Whispering Earth

There are two things that nearly all students excel at, and they are procrastination and snacking. With a big exam coming on Wednesday I realised I’d have no chance of studying without a pile of suitable snacks to keep me going and so I decided to combine these two well refined art forms in order to make some tasty treats. They are based on Rosemary Gladstar’s recipe for Zoom Balls which contain guarana and kola nut and are a bit too stimulating for a wee sensitive soul such as myself! So I’ve changed it about a bit and added some more suitable herbs and come up with these two varieties, the stress soothers and the brain boosters.

Brigitte also has a lovely recipe for Energy Balls here which utilises more everyday kitchen ingredients and is great if you don’t want to fork out for lots of herbal powders.

Basic Ball Ingredients: (For both variants)
* 1 cup nut butter. I like to make my own with a combination of almonds and hazelnuts- the hazel being the Celtic tree of wisdom, I figure it’s a good addition to any study snacks!
* 1/4 cup tahini.
* 1/2 cup reasonably runny honey. Preferably good quality and local. I like to use Borage honey as borage has such an affinity with the adrenals and nerves.
* 1/2 cup walnuts- broken into small pieces. Walnuts are thought to be good for the brain because of the beneficial oils they contain as well as their ‘signature’ or resemblance to it.
* 1/4 cup hulled hemp. You could use sunflower or other seeds instead.
* 1/4 cup carob powder.
* 1 tsp cinnamon powder.
* 1 tsp cardamom powder.
* Small pinch sea salt or himalayan crystal salt.
* Enough dessicated coconut for rolling.

For the Stress Soothers;
Add the following herbs which will help you feel mellow and grounded.
1/2 cup Eleuthro powder
1/2 cup Gotu Kola powder
1/2 cup Ashwagandha powder
1 Tbs Liquorice powder

For the Brain Boosters;
Add the following to boost memory and aid circulation.
1/2 cup Gotu Kola powder
1/2 cup Brahmi powder
1/3 cup Rhodiola powder
1/3 cup Gingko powder

You can also make your own variations depending on what you have around.

First mix your nut butter, honey and tahini in a large bowl.

Then add the powders, carob, nuts, salt and seeds and mix thoroughly.

Pull off bits of the mixture and roll into balls about yay big.

Finally, cover the surface of a plate in dessicated coconut and roll the balls in it until coated.

Enjoy immediately or leave to chill in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Now thats done, my brain is boosted, I’m calm and centred… I suppose I should get down to some work 🙂

The trouble with studying herbs, is that the wonder of the plants themselves are always distracting me from my books.
I’m reminded of these lovely lines from Rumi;
Love lit a fire in my chest, and anything
that wasn’t love left: intellectual
subtlety, philosophy
books, school.
All I want now
to do or hear
is poetry.