RAW VEGAN CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES IN 5 MINUTES

That's right, folks. Five minutes from now you could be holding a plate of ultra good-for-you vegan chocolate truffles... and you don't even need any equipment besides a knife and two hands. I apologize if you don't have two hands, but I have faith you can make it work. I mean, you've come this far... you're probably way more able-bodied than me with two hands. 

The only ingredients in these bad boys (I just gave truffles a gender, didn't I) are dates, hemp seeds and cacao powder. Actually, I used carob powder today but it's really up to you. Whatever floats your boat, as they say. Or in this case, whatever flavours your truffle. All you have to do is chop everything up and mash it together; it doesn't get much simpler or delicious. Although having said that, I ate mine with spoonfuls of Artisana coconut butter and WOW heaven was reached. I am talking divine kingdom entry happening in my mouth. Another pairing suggestion? Banana. Mmm... banana... If ya don't got no coco butter or nanners, don't sweat it bro. These are amazing all by themselves. 

In case you hadn't noticed (quite likely), I've been making some changes around here! I added some new photos of my face to my "About Me" page, changed the blog's header image, page text font and updated all my pages a little bit (tweaked a few sentences, added newer photos, ya know). I hope you like the adaptions. I'm here to serve and please you, so think of me as your raw food genie. As in: my wish is your command. Hmm... is this getting kinky? Or is that just my wishful thinking... maybe the latter, hopefully the former. 

Making, photographing and posting this recipe was a much-desired break from my weirdly hectic day. When I say weirdly hectic, I mean I feel like I'm kinda stressed out but I really have no need to be. Yes, I have final exams and a group presentation coming up that I need to prepare for, but I'll be fine; I know what I need to know. Yes, I need to finish my taxes which is hella tedious, but again; it's not that big a deal and they WILL get done. Tonight. Yes, the manuscript for my second book is due in a few weeks, but yet once more; I am on schedule and shouldn't have an issue wrapping it up. I'm pretty proud of it at this point, and it's still in the rough draft phase! So ya see - I've got all these little things that are unfinished thus they give me this unsettled feeling... but I don't have to and shouldn't feel this way! I need to take a breather and remind myself that ALL IS WELL. Writing this out helps a bunch. Thanks for reading my rambling road of cognitions. On to truffles, shall we venture? 

 RAW VEGAN CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES IN 5 MINUTES 

1 cup medjool dates
1/4 cup hemp seeds
1 heaping tablespoon cacao powder or carob powder

Pit the dates and cut them up into tiny gooey pieces, mash them together with the cacao or carob powder and hemp seeds until it all sticks together. Roll the mixture into truffles then coat with whatever you like - I kept it simple and used more carob powder. For extra 'umph' - what is that word... really - throw in some Himalayan salt, vanilla, ginger, chili or cinnamon! 

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RAW VEGAN PEANUT BUTTER & CHOCOLATE BUTTER CREAM CUPS

I know. They sound amazing. They look orgasmic. But guess what - they taste EVEN BETTER. Plus: gifs. I was having a busy afternoon in the kitchen a couple days, whipping up a raw vegan cake (which will be coming soon, don't ya worry babe), and I ended up with an extra container of raw vegan chocolate "butter cream". I don't usually like calling my recipes after their non-vegan conventional counterparts BUT in this case, this recipe ACTUALLY tastes just like chocolate butter cream... but of course it's vastly superior because it's cruelty-free and HEALTHY. So much caps lock today. What's goin' on.

Hey, guys. Back to the story, you're getting me off topic. I ended up with all this extra chocolate frosting - not the worst problem in the world (in fact, it's probably the greatest) but I still had to figure out what to do with it. I also promised my lover that I'd bring them some kind of chocolate delight when I saw them the next day. I decided to make inside-out Reeses cups. Yeah, man. It's happening. It HAPPENED.

For the filling, as I hope you already surmised, I used my *famous* chocolate butter cream recipe (it's not truly famous, but I just love it a lot so it's a celeb in my world). To make the outside of the cups, I combined tahini (sesame seed butter) with peanut butter and coconut oil. The coconut oil allows the nut/seed butter to become solid when refrigerated. Heh heh heh - I'm so clever. Not really but this is what I tell myself in order to get up every day; the sunshine and chirping birds help too. The final result is simply to-die-for. I mean I'd seriously consider sacrificing my own life so more people could get this in their mouths. The thing is: I cannot fathom in what world I would have to die so people could eat chocolate... that makes zero sense. And thank goodness! This means we can all shove these things in our faces, mouthgasm into nirvana and still LIIIVE. Yesssss.

RAW VEGAN PEANUT BUTTER & CHOCOLATE BUTTER CREAM CUPS  

Filling:
This chocolate butter cream recipe.

Outside:
3 tablespoons coconut oil
3 tablespoon peanut butter 
3 tablespoons tahini 

Note: you can use whatever nut/seed butter(s) you want. Also: try to be patient and let the butter cream sit in the fridge overnight, it becomes exactly 1 million times more amazing.

Stir the outside layer ingredients together in a bowl over steaming water until melted and combined. Pour 1/3 of this into the bottoms of cupcake papers and try to get some around the sides. Freeze until solid. Pour a little more around the sides and freeze until solid again. Fill with the butter cream then cover with the remaining nut/seed butter mixture. Freeze for 10-30 minutes then GOBBLE. 

CRUNCHY CHIA CHOCOLATE with MACA, LUCUMA, VANILLA & CASHEWS

YOOOOOOOOOOO I'm feelin' real thug right now because I'm jammin' to Lil Boosie. (Don't judge; I appreciate all kinds of music from Beethoven to Bjork to Black Moth Super Rainbow.) Anyways, this chocolate has got me in a great mood; it has elevated my mental state to like beyooond nirvana. Also, I ate the MOST AMAZING AVOCADO EVER a little while ago and there're two more to devour before the sun sets so I have no reason to be sad on this fine Thursday. Furthermore, I'm fairly confident I *aced* my Archaeology exam this morning and I'm going to a super interesting-looking lecture tonight with friends about how society creates superheroes! The fun don't stop! 

I know you're more into this chocolate than my personal life though, so let's talk about that. Remember those chocolate bars that had like the crispy crunchy cereal pieces in them? I don't know if I'm making this up because I just did an internet search and could not find what I'm talking about... but I hope you know what I mean. These are just like those! But better! Why? The usual reasons: this recipe is super good for you, it's cruelty-free, it keeps the planet happy, and it tastes effing delicious! Let's eat it all! No seriously, I ate almost all of this in one day. Luckily I had a moment of generosity and gave (almost) half to mon coupine. 

Since this is a chocolate recipe, obviously cacao powder is a main ingredient and lucky for us, it's a nutritional powerhouse! Full of fiber, zinc, magnesium, iron and other goodies. I also added a bunch of superfoods in like maca, lucuma and vanilla. Cashews and chia seeds are amazing for your gorgeous body too. Chia seeds are what make the "crunch" in this chocolate, and the cashews add another tasty texture. Feel free to add other stuff if you like; I bet cinnamon, cayenne, ginger and goji berries would all be phenomenal extras. 

If you love conventional chocolate (super sweet, milky, chocolate-y), then this might not be the ideal recipe for you to try. I'd suggest you make this one first. But I love experimenting with new flavours so likewise, I love this recipe. It's almost spicy because the flavours are so fresh. #sofresh

CRUNCHY CHIA CHOCOLATE with MACA, LUCUMA, VANILLA & CASHEWS 

1/3 cup cacao butter

1/4 cup cacao powder

2 tablespoons maca powder

1 teaspoon vanilla powder

1 tablespoon lucuma power

1/4 cup cashews

1/4 cup chia seeds

1/4 cup coconut nectar (as desired) 

1/2 teaspoon Himalayan salt

Melt the cacao butter, then whisk in all the other ingredients except the cashews. Taste it and adjust accordingly. Pour into a lined pan so it's about 1 cm thick (or however thick you want the chocolate to be). Sprinkle on the cashews then put in the fridge or freezer until it is solid. Chop and chomp. Thuggin'. 

CHOCOLATE & SALTED DATE CARAMEL CUPS with PECANS

WOO LISTEN TO THIS RIGHT NOW AND BOOGIE WIT ME!

Okay. That's done... for the time-being (but the boogie's never REALLY over). Moving on to chocolate caramel dreamscapes! I made these after having a non-raw version at the farmer's market. The lady who was selling them makes them from scratch; she uses a coconut caramel made from her own coconuts and raw cane sugar, etc. I love supporting the farmer's market so I bought one and shared it with my beau in the snow. Heh heh... dat rhymed. It was INSANELY good. We were both like "what tha heck!?" So later that day I made a raw version and I gotta say it tastes daaamn fine... plus it's great for you! I made three, and I just ate them all. When it comes to chocolate, I don't do sharing (except for special occasions like with a beau in the snow and that's only because it rhymes; if it was sunny they wouldn't have gotten any).

What have you been up to lately? Personally I have been busy as a bee - or beaver, because they never stop working either... not with those teeth - writing my second book, being me which takes a surprisingly large amount of time, keeping up with university classes, maintaining my blog and attempting to revive/keep alive my social life! I also realized the other day that I should probably start making an effort with my appearance. I haven't in a looong time but now that I'm going to be in TV interviews, photo-shoots and meetings with other vegan-ish professionals and business people... I need to look like a respectable girl again. I used to take a lot of pride in dressing well and in high school I made a reputation for myself for always wearing high heels and dresses. (I had like a suitcase of make-up by grade 7, okay?) But after taking some gender studies courses in university, among other reasons, I felt strongly that I should boycott the whole gender norms system so I stopped wearing make-up, bras, clothes that fit; using shampoo and shaving... you get the idea. I was a dirty, gender-neutral hippie. 

I think that phase has to end now though. This is a new chapter in my life, and it's gonna be largely defined by professionalism! Technically, I have created my own business (woah... no way) and I feel like I should start acting like it. I'm finally realizing this can be my job if I want it to be. And I want it to be. Thus I went shopping a few times in the past week and have pretty much built a new wardrobe for myself. Lots of girly dresses and some sweet flowy pants. Flowy is a word; I don't care what auto-correct tells me. 

I'm still getting used to caring about what I look like again, it's pretty strange, but humans adapt fast so I'm sure in no time it'll be second nature to throw on mascara again. At the very least, I'm excited to find eco-friendly, vegan cosmetic companies! 

I'm glad you guys don't mind my ramblings because it is really therapeutic for me to write all this stuff out. Even if no one is reading this and you all just skip to the recipe... I'm still relieved to get these thoughts out somewhere. From the very beginning this blog has been a kind of daily journal for me, but one that saves paper and that literally anybody can open up, read, comment on and share (if you have access to da interweb). I actually love that my heart and mind are so easily accessible to the public; letting out everything that is floating around in my head for all to see takes a huge weight off me somehow.

Okay I have managed to write an entire post that has almost NOTHING to do with the actual recipe featured today. Here's the deal: if ya love chocolate, caramel, pecans and healthiness; then this recipe is your new BFF. But I thought I was your new BFF, so we're gonna have to have a talk about that.

CHOCOLATE & SALTED DATE CARAMEL CUPS with PECANS: makes around three

Chocolate:

Approximately 1/2 cup melted chocolate (click for my recipe) 

Date caramel:

1/4 cup dates

1/2 teaspoon Himalayan salt

Water, as needed (I used about a 1/2 cup) 

2 tablespoons melted coconut oil (optional) 

Pecans 

Coat the bottom and sides of cupcake papers with 1/2 the chocolate, then place a couple pecans in the bottom of each and put in the freezer until the chocolate hardens. 

To make the date caramel: blend all the ingredients together until smooth, adding water as needed. Scoop into your cupcake papers, then pour on the rest of the chocolate and top off with a pinch more of Himalayan salt and a pecan.   

COFFEE & CACAO BANANA BLISS MYLKSHAKE

Am I telling you to have a chocolate mylkshake for breakfast? Yes. Am I saying it will change your world and alter your taste buds' perception of reality for ever more? Yep. Am I claiming said creamy, dreamy, sweet choco shake is super healthy for you? Oh, baby, hell yeah. Will I stop asking questions now? Fine. Okay. 

I don't usually eat stuff like cacao right away in the morning, and I don't normally have coffee at all; but I woke up today and wanted to make a face mask from coffee grounds and cacao powder (mix them both with water to make a paste, rub it on your face and leave for 10 minutes to get gorgeous skin). I didn't use all the mixture so I decided to throw the extra in my Vitamix with frozen bananas, almond mylk and dates. I know, right: basically ALL the good things. As I was saying to my lover the other day, "I have no reason to be sad when I have bananas in my freezer and ripe avocados on the shelf." Can anyone disagree. I didn't put a question mark at the end of that because it's not really a question. 

Maybe you're one of those folks who's all like "COFFEE IS EVIL, KEEP AWAY FROM IT!" First off lemme say that I don't even really like coffee so I'm not directly disagreeing with you. But let's think about this: in almost every way, coffee and cocoa/cacao are very much the same; and almost everyone is passionately on-board the cacao train of health and positivity. It seems like the "problem with coffee" is that in today's world, people are pretty much addicted to it and more importantly, they are addicted to it in a very processed form (like instant coffee with white sugar and dairy cream). That ain't good. All I AM SAYING is that a lil bit o' fresh, organic, fair trade coffee beans can actually be a great addition to your diet every now and then. The benefits of drinking black coffee have been studied and are pretty influential. In any case, coffee is definitely awesome for body scrubs and facial masks. Psst... also... in this recipe. Yum. Let's do it up. 

COFFEE & CACAO BANANA BLISS MYLKSHAKE 

3 frozen bananas

1 tablespoon cacao powder

1 teaspoon ground coffee beans 

1 teaspoon vanilla powder

1 teaspoon lucuma powder 

3 dates

1 cup almond mylk 

Blend it all up until smooth and creamy, then drink it down. For the wiiin! Note: most of the ingredients are optional... just blending up frozen bananas is *freaking amazing*. 

RAW VEGAN SUPER FOOD CHOCOLATE (EAT IT FOR LONG LIFE YO)

Guys. Can we take a moment to stop what we are doing and thank the universe for including chocolate.

I don't mean processed dairy-filled-laden-with-white-sugar-and-freaky-chemicals chocolate... I mean superfood-wholesome-healthful-and-deliciously-decadent-raw-vegan chocolate. This stuff will keep you living long, smiling big and probably singing in between bites. (The only downside might be that you don't want to share.) Let's eat foods that taste great, are good for us, and don't hurt anybody. Sound good? Good.

The ingredients in this recipe are pretty spectacular in their nutritional profiles. We've got spirulina, maca, reishi mushroom, goji berries and obviously cacao. Spirulina has a whackload of protein, iron, calcium and amino acids; it is great for keeping your bones and muscles strong and detoxifying the body. Maca is rich in B12, manganese, calcium, iron and potassium and works to balance hormones and give sustained energy. Reishi mushrooms are often used to strengthen the immune system and fight free radials (cancer-causing cells). Goji berries have an insane amount of antioxidants and protein and can be used medicinally to treat disease. Cacao has a ton of iron, magnesium, antioxidants and fiber. All these plants have been used for centuries by wise civilizations looking for long term wellness and strength. In today's world, they are available in nutrient-dense, gently processed powder forms which you can mix together with your sweetener of choice and cacao butter or coconut oil (both super foods in themselves)... and you wind up with the best chocolate in the world. Bam.

Is the planet a miraculous sphere of awesome or what!? Let's get jiggy with it! Or better put... healthy with it. Note: this chocolate tastes a little different than the regular kind because of the addition of the super foods. If you wanna start with something more like regular dark chocolate, use this recipe.

RAW VEGAN SUPER FOOD CHOCOLATE

1/2 cup melted cacao butter
1/4 cup cacao powder
1 tablespoon spirulina powder
1 tablespoon maca powder
1 teaspoon reishi mushroom powder
1 teaspoon goji berry powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
Pinch of Himalayan pink crystal salt
2-3 tablespoons coconut nectar or other sweetener

Whisk all the ingredients together until smooth but still liquid. If it's too thick, add more coconut nectar or melted cacao butter. Taste it and make sure you are in love, otherwise... adjust it to your desires. Pour into chocolate molds or onto parchment paper and set in the fridge for an hour or two, until solid. Enjoy!

ALMOND CACAO COOKIES with SALTED MACA CARAMEL

I made these for my friend, Vanessa, because she has a handful of food sensitives which leaves her unable to make a lot of my recipes. Sad face. My goal in making these was to keep out all the stuff she can't have, and throw together all the stuff she loves! Happy face. The visual inspiration came from a treat I saw in the dessert display shelf at Gorilla Food a couple days ago when I was there with Vanessa (who, by the way, has her own awesome food blog which you can check out right here).

If you're getting tired of all these sweet recipes - especially after I've promised numerous times I'll be making more savoury stuff - please don't leave me yet! NEVER LEAVE MEEEE. I swear some non-desserts are on their way. *Cough cough raw vegan poutine cough* Having said that, you guys are giving me some great dessert ideas to rawify like tiramisu, ferrero rochers, chocolate croissants, baklava... so those should be expected too.

I think I'm in the midst of winter blues or something like it. I've been feeling pretty low lately. It's nothing physical - I'm as healthy as can be so don't ya worry about that. Nevertheless, emotionally I feel at rock bottom. Maybe it's because of what is going on in my life as far as relationships and personal struggles go, maybe it's because we haven't gotten sun in days and my body is telling me I need some vitamin D, maybe I'm just bored because school is done for a few weeks. Probably, it's a conglomeration of all those factors. All I know is that for the past two days (maybe more) I haven't wanted to see anyone, talk to anyone, or do anything besides burn smoky incense, cry for no reason and lay in bed listening to Joy Division, Swans, New Order, My Bloody Valentine, Radiohead, King Krule and Arcade Fire.

I know in years, I'm young (20 is considered young, right? I don't know anything anymore...)  but I can't help sensing that this gloomy feeling will never go away completely, but only be diminished temporarily by distractions like friends, romantic partners, school, movies, exercise, food, etc. It seems like the only things that aren't distractions are getting lost in great music and meditating. I've talked about this subject before: I usually feel utterly alone and lost in the world. I don't even feel human most of the time. I think I was meant to be a tree, or a sloth... or a moth.

Life is too emotionally overwhelming for me to cope with, and the fact that I feel that no one can understand what I go through every day only makes it more depressing. I mean even with my closest friends and family... they have never really seen what I am, and I don't know how to show them. But in any case, I don't particularly care about showing them. What's the point? Ya know? I hope some of you read this and can connect with my situation. Otherwise you are probably thinking, "Okay - this girl is crazy, naive AND mega depressing... I'm getting outta here."

Please don't go though! I made you cookies!

I certainly don't want to turn this into a pity party. I have an AMAZING LIFE. I am surrounded by loving, beautiful, devoted individuals who constantly make me feel great about who I am - that includes you! Thank you! I am young, healthy, getting a great education, financially stable (if that matters), living a gorgeous city, finding great success in work I absolutely love doing (this blog)... I mean I basically have my own dream life and couldn't possibly ask for more. The world seems to be on my side, blessing me with everything I could ever want; while my own mind is against me, never letting me be permanently content. This anguish has nothing to do with my life circumstances, it just seems to be part of my inherent nature. Once I described it as "being so happy, I have to be sad." Does that make an ounce of sense?

Ah, I dunno. Let's eat healthy food and worry about this later. I sincerely apologize if this post bummed you out. It's not like I'm faking it when I act happy - I can BE the happiest person I know! I'm just saying that it seems like my natural, default setting is sad... and I wish it was otherwise.

UPDATE: Okay so I wrote the post above about 2 days ago and I am relieved to say that since then, my spirits have been lifted substantially. A really good friend came over and made me feel loads better. Today I am ready to return to my positive and productive self. It's not like I am fixed forever; I know I'll be sad again at some point. But for now I am appreciating this renewed joy for all it is. I like to see happiness and sadness as intertwined and equally valuable, I work to find balance in all aspects of my life; and a balance between happiness and sadness is included in that.

ALMOND CACAO COOKIES with SALTED MACA CARAMEL

Almond cacao cookies:
1 cup almonds
1 cup dates
2 heaping tablespoons cacao powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Salted maca caramel:
1 cup dates
2 tablespoons maca powder
Himalayan pink crystal salt, to taste
3/4 cup water, more or less as needed 

Topping (optional):
Pecan halves, walnut halves and/or almonds

To make the cookies: pulse the almonds into flour in a food processor, then add the rest of the ingredients and pulse until it all sticks together. Press into the bottom of a lined baking pan and put in the fridge. 

To make the caramel: blend all the ingredients until smooth and thick like whipped cream. Put this in the fridge for about 2 hours. 

Use a cookie cutter to make your cookies, then scoop a spoonful of caramel on top of each one. Press a walnut, almond or pecan onto the dollop of caramel. Refrigerate overnight or at least for a few hours... then enjoy with fresh almond milk!