Raspberry Smoothie + Make Your Own "Chocolate" Peanut Butter

It's mine and Jenn's birthdays today! So far it's been great, we are going to New York for a few days which is exciting! Mainly to see some incredible shows such as Newsies and Once, shop around and of course check out the sights. Cannot wait!

I've been in a very berry-licious mood lately. I find when it comes to smoothies, frozen berries are always best so I was happy enough to buy a large bag of frozen raspberries. The thing I like about raspberries are the seeds. I know some find the seeds annoying especially blended in a smoothie, but it's nice because it feels like you're eating the smoothie instead of drinking it.

RASPBERRY SMOOTHIE

1/2 cup frozen raspberries
1/2 a pear
1/2 frozen banana
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 scoop brown rice protein powder (vanilla) - optional
Stevia to taste
Water to blend


I've been seeing chocolate peanut butter around a lot lately and it's a shame because I always wished there was carob peanut butter, just this once, for those not into the cocoa thing. Well I took matters into my own hands and made "chocolate" peanut butter using carob and stevia! It tastes so good like Reese's peanut butter cups!

The peanut butter I used was Valencia peanut butter which tends to be more "liquidy" than regular peanut butters so it worked great to achieve a smooth, peanut buttery consistency.

Peanut Butter, Carob Powder, drops of vanilla stevia to taste, sea salt to taste

Coconut Toasts! 

Banana-Flax Granola + Raspberry Chocolate Pudding

This granola is actually so good! Considering there is no oil and it is sweetened with a single banana and 1 tablespoon of tapioca syrup. I just can't believe how crunchy it was! I was expecting a chewier texture but was pleasantly surprised. This granola was inspired from Diet Girl's Pretty Darn Healthy Homemade Granola. I just reduced the water, and added flax and coconut instead of the nuts.

BANANA FLAX GRANOLA

1 banana
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp tapioca syrup (could also use agave nectar or maple syrup)
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup flaxseeds

Preheat oven to 375F. Blend banana, syrup, water, salt and cinnamon. Combine oats, flaxseeds and coconut in a separate bowl. Mix in banana mixture until distributed throughout. Spoon mixture onto a parchment lined baking sheet, spread out into a thin, flat sheet. Bake for 40. Every 10 minutes take out baking pan and break up pieces + flip over. The more you break it up, the more it will brown, and the crunchier it will get! Let cool

Crunchy! ;)

I used this yummy granola on top of Chocolate-Raspberry Pudding! :)

Chocolate Raspberry Pudding!

1/2 an avocado, frozen raspberries, 3 tsp carob powder, stevia to taste

"Simple Yet Delicious" Veggie Fried Rice

Hey everyone, so I have a legit recipe for you, no more snacks, this is a meal man! Well, almost, it's a nice side dish...or lunch.

I love brown rice, like, love it, I especially like to eat it plain. I decided though it was time to dress up my rice, and what better way to do it than fried rice style! This recipe is simple, but the combination of all the different vegetables and seasonings makes for a very flavourful dish.

Celery, Mushrooms, Red Pepper and Onion

Fritzy fryer

1/2 red onion, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
4 mushrooms, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
Handful of spinach leaves, chopped
1 small piece of ginger
1 clove garlic
1/4 tsp chili flakes
1 tbsp coconut oil, for frying
1 1/4 cups cooked brown rice
2 tbsp gluten-free tamari
Squeeze of lemon juice
Pinch of salt
Black Pepper, to taste
Sesame seeds

Heat coconut oil in pan on medium heat. Add onions, celery, garlic and ginger and a small pinch of salt. Saute for 3 minutes, add red bell pepper and mushrooms, chill flakes, continue sautéing until vegetable are cooked through. Add spinach and stir until wilted. Add brown rice and fry for 3 minutes, then add tamari and lemon juice, cook for a few more minutes. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, serve hot. Makes 2 servings.

- Jac

Strawberry-Kiwi Smoothie, New Products + Chocolate-Banana PB Toast

We've been working on a smoothie post for One Green Planet and all this smoothie making really got me inspired. I bought a bunch of fruit yesterday and don't usually have that much fruit on hand. Usually I only have apples, bears (haha, I mean PEARS lol I wish I had bears...) and bananas (not the most appealing smoothie material). But now I have strawberries, kiwi, and mango as well as bananas to make dozens of smoothie combinations!

What I like about this smoothie is that there's no banana in it for those who are trying to decrease their sugar. And the cucumber adds volume and a clean, fresh taste. This smoothie is so refreshing, you may as well be drinking a strawberry-kiwi Capri-Sun! Please tell me someone remembers capri-suns...it's a 90's kid thing...

We've been buying this coconut water a lot lately and I've only found it in this one grocery store near where I live, I hope I can find it in Toronto when I move there this summer. But it is hands down the best coconut water I've ever tasted. It tastes like actual coconut water that would come from a coconut, haha I know that seems a little obvious but if you've tried some of the canned/boxed varieties you'd understand that not all coconut waters are alike.

Frozen, raw unpasteurized coconut water (thawed)

2 kiwis, peeled and chopped
6-7 strawberries
4 slices cucumber, peeled and frozen
1 scoop vanilla brown rice protein powder
Stevia, to taste

Blend and enjoy! Makes one serving.

Strawberry frost!

I saw this China Black Rice bread in the store. I usually buy the Brown Rice variety but wanted to try something different.

Food For Life China Black Rice Bread

It was about a dollar more expensive than the Brown Rice bread and I didn't really taste a difference, it was more of a novelty and it was kind of cool to eat purple bread. Also black rice has lots more health benefits than brown rice.

Jenn and I def have been over doing it on the peanut butter as you may have noticed based on our recipe choices on the blog lately. And we know we've heard somewhere that peanut butter isn't safe or something.

Well we don't let that stand in the way of our peanut butter intake!...But lately we've decided to try Valencia Peanut Butter which apparently has less mould in it and actually tastes much more fresh than the regular stuff.

I am obsessed with peanut butter toast, it's such a good comfort food, the melted, warm, gooey peanut butter on soft and crispy toasted bread. It's enough to make you peanut butter crazy like we've been the past week!

So with these two magical products I give you...the three best combinations in the world:

Chocolate-Banana Peanut Butter Toast!

Bare Purpley Toasts

valencia peanut butter, bananas, chopped vegan dark chocolate

Nummy nummy numchucks!

- Jac