energy elixir

as i said on my facebook, i was feeling a bit drained yesterday after my weekend. but today i got TONS of sleep (maybe too much - i just kept sleeping because my dreams were so enthralling...) then had a great workout and drank a gorgeous pink jar of juice.

yum yum. i'll give you the recipe in a minute (or - due to the magical nature of the internet and time-space continuum - you may just scroll down.) last night i felt like just having juice today to get my energy back and guess what. it's already returned! all it took was some deep sleep, weight-lifting, and the elixir of living fruits and vegetables. i made a glass for mom too, since she was in desperate need of some nourishment after a busy day of random errands like getting a bunch of knives sharpened.

oh! just remembered something. heard of global girl? well if not - check her out. she just did a raw vegan dessert round-up for her fave recipes; one of them is mine. yes, i am indeed tooting my own horn. if you've got a problem with that - well you can DRINK MY JUICE!

oh wait, you should do that anyway. 

everything awesome life juice: serves two

2 carrots

3 tomatoes

2 apples

1 cucumber

3 slices of pineapple

4 beets

chunk of ginger

lemon

2 bell peppers

i think that's all i put in there... 

wash, slice, peel, chop and cut as needed. throw it all in the juicer! not literally, that would be messy. drink!

oh one more thing. PLEASE take a listen to this amazing woman. she is a visionary in my opinion. her albums are "projects" and she makes a video for each song. you can watch them all in a particular order and it becomes an emotional journey. she keeps you guessing. it's beautiful. 

OH HAPPY DAY

Today, friends, I start my 5 day weekend! Easter weekend plus I don't have class on Tuesdays. Rather excited.

Amber is coming over tonight and we're gonna chill in the Zen Den and make some raw pasta ;)
I might make something to do with chocolate and peanut butter too... you know of my obsession.

Anyways today's post is just sharing some stuff: a song, a book and a video.

I shared this on the Facebok page but in case you didn't see it - listen now! And if you did hear it... listen to it again. It makes me so happy!! Reggae is sick on it's own, but when you make it about being vegan - well. It just can't get any better."Immaaa veeegggann!"

Next I will tell you a bit about the book I'm reading. Unlike the song, it doesn't have much to do with eating plants at all. But it's FASCINATING, MIND-BLOWING, and really well written. You feel smart, but you're laughing out loud at the same time.

The book's called "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson. It's basically what it sounds like, with an emphasis on scientific discoveries. Apparently, normally he doesn't write about topics like this but he should! It's great so far... and I'm only a few chapters in. Here's the description on the back:

"I didn't know what a proton was, or a protein, didn't know a quark from a quasar, didn't understand how geologists could look at a layer of rock on a canyon wall and tell you how old it was, didn't know anything really. I became gripped by a quiet, unwonted urge to know a little about these matters and to understand how people figured them out. That to me remained the greatest of all amazements - how scientists work things out. How does anybody know how much the Earth weighs or how old its rocks are or what really is way down there in the center? How can they know how and when the universe started and what it was like when it did? How do they know what goes on inside an atom? And how, come to that-or perhaps above all-can scientists so often seem to know nearly everything but then still can't predict an earthquake or even tell us whether we should take an umbrella with us to the races next Wednesday?
So I decided that I would devote a portion of my life-three years, as it now turns out-to reading books and journals and finding saintly, patient experts prepared to answer a lot of outstandingly dumb questions. The idea was to see if it isn't possible to understand and appreciate-marvel at, enjoy even-the wonder and accomplishments of science at a level that isn't too technical or demanding, but isn't entirely superficial either.
That was my idea and my hope, and that is what the book that follows is intended to be."

It's easy to understand and deeply intriguing material. I share it with you because I figure... who WOULDN'T want to know about the place they live? I highly recommend reading this book. It'll probably make you smarter than all your friends, and perhaps provide an epiphany or two. Actually... it looks like this is the full text PDF online, but it's better in physical form. Use your library, people!

Lastly I want to share this video about raw cannabis with you. I enjoyed watching it =) Keep an open mind! Remember how funny yet frustrating it is that white sugar is in everything, and the government puts chemicals, poisons and hormones into the food our children eat - yet this innocent little plant that has been enjoyed for thousands of years is illegal. Let me know what you think!

HAVE THE BEST DAY EVER, 

AND ENJOY YOUR LONG WEEKEND!

is this you?

Okay, so my friends have sent me these videos on YouTube that are all HILARIOUS. Why? Because they are all videos of people making fun of people - just. like. me.

Vegans, raw vegans, "new age girls", and yogis. If you are any of those things - watch these! If you aren't - watch them anyway! That's all for today, folks.

 

"I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU"

Ladies and gentleman, I may have found a match for my ice cream.

I'm calling it raw caramel, because that's what I had in mind when I began making it. As usual, I didn't have a plan so some raw magic happened and this wonderful caramel thing came out of it. It tastes sooo much better than caramel, and all that's in it is sprouted nuts/seeds, raw agave (or maple syrup), cinnamon and coconut butter!

AHHHH! WHY IS THE WORLD SO MIRACULOUS?!

I originally made up this caramel filling for my friends birthday (will be posted after this); I'm going to put it in a tart shell and make it all perdy for her =)

But it's so good I had to write down the recipe and get it on to my blog ASAP. I need to inform the world of this incredible substance. Make it now!!! It will change you.

*Remember with raw food, measurements are not precise so just add enough of everything to get the consistency, flavour and texture you want. 

THE Best Raw Vegan Caramel Sauce: makes around 1 cup, easy to make more/less

Handful Brazil nuts

2-3 Tb raw agave/maple syrup

1 t vanilla extract

10 dates, soaked for 30 minutes or so if you can - but don't dump the water!

3 Tb almond butter

2 Tb tahini

2-3 Tb coconut butter, melted 

1/2 t cinnamon
Pinch salt 

Water as needed (preferably the date water)

1/6 cup or so coconut flakes

2 Tb chia seeds gelled with water (see note)

Process Brazil nuts into fine pieces, add all other ingredients EXCEPT coconut flakes and chia seeds. Process until it has a caramel-y consistency. You may need to add some water or more of the other ingredients. Try it. Your mind should be exploding now. If not, continue tampering until it reaches the mind-blowing stage. 

NOTE: Now if ya want, add the coconut flakes and gelled chia. This basically just dilutes the sweetness and gives you more. I did this to make the filling of the b-day tart. It's up to you, depending on what you're gonna use it for. Personally, I could just eat it all straight-up.

*Is this recipe too complicated? Another SUPER easy raw caramel is just dates, melted coconut oil and water, maybe with a bit of agave all blended together. 

This song was on the radio and it sums up my feelings pretty well =)

GET UP AND DANCE! WE'RE ALIVE and WE'VE GOT CARAMEL!