Last night, our local vegan/veggie group here in Shreveport had our first potluck! The turn out might not have been insane, but it meant that we were able to chat more intimately with each other, and I personally am all about that kind of interaction 🙂
Also, vegans usually know how to rock a kitchen and there was no disappointment in the offerings- even considering that Dan and I don’t eat wheat! So much gluten- free vegan goodness. My friend Nancy even made gf vegan crab cakes and remoulade sauce!
We brought a Spanish Omelette and Raw Superfood Brownies. It is a real basic raw brownie recipe, but I pimped it out and wanted to share!!
Raw Vegan Superfood Brownies with Chocolate Coconut Ganache
3 cups walnuts 1/2 cup cacao powder 1 tbsp lucuma powder 1 tbsp Maca powder 1 tbsp mesquite powder 2 tbsp Sacred Strawberry Pura Vida Powder (or any other green superfood powder you like!!) Pinch vanilla powder Pinch kalahari or Himalayan salt 3 cups dates
2 tbsp coconut oil
In food processor, process walnuts until just crumbly. Add everything else except dates and coconut oil and pulse until combined. Add dates and process until the dates are fully broken down and homogenized with the mixture. Add coconut oil and pulse a final time. Press mixture into pan and leave in fridge to set while you prepare the ganache.
Chocolate Coconut Ganache
3 tbsp coconut oil 1/4 cup maple syrup 2 tbsp cacao powder
Pinch vanilla
Blend in high speed blender until smooth and drizzle or spread over brownies. Let set in fridge.
I happened to have some of my raw Chicha chocolates left over from an order, so I melted those and drizzled that on, too! Yum, total decadence!!
What’s up? Things have been going here, it’s all kinda crazy and some days I don’t really know which way is up or down or have time to even catch my breath, much less scrub the bathtub and vacuum the floors. Any other mamas out there feel me? But I wouldn’t change a thing, and the days of having an impeccable house can wait until the babe is older and/or I can afford some help 🙂
This smoothie here is perfect for one of those days when everyone seems to need a piece of you and it’s three o clock in the afternoon and you still haven’t had time to have lunch, much less make it to the gym!! Take care of yourself, get enough nutrition in, and most importantly ENJOY it!!!
-4 frozen bananas -3 cups almond milk (or whatever type of milk you do) -2 tbsp vegan protein powder ( I use my own Sacred Strawberry Pure Plant Protein blend, but anything mild will work) -2 tsp green powder ( I use my Sacred Strawberry Pura Vida blend, but again, anything green will work.) -2 tbsp raw chocolate hazelnut spread (I used my own, but there are some great ones on the market OR just add one tbsp nut butter and one tbsp cacao powder) -1 tsp vanilla powder
-10 drops Medicine Flower banana flavored extract (optional)
Blend in a high speed blender till smooth and creamy. Makes 2 biiig servings.
I’ve been feeling sort of blah lately, lacking the energy to make it to the gym regularly or yoga class at all and then getting really frustrated with the lack of progress I am seeing towards my fitness goals. Well, as the adage goes, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of insanity! So, I decided to shake things up again and do smoothies all day! Really, what a difference in how I feel already- and with absolutely NO sacrifice!!
For breakfast, I had this little delicious thing here:
This one had frozen banana and peaches, strawberries and blackberries from the FarMar, wild dandelion greens, Malabar spinach and spearmint from the garden, maqui berry powder and soaked hazelnuts. It kept me going for hours and fueled me through my workout today at the gym.
When I got home, I was sooo ready for this variation on the carrot cake smoothie:
Organic carrots, frozen banana, more Malabar spinach, vanilla, almond milk and a packet of Vega protein powder in Vanilla Almondilla flavor. So so good!
Dinner tonight was a big ol green salad and a bit of Amy’s Kitchen gluten-free vegan pizza doctored up with artichoke hearts, sautéed mushrooms, onions and red bell pepper. Maybe not health food, but good for the soul of this tired mama who did not want to cook tonight 🙂
I leave you with a vegan ice cream recipe that takes advantage of the seasonal bounty of delicious berries. I used strawberries and blackberries but any kind of berry would work here. Get your good fat on!
Berry Coconut Hemp Ice Cream with Chocolate Flake
2 cans full fat coconut milk 1 cup hemp seeds 1 cup strawberries 1 cup blackberries 1 cup coconut sugar 1/2 tsp vanilla powder or extract 1 tsp maqui berry powder (or acai)
1/2 tsp strawberry extract (optional)
For chocolate flake: 1/2 c coconut oil, melted 1/4 c coconut sugar
1/4 c cacao powder
Stir or blend until smooth
Blend in high speed blender until smooth. Transfer to ice cream maker and freeze as per manufacturers instructions adding in chocolate during the last 5 minutes or transfer to a freezer safe container, stir in chocolate and freeze, stirring every two hours until frozen. Let thaw briefly before serving.
Makes about 8 servings.
Thanks for reading!
xx