Happiness

Today, I want to focus on happiness and what it means to be happy.

The definition of happiness by psychologist Tal Ben-Shahar is “the overall experience of pleasure and meaning.”

There is a lot going in our lives and in this world and just changing your mindset from a negative one  to a positive one can play a difference in our happiness, personally for me being grateful for a sunny day and having a job that fulfills me allows me to re frame my negative thoughts, and believe me there are many!!

Concentrating on the positives in our life first can also help with optimism, our brains always scream the negatives and whisper the positives and changing that is key for our overall well being.

I want to share a quote: “Mind is a flexible mirror, adjust it, to see a better world.”
― Amit Ray, Mindfulness Living in the Moment – Living in the Breath

I hope you all can practice some of these actions to bring happiness into your lives.

On the note of happiness, since I cannot fly anywhere, we decided to take a road trip to Connecticut  and the highlight of my trip was juicy red strawberries from Bishops orchard, each bite was bursting with sweetness. I also caught up with two close friends and I realize that the support from friends and family is key in getting through these uncertain times. I am so grateful for all my amazing family and friends. Each one of you play a role in my sanity!

I leave the best for the end! I came home and made a delicious simple strawberry cake and chocolate almond flour cookies. The cake does have some butter and sugar but the strawberries are the stars. The cookies have dark cocoa and almond flour and I  sweetened them with coconut sugar. So lots of nutrients apart from the fat and sugar. Moderation!

The recipe is for only two people, you can double it for 4-6

Simple strawberry cake

• Ingredients
• ¼ cup melted butter
• ½ cup strawberries hulled
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup whole milk
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ cup flour
• ½ tsp baking powder

• Method
• Turn on oven to 350 degrees and grease a 4x 6-inch dish or a 6- inch round dish
• Mash the berries with a fork and add ½ the brown sugar. Set aside
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining brown sugar, milk and salt, then add the flour and baking powder and continue whisking till batter is smooth.
• Transfer to greased dish and spread evenly into corners.
• Spoon the strawberries and all their juices over the top of the cake. Bake for 15-20 minutes and then serve with ice cream

Chocolate Almond Flour Cookies

• Ingredients
• ¾ cup blanched almond flour ( Not almond meal)
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 1/2 Tbsp coconut sugar or brown sugar
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ cup water

• Method
• Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with parchment paper
• In a medium bowl, whisk the almond flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder and salt.
• Add the water and stir till blended.
• Drop by tablespoon on the sheet, 2 inches apart or make balls and flatten
• Bake in preheated oven and cool for 10 minutes

You can add coconut flakes or nuts or coffee instead of water. The sky is the limit!

Next post, I have some amazing summer salad recipes and roasted vegetables. I think I need to slow down the baking!!!!

Happy 4th of July and stay safe!

.