Elvis Smoothie

So here is a smoothie recipe that I absolutely LOVE, and would never have if it weren't for working at The Better Health Store Market in Lansing, Michigan.  I worked there as a manager and the in-store cafe made awesome sandwiches, juices, and smoothies.  This was by far my most favorite smoothie, which was called the "Elvis" due to the peanut butter/banana combo.  I have since altered it a little bit, but this recipe definitely owes credit to the store and the employees who work there (who work hard for shitty pay, believe me).

An essential part of this recipe is the frozen bananas, because you won't get the same texture in the smoothie if you use fresh ones.  Frozen bananas are an essential for any raw food ice cream dish and are awesome for other baking recipes as well .  All you need to do is pick up some brown or "baking" bananas at your local market (usually quite a bit cheaper), slice and freeze.  They might turn a bit brown in the freezer but that's fine.  I use a similar combination of carob, banana, and peanut butter in some of my raw ice cream recipes, but those are to come at a later date =)

Elvis Smoothie

1 1/2 frozen bananas
2 tbs peanut butter
1 tbs carob powder (or more if you like it really caroby)
1/2 cup plain yogurt (or vanilla if that's your thing)
1 tbs honey
Soymilk (fill to cover ingredients, or depending on how thick you like it)

Sidenote:  If you use plain soymilk like I do, add 1/2 tsp of vanilla.  If you use vanilla soymilk, then nix the vanilla.  Or if you use sweetened soymilk, then maybe forgo the honey (but you really shouldn't be using sweetened soymilk because it's just a ton of added sugar which you can add yourself!).

Also, in my opinion, you should always try to buy ORGANIC soymilk.  This is because soybeans are some of the most heavily-sprayed crops in North America, and more so than not, they'll be a GMO crop.  Also why you should always get organic tofu as well.  It's also good to note that soy as naturally occurring estrogen (as soy isoflavones), so you really shouldn't be eating more than 25g of soy protein a day.

So because of all this, you might ask why not just use Almond milk?  Because the texture of smoothies and baked goods just doesn't compare, that's why.  Almond  milk is great, but I find the smoothies are always more watery than with soymilk.  It's great for oatmeal or porridge, but I'm going to have to stick with soymilk for smoothies (also good for protein).

-Beth

Carob Brownies

I actually had a dream last night that I found solid Carob bars somewhere in Vancouver.  Obviously, this is some sort of subconscious message that I'm craving Carob in substantial amounts (and no solid Carob bars anywhere to be found!).  I've been playing around with this brownie recipe for a bit and I think I've finally got it down to something moist and delicious.  You could possibly classify these as "healthy", but in reality they are just less in fat (no processed sugar, oil or butter) and higher in protein (yogurt, soymilk).

These would be easy to make into vegan brownies by subbing applesauce for yogurt, but I've tried with both ingredients and the yogurt really contributes to the texture and moistness.  These could in the future become gluten-free, stay tuned!  Just bought a bunch of buckwheat flour so we'll see what happens next!

Also, photo-quality is not optimum, but I was just too excited to eat brownies to really care =)

Carob Brownies

1/3 cup brown rice flour 

1 cup whole wheat flour 

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon sea salt 

1/3 cup carob powder 

3/4 cup honey, maple syrup, or agave nectar (whatever is laying around, though I find maple syrup works best)

1/3 plain yogurt, full fat (higher protein!), or applesauce

1/4 soymilk (or regular milk), 

1 tablespoon vanilla extract 

Optional:

carob chips or chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients.

In a smaller bowl, mix wet ingredients, then add to dry ingredients (don't worry if there are lumps).

Spread in greased 8x8 pan (or pie dish if you lack proper baking equipment, such as myself).

Bake for 25-30 mins or until knife inserted in middle comes out clean.

AND most importantly, eat, laugh, enjoy =)

-Beth

Carob - Banana - Coconut Pie

Well I finally managed to write down a recipe as I was making it, and I must say this experiment worked out great.  At the Commercial - Broadway Skytrain Station, two girls were passing out free samples of Coconut Water, so I decided to make something delicious with it.  This recipe involves, of course, carob (my favorite) and some banana.  I couldn't be too creative as I didn't have much stuff to work with but I think it turned out great.

Carob - Banana - Coconut Pie

Crust

1 cup almonds

1 cup walnuts

1/2 cup dates, soaked

1 tbs coconut oil

1 Banana

Filling

2 avocadoes

1/4 cup carob powder

1 cup cashews, soaked

1/2 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened, soaked)

1 tbs honey

2 tbs coconut oil

1/2 cup coconut water (or more, for consistency) 

Carob Topping

1/2 cup carob powder

1/4 cup maple syrup (or agave, or honey)

pinch salt

2 tbs coconut oil

2 tbs tahini

2 tbs coconut water, or regular water, to thin

Blend up the crust ingredients and press evenly into an 8in pie pan, or springform pan.  Slice banana thinly and place over the crust,  put in freezer.  Next, place cashews in a food processor, blend until smooth, and add other ingredients.  Mix in food processor until you get a smooth consistency, you might need to add more coconut water to do this.  One finished,  pour into pie pan, and freeze until hard.

Mix the topping ingredients together and smooth over the pie.  Freeze until hard and enjoy!

-Beth

Blueberry Oat Pancakes with Strawberry Date Syrup

Pancakes are such a great breakfast because they can easily feed a lot of people without a lot of work, they're super easy to make, and they are still delicious even when you make them healthy.  I personally grew up on bisquick and Aunt Jemima's syrup, which I will always have a softspot for, but let's admit, we always feel super stuffed after eating pancakes and I would prefer to be super stuffed on oats and fresh strawberries than some processed cane sugar and all-purpose flour.

So, I made these!  Enjoy!

Pancakes:

• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup oat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup milk (or soymilk)
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar/honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
• 1 egg (or egg replacer equivalent)
• 1 cup blueberries (if frozen, run under warm water until thawed)

Mix dry and wet ingredients separately.  Create a well in the middle of dry ingredients and pour in wet ingredients, mix until pancake-like consistency.  Gently fold in blueberries.  Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan on medium high heat, use about 1/4cup for each pancake.  Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Strawberry Date Syrup:

1 cup fresh strawberries

1 cup dates (soaked)

1/2 cup cashews

2TBS honey

2 tbs water (or however much to get it to your favored consistency, I like it a bit thicker)

Process in a food blender until all mixed, keep adding water until desired consistency.  Spread over pancakes and enjoy!

Best Juice IN THE UNIVERSE

Well you're in luck my friends because I was fortunate enough to come across this great recipe once again.

I found this juice recipe in this random book from the 1970's in my boyfriend's mother's house in Childers, Australia.  The book was called "Survival into the 21st Century" and was a collection of stuff from raw foodies, frutarians, vegetarians, vegans, breatharians, and had info on sprouting, yoga, growing/making/preparing your own food and pretty much any and everything related to healthy living (1970's hippie style).  Anyway we ordered a newer version when we moved to Canada, but for some reason this recipe was edited out of it.  Recently, my boyfriend's mom came for a visit and I asked her to get this recipe out of the book for us.  It's absolutely delicious and a really good mix of veggies.  Hope you enjoy.

Yolk of the Cosmic Embryo 

2 Apples
1 Clove Garlic
1/2 Small Cucumber
2 Beetroots (small)
1 Stalk Celery
1 Sprig Parsley
2 Medium Carrots
1/2 Green Pepper


Juice, sip slowly... feel awesome.

Cauliflower!

The first thing that I have been able to harvest out of my garden this year is Cauliflower.  This is probably because the "summer" in Vancouver has been so chilly that this wonderful cabbage crop has just been loving it, as cabbages are colder-climate crops.  Hopefully it will heat up soon so my Peppers and Tomatoes take off.  And hopefully the cat stops digging in the garden; so far she has taken my Zucchini, Cucumber, and 1 Cauliflower plant.  Thankfully I have more than one plant for most of them, as I made sure to plant like 6 Cauliflowers this year because a couple of years ago they were mercilessly killed by one big fat Woodchuck who broke through our chickenwire.


ANYWAY, I harvested this beautiful head of Cauliflower, and was trying to thing of something new to make other than a curry or a couscous dish.  I came across this lovely pasta recipe on the foodnetwork site; it is so aromatic and the flavors are so light that it makes for the perfect summer dish even though it's pasta.  It is also so easily vegan if you want, but I was feeling like a little bit of Pecornio Romano, so shoot me.  This recipe comes together quickly and it's very easy to make, so enjoy!

Sicilian Style Cauliflower with Whole Wheat Pasta

·      Sea Salt, as needed, plus 2 tsp

·         3/4 pound whole-wheat penne (I also think orecchiette would be awesome)

·         1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed

·         5 cups 3/4-inch cauliflower florets (about 1 large head)

·         1 large shallot, sliced into thin rings

·         2 cloves garlic, smashed and roughly chopped (not minced)

·         3/4 cup water

·         1/4 cup white wine vinegar

·         2 tablespoons golden raisins

·         1 tablespoon honey (or Agave for Vegan option)

·         1 tablespoon capers

·         1 sprig fresh thyme

·         1 bay leaf

        Freshly ground black pepper

·         3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

·         3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

·         1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano, plus however much you want (or none to make it Vegan)

      Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then salt it generously and add a little oil. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente; tender but not mushy. Drain the pasta, transfer to a large bowl.

      Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the cauliflower, shallots, and garlic, and cook, stirring, until the cauliflower is well browned, about 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, 2 teaspoons salt, water, vinegar, raisins, honey (or agave), capers, thyme, bay leaf, and season with black pepper. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook until cauliflower tender, about 7 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the pine nuts and parsley. Remove and discard the thyme and bay leaf.

     Toss vegetables and pasta together along with the pecorino. Drizzle with more olive oil, if desired. Serve immediately, passing more cheese at the table.

Carob Fudge!

Solid carob bars DO NOT EXIST in Vancouver.  I have scoured every health food store within 20km for a solid carob bar and the closest I can get is carob chips, which usually have an unnecessary amount of sugar and oil in them.  Besides, I can't dip them in peanut butter.  So needless to say I have been CRAVING carob, and the other day I decided to take matters into my own hands.

I didn't use dates with these because I find that sometimes it is hard to completely break down the dates in a food processor (at least for mine, and for the dates I use).  Dates are useful in deserts because they act as a sweetener and they also help to bind the ingredients together, as do raisins.  I have seen several recipes that use dates for raw fudge, but I really wanted to get a completely smooth consistency and I think I achieved it without using dates.  But, if you don't have any honey or any coconut oil, try using a bunch of dates in this recipe (about 1 cup, 1 1/2 cups) to make all of the ingredients stick together.

Carob Fudge

2 cups Walnuts

1 cup Pecans

1/2 cup carob powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbs Coconut oil

2 tbs Honey

Blend nuts in food processor until it reaches a flour-like consistency (or are finely ground).  Add carob powder and pulse.  Add the rest of the ingredients, you may need to add more honey to make it stick together or less depending on if you used dates or raisins.  Line a square tupper-ware container with wax paper, place mixture in container, freeze or refrigerate until mostly solid, slice into squares and enjoy!