Healthy breakfast cookies

 

Made with LOVE breakfast cookies

 

 

This recipe was inspired by my daughter who is a very picky eater- especially when it comes to breakfast on school mornings. She often will not eat much at all for breakfast, but she does love cookies! (What kid doesn't?)
I played around with this recipe until I packed as many healthful ingredients into these little gems as possibe to make them nutrient dense.They are low sugar, low refined flour, contain healthy fats, and protein from the hemp seeds.

Pair a couple of these with some fresh fruit or a smoothie for your finicky breakfast eater, or have one with your morning cuppa java! These are not just for kids, I happen to love these as I don't feel sick after eating them because they are low sugar, and only contain a small amount of refined flour. Coconut sugar is low glycemic, minimally processed, and one of the best sweetners available for baking if you are trying to avoid refined sugar.







Combine in a large bowl:

3 C.  rolled oats (not instant)
1 C. Spelt or Kamut flour (or gluten free alternative, although I can't tell you how they will turn out)
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. ground ginger
dash cayenne pepper (optional, but adds a tiny hint of spice, but not so much the kids will notice)
1/4 cup hemp seed
1/4 cup ground flax


In a small bowl whisk together:

1 mashed ripe banana
1 C. unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup coconut palm sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tb melted coconut oil (add slowly while whisking so it doesn't solidify)

Add wet mixture to the dry mixture, and mix well to incorperate all ingredients. Mix in a few chocolate chips, a handful of raisins or cranberries and you are done!

Bake at 350F for about 10 mins. These cookies are best slightly undercooked so they stay soft and moist- so watch them closely!

Enjoy!

~Leanne


Leanne  Oaten is a Holistic Counsellor and Healthy Lifestyle coach, she is always in her kitchen experimenting, and mixing up something new and healthy, and loves to share her love and knowledge of food and healthy living to assist others in making positive changes in their life.
She can be reached at 250-319-3630
Visit her website

5 lessons I have learned about marriage

I don't normally write about marriage and love relationships, because while I feel like I may have some expertise in many areas, I am no marriage expert by any means! But being that it is our 8th wedding anniversary today, I felt it was appropriate to honor this day by writing a little something about what I have learned over the course of my life about love, relationships, and marriage- and what it really takes to make it work.

I have worked with several couples over the past year, who were experiencing difficulties of all kinds, and while these issues often run deep, and things can get really messy and unclear, they all had some commonalities between them, often times, one or both partners are not feeling loved, valued, respected, and appreciated by their spouse.

Lets be real here, being in a long term relationship can be difficult at times, and sometimes it can feel like it is not working, and it may seem like things are not going well at all, and you may feel like running away from the problems. You may feel like all you do is hurt each other, or find you can't be in the same room together without getting on each others nerves. Maybe you are fighting everyday about silly, meaningless details, maybe you aren't feeling heard by your partner, or are feeling ignored and unappreciated. Perhaps, you have no time to spend alone together with work, life, kids, and other obligations, and you have forgotten why you fell in love in the first place. Or, maybe you feel like things truly are in harmony with your spouse, and you have a healthy balance of conflict, and disagreements, and fun loving time together. You likely feel supported by your mate in all areas, and feel respected and loved for your uniqueness, and the gifts you bring  into the relationship. Wherever you are on your journey, hopefully some of my hard earned revelations, and insights will resonate with you.

So here it goes, my top 5 lessons about how to be happy and healthy in a relationship:


1. Each partner must own their own shit. Yep! This is probably the most important point to highlight. Keep your side of the street clean. Quit the blame game, and start looking within before you blame your partner for your problems, unhappiness, or that the dog peed on the floor. Ask yourself this question during any conflict or disagreement "What was my part to play in this situation?" This takes great inner strength to be able to reflect on your own poor behavior and fess up to it. If both partners are able to do this consistently, the conflict will diminish greatly, and both people will be able to move through the conflict in a loving way. If you are in a bad mood and afterwards realized you directed this at your partner, admit it. If something stressed you out about your day, and you took it out on your partner, own up to it. Apologize for your part, forgive and move on.

2. Take responsibility for your own happiness. It is so incredibly easy to blame someone else for our unhappiness, however; nobody can make us feel any certain way if we do not allow them to. (Obviously if you are in an abusive relationship, you are going to be very unhappy and this would be a time I would suggest looking at a safe way to exit the relationship, or at the very least seek professional help. If you are in danger, and your mind, body and soul are being damaged- you can not just put a happy face over top of this type of thing) but assuming you are in a somewhat stable relationship, where abuse does not exist, take some responsibility for your own life, and happiness. Deal with any unfinished emotional business from the past with a therapist of coach so it doesn't spill over into the relationship. Do some things to make your life more enjoyable, and fill your days with things that make you happy, and take some of the pressure off of your spouse to do it for you. Spend time alone filling yourself up with experiences that make your soul sing! You are in charge of your own happiness. Take a new class, find your passions and peruse them, see some friends, find a new hobby, exercise and get healthy and start taking charge of your own happiness.

3. Speak your truth-always. No matter how it is received by our partner, we must always find the courage to speak our truth, say how we feel, and be honest,- even if our voice shakes! Learning to stand up for yourself takes practice, and inner strength, but the more you do it the easier it becomes. Do not allow something to go unsaid, as it eventually piles up, and gets stored somewhere in the body. Over time, it has to be released and will manifest either in physical or mental illness, or in other cases, an end to the relationship. Stored, unexpressed feelings have to go somewhere, so choose to do the self~ loving thing, and say how you feel, with love, and release it in a healthy way, rather than suppressing your true feelings.

4. Choose peace over being right. In any situation, you can always choose peace and detach yourself from the situation-where appropriate. Be aware, that with every tense exchange of words, or every little conflict creates a stress response in the body, and this is not good! So, if you just do not want to go there, say nothing and leave the room. It works like magic!

5. Find ways to connect. We must make time for each other, no matter what is going on. I have heard the excuse many times, "we don't have time for each other" and my advice would be to find the time. Make it a priority to do little things together to invigorate your connection. It is essential for a healthy, vital, balanced relationship. Go for a hike, have lunch together, meet for coffee in the middle of the day, plan a date night in or out, and make the time for each other.

In a nutshell these are the top core aspects of a healthy, balanced marriage, from my point of view. I will also add, that this old idea that it takes another person, a 'special love' to complete us and make us whole is crap. Nobody can complete us, we must become whole and complete within ourselves, this is an inside job, not an outside job.  When two damaged, and incomplete people come together to create a whole person, this often is a recipe for disaster. We must first be whole as individuals, and be able to come together as mature adults to have a healthy relationship together. We must be willing to grow together, change together, and evolve as individuals, as well as a couple. If one person is dedicated to inner growth and personal development, learning new self-awareness's, and has a willingness to learn and make things better, and the other is not interested, this can create distance. To have a healthy relationship requires both individuals willingness and openness to learn new ways of being in the relationship.

Feel free to share your comments below, or ask any questions.


Until next time,
Leanne

Leanne Oaten is a Holistic Counsellor and healthy living coach in Kamloops B.C.
She can be reached at 250-319-3630

A holistic approach to health, happiness and well-being

Creating a balanced life for health and happiness 

As a health and wellness enthusiast, I have an ingrained desire to continually develop knowledge and understanding about living well, and I have made it my mission to make sure I am current with the latest studies, and read the newest books, and am always open to trying different approaches to creating abundant health. I used to believe that true health was achieved by eating healthy foods, and exercising regularly, until I learned to expand my approach to health on all levels. 

To have more balance in your life, attending to your mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health is essential.

A holistic approach to wellness is creating more balance in your life. A balanced life is at the center of whole being healing.

 While good nutrition and exercise are essential to a balanced healthy lifestyle, achieving and maintaining good health goes way beyond what we put into our mouths. Every single day, I strive to be my best self not only physically, but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually as well. Read Are you a Soul~woman? 

To create more balance in our lives, we must take care to balance our busy days with time for stillness, less healthy food choices with more healthful whole foods from the earth, exercise with relaxation and stillness, t.v/media time with meditation, and time with others with time for solitude, and learn to manage our stress effectively.  We must also make time to attend to, and care for, our most meaningful relationships with others.

Our body, mind, and spirit needs a balance of all of these things to be healthy and happy, and creating this balance in our lives is a fine art, something to practice not perfect. 

It takes conscious intention, attention, and awareness to maintain this balance in our lives. We have to learn to say no-with kindness, learn to speak our truth when we need to, make time for ourselves, make time for fun and friends, manage our stress levels, and doing the things we love to do. Work through your forgiveness of others, and let go of the past and things that weigh you down. We all have our 'stuff', we have all been hurt or perhaps treated badly by others, but when we hang on to these experiences, and our anger, we are only poisoning ourselves.

Be vulnerable, be true and authentic and show the world the real you, because you are only betraying yourself by not letting the real you shine through. Pursue your passions, surround yourself with others who inspire you, and bring out the best in you, and avoid (when possible) time with people that weigh you down. If you are struggling with a chronic health issue, are trying to lose unhealthy weight, or are depressed and unhappy with your life, it is essential to look at the whole picture because lasting health and true healing on any level, can not be fully achieved when some aspects are being neglected.

Get into the habit of checking in regularly throughout the day, and reassess things often as our needs and priorities change based on what is happening in our life.

Ask yourself "what do I most need to do right now (or at this phase of my life) to nourish myself more? 

This could be go for a walk, a hot bath, doing some yoga, making tea and reading a book, calling a friend, going for a massage, saying no to an invitation when what you most need is a quiet night in.

.

This is always a work in process, and is something that is always front and center for me personally, because I know if I do not prioritize creating balance, my health, happiness and well-being suffers.

I am happy to be assisting others in doing the same in their lives, and I couldn't love my job and what I do more because it is an extension of how I live my life, teaching what I wholeheartedly believe in, and utilizes my deepest passions. I have the privilege to work with people, assisting them on their journey to betterment, and I am in true alignment with my purpose and in doing work that has meaning to me. 

I realize this may seem daunting to some of you, and you may be wondering how you will possibly fit all of this into your hectic, busy lifestyle, but I am here to tell you, that if you truly want to be healthy, and happy, you will do whatever it takes to get there...when you are ready to change. It takes time, and dedication to do this deep inner work, soul~searching and building self~ awareness, and it is not for the faint at heart. If it was easy everyone would do it!

It takes strength, consistency and determination to have the resolve to do whatever it takes to be happy, healthy and whole.

To not just settle with life as it is, but to do whatever is in our power to make things better, to take action and stop being a victim of our own lives. If you are unhappy about something, change it if you can, if you can't then change your perception and attitude. We only have control over our selves and our own actions. What we choose to eat, drink, speak and think is always within our power to control, and we are the creator of our own lives. So what changes are you willing to make to bring a more balanced, holistic approach into your days?

If you are struggling to find some balance, suffer with anxiety, chronic stress, depression, emotional eating and want to improve your life, please feel free to connect with me. I'd love to help!

www.leanneoaten.com

Leanne Oaten
Rgistered Holistic Counsellor, R.P.C

Soul Medicine~ Healing from the inside out

Soul~ Medicine

Many people believe that when they have an illness, disease or other chronic health issues, that it is a purely physical condition, or breakdown within the body. Others believe it is their 'right of passage' because certain diseases run in their family, so therefore, they believe it is not within their power to prevent or heal these hereditary conditions. If  you are skeptical that the mind, emotions, and spirit are connected to our physical health, I hope to open your mind, even just a little, to the possibility that your mind can either make you sick, or heal you.
 I recently read the book that many people in my profession of holistic wellness are talking about, Mind Over Medicine" By Lissa Rankin. This book has completely convinced me that health has a lot more to do with our happiness, emotional/mental well-being, connection to others, healthy relationships and friendships, love, self-care, community, and spiritual health, than just eating a perfect diet and exercising.
While exercise and a nutritious, whole food diet is an essential component to health, it is not the whole picture!
Here I thought I had all the answers, I was eating what I thought was the perfect diet, exercising, taking my vitamins, green juicing, but still couldn't completely heal some of my own chronic health issues no matter how clean my diet was. I felt like I did everything 'right' but still, was not healing. Doctors never had any answers for me, and testing always confirmed that everything was in 'normal range'. With the help of my Naturopath, I have been able to make improvements in many areas, but had limited results no matter what I did.

If you are searching for the answers, believing that that you just need find that magic pill, supplement, or perfect diet plan to feel better, and find that none of these methods work, it may be time to consider that your emotions and inner self need some healing and attention as well. 

If you are already on a long list of prescription or over the counter medications to cope with your symptoms, and are not exploring healing on a holistic level, addressing the mental, emotional, physical, & Spiritual aspects of your life,  be aware that you may not get to the root cause of your illness, because likely you are just masking the symptoms, and your symptoms may begin to pop up in another condition within the body. Lissa Rankin says that we must learn to listen to our bodies whispers, before they become screams. Taking medications for chronic health issues, is a way we can ignore what is going on within, and carry on with our lives, while avoiding looking inward to find the root cause. Fore example;  if you are sick all the time, burned out, have blood sugar imbalances, high cholesterol, unhealthy weight to lose, migraine headaches, chronic fatigue, asthma, allergies, eczema and so on, these are the body's whispers, telling you to take notice that something is not right. If only we would stop long enough to tune in to these messages, and trust our body's natural wisdom.
If you are living with a chronic health issue or disease, or experience bothersome symptoms that will not go away with your best efforts to treat them, it may be time to go purchase Lissa Rankin's book, reasearc the Mind/Body connection, and take your power back. Believe you can heal, believe you deserve to have vibrant health and take ownership and responsibility for your health and wellness.
While medications, doctors, surgeons all have their place in our health care, we also have a responsibility to be informed and be proactive in prevention and healing of our whole selves. Doctors do save lives, and where would we be without them? I am not saying to abandon you physicians recomendations, but ask that you ponder what else you can do to bring health and healing to your body, mind, and soul.