On any given day, our kitchen is hiding at least 3-4 types of “treats,” for our quick nourishment. Typically there’s a kind of cookie, and maybe a granola bar, something that has chocolate, and something that could serve as a *breakfast,* in the rare event that we need to fuel up before heading out the door before porridge or pudding is ready to rock.
The “treats’ come in handy in some very specific situations; perhaps a friend comes to visit and we want to send them home with something tasty for later. We’re headed out for a ride and need pocket fuel, or it’s about 4pm and we find ourselves convening in the kitchen ready for our daily powwow about how the day went, what’s still happening, the status of our child, what’s happening for dinner — this sort of thing. This time in the afternoon remains nameless, but it’s as predictable as all of the other mealtimes in our day where we gather together to fuel up – breakfast, lunch, snacktime and dinner — the four necessary meals of our days around here.
This week, I whipped up these Pistachio-Coconut Oat Bars to fulfill more than a few of these *treat needs,* and they hit the spot – especially during that 4pm time slot typically referred to as “snacktime” if you’re a toddler. But we’re not toddlers. And we actually don’t snack.
Why? Well….
Snacking, as far as I can tell, is aimless, unplanned grazing. Typically of foods that are just around, and not necessarily of any particular value. But fueling is deliberate. Planned. Necessary. Fueling requires us to think about what we’re putting in, and make some distinct choices about how it fits into our day. Choosing, say, to slip a pistachi0-packed oat bar out of it’s homemade wrapping over jamming you hand into a bag of chips and nibbling them out of your palm as you drive a car or do something with the other hand. Very different eating experiences.
Ayurveda discourages “snacking,” because this type of eating behavior sabotages our digestive health; weakening our agni (digestive fire,) and often (at least in modern times) is rife with opportunities to eat packaged and processed foods that contain all sorts of weird food combinations and fractioned ingredients.
But fueling, the practice of putting something nourishing and meaningful into your body when you need energy to vibrantly move through your day — this is a practice that Ayurveda not only supports, but applauds.
I often have clients express their desire to have “more energy in the afternoon” without having to drink coffee or eat a sugary snack. I don’t know where we picked up this notion that the thing we refuel our afternoons with has to be a stimulant, but the logic isn’t there for me.
What is logical, from my perspective and experience, is that a 4pm quick boost is practically necessary. If you’re an active person, with a full on day, and you’re using your brain, body, emotions and aptitude to achieve, navigate and activate all day long then your energy needs are not small. And, if you at breakfast at 7am, lunch at 12pm and dinner at 7pm, that means that you are going to have great swaths of time between meals where you’re using a LOT of energy without replenishment. UNLESS, of course, you embrace the quick refuel. A much more manageable eating day is one where you have a tiny snack to break your fast, then a proper breakfast, a lunch, an afternoon quick fuel, and dinner. This ensures that you’re getting little drops of energy, fuel and nourishment before all of your big “pushes” of the day – right when you need it most.
Becoming great at snacktime doesn’t just entail embracing that you need to eat something, although yes – you do. A great snacker also understands the WHAT of their choices; the understanding that a banana is not the same as a handful of almonds, is not the same as an almond butter bar OR a pistachio-coconut oat bar.
Pistachios, in Ayurveda, are one of the best foods to pacify vata; the heavy and warming qualities of these tiny green nuts is ideal for grounding the windy dosha, and they have a particular affinity for helping to reduce anxiety, insomnia, mindless food cravings and obesity. Read: by enjoying pistachios as a quick-fuel, you’re helping to quiet the mind, settle thoughts, nourish the body and also irradicate that senseless, aimless snacking as well. All the best things.
So good, so simple. Because when life gets busy, that’s what our food must be; SIMPLE.
With just six ingredients, these bars are perfect for busy times because they come together quickly, bake quickly, are ready for snacking real fast AND simple at their core.
There aren’t many notes to make about these – the ingredients are probably things you already have in your pantry, save for maybe the pistachios that truly make the bars shine. (The flavor!) Check out the recipe notes below for modifications and that sort of thing.
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