This recipe is inspired by both the Spiritual and Emotional dimensions of wellness.
Spiritual wellness is about being. It means taking the time to stop and enjoy your surroundings. Notice the flowers, smells, and colors of nature. Realize there is a power greater than yourself, whether it's through naature, religion, both, or something entirely opposite. Regardless of how you practice spirituality, doing it every day leads to a better well being. Emotional wellness is about feeling and being in touch with your emotions. It is also about managing your emotions so that your life doesn’t fall apart each time something doesn’t go your way. Remember, it's entirely in your control to make a conscious decision on how to respond when disaster strikes.
“Do what you can with what you’ve got, where you are.” - Theodore Roosevelt
Spiritual and emotional wellness are extremely important parts of our overall health. When you’re emotionally healthy, you’re in control of your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Now that may be easy when life is going good, but what about when you feel as if your world is crashing down and you can't seem to find a way out? Well, let me tell you, I’ve been on the lower side of life in my past, and it has helped me appreciate the good I am now experiencing. But, it wasn’t always rosy...
Covid-19 and the repercussions from it are seriously tragic for many of us. Some people have lost dear loved ones, others have gotten terribly ill, and for the lucky ones, we’ve been able to escape it. However, every one of us has some kind of story to tell regarding these times that has made our lives completely change forever. Some are losing their homes, businesses, and are dealing with terrible isolation, each of which could result in a spiraling depression. So, it’s pretty hard for someone like me, who hasn’t really had it all too tough during this time, to understand what many of you are going through. However, I thought now would be a good time to share a story of mine that did rock my world and how I recovered.
As you may know (if you’ve been following my posts), I have been in the real estate business for over 25 years. For many of those years, real estate was rocking, and if you were a real estate agent like me, you were living the dream. Home sales were skyrocketing and buyers and sellers were easy to come by. In 2006, the housing market peaked, but by the end of that year through 2007, they started to decline. The financial turmoil caused by the crisis impacted many sectors, leading to massive job losses and mortgage defaults. So, you can imagine how this impacted my business.
During that time, I owned a small independent Century 21 office where I managed about 12 agents. My office was very different as my agents didn’t try to compete with each other. Instead, we acted as a team. If one succeeded, we all succeeded. We were family, so when the market crash hit, my office and I were hit very hard, and I was not financially prepared. This was a very scary time for me and for most people in the real estate business. Eventually, it came down to having to talk to my agents about closing the office. I was devastated as my little real estate office was my life, my identity, and my purpose.
I recall feeling depleted, out of control, and terribly depressed, but the day I was getting ready to close my doors for the last time, I remember praying to God that he would give me the strength to lock up, turn over the keys, and say goodbye to the business I called my family. I remember going for a long run through a forest preserve near my home early in the morning. I was listening to Michael W. Smith, a Christian artist. As I was running, something came over me like a warm blanket. I felt God was telling me that nothing was out of my control and that I needed be strong as he would carry me through. I went home, showered, put on a nice suit, and felt at peace.
“Nothing is permanent in this wicked world; not even our troubles.” - Charlie Chaplin
As I opened the door to my office that morning, I heard the phone ringing. On the other end was a man wanting to talk to me about purchasing my office. “WHAT?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. My business was totally failing, I owed creditors, I was on the verge of losing my home, and someone wants to purchase my business? Fast forward, I did end up selling my business and the new owner hired me with a paid salary to run the office for him. I certainly believe this gift was from God!
So, the reason I am sharing this story with you is so that you have hope. Not everyone will have such a lucky break as I had, but the main message here is the importance of how we respond to hardships. We as individuals are in control of our lives if we choose take the right steps to become spiritually and emotionally healthy. What ever spirituality is to you, it’s important to believe in something bigger than us - a higher power - something or someone you can gravitate to to help you when you’re stumbling. I praise God everyday for that experience when I was running through the forest preserve as it taught me to trust in him!
Recipe of the Day: Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins
Because there’s nothing greater than the comfort of a warm blueberry muffin 😊
INGREDIENTS
3/4 cups Bob’s Red Mill Super Fine Almond Flour (from blanched almonds)
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup oil (sunflower, avocado, melted/cooled coconut)
1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
1/4 cup milk
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract 3 large eggs
1 heaping cup fresh blueberries sliced almonds for topping, optional
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350ºF and line 12-cup muffin pan or spray with oil; set aside.
In medium bowl combine almond flour, tapioca flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
In large bowl, whisk together oil, maple syrup, vanilla, milk and apple cider vinegar. Add in eggs and whisk until combined.
Add dry ingredients to bowl of wet, and as mixture comes together, fold in blueberries.
Evenly distribute batter into 12-cup muffin pan (about 3/4 way full). Top with more blueberries and almond slices if you’d like.
Bake muffins for 18-22 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Allow muffins to cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack. Enjoy!
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