Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Fresh Fig Smoothie

I was thrilled to see organic fresh figs at our local co-op today! Absolutely love them. I have never tried them in a smoothie until today, but it was seriously amazing, one of the best smoothies of all time I do believe :)

Ingredients: 
5 fresh figs, stems removed
1 small banana
1/2 cup frozen berries
1 scoop (about 2 tablespoons) almond butter
1 tablespoon honey or agave
1 cup dairy-free milk of your choice (I used unsweetened vanilla cashew milk)

Directions:
Add all ingredients to blender and blend on high til smooth. Enjoy!

                        

                                    

Monday, September 23, 2013

Homemade Play Dough

                 

Today I tried out an idea I had seen on Pinterest for making my own play dough from every day ingredients out of the kitchen. It was a success! Here's what I did:

Basic Play Dough:

Ingredients: 
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup salt
1/2 cup water with color of your choice (see notes below)
1/2 tablespoon coconut oil (or any cooking oil will work)
1/2 tablespoon cream of tartar

Directions: 
Using a glass measuring cup, microwave 1/2 cup water (along with any fruits or spices for coloring, see notes below) for approximately 1.5 minutes or until boiling. Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until it forms a ball, then remove from heat and knead. 

Color options:
Yellow- I added 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder to my water before boiling in microwave
Pink- I added a couple tiny slices of a fresh beet
Cream- I used 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, it also smells nice!

You can make other colors using various ingredients, for example add some cocoa powder for brown, or smashed blackberries or blueberries for purple (strain any berries through a cheesecloth or coffee filter), pureed spinach for green, just experiment and have fun!

It only took me about 30 minutes to make these three batches. I found a bag of dough cutting toys and a rolling pin at Target for $1 each in the dollar spot, score! My daughter and I had a great time playing with the dough :) 





Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Vegan Coconut Oatmeal

                        

This is one of my favorite breakfast dishes and it's very easy to make so I wanted to share! I just tried Irish style oatmeal and it is amazing! Any non-instant oatmeal will work for this but I recommend trying the Irish style (aka steel cut oats), the texture is wonderful :)


                     
Serves 1
Ingredients: 
1 cup water
1/2 cup steel cut oats (or rolled oats if you prefer)
1 1/2 tablespoons raw coconut butter (I like Artisana)
2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut flakes
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon (or to taste) pure maple syrup
1/4 cup coconut milk (I use So Delicious brand)

Directions: 
Bring water to a boil, add in oats and cook according to your package directions. When oats are done, remove from heat and immediately add coconut butter, stir well to combine. Next add in maple syrup and all other ingredients and stir. Enjoy!

Monday, September 16, 2013

Chocolate-Peanut Butter-Oat No Bake Bars

                 

Time for another sweet treat recipe! This one is full of healthy ingredients, has no refined sugars, and is so so easy, it only took 10 minutes to make. They make a great snack or even breakfast when you are on the run. 

Chocolate-Peanut Butter-Oat No Bake Bars
modified version of this recipe

Ingredients:
1 cup peanut butter (I used freshly ground, which was a little chunky but whatever you have will work)
1 cup dark chocolate chips (65% cocoa or higher if you can get it) OR 1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup virgin coconut oil
1 cup dry oatmeal
1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut flakes
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
honey or agave to taste (optional-I used a little honey but I think it would be best without, unless you use super dark chocolate or the cocoa powder-but then again, I don't like super sweet stuff, so you be the judge lol)

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, melt peanut butter and coconut oil (and honey/agave if using) over medium-low heat. Stir until blended, then turn down to low and add in chocolate chips. Stir until chips are completely melted; remove from heat. Add in remaining ingredients and mix well. Press into an 8x8 baking dish and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Cut into bars. (They are a little difficult to cut but not impossible, I managed just fine with a butter knife :))

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Triple berry + raw cacao smoothie

                     

This is my all time favorite smoothie, so yummy! I like to use a mixture of frozen and fresh fruit for this, so you can mix it up depending on what you have on hand.

Serves 1-2
Ingredients:
1/2 banana
1/3 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1/3 cup raspberries
1/2 cup strawberries
2 tablespoons raw cacao powder
1 tablespoon raw shelled hemp seeds
small handful raw almonds
1 1/2 cups hemp or coconut milk
honey or agave to taste

Directions:
Add all ingredients to blender and blend til smooth.