Hemp Brownies

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Sorry about the shottie iphone photo!

Ingredients: 

1/3 cup hemp seeds

1 banana

2/3 cup ground walnuts

pinch salt

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup ground cacao powder

1 T coconut oil (opt)

1 T Mesquite powder

stevia to taste(I used 2 packets)

Preparation: 

Mash banana, wisk together liquid ingredients then add dry ingredients. Sprinkle wit hemp seeds and freeze. These are low sugar and packet with healthy antioxidants to get you through the day! I love hemp seeds!

nummy raw 'fast food' salad

If you're on the go and are lucky enough to have a Chipotle in your town, I totally recommend you stop by and give it a try! I'm not sure what their method of preparing everything is, but everything tasted very fresh and delicious! They best part is you can bring your omnivore friends in and everyone can get something to enjoy :) Omit the fajita veggies and sauces for a truly raw salad. Here's what I got:

Have you been to chipotle? What do you think?

a new sally obsession

If you're like me and you consume a family-of-four sized salad once or twice daily, you know what I mean when I say I often have to ;switch it up' to not get bored. Well, my new obsession is Rawmesan. A friend actually recommended Parma, a vegan parmesan which I will definitely try next time, but in the same section I found Rawmesan for a cheaper price and less ingredients. I usually roll with olive, macadamia, or coconut oil for salad dressing, but when I sprinkle this on, it really pumps up the flavor and satiety of my salad, almost like a cooked meal. It's also great sprinkled on veggies! This stuff is great for people who are okay with nutritional yeast, but think it's a little overpowering.

Ingredients:Organic walnuts, organic sunflower seeds, nutritional yeast, celtic sea salt. 

Nutritional Facts: 1/2 tsp (3g) Calories 15, Fat 1.5g (Sat. 0g), Carb 1g, Protein 1g, Vitamin B12 (8%DV), Zinc (2%DV), Selenium (2%DV), Phosphorus (2%DV). % Daily Values (DV) are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. 

Any one tried Rawmesan, Parma, or Vegan Grated Topping?

I don't know what I waited so long to try these things!

new year

Hola, raw kids :)

I took a few days off and now am back strong with some "Resolutions" for you. After eating all of that Raw Junk Food over the holiday I am ready to reduce some of the high fat and sugar foods in my diet and focus on vegetables and greens as much as possible. It seems everyone in the bloggy world is making resolutions. I admire Tina so much for sharing her sugar difficulties with everyone. As you probably know, many people experience emotional AND physical cravings for sugar that are tough to get over, and I am so happy to see her success!

Some diet/fitness goals for 2011:

1. Eat a salad every day.

You would think I already do this, but sometimes I either crave fat or carbs and choose some 'vegan junk food' instead or simply just want something HOT.

2. Reduce sugar intake.

Sugar shakes me up. Even the natural kind can mess with me and my blood sugar. I would be lying if I didn't say I'd love to eat an entire box of dates in one sitting, so I feel that by purposefully reducing my sugar intake I will also reduce my cravings for it.

3. Make more raw food 'meals,' not just desserts, as to not get bored. 

I got Ani Phyo's Raw Food Essentials for christmas and I plan to use it!

4. Reduce unnecessary fat intake.

Now, I know that fats are essential to life, so I promise to not over-do this. I always have a healthy dose of olive, macademia (I received some Hawai'ian oil from 'santa' this year), or coconut oil on my salad and love to munch on raw nuts and avacados. But just because things are raw it doesn't mean I should exceed the daily normal value. I don't need 10 handfuls of Brazil nuts or 25 raw cookies made of almond flour with cashew icing. This goal is to simply be more mindful, that's all.

5. Fruit for breakfast.

Instead of nothing.

6. No Starbucks food.

My sister and I both work at Starbucks, so this will be a toughie.

7. 30 minutes of exercise a day with one rest day!

My sis and I are both committing to this, you can too!

8. Do yoga once a week.

For some reason this is harder for me than it used to be. I just can't seem to make my mind relax, and that makes me anxious and stiff. I would really like to get back into this. Any tips?

9. Incorporate more fermented foods/probiotics into my diet.


I love Kombucha and Rejuvelac, but I definitely drink a lot more black coffee and tea than I do that. I think that would definitely make a difference in my health and general well being. Any more probiotic food suggestions?

10. Dance, laugh, sing, create, be...


What are your diet/fitness/life goals for 2011?


I raise my green smoothie to 2011, it'll be a good one!

Have a Cup of Cheer

RAW NOG!

Blend 'er Up:

3/4 C cashews (add more depending on the thickness you like)
1 1/2 C water
1 date, soaked for 15-20 minutes(use the date soak water for this recipe because it's sweet)
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
dash of sea salt

You can blend for a long time to heat it up some like a Nog Latte, or refrigerate for an original Nog experience. I strained mine, but that's up to you. I suppose real eggnog is pretty thick anyways. This makes 1 1/2 cups.

Sleigh bells ring, are you listenin'?

Sans the actual sugar ;) Raw cashew sugar cookie sandwiches!

Sorry about all of the sweet treats, but hey, it's the holidays!

1/2 C cashews
1/2 C coconut flour (if you don't have Coconut Secret, just grind shredded coconut in a coffee grinder until it's super super fine like flour)
1 C dates
2 T melted coconut oil

This dough is like play-dough, I swear! So easy to work with and hard to resist eating. My only problem with making things with cashews is that they're SO rich. It's like the raw vegan equivalent to eating a stick of raw butter. That being said, it shouldn't be hard to stick to one cookie :)

Raw Chocolate Smackdown!

Today's post is about chocolate. Now, we all know I love chocolate judging by my many posts featuring it such as my Chocolate Covered Strawberry Smoothie, my Raw Chocolate Covered Macaroons, and Raw Fudge. Also from my daily Chocolate Cover Katie fix. She is so great! I frequently make my own chocolate from Ani Phyo's recipe, but sometimes you just want to try new stuff or eat some heaven from a jar.


Let's compare a few, shall we? 


Rawtella 
$15.00-$19.50 / 6 oz.
Ingredients: Organic raw soaked and dehydrated hazelnuts, organic raw cacao nibs, truly raw Coconut Secret coconut sugar.
CALORIES: 190 FAT:17g SUGAR: 1g

Flow Foods' Cacao Superfood Synergy Chocolatl 
$7.99-$9.99 / 6 oz. 
Ingredients: Raw agave, raw cacao, raw cacao powder, extra virgin coconut oil, maca root, vanilla extract, himalayan salt.
CALORIES: 120 FAT: 3.5g SUGAR: 20g

Artisana Organic Raw Cacao Bliss 
 $8.99-$11.99 / 8 oz. 
Ingredient: Artisana Organic Raw Coconut Butter, Organic Raw Coconut Oil, Organic Raw Agave Syrup, Organic Raw Cacao, Organic Raw Cacao Butter.
CALORIES: 177 FAT: 16g SUGAR: 4g

They are all decadent and full of nutrition. As far as the facts go - it all depends on your needs. If you are sensitive to sugar, going with the Rawtella or Cacao Bliss might be your best bet. For me, I like to know that if I breach one serving size, I'm not accidently inhaling 35g of fat so I always choose the Chocolatl. I absolutely recommend giving all 3(especially the chocolatl) a try if they are carried in your area.

I hope this has been helpful with your chocolate needs :)

Which is your favorite? Anybody have a great use for Raw Chocolate? I find myself just sort of...dipping things in it. 

Whole Foods Salad Bar - Raw foods

I wanted to write this post because today I discovered some good news...Raw Dehydrated flax chips at my local whole foods' salad bar! Now, as we all know Whole Foods is not a cheap lunch, so I am by no means a regular, but my boss was treating me today so I thought I'd make a post of it!

• Raw Flax Crackers: Delicious! I can't seam to make something this good! I taste ground flax, whole flax, sesame and a delicious blend of spices that makes these crackers anything but bland.

• Raw Marinated Veggies: Mushrooms, tomatoes, cilanto(or parsley?) peppers, red onion, sun dried tomato what more could you ask for? This is delicious and goes great on top of the crackers.

• Raw Broccoli Crunch: Now, I have had the real broccoli crunch. The one containing bacon, cashews, and parmesan. This raw vegan version really stands up! The broccoli is lightly sweetened(I suspect with agave) and this great mix also includes raw cashews and currants!

• Raw Fettucini: This is kelp noodles with some sort of mild, semi-creamy sauce. It's really not great, anyone could make a better one at home.

• Raw Watercress Salad: Plain, nice tasting, and a good way to get greens in!

There is also a nice variety of cooked grains that I highly recommend sprinkling over whatever you choose to get!

I know the selection varies by region, Gina is always talking a delicious 'miso slaw' that I've never seen or heard of...what's your favorite salad bar find?

Raw Gingerbread Cookies with Vanilla Cashew Icing

Sorry about the bad photo, they're actually a really lovely gingerbread brown color.

My mom makes the best sugar cookies. Clean white, buttery cookies with what we call "Royal" icing, loaded with powdered sugar and all of those scrumptious things that make the holidays so tempting. I decided to test-run these Raw Vegan 'totally guiltless' Gingerbread Cookies before I bring them home this year.

Also, I've decided this holiday season to ban Agave Nectar from my diet. There is a lot of controversy surrounding agave nectar, but I really just have to go with how it makes me feel, which is not great. I still have a big 20 oz. bottle of Mathew Kenney's OhAgave! Syrup on my shelf, but especially in this season of sweets and treats, I'm going to avoid it and thus avoid over-using it. Thoughts?

Gingerbread cookies:

1 C dry Buckwheat groats
1 t cinnamon
1 t ground ginger
1 t nutmeg
2 T melted coconut oil
1/2-1 C soaked dates
1/8 C ground flax(optional, for a denser cookie. If you do use it, make the cookies thinner)

Soak dates for 15 minutes-an hour and then blend into a syrupy paste. Grind the buckwheat groats into a fine flour and mix with the spices and flax. Combine the dry ingredients with the date paste and coconut oil. Mix well a flatten a section of the dough onto a nonstick surface like your teflex sheets. shape into whatever you like and turn onto your dehydrator sheet like you would regular sugar cookies. Dehydrate 8 hours on 105 degrees until they reach desired crunch/chew.

Vanilla Cashew Cream Icing:

1/2 C Cashews
water
1 T vanilla extract
1 T coconut oil(optional, if you want the frosting to solidify better)
liquid stevia/agave/raw sweetener of choice to taste

Blend 'er up. This will make plenty. I piped it on to the cookies using a ziploc bag with a hole cut in it because I found it difficult to spread with a knife.

Add a few dried cranberries to make them a really special treat!

Happy Holidays :)

HUG A VEGAN!

Since November world vegan month....

See if you can find one as cute as her :)

Read more about it with her vegan-highness Katie :D