Mindful Eating + Almond Butter Blondies

On a walk through The Big Island, Hawaii

A few years ago I went on a silent meditation retreat for 3 days in Connecticut.  At the time I was in AmeriCorps, and was starting to feel the emotional toll my job was taking on me as I tried to help people in situations I had never been faced with.  So I thought the weekend retreat would be just that- a retreat that would allow me to get away from it all and be good to myself.  Never did I imagine it would be such a challenge! Spending 3 full days without saying a word or reading anything, left me devoid of stimulation and left with stillness.  I've always been a people person who thrived on interaction.  When I was in kindergarten I used to walk into the class and go straight to the time out section.  My teacher, confused by my action asked me why I went straight there in the morning.  I simply responded that I knew I would get put there because I was a talker and I couldn't help it.  One thing I took away from the retreat was taking the time to slow down and enjoy what I was doing that moment.  They had us do an exercise with food that was mentioned in this week's NYTimes.  The premise behind the exercise is to take something mundane that we take for granted and slow it down to allow you to appreciate it.  We did this with a raisin, but it could be done with anything really.  The first step of the exercise is to use your other senses aside from taste to appreciate the food.  Smell it, feel it, look at it.  Now close your eyes and put it in your mouth and let it sit there.  Feel what it feels like, taste what the essence of the food before you chew is like.  Now take a bite.  What do you taste? Try and deconstruct the taste.  See if you can sense the hints of spices or different flavors.

Friday night I went to a dinner party and brought these Blondies with me.  Before I told anyone what was in them I had them all guess.  I love playing this game- I often ask people to guess what flavor or food something is and see if they can deconstruct the taste.  No one guessed correctly!  These are so moist and chewy, yet they are made of wholesome simple ingredients.  Try it at your next dinner party- you are bound to create a conversation starter and be a hit with the taste buds :)

Elana's Pantry Gluten Free, Dairy Free Almond Butter Blondies

1 (16 ounce) jar creamy roasted almond butter
1 cup agave nectar
2 eggs
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup dark chocolate chips

1. In a large bowl, with a hand blender, mix almond butter until creamy
2. Mix in agave and eggs
3. Add salt and baking soda
4. Mix well with hand blender until all ingredients are thoroughly combined
5. Mix half of the chocolate into the batter
6. Pour batter into a well greased 9x13 inch Pyrex baking dish
7. Scatter the other half of the chocolate on top of the batter
8. Bake at 325° for 35 minutes
9. Serve

Serves 12- 24 (depends on if people want seconds!)

Almond Butter Blondies