Happy Thanksgiving!!! I hope that whatever you have been up to this weekend, it has brought you deep joy and a connection with yourself, others and this incredible season.
In this post, I share a gratitude practice and a recipe. Both are simple and delicious.
Gratitude Practice
Each night before bedtime at my house we do, what has come to be known as, ‘thankful’. It started when my daughter was learning to speak and she loved to tell us (anything) but also what she was grateful for. Some nights she would surprise us by saying things that were entirely her own and wise like when she was a toddler she once said she was grateful for “clean water to drink”. She often was also a beautiful example for us of how to naturally live in the moment, like saying she was thankful for what we ate for dinner, being tickled (two minutes before) and warm blankets.
Our ‘thankful’ practice has changed over the years while also remaining a valuable way to connect and reflect on the beautiful aspects of life that live inside every single day. It helps my husband and I through difficult moments in our parenting and in our marriage. My daughter likes that we gather as a family before going to bed. (I just asked her.) I like it for a similar reason; it allows each of us to feel heard and to connect before we fall asleep. It has become a ritual that we do most nights even if we are travelling so that a little bit of home is with us no matter where we are. Even on nights when bedtime feels like the last thing to do on a long list or on nights when one or more of us is grumpy and doesn’t want to do it…it is a small step back toward each other and toward a recognition that there is so much to be thankful for.
How to do it…
Verbally share what you are thankful for without resorting to a rote listing of things that is the same each night. That’s it. We make sure that there are at least three fresh things from the day. If you are living on your own, or your significant others aren’t having any part of this, keep a small notebook beside your bed and write a list before you go to sleep. Easy. The benefits are felt in the moment and often during your day as your brain takes notice of little things to use for your thankful list later.
Apple Crisp
So I recently baked my own made-up version of apple crisp that turned out so delicious that I want everyone to make it and eat it and then tell me about it. If you love recipes that are forgiving and freely adaptable this might be the non-recipe for you. Take out a bunch of like ingredients, taste along the way and substitute to your heart’s content.
Ingredient Suggestions: Cooking apples or whatever kind you have, coconut oil and/or butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, oats, flour, pecans or other nuts you like, salt, vanilla and maple syrup.
The Apples: Butter up an 8 x 8 with coconut oil or butter and fill almost to the top with peeled and sliced apples. I used cortland apples so I didn’t have to use anything to absorb excess liquid but if you use juicy apples add ground chia seeds, cornstarch or tapioca. I mixed in cinnamon, a little nutmeg and brown sugar swerve to-taste. Note: Swerve is a sugar replacement I use sometimes…I chose it here because I don’t hold back on the maple syrup in the crumble part and because I like it. I also greased the baking dish with coconut oil but used butter in the crumble.
The Crumble: Equal parts oats, spelt flour (I have also made this with almond flour too) and pecans broken into pieces (I did a cup of each but you might like more crumble), I added cinnamon and a grind or two of sea salt and then I moistened and mixed it all with a splash of vanilla and more than a splash of maple syrup and then diced in some chilled butter. Throw this onto the apples and bake at 375F or 190C for about a half hour or until apples have softened and the crisp part is crisp.
The Eating: How yum is this? Who needs a traditional recipe for apple crisp? We ate ours warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Enjoy š
