One of the things we used to do at the beginning of each new year was to create resolutions. We would make a list of things to change that would improve our lives. It always felt good to consider going forward into a seemingly new and better life.
We'd always start off with a lot of commitment and intention, but within a few weeks, it wasn't going so well. It's like the harder I'd try, the more resistance I felt. And then I'd start getting down on myself, which didn't help. Before long I found myself putting them aside.
Talking with others we found we weren't the only ones who hadn't made the changes. In fact, we've heard there's even a day proclaimed to be "Ditch Your New Year's Resolutions Day" on January 17 because the average length of time people pursue their resolutions before giving up is 17 days.
Join us as we talk more about how change really works and why will power and determination is such hard work.
We've found it helpful to understand that the nature of the mind is always changing, that our moods and state of mind shift and change, like an elevator going up and down. When we began to see how different levels, or states of mind, produce different levels of clarity, we began to see how the habits or behaviors we'd like to change always occur when we were in a lower state of mind.
When we saw this, we stop trying to change our habits with will power and determination. Instead, we looked to the mind to settle by letting go of the busy mind that had us in the low state, on a lower level in the elevator. As we let go of the busy-ness of our minds, they settled, just like the snow in a snow globe settles when we put it down, and we found ourselves making new choices rather than the old habits.
The recipe this week is a variation on the Pineapple Cranberry Oat Bake we gave you earlier. This version replaces the Pineapple with Apple and Orange and includes a Cranberry Topping. Give it a try and let us know what you think. We love it!
Apple Orange Cranberry Bake (Serves 4-6)
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 4 ounces whole cranberries, fresh or frozen and thawed
- 1 cup fresh apple, diced
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- ¼ cup almonds, chopped
- 2 cups (24 ounces) unsweetened applesauce
- juice of 1 orange
- ½ orange, with peel on
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon liquid stevia
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix oats, cranberries, diced apple, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and almonds together in a large bowl.
Add applesauce, orange juice, ½ orange (with peel on), maple syrup, stevia and vanilla to a food processor and process well.
Add the wet ingredients from the processor to the dry ingredients in the bowl and mix well.
Press into an 8” x 8” baking dish.
Bake for 45 minutes.
Cranberry Topping (Optional)
- 4 ounces whole cranberries, fresh or frozen and thawed
- ½ orange, with ¼ of the rind still on
- 1 apple, cored
- 4 dates, chopped
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon liquid stevia
- ¼ cup raisins
Add all ingredients except the raisins to a food processor and process to a fine chunkiness.
Put all this with the raisins into a small pan and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes.
Top the bake with this, or spoon it over the pieces of bake as they are served.