Physical Health and Body Archives - Healthy Happy Life Secrets

De-Stress Reminders During Holidays

De-stress is highly called for during the thick of holiday season and looming year-end goal deadlines. Because stress can build up fast any day like a ton of bricks. And can go away just as quickly like a tumbling over Jenga set.

But these types of short-term stressors are different than life long-term stressors that often don’t have a quick ending resolve. You can use the 5 reminders below today to help you through your waiting process.

You can also use short-term de-stress feelings and the useful reminders throughout this article to help you with your long-term stress situations.

…Like for me, I use baking as a way to de-stress and relax after a work week. It keeps me on my toes, literally. I prepare a sweet table of goods and choux.

A healthy Greek yogurt tear-and-share raspberry-pistachio Paris Brest and lemon coconut choux.

…and you too can create your table to help shoo-away stress, and celebrate de-stress.

What isn’t so easy to de-stress restore is undercurrent effects and emotional turmoil stored in the mind-body coming from long-term stress that’s hard to identify.

Those are usually invisible sources which means they’re not as easy to pinpoint and process: like dreams unrealized or deep trauma.

…Or areas of life that haven’t gone the way you wanted.

But unlike long-term stress sources, short-term stress sources are easier to describe with people, things, work deadlines and tasks involved. They are temporary thorns to the side or lasting for a season that has an end (like holiday season end).

Experiencing those temporary stressors mean you’re alive, putting yourself out there, and trying in this life! 🎉

And your gained experiences coming out of stressful situations won’t go wasted in your future as they help you build resilience and adaptability (that make you more productive and joyful, not leaning in on the negative emotions).

Plus, you can productively use the short-term stress situations to de-stress feel-good when they’re immediately over.

Then your heart beats its normal speed again and you do a happy dance inside for your accomplishments. 🫀

…Like when you make a deadline and now the work is out of your hands.

…You feel lighter as the weight is lifted and you get a quick sigh of relief.

Those de-stress happy relief feelings can last for a day or weeks, but they gradually wear off.

But through the process of handling stressful situations and then experiencing them go away, that teaches us for the next time… that things will be okay.

And those lessons carry you to help handle the long-term stress situations that sit as elephants-in-the-room for any season, usually season after season. 🐘 🐘

They’re overhanging in this season of your (and my) life. The problem hasn’t resolved or the dream hasn’t transpired yet.

This can be a few things or big areas in your life…

…And I know how that goes because I started out without balance where I had wheel-of-life (real wheel) problems that felt like I was wrapped around tornadoes. 🌪️

But the problems… no matter what they were, became less problematic as I grew because I gained more experiences and resilience. I also prayed for answers. And my self-care wheel grew.

Eventually coming out of each of those tough situations taught me the most about how to handle stress better and embrace a better life meant for me.

…And your challenging areas in your life have grown you the most. ⛰️

Long-term Stressors are Your Future Dreams

Those long-term stressors from decades ago (that are still around 🐘) are setups for your future dreams realized. ✨

They are what will be your Future Life that has more meaning and purpose than how you started off as an adult.

They will be part of your destiny… and they will lead you away from a ho-hum life that you’re not meant to live.

The sweet spot for you today is to see them as part of a long-term plan and believe they are already yours in the future.

But wisely let them go now if the timing isn’t right.

One day the stars will align in perfect timing for those dreams manifested. Just know they are yours.

In that mindset, you keep going and growing in your life now.

Also, connect-the-dots and remind yourself that your big dreams are in your recurring problems. Yes, they are!

And when you find the blessing in your problems today, you bypass unnecessary stress.

The problems in disguise will deliver you to your dreams on the other side that will change shape, form, and clothes. 😊

Those tough areas of life today that don’t seem to have any resolve in sight can take many twists and turns, heart and headaches, and often many years to come to pass…

They’re the recurring situations that keep showing up as a thorn to your side when you least expect or hope would resolve.

But most likely, they fly in and out of your life and then disappear from view again. But they are not outta the picture, even though they’re not fully visible yet.

They re-appear from time to time as reminders to keep us humble and from doing things and making decisions that we would regret later on.

…And they’re the same thorns that are meant to be turned into victory roses (dreams) later down the destiny road on your designed path.

…No matter what age you are, you have those thorny dreams right now in your life.

You know exactly what your big dream is that has shown up before in some way you know, even if you’re still wondering.

And how you manage your long-term stressor feelings is going to affect your daily life outcomes, physical, and mental health.

…So stay curious, not furious.

The dream triggers and memory reminders are hints for you to keep dreaming about this are, like you do when you’re motivated to fulfill accomplishments.

Except these big dreams blow the little victories away.

Jobs and accolades you acquire will pale in comparison to your dream purpose in this life.

If your dream purpose didn’t show up again occasionally, you wouldn’t know it can be real or leave room for chances.

You wouldn’t be leaving room for the possibilities… where anything is possible in this life.

And this life is meant to be a big adventure (as none of us know the future).

The choice is yours as to whether you embrace that what happens to you is good for you (and not a bad setback).

Enjoy the ride!

I know sometimes that can be easier said than done (or may seem like pie-in-the-sky thinking)… so in those times, simply start by working on stressing less as nothing good comes from stressful feelings.

And, a good de-stress reminder is:

Remember to keep failing forward.

…Especially on your personal growth attempts (to be a better person).

And remember to keep trying because anything worth pursuing won’t be easy.

If it were easy, you’d never appreciate what you got because you didn’t work to get it.

And these are 5 good de-stress reminders to help you through the season and the holidays especially when long-term stressors show up or blow up again…

De-Stress Reminders Around Holidays

1.Get peace.

If it’s meant to be, it will happen.

Find your peace.

Right now, today, and in this moment your life deserves peace.

Both calm inner peace and peace about your decisions.

Use discernment for decisions needed to be made and clarity from baby or micro step actions forward.

You’re meant to live whole, loving, and healed today.

(The opposite of living in fear or feeling something inside you is missing or broken).

You’re not a victim to your circumstances… and you can break out of those feelings and mindset in your journey.

“Let the peace of God rule in your heart.” – Colossians 3:15

2.Congratulate yourself on how far you’ve come in your situation.

Reflect on how far you’ve come with your same and recurring stressful situations that used to be so painful in some way.

When you don’t care so much about the situations causing stress anymore as you once did, that’s a healthy move because you’re letting go (and letting light in).

You’re also naturally learning to de-stress some in the process.

Continue to live celebrating your internal wins daily while life is working things out in your favor for the aligned perfect timing. ✨

3.Believe in good things to come.

Believe that what you’re going through and have gone through (…maybe painfully) will help your situation in the end and on the other side. 🌈

Waiting, setbacks, disappointment, and delays now are purposefully setups for your comeback and life appointments.

You can be a victor now by changing your feelings, relaxing, and de-stressing.

Your waiting and what you’re going through now won’t last, but your dreams will come to pass and they will last!

4.Keep going forward and growing healthy.

Keep growing and learning despite your stressful situations.

Keep changing your thoughts to positive, loving ones.

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” -Roman 12:2

Your other life-giving areas of your life are meant for this season. 🌱

Cherish them today, because they will change one day.

Use them to help you de-stress through your worry, thorn situations.

5.Keep a de-stress routine.

Find a way to de-stress every day.

I like a warm cup of tea. 🫖

I also do 4-7-8 breathing: inhaling in the gratitude and exhaling stressful negative energy.

When I felt the weight of my situations, I made sure to re-center myself back on my yoga mat and think about what I would be looking forward to later in the week and at nights.

Daily, I stay grateful for what I have in life as part of my habit stack routine. We all have things to be appreciative of in our lives… shoes and socks, showers, food, roof, lights, tea…

And my peaceful ritual every night is at 5:30 pm while working and I’m waiting for the daily sky show to light up.

Looking up and glancing out my western facing windows from my seat, I see the sky colors gradually change from day to night.

I do a little work and then look back up to see the dark rainbow colors change like an Aurora Borealis display.

Occasionally there are late afternoon storms. I find those cleansing. I appreciate the thunder claps and silvery pitter patter rain drops.

It’s not about the type of show I get, it’s about the day and night showing up for me that I take personally.

Every day like clockwork for a half-hour, I pause and a new painted sky happens, often in shades of purple, orange, blues and whites, and that reminds me that EVERYTHING will be all right as promised.

…the sunset show is my de-stress therapy for this season. 🌅 And maybe that’s something to embrace in your changing season.

ADHD Symptoms Can Help Your Spiritual Life

ADHD is a way to describe the unfocused nature that Ayurvedic Vata minds possess that we accept as part of us. But we don’t have to lean into the negative parts…

This “Be Kind” note-to-self message wall. 💕

We can be kind to ourselves.

Because ADHD symptoms often show up as inattentiveness, unfocused concentration, and scatter-brained thinking.

It often also can show up as the opposite extreme in hyperactivity and impulsive behaviors.

Those descriptors can describe a lot of us humans.

But you can learn to express yourself in better ways.

And with a jumpy brain that makes you want to hop around, one way is to learn to embrace what you’re thinking with a spiritual lens.

As complicated as the gray matter is that we have inside us, we don’t know the causes of ADHD.

But we do know it’s a brain matter that’s different than brain fog that is often spiritual.

Whether the ADHD descriptive symptom traits describe your tendencies, being aware can help your spiritual journey in life.

This article is about how you can use ADHD tendencies to your benefit and push you into growth that a presently mindful and spiritual-tuned up life does.

To begin, there are many ways to look at ADHD. You could be born with anxious tendencies like dominant Vatas (in Ayurvedic terms).

In case you think that’s not you, we all have some traces of Vata in us like in our worry thoughts that’s a form of anxiety but in the mind.

ADHD is also correlated with anxiety. So you can see from that one example, an intersecting crossing Venn diagram path that makes us all susceptible

…But IS curable with more love to conquer fear that anxiety and worry are rooted in.

I was reminded when I was posing several years ago in Prague up against the Lennon Wall representing “All You Need Is Love” (that originally came about during a time of war and upheavals).

…I remember the song from the Yellow Submarine record album 💿 I listened to on a record player as a child… in case there are any Beatles fans out there or those who love record players?

Fear is at the core of causes of war in people.

Fear is also primal and makes you react for survival, but is not needed for most daily live happenings.

So for starters, running away from those fear-based thoughts in safe situations will help you get a better handle on ADHD as you align with your calm and loving sides.

From my own early-on past experiences, I know an unsafe life situation caused me to have an anxiety or panic attack.

That type of anxiety reaction can cause you to freeze as your body takes on uncontrollable body sensations like heart palpitations.

And similarly, ADHD can dominate your life in an uncontrollable, shocking way when you least expect..

At least temporarily. And that can lead to unexplainable behaviors.

Coming out of your situations, if you focus on the positives or what you learned that can help you in the future, you gain more clarity and ideas for changes you can make to your life that’s part of spiritual growth.

The Universe helps to meets you there, where you are, and where you will be.

…Maybe that’s on your yoga mat or quiet space before making big decisions. 🧘🏻‍♀️

Breathwork and aware-mindfulness can help take the edge off.

These are powerfully spiritual built-in ways we have to handle calming ourselves that also helps ADHD.

You can help draw yourself to the present moment space that makes you more self-aware and deeply aware of your inner self as part of the journey toward spiritual growth.

At the very least you’re moving away from negative energy in present moment awareness.

And that carries into your day.

…That’s not coincidence.

That’s the energy you carry that radiates into the world and back to you like a boomerang and attracts the things and right people into your life. ✨

The Law of Attraction is a spiritual lens.

So, baby step one can be: find a positive in any situation that appears negative overall.

The reframing habit is life-giving.

And giving life in the present is a gift.

It can help free you from closely-tied worry and fear-based thoughts that exacerbate ADHD.

Those thoughts start in the unconscious or subconscious mind and affect the body in emotions and physical stress-inflammation, if not protected.

…And produce scattered thoughts, unclarity, and worsen ADHD symptoms.

But you can de-sensitize from the emotional drama the ego mind wants to pull you into.

…I know that’s not easy because ego is the equivalent of having a bullhorn in your ear without the physical object as a visual. 📢.

But if you exercise vigilant awareness effort, you can re-route your thoughts and put yourself in the healthy mindset and actions that will help bypass the negative and recurring mind spin cycle that’s often found in ADHD occurrences.

Remember, we don’t generate all our thoughts. 💭

The subsconscious ego inside any of us will rip positives and blow up negative energy. It will have a field day with your thoughts if you allow.

And that’s not a field trip any of us want to take.

But keeping aware and alert in your mind’s eyes will change that trajectory! 👀

And help change sabotaging thoughts like feeling sorry for yourself (or worse hurting others in some way like the ones you love).

You have a choice then and there to escape or sink into those unproductive feelings. I get it… maybe the feelings linger like a heavy gray cloud and you don’t how to change that.

There are simple things you can do like take walks and warm showers, do yoga, pay attention to nature outside, and listen to warm, feel-good music that inspires you.

Those gradually turn the tide and one day back to your best normal self.

By slowly doing the things that restore Ayurvedic mind-body balance, you can bounce back faster.

And then on one ordinary day, the sun will appear back out. ☀️

That’s how you can also help any ADHD symptoms. Purposefully walk away and distract yourself in a healthy way.

Do an inspiring activity or hobby.

For some, that’s knitting, dancing, yoga, or singing.

For ADHD, what captures your interest will be at your forefront, so why not have your calming activity ready-to-go? .

And you may just discover a new passion or path that’s also spiritual growth.

You can purposefully open doors to learn something new.

A visual would be like the American TV game show, The Price is Right, where a game’s winning answer is usually covered.

After contestants shout out an answer, they learn quickly if it’s the right one… and sometimes they get to try again.

Similarly, stepping out into spiritual faith is when you don’t see but believe that there is a blueprint on your life already planned out.

Landing on the right ones is a matter of timing and trying like you would do in playing joyful games.

Strengthening your faith, you can call up the better (non-ADHD) ways automatically served up by the mind.

Freedom comes from calling out and knowing what you’re facing and getting answers spiritually already inside you waiting for your response.

Literally, you can call out, “I have ADHD” and that’s liberating because now your spirit can help you in awareness, meeting you where you are.

And in our Universe, most people accept ADHD and know what that generally is so they will understand if you act funny and can even sympathize and joke with you about it to help you get through moments.

Making it (ADHD) okay allows less stress into your life and especially in a more sympathetic world that we now live in.

Surround yourself with forgiveness and start with forgiving yourself for your quirky abilities that make you, you.

…And finally, slow down.

Remember the old saying that’s about the (quality) moments that take your breath away and not how many breaths you take. Use that as your mantra.

You’re not stuck with how you started.

We start life with hopeful, rosy glasses and the playbook ends up very different.

And when it doesn’t go as planned, you get to become more spiritual. You develop your empowered happiness.

And in that way, ADHD doesn’t have to be a full life sentence. It’s changeable (as our bodies and we are). It’s dependable on you and the choices you make. 💕

Remove Lower Back Pain From Yoga

I was able to remove lower back pain from yoga that could help you.

Yoga is a life saver.

I removed a day and maybe a season of back pain and in this article you will learn all about how you can too!

That day (yesterday) I could barely stand as my back gave out while I was sitting and doing work.

I calculated I’ve spent over 40,000 hours as an adult sitting in front of a computer.

Granted I know I don’t have the best posture as much as I try to have an ergonomic computer setup…

But computer work is still not physical activity that the body wants. An occasional standing back bend isn’t enough to make the body smile in case that’s your comeback story of why yoga is not in your life. 😃

In mine, leading up to my lower back pain episode… I had driven a lot in the past couple of weeks.

Sitting too much is calling for lower back pain.

I’d been doing more sitting than usual.

Besides yoga, I like to restore with cooking, baking, and meal prep where I’m comfortably standing (and gain points).

But looking back, I’d probably clocked in less hours standing in those couple of weeks.

…So all those combined elements put enough stress for my back to give out.

Our bodies act that way. It doesn’t have to be one thing or an injury, it can be an accumulation… and then one day it snaps.

There’s a straw that breaks the camels back. And I was the camel in this case. 🐪

I could feel lower back pain that I hadn’t felt in decades…

In my young adult life, I had a weakened back from a sled injury where one of my vertebrae was compromised and I remember at the time being sad that I lost about a quarter of an inch of height.

Those teen years before then I was working hard on growing taller. I’m 5’6″ so that’s not short for a female, but you know when you’re younger your expectations are higher as you haven’t experienced enough life to objectively compare.

And this week when my lower back pain just showed up out of no where, I knew I had to wrap up what I was doing and go immediately to my yoga mat… my new healing doctor’s office. 😊

I was lucky to be able to do that being at home where I could mellow out.

Once on the mat, I knew I could fix the back problem that I had felt from time-to-time in my life since the snow mogul accident.

That was a 180 degree turn from my 30s when I didn’t know how to fix my back issues without depending on a professional like a chiropractor or physical therapist.

I went to several different ones but was never fully satisfied with the experiences for one reason or another.

Today, I wouldn’t need to see anyone because of YOGA! And that can be your new REALITY too! 🎉

If you have lower back pain or other body pain (and aren’t healing from injury that can take months), maybe yoga is your solution that saves you and for the rest of your life where acute pain spots often show up again. 💭

With yoga, you don’t need anything special. I mean, it doesn’t cost anything at home and you don’t need to take time and make effort to research places or go anywhere.

…It doesn’t get EASIER than that!

That’s something to get excited about if yoga isn’t a part of your life today and you’re needing some motivation.

That was mine.

And when I hear of people’s ache complaints, I feel for them. I know exactly what yoga poses they need to fix their pain.

…I didn’t need a degree for that as you feel in your body what works. So in that way, you’re your “best yoga doctor.” And someone like me is the next best thing. 😉

So let me back up and start by saying, I understand we didn’t all grow up with yoga.

…When I was in my 30s, yoga was not well-known in America. You didn’t see modern studios everywhere… or even anywhere.

My first gym where I took yoga classes in 2008 was hip and held regular yoga classes. I really liked the Sunday Hatha yoga class that I showed up to. And like most, I hated yoga after the first class. Yes, I hated it because I didn’t know what I was doing.

But it kept calling me… (a weekly class habit does that).

And then when I moved away, yoga was just up and coming. The Gold’s Gym I belonged to had many yoga classes taught in an inspiring studio. By then I was addicted to yoga.

I also dropped into many other yoga studio classes over those few years and learned other common yoga poses in those experiences.

…So you could say I grew up with yoga in America. I saw when Vinyasa became common yoga practice.

And that’s why I know in-person classes is the best way to learn yoga as you get occasional 1:1 instruction for certain poses, and you have a 3-D experience.

Also, I’ve never met a yoga instructor who didn’t love yoga! What’s not to love once you get the hang of it!?

Yoga is never about what others are doing around you so there’s no need to ever feel inferior or be intimidated. We all start somewhere.

You can start in the back of the class where no one is paying attention to you so you can watch others who are a ‘lil more advanced by a few classes.

And yoga is union, so we’re in a spirit of love when we’re together in the same spacious room breathing the same yoga air in harmony.

So then you can be free to have greater awareness for your own body and its capabilities.

If you have an Achilles Heal like a less flexible lower back, you learn in class you can’t do full Camel Pose.

And that’s okay. Rather than grabbing your ankles, you can back arm clasp or do the modified prayer hands behind the back. 🙏

When you know the poses intimately like that, then you can do them automatically on your home mat OR in front of a digital screen class.

But starting out with a virtual class is not going to give you the full experience if you don’t know what you’re doing or the yoga foundations.

You wouldn’t have the real life experience to draw from.

So that’s step one for new yoga peeps.

Classes will be a great expansion to your yoga development.

…I’m grateful that I learned the BEST WAY so I can pass on that advice to you. 🧡

Then with yoga knowledge under your belt, you can solve your own aches and pains like general lower back pain or malaise that’s pretty common.

You may not need anything else for restoring daily sitting or computer postures.

Looking up and turning the head is one purposeful move.

…But yoga is the intentional move that saves.

Yoga restores our bodies. Like sleep, we’re doing some resetting good for our body (and mind).

When we bend the opposite way to counteract our regular arching backs and hunching forward postures, we get back to body balance.

In my lower back pain issue, I specifically did Bridge pose with a yoga block to stretch the back more than without. Even on the lowest block setting, I was wincing in pain.

And somehow on my mat, I convinced myself to raise the block to the second setting.

This wasn’t a new pose for me, so despite knowing (the unwritten rules)… like never have pain feelings in yoga, I knew the additional stretch was needed to fix my back issue.

I could do it safely without getting hurt.

And I also knew my limitations where the third and highest block setting would not be possible on this particular day.

So I would not attempt that.

I would stay in the second block setting where I ended up getting stuck.

That can happen.

…I could not get down.

You’re probably wondering why as all I had to do was pull the block out from under me as easily as I inserted it in.

But you see when the back gives out, that pain extends to the butt and legs (where your largest muscles are) that is supporting you and your back in Bridge Pose.

So the block was like an immovable concrete block. It’s actually light gray too (but foam). 😉

So resetting my mind, I rolled backward into Plow Pose getting away from my block that was under me.

Not only was that a great escape… but that’s the pose that saves the lower back.

In Plow Pose, you fully release back stress without needing inversion tables. Remember those?

That’s the pose where you throw you legs over your head so they are above and behind you.

It saved me once before when I moved and my furniture hadn’t arrived for a month…

Sleeping on a mattress couldn’t save me then, but Plow Pose did.

…Sometimes people stop at Shoulder Stand inversions before the pose, but that was unnecessary today in lower back pain pose priorities.

This is where it’s helpful to know the poses you need so you can recall them when needed.

And they’re just finger tips away on the mat.

That just comes with yoga practice.

…And emphasizing that yoga is not about the fancy poses like inversions (like Shoulder Stands).

For physical health and wellness, it’s about restoring your body.

And knowing the restoring poses like Pigeon Pose, Lizard Pose and Sphinx Pose. Those are all good for lower back pain not from a recent injury.

Plus a good resting pose like Child’s Pose or Hare Pose. You can ball back up for a moment into your inner child.

And…

Now I can rest. Today I feel brand new jumping out of bed.

In a few days when I know I’m fully recovered from this episode (that again was not an injury), I will go back to stomach exercises that support the back and lifting small weights.💪

Both the stomach and weights are so important for building muscles that are needed to support the back (that carries us back).

We all need that!

So I hope this encourages you to do more healthy yoga! 🧘🏻‍♀️

Fruit Roll Up – Homemade with Applesauce

Fruit roll up is a happy memory from when I was a kid. 💭

They were a sweet and light snack from the grocery store that melted in the mouth.

It was (and is) a cross between fruit + candy.

They came wrapped up in their own packaging and were attached to cellophane that I liked to play make things with when I was young. They were rolled up like scrolls.

Almost like the Dead Sea Scroll minus the ancient writing.

…And not that far back, my young days was when posters were the rage so anything rolled up meant happy entertainment or enjoyment.

Playing around, I haven’t had a fruit roll up like those until now as an adult. 😋

Decades later and these parchment paper looking treats are naturally preserved…

These were like the ones that ruined me to never want any other fruit roll up wannabes. 😅

These are the REAL DEAL.

Making these fruit roll ups bring me joy (...and maybe for you too?) because they resembled packaged old-fashioned fruit roll ups that you would buy at the store… minus additional sugar that’s not needed for these.

As thin as they are like sheets of music, these stack up nicely! 🪵…

Thin as paper and pretty as rice paper too.

They’re as durable as leather.

Technically they fall in the leather fruit category but are as smooth and supple as suede.

My mom was a dressmaker, so she played a role in influencing my fabric choices where I learned lighter materials are usually higher quality.

And I’d agree about that with this light leather fruit material…

These feel light and feathery (not leathery) and are very apple healthy! 🍏

Plus, they last for weeks at room temperature.

Made with apple they are a great fall snack that can be made year round.

It’s almost like wrapping paper… or maybe it’s an old map or a key to hieroglyphic history. However you want to call it, it’s a SWEEET fruit roll up.

Oh, and kidding aside, the BEST part is (…can you tell I’m getting excited that it just gets better? 😊)…

You can make these in your home oven in one hour and 20 minutes with just 5 minutes of prep time.

How’s that for predictability?

…Seriously it’s that easy!

They are fun (and dare I say relaxing) to make and everyone of all ages will love them! 💕

They make a great sweet snack without any artificial ingredients.

And actually just 2 sweet and natural ingredients that make a perfect duo. 🍏🍯

Using applesauce, you don’t even have to turn the stove on to cook down apples and de-core them… and they will turn out even better. Because for one, the apple fruit roll up will be more even.

…The first time you make them, don’t freak out because they turn transparent on a baking sheet.

Don’t worry, it’s there. 😀

…I tried that once with Aquafaba because I heard you could make meringues that way… and POOF! I wish I could say that was magic, but it was more like a trick. 🪄

They dissolved into thin oven air… but I digress.

These fruit roll ups will turn out… I promise.

These are the proof…

I’m so happy to share these with you through the screen. And I hope they make your day like they did for me the first time I made them. 🍥

(And maybe this will keep the kiddos staying happy and cavity-free as low-sugar goodies with plenty of sweetness… that are substitutable for a certain candy holiday 🎃).

And if you’re into experimenting (like I am gladly doing with sweets), you can try other flavors.

Keep in mind they will take longer to bake with more complex ingredients.

You will know when you touch or look at the baked fruit roll up whether it’s dry and done, or half-baked and almost there….

In this one, you can see here that the dry section is on the upper right area and the rest of the fruit roll up is not done… simply pop it back into the oven.

Change the time but don’t mess with the temperature.

This one took another 20-25 minutes to finish… and was worth the wait. ⏲️

Ready to make these? 😋

homemade fruit roll ups like the ones I had as a kid.

Easy Apple Fruit Roll Ups

These are no fuss-no muss apple fruit roll ups you can bake in under 2 hours. This will make 4 - 4 inch roll ups that are about 9 inches long.

Course Snack

Cuisine American

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Equipment

Silpat silicone baking mat on sheet pan

Ingredients

2 4 ounce applesauce cups, unsweetened
2 tbsp raw honey (high quality)

Instructions

Thoroughly combine apple sauce in a bowl and add honey. Tip: use a high quality honey with a smooth consistency.
Smear the mixture into a thin layer on a Silpat (silicone sheet) laid out on a baking pan. Tip: Use different light to check that there are no "holes" that show up with shadows.
Bake on 200°F/100°C for 80 minutes. Tip: if you add or experiment with other more vibrant colors and flavors, they can take significantly longer. You'll know it's completely done, when the fruit roll up is one uniform color and dry throughout to the touch.
Let cool completely and then start to peel at one corner and then slowly peel up the entire fruit roll up. Roll up, slice, and enjoy!

The Great British Baking Show Happy Days

The Great British Baking Show season means baking time, so that’s what this light-hearted foodie is sharing about today to lean into the happy! 😋

…And as a show fan, I get giddy like a school girl. I’ve even got my hair put up in a high up side ponytail like a teen to match my feelings. 🤸🏻

Oh, but don’t worry… this will probably be my only giddy post on the show if you’re not a fan (yet). I’ll be back on the healthy earth channel 🌱 next week… so stay tuned. 📺

…And tuning this week into The GBBS also known as the Great British Bake Off show 🇬🇧 is the alarm for me (and us home bakers) that it’s time to fall B-E-ake!

But before we bake, can you guess what this is?

It’s NOT butter. And it’s not fondant even though it makes a good food illusion 💭… but neither are good to eat on its own so that rules those out.

…Well, hang on to your hat (for that finished thought), and keep reading as it will make more sense when I spill the butt-ah…

Btw… in the States, we like our good sense, scents, and cents, as we’re multi-faceted and have many preferences to show.

We’re similar to our neighbors across the pond where we have adopted some nifty baking ways. Isn’t that right, Rahul? 😊… and we love that! 🇺🇸

I also love that we get to idea mingle with our UK friends that unite the kingdoms through our grams (Instagram and convertable baking gram measurements). 🇬🇧

…and isn’t it about worldly T-I-M-E!?

Cheers! 🎉 (as in thank you in Brit-English and cheers 🥂).

Oh, and did I mention we’re getting mini-Brit speaking lessons from the show’s entertainment side? 🐿️

One lesson note-to-self: I’ll now know to bring more pants than trousers and trackies to the U.K. next time. 😉

But all-in-all, we have a lot and even more in common… both countries speaking some English-variety. We’re also closest in time zones when you consider the other Old World countries.

…And GBBO o‘clock 🕰️ helps us bridge the ocean divide. 🥧

But I will add… it’s a little weird seeing the show baked creations before the episode airs on Netflix.

…Ah, but a few seasons in… like most watchers from the States, I’ve gotten used to the spilled (butt-ah 🧈) beans. 🫘

Plus I grew up in the simpler dialup era so no complaints (not my style).

Which btw, I think I saw one of those ☎️ this week and a green sewing machine that brought me back to my youth where we had one of those in the house.

…Plus I learned a new mini checkerboard technique a.k.a Battenbergs that I heard about from the show. 🏁

And that’s what I was baking up this week in my no-pressure tent? 🎪 Well.. sorta, but not exactly!

…I get excited about sugar talk that goes straight to my head 💭… I forget for a brief moment that I’m a low-sugar baker in the comforts of my kitchen.

So swept back to reality, a MINI Battenberg marzipan dessert is fitting. Because a mini one has very little sugar.

…And this one is reaallly small! …Good for maybe a big Barbie food table.

But too small to bake a cake in unless you’re Barbie baking for Ken and then it’s never too small. 💖

But for the rest o us, an all easy marzipan sweet bite can be made in minutes. It’s like playing with Play-dough.

…So that’s what I turned my butter illusion into. And making a fancy pattern marzipan is still less time than baking.

But I couldn’t leave my oven cold.

Because butter talk inspires baking.

…So I made a healthy delicious bake, but instead of butter (or butt-ah) I used an ingredient you may or may not have heard of… MCT oil.

It sounds like a pharmacy prescribed oil, but it’s OTC… and healthy! Now we’re back on track. 🌱

The healthy fat food supports weight loss, helping the body make ketones for energy that then gives us more energy.

It’s a form of coconut oil that most or all of us know. 🥥

And so I thought only fitting to make a healthy chocolate donut.🍩

That was made coconut tasty with organic unsweetened coconut chips that also make delicious snacks on their own!

Healthy coconut flour was used to lean into the tastes of chococonut (say that 10 times). The gluten-free flour makes a denser no-rise bake that’s great for pancakes or ONE donut here…

…that’s btw how us baking peeps fit into our fave jeans so we can better thrive in our mind-bodies 😊 where we’re all slightly different tuned that’s good to celebrate in our turning world.

Speaking of jeans👖…my baking genes wouldn’t fit in The Great British Baking Show fiery baking tent. 🎪

The show competitors got that competitive gene.🙌👏🏽

…And it looks like all of them this season were very blessed.

For the rest of us, we’re watching The Great British Baking Show and doing our stress-free baking. And on that note, you can enjoy with a best melted chocolate dessert.

Healthy Chocolate Coconut Donut (Gluten-Free)

This recipe uses chocolate and coconut chips as the sweet, and healthy coconut oil fat that used in moderation is a good sub for a delicious, weight-conscious donut.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

1 cup coconut flour
2 tsp coconut oil for donut
1 tsp coffee (optional)
1 egg
milk (start with 1 tbsp)
unsweetened coconut chips (enough to cover top)
baking chocolate chip
coconut oil, a few drops for melting chocolate

Instructions

Gently mix the 4 donut cake ingredients by hand. Use enough milk to get the consistency closest to a cake batter (not too liquid and not too dense). Grease your pan with coconut oil and pour batter into the pan. Bake until top looks baked and a toothpick comes out clean.
Make the chocolate glaze: melt chocolate chips in a few drops of coconut oil using a bain marie (double boiler) setup. You don't need steaming hot water for melting chocolate. I used an inexpensive self-heating water kettle. I added a small ceramic cup and put inside a ceramic bowl. I poured the hot-warm water into the bowl about half way and the chocolate melts in a minute or two.
Zhugh with organic coconut chips that is recommended for a more pure coconut taste plus a crunch with kernel intact (compared to shredded coconut).
With coconut oil, this dessert will stay good at room temperature for 2 days (the day it's baked and the day after). For longer lasting, keep completely covered in the refrigerator so it doesn't dry out.

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