Chai balls are a warming festive sweet snack that energize ✨ any table and that and goes well with tea… well, chai. These are easy NO BAKE. 🫖
These chai balls look like truffles (…yes?) and are as delicious, but are also anti-inflammatory healthy.
They are made from all plant-based ingredients. Recipe below. 🧡
Chai spice or tea is also Ayurvedic healthy and good for balancing Vata body mind type tendencies. You’ll know chai is good for your moods this season if you desire a cup. 😊
That’s Ayurveda in a nutshell as it leans in your natural preferences. And this applies to the modern West that meets traditional East.
Chai usually has cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and ginger, that will help warm up Kapha (winter) feelings.
And if you find the kind of chai tea bags or loose tea that has (black) pepper in its ingredients, you get additional health benefits.
Cardamom and pepper are an anti-inflammatory Wonder Twins pairing. Together, they’re activated (and you don’t need a magic ring 💍).
Another idea is I like a dash of cardamom coffee on those sluggish mornings for a little pick-me-up jolt.⚡️
Not to mention, adding cloves that’s at the top of the anti-inflammatory list.
With all those spices in chai, you’re doing yourself a world of good by helping protect against some chronic diseases (that could develop later down the road but take a hike instead).
The healthy molecules are meant to protect the plants they come from, and (us) humans benefit as final consumers.
I like to think of chai balls like a holiday Pfefferneusse cookie you would find at a Christmas Market, but does a world of good for your body. 🎄
…AND, you don’t have to travel anywhere and can make these sweet festive or holiday snacks in seconds.
Gathering the ingredients in your house is where the tasty effort will go if they’re already in your cupboard.
And if not, you can easily find and get them from your grocery source.
They are ingredients that can be used again and have long shelf-life…
They also make for seasonably warm drinks like cocoa and calming chai tea to name a few. And also molasses cake and simple cookie bakes that have worked for generations to bring smiles to faces no matter the situations. 🥮
…Which reminds me, I was near an old-fashioned Moravian baking oven and the simple and wholesome ingredients they used inspired me.
They’re the same healthy ingredients we have around today (maybe a little more pure without sprays).
And we can make these chai cookies with the Moravian baking spirit ✨ for our winter break, Christmas holidays, or daily reading. They’re fun and easy to share.
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 stresssources 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.
Cocoa balls are a fun way to ring in the holidays. ✨They’re festive and healthy! And these shiny ones are made from dark cocoa and natural peanut butter. No baking needed.
Working in event planning for a decade, I learned to be creative with food to decorate a plate for events like this…
The ingredients are simply rolled up and then dipped in melted dark chocolate… and then zhughed with some fun nonpareils. The recipe is below. ❣️
…I love how a little uniform tiny confectionary dots can add a smile that reminds me of childhood innocence. I’m easily amused. 😊
Old-fashioned nonpareils bring a nice, FUN texture candy crunch or sprinkle to a party table. I’m sure Girl Meets Farm Molly Yeh would agree with me. 🥳
And their perfectly round shape balance an imperfect confectionary creation for us imperfect humans.
We can put our own stamps on these cocoa balls.
These ones could have been cocoa powder dusted (like a chocolate truffle) with a dry look.
But I think the step of giving a tempered chocolate coating-look bring some added happy temperaments. 😋
Getting a best melted chocolate coating without making a ganache is seconds-easy, and healthy with plant-based ingredients like dark chocolate that’s also anti-inflammatory healthy.
Then you can roll these cocoa balls into their fun paper candy holders that are ready to be shared or popped in your mouth.
…I guess you could say these please the girl scrapbooker in me that likes anything paper and dainty you could use for parties! 🎊 A piñata and a few balloons never hurt either! 🎈
Then with any extra melted chocolate you have leftover, while still wet and room temperature, you can mix in peanuts, raisins, other nuts, or dried fruits to make a healthy snack or plate decoration.
And this type of festive Fiesta plate can be one of your dessert table centerpieces that you can make in advance and set out.
For parties, it’s always good to make more than you think you will need, so you can plate up quickly if needed.
And actually, I could’ve turned this plate into a decorative wreath piping in green leaves and red accents or adding mint leaves and glace maraschino cherries like on this Christmas bundt cake if I wanted to get all decked out. 🍒
Another simple and festive no-bake recipe you can add to your festive table is mint chocolate biscuits.
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.
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 you’re a Beatles fan or 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: pray, 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. 💕
Frozen cocoa beverage…whaattt? Cold cocoa (vs hot cocoa) is probably not what you think of when you think of cozy Christmas-y holiday vibe drinks in December. ❄️
And not a beverage you would hold with mittens around a dreamy outdoor cozy fire.
…But before you turn away the idea, a frozen HYGGE-cozy flavored and FUN layered cocoa variety can be a welcomed chiller! 🧊 Think of it like an unusual frozen smoothie. And that is great for cooling any stress-irritated moods that can sink in.
Like this one I share how to easily make…
…It’s layered, and looking like a sand art glass (yes?). And one you can imagine maybe finding at a Christmas market or art show.
Oh, except this one is deliciously drinkable made with drink slip away ingredients (and not slipping sand)! 🧋
And this frozen cocoa beverage is inspired by dairy-free spumoni ice cream flavors dreamt up from a childhood travel experience in Italy. 🇮🇹
Each layer is frozen and when the drink melts, it’s more fun to watch than a snowman melting. ☃️
You can use anti-inflammatory cocoa like I did with Hershey 100% raw cocoa, and then layer with cherry juice… and then add almond milk with a few drops of Pandan (for natural mint green color) and pistachios.
If you’ve never tasted Pandan 🌱, it’s a plant-based ingredient with a vanilla-nutty vibe that taste mixes well with plant-based milks like almond or cashew milk.
For healthy cocoa, instead of going to the cocoa mix beverage aisle of the grocery store, visit the baking or seasonal aisles instead to find the pure multi-purpose cocoa.
The cocoa can be used to make a drink like hot or cold cocoa, or used to bake with and make desserts like healthy chocolate cake, brownies, and cookies.
You want to find an unsweetened, raw cocoa that is not alkalized (processed or Dutched cocoa) for the healthy tastes. And this is the best kind to bake with too!
Most marketed drinking cocoa coming in packets or pouches with the options of marshmallows are the processed kind often loaded with sugar.
You can always sweet treat yourself with marshmallows (sugar) ontop at the end. Or simply zhugh with coconut chips or pistachio crumbles.
And then after you’ve made your frozen cocoa beverage artwork 😁, you can serve with cocoa desserts like this cocoa brownie cake with cashews and dried raspberries.
Which btw, polyphenol-rich cocoa and raspberries are an anti-inflammatory power couple.
…But me-thinks 🧒🏻 that a frozen cocoa beverage is just what these healthy un-iced and faceless molasses gingerbread men ordered. The mystery remains… 😊
They also make for seasonably warm drinks like cocoa and calming chai tea to name a few. And also molasses cake and simple cookie bakes that have worked for generations to bring smiles to faces no matter the situations. 🥮
