Have you ever needed to make a difficult decision that made you feel a little bit uneasy about how others might judge you?Even though I’m constantly coaching myself to “just do me,” I still get caught up in feelings of self-doubt over what other people might think. The difficult decision that recently brought me to this place was advertising.
I had never really thought much about publishing ads on my website because especially back when I was first starting out, I just didn’t have enough viewers for it to make a difference but as The Grateful Grazer continues to grow (and website maintenance costs seem to grow right along with it), I was beginning to feel like I needed a viable option for offsetting some of the losses.
The first feeling that came up was fear. I have put hours and hours (and more hours) into my blog - is everything going to just get junked up? What would you guys think? Would I be accused of selling out? 
After a few minutes of putting myself into a mild will-I-be-judged panic, I had to take a step back and...just do me. Continuing to share valuable content on my blog without at least offsetting maintenance costs was only undervaluing myself and the work I do. Plus, in the end, I realized that allowing a few ads provides me with the resources to shoot additional recipes and share more valuable content with you. Once I took fear of judgment out of the equation, I was able to see that advertising could really be a win-win for everyone.
So, I’m doing a 1-2 month trial of publishing ads on the site. I’m sharing this decision with you because I didn’t want you to feel surprised by the ads. I want you to understand my reasoning and hopefully support my decision. Most importantly though, I think we all can benefit from thinking about where we might be undervaluing ourselves and the work we do. It’s all too common to get caught up in what others might think and in the end, this mentality only holds us back.
Looking for something that definitely won’t hold you back? These energizing, travel-friendly chia seed crackers are made only with pantry staples, as per this month’s Recipe Redux challenge. So whip up a batch (you probably already have everything you need) and just go on and do you, my friend.
Pantry Chia Crackers
Ingredients
- ½ cup chia seeds
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup pumpkin seeds
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- ¼ cup ground flax
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper optional
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325ºF and line baking sheet with parchment.
- Mix chia seeds and water together and set aside to thicken.
- In a separate large mixing bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Stir in chia water mixture and mix until dough forms, using hands as needed.
- Press dough into baking sheet and roll out to about ¼” thick. Place on center rack of oven and bake about 30 minutes. Remove baking sheet from the oven, carefully flip the dough, and then cut into squares or desired cracker shape. Spread and place the baking sheet back into the oven and bake for an additional 30 minutes or until browned and crispy.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool before eating. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.
Notes
[clickToTweet tweet="Your pantry comes to the rescue with these Energizing Chia Seed Crackers!" quote="Your pantry comes to the rescue with these Energizing Chia Seed Crackers!"]
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