Archive for March 2022

reading time: 3 min

Granted, I am a bit of a chocoholic. And yes, there are already two recipes for vegan chocolate mousse on my blog, but – they are all very different 😜

While my easy vegan low carb mousse au chocolat from years ago is purely made with coconut milk, my more recent silky vegan mousse au chocolat is made with silken tofu – and today's easy vegan low fat mousse au chocolate has yet another base: aquafaba!

If you don't know about aquafaba yet, it's just the fancy term for chickpea brine. Yes, that weird-smelling liquid that is used to preserve canned chickpeas and that you usually throw away when using the chickpeas! It's actually an amazing plant-based (and basically free) substitute for egg whites, such as in vegan mayonnaise, marshmallows, macarons or even meringue. And don't worry, you won't taste it at all in this recipe, I promise!

Just look how fluffy, light and airy this chocolate mousse is! And it tastes heavenly chocolaty ... 🥰

Honestly, texture-wise and maybe even taste-wise this has to my favourite of the three mousse recipes. And the best: it uses what is essentially a waste product and turns it into a dreamy dessert!

VEGAN MOUSSE AU CHOCOLAT

Preparation time: 12 mins (+ 1 hour refrigeration)
Main ingredients: chickpea brine, chocolate, non-dairy milk
difficulty level: easy
serves: 2-4
suitable for: vegan, lactose-free, gluten-free, low carb

Ingredients

150 ml (1/2 cup + 2 tbsp) aquafaba (in my case this equaled the liquid / brine of 1 can of chickpeas)
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
125 ml (1/2 cup) non-dairy milk (I recommend almond milk or coconut milk)
125 g (1 cup) high-quality vegan semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped (I use 70 %)
2-3 tbsp (1/8 cup) raw cane sugar or light sugar
2-3 tbsp high-quality cacao powder

optional garnish:
shaved vegan semi-sweet chocolate
fresh berries such as raspberries or strawberries
full-fat coconut cream (chilled overnight) or vegan whipped cream

Instructions

Drain the chickpeas and reserve the liquid, aka the aquafaba. (You can use the chickpeas to make falafel burgers, or a yummy coconut curry, or even brownies!)

Place a heat-resistant bowl over boiling water, and combine chopped chocolate, sugar, cacao powder and non-dairy milk in the bowl. Stir occasionally. When the sugar has completely dissolved, and most of the chocolate has melted, turn off the heat and allow to fully melt into a smooth mixture under the residual heat.

Take the bowl off the pot with hot water to allow the mixture to cool down.

Meanwhile, take 150 ml (1/2 cup + 2 tbsp) of aquafaba and add it to a clean glass or metal bowl, along with the cream of tartar. Using an electric whisk, whip whip whip the liquid until you achieve stiff peaks similar to whipped cream, and you can even turn the bowl upside down without the whipped aquafaba moving – this takes about 10 minutes.

Gently fold the melted and cooled down chocolate into the whipped aquafaba mixture with a spatula and very slightly stir it until well incorporated. You will be left with a thick, but still quite liquid foam.

Pour the foamy chocolate mousse into jars and place in the fridge.

Chill for at least 1 hour or until it is needed.

Serve with fresh berries, a bit of grated chocolate, and an optional but recommended dollop of coconut cream of vegan whipped cream on top!

NOTES:
- It really pays off using a good quality chocolate brand when making your own mousse au chocolat as the recipe's success kind of stands and falls with great rich chocolate.

- I didn't do this, but apparently it helps to use cold aquafaba to form stiff peaks faster, so you may want to place your canned chickpeas in the fridge for a few hours before beating the aquafaba.
- The cream of tartar works as a stabilizer for the aquafaba here. You could also use cream stablizier instead.

♥

Maisy

reading time: 15 min

After having undergone my 2 week Ayurvedic at-home cleanse last spring, there was another holistic self care and wellness regimen I wanted to incorporate that year, and that was the 12-week Sacred Woman rites of passage program by Queen Afua designed to empower women, with practical tools for holistic well-being, rooted in ancient African cultural teachings. If you want to know more about the Sacred Woman program, head over to my blog post where I review the corresponding book, Queen Afua's "healing bible", the Sacred Woman: A Guide to Healing the Feminine Body, Mind, and Spirit and explain each Gateway briefly, or check out Queen Afua's website.

The Sacred Woman program is designed for 12 weeks, so roughly 3 months, or about 90 days. Each of the Nine Gateways * takes one week to be completed, with the exception of Gateway 0: The Sacred Woman which should be performed between 3 weeks (which is what I chose) and 4 months. The daily spiritual observances as well as the weekly transformative work tasks vary for each Gateway / week.

* NOTE: In the updated and expanded 20th anniversary edition of the Sacred Woman handbook that was published in 2021 there are twelve Gateways of Initiation instead of ten. The additional Gateways are Gateway 10: Sacred Time (rise at 4 o'clock, "wombnifest" from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., practice self-care between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., and recharge throughout the night) and Gateway 11: Sacred Work (live out your purpose, know your vision, your life's mission, spiritualize the service you offer). Please note that I used the "original" publication as reference, not the anniversary edition.

The 3 Month Program

DAILY SCHEDULE

Wake Up – Wake up around 4 a.m., and do your Sacred morning routine between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. when your intuitive energy is the strongest. This is the time of Nebt-Het, the Lady of the House and the Body Temple, the spirit of intuition.

Sacred Bath – Draw a bath using Epsom salt or Dead Sea salts (do not use any salts if you have high blood pressure or oedema!). Your bath should be a spiritual ceremony with lit candles, inspirational music, incense and essential oil.

Altar – Set up your altar as described on pg. 26 in the book. Choose a room or area that is private and undisturbed by the public.

Prayer – Offer a prayer to open the Gateway and invoke each Gateway's spiritual guardian, as provided by the book. If this doesn't resonate with you, I suggest coming up with your own meaningful prayer.

Libation – Pour a small amount of purified water into a bowl and saying the prayer on pg. 29 of the book.

Pray and Chant – either using the prayers and chants (hesi) provided by the book, or using your own heartfelt versions.

Fire Breaths – Slowly increasing from 100 to 1000 over time, practice fire breaths as described on pg. 29 of the book. You will add 100 more fire breaths to each Gateway, with the ultimate goal of reaching 1000 fire breaths. Such a powerful practice!

Meditation – Meditate using corresponding healing stones and/or colour visualization exercises as described on pg. 30. The goal is to build up the time we spend in meditation daily, working your way up each Gateway / week from 5 minutes to 90 minutes.

Herbal Tonics – Drink an herbal tea, while doing your altar, prayer and journal work, according to the Gateway you are in. I like organic tea from the brand YogiTea.

Flower Essences – Add a flower essence to your water, as described on pg. 31 and pg. 138/139 in the book.

Journal Writing – Write in your journal following your altar work and meditation. You can describe your thoughts and feelings, the day before, what changes you are proud of, who you want to be, you can also write down your goals and aspirations. Use a dedicated Sacred journal for this.

Movement – Move your body by doing the Dance of the Womb presented in Gateway 3 (pg. 95).

Quilt – Add a piece of cloth to your Senab freedom shawl or quilt, corresponding with the colour of each Gateway.

Affirmation – Close your spiritual morning routine by speaking words to help you on your sacred journey.

Dietary Changes / Cleansing Food Plan

The suggested diet in the book is based on the ancient basic Khamitic (Egyptian) diet which consisted of beans, lentils, peas, barley, millet, nuts, fruits (such as dates, melons, and pomegranates), vegetables (such as onions, cabbage, and peppers), and healing herbs such as gotu kola, nettle, aloe, garlic, and parsley.

You are instructed to follow the Womb Wellness cleansing food plan on pg. 83. Basically, Queen Afua recommends a vegan diet with a high ratio of raw foods. Meat, eggs, and dairy as well as sugar, table salt and processed grains, canned and frozen foods are considered "dead" oppressive foods. Instead, you should eat lots of vegetables, fruits, sprouts, lentils, beans, peas, nuts in moderation, and soy-based meats in moderation. Abstain from heavier starches such as potatoes or sweet potatoes, or eat them in moderation.

Womb Detoxification & Rejuvenation

juice therapy
live foods
nature's herbs
water therapy
movement and breath
essential oils
clay infusions and applications
enema
oil packs
massage
celibacy

I recommend following the 25 Natural-Living Womb Rejuvenation Techniques that are explained in the book on pg. 96–101.

My Experience

WHAT I DID (AND WHAT I DIDN'T DO):

As I've already mentioned in my book review, I was struggling to purchase all of the numerous required tools and ingredients, such as certain flower essences, essential oils, herbs, tonics, crystals, plants, altar objects, and even clothes. As a more minimalism-minded person there were a lot of things that I didn't own (especially clothes in certain colours), and it was also kind of off-putting to purchase and prepare all of this beforehand.

Perhaps, if you were to do this program with a couple of female friends or at least one other woman (as I would recommend!), you could share certain products such as flower essences, essential oils etc. That way it wouldn't be as overwhelming.

What I did end up getting were most of the essential oils (except for white rose and lotus which I couldn't find anywhere), most of the crystals (except for aquamarine, gold carnelian, indigo sapphire, and bloodstone, which weren't available at my local crystal shop), and at least one piece of clothing for each Gateway, which I partially borrowed from my boyfriend and my mum, lol. Instead of the laxative herb cascara sagrada, which I couldn't find anywhere, I took the triphala powder that I had also taken daily for my Ayurvedic cleanse.

What I didn't get were the flower essences (because I didn't find them anywhere), most of the herbal tonics (the only teas I got were chamomile tea, and an herbal tea with lemon balm and eucalyptus in it), a pendulum (didn't find one in time), and like I said, some of the herbs, crystals and essential oils.

Some other ways that I didn't stick to the provided program are that I didn't draw a daily bath, mainly because I don't have a bathtub, but I also find it quite consumptive of water to take a bath every day. If I had had a bathtub, I would have taken a bath once a week during the program.

I also didn't get up at 4 a. m. I tried, I really tried! The problem was that I didn't fall asleep earlier than 11 or 12 p. m. (which is my natural rhythm). So after getting up at 4 a.m. for almost a week, and being completely sleep-deprived to the point of feeling dizzy and a little sick all day, I decided to wake up at 6 a. m. instead.

Another thing I didn't do was sew the Senab freedom shawl. It didn't resonate with me, simple as that.

Lastly, like I've also already mentioned in my review, I didn't commit to an increasingly raw vegan diet because I already knew (and it had been confirmed by my Tibetan doctor) that my body doesn't do well on a raw vegan diet. I tried to avoid sugar, but apart from that I followed my regular vegan diet.

So, I guess you could say that I didn't REALLY truly follow the Sacred Woman program – and you are right!

I adjusted the program to my own life, my needs, and my priorities. After all, I still mostly stuck to the provided program – I did my alter work, anointed my body with the essential oils, I spoke the prayers and chants, I did the Fire Breaths (and yes, I made it to a thousand fire breaths in the end!!), I meditated, I journaled, I did many of the womb cleansing techniques such as internal clay packs, yoni steaming and enemas, I was celibate, I did almost all of the weekly transformative tasks, I ate a vegan diet, I reduced my sugar intake, I even gave myself a spiritual name in my little initiation ritual which stands for wisdom, beauty and bliss...

The fact that I modified/simplified the Sacred Woman program in this way is probably also due to the length of the program. If I am to repeat this journey again over a shorter time period (see final thoughts), it will be easier to stick to the regimen, such as the increasingly raw vegan diet, for a few days instead of weeks. But more on that later.

How the cleanse affected me physically, emotionally & mentally:

Looking back at my Sacred journal, the one new habit that improved my days most noticeably was the fact that I based my daily journaling around a number of questions that I found through Jenn Im and that go like this:

1. my daily affirmation
2. today i want to focus on ...
3. 3 things i'm grateful for
4. 3 traits i love about myself
5. the person i'm becoming
6. i have the opportunity to be my future self today when i ...
7. i am proud of / that ...

After neglecting this habit once the Sacred Woman program was over, I have picked this habit up again last month, and it has once again improved my mood noticeably because it really shifts my perspective when I sit down first thing in the morning while sipping my hot water and think about what my intention for the day is, who I want to be that day – and what I need to do to get there.

Apart from that, the cleanse didn't affect me too drastically, but that might be because I didn't stick strictly to the meal plan and the daily bathing – and perhaps also because I was already following a plant-based diet for almost ten years now.

I also made it a routine to go for a walk every day for about 1 hour, which is something I had already been doing more or less regularly with my boyfriend.

To be super-duper honest and vulnerable here, the main thing that I had hoped to gain during this program was re-connecting with my feminine sensuality, my libido, my creative passion, and also with my partner. I've talked about this extensively in my blogpost on 12 ways to cultivate & increase your feminine energy, but for a while now I have felt very disconnected from my feminine energy, and I have made it a priority to heal this split, this wound, by using techniques like yoni steaming, or using a yoni egg and yoni oil, or listening to healing music for the sacral chakra – which is associated with sexual energy, intimacy, creativity, passion, emotions, pleasure, and intuition. All things that are also connected to the divine feminine.

I think we women as individuals and a collective still have a lot of personal and universal trauma to work through, or at least that's how I feel. But this is another story.

While the Sacred Woman didn't bring the desired results in this regard (I still felt and feel disconnected from my sexual energy and like my sacral chakra is out of balance), I noticed that while I had cared for my yoni in the ways that I mentioned above, I had completely neglected my womb – as in my inner centre of power and authority – until then. It was such a wonderful freeing and loving experience to follow the guide that Queen Afua provides on pg. 50 and 51 in the book for questions and reflections to contemplate or ask your "womb". Have you ever asked your womb, if "she" feels neglected? If she likes being touched by you or your partner? And if so, where and how? It might sound weird to you now, but give it a try! And I recommend you take the time and write both questions and answers down in order to go deep with this.

Another unexpected way that the program has affected me is that I actually realized that there were still people in my life that I didn't feel comfortable around, and that I wanted to distance myself (which I did as far as I could), and that instead of feeling super passionate etc. after the program, I actually felt the opposite: I didn't want intimacy, I wanted space, I didn't want to be touched, I wanted to be by myself.

And last but not least, I felt strongly that I wanted to have my copper IUD removed that my gynaecologist had renewed one year before (it usually lasts 5 years). I had it taken out in December, and I feel soooo much better now without a weird foreign object inside my womb! If you are wondering what I use for birth control now, I'm back to condoms, and I am also tracking my cycle using FAM, the fertility awareness method. So far, I love it!

THE BEST PART:

Definitely the journaling, as I explained above, including the womb journaling! It has left the most long-lasting impression.

I also really enjoyed the Fire Breaths, which felt powerful and energizing, and were challenging enough to make me feel proud every time I was able to increase the number :)

The most inspiring week was definitely Gateway 4: Sacred Beauty for me, with empowering writings about femininity and reclaiming our natural beauty, as well as the importance of the colours and even shapes we wear. The skin care, the empowering part about embracing and celebrating our natural hair, which is something I have struggled with most of my life, giving myself clay facials, making a Sacred Beauty collage – I just loved it all! Unfortunately, I didn't get to make my own waist beads because I couldn't find any crystal beads such as rose quartz that were small enough and had a hole at the time. But I am still determined to make my waist beads!

Another favourite of mine was Gateway 5: Sacred Space with tasks like purifying and beautifying the home and of course decluttering (I just love decluttering 😍). Along with my boyfriend and my parents, we also had a very special cleansing ritual of your current home, and we even gave it a name: "The Peninsula of Clarification" that is very meaningful both my partner and me.

Just overall getting to spend time with myself and my spiritual / emotional womb was probably the most valuable part of this Sacred Woman program, as well as taking the time to care for my womb physically, using clay packs or doing intuitive sensual womb dances. I feel like I've also become a much more confident dancer overall :)

THE WORST PART:

I've already talked about this, but: getting up at 4 a. m. Honestly, I'm still kind of bummed that this didn't work out for me – but like I said, after a couple of bleary-eyed and dizzy days I prioritized my health over following the program to a T. I am a night-owl after all.

Apart from that, there's really nothing unpleasant that I can think of. Although ... I stand corrected. There was one other thing that was quite unpleasant at first, and that is: enemas! Yup, I didn't like the concept of it, and I also didn't like the feeling. But once I had done it a few times, it became less awkward. I mean, after all it's just one of many methods of cleansing your body 🤷🏼‍♀️

What I've adopted into my everyday life:

- Journaling, using the questions to set a daily intention
- Doing yoni steaming occasionally to cleanse my womb, usually a couple of days after my monthly bleeding (The Sacred Woman program also helped me feel much more at peace with my menstruation, by the way!)
- Doing vaginal clay packs occasionally
- Taking enemas (only to prepare for a cleanse)
- Working towards a beautiful and divinely feminine wardrobe that uses much more colours!
- Caring for our sacred home in a loving way
- "Khepheratizing" my words
- Taking on healing as a way of life

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Reflecting on how I implemented the Sacred Woman program into my life, I'd say I did as good as I could at that time – and I applaud myself for that! It's not easy to take time for yourself, for self healing, especially when it requires 3 months of commitment. I don't consider this experience to be a done and complete project, but rather one stage of my journey towards self love and healing.

After having done this modified (simplified) version of the actual Sacred Woman program for three months, I really want to do this program again next year or so, this time over the span of a whole year, so spread across 12 months instead of 12 weeks: January–March: Gateway 0, April: Gateway 1, May: Gateway 2, June: Gateway 3, July: Gateway 4, August: Gateway 5, September: Gateway 6, October: Gateway 7, November: Gateway 8, and December: Gateway 9. The reason for this is that I found one week too little time for some of the Gateway tasks, e. g. my favourite Gateway 4: Sacred Beauty for which I ended up doing a face mask that week as well as an at-home manicure, a scalp and hair treatment, and starting to create a beautiful feminine wardrobe for myself, and I also contemplated my definition of beauty – but I didn't get around to making my own waist beads or creating a Sacred Beauty collage, or taking an air bath, or wearing a sacred shawl, which I really wanted to do.

So I am thinking of doing an entire Sacred Woman year in terms of meditating, journaling, and doing the tasks. I am not going to be celibate for an entire year, and I am also not going to follow the dietary changes (100 % raw in December? In Northern Germany? I don't think so!).

I am also planning to do a third round of the Sacred Woman program (maybe in a few years, or this year), but this time over the course of 12 days instead of weeks, so basically one day per Gateway – with the exception of Gateway 0 which gets 3 days.

If you are looking for a way to cleanse your body, your mind, your relationships, your entire life, and return to a more natural, peaceful, loving way of life – read this book! Do this program! (And if the whole concept seems too daunting, at least do a paired-down version of it, like i did!) I promise, it will get you further along on your personal and spiritual growth journey!

And if you are still hesitant, let me put it this way: If you DON'T participate in coachings and programs like the Sacred Woman program, you will stay in the same place you are now. You will not evolve. You will not grow into the best version of you, your Higher Self.

It's up to you!

Lastly, I want to share something that "came to me" during an evening walk after reading Sacred Woman:

»I AM A HEALER BY NATURE.

WHATEVER WILL HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE,
AND WHATEVER HAPPENED IN THE PAST,

I CAN AND I WILL HEAL MYSELF.«

🙏🏼

I hope my little "testimonial" here gave you some insight, and perhaps you want to do your own Sacred Woman program some day ... If so, let me know how it goes!

♥

Maisy

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