MINTY GREEN CHOCOLATE CREAM BARS + A LITTLE HEARTBREAK

Note: I know I usually keep things light and cheery on my blog but I lay my heart out a little bit in this post; I hope that's okay with you. It just kinda happened.

I got an email from a reader a couple (?) weeks ago, in which they asked me to recreate a raw treat served at their local cafe. This treat was a "delicious choc mint slice cake" and it looks like this. Oh and apparently some of the ingredients are green powders. That is what I had to go on. Into the kitchen I went! Ended up with these bad boys and BOY, ARE THEY BAD (in a good way).

The base is an oat and date crust, the middle is a raw chocolate-maca mixture, and the top is an avocado/mint/green powder concoction. All together they make one amazing result. And they are SUPER nutritious. Think of this recipe as a health supplement and dessert all in one. I know, life seems too good to be true sometimes. Just like my cat, Dante, seems too adorable to be real. He is currently trying to divert my attention to me rubbing his ears and kissing his nose. He does this by pulling my hand away from the computer mouse and to his face. CAN HE GET ANY CUTER? No.

Back to food. I won't lie; I made these a couple days ago and since I never write down my recipes, the precise amounts of ingredients are now slightly foggy in my confusingly and consistently fluid mind. This means your recipe may not turn out EXACTLY as what you see in these photos, but that's cool, right!? Life is about variety. Try making the recipe and adjusting it to your liking. I mean, you should always do this but you know... just sayin'. If it turns out horribly, please tell me - because maybe I forgot to write an ingredient down. 

Well, since there's nothing left to discuss concerning the recipe, I am going to rant a little about my personal life right now, because I'm feeling kinda low. Maybe it's just the change of seasons (hello, Autumn); maybe I'm getting bored with my day-to-day routine; or maybe, subconsciously, I don't WANT to be happy all the time! In any case, I'm glum as a chum. What's a chum. Irrelevant. 

I'm having a lot of mixed emotions involving past and current lovers, what they mean to me, and how they make me feel and think (compared to how I would on my own). You have to understand that I'm an independent person. I have always valued time by myself and often cancel or avoid plans with friends so I can have MORE time alone. It's not that I don't like my friends, I simply am most comfortable when left by myself, in my own head space. I have trouble - more so lately - expressing myself to others successfully and this usually makes me just want to give up communicating. Fortunately there's a few people in my life who understand this, and we can spend time together not saying a word. As recently acknowledged with a newly intimate partner, you don't have to talk to have beautiful conversations with another person. 

Having said that, I still feel that no one really gets me, but me. Thus I prefer to be left alone because that is where I am most comfortable. And yet I find myself missing certain people from my past. Are they thinking about me? Do they still love me? Do they still hate me? Do they think I am a terrible or beautiful person? Regardless, I can't be with them anymore... we had too much passion for two people. They knew me as much as any person possibly could but ultimately they didn't like what they saw, and neither did I. 

Talk about "fate"; this person literally just called me as I was typing that last sentence. Apparently they do love me, but we will "never be speaking again". Now I am almost in tears. Too much emotion for one person. 

With all that going on (and now being done with, apparently...), I have also struck up a new flame. Whether it's a rebound or not, I do not know. But either way it's nothing serious, and mostly for pure and simple fun. It's very pleasant having a partner you can be candid and affectionate with. I think we can all benefit from being completely naked with someone (literally and/or figuratively). It's therapeutic and can be healing if you allow it. But now I am polarized: I am starting to care about this person in a serious way so I want to spend more time with them while at the same time, I am wanting to cut things off because of the same reason. 

Here is where we return to my need for independence. I believe I shouldn't have to depend on any external substance to be happy, and that includes people. When I begin getting very close with a romantic partner, I find that I quickly become "addicted" to them; I want to spend all my time with them, give them everything I can, and simultaneously throw all my other responsibilities out the window. Obviously this is not healthy, so I don't want it to be this way. Perhaps this is a reason I love being alone: it stamps out any chance of me becoming dependent on another person. Ah, who knows. Not I. So I am left unsure of what to do about this new individual, my heart and brain being pulled in opposing directions; while I am still recovering from a very trying, emotionally-charged and painful relationship with another that is now "officially" over. 

I suppose that wasn't a conclusive story at all... but that's fitting, since my thoughts and decisions on these situations and relationships aren't conclusive either. I'm in the dark midst of figuring out what to do and think and how to feel about all this. 

No matter, here's a healthy recipe for you guys. Thank you for always being here for me and giving me your love and support. It's very helpful for me to write out my thoughts and I hope they are in someway useful to you; whether you can relate, contrast, or simply sympathize. You're my rock! 

minty green chocolate cream bars 

Base:
1 cup oats or buckwheat groats
1 cup dates
1 teaspoon cacao powder (optional) 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional) 

Chocolate layer:
2 tablespoons cacao powder
1/4 cup melted cacao butter
1/4 cup dates
1 tablespoon maca powder
1 tablespoon lucuma powder
1 banana (optional, to add bulk) 

Mint layer:
1 avocado
3-4 tablespoons greens powder (I used this one)
1/6 cup coconut nectar (or other preferred liquid sweetener) 
2 tablespoons melted coconut oil 
1/8 cup packed mint leaves (or approximately 10 drops of peppermint oil) 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
Pinch of salt (optional) 

To make the base layer: pulse the oats or buckwheat groats in your food processor until you have a rough flour. Add the rest of the ingredients and process until it all begins to stick together. Press into the bottom of a lined baking pan and put in the fridge. 

To make the chocolate: blend all the ingredients together until smooth. If it's too thick, add some water. Pour onto your base and put in the freezer until solid, about 1 hour. 

To make the mint layer: blend all the ingredients until smooth. Spread onto your chocolate layer and refrigerate overnight until it's set. Decorate with mint leaves and cacao nibs if you wish. 

keep calm and drink juice {a walk through our garden}

Ahhh, Friday. After sleeping in, working out, tutoring a student and making two recipes for my upcoming raw vegan desserts cookcook - creamsicles and coconut pineapple bites - it was time for green juice. And what better place to enjoy the sweet nectar from Mother Nature than in my own glorious backyard? Bees were buzzing, birds were chirping and the sun was beginning to set so I figured I should take some pictures while I walked around barefoot with my mason jar of living juice. 

Our radishes are growing so fast! My mom has been picking them daily and putting them in our dinner. I am not in LOVE with radishes but I do enjoy their fresh crunch and vibrant colour. Our lettuce is also probably ready to nom down. I think I'll make a salad with them this weekend and load it up with peppers, local strawberries, chickpeas, miso tahini dressing and raw organic olives; I shan't be sharing.

The juice recipe I share today (scroll to the bottom if you want to skip my ramblings and just grab the recipe) is one I have been making everyday because it is just so good. Usually I add a ton of things to my juice, and it's always different. But this one is simple and it's all I crave. It is bright green, refreshing, light, sweet and basically addictive. This is one thing you WANT to be addicted to, trust me.

Our collards are little babies right now, but soon they will grow to have huge leaves; I plan on making raw burritos and wraps with them! Mmm... now I want a burrito. What else is sprouting up through our freshly tilled soil? Kale, beets, pak choi (aka bok choy), garlic, onions, strawberries, oregano, and a bunch of other herbs. We recently bought a mini green house (although we plan to build our own large one soon) to grow our tomatoes and basil this summer. They need just a taaad more heat than our other crops. I seriously cannot wait for the tomatoes and basil to be ready for devouring because I WILL devour them. I put basil in everything and our baby tomatoes are essentially candy. 

shining spirit green juice: serves one

4-5 cups spinach
2 apples
2 oranges
1 lemon
1 cucumber
4 pineapple slices 

Wash, peel and chop as needed. Put everything through your juicer, alternating the spinach with the fruits. Strain if desired, then sip outside with your honey bee friends. 

dat sunshine juice + some big news

It's not like there's some special secret to making an amazing glass of juice. All you're doing is helping the mind-blowingly delicious flavours of fresh fruits and veggies shine through, and letting your taste buds do the rest. Simple. Yet every time I make juice (about once every one or two days) I cannot believe how incredible it tastes. Then I remember... "oh yeah, momma nature's a pro". Get the recipe at the bottom of the post, but first read what's directly below! 

Onto this big news. Can ya guess what it is? I am SOOO excited about this and it's been extremely difficult not telling you guys until today, because I wanted to share it with you as soon as it was confirmed, but here it goes:

I am working on my first cookbook.

I know: AHHHHHHHHHHHH! 

I know you have basically all been waiting for this, and encouraging me to write my own {un}cookbook for quite some time. You gave me the confidence and courage to believe I could do this. However, I saw it as an exciting challenge to complete in the future, maybe a year or two from now, and only when I actually found a company that would publish me. Well, the universe was looking out for me apparently, because not more than a couple months ago I was contacted by Page Street Publishing (distributed by Macmillan) and the rest is history! This is a dream come true, as most of you are aware, and I am actually just GIDDY with excitement. 

This is why I haven't been posting many recipes - or any desserts - recently. I have been working my little butt off making raw dessert recipes out the wahoo (does anyone REALLY know what that phrase means?) This cookbook is going to be solely desserts, with tons of pictures, and about 100 recipes you have never seen before - working. my. butt. off. I will also have how-to photos, tips and tricks for my recipes and the raw food lifestyle, and loads of other awesome stuff that you knoooow you want. Best part? It's going to be very affordable. About $20.00. It is set to be published in March 2014, so I have just a few months to pump out a manuscript and a bazillion recipes and photos. 

Thus, most of the recipes you see on my blog in the next three months will be simple juices, smoothies and raw food dinners or lunches. Also, I'll be posting about once a week or so. 

NOW GIMME FIVE. Oh, and make the juice recipe below. 

glowing green juice:

2 apples

2 oranges

1 cucumber

1 yellow bell pepper

3 pineapple slices

1 lemon 

Juice. Drink. Beam. 

glowing morning juice

Okay I seriously have no time to write this post right now so I'm gonna speed type the recipe below and hope you make this ASAP. I'm off to write a mid-term exam and have all the confidence in the world that this gorgeous green elixir will give me all the energy and brain power I need to ace it! 

glowing morning juice for energy: 

1 cucumber

1 bunch kale (maybe 5 cups?)

3 celery stalks

1 bell pepper

3 apples

1 cup mint leaves 

Juice it! Drink it! Love it!

kombucha with goji berry green tea

My boyfriend says I should call this a love potion (or health potion). I'm going to save that title for a juice recipe that's coming up, but that doesn't mean it's not true for kombucha - this fermented mushroom tea is carefully made with love and so it makes loves! Oh... that sounded more sexual than I thought it would.

I'm going to be lazy here and just copy and paste this recipe from The Kitchn. (So the recipe below was not written by my hands.) There's nothing special about how I make my kombucha and the original process is tried and true. The only difference for my recipe is that I used goji berry green tea and agave nectar instead of white sugar. As long as there is a sugar for the bacteria to eat, it doesn't matter what kind it is. You could also use cane sugar. Whatever floats your boat. Or in this case... your baby mushroom.

I just found this good looking raw kombucha recipe which I will try for my next batch. I love GT's kombucha and it's entirely raw so there's my incentive. Plus... I obviously just like raw food.

The health benefits of kombucha are pretty awesome. I'm not saying that it's like a super miracle cure for all ailments or the secret to longevity - that comes with eating a whole foods, plant based diet, drinking enough water, exercising regularly and laughing a lot - but this fermented mushroom tea definitely has it's perks. It's excellent for detoxification, your immune system, and keeping your digestive tract happy and healthy. It's got loads of good-for-you bacteria that help keep your gut clean and efficient. Try it out! Buy a bottle at your health food store, see if you like it. If so - try making your own.

kombucha with goji berry green tea:

3 1/2 quarts water
1 cup agave nectar/raw cane sugar
8 bags goji berry green tea (or whatever tea you prefer)
2 cups starter tea from last batch of kombucha or store-bought (unpasteurized, neutral-flavored) kombucha
1 scoby per fermentation jar

Stock pot
1-gallon glass jar or two 2-quart glass jars
Bottles: Six 16-oz glass bottles with plastic lids, 6 swing-top bottles, or clean soda bottles

Instructions

Note: Avoid prolonged contact between the kombucha and metal both during and after brewing. This can affect the flavor of your kombucha and weaken the scoby over time.

1. Make the Tea Base: Bring the water to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the sweetener to dissolve. Drop in the tea and allow it to steep until the water has cooled. Depending on the size of your pot, this will take a few hours. You can speed up the cooling process by placing the pot in an ice bath.

2. Add the Starter Tea: Once the tea is cool, remove the tea bags or strain out the loose tea. Stir in the starter tea. (The starter tea makes the liquid acidic, which prevents unfriendly bacteria from taking up residence in the first few days of fermentation.)

3. Transfer to Jars and Add the Scoby: Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon glass jar (or divide between two 2-quart jars, in which case you'll need 2 scobys) and gently slide the scoby into the jar with clean hands. Cover the mouth of the jar with a few layers of cheesecloth or paper towels secured with a rubber band.

4. Ferment for 7 to 10 Days: Keep the jar at room temperature, out of direct sunlight, and where it won't get jostled. Ferment for 7 to 10 days, checking the kombucha and the scoby periodically.

It's not unusual for the scoby to float at the top, bottom, or even sideways. A new cream-colored layer of scoby should start forming on the surface of the kombucha within a few days. It usually attaches to the old scoby, but it's ok if they separate. You may also see brown stringy bits floating beneath the scoby, sediment collecting at the bottom, and bubbles collecting around the scoby. This is all normal and signs of healthy fermentation.

After seven days, begin tasting the kombucha daily by pouring a little out of the jar and into a cup. When it reaches a balance of sweetness and tartness that is pleasant to you, the kombucha is ready to bottle.

5. Remove the Scoby: Before proceeding, prepare and cool another pot of strong tea for your next batch of kombucha, as outlined above. With clean hands, gently lift the scoby out of the kombucha and set it on a clean plate. As you do, check it over and remove the bottom layer if the scoby is getting very thick.

6. Bottle the Finished Kombucha: Measure out your starter tea from this batch of kombucha and set it aside for the next batch. Pour the fermented kombucha (straining, if desired) into bottles, along with any juice, herbs, or fruit you may want to use as flavoring. Leave about a half inch of head room in each bottle. (Alternatively, infuse the kombucha with flavorings for a day or two in another jar covered with cheesecloth, strain, and then bottle. This makes a cleaner kombucha without "stuff" in it.)

7. Carbonate and Refrigerate the Finished Kombucha: Store the bottled kombucha at room-temperature out of direct sunlight and allow 1 to 3 days for the kombucha to carbonate. Until you get a feel for how quickly your kombucha carbonates, it's helpful to keep it in plastic bottles; the kombucha is carbonated when the bottles feel rock solid. Refrigerate to stop fermentation and carbonation, and then consume your kombucha within a month.

8. Make a Fresh Batch of Kombucha: Clean the jar being used for kombucha fermentation. Combine the starter tea from your last batch of kombucha with the fresh batch of sugary tea, and pour it into the fermentation jar. Slide the scoby on top, cover, and ferment for 7 to 10 days.

Zukay Raw Drinks Giveaway!

*US residents only*

Hey all! The awesome peeps over at Zukay Live Foods want to give you free stuff! Specifically - their delicious, healthful, raw, fermented veggie drinks. They call them Kvass and you can see them all here. I have tried them myself and give you my guarantee they're rad. The Green is my favourite.

So what do you have to do? 
It's EASY. Just enter the Rafflecoptor contest (at the bottom of the post) by liking This Rawsome Vegan Life and Zukay Live Foods on Facebook, and following @rawsomevegan and @zukaylivefoods on Twitter.

The grand prize is a 6-pack of drinks of your choosing. 10 runners up will get a coupon for one free drink. And finally - ANYONE (as long as you're in the U.S.) can get a coupon booklet by sending their address to Zukay Live Foods in a private Facebook message. Don't worry - they won't use your address for anything else.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

another juice fast & recipe for glowing skin

More juicing for detox! Cleansing your beautiful body is the perfect way to start off the new year, in my opinion. I'm going to do a juice fast, starting this afternoon. (This juice recipe is from yesterday afternoon after I worked out.) I would start right away today but I'm staying at my boyfriends and he is not fortunate enough to have a juicer. Sad face.

Anyone who wants to join me is totally welcome! It'll probably last about 5 to 10 days and I will be posting frequently on the blog (here) and facebook.

Even if you're eating 100% raw (or whatever you consider to be the most optimal diet for you), exercising daily and all that other good stuff, it is never a bad idea to do a juice cleanse - I use the words "fast" and "cleanse" interchangeably by the way - because you are not necessarily restricting your calories so you won't be starving or malnourished.

In fact, on a juice fast you will most likely be enjoying the most nutritious diet ever because - like I just said - you're getting adequate calories, but you are also receiving the highest quality, most nutrient-dense and high water content foods on the planet that are ridiculously easy to absorb and digest. Fresh juice is delicious and can save lives. It has already.

The juice I made today was to give my skin a boost in health and colour. Winter does a number on my skin and hair because both are pretty sensitive. Cucumber is excellent for your skin, as is celery and they are both included in this recipe. Want glowing skin? Drink cucumber juice.

glowing skin elixir:

1 cucumber

2 celery stalks

2 green apples

2 pineapple slices

1 cup mint leaves

Juice. Drink. Love.

green love

i will never get over my infatuation with green smoothies. it simply will not happen. they are about as perfect, beautiful and miraculous as something get. take a gander at that luscious colour... that is LIFE you are seeing (or is gandering a word?)

i had this smoothie for my dinner because well... why not? so that means i had all liquids today! i drank a delicious glass of juice (cucumber, bell pepper, pineapple, apple, orange, tomato) for breakfast after my workout and this smoothie for dinner. i have had a really busy day and my body should probably have more calories but i am just SO TIRED and i don't like eating right before i go to sleep. i will make sure to have a big smoothie with extra protein tomorrow after i exercise. mmm, smoothie... *dopey smile*

I HAVE EXCELLENT NEWS: i have successfully converted my darling boyfriend to the dark, satanic and freaky cult of veganism. all jokes. veganism is the bees knees! or perhaps the more appropriate term would be the corn's ear? potato's eye? artichokes heart? i dunno where this is going. nevermind. point is - being vegan is the best option for you, the planet and our fellow animals! ANYWAY...

the boyfriend is vegan. 

green smoothie love affair: serves one

1 peeled frozen banana

1 cup kale

1 sliced apple

1 peeled orange 
2 tablespoons raw hempseeds

1 cup water or so
1/8 teaspoon stevia, if desired (or use a couple dates)

blend. sip. love. 

holy garlic

we bought garlic from the farmer's market on saturday... it is so intense. like, the most potent garlic on the planet. i naively used an entire clove in the dressing of my salad, i have now killed all my taste buds. learn from my mistake - be cautious with your organic garlic. start with half a clove if you've got strong stuff.

besides the garlic insanity, this salad was friggin delish. i had a great workout up at my campus gym and all i wanted to eat afterward was a big salad from my garden. i added some chickpeas for extra protein. hemp seeds would also be a nice addition. we had grilled zucchini from last night and well... that's never a bad thing to throw in. enjoy! i sat in the sun and fought with wasps to eat this.

walnut garlic salad: serves one

dressing:

1 tablespoon mustard

1 tablespoon tamari

3 tablespoons almond milk (or water)

1/2 garlic clove

1 tablespoon miso 

1 tabelspoon honey/maple syrup (or 2 dates)

1 tablespoon hummus (optional... but yum)

salad:

2-3 grilled zucchini slices

1/2 cup chickpeas

4-5 cups kale and/or rainbow chard

2 figs

3 olives

make the dressing by blending all ingredients until smooth. hopefully you like it, it might be a little thick so feel free to add more liquid. chop up the salad topping and tear up the leaves into bite-size pieces. pour on the dressing and mix into the greens, then add your toppings. yummers.

green day

don't have too much to say today... except that i'm seriously excited about the hastiness with which my gojis are growing. the plant wasn't supposed to produce anything for at least a year - and yet look at those lovely little berries! hopefully the weather will stay hot enough, LONG enough this year for them to ripen; so i can eventually devour them like the mad beast i proudly am.

in other news: i made a delicious green smoothie today (of course, they're amazingly out-of-this-world luscious every day). i thought i'd share the recipe with you. STAY SEXY, PEOPLE!

green life magic smoothie: serves one

2-3 cups dinosaur kale

1 mango

1 banana

1 handful frozen strawberries

1/2 cup non-dairy milk

1/2 to 1 cup water, as needed

blend all the ingredients together until smooth, you can add stevia or protein powder if you like. 

then soak it up in the sun with the bees.