Travels, Time and Tahini

Photo shoot with Eli trying to take some pictures for the site.

He is so happy to have 15 pictures with mama, he even shows them to people when they come over.

Ah, I'm back to this space that does more to lift my spirits than chocolate! With the shift from my former blogspot blog and website, to my now one complete site, I am starting to relax. It has been a process that has taken me far out of my comfort zone. With amazing support from my tech guy (thank you Mike) we are working on making the site mine. It's a work in progress and one that you will watch go through ups and downs until it reaches the place where it really is me.

I am headed to Florida for a conference with The Institute For Integrative Nutrition on Friday and it doesn't feel like my life. I have never left a baby before, I know Lucas will be loved and safe and supported while I'm away, yet I won't be there for his morning nurse and I wonder what he'll think. Time means so little to children, so much to us. I will experience for the first time in almost 8 years the quiet of sleeping in a bed alone, no children, no pregnant belly, no nursing, no snoring. I wonder if I will dream, how settled will I feel being away from my family? I think of the time when Patrick and I can go away together for a couple of days; could we perhaps go to Florida together some day?

Florida is a place I have never been. Stretching my comfort zone, meeting up with incredible Health Counselors and reuniting with a friend who has made her home in this land of sun and lizards...it must be my life.

Now what will I bring to eat?

I have no picture at the moment as the batch has been devoured, but these little tahini chocolate balls are something else.

Tahini Chocolate Balls

In food processor place:

1/2 cup tahini

1/2 cup almonds, sliced or chopped

1/2 cup cashew butter

1/3 cup coconut oil

splash of vanilla

1 TB raw honey or maple syrup (only if needed)

6 dates, soaked for 2 hours, water discarded

Blend it up, remove and place into bowl. Using 70% or higher dark chocolate, mix in 1/3 cup chocolate bits. (I used a knife and thinly shaved the chocolate bar)

Roll into balls using about 1 TB of dough per ball. Place on a tray and freeze.

Enjoy!