Rice Flour Pancakes

I know I shouldn't be drinking so much coffee .. but

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I know I shouldn't be eating so much sugar(!) .. but

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The first week of our latest 9-week challenge, and boy, do I ever get it.

Change is hard

The first few days never seem quite so bad, the excitement of starting something new helps to carry one through.  After about a week though, the newness has worn off, and the daily grind is here to stay.

There's miss, miss for favorite foods, miss for the rituals that come with them.  The Rolodex of go-tos is suddenly blank, there haven't been any dramatic changes to the waistline just yet, and the seeds of doubt have begun to creep in.  “Can I really do this?”

No one wants to come across as negative though, and so around week two, I'll begin to notice an interesting shift in the sentences of a lot of the conversations I have with the people I'm coaching

<something positive> .. but .. < the unpleasantry>

We met for brunch a few months ago.  Over pancakes, she told me of such a cool habit she'd been practicing; completely removing the word but from her vocabulary

There's no more, “I don’t mean to sound selfish, but ..” or “I hope you don’t think this is crazy, but ..”  I realized that's one of the many reasons I love having conversations with her.  It's always so refreshing.  She speaks her mind gently and communicates without any unnecessary fillers.  An interesting observation about her recent experiment?

When using it in a sentence, nobody focuses on what comes before the “but” .. It’s the after that sticks with us

“Thank you for the latte, but it’s a little too hot.”

“I'd love to eat my vegetables, but I've always found them to be tasteless and mushy “

“It would be good to come to work out, but driving across town can be such a pain.”

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for doing the best you can, and I'm always appreciative when someone is honest about what's on their mind.  Although, if you think about it, the word “but” seems to bring a bit of a wild card into the picture, and I've come to think it creates mixed signals.

I wonder if there's a fine line between explaining our feelings to avoid miscommunication, and explaining our feelings to maintain a critical perspective.

I have to believe we want our “Thank you for the latte” to simply be “Thank-you for the latte.”  Our positive and grateful spirits overshadowing our list of demands. In other words, we want to choose our words wisely, thoughtfully, and gently without any buts about it.

As I answer food journals every evening, I ask people to focus on their successes for the day.  The things about this journey they're grateful for.  I'm hoping to foster a spirit of abundance rather than loss, what they can have, instead of what they can't

I think of some from today:  a spouse that's on board and cooks healthy, home-cooked meals for them to share.  Got a workout in today.  Made the best food choice given the circumstance.  Took the dog for a walk instead of overeating because of stress at work

But .. and this is a good,

“But” .. I also sprinkle in a few ways to practice the power of gratitude in their thoughts and words as well.  Like focusing on a big goal without losing track of the small steps it'll take to get there, or being kind and gracious to ourselves, or going out-of-the-way to make a connection with someone else

Because after all, we have a lot in our lives to be thankful for and positive about.  Oh, and “Thank you for the latte.”

A new pancake recipe to share

Made with rice flours, and a simple combination of ingredients, these pancakes are wonderful, as well as gluten-free.  They cook up denser than a wheat-flour pancake, with a texture similar to my all-time favorites.

Top with fruit and maple syrup

Enjoy!

xoxo

~ Adapted from No Place Like Kitchen