Happy life was something I always dreamt of. I never knew the ride would be so different like clouds.
As you get closer, the clouds change and along the journey you gain empowered happiness that changes your perspective.
View from above the clouds
Living a happy life today means leaning into change. But that wasn’t how it always was…
I learned the adaptable ropes mostly in the job roles I held. I started out as a planner.
I was more like a hard doll than a flexible Gumby as a toy visual.
I think doing corporate work is a good training ground for life, reality, and how to deal with tough situations that don’t require physical survival skills. But you do learn life skills.
These make you resilient and adaptable to change as you’re never fully in control.
No one in corporate really is the boss. Even the boss has a boss.
They could be customers or a Board. And once you get the hang of what you’re doing, something changes.
So leaning into change is the best thing you can do. It starts with changing your perspective on change.
Just knowing that what you’re temporarily going through will not last, helps.
Some things you wish would, but then some you’re glad didn’t. So it usually comes out in the wash.
If you let your mind just wander to where it wants to go and stay, that’s where the unhappiness comes from.
It’s like when you want to leave an unhappy physical place and arrive at a better place (or the steps in between) to get to a better place.
The happiest place on earth is really inside you and your managed feelings that start from your thoughts.
…Not Disney Land or your favorite place in the world. If you’ve been around long enough or are a wise soul who has caught on, you know those changing feelings never last.
If and when you become change-nimble, you don’t hold onto the past or what could have been.
You let go and focus on today, but dream about tomorrow. And you use history and your past as good reminders, happy memories, and to recall your happy life.
And in your today situations, you learn what you can do. Sometimes it’s wait-and-see without active response, and sometimes it’s taking a step in a bold stance or in another direction.
You’re wise to use healthy internal discernment as a guide and rational facts as checks and balances.
We all get thrown curve balls at some point. We also get varying opinions and smartly we can know that even those you honor or look up to don’t always have the best advice.
I have found the easiest way to take the best advice is to give the same advice. And to make a radical bold shift in the way that makes sense, can require a whole new attitude.
That begins with a motivation to want to change even if you don’t know-how. You learn in the desire.
You start over like a kid wanting to learn how to take on a new challenge, adventuresome sport, or hobby. Learning to change your thoughts is not nearly as exciting.
But if you manage your thoughts, you’ll get to the activities you’re really good at a lot sooner and not spend years on time-wasting ones.
Say, for example, you want to stop blaming or criticizing so much but that’s not the way it is or has been.
So then you would find how to shift the situation so you become part of the solution. You seek change with peace and not tension as part of the goal. You do this by catching yourself and your thoughts.
This I believe is the truth to happiness and having a happy life.
When you learn how to jump straight to changing attitudes and perspectives, you bypass the messy middle… where even with best intentions, our brain design can get stuck there in the clouds.
And sometimes you may not even know your invisible perspectives. I had a victim mentality and lens I was operating from that I didn’t even know was there.
Only until I was aware and observed my thoughts, could I change that.
With awareness in any area, you move towards a happy life.
If nothing else, believe that a better world and your better, happy life is in the process.
Because your beliefs make up your perspectives and attitudes. With all three in alignment, you’re destined to be unstoppable.
That’s how I transformed a victim mentality into an abundant one.
And you can too, or any other area you become aware of that you want to change and transform.
From a caterpillar existence to your butterfly happy living. 🦋
Luck is part of our happy lives. You run into it more when you try more things and is more visible to you when you’re working toward finding your purpose.
I believe the way to happiness is in finding a daily purpose. Eventually, you’ll run into examples of happy luck on your journey even if you’ve never considered yourself lucky.
That’s what this blog post today is about. So if you’ve been feeling unlucky, stuck, or wondering about how to get more good luck, grab a drink and keep reading.
One immediate additon you can make is to add a new joyful daily practice that’s different than the previous ones that aren’t “the ONE.”
Finding that can create the outlet or space you need to drift into your best season.
Staying open to new possibilities is gonna help lead you there and out of disappointment from unmet expectations.
If you’re super busy, even finding 10 minutes a day will move you in a healthy way. You don’t have to produce anything yet.
You just want to get the energy juices flowing inside you, and develop an interest in the process.
It matters to YOU what that is and what you do, but it doesn’t matter what it is to get that energy.
It’s your thoughts and feelings at the end of the day that carries you through.
You can start by simply pulling out a few (or all the) supplies needed.
Say, your practice is something simple like yoga, then you’d roll out your yoga mat and pull out your stretchy clothes. And here are 100 yoga poses you can start with.
Or if it’s as complex as lace making, you’d bring out your threads and materials.
My recommend is to start spending a ‘lil time (gathering supplies or working on your practice) in your spare time while you’re watching television. It doesn’t have to be either/or… when you get moving, juices flow easier.
When you can visually see what you need to work on as a practice or hobby, that can become top-of-mind consciousness instead of: “out of sight, out of mind.”
You put your mind towards a purpose. It can feel like an anxious distraction or passion freedom.
You were born naturally to be active, just like horses and greyhounds are born to run.
As kids, we knew we wanted to play. Go back to your natural instinct roots and wonder and play in the adult way. You may even find yourself in your calm Alpha waves state of mind.
That’s what I thought about scrapbooking years ago, but then I lost interest. So don’t be surprised if you go through different activities to find “the one.”
Our world today is like a lotus flower opening and evolving. We didn’t know the internet would turn out the way it is today, when it first came out, but we got involved. And look at it now!
I’ve never been able to watch the Australian Open live stream until this year—and with open access, I was more aware, interested, and curious in another part of the world than where I live.
And used some of that time to bake. See how we can use the world around us to be more open (even if we can’t do it exactly the way we want)?
It’s the one giving life to others too that you can share or do life with.
In the beginning, the satisfied feeling for doing your passion can be there just to make you feel better about yourself (a good way to get self-care and not overspend!).
Your day will feel more joyful. You don’t need a deep reason as to why you’re doing it. When you feel happier, however that shows up for you, then you can show up more giving and creative.
Our ego sourly wants us to believe that everything has to turn into some kind of accomplishment that others praise and has to turn into a high achievement (or else why do it?).
Don’t fall for those lies. Tell your ego who’s boss at the moment.
The real gift or takeaway is in the process of showing up (you’ve probably heard a zillion times), improving your practice regularly, and loving what you’re doing more than the praise or the idea that you can succeed or fail.
Do it to be productive, and make it a natural desire to your life, like as the hunting dog wants to chase.
When you’ve worked on your practice long enough (often years), that can form into your purpose and lead you to additional productive purposes from what you’ve already learned.
You pay your dues with low paid or free work and time, and once you’ve proven to yourself that you’ll do this practice even if you’re not paid, then you’re unstoppable in your niche.
And you’ll be rewarded for taking a risk in being productive.
What you know is, you’re on the right track even if you see no immediate fruit.
One sign is you would’ve given up on it for something else a long time ago. Sometimes people quit, get busy or distracted, and then come back, that’s almost a sure sign you’re on the right track no matter how it looks to others.
That’s why I believe you should go for what you really want to do with your life (and forget about what looks good on paper) because you only get this one life to do (and there’s not a do-over for anyone).
And so, the importance of time can catch up with you where you crave a high quality of life, balance, health, and relationships… and possibly over money.
Maybe that’s where you are (or are headed in that direction)?
Figuring out what makes you needed to the world sooner will give you more time to do more of that.
In growth, we try not to go backward and when we stumble on luck, we know it’s our time to run and build on that momentum.
So then, what is luck?
It’s a simple four-letter word, but leaning into luck is going to propel you to better things.
If you haven’t already, it may be useful to write out all the places where you felt you got lucky.
Nothing is too small. Scoring a parking spot is luck. And the more you can find these examples in your life, the more luck takes healthy root in your life as you look for more.
It’s often understated and why one person works super hard and the door never opens, and one person who barely tried falls into luck. It isn’t earned. It’s you walking into and towards your destiny.
It’s what we sometimes refer to as “beginner’s luck.” When you pair that with persistence (never giving up) plus hard work, you’re virtually unstoppable.
Luck is invisible but always involved. It’s our ego that says, “it was our doing,” when it was a collaboration with those involved and the Universe all along.
Luck really is your alignment with your assignments and purpose. It’s lining you up for the right next opportunity at the perfect time. Luck isn’t random luck.
And if you choose to believe that, then you can wonder how to use your luck in your favor.
You can use it to find your purpose and the reason why you’re here.
Nothing goes wasted. Remember, it’s our (ego) minds that mess with us and want us to believe we’re our ego. Outsmarting your ego is good advice.
And what you are productively doing now (even if it’s not exciting) will move you to the next thing.
You will end up using all of your experiences, on this seemingly chaotic planet. But when you dig deeper, you can see how organized it is, in every blade of grass and life’s full circle moments.
If you had a season you didn’t like, those lessons you learned can help make you aware to not do the same mistakes again.
That can sometimes take two steps forward and one step backward. Staying patient with yourself but keep trying… and laughing at life once in a while helps!
And if this all seems new or foreign to you, don’t worry, that’s part of why you’re here, and when you’re ready, you’ll figure out what you need.
The sooner you do, the more you get to do what you want to do and get all the great gifts associated as long as you don’t quit working, dreaming, and wanting.
Gifts can be new relationships, opportunities, money, praise, promotion, etc.
If you don’t like your grueling day job or are dissatisfied with corporate life, then maybe you want to look at other avenues. Sure, some of your old communities and friends will drift away, but you’ll develop new ones just like when you finished school or when you moved to a new town.
One day, John Lennon just walked out of the room and that was the end of The Beatles band. In the peaceful flow, he didn’t cut off ties. He just pivoted. One day.
Suddenly. It doesn’t have to be dramatic or have an announcement made (others can do that without you).
In my life, I took a sabbatical when it wasn’t the norm and I had to explain what that was as it sounds like a religious or college-related quest.
Now people are rethinking and opting to do the same. Maybe that’s your next pivot move? Or trying something completely new. Just starting is the best advice I’ve ever heard.
Whatever that productive next step is for you, stay the course until something else takes over, and then you can expectantly watch as a new kind of luck emerges that you would’ve never seen had you not taken the first step.
Buche de noel sponge cake gets better when you pair with happy places. It’s a Christmas cake that’s celebrated around the world.
The recipe I use is modified from a sponge cake in the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book.
And it’s cake that can be made anytime. It’s a happy new year 365-day cake to celebrate happy moments (and visit your daily inner happy place).
At home, baking is my jam and how I swiss roll decorated with sprinkles, plus vanilla-chai and chocolate-flavored for both tastes. I see the cocoa and Greek yogurt ingredients as both healthy and happy 🧡
This Buche de Noel sponge cake rolls me into the mood to share my happyplaces on the planet besides home (and some are ranked happiest places and cities, so I know I’m not the only one 😊).
For Americans, “the happiest place on earth” to visit is Disney World: a place where you can find the dressed-up celebrity mouse and his wife waltzing about their world adding to people’s fantasy land dreams.
Overseas, I like to “doll up” in a grown up city like Copenhagen… it’s ranked as the happiest city in the world for its cobblestone-street charm and cool vibes on the water. I’m grateful I checked it off my list in 2018.
Every day is a photo postcard there:
It’s pretty magical and the culture embraces balance as a way of life. It’s in their calm and cool energy, taking time to slow down and not rush around.
This Little Mermaid is the most photographed woman (or fish) in the world
Then if you head north to Bergen, Norway, you’re in happy central territory for trolls.
You know, the colorful ones like Poppy with her glitter-power and friends from the movie, Trolls.
It’s a different place where you may not be sure whether to laugh or give a puzzled look as you venture around.
The whole idea of trolls is wondrous and can make you curious about what exists out there? If nothing else, it’s fun to look at the indigenous troll trinkets like characters in Disney but with 4 fingers and toes.
Cute or not-so-cute is for you to decide
…Bergen is just a hop, skip, and a jump from little Norwegian towns surrounded by lush foliage and waterfalls. Occasionally you can see a cute roof, and wonder who lives in those dwellings like a Nordic scene from the EuroVision movie.
…And what do they eat? I’m into biodiverse eating, but in Norway, they have fresh fruits and similar protein categories that are also in our healthier Western diets. You may have heard of the Nordic Diet, one of the flavors in anti-inflammatory diets out there today.
One main difference is they use canola oil over a southern Mediterranean diet that uses EVOO (and is not a “diet”). Unlike fad or buzzy trending diets, these are based on the daily foods (what they eat) in an entire region in the world.
Like most cities, they have organic markets and local farmer’s markets with the freshest seasonal goods.
Here I saw some fresh berries:
And plenty o’ wild salmon (where many restaurants source their catches) where you can make your own healthy fish and chips.
Wild Norwegian salmon
And moving away from the rural and into the City of Light life like in Emily in Paris, you can be in a new awe.
It’s a walking city.
If you’re a fan of “Emily in Paris,” then you know this is where Emily’s friend sings with her “garage band” in Season 2
Paris is a happy place to visit as there’s so much to see walking around and when you just wanna chill, you can stroll in the parks.
Another happy place to visit is the U.K. where there’s so much to see and do. And I’m enamored since The Great British Bake Off show full of baking tent fun and laughs.
Who knew there were flowers in the winter like these ones in Shakespeare’s Garden on the other side of the pond of…
You may know Washington, D.C. for the power-hungry, political society. But that’s only a part of the area.
You can relax and take a leisurely kayak or canoe on the Potomac River or take a scenic drive along to see the monument skyline.
There’s plenty of American history to discover as it’s the place where Presidents temporarily live during office. And was permanent home to the first President, George Washington. Plus so much more interesting history on the downtown mall.
Then when you’ve seen enough of the historical buildings, you can fly south (like birds that still migrate) to a slower pace.
One happy getaway is…
Clearwater, Florida.
Hope and Winter from The Dolphin Tale movie lived there. Dolphins are happy mammals, so that should tell you something 🐬
On vacay, you don’t feel the hustle and bustle from the city with slow driving cars, less stress on the streets, and fewer tourists. It has a tropical vibe like a pina colada smoothie you can sip on watching the Florida palm trees swaying and beautiful sunsets.
The Gulf is known for fresh fish catches like fresh grouper, so a fishmonger can bring it to you cooked fresh from the boat.
So those are the happy places I can drop a pin on📍(plus one when I’m making the Buche de Noel sponge swiss cake 😋).
Modified recipe from the "Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book"
Equipment
Silpat and baking pan
tea towel
Ingredients
3eggs
1/4cuppineapple juice
2/3cup flour
1/4tspbaking powder
1/4cupmonk fruit sugar
jam and yogurt of choice (for filling)
Instructions
Separate eggs. Tip: It's easier to separate eggs when they are cold from the fridge. Then let them warm up to room temperature.
Beat egg yolks in a regular size bowl and add juice and baking powder.
Separately beat egg whites in a larger mixing bowl. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. The small amount of sugar will help bring the texture together.
After step 3, gently pour egg yolks into egg white bowl. Gently fold in egg whites to combine yolks. Don't mix or overmix as that will deflate the egg white air which is the reason why the egg white was separated from the eggyolk in the first place. This will give a higher rising sponge cake.
Spread on a Silpat lined baking pan about 3/4" thick or the size of your yule log you would like. Bake on 325°F for about 45 minutes or longer (mostly depending on actual thickness). Pull out of oven before sides start to brown.
While warm-hot out of the oven, pull out cake and roll up into a tea towel like a sleeping bag to get the "swirl." You want to make sure to do this while it's warm or it will break when cool.
Let cool and when cool, cut off ends. Add a layer of jam or yogurt that you want inside.
Pour melted chocolate over the cake and after cooled, drag a fork around the glaze for a yule-log effect.
Confidence building is underrated if you don’t want a repeat of last year in certain aspects of your life. We’re meant to grow and get better.
And this could be a good blog article for you to read to bring out your confidence building skills this year…
My personal growth book helps those who want to transform their internal ways and insecurities, and turn them to external confidence building and lasting happiness.
Let’s start from the beginning…
If you were born into a home where love was expressed daily, then you felt a sense of security and confidence that others did not (but could develop).
Whether that was your luck in life or not, you grew up and don’t know any different life outside your body. It’s all relative to you.
And if you didn’t grow up with developed inner confidence building (how my life story began), you can give that to yourself in empowered confidence (and self-love) that maybe through my ethos, transparency, and sharing in this article can help to encourage you along your journey.
And a little sweet treat never hurt either. I grew up with blueberry muffins (and graduated to a blueberry muffin healthy recipe below that can be made into snack energy balls 🫐)
Btw, as a grown adult looking back, neither upbringing situation is better or worse, it’s what you do with your life situations that makes the difference in your outcomes and happiness.
So, that’s the first conscious belief you can be reminded of to help you.
“What you think, so you will become.”
-Napoleon Hill
But, if you didn’t grow up with an assured sense of familial belonging or love, then you probably started out not expecting as much from others and had the desired sense for comfort and belonging because that was missing early on in your life.
But that’s different than insecurity which is an area that manifests and shows up in many different ways for anyone and isn’t always as easy to detect.
Insecurity can run along the crevices and cracks in a person, showing up at any given moment or when triggered. Just like emotions can.
In an interview with Oprah, Priyanka Chopra Jonas acknowledged that her parents never fought in front of her when she was young, and that gave her a sense of balance and confidence (but she also faced insecurities from the external world because she lived in two different cultures). I stay attuned on the yoga mat!
Balance Is Life’s Answer
And Priyanka got the concept right. Balance is a healthy recipe for children growing up. But not everyone has that story theme running as a backdrop.
And in that case, you can be more hungry for what you didn’t have if and when you get a taste of it and want more… and then the balance can swing the other way (off-balance) on the pendulum until there is a counterbalance back to balance.
…So early on, I was far from knowing how to restore my imbalances (or counterbalance), so in hunger, I’m making up for in lost time 😉
These days, I choose to live calm and happy with optimal living and work towards longevity goals, over instant gratification and unsustainable desires.
I believe it all works out in the end in your confidence of knowing what you want that’s healthy. And I believe your beliefs carry you.
But that didn’t take effect until years after tasting work-life balance for the first time in my late 20s. Everything before that felt like a hard test I couldn’t pass on my own, I think.
In those days, I came to the realization that work-life balance was more important than grinding myself to the bone to meet life goals which was the opposite belief I held before then.
I had the opportunity to drop more things I had been dragging around as baggage crumbs, previously hidden under the rug.
And as years passed and experiences were gained, I realized Life can evolve into something different anyway. That can help us grow and change.
The one constant I have held onto is: time is more valuable than money. Paper is manmade and can be regenerated (and time cannot).
When I freed up mind time (letting go and surrendering old beliefs) and I started to work on myself, who I was becoming that would determine outcomes, and I noticed insecurities showed up.
Before then, insecurity was like an invisible blanket where there was a transparent veil covering.
Then unmasked, those feelings were mostly made aware to me in triggered relationship-related thoughts I had, and in those magnified situations, then I could take the opportunity to make a thought change at that moment and tell my mind who’s boss. 😊
Oh – joy… and how satisfying!
If you’re in an awareness zone or reflective season in life, then you know what I’m talking about as you evaluate your life.
And you know your thought life is changeable! You may not be good at it yet, but you know it’s possible. Yay! 🎉
Being aware is easier if you’re not so busy (and finding a few moments to reflect even if that means waking up a few minutes early but then feeling much better in your day).
With an aspired balanced lifestyle and evolved mind these days, I can work on myself, and confidence from the gains of this year and past year’s experiences. And finding Life happiness isn’t based on situations.
If balance or happiness are not natural or strong suits for you, then using a journal can be a good first step to purge thoughts and feelings.
As you reflect on this year’s end, you could make a list of all that you have accomplished including mindset shifts, attitudes, and beliefs. For starters, you probably are more patient, resilient, thankful, kind, valuing people, and less selfish (or maybe even a bit selfless).
Those traits will help you do and get more in your life!
Plus, add any tangible accomplishments. I’m sure there were A LOT more than you think in your mind at the (or this) moment.
After you’ve got them written and meditated on them, then let them go so your ego doesn’t get the better of you.
And those helpful actions will help bring healthy outcomes and changes in your life (that’ll pay dividends for the rest of your life).
And if you want to feel even better about yourself today, you could bring out your writing pad and pen or writing instrument and jot down a few extra thoughts about how you can use the changes you’ve made in the past year — for next year.
A little year-end goal-setting never hurts and can help because we know action provides clarity. You put one step in front and that provides a new experience and perspective.
And then openly see what comes up in new doors.
A good place to start is to think of an area you would like to grow in and expand by teaching or sharing with others what you know.
Whether you end up teaching or not is not the only endpoint.
It’s really just to get the action ball rolling and juices flowing. Because when you think of what you can teach, that requires you to have learned and processed what it is you want to teach.
And not knowing everything on that subject makes you better because you’re determined to learn and stay relevant.
And when you can teach others in a way they understand, then you know you’ve passed the test. You can also fine-tune and discover a deeper niche, or discover an area that you had previously dismissed (where the timing wasn’t right).
And if you have moments where your feel down on yourself or your accomplishments, refer to your positive pep-self-talks (the ones in front of a mirror) and your past-year accomplishment written notes you hopefully made (or will make) from the above suggestion.
It’s easy to forget what you did this year and a few years ago as current and year-end thoughts and feelings can crowd in, so just a nudge to take those few extra minutes to take a pause.
And another note is to focus more on who you became (who you are today) and are becoming more of, and not so muchon what the accomplishment means.
An example in my life is I wrote about lessons learned and ended up publishing a book that is easier to refer to than a bunch of micro-lessons. I didn’t set out to write a book but it made sense at the time.
Since then I’ve grown in other areas (that’s what growth mindset means) and I can’t go back and replace those exact thoughts in the same way, so the timing was (and is) everything.
I got the ball rolling, evolved, and am evolving… and that’s my encouragement to you.
You did great things this year and in 2020 (a year none of us will forget) and the time leading up to then. And some are gained life skills. That can help in confidence building toward your future.
You can diversify where you use your transferrable skills in different multi-passionate areas.
…And since I’m on a multi-area roll here, another area I like to be reminded of is about making new friends online which we all can do.
We find our people out there that we wouldn’t be able to without the internet (and with or without a pandemic).
While socially distanced, it’s a healthy comforting bright spot to be in a like-minded community, and we help one another be better versions of ourselves in some ways.
It’s not the vanity photos and words that we want to show off, but the inspirations, and ideas that we want to pass on.
The contagious energy brings more love, encouragement, and support to your life and others.
…And couldn’t we all use some of that in our lives to keep us lifted up and to further optimize our aspired highest quality of living?
You matter. And in your empowerment, it’s really about you participating and sharing some bit of brightness in the world in your unique way. Your brightness shines.
And then you gain more confidence building to move forward as you’re showered back with love.
That’s one of the best gifts that you can give a stranger and they can give back as you meet more people and get to know them.
…And finally… Yes, I’m getting down to the wire… it doesn’t hurt to take a few risks, and would probably serve you well.
When you learn something new and put a stake in the game, then you reap rewards. Part of that is in your belief about risk-reward.
This past year, I joined 4 courses and memberships. Two I’m still processing and for the other two I’m seeing the fruit and more clarity already by taking action.
That’s a 50-50 reward.
But had I not joined any of them, I’d still be in a similar “stuck” place. We just never know what will stick and what will go by the wayside.
That’s this life.
I recently learned that the business fraternity chapter I belonged to in college which was a big part of my life at the time and a “lifelong membership,” is ending this year.
I thought the Greek Alphabet classes of new members would keep extending. I had attended school with the Founding class, as I was in the Delta class (the 4th letter in the Greek Alphabet) and now it’s almost over.
And while that’s news in my life from my younger self-life… in my more recent life where I’ve been mentoring in a professional group, I know that will end one day and will be replaced by another group.
That’s a great place for me now, but like most things, that will end in the perfect time.
And, that’s why it’s best to be proactive in seeking what you want your life to be about rather than just wait and see.
Look for the good things and mask out the ones you don’t want to repeat or that can weigh you down.
Better replaces good.
We know good will happen and better can happen with us. Or another unique or great opportunity replaces that lost good happening, and that can be a lucky surprise.
However, those good happenings land in your lap, and you can focus on more evidence in your life that goodness is out there for you.
And that bit of assured confidence building (rest assured) is helping to build confidence within you, little by little.
And little by little, you can gain confidence building in small things like these healthy blueberry muffins you can make.
Healthy Blueberry Breakfast Muffins (Or Blueberry Energy Balls Pictured)
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets
Ingredients
2-1/2cupsgrits or bran flour
1cupwhole wheat or AP flour
1tspkosher salt
1/2tspcinnamon (optional)
1/4cup honey or monkfruit sugar
1cupGreek yogurt (or 7/8 cup or 7 oz)
1-1/2cupfrozen blueberries, drained
2eggs, beaten
1/2cupoil
1/2 tspbaking powder (for muffins)
1/2tspbaking soda (for muffins)
Instructions
Combine ingredients. Bake on 350°F for 25-30 minutes for muffins (less minutes for energy balls).
For energy balls, you can eliminate yogurt, eggs, baking powder, and baking soda ingredients and can use less sugar/honey for a healthy version. Cinnamon can be the primary sweetness. Naturally, when you reduce sugar, you crave less sugar as your body tastes adjust when running optimally.
Holiday entertainment is not a mere plus during the holidays. It’s a must to get through the holidays… full of bittersweet happy and sad moments… filled with illuminating reflections on the past year… finding your way through stressful calendar-marked deadlines ticking like a time bomb.
And before holiday has come and gone, you can enjoy this one-bowl comfort dessert with no guilt as it’s healthy and wildly tasty! It could be your new year dessert. 🎉
It’s gluten-free, carrot vitamin-rich and orange calming for nerves… and great for entertaining mixed emotions.
Ahhh.. but light-hearted holiday entertainment shows (like GBBO for this modified healthy baker) and sappy rom-com tearjerker movies can help us lighten our load if we feel stressed.
On that note, I have 3-holiday entertainment mentions below worth checking out
That can be exciting and worth sticking around until the end of the blog article and staying up past midnight on Dec. 31. 😊
…And somewhere in between is December 25 where we can easily forget when we started our holiday. In America, that’s usually Thanksgiving in November where we celebrate gratitude for the things we have in our lives.
In the happy holiday spirit, December and Christmas are opportunities for each of us to grow, dig deep in our shadow, be reflective about our past, and find more appreciation for our joy and happiness’ sake as better humans than before.
Christmas is always an invitation to find hope and peace now. And welcome in happy and healthy intentions for the future. And that can include skipping, baking, and inspiring yoga moves! Why not?
I plan to be in the kitchen (…and maybe you too with your planned festivities whether quiet or action-filled?).
Here’s my illustrative yoga guide for those who will be busy holiday joy baking and wanting to unwind like a pretzel in front of the tube or streaming media 😊:
There’s a big buildup to Christmas celebrations that probably started way earlier in the year …like Christmas in July promotions?
This year is probably no different where you’re not hit by deer lights… that’s a certain predictable point to be grateful for. We know it’s coming!
And we can lean into holiday entertainment, decorations, and warm & fuzzy feelings to get us in the mood.
We don’t have to lean into the bitter self-pity. We can feel contentment for what we have in our accumulated wisdom.
Some things we can think of is:
We’re grateful we’re not who we once were. We’re a better version, and getting better every day. It may be two steps forward and one step back, but we’re still improving.
And some places we’re completely transformed and others we completely forgot where we were once hurting in another way.
We’re happy as is because we know it won’t stay this way. We’re wired to have the best life.
Besides things could be worse, but thankfully they’re not. Those (and your) beliefs can help shape your optimistic outlook.
You could be fighting ego or affected without awareness.
Letting go isn’t always so easy…
In awareness, it can feel like an uphill battle to try and win over an internal fight.
I find that when I have a moment where I feel a little emotional turmoil, laughter never grows old as one of the best medicines.
Healthy cleansing tears from humorous holiday entertainment or heart-felt movies, series, or shows can be just what the doctor ordered.
After from watching, you can feel good again. 📺
What we feel from recently watched holiday entertainment shows can show up in our refreshed thought life.
These are 3 of my holiday entertainment picks (and maybe they’re good for you also)… which btw, I’ve yet to meet a close friend who likes the same quirky shows I do.
I’m not talkin’ about Friends and the popular America’s Got Talent shows that everyone has glimpsed.
So I’m goin’ out on a limb here…
The first one I wanted to mention is actually not a show, but an old classic movie, The Sound of Music. And if that’s not your bread and jam, then think of a show or movie you watched as a kid that you enjoyed and impacted you.
And you can take my Cliff Notes version:
If you’ve never seen or forgotten what this classic movie is about, it starts out with actress Julie Andrews as a young lady in an abbey prepping to be a nun. She soon discovers she’s too independent thinking and not cut out for the job.
Sound a ‘lil familiar? I know it does for me having taken a hairpin turn or two early on. None of the nunnery kind though. 😊
The movie plot is a metaphor for our lives that can change in an instant, a.k.a. a life pivot.
A better plan is out there for us if we’re willing to stay open and hang in there.
Those thoughts can help us get through any bitter holiday moments.
Julie Andrews’ character is sent as a governess to 7 children for a former widowed Captain and Austrian naval officer.
Fr. Maria, she’s called, brings singing and love into the family and the odd-pairing couple ends up marrying (aww… a love story and musical). I hope I didn’t ruin the happy ending.
So now you’re either caught up or possibly curious to watch the movie (again).
Fun fact: the movie is filmed in Austria and Los Angeles of all places, so maybe that’s one of the reasons why it’s still a Hollywood boom.
In our lives, the parallel is that there’s a lot to look forward to getting to the other side, crossing the hills, and any mountains along our path. We can stop to appreciate the flowers like Edelweiss or roses that remind us of our resilience from our life situations.
Then after you get your fill of that movie, whether you fast-forward to the part where your heart is filled or watch the full movie, afterward you can pause to fill your warm drinking mug, and get ready to laugh (…maybe even belly laugh some) with this next recommend…
Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee
This modern American Netflix show of several seasons is a good metaphor for not taking life too seriously. Stand-up comedians don’t.
And Actor and Comedian Jerry Seinfeld makes that clear as he takes his guests out for coffee in coffee venues (think Diners, Drive Ins, and Dive places, plus some hole in the walls).
He chauffeurs his guests around with different classic cars to match the comedic intent and their barrel of laughs to come in coffee conversation 🐒.
Once in a while, they’re driving in lemons like an Oh sorry, Ferrari that dies on the road. That’s comical drama we call comedy.
The show is peppered with what you’d expect from comedians… impromptu funny lines about their lives and the world we live in.
Having worked in restaurants, I can find a chuckle or two with the (literally) off-the-wall menu special posters or off-color restaurant jokes…
Like when Jerry orders and asks for 2 eggs and nothing else on a plate, and the server quickly asks if he wants it on the side? The server (or waitress) made an inside funny without knowing it. Good stuff there. 😅
You’ll have to find your own humor points if you end up watching some of the episodes. …and so that brings me to a recent holiday entertainment show…
The Great British Baking Show
The show is “The Great British Bake Off” in U.K. where cookies are biscuits. The Jammie Dodgers are a British classic that was one of the technical challenges. Btw, these are not here for temptation reasons. I have a healthy carrot cake or squares recipe below for your baking holiday entertainment should you accept the baking challenge. 🥕
The Great British Baking Show has got to be the funniest baking show out there. It’s also interesting to watch the baker techniques and their foibles.
By now in the show’s (just-finishing up their 9th season), as you’d expect the contestants know what to expect.
If they didn’t, that would be like going under the pressure cooker show as a contestant without baking practice.
.. And that would be like going on the Shark Tank show and not rehearsing… where they’d get eaten alive!
The GBBO contestants (more fitting than calling them competitors because they help each other out in the tent)… want to be sure to make the show fun and take time out to make good bakes while playing along with the tent show elves and laughing at their side jokes.
Tent Sidekick Noel announcing the challenge 😄
As part of the audience, you can feel the contestants are more mellow, less tense, and less serious about winning… and more motivated with staying in the baking tent (sometimes baking hot tent 🎪) for as long as they can.
In case you missed season 9 which is one of my faves (I say that for all of the newest ones), the cherry-on-top Star Baker title went to Giuseppe for his traditional Italian bakes passed down from his family’s baking lineage.
So now you’re all caught up!
The Great British Baking Show also has holiday versions. You can especially enjoy it if you like holiday baking inspiration and while eating sweets…
Gluten-free healthy carrot cake (recipe below)
And on that final note, I have a deliciously, seriously healthy, SWEET gluten-free carrot cake recipe below (that I’ve played around with the ingredients, whipped up, and tested all the crumbs!)… And you can just as easily prepare and enjoy in a square, round or any shape pan you like that you can bring to your screen with whatever holiday entertainment shows you end up watching. 🧡
Healthy (Easy-No Mixer Needed) Gluten-Free Carrot Cake (Bread or Squares) in One Bowl
Ingredients:
1 cup grated carrots
2 eggs (room temperature)
1 Tbsp coconut oil (or light EVOO or baking oil)
1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup (120 grams) almond flour (or other gluten-free flour)
1/4 cup (60 grams) oats
1/2 cup (120 grams) chopped walnuts and raisins combined
Orange zest from a medium-size orange (or add maple syrup to taste, 1-2 tsp suggested for low sugar)
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
You can mix all the ingredients in one bowl. Add dry ingredients first, then add the liquids (that way you can use some of the same measuring spoons and cups without the dry sticking to the wet in my planner-at-heart mind 😉).
Pour into an 8″ round pan or 4″ x 8″ baking pan.
Bake at 325°F/165°C for 35-40 minutes.
After cooled, “frost” with Greek Yogurt (2% fat or reduced fat suggested) and healthily enjoy. Or you can blend with a low-fat cheese (like neufchatel cream cheese or ricotta cheese) if you prefer or will be serving to others who don’t prefer full-on healthy … but would love to try what you happily sweetly baked.
