my big fat golden weekend
By: Margaux Antonio
Tags: Love Yourself, Food, Healthy Lifestyle, Balanced Life

Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies

I promised to get my act together during the 10-day holiday: eat clean, workout 4 out of 7 days, water my plant, stay away from Amazon, and finish reading this book that had been dog-eared at page 56 for forever. I’m happy to report that while I was unable to stick religiously to this plan, I’ve managed to do so much more with my time.

A healthy lifestyle has been a priority for me ever since I noticed changes in my body that I just couldn’t seem to accept as part of, well… life. It continues to be a struggle for me not to dwell so much on every single thing I put in my mouth. I wasn’t going to gain a kilogram overnight. I wasn’t going to breakout if I had a piece of chocolate. I won’t become a weakling if I miss a day of running. I’m not less of a human being if I eat 7 minutes before my intermittent fast ends. I’m a teacher and I need to eat. I’m a teacher and I need to set a positive example for my girls, who are by the way very very very paranoid about how they look and are constantly comparing themselves to others and even to me, which is flattering, but ridiculous! As ridiculous as I probably sound to you right now.

What’s my point and why is there a picture of glorious chocolate chip tahini cookies up there? What I’m driving at is that above anything else, what I might actually be craving isn’t just a healthy lifestyle, but a real balanced one. A Darling article I read a few years back says, “What I have personally observed is that the trouble begins when I am consistently glued to my streams of intake rather than actually engaging with my life. By this I mean, I’m reading more than I’m writing. I’m listening more than I’m talking. I’m scrolling through galleries of rich forests on Instagram rather than walking through them with my own two feet. This I believe is the crux of the matter. We are creatures of balance; if our intake weighs heavier than our output, we will feel it in our bones.” Looking at my promise list, I realized that there’s only one item that’s output driven — watering my plant. In an attempt to tip the scales, I had to drill a couple things a little deeper into my head.

#1 THE WORLD OUTSIDE OF YOU IS SO BEAUTIFUL, RICH, INTERESTING — VASTLY MORE.

Okay, I’m never going to look like a honey-glazed K-pop idol, but there’s so much more to life. Self-care has its limits and we need to look at others, acknowledge them, and care for them, too. Repeat 5x.

#2 BANNING SWEETS FROM YOUR LIFE IS LIKE BREAKING UP WITH YOUR TRUE LOVE — POINTLESS.

If you’re meant to be, you’ll always find your way back to each other. This is my new personal philosophy. What’s the point of cutting it out completely if you’re just going to binge on it later?? I’ve tried. I really have. It’s just that, baking is one of the few things I’m good at and love to do and I can’t scrap this out of my life!! So, I’ve made a compromise to source good ingredients and look for healthy recipes, while keeping the sweet stuff. You don’t come back from a break up without improving, right?

Sea Salt Chocolate Granola (no added sugar)

Eleven Madison Park inspired granola

These last ten days, the smell of freshly baked cookies, roasted oats, and chocolate hasn’t left my house. Every day, my family wakes up knowing that there’s something new on the table. I’ve shared recipes with friends and gotten them to make their own granola. I get up from bed feeling better about myself today than yesterday. That’s not too shabby for balanced input-output, right?