Peanut Butter and Honey Rawcoroons

Crunchier than my other rawcoroons, these peanut butter bliss balls hit home with the kids (and the adults too!!) The combination of honey and peanut butter really puts these rawcoroons in my top 3 flavors at the moment. These little balls are such a great thing to have around the house as they are packed with nutrients, healthy fats and carbs, to keep my kids full and satisfied when we are on the go. The perfect snack that packs easily or the quick breakfast when there is no time to be in the kitchen, or really just an awesome cookie when the craving hits.

I had made a peanut butter raw cookie like this before but this time I switched up the recipe because of what I had on hand, and they came out much tastier than I expected them to.

And I tested a few in the oven in order to relay good information to those of you who don’t have a dehydrator, and I am happy to say that the oven version was equally as delicious. While I am a huge advocate of raw as much as I can in order to preserve nutrients in the foods I consume, I understand it is not convenient for everyone, and eating a homemade baked cookie made with these ingredients is better than not eating a cookie at all. There, I said it. Eat a cookie. It makes life tasty.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond meal or flour or finely ground raw almonds (For this particular recipe I used almond pulp left over from making milk, that I had then dehydrated to make flour)
• 1 cup oats, ground to a flour (I used my blender but a coffee grinder works too)
• 2 cups shredded coconut, ground finely but not to a flour consistency
• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 cup raw honey
• 1/8 cup water

Steps:

• combine everything in a large bowl and mix well
• taste and make sure it is to your liking, add more honey or pb if the need be 🙂
• scoop out into balls (I use an ice cream scooper)
• put on a dehydrator mesh screen
• dehydrate at 105*F for about 8 hours. Check them at 6 hours and see if the consistency is to your liking. The longer you leave them, the drier they get.

If using an oven:

• preheat your oven to 200*F and bake them for 1.5 to 2 hours. Check them to make sure they are to your liking. If you don’t care in preserving too much of the nutrients, go ahead and bake them at a regular cookie temperature for much less time. I am sure it will work too, I just haven’t tried that yet.

Store in an airtight container for several days. In all honesty, I have no idea how long these last as they were gone in under 48 hours.

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Fudge Squares

Ooooooohhhhhmmmgosh. Creamy. Rich. Melt in your mouth goodness. This has got to be one of my most favorite chocolate recipes I have created so far. And I make ALOT of chocolate creations. It is no secret I love chocolate, and I absolutely LOVE fudge. It is actually because of my utter love for chocolate and most things sweet that I started making my own desserts and treats. There is no way I would be able to maintain the level of health I believe to be necessary to live the life I want, if I were to indulge in the commercial sugar laden, often dairy filled, sometimes chemically induced sweets I find at the store, every time a craving hit me. Instead I use all natural, organic, mostly raw ingredients to provide not only the highest level of nutrients to my body but also to provide the most flavorful indulgences. The only bad thing about using such wholesome ingredients in my recipes is that I don’t usually feel too bad if I eat way too many. And let’s face it, too much of a good thing, well eventually does become too much. Anyways, right now is not the time to talk about how to slow down eating such amazing delicious goodness, right now is the time to share one of the fastest ways to get your sweet fix while still loving your body. Given you don’t eat the whole batch at once, and every day. But you might have to try doing that at least once. Just to try.

Ingredients:

• 6-8 soft medjool dates
• 1/4 cup raw cacao powder
• 1/4 cup almond butter
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup coconut butter
• 1 large ripe banana (if you are not a fan of banana you could omit this, but the texture will be somewhat affected)
• dash of salt

Steps:

• melt the coconut butter and oil together, either in a double boiler, or in a pot on the stove. If doing this last method, heat the pot first, put your coconut products in it and leave the flame on low for maybe a minute and turn off and stir to get the oils melted. You do not want to cook them, just melts them and having them in a hot pot will be enough.
• put everything in a food processor and blend until nice and smooth and rich
• poor in a 8X8 dish, lined with parchment paper
• set in the fridge for 30 minutes or in the freezer for 10
• cut in small squares and keep in the fridge

Apple Carrot Muffins

Just the right amount of sweet thanks to the honey and fruit, these little muffins are sure to give you plenty of energy without the nasty refined sugar crash that can sometimes come from baked goods.

We finally ran out of all the muffins I had made over the fall and winter and stored for later use. Which means it’s time to get baking again! I love muffins. Not to eat myself but to have on hand for my kids. They can be so nutritious as well as versatile.

And if you make a big enough batch, they can be a handy quick snack.

These muffins are packed with vitamins and fiber from the carrots and apples, as well as from the flax seeds. Those also provide a good dose of omega 3’s essential fatty acids (the good kind of fat that helps with cholesterol). The almond base gives  this muffins a delicious flavor while keeping it suitable for gluten intolerant people. And the honey. Well that kind of sweetener just always makes my kids happy 🙂

I am hoping to put some away in the freezer, but at the rate my family is eating them, I better hurry up!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup almond meal or almond flour
• 1 1/2 cups buckwheat flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup small oats (regular oats work fine)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup ground flax seeds soaked for 10 minutes in 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup apple sauce
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 cup shredded apple
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/2 cup honey

Steps:

• preheat oven to 375*F (190*C)
• soak the flax seeds in water
• in a large mixing bowl combine first 6 ingredients and mix
• in a blender combine remaining ingredients
• pour the wet ingredients in the flour mixture and mix
• grease some mini muffin tins and put dough in them
• bake for about 10 minutes for mini muffins, around 18-20 minutes for larger ones

This recipe made about 54 mini muffins. I think it will make about 16 large ones.

 

Francais:

• 1.5 cups de farine d’amandes (340 grammes)
• 1.5 cups de farine de sarasin
• 2 cuillere a caffee de bicarbonate de soude
• 1 cup de flocons d’avoine (225 grammes)
• 1 cuillere a caffee de canelle
• 1/4 cup (6o gr) de graines de lin moulues trempees dans 1/2 cup (125 ml) d’eau pendant 10 minutes, bien remuer 
• 1/2 cup de compote de pommes (115gr)
• 1 cup carrotes rapees (225 gr)
• 1 cup pommes rapees
• 1/4 cup d’huile de noix de coco fondue (65ml)
• 1/2 cup de miel  

 

Buckwheat Breakfast Bowl

I love breakfast. I love drinking tea. I love drinking green juices. I love smoothies. I can last all morning on a fresh juice or green smoothie, but some days I want to sit and enjoy a nice meal. And I really love putting intention in a nice wholesome meal for my breakfast. I am sweet breakfast kinda girl. Although I do love eating savory from time to time, my go to is usually sweet. Chia seed porridge is my most frequent go to. Although I have changed it quite a few times since that first post and will be continuously changing it as that is how life goes.

This breakfast bowl is so delicious and nutritious. Even the boys loved eating!! It resembles oatmeal in texture, but is packed with so much more goodness!!!

I use buckwheat frequently at home, mostly for raw granolas, but also for raw breads, patees and other savory dishes. I always sprout it first to maximize the nutrients I can get from this superfood. But you don’t need to do that if you don’t feel like it. Just make sure you soak it at least 8 hours and rinse it REALLY well before eating it.

Ingredients:

• 2 dates
• 1 TBS almond butter
• 6 TBS almond milk
• 1/2 an apple
• 1 cup sprouted buckwheat (or buckwheat soaked for 8 hours)
• 2 TBS shredded coconut
• 1 tsp chia seeds
• 1 tsp sunflower seeds
• 1 tsp dried cherries (or raisins, or cranberries)

Steps:

• put first 4 ingredients in food processor and blend until well combined
• add the buckwheat and coconut and pulse a few times until desired consistency
• top with remaining ingredients
• chow down and feel happy!!

Cacao Rawcoroon

When it comes to my taste buds, I can never go wrong with chocolate, well… except for that one time…. but I learned 😉  

My husband is the same. If I present him with something chocolatey, I know he will devour it happily. So I created this rawcoroon after the lemon one. Because, well I love lemon too. And I was actually inspired to start making rawcoroons when I had an expensive store bought lemon one. So here is my chocolate indulgence for today. 

 

 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups almond flour (made from whole almonds blended down into a flour, not the store bought kind)
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1/4 raw cacao powder
• salt
• 1/8 cup maple syrup
• 1/8 cup coconut sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 TBS coconut oil

Steps:

• in a large bowl mix first 4 ingredients
• in a small bowl or blender mix remaining ingredients
• combine everything until well incorporated
• don’t let husband come in and eat everything out of the bowl
• scoop into little balls on the mesh screen of the dehydrator
• dehydrate for about 8 to 10 hours, depending on what consistency you want and also what size balls you made. I like mine crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. 

Makes about 12 golf size balls. 

 

 

Mother Nature Provides!

This season right now is my favorite of seasons at the farmers market for the abundance of fruit. Bitting into the perfectly ripe peach so that it’s juices run the long of my pinky down to my elbow tells me that summer is here. Seeing my son’s face stained red from all the berries shows that their sweetness is hard to resist. The bing cherries are making an appearance and it’s hard to make it home with a full bag, my red fingers and tongue giving away my secret indulgence of the drive home. I love summer fruits. I love the juicy, sweet nectars and happiness it brings me, my body and my family. That’s why after going to the market yesterday morning, this was our lunch.

I grew up on an organic “farm” in the country side in France. Whatever could grow in my region, my parents grew. We had an abundance of fruit trees and berry bushes, as well as a field of strawberries and nut trees. Several times my siblings and I would come home from school for lunch to find a table filled with fruit and nuts freshly picked from our garden. We were always happy to find such a treat. I told myself that when I grow up, I would treat my family to meals made of delicious seasonal fruit like my parents did. Although my table today is not nearly as abundant as it was when I was a kid, since all we had to do as kids is walk outside and eat our hearts desire, whereas today I have to spend a pretty penny to get the most decadent, pesticide free fruit (totally worth it), we still get to fill our bellies up and be fully satisfied and blissed out. This is just a momentary solution until we own a piece of land big enough for me to grow all this deliciousness myself. In the meantime, I feel VERY fortunate to live in a city where local farmers share their most precious foods and where I get to support their efforts while feeding my family well. Mother nature always provides. No need to look very far to feel amazing with what we put in our bodies.

Banana Chocolate Crunch Ice Cream

MMmmmm, there’s nothing like guilt free ice cream. This banana ice cream is so easy and delicious. And versatile too. I did this batch with chocolate but you can get as creative as you want, adding nuts, berries, anything really! My daughter wasn’t a fan of the crunch of the chocolate, which came mainly from the cacao nibs, and partly from the hardening of the chocolate once it hits the ice cream (one of my favorite parts of this treat) If you have kids who don’t like crunch, or yourself like a creamier texture, just skip the nibs!

Ingredients:

Chocolate crunch

• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup raw honey
• 6 TBS cacao powder
• 3 TBS cacao nibs
• dash of salt

Put all ingredients in a double boiler or in a jar in boiling hot water and mix until well combined. Set aside. The benefit of doing this step in a jar is that if you don’t use all the chocolate mixture (I didn’t), it’s conveniently stored in a jar that you can put a lid on and save for later use (which I did).

Banana Ice Cream

• 4 frozen bananas

Put bananas in food processor and blend until creamy texture is achieved. This step can take a little bit of time and work, depending on your food processor. It takes me under 10 minutes but I have to constantly open the lid, scrape the sides down with a butter knife, to get things moving. At first it will seem like it’ll never become ice cream, but after sufficient scrapping, the bananas will catch and you will witness a deliciously creamy mound form right before your eyes. So satisfying.

Once that happens, add a few tablespoons (3 or 4) of the chocolate mixture into the food processor and pulse a few times to combine.

Dish out in small bowls, top with more chocolate sauce and enjoy!