Chocolate Buddha Bowl

Lots of people ask me what I have for dessert, and truthfully it always changes, but when I find something truly magnificent and easy I tend to stick with it for weeks.  Enter the banana berry chocolate buddha bowl.   It has an unusual mix, a hodge podge of good-for-you ingredients, and you get to drink "chocolate milk" at the end.  It's like those cocoa crispies cereal I used to eat as a kid (I know, right?) but better.

Use whatever is in season (this photo was taken when blueberries hit the stores, July), and work your magic. I also used mulberries from our backyard tree, and that was a completely beautiful experience (I grew up with them and think everyone should have a mulberry tree!) Peaches were good for august.  I'm adding apples in September.  You get the idea. It can morph to fit what nature provides each month.

Cacao paste is this new product I found which is literally divine (albeit expensive) but worth every penny. Plus it lasts you months and you only need a little at a time since it's so concentrated. 

The hemp offers superior protein for that little sugar spike you get from the banana, blueberries are full of superfood antioxidants, nuts give you heart healthy and omega-3 fats, and you're good to go.  I have to admit, I have this for breakfast sometimes.  Very naughty, but not really....

Eat, chew, breathe, and be good to your body. 

1 banana sliced
hand full blueberries or berries of your choice
2 tablespoons hemp seeds
1 tablespoon cacao paste, crumbled
1/4 cup mixed nuts (I used cashews, pecans and walnuts, but your choice)
pinch salt
1/3 cup water (yes, I know, but trust me its so delicious)
small drizzle of local honey

Combine ingredients together and enjoy! 

Our Watermelon "Egg"

This monster was growing in our garden and we hardly saw it develop...it must have been a matter of days since I saw it first at about 7 inches and then poof...there it went.  Exploded.  Blossomed.  Our little watermelon egg. 

Small brownish indent in the grass below is where the watermelon came from...

These are actually two plants, from two seeds...we harvested this one and soon after that, another watermelon popped up. Pretty good, I say just with two seeds, a little water, and sun.  It was one of the most self-sufficient plants we've ever had.  It just did its own thing, and we sat back, relaxed and marveled at how quickly it grew. 

The flesh inside was a bit on the pink side, I think perhaps since I couldn't wait. It was huge, by the way, so I learned my lesson...apparently, it can get even MORE huge.  When tapped, it sounded hollow, so we went to town, sliced it up, and are now beginning to juice it.  Mild in flavor but sweet and super juicy. Delish. 

I hope this inspires you to grow your own next spring - it is incredibly easy to do and in no time, you can have your very own watermelon....

House Staple Black Bean Salsa Soup

I'm not really sure why I love black beans so much, since we didn't have them as often as you'd think in my childhood...although my mom made a mean re-fried bean recipe with kidney beans, I didn't see black beans very often. I've grown to love them as an adult since they're smaller and have a different bite to them (not as soft) as kidney beans. Although they give a good punch to stews and soups, I find that they're a bit more mellow and blend better with other veggies than some other beans. This is why this soup has become a staple in my home. 

Prior to this soup, I have to admit, I wasn't much of a "soup maker". In my teens, when I was learning to cook, I always followed the recipe for soups, and never veered, since I was always afraid of the quantities of the ingredients.  I thought more like a baker (how I started out) and didn't realize that soups were really, well, a mish mosh of leftover veggies mixed together with patience, a low flame, and some time.  This soup isn't scary. It's really just born out of a "cleaning the fridge" type of day. I guess that's what I like about it. 

2 cups black beans
1/2 cup celery, diced
1/2 onion, diced
5 florets cauliflower, chopped
5 florets broccoli, chopped
1 carrot, diced
1 tomato, diced
1/3 cup peas
1/2 cup corn
3 or 4 cups water
1/2 bottle of trader joe's salsa (others are fine but TJ's can't be beat)
a handful of chopped kale (added at the end)
....and then I moved to the pantry.... 

I don't bother sauteing anything - everything goes in the pot, no oil, no salt, just pure whole food goodness.  Simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes and you're done (add kale at the end to just wilt it).  

On a cold winter day, you can even add chunks of sweet potatoes, or just make it all onion and bean and salsa to keep it simple. This is extremely filling, and if you can invest in a pressure cooker to cook all of your beans, it's infinitely cheap over time. 

Note: this soup turns everything in it dark, including the white cauliflower. If you're weirded out about that, just leave it out. :)

Chopped Mango Salad

This is one of my top favorite salads, and I tend to make a lot of it so it lasts me throughout the week - in 20 minutes you've basically made your lunch for the next 5 days (if it lasts that long). This is also a great transitional salad towards raw. The only "cooked" item is the beans, and everything else is raw, so you can pat yourself on the back as you realize you've done something amazingly healthy for yourself. 

You can tweak it as you wish, but try to keep to the staples - beans, mango, and veggies. The rest is up to you.  Also, for me the cilantro makes it "pop" but for you, that might mean parsley, or another fun herb like basil.  Also, I realize this list is long and it's not practical for some people.  If you only have green peppers, then just use that. If you don't like onions, omit them, etc.  

You want a good balance of sweet (mango) to spice (jalapeno) and also in terms of texture - soft (beans) to crunchy (veggies).  No matter what, experiment, have fun and enjoy the process.

2.5 or 3 cups black beans (or 2 cans of Eden black beans, drained)
  (you can also mix one black bean with one kidney bean)
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/2 yellow pepper, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 mango, peeled, and diced
jalapeno, diced, to taste
1 medium tomato (or a handful of cherry tomatoes), diced
2 inches cucumber, diced
one large handful cilantro, minced
drizzle of flax seed oil
about 1/4 cup raw apple cider vinegar (or more, to taste)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chipotle powder
salt and fresh black pepper, to taste

Mix everything together and enjoy with a hearty flax seed cracker or with a sprouted tortilla.  I also like it as is with a side of sliced avocado.

Growing A Mango Tree?

We love experiments, and we love learning in this family.  Apart from watching videos of baby animals (that's more my thing) in our down time (which is seldom), we love starting new fun projects that can be done quickly and inexpensively.  

We found this very intriguing video one day, and so we set to work.  I love home projects like this.  The first of which was rooting a pineapple (more on that later in another post).  And now it's the mango tree. Or bush. Or plant. Or anything that will grow out of it.  We have to be patient....

There is is on the right....cute little thing.  It has an unusual shape, a little damp as it comes out of its shell, and has a pointed end.  

Directions: 

Fill a pot with dirt and leave 1 inch from the top.
Cut up your mango, and scrub the seed well with a hard sponge or even a spoon.  When it's relatively clean, find the little knot on one of its sides.  Close to this knot will be a weak spot where you can insert the tip of a butter knife.  Pry it open, slowly, and crack open its shell.  Inside is the mango seed. 

Lay the seed flat on the dirt, and make sure the pointed end (it might even have a little sprout growing) is in the center of the pot - this will eventually grow the stem, so you want to center it. Cover with about 1 inch of dirt and cover with plastic wrap.  Tie a rubber band around the mouth of the pot to lock down the plastic wrap. Leave it on a sunny windowsill and in a few weeks, it will begin to sprout and grow.  This procedure will produce some condensation which will continue to rain down into the dirt, and the process begins again.  In this way, you can go without watering it for weeks, I'd say.  

Enjoy the video for further instructions.  We'll post the progress.  Our little pet.  Such joy :) 

About a month later...

Real Chocolate Ice Cream for Real People

So many people I speak with give me lists of their favorite foods, and ice cream is always one of them.  But I often wonder how many of the ingredients in ice cream are (1) recognizable, (2) healthy, or (3) easy enough to make on your own. Yes, heavy cream, sugar and vanilla are what you'd call "pure ingredients" but the truth is, I want the food I eat to give me energy, not take it away, and I've experienced all too well the "sleepy feelings" I get after eating something so fat and sugar laden. Plus I'm not investing in the cholesterol spike, thank you very much. I want something that tastes good, and that is good for me. 

The other thing is, I'm a sucker for convenience.  Are we not all suckers for convenience? And although many people might scoot out the door to the local food store to grab a pint, I just don't have time or patience for that. When I want chocolate, I want it right then and there, so I need to be well stocked with the right ingredients.  Lucky for me, this ice cream has 3 ingredients in it and I make sure they are always in my house (and so can you). 

Real Ice Cream for Real People means this...you are made of live stuff.  You should eat live stuff.  You are not made of dead stuff, so you shouldn't eat dead stuff.  White sugar is dead stuff. Chemicals weren't even alive to begin with.  And the story goes on and on. You get me? Pretty simple.

The first thing you do is grab a ton of bananas when they go on sale (and please make them organic - non-organic bananas have pesticides on them that ultimately lead to cancer in those who work with them and are responsible for shipping them to us. Plus, they're only another 10 cents per pound, so let's just do the right thing). Take them home, peel them all, slice them up, put them in a Ziploc bag and consider yourself saved from chocolate withdrawal for the next month or so. 

Onward and upward...  

3 tablespoons raw cacao powder

(1 tablespoon maca powder

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

pinch salt)

3-4 frozen bananas, sliced

cacao nibs, to decorate

Really, this recipe is made of cacao, banana and nibs.  The other ingredients in the middle in the parenthesis are just optional, but I love adding them.  If using a high powered blender, blend everything together using the tamper as you go (you need to be pretty firm and insistent with it). Sometimes letting the bananas defrost for 4 minutes helps the process along.  Otherwise, place the ingredients together in a food processor and run it, scraping, run, scrape, run, scrape until it starts to defrost a bit into a soft serve.  Just give it some time and patience and in less than 5 minutes you have the most glorious ice cream that is fit for kings (or I should say, the 2 kings and one queen in my family of 3). 

Pour it out, and sprinkle with the cacao nibs. Also, a little toss of unsweetened coconut didn't hurt anyone. 

Just FYI, the maca makes things a tad gelatinous, so when you're using the blender, be prepared to go for the long haul.  The motor might not enjoy it as much, but persist just until you get the right consistency BUT no longer, and you and your blender will live happily ever after. 

Easiest Hazelnut Chocolate Mousse Ever!

I have to thank my husband for this recipe...he's pretty modest about his culinary talents, but he's amazingly good at what he does.  Actually, he's the type of person that inspires a trainer to work out, or a chef to eat better (meaning me).  And he inspired me with his super quick chocolate gooey mess.  I saw him making this one day when (ironically) I had a chocolate craving the size of Montana, but I was rushing out the door with very little time to make anything.  As I sheepishly eyed his creation, he asked "wanna taste it?".  I devoured half of it...actually 3/4 if I were to be exact. Bliss.  And it hit the spot in the most perfect way.

I bring this to you with a little bit of my spin plunked into it.  I am a hazelnut/nutella hoarder and I had to spike it with some hazelnut extract. Honestly it's the easiest mousse ever, virtually fat free (or extremely low in fat if you have a larger banana), high in magnesium, soluble fiber, taste, and it HITS THE SPOT which is honestly the last thing I need to say about it.  Thank you Nate for this special treat.  A reminder to all of us that simple food is really good food. 

1 banana, about 5-7 inches, peeled and mashed in a bowl
1/4 cup raw cacao powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 teaspoon hazelnut extract
pinch salt
raspberries, to garnish

Mix all the ingredients together and serve with raspberries.  I like mine kind of chunky so I half the banana in a bowl and add the ingredients. By the time everything is mixed, the banana is still a bit chunky. 

Lemony Dill Fennel Salad

For the longest time, I had this love/hate relationship with fennel.  Ok, it was more of a "couldn't be bothered" relationship with fennel. The initial "love" part was that I "wanted to love it" but I didn't, but I felt that it would certainly be something romantic if I did...fennel was one of those vegetables that deserved to be in roman war stories or romance novels or eaten with very small forks by righteous people. But every time I'd taste it, honestly, it just didn't do it for me. It was slightly pompous in its licorice flavor and it needed to be regulated a bit.  That was just my take.  A little tete-a-tete was in order. But now I've changed my tune. Enter one very important ingredient.

Avocado made me fall in love with fennel. They should have been married at some point but it just seems like Italian fennel and California or Mexico avocado would never have met under normal circumstance... Until I furrowed my brow, determined and all, shoved up my sleeves and had them get together in my bowl.  Sprinkled with some dill (where did that one come from) and lemon (I see the Sicilian touch there), what came to be was nothing short of magic.  My new....favorite....salad.  

Here she is, in all her glory.

1 good sized fennel bulb, sliced paper thin

1/2 lemon, juiced (or to taste)

1/2  to 1 full avocado, depending on size, cubed

1 heaping Tablespoon chopped fresh dill

drizzle of flax seed oil

salt, to taste

lots of pepper

Version 1:  The tame way.
Mix everything together gingerly, and enjoy at once. 

Version 2:  The not so tame way.
Massage the fennel between your hands with lemon juice, dill, oil, salt and pepper, and get everything good and cozy.  Let the ingredients meet each other :) Add the avocado, have a little toss, and enjoy this messy beautiful treat.