Chickpea Cookie Dough!

Who loves cookie dough? 🙋🏻‍♀️ As a kid, I’d secretly sneak handfuls in my mouth while baking, even despite the salmonella warnings from my mom.

As a registered dietitian, I love finding recipes that give us the best of both worlds- delicious nostalgic cookie dough that’s also packed with fiber, protein, healthy fat, and has no dairy and refined sugar. 🤯

Recently I’ve been asked about ‘what to do about holiday eating.’ It’s the beginning of the season for baked goods, cookies, hot sugary beverages, pies, and so.many.refined.treats.

This recipe is a great one to have on hand to quell the sugar cravings, and even bring with you to a potluck or dinner to share with others. Let people guess what the secret ingredient is. Bet they won’t guess it’s chickpeas!!

CHICKPEA COOKIE DOUGH

INGREDIENTS:
-1 15-oz can drained chickpeas
-1/4 c. creamy nut butter (use sunbutter for a nut-free version)
-1/4 c. oat flour or almond flour
-1/4 tsp. baking powder
-1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
-1/4 c. monkfruit sugar (this won’t raise blood sugar levels 🙌🏻), maple syrup is another option- sweeten to taste
-1/3 c. chocolate chips (Enjoy Life or Trader Joe’s semi-sweet chocolate chips are both dairy-free options)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Add all the ingredients into a food processor and process until smooth and fully combined.
2. Stir in the chocolate chips. Be generous. Like as generous as you are with someone you really, really love.
3. Refrigerate for best texture. Enjoy, and remember that treats can always be a part of the plan!

How To Know You're On the Right Path.

Sunset and Moonrise on Montara Mountain.

How do you know you’re on the right path?

You no longer betray yourself.

You no longer compromise who you are.

You live in integrity and alignment.

You attract people in your life who support you.

You create abundance and opportunities to use your gifts for the greater good.

You understand how energy management is more important than time management.

You connect your daily activities to a greater purpose and mission.

You continually step out of your comfort zone.

You wake up with excitement.

You go to bed with gratitude and a sense of accomplishment.

This is how you know.

Change Happens Most When We Remember Who We Are.

My latest work- alcohol ink on yupo paper.

“There’s a brilliant family of people in Africa, called the Himba. When a Himba woman is expecting a child, she goes out into the wilderness with a few of her sisters, and together they wait till they hear in their hearts the song of the coming child.

Himba women wait as long as they need to; they wait under stars; they wait until the dream of the child begins to beat like a singular rhythm under their hearts. Because these sisters know that every heart has its own unique beat—its own wild and blazing purpose. And when the Himba women attune to the song of the coming child, they circle around and together they sing the miraculous refrain of the expected child. Then they return to the gathering of their people and teach this child’s unique song to the waiting community.

When the anticipated child is finally born and taken into arms, the Himba family enfolds her with their presence, and their voices rise, singing the child’s own song to her breathing in first air of this earth. Later, when the child begins her schooling, the villagers gather and boldly chant the child’s song. And then when the child passes through the initiation to adulthood, the Himba again circle round
and sing hopefully and bravely. At the time of marriage, the young woman again hears the assuring notes of her very own song, carrying.

But there is one more occasion upon which the Himba sing.
If at any time during her life the sister loses her way, falls short, forgets who she really is, or lets anything steal the dream of who she is meant to be, she is gently beckoned to the center of the village. And there she stands, her people forming a safe, ringing circle around her, like her own galaxy of stars. Then the villagers sing, letting the beat of her drum, the rhythm of her own being rouse her to wake to the dream of her soul again. They sing her own soul song to her because Himba sisters believe that change happens most when we remember who we are and whose we are.”

— From "The Dream of You" by Jo Saxton

Letter Perfect.

“Follow your bliss.
If you do follow your bliss,
you put yourself on a kind of track
that has been there all the while waiting for you,
and the life you ought to be living
is the one you are living.
When you can see that,
you begin to meet people
who are in the field of your bliss,
and they open the doors to you.
I say, follow your bliss and don’t be afraid,
and doors will open
where you didn’t know they were going to be.
If you follow your bliss,
doors will open for you that wouldn’t have opened for anyone else.”

— Joseph Campbell

---

Feeling the energy after sipping an iced coffee with a new friend, we decided to walk down University Avenue in Palo Alto. I was new to the area, and felt the buzz of excitement exploring a part of town I’d never seen. We stopped by upscale boutique shops and laughed while trying on overpriced dresses and outlandish scarves and hats. There was a quaint stationery store we stepped into, and an overwhelming feeling washed over me. Out of nowhere a deep desire within me surfaced.

I want my cards to be sold here.

Two years later on August 9, 2021, I re-entered this adorable store. My smile was covered with a mask, and inside my handbag were a variety of my card designs. A makeshift ‘portfolio’ with a compilation of different styles, quotes, aesthetics, both snarky and encouraging, and all hand-painted and hand-lettered. To my delight, the owner Gwen said YES. I left the store and immediately broke down in the street because making art for me has been my way of “following my bliss” and now doors are opening.

As a wellness coach, I derive deep joy from empowering my clients to see their own talents and light- to free them from habits that block or obscure their true nature. All of these hand-painted and hand-lettered cards capture the essence of the same messages I teach, through the medium of cards.

Today I dropped them off and couldn’t stop thinking about that summer day in 2019. That seed of a dream stayed with me, and today was proof that what we imagine and dream for ourselves can, in fact, come true.

A few of my designs that are now sold at Letter Perfect.

If you’re in the area, please stop by. Letter Perfect won the 2021 “Best Of” award for Best Stationery Store in Palo Alto, and now is home to my Kanzaki Cards.

Letter Perfect is located on 384 University Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94301.

And whatever you do, keep dreaming and making. May this be evidence that dreams can come true.

Hidden Treasures.

There’s something magical about stumbling upon a koi pond in the middle of an old growth forest. A secret hidden gem tucked away behind towering Redwood trees off the main trail. The world is perfectly sized. Too big to explore and discover it all, but small enough to try.

What Are You Complaining About?

Milagra Ridge, Pacifica

As we continue on our path and purpose in life, our needs change. Problems and challenges arise when we aren’t aware of our needs or feel safe enough to ask for what we need.

One of the best ways to identify your needs is to listen to what you complain about.

Complaints are unmet needs in disguise.

Life can meet your needs once you’re able to name them and ask for support. If you’re constantly complaining about your job or your relationship or how stuck you feel, instead ask yourself, “What do I truly need instead?” Maybe it’s rest. Affirmation. Meaning. Validation. Intimacy. Support.

This is the key to your freedom. Figure out what your needs are. Only then can you find your way out of the maze and back to your true self.

Enduring The Beams of Love.

“We are here to learn to endure the beams of love.”

— William Blake

This is hard and difficult work. But isn’t this our greatest work? We are conditioned from a young age to put armor on to prevent our hearts from getting hurt. We build walls to protect ourselves from the pain of rejection, the pain of loss, the pain of feeling abandoned and alone.

But the most beautiful, raw, tender moments are when we allow those walls to crumble and let the beams of love touch our hearts. Sometimes there comes a point when we are too sick, too weak, or too lost to even find the pieces of our armor. When we feel the most vulnerable, this is when we are met with the achingly beautiful beams of love from those who sweep in to support us.

We are not put here on earth to endure the pain of love. We are here to experience and endure the beauty of love.

We Are Made Up of Layers, Cells, Constellations.

“We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations.”

— Anaïs Nin

Original alcohol ink on yupo paper, 11x14”. Available for purchase in my shop.

"Nuts About You" Vinyl Stickers!

If you’re NUTS about your friends and how they’re always RAISIN you up, you need this sticker!

Perfect for laptops, water bottles, or anywhere else that could use a little sparkle! Waterproof and sun-proof.

The backstory behind this piece:

A few weeks ago, I was feeling uninspired and unmotivated to make or create anything. I knew that having novel ‘raw materials’ would help the situation and inspire me to see the world from a different angle. I foraged through the snack bin at work and spotted a bag of trail mix.

Once I got home, I cut open the bag and poured out the contents onto a paper napkin. “What do you see, Julianne?” I asked myself.

Nothing.

I was tired.

This was a silly exercise.

I started eating some cashews and peanuts. I noticed how an almond looked like the back of a woman’s head, perhaps because I was subconsciously thinking about my upcoming haircut that weekend and how I wanted it shaped with subtle rounded corners too. Then I laughed, and recognized how a whole peanut could be the back of another person’s head. Feeling a rush of new energy, suddenly a cashew appeared like another woman, tilting her head ever so slightly to the right.

I was off to the races. I had these three individuals in my mind’s eye. I started sketching out their bodies in pencil. But there was something missing. Diversity. And that’s when I saw the raisin. I knew I was set.

I’m sharing this process because so often we think we need to have the ‘finished product’ in mind when we begin. That’s Resistance. Resistance makes us believe we need to have the details all perfectly filled in before we can start. Which is why most people never get started, let alone finish. In reality, it’s about starting, iterating, reimagining, and moving forward, one step at a time.

Resistance is a tough nut to crack.

But you can overcome it if you don’t take yourself too seriously and approach everything as play. You may find the nuts have already been cracked for you, and it’s your job to rearrange them into something meaningful and delightful.

(If you’re interested, this sticker is AVAILABLE IN MY SHOP. Thank you to everyone who supports and purchases my art- as a small business owner, it means the world to me.)

It Takes Courage To Say YES.

Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve in La Honda, CA

“It takes courage to say YES.

There comes a moment in your life when fear and dreams collide-
Most people choose to play it safe to never risk their pride.
But if you listen to that voice which calls from deep within,
You’ll find that you can walk with faith across the great divide.

It’s never going to go away, so it’s best to befriend your fear,
And step into the great unknown
And watch how doors appear.

Be wary of the ones who tell you that it can’t be done-
The way you write or paint or draw or sing or code for fun.
Keep putting in the daily work when no one else can see,
With time you’ll find that you’ll become who you were meant to be.

It begins with that first step as you say yes to something new-
Perhaps you don’t know where to start or exactly what to do.
But trust that life experience has prepared you for this time,
Bravely ascend the path ahead, and trust that you’ll be fine.

It takes courage to say YES.

Say YES.
”

— Julianne Kanzaki

Everything Is Blue Again Like Morning.

I’m swimming again. The first time in 15 months. No lane reservations or 35-minute time limits. There is an immense freedom and comfort in diving into the quietude of the womb-like water feeling weightless and free. Water has always been my home. In the past few weeks, I have stayed close to the ocean and it has reinvigorated my spirit, recharged my creativity, and restored my soul.

“Here I came to the very edge
where nothing at all needs saying,
everything is absorbed through weather and the sea,
and the moon swam back,
its rays all silvered,
and time and again the darkness would be broken
by the crash of a wave,
and every day on the balcony of the sea,
wings open, fire is born,
and everything is blue again like morning. ”

— Pablo Neruda

New original alcohol ink Kanzaki Cards are now available in my shop!