mango-nectarine {gf + vegan} pie = soul food!

guys I made a real pie. with a top and a bottom. I rolled out the dough, mixed it, baked it, ate it, loved it.

I usually don't make these kind of pies cause they're not as easy (and usually not as healthy) as my raw ones. but this one is SO HEALTHY. and warmed my little soul.

nectarines are deliciously juicy right now, so make this while you can!

makes one 8" pie

crust:
1 flax egg (2 T ground flax seed mixed with 6 T water & placed in fridge for 10 min)
2 c sprouted buckwheat or oat flour
1 c almond meal
1/3 c coconut sugar
1 t sea salt
3/4 c ghee, separated into teaspoons & set in freezer for 15 minutes

-preheat oven to 375F. add flour, meal, sugar & salt to a food processor & process until well mixed.

-add in ghee and pulse until crumbly, then slowly add in a bit of ice water until mixture sticks together well between your fingers.

-on parchment paper, separate dough in half & roll out 2 12" circles with a floured rolling pin. fit one of the crusts into an 8" pie pan by flipping the parchment & crust over pan & slowly peeling away parchment. make sure there are no air bubbles, clean up the edges & set in fridge along with the rolled top crust.

filling:
2 c chopped juicy local nectarines
2 c chopped ripe mango
2 T lemon juice
1/3 c coconut sugar
1/4 c sprouted buckwheat or oat flour
1 t vanilla
pinch of sea salt

-mix all ingredients together in a bowl & pour into pie crust.

-using the same method, place the top crust over the pie & seal the edges. cut a few slits in the top and brush crust with coconut milk + sprinkle of coconut sugar. cover with tinfoil & pop in the oven. bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes, removing foil the last 15 or so minutes to golden the top. cool and serve with healthy ice cream, whipped cream or yogurt!

enjoy!!

raw dehydrated eggplant "fries"

i don't know about where you are, but here in california the local eggplants are so beautiful! 
eggplants are kind of a tough veggie to figure out and make in a way everyone will love. often even when they are well cooked, the skin is tough and they can get quite chewy. 

SO this time around i peeled them & figured out how to make them nice and crispy/crunchy and easy to munch! plus they're freaking delicious. i guess i do like anything titled "fries" though (doesn't everyone?) but maybe these are a little more like chips...depending on how long you dehydrate them. still, everyone likes chips. chips are good. so try them! if you don't have a dehydrator, an oven on it's lowest temp will work, it just won't take as long-so watch them close!

ingredients: 
2 local eggplants
1/4 c evoo (extra virgin olive oil)
1/2 c filtered water
1 T bragg liquid aminos or coconut aminos
1 T coconut nectar, raw honey or a bit of stevia 
1 t smoked paprika
1/4 t black pepper

-peel eggplant and slice into 1 inch "fries". mix all the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl & add eggplant. toss to coat, cover & marinate in fridge overnight, stirring occasionally. once finished, line dehydrator trays with parchment paper and evenly lay out eggplant strips. 

-dehydrate at 115F for 8-10 hours until crisp. store in an airtight container and bring on road trips to munch, or serve up with your favorite healthy dipping sauce! (try my easy homemade ketchup!)

*tip* save the marinade in a mason jar to use as a salad dressing later...it's delicious!

full-moon-fix: raw choco-hemp fudge // raw tahini-caramel fudge

FUDGE. yes fudge. it is so good. i try to keep simple, small bite sized treats like this in my freezer so when i am looking for a quick sweet fix, there it is! and a much better choice than oreos ya know? 
most women, if living in harmony with nature and its cycles and seasons, should experience their own cycle with the mother moon. during the full moon, we should be at the peak of our monthly cycle. well, the full moon is tomorrow, so i understand you will all be needing some high vibrational, antioxidant rich CHOCOLATE (: get it, girl.

these are my 2 favorite fudge recipes. you can try one, or just make both. because 2 is better than 1.

they are healthy, made with pure ingredients and completely raw, vegan and "paleo" plus they are both way easy to whip up. so indulge in your full-moon-fix here, rather than the bakery. ladies (gents too!) your body will thank you!

the first match made in heaven: chocolate & hemp seeds

ingredients:
3/4 c raw coconut butter, melted
1 c raw hemp seed butter (make it yourself in a twister jar! or find it online here)
1/4 c hemp milk
1 t pure vanilla extract
3 T raw coconut nectar, raw honey or stevia to taste
1/4 c raw cacao powder
pinch of sea salt

-add all ingredients to a high-speed blender & blend until very smooth. spread out in a glass square dish lined with plastic wrap or parchment (for easy removal), sprinkle with hemp seeds & set in the freezer until firm. slice & eat!

the second match made in heaven: tahini & caramel

12 pitted dates, soaked
1/2 c raw organic tahini
1/4 c coconut oil
1 t pure vanilla extract
pinch of sea salt

-same directions as above, then top with cacao nibs and dried mulberries and set in freezer until firm. 

-both of these can keep for months in the freezer! pull out when you are craving a treat, add to smoothies or take to share with friends (:

clean honey-soy chicken wings

i am not much of a meat eater, especially in the warm summer months and especially since i have moved to southern california. but, every once in a while some lean chicken or fish sounds nice when i need some heavier protein in my body.

obviously you want to search out the best quality chicken possible (or better yet, raise your own!). i believe in animals living a long, full life, roaming free and happy and fed organically because not only do the chemicals they eat get transferred to us, but also the energies/mood/feelings of that animal, good or bad, depending on how it was raised. i like this idea: meat in moderation, mostly in times of cold, famine, or using it to heal is best. listen to your body-it knows!

in this recipe i call them chicken "wings", which you definitely can buy-but i had a few organic chicken breasts already at home so i sliced them into a sort of boneless, skinless, chicken finger shape and baked them up that way. if you like the bone, go buy the wing!

to make:

1/2 c raw local honey or organic brown rice syrup
3/4 c coconut aminos or braggs liquid aminos
1/2 c water
2 cloves garlic
1/2" piece fresh ginger, peeled

-add all ingredients to a blender and blend on high until smooth.

-place 12 large organic free-range chicken wings in a bowl & cover with marinade. place in fridge for at least 2 hours to soak in flavors.

-preheat oven to 350F & line a baking tray with parchment paper. place wings onto tray & bake for 20 minutes. remove, flip, and baste with more juice. bake another 20 minutes until done. sprinkle with sesame seeds & serve! (kids love these)

thai inspired raw vegan ice cream sandwiches // basil peanut butter cookies + coconut turmeric & chili ice cream

these are so different and i am LOVING the flavors.
they taste kinda amazing and i think you should for sure try them out cause they are freakin' easy to make and so healthy to eat. always the option to use a natural sweetener in place of the stevia, i just like to save my body the extra calories & sugar and use stevia when i can. 

makes enough sammiches for 4 lucky people.

turmeric-chili ice cream:
cream from the top of 1 can of organic full-fat coconut milk (set in the fridge overnight)
1 t turmeric
1/4 t chili powder
organic stevia to taste

-blend all ingredients in a blender until mixed well. process in an ice cream maker or pour into a container and set in freezer, stirring every 30 minutes until firm. 

cookies:
6 T sprouted buckwheat groats
1/2 c soft pitted dates
1/2 c fresh organic basil
2 T organic raw wild jungle peanut butter
pinch of high quality sea salt

-in your food processor, grind the buckwheat groats into a fine powder. add in the rest of the ingredients and process until it all comes together into a dough. 

-roll out and use a small round cookie cutter to make 8 cookies (or just shape them with your hands). set cookies on a parchment lined tray in the freezer for 1 hr to harden. 

-once ice cream is firm and cookies are set, scoop 1 large ball of ice cream onto 4 of the cookies using a warmed ice cream scoop. top with the other cookie and eat right away or set back in freezer until you're ready to gobble them up!

on a cuter note...

got some love from this little blue today.

kick-ass coconut key lime pie

probably the #1 most popular dessert that I make. 

anyone and everyone always enjoys it! 

if you have been to my workshops, you probably already have the recipe. if not, for those of you who asked, here it is! 

crust:

1 c sprouted & dehydrated buckwheat groats

1/2 c shredded coconut

6-10 soft, pitted dates

1 T pure (grade B) maple syrup

1 T coconut oil 

1/2 t vanilla bean powder or extract

1/4 t sea salt

-add everything to your food processor, process until it comes together. press evenly into the bottom of a 9"springform pan & set in freezer. 

filling:

11/2 c avocado flesh

1/2 c fresh key lime juice

3 T fresh key lime zest

3/4 c raw local honey (or sweetener of choice)

1/4 t vanilla bean powder

1/2 c coconut butter, melted 

-add all ingredients to a high speed blender and blend for several minutes until very smooth & creamy. 

-pour & spread evenly over crust. add optional toppings listed below & freeze until firm. slice. eat. savor. breath. love. 

*optional toppings*

coconut flakes

fresh berries

fresh lime zest or thinly sliced limes

organic edible fresh flowers
freeze dried raspberries (yum)
golden berries 

goji berries

coconut whip 

etc...

vegan & grain free 5 layer magic bars...it's real magic

these take a small amount of effort & time, and it is WELL worth it. they are so popular with those I've made them for and I often get requests for them. you'd never guess they were healthy!

ingredients: 
3/4 c almond flour
3/4 c shredded coconut
1/2 T pure maple syrup (grade b)
2 T melted coconut oil
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 t high quality sea salt

-preheat oven to 350F. combine all ingredients above in a food processor and press evenly into the bottom of a parchment lined 8x8 glass dish. bake for 12 minutes, remove & cool completely.

-in a medium sauce pan add 1 can full fat organic coconut milk + 1/2 c coconut palm sugar. bring to a boil, then simmer for 45ish minutes until reduced to about 3/4 c (you are making healthy sweetened condensed milk!).

-once reduced, pour over cooled crust & sprinkle evenly with 1 c chopped cacao paste (or high quality, naturally sweetened chocolate chip), 1 c shredded coconut & 1/2 chopped pecans. gently press down & pop back in oven for 30 minutes. remove & cool on counter for 1 hr, transfer to fridge and chill for another 2 hrs to set. slice, and enjoy with homemade nut mylk or clean ice cream!

battered no fry zucchini fries + easiest homemade ketchup

it's that time of year when everyone has zucchini coming out of their ears! do you fall into that category? sweet! here is a tasty recipe for you. 

zucchini is a favorite veggie of mine. so versatile and you can always make it taste amazing!

this recipe is made with local and organic zucchini "battered" with almond flour and baked in coconut oil-obviously a much healthier alternative to fried potatoes and something even the littles will love. i paired it with my absolute favorite homemade ketchup recipe that i will post below...it is freakin easy, sweetened only with stevia and it's even raw! all the more reason to make it, eat it, and leave the other stuff behind for good.

a quick little rant on ketchup: as most of you know, regular heinz ketchup is bull crap. just check out the label for a sec...

ok, i spy a million things so wrong here. first of all lets look at the motto at the top..."grown not made" ha! grown in a field sprayed with chemicals and pesticides that in a large dose could kill a human? injected with more chemicals and artificial crap to keep it from ripening too soon? then overly heated, concentrated, processed and blended up with HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, CORN SYRUP (cause the high fructose wasn't enough), crappy salt, 'spice', and who even knows what is in the 'natural flavoring'. then lets go down to the very bottom, "for best results, refrigerate after opening." for best results? that's interesting... also-20 calories and FOUR grams of sugar per serving; which, mind you, one serving is 1 TBSP. who eats just 1 tablespoon of ketchup in a sitting? our kids are downing this stuff. the country is downing this stuff and there is nothing natural, whole or nutritious about it. 
alright, i get quite passionate about this stuff... you all get it, stop buying ketchup. (although yes, there are some good, organic brands out there at health food stores-i never buy ketchup sweetened though, it doesn't need it and i am not a huge fan of even "organic cane sugar"-stick to the lovely sweet taste nature blessed tomatoes with). 
now here are your tasty recipes!

zucchini fries:
4 large local zucchini, sliced into chunky sticks
1/4 c almond flour
1/4 c coconut oil
high quality sea salt + pepper to taste
parsley, Rosemary, thyme & garlic powder to taste

-preheat oven to 425F. lay out zucchini sticks onto a parchment lined baking sheet evenly. sprinkle them with almond flour & then the coconut oil, s + p, & herbs. roast in oven for 30 minutes until golden, remove, cool, enjoy with homemade 5-minute ketchup:

3 c chopped organic local tomatoes (heirloom make a lovely ketchup also)
2 c raw sundried tomatoes 
1/2 sweet onion
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 c ACV
1/2 t pink himalayan 
organic stevia to taste (optional, for extra sweetness)

-simply add everything to a high speed blender and blend until very smooth. taste for sweetness/salt & store in an airtight container in fridge. 

bonus: makes about 5 cups in 5 minutes and under $5.