Naraya Cooking Health Recipe

For me that means no job in a cubicle, and not living in an environment based on capitalism and exploitation. I need to be around trees, sunshine, mountains, rivers, gardens and people who inspire me. I need to focus a large part of my days to MYSELF, breathing deeply and letting anxiety fall away. Some of you might be saying "Easy for you to say, you already have your dream job and are young and don't have to do a job you dislike. I need to keep doing what makes me unhappy because I can't afford to do anything else." Stop right there! Let go of the excuses and find out HOW you can finally live the life you know you deserve. Work towards your goal, be thankful for what you already have, and you will succeed.

My goal? Travel the world and then settle down in the interior of BC, buying my own patch of property and building an off-the-grid home. Sounds pretty unrealistic, but I'm gonna make it happen. You'd be surprised at how affordable land can be in certain spots. You'd also be surprised at how inexpensive homes can be to build. For inspiration, look no further than this. You don't HAVE to stay in a job you hate, you don't HAVE to keep paying rent or a mortgage, you don't HAVE to be in this never-ending state of stress and irritability. You can live simply, happily and peacefully as soon as you want to. Enjoy the things in life that actually matter. For me that's being with people I love, hiking to the tops of mountains, eating baked yams, dancing like no one's watching, and improving my own self every day with meditation and yoga. There is no reason you cannot have the life you want. Go for it! And on the way, try out this cupcake recipe.


DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES with BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Cupcakes: 
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons chia seeds
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup dried coconut meat
1/2 cup dates
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons carob powder
Buttercream:
Use this recipe. 
Coconut powder:
1/2 cup dried coconut meat
To make the cupcakes: stir the chia seeds into 1/4 cup water and let them sit for 5-10 minutes so they puff up. Grind the oats and coconut into a fine powder and set that aside in a bowl. Blend the dates with 1/2 cup water and the carob powder until smooth, mix this into the oat/coconut powder by hand and then mix in the puffed up chia mixture as well, until it’s all well combined and like a dense, slightly wet chocolate dough. If it’s too crumbly, add a little more water. Press into cupcake papers and let them sit in the fridge until set (I let them sit overnight, covered with a cloth). 
To make the coconut powder: grind into powder in a high speed blender. 

Frost with the buttercream, then sprinkle with your powdered coconut, and enjoy! 

SUBSTITUTIONS: use buckwheat, almond, coconut or quinoa flour instead of rolled oats and/or coconut; use cocoa or cacao instead of carob. 

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 When I started making this recipe this morning my aim was to revamp one of my first ones ever (from 2011 when I started da blog). But I just realized that this turned into an almost exact replica of my immediately previous recipe, with the addition of a tart crust. Oops. Oh well! Don't cry over repeated ice cream + chocolate recipes, I always say. Actually that is the first time I've ever said that yet now I think it should be stated more often. I do eat banana ice cream and chocolate nearly every day, and positive reminders are always... positive. Ah, I just started the new semester today so my brain is already overworked. Thank goodness no one comes here for the prose. I know you only love me for my ice cream recipes and it's OOOKAY. I love you right back.




I totally failed at redoing the original recipe; it was a peanut butter crust with buckwheat, filled with banana ice cream and topped with a thick chocolate frosting. The only thing I really did the same was the banana ice cream filling. The crust in THIS recipe is made from pecans and raisins, and the "frosting" is definitely a drizzle. I guess this just means I will have to try my hand at a third attempt. I don't hear any complaints, right?

I'm finding it very relaxing, rejuvenating and nostalgic looking through my old posts (back when I just started this blog in the fall of 2011). Now I read what I wrote back then - I was 16 years old - and realize how much simpler life was. I had just started university, not sure where I wanted to go with it. I had never been in a romantic relationship. Veganism was all new and thus very exciting, with so much to explore and learn. And obviously, no one read my blog then! Or, almost no one. What I mean is that I wasn't defined by my blog or cookbooks. Of course I'm not entirely now, but you all know me through those platforms. I wasn't a professional blogger or author or vegan public figure or whatever ya wanna call me... I was simply Emily! A young teenager, freshly vegan and enthusiastic about sharing my passion for compassion with the world and everyone around me who would listen. In short: I was a baby! It's helpful for me to go back to those times, via reading my blog posts from that age, to remind myself who I was and how I got to be who I am now. As humans, we are constantly changing; physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally. For one second we are never the same. Being a human is a crazy, chaotic, entropic, wonderful experience. I decided this year that every year I want to look back at who I was a year ago (example: on New Years, I reflected about who I was at the beginning of 2014). I want to remember who I was, what I thought about myself and the world around me, and what I wanted. I've made it a goal to try to always improve myself every year. I want to look back and say, "Hey, you were awesome! But you've accomplished even more now! High five, woman." This isn't to devalue myself now, I'm not standing here - yep, I've got a standing desk - thinking I suck or anything. I just believe in consistently trying to be a better version of myself, while simultaneously loving whoever I am at any given time. After all, self-love should be everyone's #1 priority. Without it, what's the point of anything?

Loving myself is at the heart of everything I do. Maybe that sounds ridiculously arrogant, since we live in society that shakes its head at being proud of yourself and loving who you are, but it's true. We're allowed and expected to compliment our friends, peers, and partners all the time, but what about complimenting ourselves? Self-love is independence, healthy confidence and a necessity for a happy life. Get in front of the mirror today and express out loud all the things you like about yourself, physical and non-physical. You're a magnificent creature who can do anything you set your mind to.

Looking back at my older posts, I am proud of who I was then, and even more proud of who I have grown into. I look forward to future years when I can reflect on this time in my life with a smile on my face, and gratitude for myself and the world that built me. For now, I'm gonna eat another one of these tarts. Wanna join?


ICE CREAM TARTS with CHOCOLATE SAUCE & PECANS 
Makes about two big ones. 

Crust:
3/4 cup pecans
3/4 cup raisins

Chocolate sauce:
1 tablespoon cacao powder
1 tablespoon maple syrup 
1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder

Ice cream:
2 cups frozen bananas (peeled and chopped into 1-inch cubes) 

To make the crust: process the pecans in a food processor until they turn into tiny crumbs. Add the raisins and process until it all starts to stick together. Press into two lined tart tins and put in the fridge. 

To make the chocolate sauce: stir the ingredients together until smooth. Add water if it's too thick.

To make the ice cream: blend the bananas in a high speed blender until smooth and thick like soft serve ice cream. Scoop into your tart crusts. Drizzle on your sauce and eat 'em up.

ADAPTIONS: use any nut or seed instead of pecans. Use dates, figs or prunes instead of raisins. Use cocoa powder or carob powder instead of cacao powder. Use vanilla extract instead of vanilla powder, or omit the vanilla powder. Use coconut ice cream instead of banana ice cream. 

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I wasn't sure what title to give this recipe, because it's really awesome and delicious, but how do I get across the gist of it in one name? I can't call it: raw vegan cheesecake with swirls dyed by beet and carrot juice. No one would click that. Well, almost no one. I would click it. That sounds cool to me. But we are getting off track. I will explain the recipe now.

I had a vision of this... probably in a dream or something. I can't remember exactly but I certainly had a clear image of it in my head and felt the desire to make it into a reality. Originally I was imagining much darker pink and orange colours, along with green swirls (from green juice!) but I give up easily when it comes to food and let this cake happen instead. I might go back to that initial idea in a few months, but for now we will all have to deal with this recipe. Call me optimistic but I think we will manage, somehow.



This cake is freaking TASTY. The base is your regular ole cashew cream, except I sweetened it with fresh orange juice, then divied it up into different mixtures, adding beet juice to one and carrot juice to another. Thus you wind up with a pink or reddish mix, an orange one, and a cashew coloured one. You swirl 'em all together and you get this gorgeous, healthy cylinder of yum. Plants are awesome. Unfortunately these photos are not. Fall as arrived and that means lots of clouds. Usually cloudy weather makes for great lighting buuut today it was just dark all day. Nuttin' I could do.

New topic: have any of you read The Secret? It's about the law of attraction. Look it up if you don't know what I am talking about. Honestly, I am normally highly critical of stuff like this and prefer to base my logic in good science. However, I cannot deny that it seems to really work for me, the law of attraction that is. Over and over I find myself saying something out loud that I want to happen, sharing more personal desires with loved ones, casually in conversation, or as I am writing in my journal. In any case, soon after I mention an aspiration or start thinking about one more frequently, it seems to materialize in my life! Let me give you some examples.

(a) My first book deal. A couple years ago when I was 19, I had been thinking of eventually writing a cookbook because everyone was telling me I should, and of course it was a super exciting idea for me as well. Lo and behold, my amazing publisher found ME and the rest is history. You can buy my first cookbook here, and pre-order my second one here.

(b) My mattress. About a year ago I started thinking more seriously about getting a new mattress. I had been researching and discovering all sorts of bad news about conventional mattresses. I was looking online at organic mattresses but they were like $5,000... nope. Out of nowhere, a mattress company - IntelliBED - specializing in non-toxic mattresses and healthy sleep gets a hold of me and wants me to have one of their beds to review (and keep). Please learn more about my mattress here, because IntelliBEDs are seriously amazing and deep sleep is just as important as diet when it comes to health.

(c) Animal rights activism. I have been saying to a few people lately that I feel like I am not doing enough. I am busy with university, maintaining my blog, writing books, and trying to manage a social life so I don't have much time to focus on activism for animal welfare and environmental campaigns, but I genuinely do feel like I should do more. I plan to get much more heavily involved in that kind of work when I graduate, but for now I just sign as many petitions as I can. Even still, seemingly out of the blue I am getting WAY more animal rights organizations contacting me than I was before.

Maybe these are lame examples and you think I've gone cooky. I totally agree with you. But at the same time... it feels really uncanny when this stuff just keeps happening over and over. Lemme know your thoughts. Let's eat that cake now.

CASHEW CREAM CAKE with FRESH JUICES

Crust:
1/3 cup pecans
1/3 cup dried coconut shreds
2/3 cup medjool dates
1 teaspoon rosemary leaves (optional)

Base:
1 cup cashews (preferably soaked for 2-4 hours)
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon chunk ginger root 
3-4 tablespoons melted coconut oil
1 tablespoon lucuma powder (optional) 

Extras:
1/4 cup fresh beet juice, as needed
1/4 cup fresh carrot juice, as needed

To make the crust: pulse the pecans, coconut and rosemary (if using) in a food processor until they become small crumbs. Add the dates and process until it all sticks together. If it's too crumbly, add more dates. Press into the bottom of a lined springform pan; the one I used is about 7 inches. Put in the fridge. 

To make the cake: blend the base ingredients together until smooth. It should be like thick yogurt at this point; if it's not, add more cashews or coconut oil. Separate the mixture equally into 3 bowls.

Scoop one of the portions back into your blender and add 3 tablespoons of beet juice, then blend until smooth. Keep adding beet juice if you want, but if it starts getting very thin add more cashews or coconut oil. Scoop this pink/red mixture back into a bowl. Do this same process with the carrot juice. You should now have one beet juice mixture, one carrot juice mixture, and one plain mixture.

Assembly: take the springform pan out of the fridge, and have your three mixtures ready with a spoon for each. To get the swirl effect, just fill up the pan with spoonfuls of each mixture until you run out. Then run a chopstick through it all in whatever pattern you like. Or simply pour them in one after the other to get a layered look. Either way it's gonna taste great. Let it set for at least 24 hours in the fridge so it can develop flavour, then decorate and enjoy!

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ALMOND BUTTER + CHIA JAM BARS with CHOCOLATE 

Almond butter base:
1 cups rolled oats 
1/2 cup almond butter
1 tablespoon maple syrup 
1/4 cup flax seeds

Jam: 
1 cup berries
4 tablespoons chia seeds

Chocolate:
Click here for the recipe.

To make the base: grind the rolled oats into flour in a blender, then mix together with the other ingredients in a bowl. Press into the bottom of a lined bread pan (I used two small ones). Put in the fridge. 

To make the jam: mash or blend the berries until smooth, then thoroughly stir in the chia seeds and let it sit for 10-15 minutes so the chia seeds can gel with the mashed berries and thicken into jam. Spread this onto your base, then drizzle on the chocolate evenly. I swirled in some more almond butter at this point because... why not. Stick it back in the fridge and let sit for an hour, then slice and munch! Note: slice them carefully, the jam is gooey... 

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So that was really tacky and incredibly lame of me but sometimes ya just gotta write love prose to your fave dessert. Right, guys? ... GUYS? In all seriousness though I do adore raw vegan tarts. They're easier and quicker to make than cakes, and most of the time they come out looking like super stars. You make the crust which is usually just a mix of dates and nuts, press that into a tart pan, and then you make your filling which is normally a simple blending up of bananas, coconut or nuts with  a healthy sweetener, and finally you decorate it with something pretty like fruit. Done. You now have a gorgeous, delicious, uber-good-for-you treat to impress everyone with. This is why I love raw vegan desserts.

I made this recipe a few months ago and am posting it now to remind me of the wonderful berry harvests of the summer. I will miss the sun dearly for the next couple seasons. We basically get straight rain for the next five months here in British Columbia. The only way I survive is by daydreaming about the vibrant berries we had the pleasure of eating in the previous warmer months. Until the next fertile epoch I will be consuming a lot of frozen fruit, apples, greens, carrots and potatoes. I am trying to eat more food that is grown locally, and as I have said before: it's easy to do that when you have TWO winter farmers markets in your city. Yep, we locavore Vancouverites are spoiled.

Another bonus to buying local - in addition to being more connected to your food system, minimizing your carbon foot print, and supporting ethical, environmentally-concious farmers in your area - is the quality of the produce you are getting. Yes, it can be more expensive and usually is (though sometimes you can actually SAVE money at farmers markets) the flavour, colour and texture of locally grown organic food versus internationally shipped stuff from the grocery store is incomparable. What I do now is buy "the dirty dozen"(i.e. the ones most contaminated by pesticides, etc.) if they are available at the farmers market, or at least organically-grown kinds from the grocery store. That way I find a happy balance for my wallet AND still support the local farmers and enjoy amazing produce. Is buying organic important to you? Is buying local important to you? Why or why not? Let me know in the comment section! Have a great day, beautiful people, and try making the tart! x


WHIPPED COCO CREAM TART with FRESH BERRIES

Crust:
1 cup pecans
1/3 cup hemp seeds
1 1/2 cups dates
Pinch Himalayan salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Coconut cream:
Follow this recipe.

Fruit:
3 cups fresh berries
2 bananas
1 tablespoon coconut nectar (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To make the crust: pulse the pecans and hemp seeds into powder in a food processor, then add the rest of the ingredients and process until it all begins to stick together. Press into a lined tart tin and put in the fridge for a couple hours.

To prepare the fruit: wash and slice the berries and bananas then coat with the coconut nectar (if using) and vanilla and put in the dehydrator for 30-60 minutes, this softens and sweetens them.

Assembly: spread your coconut cream into the crust and top off with your berries. MMM.

WOAH. Let's slow things down for a second to acknowledge that these cupcakes are vegan, gluten-free, and made with whole foods. THANK YOU, EARTH.

They're also made with leftovers. Yup. I bought a bag of carrots from the farmers market last week and juiced them, then I was left with all this beautiful carrot pulp. I didn't wanna just compost it so I thought "Hey! I could make carrot cupcakes!" Then I did that. I know, my stories are always so exciting. The cupcake recipe is pretty basic - mostly carrots, nuts, raisins and spices - but that don't stop some epic flavours from being created. Then I topped 'em off with vegan gold AKA whipped coconut cream. Technically coconut cream is not raw, but I give you a raw cashew cream option since I'm inclusive like that. I swirled the cream with raw chocolate sauce because... raw. chocolate. sauce.


I will be bringing one of these sexy orange babes - yes, I'm still talking about the cupcakes - to my friend's birthday dinner for her to *hopefully* enjoy. And the rest? They'll end up in my tummy, Jack's tummy, my parents' tummies and my other friends' tummies. I like the word tummy. It's innocent. I mean I feel like there's no such as an un-cute tummy, otherwise it wouldn't be called a tummy. Honestly when you come to this blog you never know what you're gonna get. Sometimes I think I'm eloquent and cover important topics and other times you get me rambling about stomachs. See? 'Stomach' sounds more... mechanical. Not as cute. Not as innocent... I do not know where is this going.

BACK TO THE FOOD STUFF. These cupcakes are moist, chewy, flavourful and delicious! You can whip 'em up in just a few minutes and share them with vegan sceptics to show how a-freaking-mazing our grub can be. Or if you're not vegan, just make them and see what ya think! Vegan food doesn't require a vegan palate to be appreciated. Jack and I took his friend out for dinner at this new plant-based restaurant on Main Street called Meet (hah... hah... veggie humour) and he was blown away by the flavours and textures of the all-vegan feast we ordered. He apparently was dreaming about the meal the next day. ALL I'M SAYIN' is that I ain't gonna judge you on your diet choices - but I KNOW your mouth can enjoy vegan food just as much as mine. So try out these cupcakes and see what healthy dessert tastes like! Just do it. Swoosh.

These are a great fall recipe because the main ingredient (carrots) is seasonal! I'm into that and really getting enthusiastic about the farmers market every weekend. I literally dream about them. We are lucky bums here in Vancouver because even after the many summer markets close, we have a winter farmers market! So we get easy access to local, organic, sustainably and happily harvested produce ALL YEAR. I cannot complain. Besides, carrots are cheap so this recipe is also inexpensive. Basically you have no reason not to make these. Get yo gorgeous booty in the kitchen right now.

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I wanted to keep this recipe simple and beautiful; those two features often go hand-in-hand, incidentally. The ingredients are wholesome, nutritious gifts from nature and the cake they end up making is a delightful treat to enjoy and share with those you care for. I imagine this cake being eaten in a sunny garden where flowers bloom, golden rays shine on skin moisturized with coconut oil, and a comfortable atmosphere invites subtle waves of laughter and easy conversation.



Was that way too corny? And what's with the language here? Hyper-emotional moments are always categorized with words like "cheesy", "corny", "mushy"... what's goin' on there? I'm just being honest about how I feel. Seriously though... opening my heart has nothing to do with maize (or dairy, for that matter).


Back to the cake. I love oats! I love the word 'oat', as well as the actual thing the word points to in the real world. They are full of fiber, protein, B vitamins, iron and a ton of other good stuff. The taste of oats is really comforting to me, as I loved oatmeal growing up and still enjoy a warm bowl every now and then. Another fave flavour of mine comes from pecans. They've got loads of healthy fats, oleic acid, vitamin E and other minerals and vitamins essential to keeping your bodacious bod happy.

The frosting is outta this world. It's like a super creamy, sweet, ginger cashew yogurt or something. Actually, if you let it sit in the fridge for a week or so, it probably would become a kind of yogurt because of the fermentation... mmm... I should try that next time. It's light and fresh and sweet and simple, just like a baby bird in the morning. Or maybe not. I dunno.

OAT & PECAN CAKE with VANILLA GINGER FROSTING 

Frosting:
1 1/2 cups cashews
2 tablespoons coconut nectar
3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla powder 
2 tablespoons peeled ginger 
1/2 cup water, as needed
Pinch of Himalayan salt

Cake:
1 cup pecans
1 cup oats
2 cups dates
2 tablespoons coconut butter 

Note: you can use young coconut meat instead of cashews; vanilla extract instead of vanilla powder; and the coconut butter is optional but recommended.

To make the frosting: in a high-speed blender, blend all the ingredients together until smooth and yogurt-like in consistency. Store in the fridge in sealed glassware overnight.

To make the cake: pulse the pecans and oats into flour in a food processor, then add the rest of the ingredients and process until you can press pieces of the mixture together and it holds. Press half the mixture into a lined, small spring form pan (mine is about 4 inches). Take this out of the pan and put in the fridge. Do the same with the remaining half of the mixture.

Assembly: take the cakes out of their lining, and place one on a plate. Frost the top, then place on the second cake. Frost the top and sides, then decorate with whatever you like; dried flowers, nuts, seeds, fruit and berries... ♥