I've been exploring various facets of "aging" with a dear friend of mine through a series of workshops we're hosting at Asheville Yoga Center. One of the biggest tools I truly believe that we have is the food that we eat. There is nothing more powerful than feeding our body the things that actually support our vitality and well-being. 

Did you know that from an Ayurvedic perspective, certain types of food impact certain areas of the body? I love how Ayurveda is always making things simple and easy to understand. 

For this recipe, I wanted to focus in on supporting the brain and all its functionings. One of the things that we can struggle with as we get older (especially for women if they've entered menopause), is that the brain fog, forgetfulness, and lack of clarity can start to set in. Supporting our brains from the beginning is one of the greatest tools we have to support our bodies to live to our full potential all the way to 100! 

I hope you love this easy "dump and go" bar recipe that is full of all the things that support our nervous system and the brain! 

Ingredients: 

• 1.5 cups almond flour
• 1 cup chopped walnuts 
  
• 1 cup oats 
  
• 1/2 cup chia seeds 
  
• 3 tbsp hemp seeds 
  
• 12 dried figs (soak them for a little, and then chop them up) 
  
• 2 tbsp tahini 
• 1/2 cup coconut oil 
  
• 1/2 cup maple syrup 
  
• 2 tbsp goji powder 
  
• 1 tbsp freeze dried raspberries 
  
• 1.5 tsp ginger powder 
  
• 4-5 tsp shankhapushpi powder 
  
• For topping: melted chocolate, flaky salt, rose petals (all optional!)
  

Recipe: 

1. Before starting anything, soak your dried figs in water so they can soften to chop towards the end. 
2. Take a large mixing bowl, and start with all of your dry ingredients: almond flour, walnuts, oats, chia seeds, and hemp seeds. Give everything a good mix. 
   
3. Then add in your herbs and spices: goji powder, ginger powder, and shankhapushpi powder. All 3 of these have a tendency to clump, so make sure that everything is smoothed out properly. 
   
4. Your figs should be soaked well enough where you can chop them up into small pieces and then fold them in to the mixing bowl now. If they still feel a little tough, you can fold them in in between any of the wet ingredients. 
5. Next, you'll want to add in the wet ingredients individually. 
   
   1. Start with the coconut oil. (I didn't melt my coconut oil, but I did use my hands to make sure it was well-incorporated). 
   2. Then maple syrup. 
   3. Then tahini last. (This one can be the trickiest as you don't want it to clump)
6. Finally, fold in the freeze-dried raspberries. These just add a nice tang/sweetness to it. 
7. Take a baking tray and line it with parchment paper. 
8. Toss everything into the baking tray and even everything out. I used a back of a spatula to smooth it all out. 
9. Place in freezer/refrigerator overnight to let everything set. 
10. The next day you can coat on top your melted chocolate and sprinkle on the salt and rose petals. 

And that's it! Shouldn't take you more than 15 or so minutes to prepare. I hope you enjoy as much as we do!