SESAME UDON NOODLES with GREENS + SPICY TOFU

Greetings, sweet readers! I'm here to share a savoury recipe, in contrast to the plethora of desserts I normally make. Balance, right? This dish was put together spontaneously and turned out wonderfully... sometimes the best meals are made with random odds and ends around the kitchen. Anybody agree?

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER RICE CRISPY SQUARES

Hello, friends. I stumbled upon a giant bag of puffed rice at a local grocery store a few days ago and immediately had the urge to create a vegan choco pb rice crispy bar. This is a super quick and easy recipe; sweet, chewy and crunchy, a perfect energizing snack or fun dessert any time of day. I'm not kidding: I threw this recipe together in under 15 minutes while I was waiting for my dinner to finish cooking. The bars turned out excellent the first try, so while I didn't actually plan on sharing the recipe, here I am. This would be made more epic if you add chocolate chips, pretzels, crushed potato chips, and/or vegan marshmallows. Then again, wouldn't everything?

MANGO BANANA SMOOTHIE with GINGER KOMBUCHA

Hello, darling readers. I've been away for 8 days in the far north of Turtle Island, in Kwanlin Dün lands (aka Whitehorse, Yukon Territories). The temperature was -20 most days, and whole rivers and lakes were frozen under many feet of pure, white snow. I hiked through the woods and took in the humble silence of earth in the absence of other humans. I wrote a lot of poetry and experienced some profound moments of realization atop tall hills, utterly and gloriously surrounded by icy blue peaks and deep green forests. I become a witness to my own existence in a way I've never been before. There are no words to express the emotions that found their way to me in those mountains. Since I am literally made of earth, I am always home, no matter where I am on the planet. However, in a more specific sense, I have returned to my regular living space, and bring you this recipe now. 

CREAMY BUTTERNUT SQUASH, BROCCOLI + CHIPOTLE ALMOND SAUCE

I still haven't showered today. Apparently it's good for the skin to let your sweat dry after you've been in the sun, because it helps with vitamin D absorption. So I hear. I am using that as my excuse for being smelly and sticky right now. I went to the gym this morning (and sweat out a storm) then immediately made this when I got home. Seriously, I didn't even take off my shoes. Then I laid out in the sun for the afternoon while I listened to Dan Savage's Lovecast. In short: I don't think I need to take a vitamin D supplement TODAY. Hah. I will shower after I write this post though, because I am obsessed with how good it feels to be clean after being sweaty. Yes, I am super privileged because I get to shower everyday. I am also super grateful, not that that matters. I guess I'll talk about the recipe now...

CREAMY VEGAN MAC + CHEESE with OTHER GOOD STUFF

This cheese sauce recipe is based on the one from Buzzfeed that every vegan on earth tried a couple weeks ago. Jack was one of those vegans and he made it for him and me because he's a sweet heart. He tripled the recipe - we eat a LOT - so I got to have cheesy leftovers for a whole week! I loved putting it on rice along with steamed kale and beans. You can see my week of cheese on my Instagram feed.

A NICE GREEN SMOOTHIE with MINT + TURMERIC

I was gonna call this a "healing" green smoothie blah blah blah but then I though, "Hmm, don't wanna buy into that pseudoscience stuff so I'll keep it simple." Because honestly I don't know if this smoothie will heal anything for you, but in my opinion it's at least certainly nice and yummy and green. I'll leave it at that. I am not a doctor. 

SUMMER ROLLS w/ GARDEN VEGGIES, BASIL + TAHINI CHILI SAUCE

YAY 4 SUMMER ROLLS! I always wanna give credit where credit is due: these are inspired by the traditional Vietnamese dish Gỏi cuốn (although my take on them is pretty untraditional). These are super cute and even more delicious to eat. I am sorry I haven't been posting very often lately. I'm going to be spending more time on this blog again now that my third book, The Rawsome Vegan Cookbook, is finished! You can pre-order it now if you'd like (you'd like). On that note, this recipe for summer rolls is a great example of the kind of recipes that fill up my new cookbook so if you dig these rolls, you will REALLY dig the book.

VANILLA CHERRY NICE CREAM

So. I shaved my head. (Well actually Jack shaved it, but only because I asked him to.) We're all voyeurs at heart so if you wanna see what I look like now, just check out the photo on Instagram.

MANGO BANANA ICE CREAM SUNDAE

Good god yes. I hadn't made banana ice cream in MONTHS and MONTHS and MONTHS so this tasted even more orgasmic than it usually would have. Bananas and mangoes are meant to be together and dammit - if you try to break them up, ya best watch out because I will track you down. Doesn't sound very vegan of me, but this is an exception to the Nice Rule (that's not really a thing, I just made it up right now).

GOOEY CARAMEL CHOCOLATE BARS with BUCKWHEAT

Last night I dreamt I was in Hawaii (albeit my unconscious mind's own version) on a boardwalk in the ocean. I found a forest of wild fruit and was so overjoyed I started crying and fell over. There was papaya, mango, orange, pear, grapefruit and more. Good dream.

Now I just wanna look at postings for places to rent in Hawaii on craigslist. Sigh.

SHOCKING PINK ICE CREAM

I'll be straight up: the colour is from beets. BUT. Do not fear - if you don't like beets, the flavour is subtle and you can cover it up with other yummy, pretty things like berries, coconut, Rawxies (which are soooo good, lemon poppyseed is my fave) and brownies. If you like beets, then this is probably your wet, ice creamy dream come true. If you aren't sure about beets WITH ice cream... just see what you think. Iiiii think you will love it. Pretty sure I got the idea to do this from Steph over at @happyandhealthy96 so shout out to DAT BABE. 

YUMMY SNACKS

I am a snack person because I am, more generally, a food person. I love to eat, so eating as often as possible is ideal. That's where snacks come in. A reason to eat between or after meals? I accept. Snacking is also part of eating a mostly raw, vegan diet. Your meals are light, so you get hungry pretty quickly after and in between them. Here's my daily diet: I wake up and drink a glass of water to get everything moving. Later my breakfast is always a massive smoothie (which I have following yoga, weight training or cardio). Right after drinking I think: good god, I never have to eat again. But about an hour later my tummy is saying: hey, I'm still here. At this point it's not quite time for my second smoothie (aka lunch), so snacks are a necessary BFF. Same goes for between my second smoothie and dinner, and of course I like to eat after dinner too because... well, eating. 

MEYER LEMON COCONUT CREAM TARTS with MINT + LAVENDER

These are divine, and they are reppin' the world of desserts that don't include chocolate. The non-cocoa players need love too! I'm just mentioning this because a lot of my recipes lately have included that brown powder we all secretly kiss when no one is looking. This time, Imma be kissin' my Meyer lemons instead. Honestly when I eat chocolate I usually think something along the lines of "I NEED YOU IN MY LIFE ALWAYS AND FOREVER." But in reality, I go days without it and hardly notice (cacao, please don't be hurt, you're still in my heart). My point is: ya don't need cocoa or cacao powder to make a kick-ass dessert; raw, vegan, or otherwise. This recipe proves it. 

LIFE-CHANGING MARZIPAN & BUTTERSCOTCH ICE CREAM SUNDAE

I was going to call this Sex In a Bowl but that would've been NSFW. Anyways, that's what it SHOULD be called. It's... unreal. It's... perfection. It's... heaven. I can't say enough about it so I'm just gonna keep this post short and say: you need this in your LIFE. It is so easy to make, and I have been whipping it up daily for the past week because now I can't live without it. I very seriously think to myself: as long as I have a life supply of this, everything is okay. You will understand once you make it. One of the best parts of this three ingredient recipe (besides the fact that it's mouthgasmic and yes, has only three ingredients) is that it's really good for you! The only ingredients - drum roll, please - are frozen bananas to make the ice cream, almond butter for the marzipan, and carob syrup for the butterscotch. The world is too good to us.

THE PERFECT RAW VEGAN BROWNIE (FOR TWO)

When life gives you cashews, dates and cacao powder... make this recipe. It is SO simple and takes only a few minutes to whip up. Then magically the final product is a glorious, moist, chocolately treasure you can share with your lover and/or yourself. It doesn't get better than this. This recipe was mainly copied from the basic brownie recipe in Lisa Viger's new cookbook: Easy, Affordable Raw. You might know Lisa from Raw on $10 a Day, a fabulous website that provides endless ideas for inexpensive, quick raw vegan recipes. Hers was one of my favourite inspirational blogs when I first went vegan and got into raw food. I love the cookbook too. It's basically her website on paper. If you are just starting to get interested in raw food, healthier vegan food, cleansing, sprouting, fermenting, or simply exciting new recipes - I suggest you check the book out. There's tons of useful info inside, plus loads of colourful photos. It's a very practical tool to have in your kitchen. 

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT and PEANUT BUTTER CREAM CAKE (aka THE ORGASM CAKE)

Oh yeah, I went there. Again. I made this cake for my mum's party, so fingers crossed that her friends like it. I'm also saving a piece as my secret santa gift for a party tomorrow night. Double fingers crossed. Or... fingers crossed on both hands; that's more comfortable. I am still on my Mariah Carey binge so please make this cake then eat it while listening to this (just wait for the chorus). 

ALOHA, SUPERFOOD CHOCOLATES!

This recipe was inspired by Aloha's superfood chocolate bar. Their chocolate is some of the best I have ever put in my mouth, so I HAD to recreate it in my kitchen. I think the superior taste must come from the magical ingredients - spirulina, mushrooms, berries, coconut, cashews, vanilla - that develop this ridiculously satisfying flavour. It just tastes... real. It's like a vitamin pill in the form of decadent, sweet, dark chocolate. Share these with the ones you love, because it'll give 'em long life and good vibes.

THE MOST EXCITING NEWS!!! + A RECIPE

PREORDER:

- Amazon (US)*

- Amazon (Canada)*

- Book Depository (free worldwide shipping)

- Barnes & Noble*

- Chapters Indigo

*hard copy and Kindle version available 

Ahhhhh I am so excited! I got my hard copy of my brand-new cookbook, 100 Best Juices, Smoothies and Healthy Snacks, in the mail a few months ago and squealed for two days straight. Now I want to share my book with you! I've already shared the news of my new book a few times but I want to write another post about the thing because I want YOU to know all about it! If you have any interest in making more smoothies and/or juices, or even just raw, gluten-free, vegan snacks - you gotta pre-order da book. Wink wink. Nudge nudge. It is FULL of giant colour photos (all taken by me) and 100 recipes for smoothies, juices and healthy snacks (big surprise). There are savoury smoothies (aka raw soups), sweet smoothies, savoury juices, sweet juices, mylkshakes, nut mylks, and everything in between! The best part is it's super affordable. Only $15 or so! Although if you're not in North America (and I know many of you are not) it'll be around $20. Still a fair price, I gotta say, since this book is my heart and soul on paper. Honestly, I feel like my past two cookbooks are like my babies... until I think about that critically for a second and realize all the fundamental differences. Moving on.

BANANA BREAD SMOOTHIE with PECANS, NUTMEG + CAROB SYRUP

Woah. The deliciousness of this recipe was an accident, but that makes it even better. I made pecan milk yesterday morning and decided to add a little to my smoothie because nut milk in smoothies takes them to the next level. Every time. What I didn't realize was that the tap water I used to make the milk was hot, so I ended up with warm pecan milk. To this I added frozen bananas. What happened? The warm liquid made the bananas taste baked - like banana bread! By chance I had also thrown in some nutmeg so the spicing was perfect. I couldn't believe it! Seriously it tastes like banana bread batter (the main reason I woke up every morning as a child: to eat banana bread batter when my mom so happened to be making BB loaves). I decorated it with some carob syrup and pecans to make it look pretty. Then I inhaled it. 

ALMOND BUTTER + CHIA JAM BARS with CHOCOLATE

I am getting back into dreaming of recipe ideas. It used to be my main source of creativity for my blog, but after writing Rawsome Vegan Baking my mind for thinking up raw vegan sweets was basically run dry temporarily. Now I am fortunately returning to the familiar groove that is imagining new recipes as I am falling into dreamland, or just waking from it. I have also been perfecting a super healthy, super easy curry recipe for ya'll. Stay tuned.