Raw Chocolate Ice Cream Bars

A few weeks ago, I saw a post on Facebook about these delicious looking raw/vegan ice cream bars.  The picture was a little fancier with white cocoa butter surrounding the chocolate, but I decided to skip that step.  I was pleasantly surprised at the ease and simplicity of this little treat.  As you see, my daughter is licking her lips over this in the picture.  My biggest concern with these was getting them out of the mold without the stick coming out empty.  If you allow it to freeze for the amount of time it says (and longer) unlike me who tried to sneak a peek prematurely, then you will have great success.  I do highly recommend running them under hot water first for 30 seconds before you start pulling them out of the mold.  Here's the recipe below and the link for the website is http://www.veggie-wedgie.com/?p=1505

Chocolate Pudding Ice cream Base
-4 ripe avocados
-1 cup raw cacao powder
-1 cup agave nectar
-1/2 cup water
Blend everything in a high-speed blender until completely smooth and transfer in ice cream molds. Freeze for at least 8 hours.

Harmless Harvest Coconut Water

I went shopping today at Whole Foods with my two little ones in tow.  As usual we shop around the noon hour because hey, let's be real, lunch doesn't get any better sometimes when there's free samples to go around....and LOTS of them!   Well, today stopped me in my tracks!  As I was coming around the bend, there it was.....a coconut water sample!!!  I felt the Heavens parting.  :)  Without hesitation, I said, "Yes" to the question, "Would you like to try a sample?"  But before I even took a drink, she told me about the product, so here's a little ditty....

Harmless Harvest is a small business that only finds the best of the best.  I have attached their website so that you can read all about them.  Amazing!  This coconut water is 100% raw and organic.  What does that mean?  Well, the raw part means that they don't heat it, which takes the taste away.  Do you know how many people I run into who HATE the taste of coconut water?  It blows my mind away as to how they can hate the taste of it.  Come to find out, every single person who has hated it, has only had it from the box.  ICK!  I concur!!  Then I encourage them to crack open a coconut and drink the refreshing water.  Conversions have been made from this process!   Of course, we all don't have time to crack open a coconut every time we want to have a drink filled with more electrolytes  than Gatorade after a work out or on a hot summer day.  This is where Harmless Harvest Coconut Water can come in.

When I took a drink, I IMMEDIATELY could taste the difference.  Even my daughter, who won't drink the boxed stuff, drank it with sparkly eyes. I think she even started skipping after that or something.  JK.  ;)   Many coconut waters on the shelf are not organic.  The trees where the coconuts are grown for Harmless Harvest are NEVER sprayed with pesticides, hence the Certified Organic labeling.  Wow!  Sign me up!  If you are in the local area, Whole Foods and Fruitful Yield both sell them.  The website below allows you to plug in your zip code to see where the closest store to you sells it.  Trust me, you will LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the taste!

The Dirty on Restaurants and Eggs

About a month ago, I was with my family at a local restaurant and decided to order a veggie omelette since the menu selections (salads) were sad little selections.  If I'm going to pay seven something for a salad, it better have more than just iceberg as a selection.  About one hour after eating it, my stomach was going through something fierce!  I was doubled over in pain and bloated for the rest of the day.  It was so awful and took me back to my pre-raw days.  Now, I have eaten eggs before and I don't remember going through this much pain.  Either I had food poisoning or it was the eggs.  My sister was with me at the time and put a thought into my mind, "Maybe the eggs were from a box."  I hadn't even thought of that.  So, I was now on a mission.  Since that episode, I have been to four different restaurants, one being the famous Egg Harbor Cafe, and have ordered eggs.  Each time I have ordered eggs, I asked the question, "Are the eggs from a box or from the egg itself?"  Every response has been, "From a box."  Even my waitress from Egg Harbor Cafe didn't know this until she asked the cooks in the back.   She, too, was shocked!  And this goes for egg whites only AS WELL AS the whole egg!!  So if you're thinking about an omelette or scrambled eggs at your next restaurant, make sure you tell them to crack yours open. 

Banana Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I just love desserts that you can have any time of the day.  I never feel guilty about eating these simple, gluten-free, delicious pleasures....NEVER!  Today my daughter said, "Mommy, come play with me."  My response was, "Sure.  I would love to play with you.  What would you like to do....play a game or make some cookies together?"  Her immediate response was, "Make some COOKIES!"  My heart couldn't have been happier.  Why?  Because I was spending quality time with my daughter AND having the opportunity to teach her about healthy eating while she interacted with me to make the food.  At this age, that's what it's all about - letting them participate in preparation of food while building the foundation for a healthier lifestyle from now into adulthood. 

We got all the ingredients out and put it on the table.  She started by peeling the bananas and putting them in the Vita-Mix along with pitted Medjool dates (but I had to pit them because heaven forbid SHE get her fingers sticky.  Oy-vey!  Then came the cashews and my words to her were, "Cashews have protein in them."  She paused and said, "Protein is healthy for us.  Bananas and dates are healthy, too."  I responded with, "Yes!  Everything we are putting into these cookies is healthy!"  She paused.  Her mind was wrapping itself around these words and THEN came the "aha" moment.  "Then we can eat these cookies for breakfast, lunch AND dinner!"  My thoughts exactly!  ;)  Enjoy!

Banana-Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Dough:
2 medium bananas
4 medjool dates (pitted)
2 tbsp. raw honey
1/2 tsp coconut oil (extra virgin/cold pressed)
1/3 cup raw cashews
1/2 plus 1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp. organic vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Place all of these ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.  In a bowl mix 2 cups gluten free raw rolled oats and 1/2 cup raisins.  Pour dough over oats and raisins and mix until combined.  Form your cookies with a spoon and a scoop to place onto dehydrator trays.  Press down gently to make them a little flatter.  Dehydrate 2 hours on 110 degrees.  Flip cookies over and dehydrate another 2 hours. 

Raw Honey and Super Foods

Just a spoonful of honey helps the super food - go down!  If only Julie Andrews were here....I would help her rewrite those lines in one of the most famous songs from Mary Poppins.  Can you imagine the global effect that would have by now?  It's never too late, right?

So...super food.  Just think about all the wonderful attributes of Superman (strong, healthy, attractive, optimistic, invincible, etc.) and transfer those to super foods because that's basically how I feel about these incredible and amazing gifts from God!  My favorites to choose from are maca, spirulina, cacao, and goji berries.  I usually put these items in my smoothies or desserts.  Sometimes, in fact many times, people are either too busy or TOO BUSY to make healthy meals for themselves.  Here's a little tip to get some of these very important super foods into your body.  Take one tablespoon of raw honey (yes, straight from the beehive) and mix it in a tiny bowl with a teaspoon of one super food.  This is really more for those powdered forms of super food.  It's a quick, easy and delicious way to get your "boost" for the day without all the gadgetry or hassle.  Consider it like a vitamin.  You can do this before each meal so that you are getting as many super foods into your diet on a daily basis.  And if you do this enough, you may even feel so incredible that you find yourself adding a little song to your new routine....with a British accent, of course.  ;)