Tag: Danielle Laporte

33. How Do You REALLY Feel? And A Delicious Sugar/Gluten Free Peach/Blueberry Crisp

Right now, I’m feeling pretty fantastic.  How are you doing?  What do you feel like as you move through today?  Are you rested?  Happy?  Satiated?  All of the above?  None of the above?

I was super lucky this morning as my parents took the kids out for a long boat ride, giving me some time to myself.  I look a yoga mat, phone, laptop, planner, and some water up to my most favourite spot in the whole world, with the intention of finally laying out some concrete plans for the fall.

The yoga mat was so I could do a short yoga practice (via Yoga Download) to help clear my mind, and the rest of my accessories were there to help me with my planning project.  As I looked at calendars and commitments, and thought about how to structure our lives this fall, all I could think about was how I wanted to feel through this next season.  Yes, Danielle LaPorte has been popping up a lot lately, which may explain why I keep being drawn to how things feel.

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But I digress.  Over the past few days, in the in the past few posts, I’ve talked about how, for me, having little sugar and alcohol helps me to feel physically better, how I want to listen to my gut more, even if that means going against popular convention, and how having down time / quiet time helps me centre myself and allow my to hear what my gut has to say.  When these three things happen . . . well, I feel fantastic.  Sort of like how I’m feeling now.

So the planning continues . . . how to schedule things to allow for all of the above, but still allow for some spontaneous fun.

Sadly, this was pretty much as far as I got in my planning process today – the kids came back from the boat ride, lunch needed to be made . . . and from there, some chores, some dinner preparations, and of course, my new dessert.

As this is the last long weekend of the summer, we’re in a race to use up as much food as we can so we don’t have to take much back to the city with us.  With all the gorgeous peaches we have, and a giant bowl of blueberries that was just about to pass its prime, all I could think about was a fruit crisp.

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My aforementioned desire to consume little in the way of sugar meant that my traditional favorite crisp recipes were out.  So I started a search of the internet.  Was there a crisp that was going to taste good that didn’t include sugar or gluten?  I’m sure there are some somewhere, but I didn’t find them.  Sure, there are tons of recipes like this, but the majority of them consist of some fruit baked with almond flour mixed with a little melted coconut oil on top.  A crisp this does NOT make.  A crisp to me is a bottom layer of juicy, sweet fruit, topped with a crispy, buttery oat topping.

So I returned to my favourite recipe.  Was there a way to make it sugar and gluten free?  Armed with maple syrup and tapioca flour, I gave it a go.  And the results were surprisingly good.  (*note that this is based on the Strawberry & Rhubarb Crisp recipe that appears in the Gourmet cookbook.  If you have never made this on an early summer’s day when the strawberries have just come in and the rhubarb is on it’s way out . . . you MUST do so, sugar and gluten and all.  It is DIVINE!).  This recipe keeps the oats and the butter, but does away with the flour and all the sugar!

And once that was done . . . it was off to to get in some fun by the water before dinner!

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Sugar-Free, Gluten-Free Peach Blueberry Crisp

  • Servings: 8-10
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

 

Ingredients

  • 5-6 peaches, peeled and cut into small wedges (I cut each peach into sixteenths)
  • 3 cups wild blueberries
  • 1/4 cup maple syurp
  • 3 Tbsp tapioca flour
  • 1 1/4 cups organic gluten-free oats
  • 4 Tbsp tapioca flour
  • 1 1/2 sticks cold butter
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup

Directions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350.
  2. Put the peaches and blueberries into a medium sized bowl.  Pour in the maple syrup and 3 Tbsp of tapioca flour.  Mix until all the fruit has been coated with both the syrup and the flour.
  3. Pour the fruit mixture into a 9×9″ baking dish (you can grease this with butter beforehand for an easier clean-up if you wish)
  4. In another medium-sized bowl, combine the oats, 4Tbsp of tapioca flour.
  5. Cut the butter into small cubes and add it into the oat mixture.
  6. Pour the remaining 1/4 cup of maple syrup in and stir so that the oat mixture forms small clumps.
  7. Pour this topping mixture over the fruit.
  8. Bake for about 40 minutes or until the peaches are tender (you can check this with a thin paring knife) and the topping is browned and crisp.

 

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There is Magic in Focusing on How You Want to Feel

Ok.  I mentioned last week that I want to feel light, happy and full of joy.  And according to Danielle Laporte, the way to do this is to focus on doing those things that make me feel that way, and I will end up feeling that way.  So, instead of making mental and physical to-do lists in the morning, I’ve been trying to focus on what I can do in each day to make me feel the way I aspire to feel.

Interestingly, I’ve found a LOT of my to-do list items are still getting done.  But, the intention behind ticking these chores off the to-do list is far different; and the way I feel after I’m done is way different too.  I actually smiled through (most) of the garage clean up/out this weekend.

But the biggest place I’ve noticed a difference in the last week is in the gym.  Right now, I’m not focused on specific goals.  Instead, I’m focused on improving my technique and getting stronger overall.  And yes, I’m focused on trying to learn pull-ups.  But unlike any of the other times I’ve tried to force myself into becoming some sort of pull-up phenom, I’ve crashed and burned spectacularly (i.e. “over-planning” never worked).

This time around, I’ve spent the last week just trying to get a little bit stronger each day.  Yes, I’ve been doing pull-ups every day, but without too much planning, forethought or desire for set outcomes.  And on Friday, I did manage to eek out one strict pull-up.  But that was it, and I was content to celebrate the small win, and move on with more practice.

Today, I had a few minutes to spare in the gym, so I thought I’d try to squeeze in a few pull-ups as my practice for the day.  I jumped up to the highest pull-up bar, so there was no way for me to cheat the movement, and . . . .I gave a mighty pull . . . and my chin made it over the bar.  In my excitement, I dropped off the bar, and did a little happy dance.  But then, I jumped back up, and did it a second time . . . . and a third. . . . and a fourth . . . . and a fifth.

Five strict pull-ups.  In one day.  MAGIC.

I feel good.  Really good.  And strong.  And like I want to keep working hard to feel good.  And strong.

I’m going to take this as a lesson learned; that focusing on what makes me feel good can lead to some pretty magical moments; in life, and in the gym.  And I’m curious to see where this will lead me as I continue to try and focus on how I want to feel, and doing the things that make me feel that way.

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