Posted on

PBJ MakeOver jpg

I know, I’ve been silent. It’s not that I haven’t had anything to share, but rather too much to share to know where to begin. I am at some sort of a beginning and I’ve yet to crystallize my thoughts, but time and distance are moving me closer to that bridge. Right now I am the most simple version of me that I can ever recall. There is time to observe what’s going on around me, and even time to think through a situation and examine if my life pre-Cancer was all that amazing and worth repeating.

I can’t deny that I loved my pre-Cancer life. There is a bliss associated with not having had the S*#T scared out of you. The fact that I loved my former life does not mean that my former life was perfect, however there were things I adored about it. I loved the manic pace as I managed to squeeze what seemed like a 14 hour day into an 8 hour day. I loved scheduling time with an array of family and friends and trying to find special ways to make and do little extras for my kiddos and husband. If there was an available time slot, I happily found a way to fill it. Sleep was a nicety; I used to require only five hours. Workouts were a necessary sanity stabilizer. Cooking and baking grounded me when the wheels came off and doubled as a constant source of entertainment. I read a lot for work so pleasure reading for fun was typically a magazine unless I was on vacation and then I’d dive into a few cherished books.

On the creative front, I recently talked to my friends Jennie and Linnie about their thoughts on my creating a small quarterly food publication for my new style of eating and I am encouraged by their feedback. Both seemed to like the idea. Maybe I’ll take on this new recipe development concept later this year. It truly seems like a mountain to climb at the moment!

I’ve decided this year is about keeping things simple. Focusing on the most important parts of life and pushing aside the rest. It’s about living and not saying no to anything. (Okay, I realize there is a reckless financial aspect to this theory, but sometimes you have to LIVE OUT LOUD.) I am going to do just that, I hope the journey will be a fun one for you to read and follow – I hope it inspires you too. After all, the only constant in life is change. And I couldn’t be any more changed, so I want to embrace this new path heart, body, mind and soul.

This week I’ve got a no-recipe comfort food recipe to share. To be honest I have a lot of versions of my PBJ Make-Over Toast and this one always gets rave reviews.

The tartness of the raspberries mingles perfectly with the creamy mild taste of the almond butter and the jam brings a hint of sweetness, which is perfectly counter balanced by fresh crisp basil flavor. Eat it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, dessert…no rules, no real recipe, just a few guidelines here and a mandate to enjoy it!

Anytime PBJ Toast Make-Over

Ingredients

1 slice whole grain seed-bread (gluten free)

1 TBS creamy almond butter

1 tsp favorite jam (I used homemade plum jam)

12-14 raspberries, fresh

2 basil leaves

Directions

Toast bread and while it is still warm slather a generous tablespoon of almond butter on it so that it is slightly melted and becomes gooey. Next add a dollop of fresh jam. Decorate with fresh raspberries and tear basil leaves and sprinkle on top, pressing lightly into the almond butter.

Take a bite, close your eyes and savor the flavors.