chocolate covered strawberry smoothie

I think this may be just as good, if not better than the Chocolate Cherry Bomb! This should be called the "Chocolate Covered-Keeps You Going All Day- Strawberry Smoothie"
So as we all know, protein powders can be very pricey, especially if you want different flavors. While I normally roll with a big 2 pounder of Vanilla Sun Warrior, I do get the occasional hankering for a chocolate smoothie. I don't have 'tha bread' to keep both flavors around, so I just mosey on down to my local grocery store or health food store and pick up a few of the single serving packets of whatever sounds good in a chocolate flavor. I always go with something vegan and choose raw if at all possible. For today's CCSS, I went with Amazing Grass's Superfood Chocolate Powder, which has all sorts of nutrients and delicious things in it.

Try it out!

In the Mix:

1 C frozen strawberries
1 C water or almond milk or a mixture
1 packet Amazing Grass Superfood Chocolate Powder
1 scoop Vanilla Sun Warrior
1 banana
1 T raw cacao powder
Cacao nibs to taste

Blend!

i heart chocolate covered kate

And she is giving away Larabars! Enter for your chance to win, HERE! I've made many of her raw recipes, such as this deliciously decadent Raw Carrot Cake, which was amazing :)

And since we're talkin' chocolate...I have recently been obsessed with chocolate smoothies! Especially the chocolate cherry bomb that has been floating around in blog land.
Check it out, and keep in mind you don't need the hemp seeds if you don't have them, you can also substitute blueberries and I'm sure strawberries would be great too. I looove it with vanilla or chocolate sun warrior and some cacao nibs, which magically become tasty when you blend them with other stuff.

holaraw bears all

So, I realized that most of my favorite blogs don't just post recipes they like, they post everything. Everything they eat, so they are accountable. So I'm going to give that a try the next few days. I won't have picture evidence of everything because I haven't got a point and shoot I can just throw in my purse, but I will definitely record it all and do my best to give visual aids.

Breakfast Smoothie:
1/2 a banana
2 medium valencia oranges
6 ice cubes
1.5 scoops Sun Warrior
1 C spinach

Then I worked out with Zuzie, a lovely czech girl who can really kick your ass, and polished off a half cup of chopped up pineapple :)

warrior of the sun!

For months I pondered, tossed and turned, wondering 'why are the fitnessista's protein pancakes so much better looking, and probably better tasting than mine? Why are my smoothies gritty, unattractive, and seem to be missing something? Isn't there a better way to get my protein than eating high-fat nuts and seeds all the time?

And then, from heaven, the answer appeared:

One scoop has just 70 calories, one gram of fat and 16 grams of protein! There isn't a psychotically long list of scary ingredients, the bulk of it is ancient sprouted brown rice. It's sweetened with stevia and totally raw and vegan! And the best part? It tastes delicious. In smoothies it makes everything taste like a milkshake. Today's smoothie was mango, banana baby red chard, a few chunks of papaya, and the sun warrior made it a dreamsicle! It improves the texture so much and tastes like a creamsicle :)

I am never leaving home without it!

Raw Sesame Crackers

I have a calcium deficiency and needed to find a way to incorporate much more calcium in my diet. I found sesame seeds to have quite impressive stats when it came to calcium, 30% of your daily recommended amount in 1 ounce compared to cow milks' measly 5%! So I thought I'd whip some up! 

These were a thicker cracker that turned out salty and delicious and tastier than my raw corn chips. I imagine there are a million variations of this recipe...you could add sundried tomatoes, greens, different spices or even omit the yeast and go for a sweeter, fruit sweetened cracker.
2 C sesame seeds, hulled
1/2 C Golden Flax, ground
2 Tbl Olive Oil
2 Tbl Yellow yeast
1 tsp Salt 
1 tsp pepper2 clove garlic, minced
Dash paprika
Enough water to make a thin paste



Grind up half of the dry sesame seeds in a coffee grinder then combine everything in a bowl. Then spread in a 1/4 inch layer on your teflex sheet in your dehydrator and dehydrate at 104 for 15 hours or so, flipping and scoring in between.

Morning Exercise + Raw

Just thought I'd throw this question I have out there...

What do you guys usually eat in the morning before you exercise, if anything? I've read such conflicting things. Some say that exercising on an empty stomach burns fat cells because you haven't got any food-fuel to run on-and some say that it puts your body into starvation mode and makes your metabolism lag.

I am so confused! I usually have a green smoothie for breakfast but I feel like that'd be a bit heavy before my morning cardio, like I'd get a side stitch or something.

Please, I'd love to hear what y'all know about it!

Raw Chocolate Covered Macaroons

Thursday is farmers market day! So I am a happy girl. But before I left, I popped these roonies in the dehydrator. For once a raw treat NOT made mostly of dates and nuts!

My AMAZING Chocolate Covered Nilly Macaroons:
(half batch)
1 C coconut
1/4 C almond or walnut flour
1/8 C coconut butter or oil
1/4 C maple syrup or agave
1 T mesquite powder
1 t vanilla
pinch sea salt

I mixed these all together by hand and then popped them in the dehydrator at 105 for about 2 hours until they were firmed up but still soft on the inside. I then chilled them in the freezer and dipped them a few times in Ani Phyo's liquid chocolate made with real cacao nibs.

I am in LOVE with raw mesquite powder. I was hesitant to buy it because it was $8 for a 16 oz. bag, but I am so glad I did. It has amazing health benefits and is great in oats and with desserts because of its blood sugar balancing properties. I love the taste, so caramelly and smooth, and recommend it blended with dates for caramel apple dip!

These were sooooo foodgasmic :)

Raw Carrot Cake with Kream Cheeze Frosting

This is one of my raw culinary triumphs. I based the recipe on the lovely Chocolate Covered Katie's raw cheesecake recipe, which was great to build on. The cake turned out delicious and the frosting tasted just like the philly cream cheese frosting I grew up on :D


Try this- it's not as difficult as it sounds! I usually don't attempt things with more than six ingredients, but I'm so glad I did...

Carrot Cake
1/2 cup raw almonds (unsoaked)

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded dried coconut

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 heaping tablespoon raw mesquite powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Pinch ground nutmeg

1 cup raw walnuts

1 cup raw pecans or almonds 

8 pitted medjool dates

1 teaspoon orange zest

1/4 to 1/2c shredded carrot

Directions:  Add ingredients, in order to a food processor or blender, blending things separately as needed. Press into a pie dish or spring form pan and frost with Kreme Cheeze frosting.

Kreme Cheeze Frosting

1 C raw cashews or brazil nuts

1 t vanilla extract

1/2 a banana

1 t lemon juice

20 drops agave nectar or maple syrup

water for blending, about 1/4 C if your blender is dodgy like mine

Directions: Blend 'er up, adding water as needed..\\


Warning: This cake is super rich, it gave me quite a tummy ache so I suggest resisting the urge to shove three pieces in your face.

DOES ANYBODY KNOW

when young thai coconuts are in season? if they have one...

my favorite things...

I have always told people that if my first profession of choice doesn't work out, I will become a mushroom forager. Not only is there good money in it, (shitakes are what, $15.99 a pound?) but you get to be outside all day and I suspect mushroom forgers are sortof like a secret society. 




Today's Green Smoothie
1 orange
1 banana
arugula
water