RAW VEGAN MINT CHOCOLATE POWER BARS

Okay first of all I need to give a major shoutout to The Good Wife. After hearing so many people (especially ladies who host feminist podcasts) recommend it, I finally gave the show a go last week and have not looked back since. It's full of powerful female characters, interesting court cases and lots of sitting in the living room by myself yelling "YES, ALICIA!" at the TV. Watch it. Moving on: these bars were inspired by Chocolate Mint Builder's Bars, although they turned out way better. Heh heh.

GLORIOUS DAIRY-FREE CHOCOLATE MILK

When I was a kid I loved chocolate milk. At my elementary school there would be special lunches once a month or something, and we'd get to choose between pizza and sushi for food, and plain milk or chocolate milk for a drink. I always chose chocolate milk, and usually pizza, until I grew up a little and thought I was really sophisticated by choosing sushi... that sophisticated imitation crab meat. The chocolate milk came in a plastic cup with a sealed tin foil lid, so you'd break the tin foil with a straw then drink up the sweet nectar inside and all was well because life was simple back then. Now life is overwhelmingly complicated but chocolate milk is still amazing, I just make it myself and don't use dairy (leave cow milk to the baby cows). 

GINGER COOKIES with PINK FROSTING (FOR JACK)

Note: The following prose is for Jack, but of course you are invited to read it. At the bottom of the post I share a recipe for raw vegan ginger cookies dipped in pink frosting, and I KNOW you want that. In any case, I hope you get what you want out of this beautiful day. x

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DEEP DISH CARAMEL APPLE PIE

This pie is DELICIOUS. I have ample evidence of this thanks to the fact that it was hastily devoured by the crowd at a vegan potluck I co-hosted last month. It's sweet, decadent, cinnamon-y and made with 100% good-for-you ingredients. I'm talkin' about nuts, oats, chai spices, fresh apples and dried fruit. I figured the perfect dish to celebrate Apple Month (aka this month) and locally-grown apples is an apple pie because everyone loves it and it's a comforting treat in the fall. Highly recommend you chow this down with some coconut vanilla ice cream.

GREEN CURRY with MUSHROOMS, BELL PEPPER + PEAS

I wasn't planning on sharing this recipe but it ended up so photogenic and delicious, I figured I should. Like I was saying in my last blog post, I went to a North Indian cooking class - shoutout to Colin - the other night and was reminded about the glories of curry and spices. So here is another recipe inspired by that class. Although at the same time I am putting what I learned in the class to shame because we were taught how to make fresh garam masala and yet in this recipe I am still my can't-be-bothered self and used pre-made green curry paste. I AM SORRY. 

TURMERIC SMOOTHIE (DELICIOUS, DIFFERENT + GOOD 4 U)

Surprisingly delicious. So here's the story: I have put turmeric in my smoothies before. It was always pretty decent. I gradually stopped because in general I get bored of the same thing everyday after a few days. Then last night I went to a FeedLife North Indian cooking class put on by my friend Colin and his mum (they are the two nicest humans on earth FYI). Colin explained the myriad of health benefits that traditional South Asian spices provide and every time he said "menstrual pain relief" my ears perked up and I excitedly turned around to Jack with eyes that said: "REMEMBER THIS." Among other useful pieces of info I learned turmeric is literally 200-2000% more nutritionally beneficial when you eat it with black pepper (and ideally a fat source). What the heck. Here's the study that proves it. Basically: the stuff in turmeric that we want is the curcumin, and this thing in black pepper - piperine - helps the absorption rate and bioavailability of the curcumin... a lot.