ULTIMATE RAW VEGAN ICE CREAM SANDWICHES: OH BABY

These shouldn't even be legal. I mean, look at them. This is food pornography at its most explicit. I feel like a criminal for sharing these dirty, delicious, temptuous photos with you but I will not back down. These must be in the public domain for all to enjoy. After all... they're good for you! As long as you don't start thinking about them while operating heavy machinery because I cannot guarantee you'll be able to stay focused. It's a dangerous world where these raw vegan ice cream sandwiches exist. 

Seriously though, these are hella tasty and - as always - super healthy. The ice cream is literally just bananas, the brownie sandwich is walnuts and dates, and the chocolate coating is full of super foods! CAN THIS SITUATION BE IMPROVED IN ANY WAY? The answer is no. Except with the addition of kittens, but this should be assumed at all times.

Your mouth is going to love this recipe, and your brain is going to love me for giving it to you (if it doesn't already).

I am using some unusual ingredients in the chocolate coating for this recipe because I was lucky enough to be sent some cool products from a fabulous company called Detox Your World. They sent me cacao butter (smelled SO GOOD), baobab fruit powder from the African monkey bread tree, pink Himalayan salt, and some lucuma powder which I'd been meaning to try. I used all these crazy nutritious raw foods in the chocolate and the result was outta this world. You're gonna have chocolate left over but when was THAT ever a bad thing? I'm not apologizing, folks.

My inspiration for these was this photo, which I saw on Tumblr (sometimes I throw my life away for a few hours on the internet, don't judge). Although I don't know what the recipe for it is, I am going to assume there's lots of white sugar, white flour, butter, and other refined, weird ingredients involved that I do not want entering my body/temple. I'm not tryin' ta preach here - I'm just saying that for example the pasteurized, concentrated breast milk from cattle doesn't get my mouth watering.  

I've said this before and I will say it again: I aim to use only whole foods in my recipes (with the exception of gently processed foods like cacao powder, coconut oil, etc.). I would not munch on white flour or baking soda while making cookies; but I do like to nibble on nuts and dried fruit while making raw desserts! It's all about dat consciousness, yo. I want and need to be comfortable with every aspect of what I am putting in my body because after all - it affects everyone. 

Let's eat stuff that tastes good, doesn't hurt anybody, and makes the planet happy. Holla. 

chocolate-covered ice cream sandwiches

Brownie:

1 cup walnuts or oats

1 cup dates

1 tablespoon cacao powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional) 

Ice cream:

3 frozen bananas

Chocolate coating (or use this recipe):

1/4 cup melted cacao butter

1 tablespoon baobab powder

1-2 tablespoons lucuma powder

1-2 tablespoons maple syrup or other preferred sweetener

2 tablespoons cacao powder 

Pinch of pink Himalayan salt (optional) 

To make the brownie: pulse the walnuts (or oats) into powder in your food processor. Add the dates and cacao powder and process until it all starts sticking together. Press half of this mixture into the bottom of small lined bread pan. This will be the bottom half of both of your sandwiches. 

To make the ice cream: blend the bananas in a high speed blender for a minute until they suddenly become a smooth, creamy, white soft serve mixture. Spread onto your bottom brownie layer then stick in the freezer until solid (a few hours). Press the remaining half of your brownie mixture on top of this then put back in the freezer.

To make the chocolate: whisk all the ingredients together until smooth. Pour into a tall bowl so you can dip as much of your sandwiches in as possible. Take out the bread pan from the freezer and take out the brownie/ice cream sandwich. Cut it in half. Stick popsicle sticks into each one and then dip in the chocolate coating. Throw them back in the freezer one last time so the chocolate hardens. They're best when you let them thaw for 10-15 minutes so the ice cream softens. 

BANANA ICE CREAM SUNDAE with CHOCOLATE SAUCE

I hope I made your mouth wet with these photos. Wink wink. Best part of this recipe is that it's incomparably healthier than the average breakfast. It's basically just bananas and a bunch of super foods like coconut oil, almonds, cacao powder, and mulberries. You can add whatever else you like (ideas: goji berries, coconut flakes, maca powder, fresh fruit, dates, etc.) I ate this for dinner. 

It's a beautiful world we get to party in. 

That's right. GIFs are happening right now. I saw them on this blog awhile ago and immediately realized how genius it was for food photography. A huge component of the appeal of food is texture! You can show it perfectly with moving images. Plus, they're really fun to photograph and put together. Besides, I know you like 'em.

I stayed home from school today because I think my mono might be coming back (I know - coming BACK... this isn't the first time I've suffered this throat torture) and figured I'd better rest to keep it maintained. Banana ice cream is the perfect soother because it's cold and creamy. Ahh. It helped me get through my last Mononucleosis bout.

Mononucleosis kind of sounds like a super power... Or is that just me who thinks that. I cannot explain my own cognitions. Moving on.

banana ice cream sundae with chocolate sauce

Ice cream:

3 frozen bananas 

Chocolate sauce:

1 tablespoon melted coconut oil

1 tablespoon cacao powder

1 teaspoon agave syrup or preferred sweetener

Toppings:

Almond butter

Mulberries

Anything else your heart desires

To make the ice cream: put the bananas in a high speed blender and blend until they become a creamy, fluffy, white soft serve ice cream. Nom. Scoop into a bowl.

To make the chocolate sauce: whisk the ingredients together. Drizzle over your ice cream along with the rest of your toppings. Time to spoon. 

JUST ANOTHER SMOOTHIE RECIPE

NOTE: SMOOTHIE IN IMAGES WAS SMALLER THAN IT APPEARS.

The title tells all. This is a recipe for a smoothie I made a few days ago - it's my basic smoothie recipe these days. Feel free to add whatever other fruits or greens you like, and some super food powders if you have them (not that they're necessary, but they ARE fun to experiment with)! The flowers in the photos are purely for cuteness; I don't even know if they're edible. Ha ha? I guess I won't be laughing the next time I play with fire... (or rather, flowers). This is what it looks like to love on the edge, people. It doesn't get more risky than decorating your food with possibly non-edible flowers.

Here's to health and hoping you at least partially understand my bizarreness.

da basic smoothie 

2 bananas

1 cup blueberries

1 cup frozen blackberries

1 cup water or non-dairy milk 

Blend. Taste and adjust accordingly. Gulp.

some photos from my life this summer

Exactly as the title of this post implies, today I am merely here to share some photographs with you. These are mostly ones I have not shown on the blog before because they didn't quite fit in anywhere; but I like them nonetheless. So they have now found a home in this post about nothing in particular. The pictures below are from a hike I completed by myself whilst on a camping trip I went on with my family towards the end of summer. It was a lovely and much-needed get-away, and additionally it reminded me how much I LOVE potatoes! Since the trip I have been enjoying steamed potatoes for dinner most nights; usually along with tomatoes from the garden, other steamed veggies and organic corn (dinner is my cooked meal of the day, if I have one). I believe simple whole foods are the secret to health - not that it's much of secret, but more of an under-advertised fact.

I took a few photos in the kitchen this summer for a feature on a beautiful blog called Balue/Co. You see them below. I think they highlight the Dutch and Thai vibes we have going through the whole house. My parents fell in love with each other while volunteering in Thailand and remains a large part of their lives; and my mom has Dutch roots. She also has a collection of wooden clogs she continues to add to whenever she can. I think she needs to sign up for Hoarders Anonymous, but that is another story. 

Here's some food - and kind of an example of what I eat in a day - lots of fruit with some lightly cooked veggies. I love fruit smoothies and juice, as well as mono-meals of fruit like mangoes, apple, pears, peaches, grapes, grapefruit, berries, papaya, and others. I eat this throughout the day and then in the evening I will enjoy a giant bowl of steamed vegetables (broccoli, potatoes, yams, zucchini, etc.) and/or non-sweet fruits (tomatoes, cucumber, peppers etc.).

Below we have some images from the garden, bravely sprouting new life as the months grow gradually cooler. Winter is coming. But first - fall.

Finally we finish with the most vital features of my life: dessert and my cat, Dante. I eat dessert everyday. Raw desserts are excellent for the body and soul, and frankly speaking - much more exciting than eating a handful of almonds! With my raw desserts I get my daily intake for nuts, coconut oil, dried fruit and cacao in a deliciously deceptive way. Shh... don't tell anyone it's healthy. (Or alternatively shout it out from the roof tops! I think it is something to be celebrated.) What you see below is a bowl of sliced banana, raw chocolate chunks, dried mulberries and date pieces. My mouth is now watering.

Important to note: Dante is perfection manifested in a feline's body, FYI.