maca | Sacred Strawberry

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!!

My weekend was great.  We had a super-relaxing weekend, and also spent a lot of time organizing and cleaning our space.  Yesterday afternoon, we finally made it out to swim in the river again!  It was so refreshing and relaxing to do on a lazy Sunday.  It also made me realize that I need to have more faith that things will always work out as they should.  No matter how many times the universe tries to teach me this lesson, I still haven’t learned (yet!)

I think maybe it was having such intimate contact with the Earth yesterday, but I woke up this morning feeling super groggy.  I didn’t really want to have coffee, so I made this drink that I also had on Saturday afternoon when I felt my energy flagging a bit.  I don’t want to call it a coffee substitute, as it is what it is in its own right, but it does share a similar flavor profile.  Whatever you want to think of it as, give it a try when you need a pick-me-up!

Energizing Superfood Elixir

Ingredients

• 2 cups nut milk (I used a combination of pumpkin seed, cashew and sesame- amazing!)
• 1 tbsp. coconut oil
• 1 tsp. he shou wou extract powder
• 1 tbsp. chaga powder
• 1 tbsp. lucuma powder
• 2 tbsp. carob powder
• 2 tsp. maca powder
• 1 dropperful English Toffee stevia (raw honey would also be incredible in this- I would use 1-2 tbsp.)

Blend it up and enjoy!  Serves 2.

Elixir Energetico con Superalimentos

Ingredientes

• 2 tazas leche de frutos secos (Yo usé una combinación de sesamo, anacardo y semillas de calabaza- salió rico rico!)
• 1 cucharada aceite de coco
• 1 cucharadita extracto en polvo de he shou wou
• 1 cucharada chaga
• 1 cucharada lucuma
• 2 cucharaditas maca
• 2 cucharadas algarroba
• 20 gotas estevia líquido English Toffee (o bien miel cruda- 1 a 2 cucharadas al gusto)

Batir y disfrutar! Sirve 2

…superfoods, that is!

 I wouldn’t say that I am one of those people obsessed with superfoods, making elixirs that end up costing something outrageous like 20 dollars per blenderful.  But on the other hand, I do think that they have their place in a conscious diet.  

Ideally, it would be amazing to get all of our nutrients and trace minerals from the produce that we eat, but we have to be realistic about the fact that our soil is seriously depleted of these necessary trace elements (yes, even in organic food!)

Another objection that people generally have to superfoods, and one that I understand and struggle with myself is the whole local foods being ideal vs. superfoods being sourced from across the globe.  Again, I think it is always best to balance idealism with a balance of pragmatism.  Absolutely, each geographic area on this planet has it’s own indigenous superfoods and it is not explicitly necessary to eat suma from Brazil, ashwaganda from India, goji berries from China, mesquite from Arizona and chaga from Russia if a person lives in Western Europe, for example.  Living in Spain, there is an ABUNDANCE of wild edibles and herbals, which to me should be considered superfoods.  My husband and I routinely collect nettles, purslane, chicory, rosemary, lavender, pine pollen  and more, depending on the season of course!

On the flip side of that, we DO live in a global society, however much we may dislike that fact.  That does have it’s advantages.  I absolutely adore the flavors of Thai food, and some of those ingredients are simply not local to me.  Does that mean that I shouldn’t enjoy it?  Of course not!  I think the same is true for superfoods, when they are sourced as ethically and sustainably as possible.  I truly believe that the world IS facing some massive structural changes, and that we will in our lifetimes undergo  radical changes to our lifestyle, necessarily resulting in a return to more local economies.  But for the moment, I think that we have been given a special gift in that we are able to pick and choose the most nutrient-dense and delicious foods from all over the globe.  

Anyway, my point in all of this (after much rambling!) is simply that recently, I have had an intense craving for the very first superfoods that I was introduced to years ago, but which have fallen into disuse in my kitchen- goji berries and maca.  Maybe it has something to do with my body craving specific nutrients, or maybe not, but all I know is that I HAD to have them!

So, I whipped a few things up!  These are what I am calling

Local vs. Global Superfood Truffle Balls

These balls are not especially sweet, so if you have a massive sweet tooth or are accustomed to sugary foods, then I would suggest adding in 2 tbsp. local honey or agave syrup.

• 1 cup walnuts and 1 c hazelnuts ( or 2 cups whatever nuts are local to you- these are local to me)
• 1 cup dried figs (or another dried fruit that is local to you)
• 1/2 cup goji berries
• 2 tbsp. carob powder (carob happens to be grown in Spain- if mesquite is more local to you, use that!)
• 2 tbsp. cacao powder
• 2 tbsp. maca powder
• 1 tsp. crystal manna powder
• pinch salt
• 1/3 cup cacao butter, melted
• 1/4 cup xylitol, for rolling balls in

Process nuts and dried fruit, then add everything else minus the cacao butter to the food processor and process again until fully incorporated.  It will still be quite crumbly.  Add cacao butter and process once more. Roll into balls with your hands, and then roll in xylitol to finish.

Ingredients assembled:

Look at those gorgeous figs from the Alpujarran mountains:

Finished product:

Another recipe I made with the maca is my 

Super Curry Macamole

• 1 large ripe avocado
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tbsp. bee pollen
• 1/4 tsp. crystal manna
• 1/2-1 tbsp. maca powder
• 1/2-1 tbsp. curry powder

Mush everything together in a bowl and enjoy!

I loved this on some red pepper flax crackers I made:

That is it for now!  I have to go pack for this weekend, as I am going on a retreat for the end of my Kundalini Yoga teacher training.  We are going to be learning about Ayurvedic cooking among other things, so hopefully I will be able to come back with some new inspiration on Monday!  I made the truffles to take along, so hopefully they will be well received 🙂

Thanks for reading!

xx