REAL honey nut bars

It amazes me how many 'HONEY' nut bars sold at the supermarket and health food stores contain sugar.  Flip over the wrapper and you'll most likely find processed sugar as one of the top ingredients listed.  Don't get me wrong.... I LOVE getting my hit of sugar too (macaroons, creme bulee, chocolate.... yum).  But when I'm specifically in a health kick mood and want a quick snack with natural basic ingredients I struggle finding something authentic! 

So here's my sweet, chewy recipe for my own version of REAL honey and nut bars.  Can get your fingers a little sticky because of the generous amounts of honey in it, but that's part of the fun of knowing you're enjoying something REAL, NATURAL and SIMPLY good for your body.  Finger lickin good!

Saya's REAL honey nut bars

Ingredients:

1/2 cup honey

1 cup granulated dry roasted peanuts*

1 1/2 cups granulated dry roasted almonds*

1 handful of dry roasted almond chunks (I just made rustic chunks by putting them in a ziplock bag and hitting them for half a minute with a wooden spoon - great chef skills)

1 heaped tablespoon of cinnamon

pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

* I used a food processor for the granulated nuts.  I just processed them enough so they still had a bit of bite.  Like the size of small beads(see pics below).  It's fine too if there is a little bit of a powdery consistency mixed in with the granulated nuts.

Instructions:

Roughly tuck in baking paper into a square shallow dish leaving a generous amount of baking paper spilling over the side.  When I say generous, I mean long enough so the baking paper spills over the sides of the dish to double it's measurements.

In a saucepan over a low to medium heat, melt the honey, salt, vanilla extract and cinnamon together.  Once it comes to a simmer, stir for a minute and make sure everything is dissolved together making a dark brown sauce.  Add all the granulated nuts (almonds and peanuts) and the almond chunks and stir in.  Then immediately remove from the heat and pour mixture into a shallow square dish lined with baking paper.  Using a wooden spoon spread mixture around base of the dish as pictured below.

Then fold over the long part of the baking paper to cover the nut base and press down firmly using your hands (make sure the mixture isn't too hot).

Now leave it to rest (I like stacking books on top to keep it firm as it sets to room temperature). 

Then once cooled refrigerate for a few hours.  Then you're ready to slice and chew and enjoy xo

NOTE: I LOVE generous amounts of cinnamon but if this is too strong for you just add a teaspoon instead.  Or you could always omit the cinnamon and add 1/4 cup of desiccated coconut for a creamier taste xo

Sun Love Inspiration from Hafiz

The Sun Never Says

Even after all this time,

the sun never says to the earth,

‘You owe me.’

Look what happens with a love like that.

It lights up the whole sky.

Remnants of the romantic high from Valentine's Day are still floating around in my head, so I wanted to share the above poem and dedicate this post to the beautiful thing that is.....LOVE.

I discovered the Persian poet Hafiz* only a few years ago, and at that moment his beautiful, inspiring poetry dating as far back as the 1300's ... immediately fell into my 'favourite soulful things' world. 

This poem is certainly one of my favourites... expressing all the beautiful, romantic and sincere notions of unconditional love, purity and humbleness.  May this soulful poem give anyone reading this, inspiration to embrace this type of 'sun love'.  An unconditional and unlimited love that doesn't hold back, that doesn't demand, that doesn't calculate... but is just free and pure and beautiful xo

*Wikipedia - Hafez

My Valentine's Day love gesture..... seriously delish flourless chocolate cake



Getting to know: Wei Yee and Yoga

People will always surprise you.... so don't be deceived by Wei yee's dainty, pixie like figure.  Despite her petiteness, she is packed full of punch and bursting with energy and a strong 'can do attitude' head on her shoulders.  With big aspirations in and outside the sphere of yoga, this young lady is sure to to excel in whatever direction her sights take her!  I love the beauty and power expressed in her yoga poses and her clean, flowing lines in the photos captured below.  Young.., old.., big.., small.... JUST WORDS.  Push beyond those boundaries and deceiving categories you mentally confine yourself within, and your body will always surprise you and be true to you.  Wei yee shows you how.

When did you first start yoga?
You could say I started when I was about 6 when I used to copy my grandfather whom was 80 at the time doing headstands every morning.

Why did you start yoga?

I have to admit that I actually took my first class purely out of vanity and in pursuit of a better physique at the time.  But after one class I realised there was a whole lot more which yoga offered that none of the other gym classes I had attended ever did.  I was hooked from there.

What do you think yoga aims to achieve?

Unification and harmonisation of all things within and around us whereby we ultimately learn to understand the true nature of everything as it is.  It teaches mindfulness of how you treat yourself and all others around you.

What do you find most rewarding in yoga?

Understanding how to be more mindful of everything I do in life and how my actions impact others.  As a training teacher, the most rewarding thing is to be able to pass all I have learnt to others.

What do you find most challenging in yoga?

Physically, I find postures requiring flexibility quite challenging in yoga as I am naturally not very flexible.  In a more subtle sense, learning to apply the patience and calm we learn in yoga to everyday life is a big challenge.

What kinds of people would you recommend it to?

i) I recommend it to all people who work in corporate or sedentary jobs because we really need the movement!

ii) It's such an amazing workout physically because it works on both what you see on the outside and your internal organis.  I don't know why anyone would not give it a go?

iii) I recommend everyone to retain an open mind and try more than one class before they conclude whether yoga is for them.  There are a multitude of yoga styles now being taught which will suit all tastes and ages.  Keep a curious mind.

3 words that describe how you feel after yoga?

Release, peaceful, relaxed.

What makes you smile?

To see others around me smile.

What's your ideal way to spend a Sunday?

To be able to have the luxury of just relaxing and not going through my list of chores.  A yoga class has to be in there at some point though.

What's your best holiday?

It would have to be my five week trip to Europe (UK, France, Spain, Switzerland, Italy) with my 3 closest girlfriends.  We didn't follow a tour, just our maps.

Favourite food?
Potatoes in any shape or form.

Favourite book?

Pride and Prejudice.

What's something that a lot of people don't knkow about you?

That I absolutely love tha alpine and love hiking the high country regardless of what country I am in.  The last few years I've been making annual trips up to the Snowy Mountains to explore the alpine walks there.

Thanks Wei yee! xo

Getting to know: Marilee and Yoga

I wanted to kick off a new series of posts where I'll interview yoga loving people. 

No better way to start it off with beautiful, free spirited MARILEE.  What can I say... this lovely lady exudes such a peaceful, content and humble presence in our yoga classes and I love watching her demonstrate some of the most challenging poses yoga has on offer.  And at the age of 62 she definitely sets an inspiring example of utilising your body's full potential no matter how old.  No excuses!

Why did you start yoga?

One day I reached down and could barely touch my toes which I'd done easily in the past.  I thought 'this just won't do!' and went in search of a yoga class.

What do you think yoga aims to achieve?

I think it aims to achieve a unification of physical and mental fitness for a balanced healthy lifestyle.

What do you find rewarding in yoga?

Yoga and gym practice helps me feel younger and more able to do a lot of physical things I love, like backpacking, kayaking, bike riding.  I've also made many friends thru yoga.

What do you find most challenging in yoga?

Keeping focussed during practice and unfocussed during meditation... for example thinking: 'Oh, I must cut my toe nails' or 'hmmm what was I supposed to buy on the way home?'.

3 reasons you would recommend yoga to others

Yoga can be for anyone but I would especially recommend it to people who care about looking after their bodies and who through age or injury are starting to lose their mobility.  Yoga has given me:

1) flexibility and balance = confidence

2) fitness = ability

3) helps me stay calm in stressful situations = whew!

3 words that describe how you feel after yoga

Relaxed (like a massage), Sweaty, Rejuventated

What makes you smile?

Seeing something totally surprising in nature like a seagull scratching its head with its foot while flying.  A dolphin in the wild doing a complete sommersault in the air.  The vibrant yellow mushrooms that appeared overnight in my garden pot (I didn't eat them!)

What's your ideal way to spend a Sunday?

Getting up early to go on a bushwalk in the Blue Mountains - I don't do this enough!!

At home I read my book in bed with a cup of coffee, then work in the garden. 

What's your best holiday?

One of my best holidays was kayaking in the wilderness rivers near Katherine in the Northern Territory with a wonderful group of like minded 'oldies'.

What's something that a lot of people don't know about you?

I spent quite a few years as a cruising yachtie, sailing in the Pacific Islands in a tiny 11 metre yacht.  My husband had to row me ashore in our dinghy to the hospital in Noumea to give birth to our first baby.

Pigeon Pose - intertwined beauty

© 2012 Saya Style

It feels amazing to open your heart like a puffed up pigeon and open the hips and stretch, stretch, stretch. Once I'm in it... I don't just don't want to leave!

I love pigeon pose.  There are so many variations but this one above is by far my favourite.  With the hands clasped behind the head, foot tucked snug inside the elbow and chest spread WIDE open... it feels so liberating.  Being far from a symmetrical looking pose, it magically FEELS the absolute opposite.... it instead feels so balanced, grounded and perfectly smooth in its intertwined beauty.  BEAUTY and GRACE is what you feel in these snapshot moments.

© 2012 Saya Style

Pigeon pose variation