Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Black Bean Smoothie with Coffee

Black bean smoothie from coffee beans is a 2X bean plant-based healthy beverage… and something to get excited about for your day! 🌅

You naturally get a powerhouse of fiber PLUS plant-based protein to start your morning on the right foot… and those steps 👣 keep you on a happy high for the rest of the day. 😊

ICYMI, beans are the rage in new food vitamins to take.

…PLUS A can of bean costs almost nothing when you compare to other high protein sources. AND the cans last for-ever (as food goes).

A can of beans usually has an expiration date that’s a few years out. That’s longer than what you and I know with what the future holds… but you can count on your beans! 🫘

If you get the organic black bean cans, those are still pennies compared to other protein sources, and you’ll have less sodium.

And then instead of rinsing your open canned beans with running water, you can dump the beans, liquid, and all into your blender (…maybe all while your eyes are still opening).

…This is great too for when you’ve woken up on the wrong side of the morning and want your positive energy boost to bounce back.

…Or when you feel like your gut needs a detox from processed foods and need to add some plant-based food love to your gut.

…And to add balance from a weekend of eating and drinking enjoyment.

You can also soothe those bloating gut discomfort feelings or uncomfortable jabs in the gut that you’ve normalized from what you consume.

Those don’t need to be your new normal and weigh you down!

…You’d know, because you have a less than a satisfactory healthy bathroom life.

And if off kilter….

You can get back on smooth track with a smoothie cold beverage like this.

…Where you get gut unhindered and be ready to conquer the world after a little daily energy boost!

This is a love language your gut understands…

And a coffee black bean smoothie like this can healthy balance restore. It’s even smoother than an avocado smoothie with coffee great for fasts

…Or you can try both and alternate the blend in your life. 💭

For any coffee smoothie, you can add the brewed coffee you like… but I like to add cold brew coffee for less acidity.

AND it’s already room temp coldish so you can drink and enjoy your finished smoothie sooner without adding ice cubes (that’s an option too). Btw, there’s a difference between cold brew and iced coffee.

And whatever coffee you choose, I recommend using an organic coffee (less toxins).

So, to make the coffee black bean smoothie:

Add your can of black beans and brewed coffee. And let the blender grind (blend). 😀 Let your smoothie start out thicker.

Add more or less liquid depending on how thick you like your smoothie. And you can always thin out with a ‘lil water later.

So after blending the beans (the coffee and black kind), work on the flavoring that matters…

You can make this a sweet beverage option.

Sooo with healthy notes, you don’t want to blanket douse all the good you just did with table sugar…

You can keep it sweet, tasty and plant-based healthy with cacao (powder).

Both cocoa and cacao powder come from cocoa beans but cacao is not as processed like cocoa is. It’s not just an “a” and “o” spelling play in the words. They are different but the same.

Common cocoa powder also often has sugar hidden within so the consuming product is different in the end.

And to compliment your powder sweetness, you can add another sweet source that’ll make it smooth: raw honey that’s another healthy Vitamin B (as in bee -add 🐝).

I also like to add banana and cinnamon spice that are other B and C adds… but those are optional and if you have on-hand.

And an option is to add Greek yogurt (for thickness), but you can get this coffee smoothie doing the minimum with black beans, brewed coffee, and cacao powder (or cocoa if cacao is not available).

…And in case you’re not a coffee drinker, you can substitute the coffee for milk or a plant-based milk like almond milk or yogurt whey. Think of it more like a protein chocolate drink, so it’s good for all growing ages.

…Especially those 30 and up!

And if you prefer a thicker smoothie, the yogurt solids will help you get that consistency too! Oh, and you add a dollop of yogurt to the top as your whipped 😉

(We’re now heading into parfait territory now.)

And to keep this a refreshing smoothie, I haven’t even gotten to the fun part yet (that would be the zhugh in desserts)…

Add mini chocolate chips to the smoothie drink and let some sink to the bottom.

You may have had cold java drinks like this that had the chips swirling around at the bottom and every now and again you get a nice pause in a chocolatey morsel bite.🧋

You can add 70% or more dark cacao chocolate morsels to your home smoothie that’s healthy delicious (and FUN to add).

You can also sweeten the vitamin-ness with wild blueberries too. How fun!

This is looking less and less like a beans drink and more like a delicious one!

…Wait ’til you get a taste! 😋

And this is what your Monday and any early morning gut and mouth are calling for. 📣

I’ve added this to the Magic Bullet recipes and this could be a low-sugar summer dessert too.

For more smoothie inspo and ideas, check out this healthy smoothie guide challenge I put together for you with all kinds of fiber-delicious blends (to give you your better than regular healthy LIFE back!) 🎉

Anti-Inflammatory Black Bean Coffee Chocolate Smoothie

This makes a nice cup or glass plus more for later.

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

1 can organic black beans
1/2 cup cold brew coffee
2 tbsp cacao
1 tbsp raw honey
1 tbsp mini dark chocolate chips
1 banana (optional)
1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
1 tsp frozen wild blueberries (optional)
shredded coconut (zhugh optional)

Instructions

Blend ingredients until smooth. Refrigerate.
Add chocolate chip morsels and zhugh with more, blueberries, and/or coconut. Enjoy!

Notes

This makes an 8 ounce cup to enjoy plus more. If you add more liquid, you can make a larger batch for later.

If you want a thick smoothie base, choose a creamy thick yogurt like Icelandic yogurt or Fage Greek yogurt.

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Donut – Chocolate Glazed (Healthy Baked)

Donut with a chocolate glaze is one dessert that can be made delicious and healthy when baked without butter. Like this variety chocolate glazed donut plate, where some are jammed… as in raspberry jam.

Chocolate and raspberry are a decadent pairing and can be made healthy (with dark cacao and low-sugar). Raw cacao and organic raspberries are loaded with polyphenols that are anti-inflammatory good. And baked in with no butter in this recipe, you can stick with the healthy theme.

Chocolate pairs well with almost any flavor like coconut, and many of them are healthy like nuts, fruits, and spices.

And in our flavor choices… once upon a time, I ate my last Boston cream filling donut (…well, that was not healthy)…

And the donut showed up on my arm the next day. 😀

I don’t think I’ve had a store-bought Boston cream donut since. Even though I love how shiny cute they look and glossy glazed. And don’t get me started about the fresh bakery scent trail it leaves. 🍩

…But kidding aside, I found other store-bought ways to get the sweet taste without the fried-ness in traditional donuts. …because like high sugar, fried foods are addictive.

You can’t have JUST ONE and be satisfied. If you’re like, you fight willpower.

…So if you eat smaller bites and healthy sweets, then there’s no guilt.. and there’s NO “eat now, pay later” after-effect.

Those are all heathy moves.

And when there’s an emergency donut sugar craving 😊… (for a sweet tooth, that’s often)… low-sugar snacks like this healthy baked dark chocolate glazed donut do the trick.

Oh, and there’s no butter in this recipe. Healthy fat foods like a little coconut oil (that’s minimal) is a good alternative. You can also use a light olive oil that has minimal savory tastes.

And if you’re someone who likes variety, you can zhugh and flavor each baked donut with different looks and tastes.

Like rose and rosewater, pistachio, unsweetened shredded coconut and other plant-based foods. 🌹🥥🌱

They’re good healthy food substitutes. And if you’re looking for a good sweet food substitute, give this baked coconut donut a GO-GO! 🥥

Baked Chocolate Glazed Donut - Healthy Donut Alternative

A healthier donut baked with gluten-free flour with a shiny chocolate glaze top and healthy toppings.

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 4 donuts

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

1 cup coconut flour (or gluten-free flour)
3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp coconut oil (or neutral oil)
1 tsp yeast
1 egg
3/4 cup milk of choice
pistachio bits and shredded coconut (zhugh)
1/4 cup dark chocolate, melted (zhugh)
low-sugar raspberry jam (optional)

Instructions

Combine 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 on 350°F/180°C until top looks baked and a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool. Cut out with round cookie cutter (easier to do before completely cooled).
After cooled, to add (oozing) raspberry jam to centers, poke a food skewer through the middle side of the donut to make a hollow tunnel in the donut. Use a food syringe or a squeezable jam bottle to insert jam into the tunnel.
Make melted chocolate glaze and dip donut top side in glaze.
Zhugh with coconuts and pistachio bits while glaze is still wet.
Keep the donuts out in a cool spot for 2 days or for longer lasting, refrigerate in a covered container.

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Rumination Is Keeping You Stuck

Rumination is something I know a lot about. It’s a form of overthinking and worry that can come from deep-rooted fears.

Feeling fear is an opportunity for your (subconscious) ego to get a hold of your thoughts and mind.

…That can keep you playing small in your precious life that you’re the star in 🌟and uniquely play out.

Opposing efforts are the ego fears showing up that are the opposite of love. …And loving thoughts and actions.

…So cutting them out is a good personal growth mission.

And that’s not something you would likely have learned in school or in your work life. And actually, probably picked up more ego behaviors along the way than pushed them aside.

But when you get to the bottom of your fears and you’re aware in conscious living in your life journey, that can help you conquer fears.

…That lets you have more love to give. And when you love yourself (first), then that invites in more love you can offer to the world in abundant ways and mindset.

Sometimes you end up going down unproductive storyline rabbit trails that turn into a negative spiral loop. That’s when you want to reset… or else risk staying stuck.

Resetting our minds by taking a walk, getting on a yoga mat, journaling, flipping the script, replacing thoughts, or doing other productive exercises are healthy intentional steps.

Because bad thoughts are usually counterproductive in some way. And negative (unloving) thoughts always hurt.

But taking a few mindful present thought moments can help the reset. When you pause and take a deep breather… you have a small window to make a positive micro shift adjustment in your day.

Because deep breathing in and out sends fresh oxygen to the mind, resets the body, and helps clean out the cobwebs from growing in the soul… 💨

The soul is at the seat of your mind, will (choices), and emotions that are deep within the body.

You can invite in your spirit to help lighten the load.

But not all of us do.

You get to exercise that right (choice).

Taking deep breaths is a good habit, reminder, and first step.

It’s also a natural cure for uncontrollable heart palpitations that can come from anxiety.

If you’re a natural Vata body (Ayurvedic dosha), you know exactly how that feels in you as you’ve lived it throughout your life. And those around you with similar bodies, have too.

And when you do deep breathing exercises like 4-7-8 breathing, counting is even easier than yoga or meditating.

It’s an empowering habit you can do anytime and anywhere.

And that helps to counteract triggered rumination thoughts that appear in your day out of nowhere…

That’s this life… where at any moment when life is in play, anything can happen.

And this article may be useful to add more calm in your life by making aware of your ruminating thoughts occupying daily space.

You can tell them to take a hike and make them go away sooner. 😊

…Because it is up to you!

And that should feel good.

Even if and especially if you’re naturally more of a thinker and you like to analyze situations.

You’re often impacted more by rumination thoughts because you tend to get inside your head.

…It’s not your fault or anyone’s fault for how you were naturally built.

That’s what sets you and I apart from animals and our plant-based world we nicely co-exist with.

And to use our higher and super powers to rule our planet for good, we need healthy mindset practices.

So that for unsettled situations, our minds will search for better answers.

We can bypass the rabbit trails and potential misery.

Because unawareness = unconsciousness… and awareness = consciousness.

And connecting the dots… unconsciousnesss means our subconscious takes the wheel and that’s where the harmful ego can rear its ugly head.

Turning thoughts into incessant rumination that can affect our entire day and outlook beyond.

Until we stop them dead in their tracks.

Because naturally they don’t stop on their own in a cycle.

The ego protection (that you don’t need most the time) wants you to believe in make-believe. And in its harmful destruction, ego wants you to hold onto bad and unloving thoughts… or else something bad will happen.

That’s hardly the truth.

The opposite will happen…

Where losing rumination, you’ll get your healthy day back and bypass your misery.

When I was growing up, we listened to cassette tapes. And sometimes the tapes got stuck in the player, and then would play the same riff over and over again.

…Until we stepped in and did something about it. We had to turn off the tape player temporarily and fix the problem.

The problem was usually that the playing tape got wrapped around wrong. And when we’re aware, we’d take a pen and roll back the tape around until it was back in line inside the cassette… that would be a good thing to do with our triggered thoughts. 💭

And if the cassette was too damaged, then we could do small repairs like cutting the tape out (…remember that? Those were the days 😊).

We’d tape the good parts together and have a new restored tape.

If successfully done, the tape would be missing the cut out music tape parts that never was as noticeably dramatic as we thought.

And that’s how our thoughts can be. If we cut out bad parts, we’re fixing our bad tapes playing repetitive, non-productive rumination messsages in our heads.

Simple fixes and exercises take seconds to restore back to the healthy.

Where changing thoughts is healthy self-help. 🎉

You’re then no longer a prisoner to your thoughts… unless you allow thoughts to take you captive.

No one in this life comes out with perfect thoughts or are unscathed in this life… but the more practice in changing thoughts, the better you get at it.

And the sooner you feel better, the sooner you learn contentment and joy from happiness within that you’re in control of.

…NOT controlled by external daily situations that life serves up.

It’s your loving lens and perceptions that make the difference… and how you will get more outta this life!

Ego is the wildcard we have no control over.

Except when we’re conscious, then we can kick our subconscious (ego) to the curb.

We can turn to LOVE and our self-serving thoughts (positive thoughts).

So now that that’s clear, BE on close guard.

ALWAYS.

Even if you’re busy, don’t let your guard down.

Slow your life down.

And specifically slow your thoughts down.

Pause.

Don’t react.

And practice saying, “let me think (or pray) about that.”

This is language that your ego hates as this doesn’t let you knee-jerk react (or in some cases if we’re honest, act like a jerk).

If you choose love, you won’t mess up.

Always choose love.

That’s always easier. You don’t have to discern or figure out what you should do in life’s many gray areas and situation you’re part of.

If it feels loving and positive, then you know you’re headed in the right direction somehow, even if you’re not certain how.

It doesn’t matter who or where you are! This works with the love from above. And pays off on earth.

Oh, and always remember, you are loved.

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Mental Health Awareness – How Far We’ve Come

Mental Health Awareness Month is a reminder in May that health is not just physical, it’s mental too… and it especially matters in the deep mind-body connection.

Each and every day is an opportunity for growth toward living better wellness and gaining mental health awareness that stems from our deeper insides.

Mental health is spiritual and linked to our spiritual well being that completes the mind-body-spirit in us.

If you grow your spiritual sides, you’re exercising and growing mental health.

…Like lifting weights or your heart rate for your physical body health.

The heart and mind are closely related and getting quiet time allows you to tap into those spiritual feeling-thought areas that make up our daily mental health.

You can think of your spirit as your heart that often refers to your gut feelings (that aren’t actually in the gut). The effect is a gut-heart connection.

We already know there’s a stomach gut-mind connection as most of our happy hormones are made in the gut that affect how we feel and think.

Essentially when we exercise our right to re-route our negative thoughts and flip them to positive and loving ones, we do ourselves a world of good.

We bypass bad thoughts and feelings resulting in some form of misery that’s unessential for us to grow.

Mental health awareness (wellness) allows us to see and observe that they’re related and happening inside us.

It’s deep and not easy to see what our own minds are thinking and even more obscure to see what our hearts are thinking at any moment…

And it’s even more challenging with mental health disorder filters or if temporary inflicted by common states like anxiety.

These ways cloud views, so keeping up wellness and living balanced is what I’m passionate about.

And bringing our awareness to present moments helps us process what’s going on at any time.

Also relationships make great mirrors in what we communicate verbally and non-verbally. 🪞

We can find out what’s going on with us.

And make happy mental health changes, so we’re free to live our most fulfilled lives!

Happiness was not talked about when I was growing up. And wellness was not something mentioned in the Corporate America jobs I held for decades.

So Mental Health Awareness Month is one of the several recognized events throughout the year to keep a reminder going… and to recognize how far we’ve come.

It’s a way to celebrate strides and not go back to our darker ways and pasts.

In the past, so many of us kept our mental health sides quiet and hidden. And generations before, even more so.

We’re a much more aware society, open to growth.

That’s something to healthy celebrate! 🎉

In the end, it’s our personal health that dictates what we can and can’t do…

And if you don’t know why you’ve suffered in relationships that are mirrors reflecting back, you probably have some hidden areas that need healing.

They’re hidden so you’ve never seen them and how getting them into view can change your mental health.

That’s what my journey taught me…

I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I saw a bright future forward and ahead, and never thought to look backward.

Until I was stuck. And I reaped opportunities to be in company with healers.

They made me realize forgiveness could bridge the gap to my wholeness.

That removed the subconscious blocks and made them conscious for healing.

Without wholeness that comes from healing, a person is never free from their imperfect past (that we all have no matter how much we enjoyed our childhood).

And if there is a current triggered situation in life, that can be an opportunity to clear out the past cobwebs.

And remove being a prisoner to the ego mind that’ll subconsciously make the situation worse.

That robs joy and happiness.

…In the one life you and I get.

…We’re here to evolve and get better and whole.

And that’s up to each of us.

Best remedies any of us can apply in mental health awareness is self-care that can include: yoga, meditation, nature walks, church, connectedness and all of the above.

And in those moments, you can gather answers to:

Are you healed from your past? Or do you still carry burdens?

…And maybe a current life problem is helping you to get to root causes.

Mental health awareness blockages means there’s some healing needed.

Some signs to look for:

You can’t talk about your past, sob deeply, or get defensive about certain triggering situations or people.

Witness the words you use and say, and if they are being defensive or blaming others.

Have you forgiven those who hurt you? It doesn’t matter if they knew what they did to you or not… OR whether or not they can apologize today. Those would be good if they restored the peace, but usually we’re in situations where we can’t get that closure.

But you can get forgiveness so you can heal and move healthy and happy on.

Doing this in a retreat or healing session with others is good because then you know for certain it happened as you have an event to remember and wasn’t just a few thoughts you had.

Also, do you ruminate on the same past thoughts?

If you do, you have to get closure or clarity, or you’ll always be carrying the burden of feeling stuck.

Clarity feels like peace and maybe even being able to laugh at some of the things that happened that were so traumatic before. They helped you grow to your wholeness and maybe even help others going through similar challenges.

Remember the saying, “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.”

And feeling sorry for those who don’t know any better helps you have compassion for others.

Often it’s mental health that becomes the barrier to do better.

Because hurt people, hurt people.

And when you’re healed, you can see that clearly.

That goes beyond your past, processing, and forgiving and creating a new way to look at the past.

Then you can be the answer to people around you needing answers to their problems.

…And when you do, you can realize how far you’ve come! 🙌

Be well and Happy Mental Health Awareness Month!!

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Sugar Cookies – Healthy Recipe

Sugar cookies can be tasty and healthy cookies with honey as the sweetness. And this recipe uses 4 ingredients and is one-bowl easy.

And with strawberry (or any berry), that’s berry good! 🍓 Like this plate of cookies is made low-sugar, gluten-free… and tasty good. Recipe below 👇

How this low-sugar sugar cookie recipe is different and can be cookie controversial is that there is no white sugar (or sugar crystal substitutes like Stevia that alters tastes).

With an optional light strawberry chocolate glaze at the end, you can keep this naturally low-sugar without missing a sugar beat! 🎉

Think of the strawberry seeds as sugar seeds 😊 And the gluten-free cookie crumbly bits falling off as sugar bits to please your sweet cravings.

This is a cookie challenge because with sugar in the name, NO table sugar doesn’t make sense… but if you’re like me, you’re up for the low-sugar challenge for your healthy body!

It’s a good balance FOR sweet taste buds with a healthy mix so there’s NO compromise.

And this is an EASY challenge because there are only 3 wholesome ingredients needed for these one-bowl sugar cookies to come together. And white table sugar is not one of them.

It’s 1/2 teaspoon of natural honey sugar per regular-size cookie cutter cookie. And you can substitute butter that’s usually in cookies with coconut oil if you would like to make your sugar cookies more healthy.

But it was not easy to come up with this on my end…

This was a journey… because I remember the crunchy hard sugar cookie vividly with sugar crystals on top shaped in dainty flowers with a whole in the middle that I once happily dreamed about. 🧒🏻

I had a sweet relationship with sugar.

…Never in my wildest dreams did I think making and eating my own cookies would be a typical Day in the Life that I’m happy about.

…And I never thought I’d graduate to making my own sugar cookie… without sugar crystals.

Maybe you get it because you too ate spoonfuls of sugar (and enjoyed every sugary food thing out there) like those of us who have a sweet tooth (or a full set of sweet teeth 😊)?

Thankfully for us who also aspire to healthy… the less sugar we eat, the less we crave and the fewer sweet taste buds as we get older.

That helps us align happy and healthy living.

Happy living is good for mental health.

And so if you want to add a glaze top to cookies and desserts, you can balance the healthy and happy ways (…and that’s what pleases my healthy and ex-catering self 😊).

Here on this plate I use a melted chocolate. I chose strawberry chocolate, but white or dark chocolate would work great too.

But in reality, most people use powdered sugar with a flavored liquid for a quick sweet glaze.

And that’s where sugar amounts can be over the top (in more ways than one!). ☹️

Because powdered sugar glazes are using another form of potent table sugar and even more white sugar, that’s not good and can tip the scales.

…AND you need a-lottta powdered sugar to make very little glaze. About 1-3/4 cup of powdered sugar is needed to replace 1 cup of granulated sugar… UGH!

So finding healthier ways like melting real chocolate is a smart and sweet tasty idea…

And you can happily smear the melted chocolate glaze on tops as you anticipate your cookie plate.

That’s one glaze that will go far! A mere 2 oz. of chocolate with a teaspoon of coconut oil will give the shine and get the job done for half-a-dozen cookies.

…You can make this no-guilt, low-sugar cookie batch in minutes when you get the sweet hankering!

Comment below whatcha think 💕

Healthy Honey Sugar Cookie

This is a beautiful cookie with ingredient pairing with no white sugar.

Course Dessert

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 15

Total Time 20

Servings 6 cookies

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

1/2 cup almond flour
1 tbsp honey, raw
1 tbsp refined coconut oil
pinch of salt

Instructions

Combine ingredients.
Bake at 300°F for about 15 minutes or until cookie tops are baked (not soft).

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