Naraya Cooking Health Recipe

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES with QUINOA and ALMOND BUTTER

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
1/2 cup buckwheat groats
1/3 cup almond butter
2 teaspoons maple syrup
3 teaspoons water (more or less as needed)
1/3 cup chocolate chips or homemade raw chocolate cut tiny pieces 

Grind the quinoa and buckwheat into flour in a high speed blender. Add in the rest of the ingredients, except the chocolate chips. If it's still very crumbly and dry, add some dates, or add more water in 1 teaspoon amounts until the mix is moist and holds together when you press it with your fingers. Add the chocolate chips and mix them in evenly. If you want to gently bake the cookies, add some dates and a little more water to the mix, then bake at 200 degrees (or use a dehydrator) for 30 minutes or until they get crunchy on the outside.  This is nice because you end up with warm cookies. I used an ice cream scoop to portion out nine big cookies, but you can do whatever you want. Serve with cold non-dairy milk and enjoy!

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Meet me in the club oreo, it's goin' down.

Take me to the candy shop, I'll let you lick my lolly pop oreo.

I'm hot 'cause I'm fly into oreos, you ain't 'cause you not, this is why I'm hot.

And also this, just because.




Usually this is how my mind works: I find a way to incorporate the lingo of my raw food recipes and lifestyle into rap songs. I don't know why I do this, but regardless, now you know. Moving on.

This recipe is the BOMB yo. It tastes as good as the photos look, and I know ya'll are freaking out over the photos. Hehe. Basically we've got chewy chocolate cookies sandwiching a peppermint vanilla coconut creme filling. Yupp. Oh right, then all the cookies are dipped in chocolate, making them double chocolate. Can life get any better? Well, yeah, because these are also really good for you and easy to make. Okay, now life can't get any better. Unless you throw in a bowl of banana ice cream (but that is a constant truth).

As usual I give you a bunch of adaption/substitution options so no matter what sensitives you have, you can probably make these. I don't think I need to say much else about this recipe. I mean, look at it. Does anyone REALLY need more information? Get uncookin'.

PEPPERMINT OREOS DIPPED IN DARK CHOCOLATE
Makes 10-12 sandwiches

Cookies:
2/3 cup almonds
2/3 cup brazil nuts
1 cup dates
3 tablespoons carob powder
Pinch of sea salt
1-3 tablespoons water, if needed

Vanilla creme:
1 cup coconut chips
1 cup coconut shreds
2 tablespoons almond butter
2 tablespoons melted coconut oil 
1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder
1-3 drops of peppermint essential oil, as desired

Dark chocolate:
Use this recipe. 

To make the cookies: grind the nuts into flour in a high speed blender or food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients (except the water) to the nut flour in a food processor and process until it all sticks together in a ball. If it's still too crumbly after a few minutes, add a little water. I did this and suddenly my very dry mixture became the perfect cookie dough consistency! Roll this dough out between two pieces of parchment paper then cut out cookies with a cookie cutter. Put them in the freezer until they are solid and can be handled without falling apart. If you have any extra dough, make a giant 'ugly' cookie and sprinkle it with some sea salt. No dough left behind.

To make the vanilla creme: blend all the ingredients together in a high speed blender, adding the peppermint oil to taste (it's very potent!) If your blender isn't powerful enough to blend everything into a thick, coconut butter-like mixture, then add some more coconut oil, and perhaps a liquid sweetener or some dates and water.

Sandwich the coconut creme with cookies, making little dollops on each cookie then gently pressing down another cookie on top. Throw in the freezer for another 30 minutes or until they are solid and very cold.

Make the chocolate, then pour it into a tall, narrow bowl and dip in your frozen cookies. You will have to have 2-3 rounds of dipping, letting the chocolate on the cookies harden after each time. Enjoy!

NOTES: if you want the cookies to be darker, add more carob powder; if you want the creme to be whiter, try omitting the nut butter and adding more coconut oil or maple syrup.

SUBSTITUIONS: use oat flour, buckwheat flour, or any nuts instead of almonds or brazil nuts; use cacao or cocoa powder instead of carob; use vanilla extract instead of powder; salt is always optional; use more coconut shreds instead of coconut chips; use any nut butter instead of almond; use date paste instead of coconut oil; use peppermint leaves instead of essential oil.

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Sooooo going vegan is pretty much the best decision ever, because it means you can eat ice cream and chocolate all day long and get healthier and happier than ever before. How is this possible? You can make the best ice cream in the WORLD with one ingredient: bananas. You can make the healthiest dark chocolate sauce ever with super nutritious foods like cacao and carob. I eat ice cream for breakfast regularly, and I am smiling and jumping around the rest of the day, every day. Why spoon a bowl of antibiotic- and sugar-loaded bovine secretions when you can gorge on ripe fruit!? No offence to the cows. They are awesome, but we don't need their milk. Another terrific bit of information about vegan ice cream: it's inexpensive! Organic bananas are often $1.00/lb here in Vancouver, Canada (conventional ones are 70 cents/lb or so) and I KNOW they are often cheaper in the States.




Buy 'em in bulk (ask your grocery store if you get a box, or get a discount on extra ripe ones) and let ripen until they are covered in brown spots. Then peel, chop into chunks, lay them out on parchment paper-lined baking pans and freeze until solid. Finally, dump all the frozen chunks into big Ziploc bags and keep in the freezer until you want ice cream (like, everyday). The first time I made banana ice cream - also known as 'nana ice cream' or 'nice cream' - I couldn't believe how delicious and simple it was. In the recipe below I list vanilla and almond milk as ingredients, but the simplest form of banana ice cream is literally just frozen bananas. Note: you need a strong blender to do that (Vitamix or Blendtec). The second simplest? Frozen bananas + water. Ah, ain't life swell?

When I became vegan I thought I'd have to give up my favourite food (i.e. ice cream) until I realized the best ice cream IS vegan. Hello, brave new banana-filled world. It's good to be here. Join me?

OH AND JUST SO YA KNOW: I will be going away with my lovely Jack for a week in the snow-covered woods of northern British Columbia. We are escaping to his grandparents' cozy cottage in Wells, where we went in the summer, before I go back to university on January 7th. I probably won't be posting much on le blog in the next week, but stay tuned to my Instagram for daily photos of what we are eating! There is no oven and possibly no running water, so it'll be a healthy challenge for me to keep us nourished and I plan on sharing all my tips and tricks with you. Yams baked on an open fire? It's goin' down. Steaming veggies with melted snow? Expect it.


BANANA VANILLA SOFT SERVE with DARK CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE

Ice cream:
4 peeled, frozen bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla powder
1 cup almond milk (or water)

Chocolate drizzle:
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon cacao powder
1 teaspoon water

To make the ice cream: cut the frozen bananas into 1-inch chunks. Put in a high-speed blender with the vanilla and almond milk (or water). Blend until it becomes the consistency of soft serve ice cream. It may not seem like it will get to this stage, but it happens quickly and then all of a sudden your blender is full of a creamy, thick, white ice cream! Scoop this into a bowl. 

To make the drizzle: stir the ingredients together until smooth, it will take a second for the cacao to combine with the liquid. Drizzle on your ice cream and enjoy! Add whatever else you like: berries, almond butter, cinnamon, cacao nibs, chia seeds, hemp seeds, coconut... I like using this delicious mix from Blend Co. 

ADAPTIONS: you can use cocoa or carob powder instead of cacao. You can use whatever non-dairy milk you want. You can use coconut nectar or date paste instead of maple syrup. You can use vanilla extract instead of vanilla powder. 

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Apparently it's National Hot Chocolate Day... I am doing it wrong.




But don't worry! You can still grab my healthy recipe for hot cacao here. I personally went in the opposite direction and made a cold, fruity treat. It was delicious nonetheless. I need to announce that as I write this my record player is spinning the soundtrack of Saturday Night Fever. I thought that was important for you to know, as it might affect the content and quality of my writing. The Bee Gees can do that to me.

Well let's see, how can I connect a disco movie to sorbet... oh! This recipe is as vibrant as the leather platform boots John Travolta wears in Saturday Night Fever. There! (Seriously though, they are like 3 inches high.) This recipe is a mix between banana ice cream and sorbet, if I am being 100% honest - and I am. That's because the base is walnut milk, and there's also 2 bananas in here, making it oh-so-creamy. The pineapple and mango add sweetness, and the berries add colour. Yes! No refined foods required to make this baby sing. Speaking of singing... do yo have carollers  yet? I've seen and heard some a few times now. I personally wouldn't carol, but I do appreciate that other people do. Kind of like how I feel about neurosurgeons. Good thing SOMEONE wants to do it. And it does create a nice, cheery mood when you're out 'on the town' (the carollers I mean, not the neurosurgeons, although I am sure they do their part). I'm not really that into Christmas, but I do love the joy it brings to [some] people's faces. Happier folks around Emily = happier Emily. City people can look downright depressed most days, and I can only try to compensate for them with my own smile so much. Stay strong, carollers, you're making a difference.

What are your weekend plans? I'm gonna go see my mom's Christmas play with Jack, then we will probably go check out some locally-made pottery that I want for my food photos, maybe walk in a park, and eventually go out for pizza! Vegan, of course. One thing that is priceless about treating your body and mind right is waking up EVERY morning excited to be alive to experience another miraculous day. Now let's eat/spoon.


BERRY MANGO SORBET with BANANA and PINEAPPLE

1/4 cup walnuts
1 cup water
1 cup frozen mango
2 frozen bananas
3/4 cup pineapple
3/4 cup frozen berries 

Blend the walnuts together with the water until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth and thick. Feel free to add whatever else you want. I topped mine off with goji berries, coconut, cacao nibs and later some carob syrup. Yum. 

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Caution: these are almost as addictive as my chocolate cream caramel bars. This is the THIRD TIME I have made them because they are so damn delicious. Please, make them. Share them. Rejoice in the miracle that is raw vegan chocolate + almond butter + coconut. Essentially what you have here is a super wide peanut butter cup with raw chocolate, but I use almond butter instead of peanut butter, and I mixed in coconut shreds to thicken it up. By the way, I found the best shredded coconut! It's from a really neat little company right beside me (on Vancouver Island) called Harmonic Arts. They have the most amazing tea blends too, and many of their products are wild-harvested. Everything is organic.




The idea for these chocolate almond butter cups came my lover, Jack. He suggested I use my mini tart tins to make peanut butter cups with. We didn't have peanut butter, and I love almond butter more anyway, so I used that. Holy HOLY. We couldn't get over the magic and quickly proceeded to inhale one a piece. Then I had to make more. So I did a few days ago at his place, and left them in the freezer overnight. EVEN BETTER. Then I realized... hey, why am I not sharing this with all my favourite people (i.e. you guys)? So I made 'em yet another time just to take photos. These are not my best pics ever, by a long shot, but they get the point across. That point being: this recipe is a life/game changer. Perfect for any human, but especially the ones who don't think eating plants is the best thing ever (in other words, those who are skeptical of veganism). As plant-lovers, I think it is our responsibility to share our delicious grub with the world in order to prove the stereotypes wrong. We don't munch on carrot sticks and lettuce while we cry about being deprived (although I cannot speak for all vegans here). We actually can be some of the healthiest, happiest, SEXIEST - ya know I am lookin' at you - and most emotionally-grounded folks around. Inspire and lead by example! That is my philosophy. Certainly there are other methods out there to sharing the plant-based message, but I prefer to just get excited about healthy, cruelty-free food and share it with others whenever they are open to it. I don't preach (or at least I try not to), and I don't guilt trip people if they eat McDonald's! I give them a chocolate coconut almond butter cup and dance around while subtly letting them know I am this happy mostly because I eat a lot of plants and love animals. It doesn't have to be a negative experience. I think support, encouragement and baby steps are the best way to go when it comes to helping people change their minds about their diet and lifestyle. CHOCOLATE COCONUT ALMOND BUTTER CUPS FOR EVERYBODY!



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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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BREAKFAST BERRY SMOOTHIE with CACAO DRIZZLE + CHIA PUDDING

Chia pudding:
1/4 cup walnut milk
1 tablespoon chia seeds

Smoothie:
1 1/2 cups walnut milk
1 banana
1 cup frozen mango
1/4 cup strawberries

Cacao drizzle:
1 tablespoon cacao powder
1 teaspoon maple syrup
Water, if needed

To make the chia pudding: stir together the chia seeds and walnut milk, then let it sit for 10 minutes. The chia seeds will double in size and soak up the milk so it becomes like rice pudding!

To make the smoothie: blend everything until smooth. 

To make the cacao drizzle: stir together the ingredients until combined. If it's not drizzly enough, add a tiny bit of water. Layer the pudding, smoothie and cacao drizzle as desired in a glass, then enjoy! I put the chia pudding in the bottom of the glass, drizzled the chocolate sauce inside the glass, then poured in the smoothie. 

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Oh yeah. This is happening. Too epic to handle? No. I believe in you. Just take a breathe and allow the fact to sink in that you can make giant peanut butter cookies, sandwich them with soft serve banana ice cream... and it's healthy. THIS WORLD IS SO FREAKING AWESOME.

The only ingredients in these deliciously sexy treats are nuts, oats, fruit and... oh - that's it! Don't believe me? Make them yourself and find out. And you only need to use oats if you don't like using lots of nuts. But if "the more nuts, the better!" is your motto, then by all means the only ingredients you require are nuts and fruit. (I really, REALLY hope someone out there actually has that as their life motto.)




How did these come into existence? My friend Amanda is a genius and it was all her idea. A few weeks ago she suggested we make peanut butter cookies with banana ice cream (she has tried my banana ice cream before and quickly realized its magical qualities). Obviously I loved the idea so she came over yesterday and I whipped these up as we talked about stuff in the kitchen. 'Stuff' is such a great word. But back on track: this recipe is simple, delicious, healthy and quick to make (what else is new?) We both agreed that the cookies remind us intensely of those Nature Valley peanut butter granola bars that we enjoyed as kids. As long as you love peanut butter and bananas, you should consider this heaven in your hand. And ya know what? Since I love everyone I am gonna be accommodating so even if you hate peanut butter and bananas (what is wrong with you though) you can still make this recipe kick-ass and suitable to your taste preferences! Just use any other kind of nut butter, and make coconut ice cream or mango sorbet instead. Done.

Yet another wonderful feature of this seemingly perfect treat? If you have something against the sandwich format or are just lazy, you can simply throw it all into a bowl and chow down. I rolled the extra cookie dough into balls and threw it on the leftover ice cream along with some coconut sugar. This was my dinner. #perfectlife #bananaicecreamforever

Note: even though I just called this a 'treat', you can seriously eat it any time of the day and in whatever quantity you desire. That's the best part about eating healthy food. No restrictions, yo. Okay I have probably babbled enough about this so let's get to it. WE ALL SCREAM FOR BANANA ICE CREAM! And we can probably scream louder and longer because the wholesome ingredients in our ice cream provide us with energy and high quality nutrition. I'm just SAYING. Okay seriously I will leave now. Enjoy the recipe.

x

Note: I am honoured to say this recipe was featured in Vegetarian Times!

These are almost dangerously tasty. You've got a heavenly cookie base mainly made up of cashews and oats, creating a nest for fresher-than-fresh berry jam with chia seeds. That's it. Simple, right? Definitely. But simple doesn't mean boring. This recipe will blow your mind and your mouth will cry for more. I just gobbled up two and almost didn't stop to breathe. Fortunately, the planet is awesome and allows these cookies to be super healthy, raw and vegan without compromising on flavour or sexy looks.

Yeah, I just called these cookies sexy.




Okay I just drank a giant green smoothie and NEED TO PEE. Be right back.

Thoughts while in the bathroom: my world is way too trippy lately but at least I have people who care what I have to say. Speaking of what I have to say... the following is a bit of a ramble through my mind and what's been going on in there lately. Let's jump in.

I'm in the middle of this weird identity "crisis". As my blog and myself become more and more popular, and I'm working on promoting my cookbooks (you can find them here and here); I'm beginning to realize my life is rapidly changing and I am at the start of a new phase IN my life. I'm going to increasingly be in the public eye as a symbol of veganism and health and I will largely be defined by my diet and how I present myself through my blog and book(s). I've been in radio and TV interviews and meeting with local businesses, and in those situations my appearance really matters. On a personal scale, this means I need to start dressing a bit more professional and taking care with my appearance. This is slightly uncomfortable because for the past two-ish years, I've basically become a radical feminist only shopping at thrift stores, buying over-sized men's clothing, not shaving [anything], boycotting make-up and shampoo, etc. Well the fact of the matter is I have to put that phase behind me and look forward to actually LOOKING like the 'business woman' I have, in a sense, made myself into. I got rid of all my old clothes and am now slowly rebuilding my wardrobe with good quality, NEW clothes that actually fit my figure. I was showing my parents a dress after I bought it a few months ago and my dad proclaimed, "You look like a girl, again! When did that happen!?"

Until the past year and more specifically the last eight months, the reality that I have created my own business, have a blog that is popular enough to (mostly) live off of and am a published best-selling author all before the age of 21 hadn't hit me fully. I started this blog about four years ago as a hobby and mostly at the suggestion of family and friends. Sure, I daydreamed that maybe it'd get a few readers; and when I walked by the vegan section in bookstores it was fun to pretend my name was on one of the book spines... but now these dreams have literally become true and I am FINALLY letting that settle in. Like I said, this is the beginning of a new phase in my life... one that I think will be mainly defined by fame and fortune professionalism and the message of veganism. I am genuinely excited for the future and also the fact that I have no idea what it holds. What am I going to do next? I feel like things are just going to keep improving because I actively put positive energy into my environment and my work... and clearly that has been paying off!? At the same time, I need to stay realistic and not get ahead of myself. A great mantra is: expect the worst and hope for the best. I do that every day; I'd say I'm an optimistic realist. Another one I need to remember is: BE HERE NOW! I have tattooed on my wrist but too often I forgot to take a breath and appreciate the moment at hand for what it is, for all it is!

But it's also not like I'm just sitting here and just desperately hoping all this good fortune lands in my lap. I was talking to a friend the other day and she was asking how you get to where I am (I think the term she used was "vegan famous") and she answered her own question by saying it must just be good karma. I'm not saying that I haven't been extremely fortunate and blessed on my journey thus far, because I have greatly. But it was a little offensive to hear that because I don't think many of my friends are really aware of how much time, thought and effort I put into this blog. Yes, I LOVE my "work". It feels wrong calling it work because it's my passion! But no, that doesn't mean it's effortless. I am dedicated to you and making the world a better place through wholesome eating and living, and that dedication is official now. There ain't no goin' back! I am only going to work harder to inspire as many people as I can.

Right now though, I'm gonna go eat another cookie.


OAT & CASHEW THUMBPRINT COOKIES with BERRY CHIA JAM 

Cookies:
2/3 cup cashews
3/4 cup oats (I used plain rolled oats, you can find raw oats if you like) 
2 tablespoons coconut oil
Pinch Himalayan salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Jam:
1/2 cup berries (fresh or frozen)
1 tablespoon chia seeds
3 dates, cut into small pieces
Water, as needed (I used about 3 tablespoons) 

To make the cookies: process all the ingredients but the oats together in a food processor until they form a thick, chunky kind of cashew butter. Add the oats and pulse until it all starts sticking together. Form into thumbprint cookies and put in the fridge for a few hours so they can set. 

To make the jam: put all the ingredients except the chia seeds in a food processor and process until it's as smooth as desired. Mix in the chia seeds with a spoon, then fill each thumbprint cookie with the jam. Yussss.