basil + peanut butter cookies with coconut + chili ice cream

This recipe and post is a big thanks to you. Thanks for what? Voting me FIRST PLACE in The Vegan Woman's 2013 Vegan Food Blog Guide. I had no idea I was even a contender so I was absolutely shocked, honoured and flattered when I saw my placement. I love you all so much, not only for supporting me, encouraging me, and constantly sending me your love from around the globe - but also because you are such beautiful, caring, positive people. You make the world a better place, and I am forever grateful to share this green planet with you.

The reason I continue creating, photographing and sharing the recipes I do, is because you are here to see them! You are my inspiration and every day I work hard to think of recipes that will help make you happier, and make your lives a bit sweeter (literally and naturally). I cannot believe I am where I am today - being acknowledged as the #1 vegan food blog of 2013, having emails and and wonderful comments flooding my inbox, blog and Facebook page daily, and seriously thinking of making this my professional job - but I am so thankful I am. Without you, I wouldn't be here. So thank you... thank you.

I give all my love to you.

Now that the mushy love stuff is over (boo), I will give you the food porn (yay)! I was actually inspired by photos and flavours in this recipe from Desserts for Breakfast (notice the gorgeous photography all over the website) but I didn't have any fresh rosemary. I did, however, have fresh Thai basil! So I thought "Hey, basil and peanut butter would taste great together, right?" Yes. Then my mom gave me the idea to make the whole thing Thai-themed by adding chili to the coconut ice cream. HECK YA. Now we're cooking (or rather, un-cooking).

I know the flavours are little funky slash exotic but TRUST ME - the result is amazeballs. The ice cream is made from coconut milk (not technically raw) and raw cane sugar, but if you want to use banana ice cream or my other raw ice cream recipe - go right ahead. Just make sure to add some chili powder! In the cookies, the peanut butter flavour comes through right away and then you are hit with the flavour of basil - it works.

It works deliciously.

basil peanut butter cookies with coconut chili ice cream: serves five lucky people

Cookies:
3/4 cup buckwheat groats (or oats)
1 cup dates
1 cup fresh basil leaves
4 tablespoons peanut butter (or your preferred nut butter)

Ice cream:
1 can full fat organic coconut milk
1/4 cup raw cane sugar (or your preferred sweetener) 
1-2 teaspoons chili powder, to taste!

To make the cookies: pulse the buckwheat groats in your food processor until they become a rough flour. Add the rest of the ingredients and process until you can press the mixture in your hand and it sticks together. Press into 10 cookies and dehydrate for a few hours if desired. Or put them in the fridge.

To make the ice cream: blend all ingredients until smooth. It will taste SO GOOD. If you have an ice cream maker, use it. If not, Put the ice cream mixture in a container and put it in the freezer, stirring it every 30 minutes until it's all solid.

Assembly: you know what to do. Cookie. Ice cream scoop. Cookie. Bite. Smile.

deep dish chocolate peanut butter ice cream cake

Holy mega chocolate-peanut butter-gasms. This is THE Ultimate Epic Healthy Cake (notice the official-looking capitalization there). I set out to make one cake to rule them all, and I think I succeeded. But you should be the judge. Make the recipe and tell me what you think.

I would apologize for all the ice cream cakes I've been making lately... but that sentence just wouldn't make any sense: "I am sorry I have been making so many ice cream cake recipes." Yeah, that's just plain silliness. I am so NOT sorry. 

The crust of this is made of hemp seeds, flax seeds, cacao and dates; and the filling is a blend of bananas, dates, cashews, coconut oil, and cacao. I swirled in some peanut butter and raw chocolate sauce as well, and also put them on top, along with some cacao nibs and hemp seeds. 100% pure raw food goodness right here. It don't get no better than this.

And you don't need to worry about eating too many nuts (but seriously, nuts are so good for you) in a slice, because 1/8th of the cake gives you your daily intake of every ingredient! I'm clever like that. *WINK* Also, if you're allergic to peanuts, you can use whatever nut butter you want. I don't want to kill you.

So as always, you can indulge in this decadent dessert absolutely guilt-free. In fact, you can feel great about eating it because it contains TONS of good stuff for you. The benefits of eating hemp, flax, cacao, raw nuts, fruit, coconut oil and dates are too many to count. This cake is basically a super food nutrition house, in disguise as a sinfully delicious deep dish ice cream cake.

In other words: dis cake cray. 

deep dish chocolate peanut butter ice cream cake: 

Crust:

1 cup dates

1/2 cup hemp seeds

1/3 cup whole flax seeds

3 tablespoons cacao powder 

Filling:

3 frozen bananas
1 cup dates
2 cups cashews
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 1/4 cups water or vegan milk, as needed
1/4 cup cacao powder
2 tablespoons nut butter (whatever kind you like, I used peanut butter of course)

Optional:
Raw chocolate sauce
Fave nut butter 

To make the crust: pulse the hemp and flax seeds and cacao in your food processor until they become a rough flour, then add the dates and process until it all gets sticky. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a spring form pan. Put in the fridge. 

To make the filling: blend all the ingredients until smooth, adding water or vegan milk as needed to make it creamy. Spread evenly into your crust, occasionally swirling in nut butter and chocolate sauce if you're using them (soooo recommended). Put in the freezer overnight or until frozen solid, and let it thaw a little bit before serving, so it's nice and creamy. enjoy!

vanilla chocolate chunk cheesecake with peanut butter + coconut

This is my new favourite recipe, and you can probably see why. Chocolate, peanut butter, banana, coconut, vanilla - all in one gooey, decadent cheesecake. Just... YES. I made this for my boyfriend as an apology cake and I'm pretty sure it guarantees I am forgiven. Although I may have just jinxed it... Nawwwww. I'm good. Look at this thing. 

Seriously, make this for people who call you mean names for being vegan or eating healthy. They will never mock your diet choices again. It tastes so deliciously dirty. I crammed a piece into my mouth (sans cutlery) while moaning "OH. MY. GOSH." The boyfriend had two slices before it was even dinner time. 

A couple side notes: I sprinkled some date pieces, coconut flakes and cacao nibs throughout the layers for extra texture - I recommend doing this. The dates are chewy, the cacao nibs are crunchy, the coconut flakes are... coconut-y goodness. Also, I decorated the top with some chocolates I had made the day before. You can use my raw chocolate recipe here. 

vanilla chocolate chunk cheesecake with peanut butter + coconut: 

Crust:

1 cup oats (or buckwheat if you want it GF)

1 cup dates

Cheesecake:

2 or more bananas

1/4 cup melted coconut oil

2 cups cashews

1 1/2 cups dates

1/4 cup liquid sweetener, like maple syrup, if desired

Beans from one vanilla pod (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract) 

Water, as needed

1/4 cup cacao or carob powder

Topping:

3 tablespoons raw chocolate

3 tablespoons raw peanut butter (or you can use regular - it's up to you)

To make the crust: process the oats (or buckwheat) and dates until they stick together. Press into the bottom of a spring form pan and put in the fridge. 

To make the cheesecake: blend all ingredients - EXCEPT cacao or carob - until very smooth. Add as little water as possible to keep your cheesecake creamy. If you don't want to add any water, use some liquid sweetener or another banana. Now take out half the batter and put in a bowl. Add the cacao or carob in the remaining batter that is still in your blender and blend until it's incorporated. Now spread the vanilla layer and the chocolate layers on your crust, alternating a few times. Set in the freezer overnight and then drizzle with peanut butter and chocolate the next day. Enjoy! 

peanut butter coconut cups with dark chocolate

I guarantee you will like these, and if you share them - you will become famously popular. I should have made more so I could give away them at my university tutorials... that'd get me some good grades. Next time. I should clarify my guarantee though: AS LONG as you like peanut butter, coconut and chocolate - you will like these. But who doesn't like those? Unless you're allergic, in which case you have my deepest sympathies, you poor thing.

I thought of the idea for this recipe the other day when I got home from school; I was very hungry but dinner was soon so I didn't want to stuff my face and "ruin my appetite". Thus I snacked on the nearest munchies - coconut chunks and organic peanut butter. It tasted so good (probably in part from my hunger) that I decided to make coconut peanut butter cups! I added some chocolate for good measure. Feel free to throw in some protein powder to make these perfect for a post-workout treat.

Peanut Butter Coconut Cups with Dark Chocolate: makes about 20

Cups:
1 cup coconut chunks/shreds
3/4 cup raw oats (or almonds)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/8 cup melted coconut oil

Chocolate:
1/2 batch of raw chocolate (or 2 melted dark chocolate bars)

To make the cups: throw all the ingredients in your food processor and pulse until you can press it together. If it's too dry, add some dates or peanut butter. Press into lined cupcake tins, leaving just a little bit of room on the top to pour the chocolate on... now pour the chocolate on and decorate with nuts if you like. Put them in the fridge overnight. I sprinkled some sea salt on top, 'cause it's pretty and stuff. You know.

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

reeses pie

this is really yummy and pretty darn healthy. it's not raw because it has tofu, but hey, in my books - tofu is A-OK. the crust is mostly peanuts and as you can see the filling is chocolate, so it's like a giant reeses peanut butter cup!

sorry the pictures aren't very good today... long story short, my camera has been stolen! along with many other valuables. i guess that's why you don't leave important possessions in your car when you go camping in the wilderness. lesson learned.

here's some lovely music to stream while you make this pie. the album is brand new and beautiful.

reeses peanut butter chocolate pie: makes one pie

crust:

1 cup peanuts

1 cup walnuts

1 cup dates

1 tablespoon peanut butter (if needed)

filling:

1 package firm tofu

2 tablespoons honey/agave/maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons cocoa

1 1/2 cups vegan chocolate chips (or broken up chocolate bars)

to make the crust, blend all the ingredients together in your food processor until it forms a crumbly ball. press into a pie plate and refrigerate. to make the filling, melt the chocolate, then blend all ingredients together until smooth. spoon the filling into the crust and let it chill for an hour or two. this is good with bananas... but isn't everything?

chocolate banana berry pudding

first of all - one green planet is letting me write for them!!! <3 so check this post out on their website too. they're one of my fave vegan organizations and they cover all territories of the lifestyle in a very cool way.

now i have some questions for you: do you like bananas? do you like chocolate? do you like peanut butter? do you like berries? do you like delicious, health-giving food?

i sure hope so; because then you will love this recipe. it's so tasty, and as all food should be - good for you and your sexy bod. it's pretty much just fruit blended with some cacao and nut butter. you don't have to add nut butter though (if you want it to be fat-free).

i've made chocolate pudding with avocado before and it's freaking mind-blowing-good. but bananas and berries are amazing in their own right so this is an alternative version. eat it up! get your fruit for the day.

i can't understand why people would choose to eat processed chocolate pudding from powder that might cause chronic illness and cancer, when you can eat a whole foods fruit pudding that's cheaper AND will give you longer life, glowing skin, and optimal brain function. for me, it's a no brainer ;)

chocolate berry pudding: serves 1-2 

1 banana

handful frozen strawberries

handful blueberries

3-5 dates or prunes

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons cacao 

1/4 cup non-dairy milk (or more, add as needed)

1 tablespoon nut butter/coconut oil to make it creamy (optional)

blend all ingredients together until silky smooth! easy easy easy. top off with goji berries and mint if you have them. best enjoyed in the summer sun with people you love. and music you love... like this song:

chocolate peanut butter magic

these are uber tasty! my friend and i went to a music festival in kitsilano (awesome hipster/hippie/yuppie town) and saw a bunch of cool bands play. i really enjoyed nu sensae, weed and peace. anyways THE POINT IS: i got a delicious smoothie at sejuiced and she got this peanut butter chocolate dessert concoction. it was so good we decided i had to make my own version at home.

SO HERE YA GO.

 -

chocolate peanut butter summer delights: makes around 20

1/4 cup honey/agave
1/2 cup dates
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup peanuts
1/4 cup coconut chunks
2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 carob powder
1/4 cup cacao powder
1/3 rice puffs (preferably whole grain, organic)

put everything EXCEPT the rice puffs in your food processor and pulse until it sticks together. i didn't measure anything so you may have to adjust some of the amounts til you get the consistency you want. it should taste amazing. add the rice puffs and mix in with a wooden spoon. press the mix into circle molds (or whatever you have) and put in the fridge for a couple hours. or eat them right away. i did.

okay one more thing. i've been finding all kinds of awesome music lately. most of it is pretty bizarre though so i don't share it with you because the chances are the majority of you won't like it. BUT this song is pretty chill and darn beautiful so i hope you enjoy.