The BEST Raw/ Vegan/ Paleo Brownie, ever.

Seriously, My husband will tell me that most "healthy" desserts I make taste like shit, but he said this one was very delicious.  That means a lot. This brownie is so healthy that you could eat it for breakfast.

*If you want this to be raw make sure that you use only raw cacao powder and raw nuts.

Ingredients
-1 8oz package of dates
-1/2 cup of coarsely chopped almonds -these will be added during the last step
-1/2 cup of unsweetened/dried coconut
-1 cup of GOOD cocoa/cacao powder -dont buy the cheap stuff, you can add extra cocoa powder if you'd like your brownie extra dark!
 - 1 1/2 cup of pecans (or cashews- pecans are preferable)
-1 1/2 cup of walnuts
-2 pinches of salt
-1 T coconut oil (optional)

Directions
1. In a vitamix or food processor add the coconut, walnuts, pecans/cashews, cocoa and salt together. Blend on high until powdery.
2. Add the dates in one at a time until all are blended in the mix.  The mix should resemble a crumb cake like topping (see picture below) add more dates if it isn't crumby enough.
3. Pour out mixture into a parchment/wax lined 9x9 pan.
4. Fold half of the chopped almonds into the mixture.
6. Press mixture down into pan until flat. Sprinkle the rest of the almonds on top.
7. Refridgerate until 20 minutes before you're ready to serve.  This should keep for a week in your refridgerator and 6 months in your freezer.
8. Cut into equal parts with a sharp knife while cold, and this is important-- SERVE at room termperature!  You can also freeze the pieces individually and grab one out of the freezer when you want a sweet treat. Enjoy!

Raw Kale Salad

First off, not that anyone is reading this blog, but I've been MIA.  I've actually been cooking and creating A LOT, just not taking pictures of it or writing down recipes...  I'm excited to post some new things soon, once I take some pictures and write down the amount of everything that I add instead of eye-balling it...  In the mean time, here's something really simple and really delicious.

Kale is in right now, super in, the super food of the year.  I've always liked kale and would eat it in my juice/smoothie or sauteed.  Then, I thought I'd try it raw.  Raw Kale is BY FAR my favorite way to eat it- with a nice dressing and some fruit.

Here's one of my favorite ways.

Ingredients
-A bunch of kale, stems removed and roughly cut
-1 fresh orange, sectioned.
-2 tbsp of unsweetened coconut
-2 tbsp of unsalted pepitas
Dress with:
-1 freshly squeezed lemon
-1 tbsp of olive oil
-a handful of roughly chopped cilantro
-salt to taste

-you can also change the fruit up and add strawberries, apples, or pears.

Make Your Own Coconut Milk!

I've done this three times now, and every time it gets easier.

Why did I decide to make my own coconut milk?  1- I love coconut everything 2- The coconut that you buy at the store containes BPA, guar gum, and sugar...Ew.  3- I like trying out new things. 

I've been very, very happy with the outcome.  Home made coconut milk DOES NOT taste anything like store bought.  It's earthy and rich flavor is worth the extra effort.


Ingredients
1 Coconut
3-4 Cups of Water
Water from inside of the coconut

Steps-

1. Buy a coconut. I buy mine for .99 at the asian market.
2. Drill or hammer  a hole in the coconut and let the water drain out into a cup.
3. Cover the coconut in a towel and smash it with a hammer.
4. Remove the meat and rinse it to make sure it's nice and clean.
5. Put the coconut meat in your blender and blend it up for a minute.
6. Bring 3-4 cups of water (depending on how thick you want your milk) to a simmer (not boil)!
7. Add coconut water that you drained, plus warm water, plus coconut meat to the blender and blend for  a few minutes.
8. Pour mixture through a cheese cloth.
9. Squeeze cheese cloth as dry as possible (wear gloves if the mixture is especially warm- do not burn yourself).
10. Store in a mason jar or air tight container, Refrigerate and enjoy (within the next week)!!!

Total cost- .99
Total time- 20 minutes, less for a pro.

**If you want your milk to taste a bit milder, add 2 tablespoons of agave of a few dates and blend it.  A little bit of sweetness goes a long way with this.


Here is your picture tutorial!

Shannon Takes on Two Ingredient Pancakes

I had a sweet tooth, I wanted something "healthy," aka something without refined carbs and sugar...

I decided to give it a try, and I was PLEASANTLY surprised.  Don't get me wrong, these don't taste like Uncle Bill's pancakes.  But, they have a great flavor of their own.

Ingrediets-
1 ripe banana
2 eggs

I mashed 1 banana

 Then I added 2 eggs

 Then I blended it nice and smooth with an immersion blender

 Then I put them on the griddle at medium-high heat with some olive oil

VOILA!

 These are paleo and whole 30 friendly!! YES.  I'm in love.






This weekend I also made home made coconut milk.. a process which was strenuous but worth while.  I'll post about that later.

The MOST PERFECT Granola Bar, ever. (Fruit and Nut Edition)

I enjoy the idea of healthy AND delicious foods.  Especially healthy and delicious foods that you can eat on the go. 

I've tried a lot of granola bars, some are good (KIND bars), some are not (Chewy Bars) IMO! I decided to take what I love most about granola bars and make my own.  I hope some day to be stuffing my son's lunch bag full of delicious non-processed snacks like these when he hits school age.  Honestly, it only takes about a half hour of time and the result beats anything that you can buy in a store.  You can freeze these bars in snack size ziplock bags and throw them into your lunch bag/purse when you're on the go.

You need a large baking pan for this, about an 1" deep.  The biggest one you have.  I should measure mine.  This recipe yields a lot of bars.  I don't know the serving size... maybe 30?  :)

Ingredients:
-3 cups of quick oats (I use organic)
-1 cup of cashews
-1 cup of pepitas
-1 cup of walnuts
-1 cup of pecans
-1 cup of sliced almonds
-1 cup of flax seed
-1 cup of dried cherries (try to get your dried fruit UNsweetened, Trader Joe's is good for this)
-1 cup of dried raspberries  (or any dried fruit of your choice)
- 1 cup of dried cranberries
-2 cups of shredded unsweetened coconut
-2 eggs
-1 cup of sweetener of your choice (may be brown rice syrup, honey, corn syrup, brown sugar, raw sugar, agave, whatever you like, I used brown sugar).


Directions:
- Mix everything
-Line your pan with parchment paper (NOT NOT NOT WAX PAPER)!
-Pour ingredients into pan and smash down into pan (you may want to use a rolling pin with wax or parchment paper to compress all ingredients into the pan).
-Bake in oven at 275 for 15-25 minutes (check on them to see how crispy you want them, that will effect your cook time).
-Let COOL
-Cut with a really sharp knife into portions that you like.
-Used the left over crumbs as granola on your yogurt in the morning!
-Enjoy

mix

smush in pan

bake

Coconut Butter Recipe

When I saw this product, I immediately wanted to make it.  I ventured out to find a coconut so that I could make my own coconut milk, too...  But Shop Rite of South Philly and the Reading Terminal Market both failed me.  Instead, I bought unsweetened coconut to make just coconut butter.  Here's what I did.


Ingredients:
2 Cups of Unsweetened Coconut Chips
**optional - 1 tbsp of coconut oil to make it smoother.


Directions:
Put coconut chips/shredded coconut in a vitamix blender or food processor on high for 10-15 minutes, constantly scraping the sides as you go.


Result- delicious coconut butter.  Best served warm or at room temperature.  Use as a flavorful spread on your favorite sandwich or cracker..  Or, add to a salad dressing or smoothie for extra flavor.  I love coconut, don't you??

Blood Orange SODA- Recipe

Ok, this is my first official blog entry of my new blog.  I'm going to keep it simple.

Here's a recipe for blood orange soda.

Ingredients:
-2 Blood Oranges
-1 Cup of Sugar (can be brown, white, fine, natural, whatever..  probably even agave or brown rice syrup may work).
-1/2 Cup of Water
-Plain Seltzer water/ "Soda" Perrier.  Fizzy clear water with NO ADDED FLAVOR.


Directions
-Juice 2 blood oranges- should yield 1/2 cup of juice
-Add 1/2 cup of water to juice
-Add 1/2 Cup of Sugar to juice
-Put all ingredients + half of a blood orange rind into shallow pot.
-Whisk and bring all ingredients to a boil.
-Simmer for 5-10 minutes after you bring to a boil depending on how thick you want your syrup.
-Strain ingredients to make sure the pulp and rind/zest separate.

Add syrup to your seltzer and enjoy!  Blood Orange Soda.  Impress some people at your next dinner party by having make your own soda station.  You can sub other fruits. 

A Fresh Start

I used to have a blog, but I had to kill it off once someone tried to hijack my identity.  That also killed off some of my recipes.

Well, here's a fresh start.  Here, I will talk about one of my favorite things in life- FOOD.