Heavenly Chocolate Brownie Review

Wouldn't it be great if I had the daily excuse to buy raw vegan desserts/treats in light of taste-testing them and providing incredibly helpful and informative reviews?

I think it's genius. and here is EXHIBIT A:

Heavenly Chocolate Brownie

Ingredients: Walnuts, Sunflower Seeds, Cocoa Powder, Raw Honey, and Sea Salt.

I bought it from Noah's on Yonge but it is distributed and made by the people from the LIVE! (organic food bar) in Toronto. I actually don't eat honey and only read the ingredients after I bit into it. All in all taste wise it is definitely cocoa-y, very rich, and very dense. It has a soft, crumbly texture, and is adorned with walnuts. I felt that it was missing something though, maybe another flavour like a hint of orange rind or vanilla. Warning to all sweet-sensitive people, it does give you a slightly sick feeling if you have to much. I had a little piece after dinner and still felt a hit of something, almost..crack like.

I'm kidding, it was GOOD, but my reaction was: "I could make a better version, but you satisfy my taste buds for now". Here's a picture, if you live in Toronto, buy one and let me know what your thoughts are, and if you can't find this brownie, just write down what your favourite sweet treat is.

Reaction Scale:

"lame"

"I could make a better version, but you satisfy my taste buds for now"

" holla atcha boy, this is bitchin' "

"OUTSTANDING, UNBELIEVABLE, I CAN'T BELIVE THIS IS RAW!"

breakfast juice.

checkkyy-checkky.

add more water to your regular non-vita mix blender, AND BAM! juice. just look at this shade of green! unrealll.

prettyy.

buckwheat coco crispies, how I love thee!

Buckwheat cereal/granola = GIANT GREAT SUCCESS.

I've already concocted severeal different flavours and altered the recipe to suit my tasty cereal needs, but here is a picture of this divine food. Completely whole grain, not that crap Kello--oops! I mean other cereal brands sell. AND GET THIS. It never. EVER. gets soggy. I mean it, I could make my lunch and dinner for the day while it sits in a bowl of nut milk and it will be as crunchy as ever (slight exaggeration). Anyway, it tastes great, I'm happy, and that's all that counts!

What's your favourite breakfast food?

Toronto is Beautiful!

It's about 15˚C right now. It is absolutely gorgeous outside, people are sitting, sunbathing, reading, chatting, and just enjoying life. And the best part is, classes are over in eight days!!

I hope this is a little reminder for you to connect with nature today. Even if it isn't sunny where you are go for a walk, breathe in fresh air and find something green to watch.

Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate!

I've never experimented with cacao powder, and since I took today off for personal reasons (aka sleeping in) I decided today would be the day I go crazy with this chocolate powder people can't stop raving about. I made Breakfast Buckwheat Coco Puffs, recipe from http://rawon10.blogspot.com/, Chocolate Pudding Fondu with Strawberries, and a strawberry nut milk shake.

Who said meals have to be balanced...

________

buckwheat coco puffs picture ready in 2 hours (dehydrating)

TEA.

This was just too pretty to not take a picture of.

Just goji berries and chunks of ginger root put in hot water.

The combination is both soothing and dessert-like since the berries swell up.

breakfast buckwheat medley.

cinnamon, is by far my favourite spice. I literally try to find an excuse to eat it with everything. I made this for breakfast, it has a heartier taste/texture against my regular smoothie. The chocolate sauce is made with carob and nut mylk, yumm. The centre porridge look alike thing is just soaked buckwheat (kasha) mixed with a TON of cinnamon, nutmeg, tiny bit dustings of ground cloves and all spice with agave nectar.

before and after shots once carob sauce drowning was initiated (and almonds were added).

BIKERIDING!

MUST. RESIST. URGE. TO. SKIP. CLASS.

The sun is killing me!! I can't focus in class especially since most of the rooms at my school have giant glass windows. I brought my bike out of hiding today and dusted it off, oiled and pumped air into its tires. I took my summer bike route and finished with a slower than usual time of 60 minutes (9.31Km). It was nice and hilly but the energy and happy high I got from finishing it was amazing! Since spring is here, it means summer is just around the corner which ultimately means a shift in priorities. Forget exams, focus on getting in shape! I'm only half kidding...but people, find an exercise you enjoy and you'll see results if you stick to it! Here's a good program: www.women'shealthmag.com/run

Post-Workout Reenergizing.

I enjoyed this tangy smoothie after my run.

1/2 a lemon (juice)

4-5 big romaine lettuce leaves

one small orange

1 small cucumber

water to mix

Coconut Strawberry Tart

I think when my parents leave the house my creativity generator starts whizzing. Yesterday I was alone and felt that after my stitches were out I could attempt to cut open the two remaining coconuts and...I HAVE FOUND A FULL PROOF WAY! I went outside after cutting off the pointy tip (till I could see the super hard wooden part) and whipped them at the ground making sure the exposed part made contact with the ground. IT WORKED!

After scraping the coconut meat out of all of them and of course tasting some of it, I just decided to make something. Partway through I realized I didn't have any dates so this was all improvised but turned out to be refreshing, not overly sweet, and the crust was by far the best part!

Filling (blender):

Meat from 2 young thai coconuts

9-10 strawberries, washed and sliced

2 small slices of peeled pear

a small drizzle of maple syrup (substitute agave)

Crust (food processor):

A big handful of almonds, soaked for only 20-25 minutes

6-7 prunes, soaked for only 5 minutes

2 bigger slices of pear peeled

2 tbsn of cinnamon (I LOVE CINNAMON)

1 tbsn of raw carob powder

1 tsp liquid vanilla extract

a small drizzle of maple syrup

Blend the filling, let sit while you process the ingredients for the crust, then push into a flan pan, wet your hands slightly. Then pour the filling over the crust, smooth, and freeze overnight.

Final Step:

Wake up to the most delicious, creamy, easy peezy, tart. Even though I spilled sticky coconut water all over the floor my irritated parentals thoroughly enjoyed this. I know it's undecorated but I just couldn't wait to taste some of it. Thinly slice bananas and strawberries for a nice effect.

Thai Purple Cabbage Salad

Sometimes cravings take you to very special places...like new recipe land!

I didn't have any spinach/romaine greens to make a salad so I chopped up purple cabbage. The dressing is a random mix of lemon juice, raw almond butter, chili powder, maple syrup, celtic sea salt and ginger. The purple cabbage enhances the taste, but next time I think I'll use lime and add some cilantro. This would probably taste good with zucchini/carrot noodles too!

a treat pour moi.

i made a strawberry-banana smoothie this morning, with no greens, gasp! it was delicious.

hemp seeds on top

Running.

I'm sitting at my favourite study lounge on campus waiting for a silly night class to start, and I was thinking about the most exciting motivation that got me going to become healthy, go raw, etc. Funny enough it was exercise, more specifically running. After pushing myself I intuitively wanted to eat healthier, cleaner and become more conscious about what I was putting into my body. I think I'm going to start making running a daily activity. I will start slower than usual, and work up to longer distances/times of running non stop. (I feel the excitement of goal making rising in me already).

Mini goal #1: Run for 20 minutes straight

Steps to reach MG#1: Run in AM/PM daily alternating between running and walking.

All I want to do now is go home. It's 3: 30 PM, class starts at 6 PM and I've been up since 4 AM. Can I blame this on cooked food? I totally had a bagel today.

What's your favourite exercise? (Other than skipping class..)

pretty chai goji smoothie.

I used arugula for this smoothie and I actually liked it! It has a spicier flavour.

The base of this smoothie was chai tea (steeped), handful of stems and leaves of arugula, and cinnamon, with one banana, and one small apple. I froze the banana and now the drink has a shake like texture, thick and creamy!

aren't the goji's so cute!!

Cauliflower Mash and more Nori.

[Breakfast smoothies, freeze your bananas before blending so you won't need ice cubes.]

The weather today is so beautiful, I can't believe I'm actually seeing the sun! I just made a cauliflower "mash" with some nori rolls.

The mash actually sucked. I thought I could improvise, and create something but I failed. I had added too much water, not enough herbs and I didn't crush the garlic before putting it in. I also felt it needed a thickening agent, and after looking at Ani Phyo's recipe I noticed she uses Psyllium powder to thicken it.

The cauliflower naturally has a strong smell/taste/texture so in order to make it palatable (for me) I think I'd have to over power it with the right ingredients.

Don't be turned off from trying your own recipes or making things up. It's exciting, and even if the end product doesn't turn out right it's just another mistake you can learn from!

tea!

tea makes me so happy. enjoying a nice big mug now.

it reminds me that the weekend is OH SO CLOSE.

my favourites are:

anything chai.

Tazo China green tips

Rooibos

MINT!

Benefits of Loose Tea:

-vitamin A, vitamin E, protein

-essential oils intact

-contain polyphenols (type of phytochemical), which is rich in antioxidants

-decreased risk of health problems: heart/cancer

-you feel full

-it gives you an excuse to take a break from studying

-you can drink it in pretty mugs

buddha bowl for soup/tea, fits neatly in your hands.

step away from the fruits and i'll let you live.

fruit obsession!

Everywhere I go I see these skimpy, shriveled, pathetically depressed looking fruits. EXCEPT TODAY. I passed by this little fruit hut of love near Spadina and Bloor. I bought a bag of dried apples, the biggest gala apple (my favourite) I've ever seen, and two bananas. It came out to $2.45!

I was shocked, and pleased, and the only thing that looked shriveled were the dried apples.

This is going to be a regular spot to pick up fruit from.

STITCHES.

A gash on my finger and stitches all for a breakfast with coconut flavaa.

Suggestion:

Watch at least 5 different videos on how to cut open a coconut, make sure you are wearing gloves made of steel, are in a well lit room, and are NOT using giant asian butcher knives.

GOALS GOALS GOALS.

New month.

New goals.

Last months goals were:

daily green smoothie/salad/or lettuce wrap

organization: nightly room cleaning, and scheduling week on sunday nights

drinking 3 L of water daily

making time for friends and self

I was consistent with all of them except drinking 3L of water daily, and towards the last week of February my room was chaos.

GOALS FOR MARCH

1) Reading my bible in the mornings as oppose to night

2) Starting a French Horn Practice Log (for progressing musically)

3) Running/exercising 20 min daily

4) Greens daily in smoothie/salad/wrap form

Go make your goals now!