The Pleasure Principle

     This week Marina asked us to make a list of our guilty pleasures. The pleasure part is easy, lots of things to list there. Guilty, that's a bit harder, being the saintly creature I am of course. Okay, maybe it has nothing to do with being saintly. I have no one depending on me so it makes my indulgences a bit guilt free.

     For example, if I don't feel like cooking a nutritious meal, I'm the only one who suffers for it. If I stay up late watching bad sci fi movies, it's not like I have kids that won't get to school dressed the next day. Being child free does have some perks. Let me wrack my brain a bit, see what turns up.

1 Not shaving. I'm not overly hairy, it takes a few days for my scruff to go from kind of endearing  to creepy homeless guy. Last week, I skipped it all week. My boss didn't say a word. I know better, it looks bad, it's coming in heavily grey but I hate shaving and if I can get away with not, well...

2 Not getting my hair cut. Kind of hand in hand with the first. My hair is long, really long. It's not even that I like it that way, I just can't decide how I want it cut. Sounds ridiculous but true. I've been debating how I'd like my hair cut for the last 6 months, okay, 7 months.

Time for a trim?

3 Not cutting my lawn. Yep, I'm that neighbour. In my defense, cutting the grass is a colossal pain. I don't have a lawn exactly. There is a little patch of grass back and front, then one 12 inches wide that runs 80 feet long, all outside my fence. Between having the front dug up to replace water lines, then plumbing lines, then gas lines, the constant battle with my neighbours leaving garbage along the curb and people letting their dogs on my little patches of grass, let's just say it gives me a perverse sense of pleasure letting it go wild.

4 Not cooking. I can cook, I even like to cook but not all the time. I always feel guilty doing the take out thing, unless of course it's sushi. I can't make that and no I don't want to learn.

5 Not sharing. I don't feel bad about eating an entire tub of ice cream. I usually feel bad I hid it so I didn't have to share. Again, I usually do share my baking and canning so lots of cookies, muffins, squares, pies, jams, jellies and pickles do make the rounds.  The same apples to sharing my time. I have been known to stretch the truth a little about how busy I am just to get some alone time. Stop judging me.

6 Not house cleaning. My house is a disaster 24/7. Although I'm relatively tidy, none of that applies to my housemates. Unless I'm expecting guests, or cooking, I like letting the animals live in the mess they've created. I'm not the maid or Mom away from Mom and you're all adults. It means I spend a lot of time in the "cave" because I can't stand the mess but.... Besides it frees up time for

7 Reading. I can spend an entire day curled up with a good book, or two, ignoring all the frantic 911 do you know where, have you seen the, what's for dinner calls.

8 Cheez Whiz. I love the stuff. Imagine my surprise there is enough actual food in it that it can spoil. Who knew? On toast with cracked pepper, on celery or in Merrickville Mornay, I can't get enough of the stuff.

9 Pop tarts. No I'm not talking about the kind you put in the toaster. I mean the ones on my playlist. Apparently at my age, I'm not supposed to have P!nk, Avril, Bruno, Usher, Britney, David Guetta et al on my iPod.

10 Blogging. I spend way too much time on line. I'm sure my house is no different than yours, the endless to do list. I admit, I suffer pangs of guilt for the amount of time I spend reading and/or writing and ignoring all the other things I should be doing.

     Wow that was easier than I though. I guess it's good I don't have kids. Looking over my list it seems I'm still a big kid. Oh well, here's a little something not to feel guilty about. Part of my being better to yourself series.

No-Bake Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Treats

Almond Butter Squares:

1/4 cup            Almond Butter

1 tsp                Simply Organic Vanilla Extract

3 tbsp              Raw, Unpasteurized Honey

(or Lundberg Sweet Dreams Organic Brown Rice Syrup)

1 cup               Nature’s Path Rice Puffs

Heat almond butter, vanilla and honey in a saucepan over medium heat.  Mix in rice puffs and stir to coat.  Press into square pan or glass dish. Cool in fridge for at least 20 minutes and cut up into squares.

Chocolate Banana Oatmeal Freezer Cookies:

3/4 cup            Organic Rolled Oats (Bob’s Red Mill certified gluten-free)

1/4 cup            Camino Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips

1                      Organic Banana

1 tsp                Simply Organic Vanilla Extract

1 tsp                Camino Cocoa

Melt chocolate chips. Mash in banana and stir well.  Stir in vanilla, cocoa and oats.  Shape into desired cookie size and freeze for 30 minutes. Makes about a dozen.

Both are super easy and delicious!

       Both recipes are from my friend Erin, trying to keep me healthier. Good luck my friend. She is a certified naturopathic doctor so all the ingredients are organic. I don't always make them, okay I have never made them with all organic ingredients. Sorry Erin, you tried. Both are tasty treats to satisfy your sweet tooth that aren't actually bad for you. It's the little things.

     Head on over to Stasha's and see all of our guilty pleasures.