Naraya Cooking Health Recipe

Deep dark chocolate cookies with a rustic appeal, these are a chocolate lover's dream! They are like a brownie-cookie with an organic sugar coating. I saw this recipe and had to veganize it. It is a bit far from my usual recipes. Something about using chocolate beer intrigued me and they were not a disappointment. They were loved by all my taste testers. No one could tell these were vegan and included the healthy alternatives. These are very rustic looking, as I had a hard time getting them to look like the original recipes photos (you can find them here), even after a couple tries. Never the less, they were great! You may opt to bake your cookies and use a sifter to sprinkle the cookies with the sugar instead, although it won't look so crinkled. But either way, you can be sure that this vegan version will rival that of the original recipe by ten folds in flavor and texture. Enjoy these on occasion! 

In a saucepan over low heat, add chocolate and coconut oil, cook, stir frequently until mixture begins to melt, then stirring constantly until it is completely melted. Add beer and stir. Alternately, in a microwave safe bowl add the chocolate and coconut oil. Microwave on high for 20 seconds, stir and repeat until melted. Don't over heat or the chocolate will seize. Add beer and stir.

Add the flax eggs and vanilla to the chocolate and stir until well combined.

Using a cookie dough scoop or ice cream scoop, make balls just a bit smaller than golf balls, roll into shape with your hands. Place dough balls into powdered sugar, roll until well coated. 

Line a baking sheet with a silpat, parchment paper or grease with coconut oil, add cookie balls.

Bake cookies at 350 for 8-10 minutes or until edges have set.

* You won't experience much of a difference if you don't use any espresso powder and will still have a winning cookie. 

Enjoy!

Adapted from this recipe at The Beeroness

I remembered a few weeks ago that before I went vegan - and baking was my favourite new hobby - my specialty was a chocolate souffle that ended up being a lava cake because I took them out of the oven right before the inside baked so you got a soft chocolate cake surrounding a gooey middle. I figured I better make it raw and vegan. So here ya go, cutie pie. Indulge guilt-free. In fact, indulge PROUDLY.





To make the cakes: pulse the oats, walnuts and cacao powder in your food processor until they become a rough flour. Add the dates and raisins and process until it all starts to stick together. Using about 2/3 of the mix (you have to save some for the tops), press into the bottom and sides of lined cupcake tins and put in the fridge. Use the rest of the mix to make the tops by pressing it into cookie molds the same diameter of your cupcake tins. Put  those in the fridge as well.

To make the molten middle: blend all ingredients until smooth, adding the milk as needed to make it creamy and a "molten" consistency (whatever that means... hopefully you know). Take the cakes out of the cupcake molds and pour the molten mixture into each one, filling up almost to the top. Now carefully press the tops onto the cakes, gently pressing together the edges. Flip over and decorate with cacao nibs and goji berries. Eat da lava, mohn. 

A few substitution options: to make these gluten-free, use buckwheat groats instead of oats. If you don't want to use cacao, use coconut oil instead of cacao butter and carob instead of cacao powder. 

What I have to share with you today is my take on the Roasted Buddha Bowl from Oh She Glow's. It is my kind of meal...simple, flavorful and easy! I added some radishes to my mix. Once roasted, they become sweet and tender. If you've never grilled or roasted radishes, I highly recommend adding that to your list of must tries. I also made my own sauce for this recipe. I've been having lots of cashew based sauces lately and decided to mix it up with a lemon white bean sauce. It came out wonderful and pairs really well with the quinoa and vegetables. I would consider it more of a hummus that has been thinned out a bit. I think you'll love it. So we have another nutrient dense meal that tastes great, is filling and easy to make. Be sure to pick up some radishes and give this bowl a try...you may find that you will make it again and again. I have. :)

Before we begin, let's go over a little bit about what a Buddha bowl is. Personally, this is my first experience with it, although I have made it many times before, I just didn't know it. Buddha bowls can be whatever you want them to be...they typically include a grain, protein, sauce and vegetables. But you can add anything your kitchen holds and/or your heart desires. Usually you will find the vegetables to be sautéed or steamed. I really love roasted vegetables so this Buddha bowl is perfect for me. I think sweet potatoes would be great in this too. You can keep your Buddha bowl simple or go all out adding all kinds of colorful ingredients. Chances are you've already had many Buddha bowls too! 

Now let's be full of gratitude for all that is and dine in peace...

Prepare your vegetables and roast.



Quinoa, my favorite grain of all time...to date that is! It's full of protein, fiber and is just an amazing grain with its versatility. My favorite is mixing white and tri-color quinoa together. It breaks up the solidness of the white quinoa and the too clutseriness of the tri-color, and it always photographs the best for me adding just the right texture. It's perfect for this Buddha bowl and can cook while the vegetables are roasting.

Ingredients (serves 3 generously)

Enjoy!

Image of the sitting man with his Buddha bowl comes from the first published book by Anna Thomas called, The Vegetarian Epicure. You can find all four of her books here including her new book, Love Soup. I stumbled onto this graphic from this blog post at Gluten Free For Good: Buddha Bowls and Hippie Chicks.

A final note, food for thought from a genius...

'If someone thinks that peace and love are just a cliche that must have been left behind in the 60's, that's a problem. Peace and love are eternal.'

~ John Lennon

Let's talk granola, seeds and goji berries for a second, shall we? I know there are many recipes out there and it's no wonder why... it's pretty great and handy to have around. Have it as cold cereal, top it on hot oatmeal, non-dairy yogurts or non-dairy ice creams, or simply take some to-go in a small container...it's a great snack or meal that is filling, healthy and just plain good. It's so versatile too. You can pretty much add anything to your base and come out with something wonderful. That happens to be the case here. I have a ton of goji berries in my fridge along with pumpkin (pepitas) and sunflower seeds that needed to be put to good use. A few days ago I ran across this article from Wake Up World entitled, Five Healthy Seeds, which I had posted to the Facebook page. That planted the seed so to speak for this recipe. Seeds are great; especially for those who have nut allergies...they can be a nice alternative. Some of the best seeds in whole form are hemp, sunflower, chia, sesame and pumpkin seeds. Flax seeds are great too but unless they are ground you're not going to get their full benefits as they will pass straight through the body without much notice. As for the goji berries, well I love them because they don't have any added sweeteners like most dried fruits do (I also like raisins for this reason). They are full of anti-oxidants just as other berries like blueberries, acai berries, cranberries, strawberries and cherries. Find out more about their nutritional profile from this article from Live Strong, Goji Berries Nutrition.

Enjoy!