feelings of stress can be masked inside the body. And whether anger is acted out, it’s more a personality trait (and violence is more a male species trait).

And, panicking and anxiety is a heavy Vata trait, so if you’ve been wondering why people naturally panic and others don’t, that’s the way they’re wired. And experiences along their journey can trigger their emotional or uncontrollable body reactions.

The tricky part is you can have a combination of body things going on. It’s better to nip in the bud so undesired tendencies don’t settle in, and you can live optimally free of inflammation and discomforts. (You can learn more about this by taking the Body Balance Quiz).

Today I wanted to talk specifically about Pitta as just about everyone has a dominant Pitta in their life whether it’s at home or work.

If another person’s Pitta imbalance is spilling over to you and causing angst in your life, then you should especially keep reading so you can be aware (and moving towards getting your life back).

Let’s start with…

What if you could silently help the Pitta person (a loved one, a housemate, a boss, a co-worker, or your Pitta self) or people in your life without saying a word? I mean, no one wants to poke (or provoke) the bear.

First of all, most people are unaware they are misbehaving or creating noticeable havoc affecting others if they haven’t already learn to control how they act, at least in front of people. They are naturally that way and you are naturally your way. And probably no one has stopped them (and maybe even encouraged them because they don’t have to encounter them regularly like you do).

Even if you have mentioned their behavior in passing, it may not register. What they are experiencing internally can be louder than your words. It’s their internal turmoil. And the oil spill is damage passes onto you.

Most dominant Pittas love (or should I say live for) productivity. Emotional drama is not going to embrace them and they may even avoid those situations. They’re not going to stick around for the gossip (and that’s not necessarily a bad thing as they have better things to do with their time).

How it can hurt is they may not have a plug-in cord with their heart and surface feelings. (Even though they may feel even deeper inside than those who wear their hearts on their sleeves). Whatever the case, we shouldn’t fault them for what they don’t have and they shouldn’t fault us for our lacks they perceive.

Pitta managers (think the managing directors) can act like a typical Type-A in Corporate America. The tradeoff is they’re not often good with focus on living balanced or taking daily joy time out every day unless there’s a definitive goal assigned to what they’re doing.

Working out, running, or bicycling can be a better work-life balance time-off activity in their focused eyes.

So, to a Pitta, starting a conversation with having a better work-life balance probably isn’t going to win them over, lol. Those of us who are Vatas can find that interesting as we love to enjoy and relax.

Having a happy life discussion may even enter a downward spiral if you’re looking for a promotion. Getting the right things done is more the language you want to use, and this could also be with a relationship partner.

If you can present spreadsheets, logical conclusions, and rationale, this will go over better than anecdotal evidence. You may even want to get to the bottom line first and then explain the backup story.

Strong Pittas make great finishers and competitors. Professional athletes are usually high Pittas because they can stay calm under pressure, so they continue to score when others could crumble.

For a Pitta relationship, you may want to suggest joint leisure physical activities or yoga. Emphasizing more active yoga poses like Warrior or Mountain standing poses where hands and arms are in movement.

A lying down Knee Hug or Happy Baby Pose won’t do much for a Pitta. But a stretch in hamstrings will remind them of working out and not having sore leg muscles the next day (healthy productivity).

A quiet practice like eyes-closed meditation can be good for a Pitta since there is a clear beginning and end when the eyes close and open. And if there’s a clear goal like helping to reduce stress, then they can be all in. “Being more intentional in life” can be a little too obscure.

Whoever your Pittas are in your life, here are 5 ways you can bring in more love for each of the 5 love languages (from Gary Chapman’s book).

5 Love Languages for the Pittas in your Life:

Quality Time:

For a Pitta co-worker, if you can’t physically spend time with them, silent prayer for them is a proactive way that would help. No one ever refuses a prayer no matter what beliefs they hold or don’t hold.

For a romantic partner, working out together (mentioned above), or an engaging activity like cooking a meal together, ice skating, or playing a game could be fun. If an activity is mentioned, even if it’s not favorable to you, think about what would be a benefit in taking a few hours.

We can spend that much time, cleaning and piddling around doing nothing or watching television where the time just disappears. Or in feeling guilt for not agreeing.

What if you did something that meant a lot to the other person? It’s time you put into the relationship and quality to them. Think of it as an act of service (love).

Acts of Service:

Maybe your Pitta friend or spouse needs a vacation, but they can’t take one just yet. You could change the situation around you. This works for babies. O how a fussy baby can be quietly silenced, being held in the air, or with a ‘lil playful drops of water trickling down their heads that you release from a straw.

For an adult, that won’t work (and will probably get you in hot water!) but the same strategy works.

You can similarly change their immediate atmosphere. And create ambiance (that’s what we would say in a restaurant).

You can play Kenny G or jazzy tone music around them. Music has a profound calming effect. You can explore a bunch of music play suggestions.

You can light up or gift them with a lavender or musky scented gift. This could bath be salts, a candle, or tea. This can help soothe them back to relax mode.

This can be coupled with quality time activities but also when they’re most stressed out, like when they first get home from work or had chaotic travel.

You know when they’re relaxed because they won’t be acting irritated by what was or wasn’t done.

Gifts and Physical Touch:

Maybe make a homemade or thoughtful gift like an avocado smoothie or a photo memory displayed that may go over very well. You may need to dig a ‘lil deeper to find a gift to evoke feeling from a memory vs. giving a thoughtful gift, like…

Bake a carrot cake, prepare a Middle Eastern meal (lotsa astringent tastes that will help balance them) or order one in.

…Or you can make waffles or pancakes.

…Or this irresistible and versatile healthy oatmeal chocolate chip cookie (that can also be a breakfast idea). The printable recipe is found here 🍴.

oatmeal chocolate chip cookie Pitta love food.
Who wouldn’t love this cookie and if you hand frosted writing something nice?

2/3 cup oats

1/2+ cup whole wheat flour for a standard cake pan (this can vary depending on the size of your baking pan. Be sure you can cover the entire bottom of the pan for a whole cookie.)

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 Tbsp maple syrup (for low-sugar)

1 Tbsp yogurt

1/4 cup almond milk

2 Tbsp chocolate chips (add on top like in my photo above if you don’t want a lumpy cookie. Then you can slightly heat the cookie up in the oven recommended for warm but intact chocolate chips when you’re ready to enjoy).

1 tsp cocoa powder

1 egg

Mix ingredients. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 25 minutes. I like to let the edges brown just a tad (for the crunchy bite). No muss, no fuss… just simple smiles.

Movin’ on…

soft serve ice cream chocolate recipe.
Print

Soft Serve Chocolate Ice Cream

Course Dessert
Cuisine American

Ingredients

  • 6 egg yolks
  • 3 cups milk
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/4 cup fine sugar (monk fruit sugar alternative)

Instructions

  • Add milk and cocoa powder to a pot, and heat until you see a light boil (a few small boil bubbles). Then turn the heat off.
  • Take the pot off the heat and let cool for a few minutes.
  • Add your egg yolks to a separate mixing bowl and beat with sugar to emulsify until pale or lighter yellow color.
  • Add slightly cooled mixture to egg yolks and constantly stir with quick motions (prevent curdling).
  • When combined, set in refrigerator to cool down for about 15 minutes or longer.
  • Prepare ice cream maker machine and bowl if you will be using one to set the soft serve ice cream. Take bowl out of freezer for about 30 minutes if it has been in the back of the freezer. Freezer temps vary but you want the bowl cold enough but e.g. not with frozen icicles on the sides but not water condensation. Tip: for the balance, have the bowl a little less cold because you can always freeze the ice cream back up in the freezer. And soft serve is more creamy, watery, and soft than ice cream.
  • Alternatively, if you are not using an ice cream maker/bowl, be sure to stir the ice cream every half hour or so to remove any forming icicles.

 

 

 

Healthiest Cookie and Nutrition Facts Low Down

Healthiest cookie vibes are almost unheard of, as they often have too much high fructose corn syrup, other sugar, fat content, artificial flavoring… and I did I mention sugar. 😊

This spiced cookie is one powerful bite, loaded with anti-inflammatory spices. Recipe below. ⬇️

But, I share a piece of good sweet news… today, you could look for the healthiest cookie that tastes good (and not like the box it came in), and then feel better for your reduced sugar choice.

Included below is a helpful sugar content list next time you’re out cookie grocery shopping.

If you were born with a sweet tooth (ahem…Vatas!), eliminating sugar from your diet, may be one of the worst food elimination news you could hear.

But wait!… before you give up on all sugar, know that your natural makeup and desires are there for a reason, so you don’t have to give up all your sweets if your body and health allow. Instead, you could look for better, daily choices so you don’t have to give up entirely one day.

Cookies are one sweet type and if that’s not your go-to sweet, what are some of the other daily sweet delights? Ice cream, cakes, pies, candy, and donuts.

Sugar is sugar. But some sweets are better for you and they originate in nature and from plants. If a piece of dark chocolate or a juicy piece of fruit will give you the same effect, learn to let your healthy taste bud rule over your eyes that plays tricks.

Because the truth is if you or I tell ourselves, no, we can’t have that sweet piece of joy, then we just want it more as we have an internal debate. And once we get a taste of the tasty stuff, our brain’s pleasure center can easily tempt us to go overboard in a weak moment, even if we consider ourselves self-disciplined in every other way.

That’s why lose weight diets (a.k.a. yo-yo or fad diets) don’t work long-term or lifelong because we feel we are missing out on what our mind and body know is out there. Short-term diets are not natural to our bodies. We want real tasty foods that we crave.

But, if you want to fit into that special dress or get your bathing suit body ready for the summer season, you’re better off doing it naturally so that you can stay the same size year-round.

Just ask Oprah who was the poster example for learning how to eat healthily. And thankfully our abundant society has wised up with better accessible plant-based and healthier ingredient options (from farm to store), than when we were kids.

Decades ago, I wrote a lifelong diet guide with recipes that included enjoying more or less one day “off” a week. A few years before then I had gone on a diet of eating low-fat cookies that came from a dark green healthy-color box (that was anything but healthy or plant-based).

I don’t see those cookies on the grocery shelves anymore, but they were a terrible food substitute that led to weight gain and adding unhealthy processed ingredients to my body. I learned the hard way, but that saved me a lifetime of going down the wrong eating path, and from then on, I wised up.

And I try to save others from making the same mistakes I made. I still very rarely eat red meat, dairy, or more than one or two bites of a sugary sweet, not because I don’t like those foods or can’t eat them (au contraire!), but because I choose to, now knowing what I know. And like Oprah says, “when you know better, you do better.”

And you can do the same with knowledge and a little discipline, which then becomes second nature where you don’t even want those foods anymore because you know they don’t make you a healthier being and that is more satisfying to you. There’s no guilt, either way… it’s just a choice.

Plus, as you get older, the bad foods and sugar your body could tolerate in your 20s may not be the same, so you’re better off wanting to change instead of having to or being forced to.

So that’s where cookie consciousness came into the picture for me. My sweet weakness is cookies (and decadent cakes and cupcakes). It’s wired in my DNA.

But, I’ve learned to be discerning and find the best ones out there. I enjoy the cookie if it tastes great and has low sugar content, or if I make my own in a controlled sugar baking environment.

Keeping it real to yourself is what it’s all about…

And also celebrating your efforts, leaves you happy, your mental health improves, and your body benefits, so you want to balance health and happiness (btw, my blog name is healthy and happy 😊).

I like to have fun (Enneagram 7) probably as much as the next person, and I also like to balance rules because they keep life simple. So looking at nutrition facts is one practice that I like to do (and seriously I do find fun in a mature, adult sorta way).

And I started out my career out as a catering manager at a DoubleTree Hotel where they’re famous for their c.c. cookies you can make healthy 🍪 but yeah the original ingredients in the official recipe is not listed on the fresh brown paper cookie bags. I know because I sat next to them and used them as a pound of butter paper weights for my BEO contracts I had on my desk, taking a bite here and there to curb my breakfast appetite.

Gosh, those were the early days!

And, on that note…

Quick trivia question:

Which of these cookies was famously credited as the first?… is it the Fig Newton, Animal Cracker, or Chocolate Chip Cookie? (Keep reading, as the answer is below ⬇️).

Choosing the Healthiest Cookie

Healthiest cookie goes to one with no white flour, no added white sugar and no butter. But still tastes amazing like this flourless oat based chocolate chip cookie.
This is a healthy chocolate chip cookie becaue it has no butter, white sugar, and flour.

In choosing cookies, the first step is acknowledging that all cookies are not created equal. You know this without having to think about it twice (or twice baked like a healthy no-sugar or butter biscotti recipe)… but when you’re in the grocery aisle, do you make mostly sensible or sensory decisions?

If you’re not sure or it can vary, take a photo of your grocery cart at the check-out line and evaluate.

Then when you get home, take a look at the Nutrition Facts on the back of the food packaging as though you’re looking for the healthiest cookie out there that you want.

When you look closer and compare, you may find an oatmeal cookie may not be lower in sugar count than a chocolate chip cookie, the one you and the Cookie Monster in your house wanted.

In those pleasantly surprising fact discoveries, if nothing else you get what you want and are happier for your choice! And sometimes you’re shocked at what your old favorites tell you.

You can also compare cookies in the same brand like a Girl Scout Cookie. One GSC can be lower in sugar and another one can be off the charts. They may be made from the same factory, but they have a different makeup.

You can continue reading below how they rank in sugar content as I’ve included in the list. Today, gratefully we have so many healthier choices and from the same brands. Continue reading “Healthiest Cookie and Nutrition Facts Low Down”

FREE Intermittent Fasting Guide For Healthy Living

X