Every Day I'm Trufflling...

So, while reviewing my cart on the check-out line at Whole Foods, I picked up one of the few packaged items among the heaps of cruciferous and root veggies. It was one of may favorite treats, the 88% dark (not for amateurs!) chocolate bar by Endangered Species. It really is lovely bar/ company; all sustainably sourced ingredients, they donate 10% of net profits to wildlife preservation, not to mention (and most importantly) delicious. However, in my effort to save packaging/money/the world, I shifted my gaze to the bag of figs in my cart and remembered the huge bag of raw cacao powder in my fridge at home. And the rest is history...no, really, these truffles won't last very long!

Pink salt, coconut flakes, rose petals and love

Ingredients: (makes 14 truffles) 

1 cup almond meal (alternatively, put whole almonds in a food processor and pulse until it reaches a flour-like consistency. You can also use another kind of nut or seeds such as sunflower to make them nut-free)

2/3 cup dried fid

4 generous tablespoons raw cacao powder (I purchased a two-pack of Navitas Naturals and put one in the freezer and keep one in my fridge. It's a bit of an investment at first, but it will last...or not if I keep making truffles :)

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup water (preferably filtered)

I'm an addict. A coconut addict, that is!

Toppings:

The options are really endless as this almond/fig combo creates a very versatile base. Here are the two versions I made, by feel free to play around!

Version #1: Cinna-Sesame (sesame seeds, ground cinnamon, pinch of cayenne pepper, pinch of ground ginger)

Version #2: Salted-Coconut (dried coconut flake with course pink Himalayan sea salt mixed in) I also stuck a little dried rose petal on top, just to make them extra fancy

Other ideas: bee pollen, dried lavender or other herbs, goji berries, cacao nibs...

These taste as good as they look

Combine the almond meal, figs, cacao powder and vanilla extract in the base of a food processor.Process on high as you slowly stream the water into the running processor. It should form a sticky dough pretty quickly, but you may need to stop the machine and scrape down the sides. Using a measuring spoon, scoop out 1 TBS of the dough and roll it between your palms into a nice ball. Repeat until no dough remains. You should be able to make 14 truffles, though it will depend on the size of your balls (and also how much dough you use for each truffle. haha!) Get all your topping ingredients ready on a big plate. Have a small bowl of warm water handy to dip each truffle in before rolling the topping of choice to help it stick. I also found that coating my hands in coconut oil first prevented the dough from sticking, while simultaneously moisturizing my hands! These can be enjoyed immediately or stored in the freezer for later. 

Death Row Chocolates

No, there isn't anything in this recipe that will get you the death sentence, but I did have an epiphany while savoring a few of these badboys that if I had to choose my last meal before execution, it would probably include these. Maybe a glass of champagne to go with? Oooh, I'm going to the chair, not the club... Anyways, these are so decadent and delicious that you will find yourself wanting them for your last meal and pre-meal too! I chose to make mine mostly raw because I'm kinda on that train right now, but you  can sub regular chocolate chips in for the cacao butter/ powder. 


I've been a little intimidated by the idea of making my own raw chocolates for a while. I mean, there are so many amazing brands that I've tried over the years, how could I compete? But when I was perusing one of my favorite West Village health food stores and found a funky little company that stone grinds whole Balinese cacao beans into a powder and then paste (assuming from the oils that are released) and then leaves it to harden into little bricks so they can easily be melted down over low-heat, I knew my time to delve into the world of raw chocolate making had arrived. (wow was that a run-on or what?!)


Sooo...I did exactly what the package told me to. I melted the little bricks of chocolate in a double-boiler and added a sweetener of my choice (maple syrup). I also added equal parts of coconut oil to make the chocolate extra silky smooth. I believe the ratio went something like this:

1 cup chocolate : 3tsp maple syrup : 3tsp coconut oil

As soon as all the ingredients were well combined, I turned off the heat and quickly (very key here) began dipping my strawberries into the mix. I poured the remaining chocolate concoction into heart shaped rubber ice cube trays (I think from Ikea?) which I had prepared by sprinkling half with Himalayan sea salt and the rest with coconut flakes so that they would rest on top of the chocolates after they hardened.  

It was so rewarding to have a healthy (chocolate is really good for you, okay!) treat on hand, and even more so because I knew exactly what went into making them; ingredient and labor wise. I learned a. to stop being intimidated by seemingly daunting tasks b. everything tastes better when you make it from scratch, no matter how imperfect looking it may turn out and finally,  c.  chocolate + sea salt= best combination. ever. 

Zucchini wraps with cream sauce

Tonight I was the sous chef for Todd and we made this entirely raw meal. The cream sauce was very sweet with a tinge of spice. Lots of chopping but it was totally work it!


Ingredients:
Spinach cream dressing:
3 Cups of almonds, ground to a powder in food processor
3 Cups coconut cream
1.5 Cups coconut water (liquid remaining in can)
6 Cups spinach
1.5 Cups Lemon juice
Pinch of salt
Pinch of black pepper
Pinch of chipotle pepper (optional, but delicious :)


Lettuce wrap filling:
5 Carrots, grated
4 Cucumbers, cubed
5 Zucchini, cubed
5 Avocado, cubed
8 Tomatoes, cubed


Romane lettuce (for wrapping)


Simply place all the almonds (a few cups at a time) into the food processor until blended into a fine powder. Add the remainder of the dressing ingredients and process until smooth.


Chop filling ingredients into to small pieces. Place a few pinches of each filling ingredients and place on a a lettuce leaf with a dollop of dressing. Roll and munch!

<3veg<3

our little D.I.Y station with the extras

A sweet birthday and a sweet pie

Today is my birthday! Woo 22! I've never been a huge fan of birthdays I took it pretty easy for most of the day, which was a nice contrast to most birthdays, which tend to be filled with high expectations and too many activities for one's good. I started off the day with some restorative yoga and watercolored a card to send send to my dad for father's day. Then I just texted or spoke on the phone to all the people who are really important to me, which reminded me of all the amazing people I have in my life. I think because I didn't try to make a big deal out of the day, it ended up being one of the best birthdays I've had in a while.

Flowers my amazing mama sent me. Note the "Ms. Farth" on the card ha

I made a semi-raw pumpkin pie for my birthday cake (I know, but I really wanted to cook on the day of my birthday). Two other people cooked a delicious dinner for everyone. Here's what our table scape looked like:

INGREDIENTS::


Raisin-Walnut Crust:
3 Cups almond flour (almonds pulverized in a food processor)
2 cups walnuts (add these at the end so some remain whole)
2 cups raisins 
1/2 cup maple syrup
3 Tbsp coconut oil
1-4 Tbsp water (for blending, depending on how )


Pumpkin Chia Filling:
6 Cups canned pumpkin puree
2/3 Cup unsweetened almond milk
1 Cup pure maple syrup
6 Tbsp chia seeds
4 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
8 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice


Maple Whip:

3 Cans coconut milk (chilled in the fridge for at least one hour)
1/3 Maple syrup


Topping:
1/2 Cup Vegan chocolate chips

Whisk all the filling ingredients together in a bowl until smooth. Set in fridge to chill.


If making your own almond flour, place almonds in a food processor one cup at a time until ground to a powder. Add raisins and walnuts and pulse to combine. Add oil and drizzle maple syrup until a dough is formed. Add water if it seems too dry. 

Place dough into a pan and press down into edges to form a crust with your fingers. I greased the pan and my hands with coconut oil to prevent sticking. Place the crust in the freezer for a half hour.

Pour pudding into the crust. Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler and drizzle over the pie. Allow to chill for at least an hour before serving

To make the coconut maple whip cream, place the cans of coconut milk in the fridge and chill for an hour. Once chilled, remove the cans and scoop out only the solidified coconut milk, leave the liquid in the can and use for a smoothie or just drink it straight! 
Add maple syrup and whip with a hand mixture until it resembles whipped cream.

The pie wasn't the only sweet thing I enjoyed on my bday. After dinner, I was  blindfolded and lead up the stairs. Then I sat down in a chair and was lifted and spun around hava-nagila style before being placed down on the ground. All the musicians in the house played music and everyone else came around and whispered nice things in my ear. I felt so disoriented not only because I had no clue what was going on, but because I never expected anyone (let alone a group of people I've only known for a week and change) to surprise me with something so sweet and thoughtful. It was a truly magical day.

Raw thai salad and mexican chili

Today I decided to co-sous chef in the kitchen so I could learn how to make these two delicious raw recipes. I mostly made the salad (which was so bomb, I ate it again for lunch AND dinner the next day) but the chili was equally amazing and filling!

Thai Inspired Slaw Salad::  (you can adapt to what you have on hand)

Carrot, grated

Cucumber, sliced julian style

Zucchini, sliced

Broccoli, chopped into small pieces 

For the dressing:

Penut butter (or almond butter)

Sesame oil

Maple syrup

Orange juice

Salad Ingredients: (you can adapt to what you have on hand)

Mix dressing ingredients in a bowl and set in refrigerator to chill. Slice veggies into small pieces and coat in the dressing. Allow to chill for a bit before serving as to let the flavors meld together. 

Raw chili:

Tomatos 

Red and green bell peppers

Corn

Jalepeno pepper 

Acocado

Sun-dried tomatos

Dried chipotle pepers 

Process half the ingredients in a food processor. Chop the rest (excluding any dried ingredients) and mix well. 

raw cacao snowballs

Even though it hasn't snowed yet here in New York (hellooo global warming?) I've been enjoying these entirely raw, chocolatey snowball-looking treats (I mean how could something chocolate that looks like a snowball be bad?) as dessert and also giving them as holiday gifts. They are super simple to whip up and a great alternative to processed treats to feed your sweet tooth! This recipe was inspired by a few different raw treats I have tried over the years, but mostly came from this recipe for raw brownies over at Lookbook Cookbook. If you haven't already checked out this site, I highly recommend!

Ingredients:

(makes 12 snowballs)

1/2c raw walnuts

1/2c almond meal

1c pitted dates

4Tbsp raw cacao powder

1/4tsp vanilla extraxt

dash of salt

about 1/2c coconut flakes for rolling

Just testing to make sure they're not poisonous ;)

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a food processor. I added the walnuts in last and just gave them a few pulses so there would be whole chunks in the mix. The mixture should stick together between your fingers a little. Don't overmix, as it will release the oils from the nuts. You can add a few drops of water if it isn't sticking together at all.Roll the batter into the size of golf balls, then roll in the coconut flakes. Place on a plate in the freezer for at least 30 minutes to harden. Enjoy!

Did I mention these make a great gift?

*yes it is vital to overly wrap them in girly pink bows & things

chocolaaate?!?! for breakfast!?!?!!!

Once upon a time, there was a girl who was in the middle of finals week, and although she was too tired sleep-deprived to prepare healthy meals and all she really wanted to was shovel chocolate bars down throat, she did all she could to resist. This girl was me just a few weeks ago. Some people crave sweets under stress other crave carbs. I crave raw chocolate granola. I discovered this brand (pictured) at a local health food store and it's pretty much what I subsisted off of for a few days. However, at $10 a bag, I knew this could not become a habit (not just for monetary, but nutritional reasons too!!) I knew the ingredients were all things I had at home, and with a little tweaking, I was able to recreate this amazing treat in a study break's worth of time. Totally worth the effort as it saved me money and gave me tons of energy to power through those all-nighters.

WARNING: This stuff is highly addictive and nutritious!

Dry Ingredients:

1c raw buckwheat groats, soaked over night

1/2 raw sunflower seeds, soaked 3-4 hours

1 Tbsp ground flaxseed

1 Tbsp chia seed

3 heaping Tbsp coconut flakes, plus more for topping

1/2 raisins or any other dried fruits

Superfood "Batter" Ingredients:

1 packet of frozen acai berry

1/2 Tabsp spiralina (or less to taste, I'm a spiraling groupy so I like lots!)

1/4c raw cacao powder (I used one that contains macs too, it's my favorite brand)

dash of cinnamon

stevia to taste

Begin by mixing all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

Blend the "batter ingredients" together in a blender and then pour over the dry. Stir until evenly coated.

Spread the mixture onto a dehydrator tray lined with parchment paper. I spread it in an even layer, not too thin, this way the mix chunks together. Mmmm chunks!

At this point you can add additional toppings. I choice more coconut flakes for sweetness, bee pollen for added energy and cacao nibs for more chocolaty crunch!

Optional additions:

Cacao nibs

Bee pollen

Additional nuts or seeds

Mulberries

Goji berries

Let everything dehydrate overnight, until hardened. Break the large pieces into smaller chunks and store in an airtight jar (if it even lasts that long!) Or, be like me and transfer it straight into a bowl and top will almond milk.

Munch.

This recipe has been submitted to Healthy Vegan Friday on Carrie on Vegan

RAWmadan

So while all my roommates were Austin Texas for SXSW this past week week, and left in the apartment was just me, Mr. Bones and the residue of four girls with crazy hectic lives and probably the remains of a few parties that our hung-over selves did a skimpy job of cleaning up after. I took this week as a perfect opportunity to do a little detox; of our home and myself. I cleaned all surfaces and scraped the crust that collected on the bottom of our fridge and tossed anything that had been living in there for too long.

Like I said, I also felt that I needed to detox myself a little bit of the sludge that built up over midterms week. I figured since I would finally have some time (ended up not being nearly as much as I thought) I would try to stick to only clean, raw foods. I had dabbled in raw foodism a few summers ago but I think the fact that I lacked my own kitchen and general knowledge of nutrition back then, I didn’t really go about it in the best way.

While actually preparing all these raw meals was a bit time consuming, it was totally worth it and I definitely reaped many benefits including more energy, clearer skin (like, actually cleared up all existing blemishes and I still haven’t gotten any new ones since!) diminished food cravings, minimized anxiety and just all around boosted my mood! I was about 90% raw for 5 consecutive days (I think my tahini is not raw and I may have had some roasted nuts while baby sitting...whoops o well) but I felt better almost immediately and would suggest trying to go raw for a day here and there or even just incorporating more raw foods into your diet. I think since the weather is starting to get warmer (…and then randomly cold again?) we tend to naturally gravitate towards more fresh and lighter cooked foods. Some other things that I think also attributed to me feeling great this week include:

-taking vitamins daily

-dry brushing (exfoliates, good for blood flow and release of toxins)

-rubbed coconut oil all over my hair and body (and I’m so silky smooth because of it :)

-apple cider vinegar (diluted into a hair rinse and toner balances ph levels)

-yoga (felt like I was really able to concentrate on each movement and how it affected my body. Sounds all hippy-dippy I know, but I truly just felt so much more in-touch with my body. I also accidentally went to a Bikram yoga class for the first time (hey, it was advertised as “hot yoga”) and instead of running out of studio, I stayed, gave it a try and…absolutely LOVED IT. It was one of the most intense things I’ve ever done but it was great and I plan to incorporate it into my normal yoga routine. One of the best mistakes I’ve ever made!)

-went on a few jogs outside with Mr. Bones (although I don’t think running is good for our bodies (or at least mine) these run-jogs I went on made me feel strong and energized. It also forced me to spend more time out side, I got explore parts of my neighborhood I don’t generally get to and it also made Mr. Bones very happy, which made me happy.

-sleep (something I often don’t get as much as I like of.)

-no T.V.-I’m really not a big T.V. watcher, I’ll usually just watch a few shows on my computer from time to time but I really made and effort to spend less time in front of screens.

Okay…now onto the recipes!! Breakfast usually consisted of smoothies (which I actually ate with a spoon, out of a bowl, parfait-style, much more satisfying and pretty. Lunch and dinner were either salads or veg dishes and I really tried my best to be experiemental and keep things interesting. I’m going to post the recipes over a couple of days with some updates of other (non-food related!!) things I’ve been up to this week. Hope you try some of these recipes out and enjoy!

My oatmeal replacer:

So I’ve mentioned on here before that I pretty much eat oatmeal everyday for breakfast. While oatmeal is delicious and nutritious, it is not raw. Therefore I set out to find a way to fit all a filling mix of carbs and protein into my morning meal. Enter the smoothie parfait. The general formula was this:

1-2T ground flax seeds, soaked in 2-4T water for a bit before in the same bowl I ended up eating out of

1 cup frozen fruit

1 cup liquid for blending (this was either water or almond milk for me but you could also use juice)

1 stalk of whatever leafy greens you have lying around (virtually tasteless and then boom- you just ate raw leafy greens for breakfast without even realizing!)

Agave nectar for sweetness

Superfoods!

2T hulled, raw hemp seeds (for protein! But you can also use raw protein powder. Nutiva makes a great one)

1-2T cacao/ maca powder blend

1T cacao nibs sprinkled on top for a pretty presentation, energizing kick and satisfying crunch!

1T of whatever else I’ve got (this was mostly some pumpkin or sesame seeds-I’m really into crunchy smoothies- but gogi berries are great to. Other stand-out super foods I use when I can are spirilina, chia seeds...

**A note on superfoods: These are NOT SUPER hard to find. They can pretty much be found at any health food store or at Whole Foods. I got mine from the bulk bins at the 4th Street Food Co-op because it was the cheapest option and I was able to bring my own bags to eliminate packaging and not shipping! The Navitas Naturals site has an amazing selection as well as an array of recipes to give you ideas of how to actually use them.

Even when I’m not eating all raw, I think flax seed crackers make a fabulous snack. Unfortunately, packed varieties are so stupidly expensive that I never get to have them unless I make them myself (which I should really do more often). They are quite simple to make, the only thing is you have plan ahead about 12 hours before want to eat them. They’re great with dips, crumbled onto soups or salads, made into an open-face sandwich with avocado and veggies or eaten on their own like chips.

Flax Seed Crackers:

½ cup ground flax seeds, placed in a mixing bowl and soaked over night in 1 cup of water

½ white onion

crushed garlic to taste (I used just under a whole clove because I am a garlic fiend)

½ red bell pepper

½ orange bell pepper

1 stalk of celery

1 jalapeño pepper

1 large handful of mixed leafy greens

sea salt and black pepper to taste

Roughly chop all the veggies. I should mention that no two batches of flax seed crackers I make have ever been the same. I always use whatever I have on hand (I should mention that this is a great way to put to use whatever veggies you have that are on their way out) but this batch was particularly tasty so I decided to write down exactly what I put in, but feel free to shake it up! Anyways, so the veggies are chopped and then I decided to put them in the blender, but you can choose not to if you want a chunkier cracker. Then I dumped in the flax seeds, which are now a jelly-like substance from soaking. I whirled everything together and poured it back into the original bowl and stirred in the salt and pepper.

Then, using a spoon, I spread it onto my dehydrator trays **lined with parchment paper** very important to do this so that you do not end up with bumpy crackers and a crusty dehydrator (I know this from experience) I did this by cutting one strip of parchment paper the same width as the tray and then using it as a template to make more. Don’t worry too much about wasting so much parchment paper, you can totally just wipe them off and reuse! I found it to be easiest to drop a blob of the “batter” on the end of the parchment paper where it overlaps another, and spread it across in order to hold them all in place, making sure that each “loaf” is equal in thickness.

Then repeat until all the mix is on the tray, plug that bad boy in and walk away. The great thing about dehydrating is that you can’t really burn/ overcook/ mess anything up (at least I haven’t found a way to do so…yet) I left mine for about 10 hours, but you’re gonna want to switch the order of the trays around at least once so that they dehydrate evenly, and I also flipped the crackers about 2 hours before they were completely dehydrated. Return to find yummy and addictive crackers, Yay!

*While making these I felt inspired and decided to experiment with something I had never tried before. For a small portion of the batch I added some nutritional yeast and pressed some pumpkin seeds on top once I spread the mix on the tray. These were totally out of this world and I will definitely make them again. They were a bit denser tasting than the others, so I was happy to have both on hand for variation. The pumpkin seeds on top tasted great also looked really beautiful.

Here’s a salad recipe I used these flax crackers in. It’s really exceptional and filling too!

The Cheezer:

Dressing:

Juice of one lemon

1 T tahini

1t barley miso

1 splash of braggs liquid aminos

2 garlic “sections”, crushed

1 T nutritional yeast plus more for topping

black pepper, to taste

The salad:

Mixed greens

Gingered carrots (grated carrots and ginger mixed and refrigerated overnight)

Onion

Scallion

Daikon

Broccoli

Jalapeño pepper

Cheesy-pumpkin seed flax cracker, crushed

(red cabbage could be nice/ add color but I didn’t have any on hand)

Keep checking back for new recipes this week!

Do you have any favorite raw snacks you'd like to create on your own?