BANANA OATMEAL with HAZELNUT BUTTER, RAISINS + BAOBAB POWDER

First thing's first: listen to this. Hopefully that improved your day, as long as we disregard the painfully conventional gender norms going on and just enjoy the track for the sweet beat that it is. Moving on. To oatmeal. I think my period is coming... soon. My lower back hurts, my muscles are sore and I am TIRED even though I got a good sleep last night. I suppose it seems like I talk about my menstruation cycle all the time, but that is not true! I only talk about it MOST of the time. Gimme a break (read: pass the heat pad). If you are a woman, you understand the significance and thus why I mention my moon flow so often. If you don't got a uterus, you may as well try to empathize and respect the #$%& we go through every month as fertile ladies.

This morning I woke up and wanted oatmeal. So I made oatmeal. That is the simple story behind todays recipe. I wish it was more exciting but at this point "exciting" does not sound appealing. I just wanna lay in bed with my cat, Dante, the chocolate maca bars Vega was so kind to send me - people ALWAYS send me chocolate at the right time of the month, at least I've got that going for me - and a marathon of Downton Abbey. That show is ADDICTING. Now, I say that is all I want to do; but in reality what I probably end up doing is just wandering around the house whining and rolling on the floor sporadically. I think I'm staying at my partners place tonight so he can be victim to my moans and lack of motivation to move. I am also planning on forcing him to massage my back. This is why I am in a relationship: it's all about the rubbin'. I used a special ingredient in this bowl of oatmeal: baobab powder! It comes from the gorgeous baobab tree and is super nutritious. I tried some from Kaibae and loved it! It adds a lovely flavour.

I feel like I have written so much but I only see a measly two paragraphs... well too bad. I can't think of anything else witty to say (have I even said anything witty yet?) so I'm calling it a day. Or, blog post.

Just make the oatmeal. Wait, also listen to this.

BANANA OATMEAL with HAZELNUT BUTTER, RAISINS + BAOBAB POWDER

1 1/2 cups water
1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons steel cut oats
Pinch himalayan salt
1 tablespoon hazelnut butter
1 tablespoon maple syrup or preferred sweetener
1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder or extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon baobab fruit powder
1/4 cup raisins
1 large sliced banana
1 tablespoon hemp seeds

Pour the water into a pot and stir in the salt. Throw in all the oats and bring the water to a boil, stirring occasionally. Once boiling, bring the temperate down to low and simmer until the oats absorb the water, I like my oatmeal thin so I don't cook it for that long, around 20-30 minutes. Throw all the other ingredients - except the banana and raisins, into the bottom of a bowl, then pour on your oatmeal and mix everything together. Top with banana slices, raisins, and hemp seeds. Ahhh. Yum. 

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cinnamon chia pudding with banana, dates & almond butter

This was what I had for breakfast this morning after finishing my short juice fast last night (I had raw zucchini noodles with kale pesto) because chia is a great cleaning food. Its soluble fire gels up when stirred with water and when you eat it, it literally goes through your digestive system soaking up toxins and junk you don't want in there. Think of it as a sponge. But then that's not very appetizing... hmm. A yummy sponge? No, never mind.

Anyways - it's delicious and SUPER nutritious. It is one of the most nutrient-dense seeds on the planet as a matter o' fact. Just look it up on the world wide interweb and see for yourself! Make it anytime of the day for a filling snack or meal.

cheery chia bowl: serves one

2 tablespoons chia seeds mixed with 1/4 cup water

1 sliced banana

Small handful each of pumpkin seeds, goji berries and hemp seeds

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon maple syrup/raw honey/other sweetener

3 pitted, sliced dates

1 tablespoon almond butter (optional)

The chia seeds and water should make a gel-like substance after sitting for a few minutes. Add in the all the other ingredients - and whatever else you like - and enjoy! 

triple cinnamon rolls

these are a baked food worth eating. 

my friend amanda was at my house the other day and suggested we bake something. we decided on cinnamon rolls. i put cinnamon in every layer - the dough, filling and icing - and they turned out divine. literally, these guys are holy saints. angels sing when you eat them.

i love tons of stuff in everything (really trying to work on appreciating simple recipes... failing) so i put walnuts and raisins in the filling. the dough is totally whole grain and the icing has coconut yogurt and ginger in it!

they don't need too long to bake, and the dough is gonna be a little tough to roll out just because of the whole wheat flour. but be patient and you will be rewarded! cinnamon rolls bring back all kinds of memories for me - special birthday breakfasts, christmas morning after opening presents, holidays, etc. so with all the delicious flavour and texture comes nostalgia. it makes for an amazing experience.

having said that - i've eaten way more cooked food than normal this weekend (it was all totally worth it though) and now my system is in a mess. back to raw! =)

okay... maybe after one more cinnamon roll....

triple cinnamon rolls: makes 14 or so
(adapted from smitten kitchen)

Dough:
1 cup coconut milk
3 tablespoons earth balance
3 1/2 cups whole grain flour
1/2 cup raw sugar
1 tb flax seed mixed with 2 tb water (egg!)
2 tb yeast
1 teaspoon salt
Nonstick vegetable oil spray

Filling:
3/4 cup raw sugar
3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup raisins
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup melted earth balance

Glaze:
2 ounces coconut yogurt, at room temperature
1/4 raw sugar
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tb cinnamon
1/2 t ginger power
1/4 cup honey/maple syrup/agave syrup 
1/4 cashew butter

For dough: Combine coconut milk and earth balance and melt together. Pour into bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add 1 cup flour, sugar, "egg", yeast, and salt. Beat on low speed 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl. Add additional 2 1/2 cups flour. Beat on low until flour is absorbed and dough is sticky, scraping down sides of bowl. If dough is very sticky, add more flour by tablespoonfuls until dough begins to form ball and pulls away from sides of bowl. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if sticky, about 8 minutes. (You may also use a KitchenAid’s dough hook for this process.) Form into ball.
Lightly oil large bowl with nonstick spray. Transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

For filling: mix dry ingredients together, set aside.
Press down dough. Transfer to floured work surface. Roll out to 15×11-inch rectangle. Spread melted earth balance over dough, leaving 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle dry mixture evenly over earth balance. Starting at the longer side, roll dough into log, pinching gently to keep it rolled up. With seam side down, slice with floss into into equal slices (each about 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide).
Divide rolls between baking dishes lined with paper, arranging cut side up. Cover baking dishes with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, 45 minutes or so. Don’t skimp on the double-rising time!
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Bake rolls until tops are golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and flip onto rack. Cool 10 minutes.

For glaze: blend all ingredients until smooth, it should be a little more liquid than desired because the coconut oil will harden up again in a few moments. yumm!!!

raw fudge brownies: YEAH BABY!

Thank you, Mother Nature.

These sexy things are delicious and packed with nutrients to keep you living long; enjoying life and all it has to offer... like brownies.Raw desserts are pretty much the easiest food in the world to make, because usually they consist of just dates, nuts, coconut oil, and whatever else you want to add. These are no different.

Normal brownie ingredients? White flour, white sugar, butter, and cocoa. What're those gonna do for you?! Make you sleepy and gain weight. In these brownies: there's prunes, dates, hemp, chia, flax, cocoa, mesquite, cinnamon, vanilla and oats. Yummy in my tummy, good FOR my body. 

Yours too.

You can make these in like 5 minutes, and they'll disappear even faster. The best part (aside from eating them) is telling people they're healthy and made from whole foods! It's a magical world, my friends. These are also great for pre- or post-workout snacks!

 -
Raw Fudge Brownies: makes about 8 large brownies

1 1/2 cup oats

1 cup dates & prunes

1 t vanilla extract 

3 Tb coconut oil, melted

1/4 cup honey/agave/maple syrup

2 Tb mesquite powder (optional)

1/4 cup cup hemp seed

2 Tb flax seed

2 Tb chia seed
1/3 cup cashews (preferably soaked)

1/3 cup cocoa/cacao

1/2 t cinnamon
Pinch of salt

Put dates and prunes in bowl of water. Set aside.

Blend 1 cup of the oats in blender until it becomes oat flour. Then in a food processor, process dates and prunes (with about 1/4 cup of the water) with all the other wet ingredients until smooth. Now add all the dry ingredients, including the remaining 1/2 cup of whole oats and oat flour. Good consistency? It should be thick, but very moist. Press it into a pan lined with tin foil or plastic wrap and set in the fridge for a little bit so the coconut oil can stiffen them up.

Then cut 'em up and serve! Make a chocolate sauce for them, or have with fruit and nut butter!

*You can make these even simpler by just blending dates, cashews coconut oil and cacao. But I always like to add a bunch of stuff for more flavours. I cannot help it. It's up to you!

chia shots

My mom bought a loaf of chia bread at Cobs last week, and they gave her this free package of a chia shot. I thought it was cute. I love chia seeds. They're definitely the new goji berry of 2012, if ya know what I mean. (Never before heard-of "super food" that will soon be in health stores/magazines everywhere.)

I already have a good supply of chia seeds in the house but I figured I'd use the chia shot for my breakfast. A serving of chia is about 2 Tb, and that's what they gave me.
I added water to it, along with some goji berries, coconut flakes, and raisins. I spiced it with cinnamon and nutmeg. YUM! Simple and delicious.

One thing - of the many, many things - I love about chia is their insoluble fibre aspect. When you add water, they gel up. This is exactly what happens when you eat them too, and that's why they're great for keeping your bowels moving - yes, you understand. Basically they soak up extra "waste" in your digestive tract ... it's a beautiful thing. Flax seeds also hold this ability.

On top of that, they're a good source of omega-3's (EFA's), which most people don't get enough of. They also have a substantial percent of protein, like most other seeds and nuts. And of course, with any raw plant food you're gonna get a ton of antioxidants and phyto-nutrients.  

You can research yourself about the benefits of chia, and I've also found this link. It's pretty basic.

I'm not saying adding chia to your diet is gonna change the world, as if it's the missing link to superior health and longevity. However, it's a nutrient-packed raw plant food that's a heck of a lot better than cheerios for breakfast. I think everyone could benefit from incorporating some chia into their diet. If not, no worries.