Moisturize Tips for Eczema Skin + Moist Chocolate-Banana Cake Bread Recipe

Moisturize if your skin is dry may be what’s needed for you in these climate changing times. And if you’re experiencing eczema skin or other dryness signs, you’ll want to drench yourself and let these tips soak in like I did when I first discovered an eczema flair-up due to global warming…

And if that’s you, you’ve come to the right place for moisturize tips plus a moist healthy divine tasting chocolate banana bread recipe below you’ll love!

With global warming on the reality fast rise, the outdoor dry air is becoming drier, and this plays extra havoc on our affected bodies and down to the hypodermis and skin cells level.

In awareness, you can proactively moisturize (more), make healthy changes (10 tips below to check off), and not be blind-sided by your body’s need to adjust naturally.

You may find yourself needing more products as I did…

Cerave became my favorite daily moisturizer needed for the outside and water for the inside. But I found I needed more than moisturizers, products with hyaluronic acid for skin care, and soothing parched skin that became eczema developments from heat rashes. It was like a sun burn.

Drinking water and eating 90% water fruits like melons wasn’t enough, but it was a start.

If you feel like you’re drinking water like a camel and keep moisturizing like it’s already winter (and you’re still dry), there’s nothing wrong with you.

Climate change can affect sensitive skin with symptoms you may never have had before.

Like, I had good skin and no need to moisturize certain body parts until up to a few years ago.

One good check is your home thermostat.

Another is your body thermostat. This will feel different despite our 98°F/36°C human bodies. If you’re Pitta imbalanced, your natural heat will be increased.

One of the first places to transition is testing the shower water temperatures you’re using based on outdoor temperatures and your body (balanced and imbalanced).

Shatavari is asparagus root, an Ayurvedic solution I use in summer, that helps to adjust internal thermostats and can help with flushed skin.

You can start on cool and end on cool if you’re high in Pitta or it’s summer. For Vata and Kaphas, you may already be on the cool side, so a little warmer to start and end is good. You can use Ayurvedic small changes to help change your previous habits.

That’s how knowing what your Ayurvedic body imbalances are can currently help to restore them. And adjusting your shower temperatures can too.

So, one takeaway (or reminder) is don’t stick with the same shower temperature year-round. Adjust to yourtemperatures.

Self-care and prioritizing our prized bodies above our stuff keep us running optimally through the seasons. And just like you change out your clothes from summer to autumn and winter, you want to change your routines and habits for your changing body.

Our skin, as our largest organ, acts as a barrier to our internal body organs we can’t see. We often take for granted when all is running smoothly. Your skin is constantly changing and renewing and a great place to start.

And retinol that I learned as the stronger Retin-A in our youth can help that process along if it doesn’t irritate your skin.

10 Moisturize Self-Care Tips:

FOR SKIN AND SPECIFIC BODY PARTS

At the bare minimum, take care of the entry points on your body.

1) Eyes: Your eyes aren’t just the window to your soul, they are the gateway to how you see the world. And if you have dry eyes, that’s one fuzzy world!

Adding eye drops helps (and especially if you’re on your digital devices more than ever). Blue light blocking UVB glasses are necessary as you never know when you’ll be walking in the strong sun and don’t want to end up with cataracts or eye diseases that’s a reality for aging people. I learned that from my mom.

As a society, we can seem to care more about what fashionable pair of specs we’re wearing and forget about our precious eyes.

Needing to moisturize our eyes when we wake up lets us know we’ve slept that swimming fish don’t need (not even the smart Dr. Seuss Goldfish ones). That could be a habit stack for nasal saline drops (another main entrance into the body).

2) Lips: Daily real self-care things can seem small (and sometimes inconvenient or annoying) but you’re naturally given your refined parts like tender lips so you can chew with your mouth closed (unlike an ape that happily spits out food in company).

At home, I like to bring in outdoor local wonderment by using organic honey, a household-must in more ways than one.

One way you may not have thought about is using honey to moisturize dry lips. Glossy raw honey works better than a honey lip balm, especially if you’re about to eat or drink.

…Plus you get a ‘lil sweet taste in 😉

Honey lips stay supple because the natural humectant locks in the moisture. And even helps for little salty cuts on the sides of your lips in between the top and bottom lip, if that happens to you.

It’s also antibacterial. The B.C. Egyptians are credited for discovering honey as a secret medicinal ingredient. They lived like the Kardashians and like Queen Bees.

Honey meant luxury. I wonder if the Queen Bee would’ve adapted to today’s changing climate. 😉 We still know that nature provides the best sources and that natural solutions can be the best answers to our problems.

…And this is why our natural bodies intuitively know what we need (and that I’m super passionate about). Our bodies are connection points to our mind and spirit that make us above other mammals.

For honey, depending on your need, you find a local raw honey source in your area or you use a good standby like Manuka honey (native to Australia/New Zealand) that has become the gold standard.

If you buy processed honey fillers, those aren’t the same. The sugar honey bear shows his age as he crystallizes. and is not one you want to add to your medicinal cabinet, as cute and wallet-friendly as a honey celebrity that he is. Instead, spend a little more on a lesser-known high-quality local honey.

3) Whole-body moisturize (before and) after showering for prevention.

If your skin feels raisin dry, steaming in the warm shower helps. If right after exiting the shower, you moisturize right away, you can seal in the moisture on certain dry parts with a product like Vaseline lotion that has petrolatum (it’s like adding a protective wax or protective coat to your nails). Rose Vaseline is good for heated Pitta moments.

And then add your favorite lotion if you’re still feeling dry skin. That’s a good habit to get into. We all have different skin so I mention a few good ingredients here…

And then in the evening, you can mix it up with shea butter, coconut or avocado oil, or Ceramide 3 lotions. You may even want to moisturize mid-day if you are super dry. I use different unscented or fragrance-free moisturizers to eliminate harmful phthalates.

And I keep natural, great citrusy scented hand creams close by. Mixing it up (biodiversity) helps your body to adapt better.

Don’t let all the hoopla of different ingredients overwhelm you, just focus on 3 things… moisturize, moisturize, and moisturize!

But if more severe and you need to soothe itchy inflammations, look for ingredients like aloe, colloidal oatmeal, vitamins C and E, and healthy oils (coconut, carrot seed, olive oils… if you can eat it, then you know it’s skin-safe and good food moisturizing ideas). Don’t forget honey… it’s sticky good!

For dryness around your scalp, try an oil like coconut oil and moisturizers. Try to leave in after your shower (or let soak in before you shower). We’re so quick to get cleaned off from the greasiness, but that’s sheer bathing luxury for your skin.

4) Salve and sesame oil: for dryness on and around nails and cuticles. You want to let your nails breathe (if you usually have them polished or wear artificial nails). Cooler weather is a good time to let your nails go au naturel. That also gives you a break from year-round time consuming and costly nail maintenance… That’s a breath of fresh air!

moisturize

1) Moist salve (good for dry cuticles) and dry lips, 2) essential oil spray for pillow or yoga mats, and 3) moist lip balm almost as good as honey… PLUS a nice quote!

5) Shea Butter: For rough sandpaper hands or feet, an emollient-softening lotion with shea butter can feel rich and good. Hands and feet tend to be the first places that can get very dry so take extra mani-pedi self-care measures. Keep lotion by your computer, desk, and body so you can use throughout the day as needed or when you remember. If you have dry skin, you can never moisturize enough!

(The worst that will happen if you over-moisturize is you get butter fingers and something slips from your hand, but you’ll never get called into the principal’s office for moisturizing too much! I have Vata lotion in every room… basically that’s a variety of lotion potions to choose from for dry emergencies and convenience.

6) Aloe: Is another great skin quencher and is not fussy or sticky. It’s clear color (not the Kermit frog green color you may have seen with dyes, that sells better). Aloe is water to your skin. I never used to use aloe regularly. I only used it to quickly heal skin burns from the kitchen. But now it’s a great non-greasy moistener for in-between moisturizing with lotions. It’s like a sip of water to your skin, that is better than nothing when your skin is parched… it’s like drinking water, and it can tie-you over until you get a full drink.

FOOD AND DRINKS

7) Water and Coconut water: Is super hydrating from the natural Super Fruit. VitaCoco water is hydrolyzing, and can help if you’re not sugar-sensitive.

If you are, there’s nothing purer than plain water.

Natural water like Voss and Fiji water are treats but skipping the cases of grocery plastic bottle filtered waters (stripped of minerals) are good ideas.

A replaceable Brita pitcher and filter or home water filter system from your fridge can work better and is a better reusable water system.

8) Substituting ingredients: Preventing inflammation caused by dryness helps to maintain a healthy balance in your body.

You can subtly do this with small replacements like fruit sugar over refined sugar, and healthier oils like EVOO, avocado, or coconut oil over bad fats (e.g. margarine, butter, vegetable oil, hydrogenated oils… and the stuff I grew up with… you too?).

9) Seasonal foods: Lean into what’s seasonally “in” by shopping at the local farmers markets or in the abundant bins in grocery stores. You can often tell when there’s an abundance because the organic choice is also abundant.

You can see abundance from a distance.

When I did party planning in restaurants, the menus were always seasonal, based on the available foods priced reasonably. So you wouldn’t see watermelon recipes in the winter or pumpkin dishes in the spring.

10) Spices: are a great way to balance food seasonality and keep your food and dishes interesting year-round with reliable seasonings.

Isn’t spice the variety of life!? …in my world, anyway, it is (and hopefully in yours!). Oregano was one of my first favorites which goes well with red sauces and Italian dishes.

Then as spices evolved in the Western world, turmeric became a star. Plus, it’s anti-inflammatory and good to eat for dry, irritated skin (could be Vata and Pitta imbalance at the same time in changing weather).

Don’t let the turmeric drying and astringent texture to your tongue fool you into believing it’s drying you out. It’s body healing (and where you can get a glimpse of balancing wholeness through food).

Chocolate Banana Recipe

The healthier coconut oil and low-sugar chocolate cocoa-banana bread recipe below is inspired by a story from my childhood sweet (as in baked-goods) memories…

One day, my mom gave me a banana bread loaf to take to my first-grade class. I can’t remember what the occasion was if there was one…

I remember food sensitivities didn’t exist much back then, and a classmate once brought in baklava with nuts, and we all tried it, even though that’s more of an adult dessert (not so popular with first graders).

My other classmates also sometimes brought in more popular cake-type bakes and I think that’s where the recent past cupcake craze resurfaced again (as that was a thing back then for good ‘ol fashioned memories).

The banana bread I took to school was a one-time occurrence and definitely more in the adult taste category. But my teacher loved it (or maybe she just loved me I hope) …Or both, as she asked me for the recipe. 😊

So…that same day, I asked my mom to write down the recipe. English isn’t her first language and I’ve never seen a single written recipe she wrote as I don’t think that was popular back in her day,

All that despite a different home-cooked dinner she prepared like a cook pro almost every night.

Well… the next day, apparently my schoolteacher had tried baking the bread from the recipe I handed her because I recall she mentioned she thought there must be a missing ingredient as hers didn’t turn out the way my mom’s had. That’s the story I remember anyway.

I never asked my mom to write another recipe as the opportunity never came up again. But I think that memory from my formative years developed my skill and gradual interest in drumming up new recipes with old inspirations and replacing ingredients with healthier ones we have available now. Thank you, mom! And for passing on the passionate cooking genes. In her golden years, she still loved cooking (bless her heart).

And for your life, if you still think you can’t cook or bake, you never know what a decade can bring in your favor as your tastes change!

mosturize-chocolate-banana-bread-recipe The bread has a darker brown color (less banana bread beige blah!).

I think that’s why fruit cakes have candied fruits in them because they give a pop of color that walnut and other beige nut colors don’t.

It makes you want to dig in or give as a gift (I also think).

On the healthy side of things, it’s also filled with less sugar and more healthy fat oil that helps us moisturize our bodies.

Easy, Healthy Chocolate Banana Bread

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine American

Ingredients

1 cup mashed bananas (225 grams)
1/3 cup coconut oil (73 grams)
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup almond milk (59 mL)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1-1/3 cups flour of choice (168 grams)
1/3 cup cocoa powder (40 grams)
1 cup bananas (up to 225 grams) you can use 1/2 cup minimum

Instructions

Combine wet ingredients with dry ones. Mix well.
Prepare baking pan with baking spray or light oil to prevent sticking.
Bake in 325 F˚/ 170 C˚oven for 65-80 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

EASY, Healthier Chocolate-Banana Bread

1 cup mashed bananas (225 grams)

1/3 cup coconut oil (73 grams)

1/3 cup maple syrup (the less the better)

2 eggs (room temperature)

¼ cup almond milk (59 mL)

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

½ tsp ground cinnamon

1-1/3 cups flour (168 grams)

1/3 cup cocoa powder (40 grams)

½ to 1 cup bananas. (up to 225 grams)

Combine wet ingredients with dry ones.

As my television baking teacher, Martha Stewart would say, it doesn’t matter which you to add first to the other: wet to dry or dry to wet. And in lingo I picked up from hotel catering days, we would say, “it’s 6 of 1 or half-dozen the other.”

Mix well and bake in 325 F˚/ 170 C˚oven for 65-80 minutes.

You gotta love the lower temperature bakes (they’re so few and far between… and that makes this a good year-round bake).

With this recipe, you also get to see the magic of the oven as the forming bread looks like it’s bathing in healthy coconut oil where you wonder if it will soak in or evaporate. And then when the bread is done, Voila! (or Wah-lah! if French isn’t your native cooking tongue 😜)…

moisturize

Final tips: if you want a baking masterpiece or the first piece that’s outta this world (and to give it some contrasting color)… then embellish with crystalized ginger (sweet spicy taste) and calming orange zest flavors.

Also, decorate with poppy seeds to really make it pop out like in artisanal bread. You can also add a little shredded coconut snow effect (like you see in a snow globe if you really want to have some fun). ❄️

Until next time, take good self care! …And if you want to learn how to restore annoying imbalances (dry-related or something else), you can take my body balance quiz.

Tired Frustrated or Overwhelmed Feelings Are Common

Tired, frustrated, or overwhelmed feeling as shown in this word cloud are general feelings many of us have.

Tired, frustrated, or overwhelmed feeling are common — These are eye-opening common feelings from my community surveyed in September 2021

But you don’t have to stay tired, frustrated, or overwhelmed. It’s the start of a new season and you can transition into your best season (no matter your situation). You can handle it with grace if you stay conscious of your attitudes and what you’re focusing on.

How you react is a direct determinant of how you perceive and interpret your situation.

Today’s blog post (and it’s a big one) is all about your different tired, frustrated, or overwhelmed feelings that bubble up when triggered that arise from some form of dissatisfaction (or trigger) in your life. I’m gonna share how to put those non-serving feelings aside so you can LIVE fully!

If you’re tired overall, then I’ve also got a tea beverage that’ll help put a pep in your step (especially if you have a Kapha imbalance). So keep on reading…

But – just a little side warning upfront: this is a long (and maybe deep) blog post. I didn’t intend for this to turn into an article-length piece, but I’m very passionate about the topic of balance restoration (having suffered in my ways before with unfulfilling work), so I believe that this is useful information for those who want it (and the data is showing people are feeling overwhelmed and frustrated these days).

So to further help with exhaustion and offer some tired relief in the way I know that works, I’m providing some know-how advice and practical nuggets of wisdom that I picked up along my journey.

I chopped up the blog article down into 4 main sections and here are some of the highlights:

Section 1: I explain how feelings can guide you and share what you could productively do with your feelings, plus lessons I learned that can help you turn your life around from tired, frustrated, or overwhelmed feelings.

Section 2: I share how to turn your feelings around with your thoughts and two revelations that changed my life (and since the tennis U.S. Open just ended, I use an analogy from the sporting event to describe how you can improve your thought life).

I also share with you some of my lifelong learner ways you can use to help you turn your life around from tired, frustrated, or overwhelmed feelings. And I explain how to reset your life now to a better path of possibilities.

Section 3: You can learn how to change your moods (whether they’re daily or seasonal moods) and how to use your time wisely with a break pause in your day (and life).

I include plenty of peppery questions you can ask yourself to get to the heart of the matter and find yourself in this season, along with oodles of examples throughout (so be sure to read it all and come back if you need to take a break!)

…and then finally in Section 4: you can learn how to change your perspectives from the tired, frustrated, or overwhelmed lens.

And I wrap up with some joy and inspiring ways you can look forward to your season and the upcoming 4 seasons.

So be ready to be encouraged and if you’re ready, grab a beverage and here we go!…

Continue reading “Tired Frustrated or Overwhelmed Feelings Are Common”

Emotional Wheel: 3 Case Studies

Emotional wheel is something you’ve probably heard about. Daily, we are bombarded with triggered emotions. If we process them when they happen or within the week, that’s healthy for us so we don’t assume trauma that hurts our happiness. I learned the hard way, but lessons learned gave me wisdom to end the madness even if it was delayed by years.

And these healthy black and white chocolate dipped biscotti (recipe below) ⬇️ represent the refining process of going through (the oven) again to get to the optimal finish line bake. You can make these when you’re working on your emotional wheel feelings, and not sure if you’re feeling up or down or all around that life can serve up.

Jump to Recipe

I was on a recent webinar presentation watching a respected leader and expert I have been listening to for years. She’s usually always on point except for this one display of being on an emotional wheel.

Consequently, her mind jumped all around, from one thought back to another. I felt for her. Like a trouper, she just went on like the professional she is.

Halfway through, she mentioned her forgetful mood was because she didn’t have anything to eat as a result of a hectic morning. But I could see and feel through the screen that the turmoil she was having was from a temporary Vata and Pitta imbalance, simultaneously going on at the same time.

I know that because I’ve been there and I’m sensitive to those imbalances.

We often try and associate our off-ness with a routine missed, or else we just let the moments pass and resolve themselves.

But what if it doesn’t? …and those moody feelings go from a day into days or weeks?

In this webinar I was on, this expert was also more impatient than usual. She didn’t usually point out when she had answered a question already. She typically just graciously found a new way to answer with additional ideas and value. She’s usually very calm and in control in mind-body connection ways.

I’m using this as a case study, as this can happen to any of us in our human-ness, no matter how put together or skilled we are. We’re not robots, thank goodness!

And this helps explain tennis pro, Naomi Osaka’s performance this week in the U.S. Open tennis match (and previous matches) where she has shown signs of frustration, throwing her racquet to the hardcourt. She was up and winning in the first set and then her mind-body turned on her, and she ended up going on a losing streak to a younger underdog player.

This is why they play in professional sports, because mostly if they can contain their emotions and control with a focused, coordinated mind-body, then they shine. But no matter how pro they are, they can lose it if they get inside their heads, and their bodies don’t perform in the tip-top way they want.

Anxiety is one of those emotions that can be crippling. And anger (or irritation as a subtler form) is another. You can go from one undesirable emotion to the next in the spectrum of the emotional wheel.

In my wholeness journey (as a 3^rd study case), I’ve learned how to remove and calm those emotions that used to play a regular or seasonal role in my life. I just thought that was the way I was. I didn’t know back then I could do something about it that would change my life.

Then on top of those emotions, I used to think SADD (seasonal affective disorder) was what I would experience all my life from a teenager on, when every February I would feel hormonally imbalanced or slightly depressed. Do they even talk about this anymore as there are so many other known disorders in our more open, aware society?

I knew once March rolled around I was good and chipper again. But not everyone bounces back that way.

As I grew up, I learned to get the right vitamins, minerals, and herbal supplements, and that helped along with all the other healthy and daily practices I implemented to enjoy every day.

In this similar way of seeking knowledge, I learned how to restore anxious-irritated feelings. We all have some feelings we have running on the surface or as undercurrents in our life, and are sometimes stronger based on our life situations.

In my desires and awareness, I learned how to faster restore those symptoms from the body-mind perspective, so that even the inward expression and feelings disappear. That’s a big transformation. And I realized it’s possible to improve your life with better wisdom and practice.

Emotional Wheel: Anxious Vata vs Angry Pitta Imbalances

There’s a varying spectrum of symptoms or descriptions you can use for Vata vs. Pitta imbalances on the emotional wheel.

An anxious Vata imbalance can show signs of being worried, scared or fearful (like if you will lose something valuable or if you feel uncertain about an outcome).

An angry Pitta imbalance can feel hot-tempered, irritated, annoyed, critical, or impatient (or feel a need to be more right about everything than usual).

In both cases, you want to get back to your calmest self as soon as possible. We all know stress causes havoc on our bodies and minds. And when you’re calm, you make better decisions when you can think and act clearly.

But each specific imbalance needs a different remedy.

If you have a Vata imbalance, you can first more notice your symptoms in your heartbeat, stomach, and sweaty hands (before it impacts your mind). You want to control those with your thoughts. You want to change that, to feel fearless and confident.

In a high-pressure situation like in a world-is-watching-your tennis court performance, that’s not easy to do and to revert back right away. At home or in your life, that’s what you want to do.

If you have a Pitta imbalance, your mind can often be impacted first. Triggers can set off your mind, and then your actions create your behaviors that lead to body stressors.

We all are born with a split mind that I won’t get into here, but this can be part of a personal growth journey you take to have one productive, loving mind in your higher self-space.

It’s the stuff I breathe, share, teach (and stand for). I believe your health and happiness are dependent on your growth and based on your choice and decision to take a better path than how you started or were given.

And in either case of Vata or Pitta imbalances, if you’re not calm then you’re stunted momentarily until you can restore and get back to your balance. You’re frozen from being creative and fully productive as your mind is distracted and can be racing, and that can impact your physical health like getting enough sleep and functioning optimally in the waking hours.

…Such as sitting still can be a Vata challenge and getting motivated to do calming yoga can be something you need to convince your body to do if it will cooperate. And a Pitta challenge can be to not express knee-jerk reactions, opinions, or interrupt. These subtle occurrences are emotional wheel signs that can be balance restored. Just like you get your tire wheels balanced (in alignment) on a car, your body-mind needs addressing, tune-ups and check-ins, so it runs optimally for life.

If you have a Vata imbalance you can witness your jumping from task to task more than usual.

When you have a Pitta imbalance you can also be jumpy, but you may want to interject more often.

You can go from one imbalance to another quickly, the same day, or as often as the weather changes (along with the storms in your body), and naturally can go away.

But, a better goal is you don’t want to be jumpy at all. You want to get off the emotional hamster wheel. There’s no good benefit being on it. You want to be cool, calm and collected. Or happy, and your excitement is contagious so you can be your BEST YOU.

If you let go of the unwanted feelings, then that’s victory. But if these hindering feelings spin out of control in your thought life, then you can end up lashing out at others, being angry, or running away. And these can in a usually-delayed way show up on your body in some form.

When your balance is restored, you know because the feelings of calm and peace wash over, and you can find the joyful moments to keep you productive and happy at the moment. You are free and own the most important thing you have, Your Life. You feel on top of the world and your emotional wheel is balanced.

So now you know about the Vata-Pitta differences (or are getting a little more aware). What do you do about restoring your emotional wheel of undesired feelings?

It’s not exactly one size fits all as we have different bodies and minds (biodiversity), but since we’re all born with a body and mind, there are similar specific remedies that work for these imbalances.

For a Vata, ginger, and cinnamon in black teas can be your magic tea. Orange is one of your magical scents.

If you’re a Vata or have a Vata imbalance, you won’t want grassy tasting green teas (green smoothies are okay all the time 😊) or to do the creative activities, as your mind will still want to protect you like you’re being chased by a tiger.

If you’re a Pitta or have a Pitta imbalance, you won’t want sweets. You’ll prefer a plummy-sour fruit flavor or green tea, and you’ll want to get active. You can want the grassy cologne scents that you won’t normally be attracted to if you’re not a naturally dominant Pitta.

From anxiety to anger, you can easily go into a distracted fight-flight-frozen mode.

You get to know which imbalances you have when you like certain scented lotions and perfumes you like sometimes but not others. All that information is connected to your body-mind intelligence and imbalances.

Your body naturally knows what it wants and needs. It’s fascinating. That’s why I’m passionate about restoring imbalances that lead to better daily happiness and long-term health.

You can learn how to do this for yourself and others. As a first step you could take the body balance quiz to get some quick tips on how to restore your dominant imbalance and get advice for deeper insight on your body-mind imbalances. I love this mantra:

“When you know better, you do better.”
-Oprah and Maya Angelou

Break your patterns, stay curious, and with a growth mindset, you can make tweaks and improvements that affect your health and happiness. Let your emotional wheel of feelings help guide you. Be well.

Print Recipe

Healthy Biscotti (No Butter or Sugar) - Black and White Chocolate Biscotti

Ingredients

2-1/2 cup flour
3 tsp baking powder
1-1/2 tsp aniseed, crushed
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup coconut oil
1-1/4 tsp almond extract
2 eggs
1 cups blanched almonds
2 tsp milk
finely choped dates, orange zest, dried fruits as sweet

Instructions

Make your dough with the ingredients. It should be cohesive and sticky enough to become a dough. You may need to add more oil or can substitute with yogurt or apple sauce.
Roll our two rectangular loafs flattened at the top in 350°F oven for 25 minutes.
Let cool completely. Then use a serated knife to make even-cut biscotti pieces.
Then flip over and bake for 10 more minutes for twice baked.
Let cool and dip in melted chocolate.
Refrigerate and then dip in white chocolate for duo-chocolate.

How To Make Homemade Pizza For Lunch, Dinner (or Breakfast!)

Homemade Pizza is easy and fun to make, and can be a healthy meal…

…For a yummy, tasty choice, what more can you ask for?

You can make a healthy wheat, thin crust, thick crust, or airy crust like these…

homemade pizza with mushrooms. — Airy crust baked in an apartment oven reminiscent of restaurant wood-fired oven.

Plus, you can make your pizza from start to finish, faster than you can order a pizza and have it delivered.

And, who doesn’t love pizza?

It puts a smile on most faces.

And we all can use more happy LIVING in our practical lives 😊… so in that spirit, I’m gonna lean on my fun side today.

Fast, fresh, healthy, save money, fun to make… are you in?

If you are, then keep reading, and I’ll walk you through homemade pizza-making with healthy ingredients. 👇

First, you don’t need a kit. To make homemade pizza, you just need two simple ingredients you already have in your house (or can easily get) to make the dough. And 4 ingredients if you want a bigger crust rise and a little salt.

Homemade pizza needs no long prep time like pulling out ingredients in advance, like in other baking recipes. It also has an advantage over bread making: you don’t need to wait for hours for the dough to proof.

Making homemade pizza dough needs only a few minutes. You can simply prepare, bake, and enjoy in less than an hour.

If you’re not a planner this can be a winner. But then again, you’d probably buy store-bought or order delivery. …but then that would be no fun, and you wouldn’t get the healthy, homemade pizza. 🎉

So I’ll assume you’ll give it a try at least at some point.

Here’s how to make homemade pizza…

Before you do anything, there is one area to plan. You should consider what you’ll add on top of your pizza crust.

If you load with gobs of cheese, then you’ve added fat and dairy (…that isn’t always a bad thing as cheese has vitamins, calcium, other minerals, and satisfies cheesy craving…).

But this recipe is healthier so we’ll go with fresh or buffalo mozzarella cheese, like on a Margherita pizza. It’s one of the healthier (less greasy) cheeses.

Now you’re ready to start and pull out all your homemade pizza ingredients.

Instant yeast. I buy the small Red Star packets. The yeast balls look like microscope-tiny, perfectly round khaki brown color beads.

Water. 1 cup warm or room temperature tap water is fine. You may want to experiment as you know what they say about the famously delicious New York pizza crust (the rumor is that it comes from the water).

I’ve used seltzer and filtered water for pizza crust, and I find tap is still the best all-around.

Flour. You have options.

How to choose which flour to use:

If you use a mix of regular all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour, then your dough will be less sticky. And if you use semolina flour for your bench flour, then that will help your dough from sticking to the metal pizza pan you use. Another reason to choose whole wheat flour is the slightly higher, healthy fiber content. There are also gluten-free options.

In total, use about 2-1/2 flour total, but you will need more when you’re working with the dough. You get better with practice and experience. You may be able to later eyeball how much you need.

…Can you tell, I’m not into measuring (more fun) unless it will be a disaster otherwise. In the beginning, measuring is always advised.

Salt. 2 teaspoon table salt. You can use a little more salt if you use sea salt or if you plan to use fresh mozzarella (or buffalo mozzarella) that doesn’t have as much salt as some other cheeses.

Optional: 1 tablespoon EVOO (helps with adding taste and less sticky dough)

Here are the 5 easy steps (broken down in detail):

Step 1: Make the pizza dough.

homemade wood-fired pizza with mushrooms recipe.

Homemade Pizza Made Fun and Easy (But Looks Like a Pro!)

Course lunch, Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Ingredients

Flour of choice (bread flour, 00, and/or whole wheat, etc.)
instant yeast
salt
water
Optional: cheese, mushrooms, and toppings of choice.

Add the yeast to water and let it settle/dissolve for about 5-10 minutes. The mixture will have a milky color and consistency. Set aside.

Separately, add the flour or mixed flours of choice to your mixing bowl (I like half and half whole wheat and regular or all-purpose flour). Add 1 teaspoon salt or you can use 1-½ teaspoon sea salt (if you want to use non-iodized salt as I use). Then add EVOO if you’re using, and the water-yeast mixture.

Dough by hand method: You can make the dough by hand, and if you do it that way, I’d recommend creating a neat flour mountain on a shallow baking pan where the flour won’t stick to everything (like glitter) and cleanup is fast. Can you tell I was a Martha Stewart student? 😉

…Or if you prefer, just be yourself (always the best option!) and have fun with making a mess with flour all over your kitchen counter. You’ll get there all the same.

Then add a dip in the middle of the mountain where you would add the liquids, like you may have seen or done at home making pasta the old-fashioned way (except there are no eggs needed in pizza making).

Dough with machine (recommended): It’s easier to use a mixing machine with the dough hook, like the Kitchen Aid mixer (I have a pink Cadillac color one… Paris Hilton and I have something in common, lol).

With a machine, in a few quick minutes, the dough should be ready. You’ll know when it’s done when it’s not too dry, and not too wet, and has some good elasticity. Pizza dough is forgiving and is only part of the pizza pizzazz (say that 10 times).

Remember to scrape down the flour from the sides of the mixer. As you’re waiting for the dough to finish mixing, generously flour your pan. I recommend a mix of coarser semolina flour and regular all-purpose flour for the bench flour.

When it’s ready, pull the dough out of the bowl. You’ll be able to form a small ball with the dough, and you may need to add more regular flour on the outside if it’s too sticky. Form a dough ball and let it rest on the pan you’ve floured. Leave it sitting or resting at room temperature for 10 minutes.

Note, you don’t even need a plastic wrap or another container you’d have to clean like in bread making!

Step 2: Prep the toppings and the sauce.

While the dough is still resting, I get the topping ingredients ready.

I open the tomato sauce can (many restaurants use San Marzano tomatoes that I recommend), and I add finely chop anchovies with a serrated knife to the sauce as my secret ingredient (that’s not a secret anymore). It adds salt and another flavor dimension (or you can just add a teaspoon of salt to the sauce if you prefer a saltier-tasting pizza). Tomato sauce is usually too sweet, or at least I think so. I like my sweets, sweet, and my salt, salty. Not going to ask you to repeat that. 😊

If you are using fresh cheeses like buffalo mozzarella, slice the cheese into smaller bits. And if you use basil leaves, wet them a little like with a wet paper towel as they will settle a little better on the pizza. Alternatively, you can use spinach leaves like I use as healthy-alternative inspiration.

For any other wet ingredients like black olives, drain any excess liquid and dry them with a paper towel if you need to (as that would be a damper to your pizza… sorry, I couldn’t resist. Today is a fun day.).

By the time you finish this step, your pizza dough should be ready to work with.

A quick back story: I used to be a pizza maker (or pie maker as they referred to) as a teen, and for the busiest Domino’s Pizza not in the country, but in the world (yes the world! that is becoming smaller every day). So, I make the dough the way I learned from the modern pros! We used to crank out 300 or so pizzas in an hour as a team during the busy football nights, and during the 30-minute guarantee years (you probably don’t remember!). Our heads were down but it was fun energy in the shop! homemade pizza [OK back to the business of making your homemade pizza]…

Continue reading “How To Make Homemade Pizza For Lunch, Dinner (or Breakfast!)”

Fresh Orange Juice and Low-Sugar Fruit Juice Recipes

orange juice

Orange juice is a popular, year-round favorite. In the winter, oranges are in season, so you can find an abundance of oranges.

That’s also when most people load up on Vitamin C that they associate with orange juice, and why orange juice grocery shelves can be full or running empty. I share below how you can optimize an entire orange in homemade freshly squeezed juice.

I also wanted to mention a healthy smoothie place I go to when I’m out. Last week I had a nice surprise. I heard I won a giveaway from South Block, a smoothie bowl place down the block that’s grown to about 10 or more stores, a perfect number for a 10-year anniversary milestone they’ve hit.

…So fast forward a few years later and I learn I’m celebratin’ with them for making strides, thriving sustainably as local retail businesses got hit hard especially last year when our new normal was new.

They get extra props because they’re surviving the toughest societal times we’ve had and that I’ve lived through. Coming from a food-hospitality work background, I can empathetically appreciate the efforts.

I was super excited because I’d never won anything before…and this happens to be my favorite local healthy-inspired food place! They do something special — they create dreamy-colorful, smoothie bowls with ingredients that taste fresh and not like chalky powders or marinated-preserved berries. The cold and made-to-order details were just higher quality.

And I found out the whimsical blue color comes from an ingredient called blue majik (that’s the magic in the blue bowl I was talking about). They also use ingredients like camu camu and maca root wheere you feel like you’ve been invited to a new array of rainforest superfoods shipped from an exotic locale in the world and infused in your made-to-order bowl or smoothie.

OK, I could go on and on excited!…

But, today I also wanted to share some house-made fruit and orange juice recipes I do at home. I’ve become supersensitized to how much sugar I consume (and maybe you’re aware too?).

I almost wish when you were a kid they told you, enjoy all this sugar now before you grow up…

Because the sweet tooth fairy can follow you around as you get older, like she did for me, lol.

But, I’ve learned from the wisdom fairy (Fairy Godmother?) to use fruit (fructose) for any sweetness, and maybe a dash of ‘lil honey or dusting of the white, brown, or powder sugar. When you buy unsweetened ingredients and make your own drinks and bakes, then you can measure and control your sugar intake and contribute to your better health. After all, we only get our only body to take care of in this life.

And that hopefully inspires you to eat healthy at least most of the time (as it does for me).

Next time you think about orange juice, before you a mad dash to the OJ grocery store aisle, consider making your own orange juice from whole oranges.

Fresh Orange Juice

organic navel orange peel for fresh homemade orange juice. — Look for heirloom, organic, or local farmers market produce as in season (free of pesticides, good for us and the environment)

Oranges are one of my favorite fruits.

They are good for anxiety and if you’re leaning into the Vata mind-body ways. If you can’t get the work life balance or life is stressful, keeping an orange near you to sniff and that will help you! And a fresh orange juice will help too.

And if you feel it in your nervous digestive tract, try an orange elixir like this recipe.

organic navel orange peel for ayurveda drinks

Orange Anxious Digestif Beverage

Course Drinks

Cuisine American

Ingredients

1 orange (pulp, zest, peel)
Apple cider vinegar (amount adjustable to liking)
5 Spice blend (Five spice is star anise, cloves, cinnamon, fennel, and black pepper) - (amount adjustable to liking)
water (dilute as needed)

Instructions

Zest and peel an orange. Keep all the parts. Tip: use navel, Cara Cara, blood, or heirloom oranges. They are good for the calming (and good for parasympathetic nervous system also affecting good digestion).
Squeeze the pulp into your orange juice container (or enjoy).
Add your zest and peels to the container.
Add five-spice blend.
Add apple cider vinegar
Fill up with water. Shake and refrigerate. Enjoy when you have an upset stomach.

There are so many varieties, and I love the Cara Cara sweetheart orange variety (common around Christmas) that can be juicier and sweeter than a California navel orange that’s in season a little earlier.

The scent of an orange is known to have a calming effect and is good for aromatherapy. If you’re feeling anxiety, keep an orange near you (…it could help your anxious mood).

In the kitchen, I’m always excited about freshly squeezed orange juice.

There are commercially sold machines you may have seen that crank out fresh orange juice from whole oranges. You may have seen one of these at selective grocery stores if you live in a larger metro area. Fresh orange juice definitely ruined me for any added sugar orange juice that comes from a carton (like I grew up drinking).

High sugar is harsh on your stomach, and especially if you have a routine to drink caffeine that’s very acidic in the morning. Processed orange juice and coffees aren’t a stomach’s friend (and can give you that acidic heartburn feeling), but they can provide desired taste and energy satisfaction.

Hmm, so what’s the alt choice? Continue reading “Fresh Orange Juice and Low-Sugar Fruit Juice Recipes”