STRAWBERRY COCONUT SMOOTHIE with a LIL BEET

Baaaaaabes. How are you. How is your month going. How are you sleeping. What are you eating. Why am I not putting question marks at the end of these questions. In today's post I am gonna give you a quick lil run down of what's been up with me. Then I'll talk about the recipe for a sec. Then I promise I will go. I SWEAR. 

After a long period of what felt like a necessary hibernation, I have emerged from the cavernous recesses of my emotive existence in a refreshed and renewed state. I feel capable, grown, confident and energized to continue manifesting the life I know I desire and deserve. (Can you tell I haven't stopped listening to Oprah's Super Soul podcast. Still no question marks.) I am SO SUPPORTED by my amazing friends. Bless our hearts for the femme softness we provide and embody for one another.

MY CURRENT FAVE SMOOTHIE {RECIPE}

As the title blatantly shouts, this is my smoothie of choice right now. I made it for the first time maybe four days ago (when I was still hungry after dinner) and ever since I have been having it every morning with my oatmeal before I go to the gym. It came together randomly and ended up blowing my mind. It's nice and sweet but also super nutritious. I just put in all the ingredients for this drink on cronometer.com and here's what we've got going for us when we sip it down: nearly 20% of your recommend daily intake for protein, 58% for riboflavin (B2), 79% for pyridoxine (B6), 499% for vitamin C (!!!), 107% for copper, 28% for vitamin K, 37% for magnesium, 64% for manganese, 36% for potassium, 30% for selenium, and I could just keep going.

THIS IS IN ONE [DELICIOUS] DRINK, PEOPLE. HELLO.

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.

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. 

MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM SANDWICHES

I know what you are thinking: "Emily told us she was gonna lay off the desserts!" Well, you are right. I did say that. I was burnt out after writing an entire book on raw vegan desserts in 4 months... so I thought I wasn't going to want to make any for a looong time. Then this past weekend, I visited my friend in Victoria (on Vancouver Island) while camping nearby with my beau (it was a fab trip) and we ate at this fantastic restaurant called be love. I will be posting a review on our experience there soon. We all loved our meals so much that we ordered dessert too. Eva was given this amazing plate featuring a cherry ice cream sandwich and it reminded me of why I love[d] raw vegan desserts so very passionately! My meals and recipes have been so simple lately, and personally I have been loving that. Yet at the same time, none of them have the capacity to make people swoon and moan with pleasure, and simply be wowed at the sight of the dish, like raw vegan desserts do. My sweet treat creativity got flowing once more and I couldn't wait to get home and whip up all these ideas I have for raw vegan desserts! No, really. I have a lengthy list. This was one of the items on said list, and since it was reminiscent of the yumminess in Victoria, it felt like the perfect fit. I can confidently say they turned out wonderfully, and the whole family loved them; even some friends from Switzerland who are visiting right now! I mean, they KNOW their chocolate. 

I used chocolate mint leaves from the garden, but you can use any kind of mint leaf you like. I also used some beautiful peppermint oil from doTERRA, because it's so organic you can eat it! Highly recommended. Top secret info that is no longer secret because I am typing it out on a very public blog: I used a little bit of spirulina powder to give the ice cream that classic mint ice cream colour we all learned to love as kids. You cannot even taste it but it worked perfectly. Nobody knew... mwahaha. Call me the devious nutritionist. But don't actually, 'cause I ain't certified; I am just a crazy girl in a kitchen who likes eating plants and photographing everything. If you wanna keep this recipe low-fat, I give a few adaptions you can make in the recipe directions. As for me? Even though I am super into the whole high carb thing right now, I still love me some fats and I adore nothing more than getting my daily recommend intake of them in desserts like this. We should all be eating some healthy plant-based fat everyday, we just don't need much! So that being said: please enjoy the heck outta these, and share them with those you love. Or those you don't love, so you can improve that relationship. Or let's be real - you might just hoard them in your freezer and not tell anyone, so you can devour them all in stealth mode. I know you. 

MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM SANDWICHES 

Cookie:
1 cup walnuts
1 cup dates
1 tablespoon cacao powder
Pinch Himalayan salt

Chocolate chips:
2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
1 tablespoon cacao powder
1 tablespoon maple syrup

Ice cream:
1 cup young coconut meat 
1 cup cashews 
2 cups water 
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 cup mint leaves 
3 drops doTERRA peppermint oil
Spirulina powder, as needed (optional) 

ADAPTIONS: if you wanna make this low-fat, use rolled oats instead of walnuts; use bananas instead of cashews; and use date paste instead of coconut oil. 

To make the cookies: pulse the walnuts in a food processor until they become a fine powder. Add the rest of the ingredients and process until it all begins to stick together. On parchment paper, shape the dough into cookies however you like. I used a circular cookie cutter and dropped a spoonful into it, pressed it down, then gently tugged the cookie cutter off and made another. Set these in the fridge overnight. 

To make the chocolate chips: whisk together the ingredients, then pour onto a flat plate and freeze until solid. Chop into small pieces and stir into the ice cream when it's thick enough (otherwise the pieces will just sink to the bottom). 

To make the ice cream: blend all the ingredients until smooth, adding tiny amounts of spirulina until the mixture is the colour you want. Put this mixture into an ice cream maker and follow the instructions of the machine. If you don't have an ice cream maker (like me), simply pour the mixture into a metal pan and stick it in the freezer, whisking it up every 30 minutes until it's transformed. Remember to add your chocolate chips! 

Assembly: cookie, scoop of ice cream, cookie. 

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lavender lemonade

I've made another raw vegan recipe for Skinny Limits! Get the recipe here, and check out all the photos below. This lemonade is equally refreshing, sweet and delicious as the conventional kind; but it's NOT loaded with sugar. Instead it's just sweet enough, and has a lovely hint of lavender after each sip.

holy garlic

we bought garlic from the farmer's market on saturday... it is so intense. like, the most potent garlic on the planet. i naively used an entire clove in the dressing of my salad, i have now killed all my taste buds. learn from my mistake - be cautious with your organic garlic. start with half a clove if you've got strong stuff.

besides the garlic insanity, this salad was friggin delish. i had a great workout up at my campus gym and all i wanted to eat afterward was a big salad from my garden. i added some chickpeas for extra protein. hemp seeds would also be a nice addition. we had grilled zucchini from last night and well... that's never a bad thing to throw in. enjoy! i sat in the sun and fought with wasps to eat this.

walnut garlic salad: serves one

dressing:

1 tablespoon mustard

1 tablespoon tamari

3 tablespoons almond milk (or water)

1/2 garlic clove

1 tablespoon miso 

1 tabelspoon honey/maple syrup (or 2 dates)

1 tablespoon hummus (optional... but yum)

salad:

2-3 grilled zucchini slices

1/2 cup chickpeas

4-5 cups kale and/or rainbow chard

2 figs

3 olives

make the dressing by blending all ingredients until smooth. hopefully you like it, it might be a little thick so feel free to add more liquid. chop up the salad topping and tear up the leaves into bite-size pieces. pour on the dressing and mix into the greens, then add your toppings. yummers.

garden life

i adore our yard. it consistently provides us with such a bounty of sun-grown nutrition, colour and love. if everyone had their own garden, the world would probably be a more peaceful and understanding environment! good vibrations, maaaaaaan.

my dad got a new barbeque this summer (it's huge) and we've been taking full advantage of it. the weather has also been great so at least once a week we harvest a bunch of veggies from the garden and grill them with herbs. the rest of the produce we get from the farmer's market.

and for dessert? fruit. we've got goji berries, strawberries, blueberries, and figs - all that satisfy my sweet tooth as naturally as you possibly can. i seriously implore you to grow some of your own food; even just a few basil plants or some kale will do to get you into the mindset of having harmony and a symbiotic relationship with mother nature.

that's all for today! keeping it short and sweet. here's some calming sounds to help you relax this afternoon.

don't worry, i'll be back with delectable recipes real soon. BUT FIRST - i'm going on a cross-country motorcycle trip with my dad. i know, i know. i am so grateful for this life!

namaste.

.

banana ice cream floats

these are gosh darn freaking ridiculous, if i do say so myself. and i do.

 

i got the idea from fully raw - a refreshingly cool site if you don't know it already. the girl who runs things is too cute... literally, i can't handle it. anyways. the recipe is MEGA simple. four ingredients, and only three are totally necessary: dates, frozen bananas, coconut water (and vanilla).

the coconut water is like the soda, because it's fizzy like carbonated soda, and sweetened with dates. i made these for me and my girlfriend, and the first thing she said was "wait, that's like actually root beer!? how'd you do that?" magic, friends. magic. 

i feel like i've been dishonest with all of you. i have a popular recipe for the "best raw vegan ice cream ever", but i had totally forgotten about this banana ice cream. i think what makes it so delicious is that the only ingredient is frozen bananas, which you blend. that's it. what you create is the most luscious, creamy, satisfying soft serve ice cream... EVER. so, call me a liar. i lied. THIS is the best raw vegan ice cream ever. 

banana ice cream floats: serves 2

soda:
2/3 cup dates
1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
520 ml (around 2 cups) coconut water

 -

ice cream:
3 frozen bananas

to make the soda - blend the dates, vanilla and coconut water together until smooth and foamy. try some! it'll taste like root beer, i swear.
to make the ice cream - blend the frozen bananas until it's like soft serve. you won't believe the beauty. pour the soda into your fave tall glasses and scoop on the ice cream. sip it up in the sun with people you care about!

ultimate best chocolate milkshake

ever seen DQ's brownie batter blizzard? this is better. seriously you're gonna die (in the best way possible). this thing is SO DELICIOUS. So is this "milkshake" recipe, AND it has avocados!

the best part of course, is that it is good for you. it's mostly bananas, nut milk, cacao and dates. you could also add some protein powder. the first time i made this scrumptious chocolate monster was two days ago when my girl friend was over. our plan for the night was to dance, laugh and watch a lame movie. oh and eat amazing raw food! we accomplished all of it.

i improvised this in the kitchen before we left for my friends house and we couldn't BELIEVE how good it was. we freaked for like 10 minutes. i hadn't blended it completely so there were still small chunks of date and it seriously reminded me of a brownie batter blizzard from dairy queen. i made it for the second time today and did the exact same thing. oh my god all over again. this is a new favourite.

best freaking chocolate milkshake ever: serves 2 people (or me)

3 frozen bananas (peel before putting them in the freezer)

handful of dates

2 tablespoon cacao

1 tablespoon maple syrup/agave/other sweetener 

handful cashews or 1 tablespoon nut butter

2 cups water/non-dairy milk

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

1/8 teaspoon cayenne (optional)

handful ice cubes

blend all ingredients together until ALMOST totally smooth. for the love of all that is good, leave those tiny date pieces in there. it should be pretty thick just like a milkshake at this point, but maybe one of us forgot something so do what ya gotta do to make it how you want. then pour it in a giant glass and slurp it up with a big ole straw all by yourself, or with someone you love.

motorcycles, tiny houses and... humanure!?

hey, my darlings. i'm sorry the posts have been less frequent than normal lately. i've been sleeping like a bear in winter, and eating salad.

lots of salad. 

in the pictures shown, i've been using a balsamic vinaigrette and olive oil dressing, sometime i blend it with herbs, miso and garlic. the greens are spinach, and 3 different kinds of lettuce from the garden, along with herbs. the ones above are dill, oregano and ... ? i can't remember the name of the last one.

then i load on tomatoes, cucumber, olives, figs, avocado, and we had baked potatoes one day so i used that. yum!

here's a recipe, if that description wasn't enough. 

i've also been researching for the motorcycle trip my dad and i will be taking at the end of summer. i'm so excited! you can see the route we're following here.

so far i've just been finding veg-friendly restaurants we can eat at along the way. happy cow is a terrific website for finding vegetarian and vegan eateries all around the world. i can't wait to get to jasper, because i discovered they have a raw vegan cafe there called gratitude cafe! how cool is that. here's some of their food:

i've found vegan places nearly everywhere else too. next - finding camping sites. originally we were going to hotel it, but it's going to be the perfect time of year to camp, and it makes the whole trip more interesting. any chance to be closer to nature and i'm there!

i have also been getting increasingly stoked about building my tiny home. you know what i'm talking about. i think the weebee is my favourite model from tumbleweed tiny houses.

it's 102 square feet - just right, not too big and not too small. i sound like goldie locks here. anyways, i am planning on buying the building plans but tweaking them for my personal desires =)

that means i'm going to use recycled materials and antique windows, have no need for an oven/stove, have a closed water system, install solar panels, and have a composting toilet!

composting toilet? huh?

i know. sounds a little weird... and smelly. but not to fret. apparently they're the greatest. check it out! it's called "humanure". you can see humaure's book online for free here. aren't their chapter titles great? all you do is build a box around a bin/bucket and make it look like a normal toilet. you do your business and cover it with wood shavings.

 it doesn't smell at all! this means i won't have to figure out plumbing. i just dump this stuff in the forest or bury it in the dirt wherever i will be living. and hey - after a year i can use my compost as, well, compost! circle of life, my friends.

don't you judge me. everyone should do this!

raw brownies & strawberries

Oh my goodness me. These are so tasty. I ate them with some organic strawberries my mom bought for me. The combo blew my mind and I ate like... at least 3 plus almost the whole container of strawberries. I can't help myself.

Raw brownies have the same ingredients as good quality (and let's face it - expensive) energy bars like Clif Bars or Larabars. Yummy, nutritious stuff like raw dried fruit, coconut, nuts and seeds. MMM! So good for you. They give you long lasting energy and keep you strong and healthy. These are the treats mother nature intended, and they are as processed as your food should get (which is not much at all).

So instead of paying $3.50 for a Clif Bar at trendy coffee shops - make them yourself, and better!

Everybody knows how delicious chocolate and strawberries are together, so brownies and strawberries are unsurprisingly amazing. I definitely recommend eating these with organic strawberries! They are one of the most contaminated plant foods otherwise.

Don't wanna buy expensive organic strawberries? Grow your own! We have seven plants flowering this year =) Last summer we just had one but MY GOD - the few berries that grew from it were the most luscious, flavorful things I've ever put in my mouth.

RAW BROWNIES YO: makes around 16

2 cups walnuts or your fave nut
1/4 cup hemp seeds
2 Tb flax seeds
1/2 cup coconut chunks
1 1/2 cups dates/prunes
1/3 cup cacao/carob powder
1/4 tsp each salt, cinnamon and cayenne
1/4 cup goji berries (optional)
2 Tb melted virgin coconut oil 

I think that's everything I put in these... but it's different every time. Always delicious though. Process all the ingredients in your food processor until it balls together. Press into a lined brownie pan and refrigerate for maybe 20 minutes. Slice 'em and devour with ripe strawberries. Perfection on a summer day.

Oh. Mother Nature - how kind are thee to give us ART in the form of FOOD.