Ok, so I'm not learning to fix my own bike or bake my own bread just yet, but here is a wee story for you to get to know me, Tricia Braun:
At heart I am really just a good ol’ gal from the prairies who moved to the big, bad city looking for fame, fortune and love. Sounds like a really bad rom-com, right? Well, I did find those three things, in my own special way. Those stories and lessons will be shared at a later date, a gal's gotta save some secrets!
A lot of love from back home helped me through the tough times when it looked like my dreams were really far away. Sometimes the love from Saskatchewan showed up in the form of Haystacks. My mom and I called them Rats and my Auntie Jewel made with them loads of butter and sugar and of course, love (ahhh, insert sappy sigh here). We also would devour a whole Tupperware container before supper. Not recommended.
Now, since I hit my thirties I have been re-thinkin' some of my old eating habits, like sugar, deliciously addictive sugar. Sugar packs on the pounds and can make me a very cranky girl if I go too long without it. So I decided to kick my refined sugar habit to the curb! Not easy, but very worth it. Alas, the sweet tooth remains. Learning to turn all my favorite comfort foods into healthy foods is a quest I have been on for awhile now, and one of the reasons for this blog ;)
Finally I discovered a recipe for my beloved Rats! They arrived last week from another good ol’ gal from the Prairies, my friend Wendy. These bad boys get a super, duper gold star in my books! Thanks Wendy!
At heart I am really just a good ol’ gal from the prairies who moved to the big, bad city looking for fame, fortune and love. Sounds like a really bad rom-com, right? Well, I did find those three things, in my own special way. Those stories and lessons will be shared at a later date, a gal's gotta save some secrets!
A lot of love from back home helped me through the tough times when it looked like my dreams were really far away. Sometimes the love from Saskatchewan showed up in the form of Haystacks. My mom and I called them Rats and my Auntie Jewel made with them loads of butter and sugar and of course, love (ahhh, insert sappy sigh here). We also would devour a whole Tupperware container before supper. Not recommended.
Now, since I hit my thirties I have been re-thinkin' some of my old eating habits, like sugar, deliciously addictive sugar. Sugar packs on the pounds and can make me a very cranky girl if I go too long without it. So I decided to kick my refined sugar habit to the curb! Not easy, but very worth it. Alas, the sweet tooth remains. Learning to turn all my favorite comfort foods into healthy foods is a quest I have been on for awhile now, and one of the reasons for this blog ;)
Finally I discovered a recipe for my beloved Rats! They arrived last week from another good ol’ gal from the Prairies, my friend Wendy. These bad boys get a super, duper gold star in my books! Thanks Wendy!
Haystacks of Love
Ingredients:
3 cups of fine shredded coconut
1 1/4 cup cocao (try raw cacao as well)
1tsp of salt
1 cup of honey
3tbps of nut butter - you choose but I like
hazlenut or cashew
1/3 cup of melted butter
1 heaped tbsp of coconut butter - or you could
use all coconut butter
1tsp of vanilla extract
(ps. Do your best to make it all organic)
Directions:
Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Melt the coconut butter (or butter) in a small saucepan on low. Add it to a small bowl with the honey, nut butter and vanilla. Add the wet mixture to the dry bowl and mix it all up. A fork seems to work best or you may need to get your hands dirty and get in there! Scoop it up by the tablespoon, or roll them around in your hands if you want them to be pretty haystacks of love, put on a wax paper lined tray and place in freezer
for 10 minutes. Keep them in the freezer and eat them from there. They are also best hidden in the freezer. Better yet, get
someone to hide them for you!
Side Note: I used all coconut butter which intensified the coconut flavour and makes it vegan if you roll that way!
What is something you are learning to live without, and loving it?
Happy
Eating until next time
tbxo
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