Learning to Love, Happy Valentine's Day!

I am going to get a bit unconventional here today and choose to acknowledge Valentine's Day as a way we can ALL celebrate not just loving others, but loving ourselves as well! 

Carob-Date Caramel Covered Strawberries!

For an easy sweet treat, that's healthy and delicious, try dipping strawberries in Carob-Date Caramel Sauce (Equal parts pitted dates of your choosing + coconut water + 1-2 tablespoons of carob powder, blend!) and popping it in the freezer for an hour. So much yum!

Learning to love yourself, for who you are AT THIS MOMENT, is so important as you embark on your journey towards a healthier lifestyle. 

Without getting too cliche here, it really is true that your relationship with yourself is the most important relationship you will ever have. If you don't take care of yourself-- your body and mind, what good are you to other people? 

For the longest time I looked at food and exercise as a rewards/punishment system. Even though I was eating a 100% plant-based, vegan, low fat raw diet! My exercise correlated to what I could and couldn't eat; if I did Bikram and then ran at the gym then I deserved to eat two durian, but if I didn't then I was lazy and I wasn't worthy of indulging in my favorite food. This would then correlate to how I perceived my body overall; my abs weren't visible enough, my stomach wasn't completely flat, my jeans felt a bit tighter. Even when it came to normal food consumption, I had rules that I had set for myself in regards to eating and often this translated to this feeling of constantly needing to be moving, expending energy -- earning my food. I couldn't just sit back and relax. I felt manic and stressed. 

In essence, just because I changed the way I was eating, didn't mean that my negative view of myself or my body dis-morphia, that manifested in high school when I began dieting, magically went away as I thought it would. I was still ALWAYS THINKING ABOUT FOOD. And granted, I love food, and I love making food, but the way I was always thinking about food wasn't healthy. 

Food and exercise should never be used in a rewards system situation no matter how healthy you are eating. Food and exercise are about nourishing your body and soul, end of story. 

It wasn't until I got some disappointing blood tests back that I finally was able to take a step back and say, "Woah, what am I doing to myself here?" and "Is this really all worth it?" (Let me be clear in saying that I was never restricting calories- I still ate huge portions and never counted calories.) I realized that this obsessive routine I had created around food and exercise was interfering with what I wanted to do in my life. And I began to look at the larger picture in that, when I look back, twenty years from now, am I going to be happy? Ultimately, the answer was, "no." 

Somewhere along that way I had begun to equate the way I looked, how my clothes fit, etc. with how much I valued myself and in turn, how much the people in my life loved me. I felt like if I looked a certain way then they would love me more. It is a common way of thinking, but extremely deluded, especially since no one in my life EVER gave me a reason to feel that way. I allowed myself to be consumed with negative thoughts, anger, and simply never feeling worthy. 

It took time and a lot of dedication to change 10+ years of thinking, but learning to love who I am, right now, was key. Allowing myself to relax a little and not put so much pressure on myself to be perfect and always in control was another big step. And I think just learning to trust my overall natural instinct again was very important. 

So, on this day of love, if you are feeling unworthy, self-conscious, angry, sad, alone - just take a minute, breathe in deep, and allow yourself to feel all these things. Then exhale them all out, let them go. Really, just let it all go. Tell yourself that you are worth it. Whatever body you are in right now, LOVE IT. 

Once you accept that you are perfect as you are right now then achieving all the other goals you have set for yourself, will be that much more possible. 

Hope you all have a sweet, positive, self-LOVING day! 

What I Eat Wedesday, Raw Vegan Persimmon Pudding & Soft-Serve!

What to do when you've got 40 + pounds of ooey gooey sweet ripe end of the season persimmons left? Well, you make persimmon pudding of course! ...And then you top it with double vanilla soft-serve and mulberry-graham... Boom! The ultimately guilt-free, dairy-free, nut-free power bowl! 

Persimmon Pudding w. Double Vanilla Soft-Serve topped with Mulberry-Graham

Part of living this lifestyle is buying fruit in bulk. And if you are like me, you tend to kind of over do it sometimes when your favorite fruit comes into season! Other than durian, persimmons are my favorite fruit. As you can tell, I am very pro-versility here and I like fruit that can be used in both sweet and savory dishes. (Check out my previous post here for my Butter Lettuce/Zoodles (Zucchini Noodles) w. Tomato-Persimmon Ginger Dressing and here for my Festive Persimmon Salad w. Spicy Persimmon & Sun-dried Tomato Dressing)

This is the ultimate twist on your standard sundae, without the habitual guilty conscious that typically follows. You should never feel guilty about eating nourishing bowls of delicious goodness like this. Fruit is fuel. Not just for your body, but for your brain. Recent studies have shown that fruit raises serotonin levels in the brain and serotonin is a lovely little chemical that keeps us feeling happy; who doesn't want more of that? 

Here is what you will need: 

• 10 ripe, peeled, frozen bananas 
• 5-6 ripe (soft and squishy) persimmons 
• 10 dates 
• 1.5 cups of dried mulberries (Hunza is my favorite brand) 
• 1 cup coconut sugar (optional) 
• a vitamix or food processor 

Instructions: 

In a food processor or vitamix, pulse your mulberries + coconut sugar until you have a crumbly, flour like consistency. Sometimes, if I am craving a bit more texture I will reserve some mulberries and add them in afterwards, only pulsing a couple of times so I still get some lovely chewy bits mixed throughout. 

Put your mulberry-graham to the side in a separate container. 

Next, let's make the double vanilla soft serve! 

I use a vitamin here so it is a bit easier for me because I can throw the bananas in whole and get a great arm workout while using the tamper to push the bananas into the blade. However, if you are using a blender or a food processor, this will be a bit more of a time consuming task. 

For the blender you are going to want to make sure your bananas are a bit thawed and cut into smaller chunks that way it will be easier for the blade to chop them up. I would add 1-2 T of coconut water first to assist in the blending. I would also recommend doing this in advance that way you can throw your soft serve back in the freezer if it gets too melty. 

If you are using a food processor I would suggest also cutting your bananas into chucks and only blending half of the bananas straight through. Then pulse in the rest so that it helps maintain the soft-serve like consistency that we are going for here. 

For the double vanilla kick, I use Vanilla Powder + 1-3 drops Sweetleaf Vanilla Stevia. However, you can feel free to use alcohol-free vanilla extract, whole vanilla bean, or Vanilla-infused Coconut Sugar!  

For the persimmon pudding I throw all my persimmons into the vitamix or blender with my 10 dates and puree until super smooth. 

Now comes the fun part, assembling & eating! 

In nice big bowlI pour in my persimmon pudding. Then I layer on my double vanilla soft-serve. And lastly, I top it with a whole lot of mulberry-graham! Feel free to assemble or add your own little twist to this sundae!

This is a less artfully layered version where I did persimmon pudding, double vanilla soft-serve,  more persimmon pudding and topped it with date caramel and mulberry-graham. 

For more of my daily eats, tips, and recipes check out my Facebook page, Postively Plant-Powered or my instagram: RawFoodNerd. 

Raw Food Nerd, Holiday Edition

It's about that time, the holiday season is officially upon us and that means holiday parties where the temptation to eat foods that are filled with butter, salt, oil, and various unsavory animal products will be at an all time high.

Save yourself, don't make eye-contact with the beautifully decorated sugar cookies and best stay clear of the yule log. They're bad news bears!

But, really, there is no need to stress; It's entirely possible to maintain your healthy lifestyle while still being able to socialize and enjoy the festivities! You just have to know how to navigate the scene and come prepared!

And the best way to do that is to bring foods that suit your own dietary needs that you can also share with others! (This is also a fun way to show skeptics how versatile and delicious eating raw/vegan can be without having to be preachy..)

Here are three sweet, high raw vegan treats and a delicious, colorful 801010 salad that you can take to any party!

I'm a sucker for persimmons. I love that they are crisp and fresh with a sweet caramel, toffee, sugary ooey gooey-ness. Seriously, I look forward to persimmon season all year. And in California I can get them by the box from the LA Wholesale Market for as little as $17! (For those unfamiliar, persimmons average about .99 cents per pound from the Asian Markets in LA, but can average any where from .69 cents to $2.99 per persimmon depending on the store. I'd like to keep my wallet intact so by the box, wholesale style is how I roll.)

Festive Persimmon Salad w. Spicy Persimmon & Sun-dried Tomato Dressing

 Ingredients: 

2-3 ripe persimmons

leafy green mix 

cilantro 

baby cucumbers, sliced thin 

cherry or grape tomatoes, halved 

chopped chive 

chopped leek

Dressing: 

2 ripe tomatoes or 1 cup cherry tomatoes

1/2 orange/red/ or yellow bell pepper

1 green onion 

1-2 persimmons

1/2 cup soaked, oil-free/unsulfured/salt-free sun dried tomatoes

small knob of ginger (to your preference) 

1-2 slices from your favorite hot pepper (go easy, you can always add more spice if you want!) 

Blend your dressing until smooth. Taste and adjust spice if need be. Pour over salad upon time of arrival if you desire to place on the side and allow others to dole out the dressing on their own. 

Date Truffles

Ingredients: 

1 lb. fresh, organic wet-packed dates 

 3 drops of Stevia Sweetleaf Drops (choose your favorite flavor, mine is Hazelnut and Peppermint!) 

1 cup of coconut sugar 

I have a vitamix so I just toss all my ingredients into the vitamix and use the tamper to push everything into the blades until it looks like the consistency of frosting.

Sweetleaf Liquid Stevia Drops are the secret to scrumptious ooey-gooey date truffles. They add heaps of flavor without the addition of funky preservatives or additives. Stevia is completely natural and plant-derived so it won't spike your blood sugar and has, in fact, been shown to lower blood sugar. Thus making it a great sugar alternative for diabetics! It is very sweet so a little goes a long way. These have become essential in my kitchen! 

If you happen to not have a vitamix, using a food processor is an equally successful method.

Transfer to a bowl and begin rolling out your date batter into little-medium sized balls. 

Optional: 

Roll in coconut, carob powder, or more coconut sugar 

P.S. These will go fast, so snag a few for yourself before they are gobbled up!

Coconut Almond Butter Cookie Cups

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 cups of Coconut flakes 

No-salt almond butter
1 cup of Chia seeds
1 cup of Dried mulberries
2 1/2 cups of organic dates 
1/2 cup raw pecans 
1/2 cup of raw walnuts
Dash of cinnamon 
Dash of nutmeg 

In the food processor combine pecans, walnuts, chia seeds, 1 cup of the coconut flakes, cinnamon, and  nutmeg. Pulse until ingredients have the consistency of flour. Add in dried mulberries and dates. Pulse blend until well-combined and ingredients come together as a ball of "dough". Shape into cookie form, top with almond butter and coconut flakes. 
I put mine into cupcake holders for easy transport! You can even "roll" these out, so to speak, and use holiday cookie cutters! 

And lastly, who doesn't LOVE a chocolate pudding? That's right, no one. Chocolate pudding knows no age! This pudding in particular happens to be raw, high carb, with a bit of warming spices to make this especially festive! (I also used carob powder instead of cacao because cacao contains theobromine which acts as a stimulate in your body and creates toxicity. It also stresses the adrenal glands. Too much and the reaction is similar to a caffeine high. Some may find this beneficial during the holiday season as a means of 'powering through', but I find it dangerous and unnecessary. A little bit won't kill you, but people tend to overdo it during the holiday season and it's a much better option to snack on some dates then go crazy with some chocolate, raw or not. Plus, dates are a great source of dietary fibre and rich in the minerals manganese and potassium. They are naturally low in fat and full of antioxidants! Can I get a hell yeah for dates?!)

Below is my favorite brand of dates which can be ordered from the Bautista Family at www.7hotdates.com They sell them wet-packed, which means fresh - they are of the highest quality, organic, and utterly incredible. 

No-Chocolate Chocolate Spiced Pudding

Ingredients 

1 lb of organic dates, pitted

1 cup of carob powder 

2-3 drops Chocolate-flavored Sweetleaf Stevia 

3-4 ripe (spotty) bananas 

water from 1 young thai coconut 

Cinnamon 

Nutmeg 

Cayenne

In a high-speed blender combine all the ingredients from above except for the cayenne. Add coconut water only if necessary as you want it to be thick like a stove top pudding. Blend until ingredients are fully combined and the result is a very thick mixture. If you want your pudding to be thicker add more dates. Now add in your spices, only adding a pinch of cayenne at a time so as not to overpower the pudding. Blend again and taste to make sure your desired spice level has been reached. 

Set in a bowl and leave in the fridge, covered, to rest for a few hours or overnight.

Hopefully these sweet treats will keep you satisfied at any party you attend this holiday season!

Stay tuned for my holiday e-book which will be coming out shortly where you can find these and other recipes like them!

How to Make Raw Vegan Banana Ice Cream

There is nothing more perfect than a bunch of ripe bananas, sunning on a window sill all spotty and friggin' awesome, begging to be turned into a big ol' bowl of creamy sweet banana ice cream.

God, I love ice cream. Always have, always will. But common, "real" ice cream (if we can call it that, because...no, no, I'm not going to go there with the graphic verbalization of what milk, cream, etc. actually is. I'll spare you, THIS time...it's a food post after all..) is soooo sup-par and it will never, ever love you the way you love it. Yes, ice cream of the barn yard variety, is an unrequited love story of sorts.

To which you should console yourself with some banana ice cream in all its many variations! Banana ice cream will love you back! Promise!

'Nanner ice cream is kinda like that though, it will never make you mucous-y, or give you acne or that inflamed skin rash that no one can pronounce but we know Kim Kardashian has. Nor will it cause sinus infections or strep throat or any of the other nasty afflictions that spawn from dairy consumption.

So here it is, in all it's glory, the one (the many)--

The Ice Cream:
7-10 spotty ripe bananas
Vanilla bean (powder)

Process your bananas In whatever manner you like; high-powered blender, food processor, champion juicer, hand blender.

Put back in the freezer until ready to eat. Especially if you haven't made the date caramel yet.

Date Caramel Sauce (Aka the how to get people to worship at your feet..sauce):

1lb. Of preferably fresh dates of your choosing
Coconut water, adjusted for desired thickness
Blend/process

Ok, so, I like to use a variety of my favorite dates like bahri, blonde, halaway, etc. and I pit/soak them in coconut water overnight (you can use any kind of coconut water, but the one that makes it taste like friggin' god is Amy & Brian's Coconut Juice- seriously, it's like marshmallow whip. I die.)

But, fear not, if you don't have time to soak them you can just blend them up with the coconut water and it will be just as good.

Serve it up! Ahhh, bliss!

I spoon on gross amounts of date caramel sauce as well as mixing it in. I'm not going to apologize either. I love my sugar and I love my carbs and the best thing about living a whole food lifestyle is that you never have to sacrifice or be a slave to calories and moderation.

The important thing to note is that the carbs and sugar I'm loading up on are fruit-based and not artificial or processed in any way. Remember, your brain runs on sugar (glycogen) and everything you eat needs to be broken down into sugar so that way it can be utilized as energy aka fuel. Why not go easy on your body and just give it the healthy whole food sugar it requires??

Besides, the caramel tastes like marshmallow graham crackers. And you can eat this for breakfast.. Or lunch...or dinner. Mind.Blown.

And then of course, I top it off with black and white mulberries. If you haven't tried black mulberries, get some. They are sweet, yet tart. And remind me of Berry Berry Kix.

And when I'm feeling really wild (ha ha) I like to get a little cray cray and mix in some carob with all my sauce-y 'nanner business. Which looks a little something like THIS:

Just follow the same instructions for making banana ice cream, but add some carob for a chocolate-y twist!

I've always been a Swirl kind of girl so I only mixed a bit with carob.

There are endless variations to banana ice cream! Be creative and "indulge" yourself without every having to feel guilty.

Food guilt is for the birds.