Raw Vegan Blueberry Pancakes

I made these in the dehydrator at 115 degrees the other day. It filled all 4 trays of the dehydrator, so there were lots to keep in storage for a month or two.  

The reason I made them? My husband thought it would be a good idea to remove a freezer bag filled with 4 cups of organic blueberries to use as an ice pack for his art project. They were thawed and at risk of being trashed.  I wanted to kill him, but instead he got rewarded with this delicious treat. How is this right? Flawed logic!

Blend the following ingredients:

• 4 cups blueberries
• 2 ripe bananas
• 2 cups quinoa flakes
• 1 cup almond meal
• 4 cups shredded coconut 
• 2 tablespoons vanilla
• 1-2 cups almond milk (to get ingredients to blend)
• 2 tsp sea salt

Mix in:

• 1 cup flax seed
• 2 cups chopped pecan

Place in dehydrator on parchment paper.  Let dehydrate until you can flip, then flip and rotate trays.  Dehydrate until you think they meet your fancy.  Mine took about 24 hours.

You can eat them warm with maple syrup, or grab-n-go like a cliff bar.

Strawberry Shake

Craving a shake, burger, and fries. Totally emotional eating, because I had to go to the dentist and that makes me unhappy. I came inches from stopping at a Wendy's for fries, but resisted because I knew the grease would make me feel icky.  

Strawberry Shake - 437 Calories

• So Delicious Dairy-Free Creamy Vanilla Ice Cream - 160 Calories per 1/2 cup.  I used 1 cup, so this is 320 calories.  Feeling gluttonous. Usually, I'd only use a 1/2 cup and also a 1/2 cup of soy milk.
• Silk Vanilla Soy Milk - 1 cup, 90 calories. 
• 5 Strawberries, about 25 calories. 

Fries - 170 Calories 

• Alexia Waffle Fries, 170 Calories

Boca Burger, Vegan - between 90-120 calories

Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Bread - 80 Calories .  I split one slice in half and use it as a bun. 

Total Calories - Between 800-850, allotting for ketchup and mustard. 

Here's what the damage would have been if I were not vegan, and had indulged at Wendy's.

Large Strawberry Frosty - 820 Calories

Medium Fries - 420 Calories

Junior Hamburger (no cheese) - 230 Calories 

Total calories at Wendy's - 1,420

By choosing to prepare this meal at home, using vegan products, I cut the number of calories nearly in half.  

Raw vegan Ice Cream

This weekend was my first attempt to make raw, vegan ice cream.  It was simple and easy, and it turned out really good.  I combined two recipes, to accommodate the ingredients I had available.

Here are the two recipes I used:

Vegan Cashew Banana Ice Cream

http://goneraw.com/recipe/vegan-cashew-banana-ice-cream

Ingredients: 

2 cups raw cashews soaked for 2 hours
1 cup filtered water
3 large really ripe organic bananas
1/4 cup agave or “Just Like Sugar”
1 Tbsp natural vanilla extract
pinch of Celtic sea salt

Maple Pecan Ice Cream

http://www.rawfoodhomerecipes.com/2011/06/maple-pecan-ice-cream/

Ingredients:

• 3 ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup raw almond butter
• 1/2 cup raw tahini (sesame butter)
• 3/4 cup dark agave nectar
• 1/4 cup raw honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp ground cinammon
• 1 cup pecans, chopped (optional)

Here's what I did:

• 2 cups raw cashews soaked for 2 hours
• 3 large really ripe organic bananas
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp natural vanilla extract
• pinch of Celtic sea salt
• 1/2 cup dark agave nectar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp ground cinammon
• 1 cup pecans, chopped (optional)

Blend everything in the food processor, then mix in the chopped pecans.  Freeze.

Blueberry Cobbler, Round 2

Made this blueberry cobbler for a potluck on Saturday night.  This is by far one of the best, and easiest, cobbler recipes I have found.  I veganized it from a non-vegan version found on: http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1941,154169-242205,00.html

I'm posting thew original recipe, and I'll put my suibstitutions beside it.

1/2 c. sifted flour - (SUB whole wheat flour, did not sift)
1 tsp. baking powder
8 oz. blueberries
3 tbsp. butter - (SUB Earth Balance)
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. milk - (SUB any type of milk substitute, almond, soy, coconut)
1/4 tsp. salt

Melt butter in 1 to 1 1/2 quart flat baking dish (SUB - just coat the dish with a little butter and mix the rest in with the other stuff). Add fruit. Mix all remaining ingredients and spoon on top of fruit. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. 

(SUB - I actually just threw ALL the ingredients in a bowl, mixed it up, then dumped it in to bake.  I like how the mix gets more evenly distributed around the berries this way).

It was delicious. Berry-ey. 

Kettlebells - Swinging Weights

I've been working out with Russian Kettlebells now for about a year, with Katie Hawbaker.  She holds sessions at Louisville Collegiate School on Grinstead.  Here's a link to her site: http://kettlebellkate.com/

I love kettlebells.  For the record.  I have two 10 kg bells that I use at home, and I also attend group workout sessions with Kate. Her sessions are small, usually no more that 6-8 people.  It's nice to have a small community of people to support each other, and also the corrections of an instructor who is looking out for your body and safety.

Kettlebells have really made me strong and definitely changed my body. My arms have leaned and my core is very strong.  Also, my arches used to collapse and hurt me for days at a time, but now I never have foot issues.  I can also do man-style push-ups!  I couldn't even do those when I was in high school, playing basketball and softball.

I think kettlebells are so much more fun than working out at a gym, using weight machines.  Sitting down to work your legs never made any sense to me. Plus, with kettlebells you get cardio and weights simultaneously.

Here's a pic of Kate! She's a total bad ass.

Other resources for kettlebells:

http://www.dragondoor.com/

http://www.dragondoor.com/media_center/dragon_door_tv/

http://www.mikemahler.com/

http://www.kettlebellinc.com/index.php/articles-a-videos/articles.html

Chelsea Clinton's vegan and kettlebell pre-wedding plan
http://www.fitsugar.com/Chelsea-Clintons-Vegan-Wedding-Kettlebell-Workouts-More-9451644

http://www.shape.com/fitness/kettlebell-workouts-top-7-ways-to-make-the-trend-work-for-you


I forgot to mention the other reason I love kettlebells:  FAST.  You get a lot of bang for your buck.

Now for this bad mamma jamma.  She's holding 52 lbs in weight, and she's also a medical doctor.

Health Stats for Louisville

Follow this link and you can find all kinds of health statistics for Louisville Metro.

http://www.louisvilleky.gov/Health/policyandplanning.htm

Some of these include:

• Cancer rates
• Obesity 
• Diabetes
• Asthma
• Lead poisoning 
• Physical activity
• Homicide and gunshot related death

Junk Food Binge Averted.

At the end of this long, tiring, and stressful three week work-bender that's been grinding me down (but I do love my work!), I found myself compelled toward emotional eating.  After stopping and realizing that fact, I decided to fill the craving for something... anything.... BAD! (with something good).

My concoction.

RAW CHOCOLATE SHAKE (makes 3 servings)

• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2 cups almond milk
• 1/2 package silken tofu
• 3 pitted dates
• 1 tablespoon agave
• 1/2 cup of almond meal or hazelnut meal
• 1/4 cup pecans

Blend.

Drink.

Refrigerate remaining and/or feed to husband, sister, and sister's boyfriend. 

Delicious, and it tasted like chocolate ice cream.

Approx. 250 calories if divided into thirds. Sugar free.  Loaded with protein.