One day my dog ate 3 of these bars and he was the funniest thing to watch! He was like a dog on crack! Mukha is a Puchsund (pug-dachsund) so only 13 pounds. He was so “high” from the raw cacao nibs I put in instead of the chocolate chips that he jumped a flight of 13 stairs! So, these bars do give a caffeine kick if you put cacao nibs in them so put in half as much and watch how many bars you eat!

Mix until smooth:
1 cup softened butter
1 1/3 cup 100% pure maple syrup
2 eggs
1 can (15oz) pumpkin puree or homemade puree
1 cup chopped dates (you can soak for 1/2 hour to soften and blend in a food processor if you choose or keep them chunky)

Then add to mixture:
½ cup flax seed meal
1 1/3 cup Bob’s Red Mill garfava bean mix flour
1 cup barley flour* or spelt flour
1/3 cup arrowroot
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
½ tsp ground cloves

Add last:
1 bag (12 oz) Sunspire® Grain Sweetened Chocolate Chips (or carob chips) or 8 oz raw cacao nibs.

Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees.

*Barley flour has a compound called protease. It aids in gluten digestion. The gluten found in barley is a different kind of gluten and can be tolerated for those with gluten sensitivities. [source: ask.com]

When I first made these cookies I did use the soft tofu and put it in the batter and blender. The tofu did not blend totally smooth. So, today I did not have smooth tofu since I have started using the sprouted organic tofu from Trader Joe’s to ensure that it is loaded with protein and not gmo. I put the tofu in my food processor and blended it up super smooth! That is the way to go! I then put my raw honey in the processor (since real raw, unfiltered honey tends to come with its honeycomb) and blended that up until smooth as well. The result was the creamiest batter ever! The flavor of the sprouted tofu is distinctly different than silky tofu so I had to add clove and vanilla extract to the recipe. If you do not use the sprouted tofu, you may leave these ingredients out, or not! So, blend up a batch and pump your iron!

*gluten-free: any combination of flour works well in this recipe, just add 1/4 cup arrowroot flour (my preference)

Blend together until creamy:
1 cup molasses
1 cup oil (I used coconut oil today but any oil works)
1/2 pound tofu (silky or sprouted smoothed in food processor with some of the oil)
1/2 cup raw honey
2 eggs

Then Mix in:
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea or himalayan salt
1 teaspoon clove powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups whole wheat flour *

Spoon onto a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes or so. Yields 30 good sized cookies (give or take a few, depending upon how much cookie dough you and your dog eat! lol). (Recipes that say a high yield then when I bake them I get half the amount bug me! Who eats a 1 inch in diameter cookie?!)

I am, again, posting a wonderful article I found on Yahoo News- interestinly enough that they post relevant material! lol  Anyways, I use olive oil or almond oil regularly on my skin during a warm shower to moisturize my skin and body parts (refer to last piece of info in this article) and it really works! (for ALL body parts and hair)  Some people use coconut oil or sesame seed oil which work great on one’s body.  The other suggestions in this posted article I have yet to try but am going to try the oil lamp.  This suggestion was a duh!  What kind of oil did they have that was referred to in the Bible?  Olive oil of course!  Households for thousands of years have been using this oil for multiple uses.  I have used olive oil for my antique wood furniture and it works well.  So, the reason that this post is relevant to yoga is because the more we can use natural products than are grown and minimally processed, the better our living environment is (toxin free) and the better our earth environment is.  We are called to be stewards of this earth in the Bible (Genesis 1:28) “dominion” in this case translated from aramaic (original biblical languange) means stewardship- to take care of, manages, keeps.  It is the lack of proper management that has manifested as the environmental crisis our earth and us, earthlings are experiencing.  Therefore, let’s get back to basics!

20Unusual Uses for Olive Oil article source: Shine Home edition on Yahoo News. by Stephanie Rogers on November 16, 2011 in Food

Olive oil glides into place as a must-have household and beauty product.

Check out 20 reasons why you should never be caught without it.
Paint clean-up

When your hands are covered in paint, sap or any other sticky substance that’s hard to remove, try scrubbing them with olive oil and a little salt or sugar. The paint will come right off and your skin will be soft and exfoliated.

Eye makeup remover

Even the heaviest, drag-show-worthy makeup job can’t stand up to the removal power of olive oil. Dab a little on a cotton pad and your eyeshadow, eyeliner and mascara – including waterproof formulas – will wipe right off.

Furniture polish

Olive oil helps remove dust from furniture and gives it a shine. Add a teaspoon to a quarter cup of lemon juice, and you’ve got a non-toxic, petroleum-free polish that also gently cleans wood surfaces.

Skin moisturizer

You might think using olive oil as a moisturizer would leave you with oily skin, but that’s not the case. Used in small amounts, it seeps in completely, eliminating dryness and reducing the appearance of wrinkles without clogging pores.

Shoe polish

What, exactly, is it in shoe polish that has such a headache-inducing smell? It could be any number of potentially toxic ingredients. Banish them from your house and use olive oil instead. Just buff onto your leather shoes with a cloth.

Hinge lubricant

WD-40 shouldn’t hold a monopoly on squeaky door hinges when simple, natural olive oil works just as well. Wipe it on with a cotton ball or use a spray bottle to lubricate the hinge and eliminate that annoying creak.

Bath oil

Add a few drops of your favorite essential oils to 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil and you’ve got a custom bath oil that will gently scent and moisturize your skin.

Stainless steel shine

Olive oil alone will buff stainless steel and brass surfaces to a brilliant shine. Just wipe off any debris and allow the surfaces to dry completely, then pour a little oil onto a clean, soft cloth. Buff in circular motions with firm pressure.

Smooth shave

Slick and moisturizing, olive oil will help your razor glide along your skin for a super-close, smooth shave with fewer nicks.

Throat soother

Got a big singing performance or speech coming up? Swallow a tablespoon of olive oil just before you step on stage and you won’t have to clear your throat nearly as often. This trick also works to soothe itchy throats and lubricate the back of the mouth and tonsil area, which may lessen snoring.

Hair treatment

Sure, you could buy a fancy commercially-prepared hot oil treatment for your hair – or you could just grab the bottle of olive oil that’s already sitting on a shelf in your kitchen. Apply a few tablespoons of warmed olive oil to damp hair, massage into the scalp and rub through the ends, then leave it on for thirty minutes to an hour. The oil will clean and condition the scalp, soften the hair and help the cuticles lay down flat for a sleek look.

Ear ache relief

A little warm olive oil is a fast, effective means of relieving painful ear aches. Just place the bottle in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes, then pour a few drops into the affected ear. To cure ear infections, infuse the olive oil with a crushed clove of garlic, strain the garlic out and drip into the ear.

Sticker remover

Dab olive oil onto a sticker or label, let it sit for a few minutes and the sticker will peel right off. No scraping needed, no annoying residue left behind.

Lice treatment

Olive oil has long been a preferred natural treatment to eliminate dreaded head lice. It reportedly helps to dissolve the exoskeleton of these little parasites, and smother the ones that are resistant. Pour it on to dry hair liberally, comb out any visible lice with a nit comb and then leave it on under a shower cap for up to 8 hours. Follow by coating the hair in apple cider vinegar; leave it on overnight, shampoo as usual and then comb out any remaining eggs.

Hairball prevention

Nobody likes the sound of a cat loudly hacking up a hairball, especially since it always seems to happen when you’re trying to eat or sleep. Help it pass through your cat’s system more easily by adding 1/4 teaspoon of olive oil to his or her food each day.

Lamp fuel

A blizzard just hit, the power’s out and you realized that you’re out of batteries and candles. Do you just sit around in the dark? No, you grab that bottle of olive oil – because by now you should know that it’s an absolute essential in your life – and use it to fuel a lamp. You can purchase specially made olive oil lamps, or simply pour it into a glass jar, poke a hole into the jar lid and insert an oil lamp wick.

Chewing gum remover

Whether your child comes home from school with a mass of sticky pink bubble gum in her hair or you find yourself the victim of a wayward wad, you don’t have to resort to any crazy tricks or – gasp – scissors to get it out. Apply olive oil to the gum and the surrounding hair, leave it on for five to ten minutes and then pull the gum out.

Leather conditioner

Just as it cleans and restores leather shoes, olive oil can be used to re-condition cracked, dry leather items like baseball gloves, car seats and saddles. It takes a bit longer to fully penetrate the leather than most conventional conditioners, but it works.

Psoriasis and diaper rash treatment

Olive oil soothes itchy, burning, irritated skin and may help rashes heal. Apply it to a baby’s diaper rash or directly to any eruptions on your own skin for quick relief. Consuming olive oil on a regular basis may also be helpful in the treatment of mild to moderate psoriasis.

Personal lubricant

Squeaky hinges aren’t the only parts that work better when lubricated. But just because you’re in the mood for some slippery fun doesn’t mean you should grab a tube of KY. There are lots of safe, natural alternatives to potentially toxic personal lubricants, but plain old olive oil will do the trick nicely – just avoid using it with latex condoms.

The more we can reuse what has already been produced, the more care and concern we show this planet we have been so blessed by Creator to live upon.

All credit goes to Stephanie Rogers of Shine on Yahoo News

Can you imagine life without coffee? We’d all stumble around like drones for hours every morning, lost without our precious fix. We love coffee for its flavor, its aroma and of course its pick-me-up, but there are at least 20 more compelling reasons to stay stocked up. These tips will give you surprising and unusual uses for fresh coffee beans or grounds that have gone stale, the pounds of used grounds you toss out every week and the dregs at the bottom of your cup.

Kill fridge odor Wouldn’t you rather smell coffee than two-week-old leftovers, half-rotten produce and spoiled milk? If your fridge is a nightmare of foul odors, place a bowl of fresh, unused coffee grounds inside and leave it for a day or two. The coffee will absorb the odors and you’ll crave a cup whenever you open the door. This odor-killing trick works for practically anything else as well – just place the item in a sealed plastic bag along with an open can of coffee grounds and bye-bye stank.

Reduce cellulite Pricey cellulite creams almost always have one major ingredient in common: caffeine, which supposedly enhances fat metabolism, reducing the appearance of these fatty pockets under the skin. To make your own coffee cellulite treatment at home, mix warm used coffee grounds with coconut oil and rub it onto your skin in circular motions for a few minutes before rinsing.

Erase smells on your hands Garlic, salmon, cilantro – there are some things that smell delicious when cooking, but aren’t so pleasant hours later when they linger on your hands. Get rid of them by rubbing a handful of used coffee grounds on your hands and rinsing with warm water.

Make rich compost There’s a reason so many gardeners swear by adding used coffee grounds to compost. The grounds are rich in phosphorous, potassium, magnesium and copper, they release nitrogen into the soil as they degrade and they’re a little bit acidic, which is great for certain soils. If you compost on a large scale, you can get used grounds for free at your local coffee hot spot or mom-and-pop cafe.

Get shiny hair Who doesn’t want shiny, healthy-looking hair? Coffee is often recommended as a simple, natural treatment to make hair extra-glossy. Brew up an extra-strong pot, let it cool and apply it to your dry, clean hair. Leave it on for at least twenty minutes, then rinse. Keep it up once a week or so for best results.

Natural dye The natural pigments in coffee make it a great natural dye for fabric, paper, Easter eggs – even your hair. Brush paper with strong brew and let it dry, or soak fabric items in hot coffee. The results won’t be color-fast, and may bleed out onto other items, so it’s best to use this on items that won’t be washed very often if at all. Using coffee as a hair shine treatment, as previously mentioned, may temporarily lend a rich, dark tint to your hair.

Reduce fireplace mess Want to clean your fireplace without causing a dust storm? Wait until the embers are cool, sprinkle damp coffee grounds all over the ashes , let them sit for about 15 minutes and then scoop out the whole mess into a metal ash can. The coffee grounds cling to the ashes, so they don’t spew dust nearly as much as they would otherwise.

Pin cushion filler Dried, used coffee grounds are the perfect filler for homemade pin cushions. Just wrap them in some scrap cloth, tie it off with a rubber band and place the cloth in an egg cup or other small container. The grounds will keep your pins from rusting, too.

Exfoliate skin The same properties that reportedly enable coffee to reduce the appearance of cellulite can smooth and tighten your skin, and the texture of ground coffee will buff away dead skin cells, too. Make your own coffee-based scrub by combining a tablespoon of coffee grounds with half a tablespoon of olive oil and, optionally, a drop of your favorite essential oil.

Repel ants Sprinkle dry, used coffee grounds in problem areas where you notice ants in your home or yard and they might just pick up and leave. To tackle huge ant mounds, pour an entire pot of brewed coffee right on the mound.

Fertilize plants Acid-loving plants will thank you for sprinkling your used coffee grounds around their roots. Azaleas, blueberry shrubs and rhododendrons are just a few of the plants that flourish when treated with coffee thanks to all those nutrients. You can also dilute the leftover coffee in your mug and pour it right into your potted plants (as long as you don’t use cream and sugar, of course!)

Keep cats out of your garden To you, that little garden in your yard is a beautiful source of fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables, but to seemingly every cat in a five-mile radius, it’s a giant, irresistible litter box. Just use the trick mentioned above, sprinkling used coffee grounds on the soil, and cats will want nothing to do with it.

Scrub all kinds of surfaces Mildly abrasive and acidic, coffee grounds are great for scrubbing surfaces like countertops, cooking ranges and refrigerators. Use them alone or mix them with a little dish soap.

Auto air freshener Next time you accidentally spill coffee grounds on the floor, don’t just sweep them up and toss them in the trash. You can use them to make an all-natural DIY air freshener like this one at Instructables. Try to use an old ripped pair of pantyhose and spare string to make this an even more eco-friendly project.

Grow mushrooms Used coffee grounds are an ideal medium to grow many kinds of mushrooms, including oyster mushrooms. You can actually purchase mushroom-growing kits from a company called Back to the Roots which includes reclaimed coffee grounds, mushroom roots and a mini spray bottle. The kit can produce up to 1.5 pounds of oyster mushrooms within 10 days.

Repel fleas Rub used, damp coffee grounds through your pet’s fur after bathing to repel fleas without questionable, likely-toxic chemical treatments. If nothing else, it will at least improve that post-bath wet-dog smell that gets all over your furniture.

Pretty vase fillers Stale or dirty coffee beans are still a thing of beauty. Use them as vase fillers, or in cups or jars full of pens and pencils. Not only are they pretty, they continue to smell good for quite a while, too.

Start vermicomposting Red wriggler worms, the sort used in vermicomposting systems, love coffee almost as much as we do. It’s not really clear why, but if you want a thriving community of worms to devour all of your kitchen waste (and those nasty little things really are amazingly efficient), be sure to add used coffee grounds to their bedding on a regular basis.

Secret recipe ingredient Just a little hint of coffee can be the ingredient that becomes your undisclosed “magic touch” in foods like chili, ice cream and chocolate cake. Use a little bit as a marinade for steaks and not only will it make them unbelievably tender, it’ll also provide a hint of deep, smoky flavor.

Touch up furniture scratches Scratches on wood furniture disappear almost instantly by simply rubbing in a little bit of instant coffee dampened into a paste with hot water. Repeat if necessary until the scratch matches the surrounding wood.

I believe we have a social obligation to help them be a vital and healthy part of our society again! Therefore, t is imperative that we help them transition to civilian life and prevent the continuation of PTSD that lead to all kinds of issues for themselves and their loved ones.  I, for one, desire to be a part of that process for the next year, sharing with them this wonderful gift of shaking medicine called TRE as well as yoga techniques to eradicate anxiety, depression, and other imbalances.

Trauma Release Exercises (TM David Berceli, PhD) is a process designed to evoke the body’s natural homeostatic mechanism to shake, thereby releasing deep seeded physical, mental, or emotional traumas caused by accidents, surgery, painful experiences, grief, witnessing violence, natural disasters, etc. The yoga-like exercises  are designed to be implemented by oneself so one can do them in the privacy of one’s home after learning them!

David Berceli, PhD. has been working with military personnel and people caught in war zones in the Middle East/Northern Africa for years with huge success. People from all over the world give testimony to TRE’s effect on improving their lives.

Dr. Berceli has taught people to be facilitators all over the world and I was privileged to be trained in one of his first groups in the US at the beginning of 2009.

As a facilitator, I have worked in small groups and in 1-on-1 settings using bodywork to allow my student to release even more deeply than if he or she would have done the exercises on their own.  I, too, have been amazed at the feedback my students have given me.  My plan is to bring these exercises along with yoga to developing countries through my non-profit called Seva Centers.

For now, however, I want to reach out to the returning military men and women and teach them this revolutionary technique so they can literally shake off the effects of the war and return to what can be the most normal life for them after experiencing such horror.

PLEASE pass this information on and connect me to groups you know that work with the military!

Here’s a great LINK to get an idea of what it looks like and some testimonials. Help spread the word about this amazingly effective technique:

Trauma Release Exercises

Pumpkin Bread (okara or almond pulp usage)

1/3 cup coconut oil (if hard, melt over low heat)

1/3 cup blackstrap molasses

1/3 cup 100% maple syrup

2/3 cup pumpkin puree

2 eggs

1 tsp fresh crushed ginger

¼ cup okara from almond, rice, or soy milk

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp cloves

¼ tsp sea salt

2 Tbs brewer’s yeast

¼ cup dried buttermilk or goatmilk powder

1 ¾ cup whole wheat white or baker’s spelt flour

1 Tbs baking powder

Blend wet then dry ingredients.  Spatula into a 5”x9” loaf pan and bake at 300º for 1 hour

In fact, Nicaragua is a large exporter of shrimp, calamari, cotton, beef, sugar, and tobacco.  The market for these products is the US and Japan.

Due to the increase in demand and the depletion of the fish population world wide, lobster divers have had to dive deeper to get their catch.  Traditionally, lobster divers only have snorkel & face mask to dive down but have had to purchase oxygen tanks to go deeper to catch the lobster to meet the demand.  These oxygen tanks are old and have problems.  Also, the divers dive without pressure gauges and watches, which, for a diver is critical equipment!  This equipment tells you exactly how much oxygen supply you have, if you are getting the right amount of oxygen in the regulator when you respire, and the watch is to time your descent, time under water, and ascent in order to prevent the “bends” or DSI- decompression disease.

From a diving experience I had in Mexico on one of the islands off the Yucatan Peninsula, I can empathize with these divers’ risks.  I spent a week with lobster and crab divers on the island of Holbox and dove with them using their sparse equipment. They had 1 oxygen tank per several divers.  This tank stayed in the boat while the divers took turns putting the regulator in their mouths to get the oxygen they needed to stay down and dive.  The regulator was on an extra long hose– a garden hose!  So this contraption did not guarantee a regulated amount of oxygen nor that it would be sufficient for all the divers for their time down there.  I used this equipment to take 2 dives with them and dove about 60 ft down.  I was always a strong swimmer throughout my life and my lung capacity large.  However, it took all of my lung capacity to stay down at that level with the water pressure and waiting my turn for oxygen.  I have done some pretty scary and risky things in my life and that counts as the scariest and most risky!  I share this story because the story of the Nicaraguan divers is very real to me.

I visited the Puerto Cabezas on the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua when I lived there from 1994-1999.  I was there briefly for a project in the tropical rainforest inland from the coast which collaborated with the Moravian church in that area. So that’s how I got there.  It is remote and, yes, the most expeditious route is by a puddle jumper plane.  Otherwise, the road take from 16 to 24 hours and there is no guarantee that you will make it there! (pot-hole ridden roads cause vehicle to break down, old vehicle breaks down anyways, “toll booths” (at least in the 1990′s) were men holding AK47′s demanding payment).

My heart goes out to these villages where 90% of the men are lobster divers with very little options to do something different!  Instead of bringing in a development project to the tune of thousands of dollars– a SIMPLE SOLUTION is to get people to donate good oxygen tanks, diving watches, and pressure gauges!

I have friends and connections still in Nicaragua to make this happen.  Plus, I am establishing a holistic health center where Holistic Practitioners will serve the local people through natural health practices.  This center is called Seva Center.  If interested in helping save lives, please contact me at astangini@ymail.com.  When I organized where to receive the donations and when the trip will be, which may include you donors to go personally down there, after dialoging with you we will get this done!

Save Lobster Divers\’ Lives