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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raw carrot cake with cashew cream cheese frosting

I promised carrot cake - I deliver carrot cake (in cyberspace, anyway). This is a delightful recipe that I think everyone can appreciate. We all love(d) the classic dessert version, but I'm not crazy about the processed ingredients like white sugar, refined flour, pasteurized butter and cream cheese. I decided to remake this baby with healthy whole foods! Consider it DONE. 

Most recipes ask for carrot pulp (after putting carrots through a juicer) but I just shredded a couple carrots and used them whole. This way you can keep the flavourful juices in the cake. Having said that - carrot juice is freaking delicious. Dang. Now I want carrot juice. Wait a minute - perhaps other raw carrot cake recipes ask for the pulp alone because it gives the recipe makers an excuse to drink a bunch of the juice. Clever...

This cake is a bit less dense that my other raw cake recipes because it's not 100% oats and nuts. As one might expect - it's mostly carrots. These crunchy orange characters are not only delicious, they have an abundance of health benefits! Not surprising, seeing as how they are a plant - and also not surprising, they are most nutritious and easy to digest when they are eaten in their natural form: whole and raw. These guys will give you great skin, improved vision, a clean mouth, and keep you young - in spirit and body! 

I decorated this cake with pistachios, walnuts and dried edible flowers. I recommend also sprinkling on some cinnamon and maybe coconut. I forgot to do so but I'm sure it would make it even more lovely in taste and appearance. One last thing - cashew cream cheese is dangerously delicious. If you haven't made it before - watch out. If you have made it - you know how amazing it tastes. Thank the universal mother (or whoever is running this place) for cashews! 

carrot cake with cashew cream cheese frosting, pistachios & walnuts:

Cashew frosting:
2 cups cashews, preferably soaked for a couple hours
1-2 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons liquid coconut oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
Water, as needed 

Cake:
2 large carrots, peeled
1 1/2 cups oat flour or buckwheat flour
1 cup dates
1 cup dried pineapple (or more dates)
1/2 cup dried coconut 
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

To make the frosting: blend all ingredients in your high speed blender until smooth, adding as little water as possible. Taste it - mmm. Put in a bowl and set aside. 

To make the cake: cut the carrots into small chunks. Then throw all the ingredients (including the carrots) in your food processor and pulse until it's all in really small pieces and sticks together. 

Assembly: Press half the cake mix into the bottom of an adjustable spring-form pan, mine was about 6 inches. Then spread on about 1/3 of the frosting. Put it in the freezer until the layer of frosting is hard. Then press on the rest of the cake mix. I let it set in the fridge overnight, then frosted the whole thing, but you can do it right away if you want. Take it out of the pan and use the remaining frosting, cover with whatever garnishes you like. Enjoy!

twelve balls of love

it's my girlfriend's birthday. she is now 19. but we have an ongoing joke that she's actually 12, because she can act pretty silly. she brings out the goofiness in me as well; this is a good thing because i can be too serious sometimes... no really.

to show her my adoring devotion and love i made her 12 chocolate covered peanut butter balls.
they're pretty freakin good.

we were SUPPOSED to go out like every night this week and party until the wee hours of morning (19 is the legal drinking age in canada). but i have gotten a terrible swollen throat so i've been really sick for five days now. it hurts to swallow and i can't eat any solids! what a BUMMER, right? ah well, i will make up for this lost party time when i recover. it's turned into a liquid cleanse i guess? gotta look on the bright side.

for now though, i need to seriously rest and recuperate. i've been drinking tons of lemon tea, miso soup and hot water. also been doing some salt water gargles. i juiced some fruit and veggies yesterday and today and it actually tasted AMAZING. very soothing.

i think this is a virus or bacterial infection or something. if it lasts more than a week (oh god please no) i'll have to go to the doctor but i'd rather not. i prefer treating illnesses myself and naturally. i'm not too concerned at this point.

i'm going to take advantage of this time and read some good books (atlas shrugged, cat's cradle), have a bubble bath, watch some good movies (back to the future trilogy, anyone?), catch up on sleep, and i guess detox since i can't eat anything... i wish i could eat these.

my mom said they were PERFECT and couldn't be improved, which i was actually thrilled-out-of-my-pants to hear (well, i don't wear pants, so, skirt) because she is my toughest critic - which i much appreciate. i hope you agree with her. if you make this recipe, let me know how it goes and if i should change anything because the recipe written here will be slightly different than what i did.

make 'em mostly raw by using raw jungle peanuts & peanut butter!

chocolate peanut butter love bites: makes 12 and ONLY 12 (teehee)

center:
1/3 cup peanuts
1/4 peanut butter
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 oats
2 tablespoons almond butter

chocolate:
3 tablespoons almond butter
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 heaping tablespoons cacao/cocoa 
1/8 teaspoon salt
teensy bit of cayenne and ginger powder
1-3 tablespoons almond milk
1/2 dark or raw chocolate bar, melted (optional)

coating:
1/2 cup peanuts
1/2 teaspoon salt

in your food processor, blend all the ingredients for the PB center together until it forms a ball and you can press it together. form them it into balls and put in the freezer.
to make the coating, pulse the nuts and salt in the food processor until they're like large crumbs... you can see in the photos. put in a large bowl and set aside.
to make the chocolate, blend all ingredients together in the food processor until smooth, it will start thickening fast so take out your frozen PB balls and dip them in the chocolate, then roll them in the chopped nuts. stick back in the freezer for an hour or two and voila! 

i love you, amber! xox

chocolate raisin oat cookies

yum. that's what these babies are.

i will admit right off the bat - i didn't make the chocolate chips myself today so they aren't 100% raw in the photos. but as long as you make your own raw chocolate chips (or buy some), you're golden!

i was asked to give a raw cookie recipe so here it is. these are mostly oats with a bit of coconut, almonds and agave (i didn't have any dates!) i recommend using dates if you have them, they're a whole food whereas agave is more processed... still far better than white sugar though ;)

personally, i find these more satisfying than baked cookies. they taste just as good, and the bonus is that they're good for you. nothing to feel guilty about here! i bet these would be good if you dehydrated them for a couple hours, they'd get like baked cookies on the outside. for me though - they were great as is.

i made quite a few so i'll be giving them away to friends and what not. it would've been nice to go downtown and give them to the homeless. last time i was downtown i was bringing some raw brownies to a friend's house and didn't think to share them with the people who needed them more than my or my friends until after i was coming home... dang. next time!

hopefully you're not homeless and so can enjoy them in the comfort of your dwelling today.

chocolate raisin oat cookies: makes at least 2 trays

2 cups oats

1/2 cup coconut chunks

1/2 cup almonds

1/4 cup hemp seeds

3 figs

1/3-1/2 cup agave/maple syrup/honey (or 3/4 cup dates)

2 tb melted coconut oil

1 t vanilla

1/2 t cinnamon

1/4 t salt

1/4 cup chocolate chips

1/4 cup raisins

in your food processor, pulse oats, almonds and coconut chunks until they're like a rough flour. add all the other ingredients and blend until it comes together. add raisins and chocolate and mix in by hand. then form them into balls and flatten. dehydrate if you desire. hurraw!

vanilla cupcakes with peanut butter frosting (baked)

My friend Amanda was at my house the other night, and we were planning on going to a party... but it was raining, we were tired, and we just didn't feel like going out anymore. So we were left with some free time, what to do? Amanda declared she wanted to bake "something crazy-awesome with swirls".

We ended up with a tray of Vanilla Cupcakes and Peanut Butter Frosting. Not too shabby.

We found this recipe. I modified it a bit: used oat flour instead of all-purpose, used more tofu, added some agave and left out some sugar, used real vanilla, and made up my own icing. They were REALLY moist, and not too sweet. The combination was a delight. These cupcakes were gone in a day.

Vanilla Cupcakes: makes about 12

1 ½ cups oat flour
1 ½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

4 oz. tofu
3/4 cup sugar
½ cup soy milk/water
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Seeds from half a vanilla pod
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, whisk together the first 3 ingredients. In a blender, combine the remaining ingredients; blend until smooth. Stir the wet ingredients into the flour mixture; and pour all the batter into muffin tins (lined with paper).

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until  a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack. 

Peanut Butter Frosting: makes 4 or so cups, you'll have extra

4 oz. tofu

1/2 cup agave

1/2 cup melted earth balance

Pinch of salt

2 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 peanut butter 

Mix all ingredients until smooth. Yum.

chocolate protein truffles & green smoothie recipe

Not that I'm back to my crazy workouts (it was just a matter of time... I'm an addict), I have to make sure I get enough protein. If I weren't raw, it wouldn't be something I'd have to think about.

Most people actually get 5 times more protein than they need everyday (USDA, 2005).

But the fact that I am raw PLUS my workouts are really intense, my protein intake is something I need to watch. Mostly because I love muscle, and always want more =)

One way I do this is by adding protein powder to my already protein-packed green smoothies, with hempseed and flax. I DO prefer getting protein from unrefined sources; even though my protein powder is high quality, it's still processed.

When I'm done with this container of powder, I'm not buying anymore. From now on I'll just be getting protein from nuts, seeds and greens (which I partly do already).

Yay! In nature, there aren't protein powder trees. Wouldn't that be nice though?

After my workout today - which involved plyo-metrics, kickboxing, yoga and weight training - I made a DELICIOUS green smoothie and gulped it down. Then I stretched and watched the end of a Doris Day movie.

I could feel my muscles calling for some more building materials, so I decided to make a chocolate-y treat with mostly oats, nuts and rice protein powder. They're turned out like truffles because I rolled them into balls and coated them with cocoa =)

Protein Truffle Bombs: makes about 50 small balls

1 cup oats

1 cup mix of brazil nuts, cashews, peanuts or whatever nuts you like

1/4 cup cocoa/cacoa

2-3 scoops of fave protein powder

3 Tb agave

1/2 cup soaked dates

1/4 cup water (or more/less as needed)

1 t vanilla

Pinch of salt

1/8-1/4 cup coconut oil

Cocoa/cacoa for rolling

Process all dry ingredients until they're like a super hefty flour. Add all other ingredients and process/mix by hand until they're like cookie dough. Roll into balls and roll in the cocoa until coated. 

Chill for an hour or so. Or just eat them right away. I probably devoured half the batter while I was making them... 

Berry Green Smoothie: makes around 3 1/2 cups

3 loose cups of spinach

4-5 leaves of kale

Grapefruit, peeled

Lime, peeled

Banana, frozen

1/4 cup frozen berries

1/2 cup pomegranate juice

Stevia if desired

2 T peeled ginger 

Handful cilantro 

Blend all ingredients until smooth! Sip and enjoy good health! Dang IT'S SO GOOD.

raw edible cosmetics & body care recipes

If you wouldn't put it on your skin... why are you putting in your body? If you wouldn't eat it, why are you putting it on your skin?

Yet another thing on the endless list of things I love about being raw; your body care is the same as what you eat. When you think about it for one moment, it shouldn't be any other way.When you're raw, you don't have to use many skin, hair or makeup products because your body is glowing and gorgeous without globs of chemicals on it already!

Plus, what you DO use for your hair, skin, nails and face can be the same stuff you eat everyday! I'm talking about bananas, papayas, avocados, oats, coconut, almonds, and others. We all know these are common extracts used to scent chemical shampoos, lotions, cleansers, etc. So instead of buying "Luscious Cocoa and Oatmeal Body Creme", or "Hydrating Mango Shampoo"... Let's just buy some raw organic COCOA, OATS and MANGOES! 

I know. crazy thinking, huh?

I made myself a banana/oat mask the other day actually... it made my skin glow and tasted SO GOOD. I had a bunch left over so I ate it while the mask hardened on my face. He he.

Do you eat your body lotion/skin cleanser? Probably not... So then why do you put in all over skin if you don't want it IN your skin/body? Logic, dear friends. 

Moisturizer: I use raw virgin coconut oil, with some essential oils added. It is full of wonderful fats to keep my face and skin healthy, moisturized and glowing. I also use it on my hair sometimes for the same reason.

Shampoo: I make my own shampoo using Castile soap, essential oils and herbs that are good for blondes. I recommend Dr. Bronner's for soap. I don't wash my hair much anymore though, but I try to shower every 1 or 2 days... dirty hippie, I am.

 -

Deodorant: I tend not to need deodorant anymore... I haven't used it in a while, yet I'm always being complimented on how good I smell... When you're filling your body with nutrient-rich, vibrant foods, you smell clean, beautiful and vibrant! If you do use deodorant, use one without aluminum, I recommend a crystal salt rock. It sounds weird, but is as natural as you can get! Or if you like scents, I like Kiss My Face products.

Makeup: I don't really wear makeup anymore... Very rarely I put on mascara, but I don't feel great about it. You're beautiful as you are! I do like to use beets to colour my lips/cheeks sometimes, if I'm eating them. If you like wearing make up, there's tons on natural companies out there. Just look in your health food stores' cosmetics aisle.

Onto the fun stuff! Also check out my post about facial steams.

Banana Oat Mask: makes enough for 1-2 faces plus a snack =)

1 banana

1 Tb almond milk

1/3 cup oats 

Blend all ingredients until it reaches a good consistency to spread on your skin. Wash face with warm water, then spread mask on. Sit or lie down for 10-15 minutes or until you want to take it off. Then gently rinse your face in warm water and pat dry with a towel. I like to put some cold rose water on right after to close my pores and seal in the goodness! 

Tonight I made an avocado mask with half an avocado, and some lemon juice. It tasted sweet, tangy and creamy and was super smooth. I could feel the enzymes working! My face was pink, shiny and glowing when I rinsed it off.

Green Monster Avocado Mask: makes enough for 2 faces, plus a snack

1/2 avocado

Juice from 1/2 lemon

Blend all ingredients until smooth. Wash face with warm water, then spread mask on. Sit or lie down for 10-15 minutes or until you want to take it off. Then gently rinse your face in warm water and pat dry with a towel. I like to put some cold rose water on right after to close my pores and seal in the goodness! 

Almond Exfoliator: makes enough for one

Handful almonds

1 t water or almond milk

Chop/process almonds into small pieces, but not flour-like, you want them to be able to exfoliate, remember. Add them to almond milk/water and rub vigorously on your face/skin.  Rinse off and put on some coconut oil to moisturize, or whatever you like. 

Watch out! This one is super enzyme-rich, so it burns a little. 


Papaya Seed Mask: makes enough for 3 faces

Seeds from one papaya

Oats/Almonds

Water

Blend all ingredients until smooth. Rub on face and lie down for 10 minutes You will feel the enzymes... it can burn a little but that's good. If it's too much, however, wash it off! When you are done, wash off with warm water and pat dry. Put on some coconut oil to moisturize and seal in the cleanliness.