My retreat in an ocean of daily grind

Considering the longest lived members of my family, I have maximum of 30 years more to live. In three decades, I will be a pile of bones or a handful of ashes. I doubt that I have three decades to live since even now I am already feeling decrepit and tired despite my healthy diet, regular walks and normal weight.

The only direction in my life right now is to support my child through college. Therefore, the only purpose of my existence is to keep my salary coming for three years and seven months. It may sound sacrilegious to compare myself to a prisoner of war, but I just watched an episode of the British show Love Your Garden (available on YouTube) and the person, whom the new garden was dedicated to, was a World War II POW. He was enslaved by the Japanese for three years and seven months. He did survive the cruelty of the Japanese soldiers and lived a long and fruitful life. Many other POWs working along with him died.

I never dared to have major goals, inspirations, or a grand plan in life. It simply does not work to plan on a big scale, at least for me. I can plan my work lunches or my visit abroad to visit my family. This is the extent of the planning I have done. In general, I do prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Similar to our former POW, I do have my mental escapes in gardens and art. Another great escape are the books. However, these days, I am so busy at work that I need to do additional hours of work at home, rather than read for pleasure.

Yesterday, I finally allowed myself to get a few books from the library. It felt like an indulgence. Along with the books, I discovered that one of my favorite series of mystery books, the Agatha Raisin Mysteries by M.C. Beaton, have been made into British TV episodes and some are available on YouTube. It was a great pleasure to watch a strikingly beautiful Agatha solve murder cases on the background of a quirky and gorgeous British countryside. Not a mental-gymnastics time, but a few entertaining hours.

This weekend, I also tried a new cookie recipe that reminds me of some banana breakfast bars I have baked in the past. The recipe, Super Healthy Grab and Go Banana Breakfast Cookies, is available from https://thecookspyjamas.com/grab-and-go-breakfast-cookies/. I did a few changes in the amount of the ingredients and the prep.

Ingredients
4 very ripe, medium bananas (you can freeze whole bananas and use these for any baking recipes)
2 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup shredded coconut (I found only sweetened in the supermarket)
1/2 cup raisins*
2 Tbsp chia seeds
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
*the recipe called for currants, I used raisins

Instructions  
Combine the mashed bananas with the oats and chia seeds. Cover tight and keep overnight in the refrigerator. This allows for the oats and chia seeds to absorb the moisture from the bananas. In the morning, preheat the oven to 350°F. Add all other ingredients to the banana-oat mix. Distribute portions of 1/4 cup each on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Press to thickness of half an inch. Bake for 20-25 minutes. The original recipe recommends that the cookies are kept for up to two days in an airtight container. Alternatively, these could be frozen. 

The result? The cookies were amazing! I will bake a double batch for Thanksgiving and probably Christmas! There is nothing better to indulge a bit your taste buds and know that the cookies are healthy. Thank you to Tania from The Cook's Pyjamas.

Have a great weekend! 

Peanut butter ketogenic cookies

I am convinced that ketogenic diet is beneficial for some conditions. However, if one is healthy and within the normal range of BMI, ketogenic diet makes no sense.

Yet, I am always curious to find and read recipes for ketogenic meals, including ketogenic cookies. I am of course, always disappointed to find out how much sugar such recipes dictate to use.

So, in honor of Valentines this week, I decided to whip some keto cookies but with minimal- to no-added sugar. 

Well, if you skip the added sugar in this recipe, remember that the bananas have sugar, and the peanut butter is sweetened. So, yes, there is some sugar, but not to the excessive levels of a regular cookie.


I bet that if you try these cookies along with a cup of black coffee, the sweetness would be tasted.

Peanut butter ketogenic cookies
 
Ingredients:
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
2 sticks of unsalted butter
16 oz peanut butter (I used crunchy)
2 ½ cups whole-wheat flour
3 eggs
If you have never tried a dessert with limited amount of sugar, then it might be reasonable to try this recipe first with 2-4 Tbs of crystal sugar. In subsequent batches, you can start reducing the added sugar until your palate becomes accustomed.

Directions:
Mix together the baking soda and the flour. 
In a large bowl, mix the butter, sugar (if you are not daring enough to skip it), and the mashed bananas by hand or with a mixer. Add the eggs and peanut butter. Slowly add the flour mix until incorporated. The last stage of mixing the dough can be done by hand. Roll balls approximately 1 ½ inch in diameter. Arrange on baking sheets and press each ball with a fork cross-wise. Bake at 350°F for approximately 15 minutes.

After all Napoleon Bonaparte said, "A man's palate can, in time, become accustomed to anything"