RAW DOUBLE CHOCOLATE COOKIE DOUGH TARTELETTES

I really can't describe how good these are!  So decadently delicious, and seriously I don't feel guilty eating them.  I love having simple recipes I can use just by changing them up a little bit and voila a whole new dish!  Here I took my Raw Chocolate Cookie Dough Bites and made them into mini tartelettes with my raw chocolate frosting from these Raw Brownies on top.  Divine. You HAVE to make these!  Enough said!

RAW DOUBLE CHOCOLATE COOKIE DOUGH TARTELETTES

1 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup raw almonds
1 cup dates
2 tablespoons raw cacao powder
2 tablespoons raw agave or honey

Process the nuts in your food processor until finely chopped.  Add in the dates and process until the ingredients are mixed well and it starts to get moist from the dates.  Add in the cacao powder and agave or honey and process to combined.

Press into mini cupcake / muffin tray lined with mini cupcake liners.  Press dough firmly into the paper / tin firmly and refrigerate.  Now make your frosting.

RAW CHOCOLATE FROSTING

1/4 cup maple syrup or agave nectar
1/8 cup coconut oil, warmed to liquid
1/3 cup raw cacao powder

Wisk all the ingredients together in a bowl.  Top each tartelette with a dollop of  chocolate frosting and refrigerate for 1 hour.  Now they are ready to eat.  Be careful.  You may end up eating, 2, or 3, or even 4... ha!

Store in an airtight container in the frig.

Enjoy!

CHOCOLATE ALMOND SMOOTHIE



Recipe contributed by Deniz Eaton of Shutterdee Photography


Dessert for breakfast? Yes, please!  Smoothies are on everyone's minds these days.  Many people who support healthy eating are doing determined to make 2013 the year of health. Drinking more smoothies and eating more natural and plant based foods.  I love it!

My friend Deniz is an amazing mother and I am so happy she is on this journey with us.  She creates super delicious healthy treats for her family and am so excited she shared this smoothie with us!  Be warned though, this is a super, super chocolatey.

CHOCOLATE ALMOND SMOOTHIE

1 cup almond milk or coconut milk
1 tablespoon raw cacao powder
2 dates
1/4 cup raw almond butter
1/2 tablespoon raw cacao nibs
Ice

Blend all the ingredients together in a blender and serve!  Enjoy your week everyone!!

Doesn't this just too divine?  So chocolatey!

Join the discussion!

Do you have a favorite green smoothie recipe? We would love to hear what it is! Share it in the comments below. Links are welcome.

RAW CRANBERRY + SWEET CACAO NIB ICEBOX COOKIES



My friend Britney and I usually have this 3 o'clock snack craving everyday.  Not sure why that is but, its there. Does anyone else have that problem?  Maybe we just love food.  But because of that, we are constantly trying to find healthy snacks to keep handy for those occassions.  I LOVE this recipe.  The flavors of the sweet cacao nibs with the cranberries and nuts is just divine.  I shared these with my friend Alicia at work and she loved it!  I have a few taste testers close by and she is one of them.  Thanks Alicia for being a guinea pig for my new recipes!  (And thank you Sydney, Kelsey, Jackie and James for being my other taste testers! ~They live around the corner from me.)



We are all about ridiculously simple recipes here.  We may create a few, slightly more intese recipes, but overall we are all about simplicity and ease.  This recipe only took a few minutes, literally.  I hope you like it as much as I did.  Here it is...



RAW CRANBERRY + SWEET CACAO NIB ICE BOX COOKIES

1 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup raw almonds
1 cup dates
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean
2 tablespoons maple syrup or agave
1/4 cup sweet cacao nibs
1/4 cup dried cranberries chopped small

Process the nuts in your food processor until finely chopped.  Add in the dates and process until the ingredients are mixed well and it starts to get moist from the dates.  Add in the vanilla and maple syrup or agave and process to combine.  Pour all the ingredients into a bowl and fold in the nibs and cranberries.  Mix with your hands until combined.  Shape the dough into 1-1/2" diameter cookie dough logs and wrap with parchment and saran wrap, then put it in the freezer for 1 hour.   Finally, remove the saran wrap and cut the logs into half inch cookie dough rounds. 

Makes about 2 dozen.

Enjoy!!



Join the discussion!

Do you have a favorite raw chocolate spread recipe? We would love to hear what it is! Share it in the comments below. Links are welcome.

RAW CRANBERRY ALMOND BARS WITH RAW CACAO FROSTING

 

Written by Contributor Britney Manuel of BtanJerine, Family Sponge and A Simply Raw Life.  This recipe was originally posted on Family Sponge HERE. It was so popular, that we had to bring the recipe to our viewers as well.  Enjoy!

 

 

At about 3 o’clock PM everyday a little man inside of me says, “it’s time for chocolate!”, and when he talks…I listen! And sometimes much to my dismay, this little man has cheap taste. So in an effort to be proactive I knew I had to at least make a healthier version to tame this wild beast of a chocolate monster within me. So this is what I did!

 



 

 

Raw Cranberry Almond Bars with Raw Cacao Frosting

Bar Ingredients

---

4 cups raw almonds
2 lbs. dates
1 cup shredded coconut
2 tablespoons chia seeds
2 cups dried cranberries

Frosting

---

1/2 cup maple syrup or agave nectar
1/4 cup coconut oil, warmed to liquid
2/3 cup cacao or carob powder

Directions

---

For the Bar

 

Blend the dates in a food processor until it makes a thick chuncky paste, and place in a bowl.  The pulse the almonds in the processor until they are finely chopped and add to the bowl. (I left some bigger chunks so that the texture varied).  Next, pulse the shredded coconut for a few seconds and then add to bowl followed by the chia seeds and dried cranberries.  Work mixture together with your hands until it makes a sticky ball.  Line a 9×13 cookie sheet with parchment paper. Add mixture to parchment paper. Cover ball with another sheet of parchment paper and use a rolling pin to flatten the ball into about 1 1/2 inches. Place the flattened mixture into the freezer for 1 hour.  Cut the bars in individual bar size pieces, then frost.

 

For the frosting

 

Add the maple syrup to the blender first followed by the coconut oil and cocoa powder. Blend well until smooth and then spread desired amount onto each bar. 

After frosting, wrap each individual bar in plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to a week.  They are now ready to eat!   (I'll tell your right now, they won't last that long!)
 

 

Amazingly delicious!!

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Join the discussion!

Do you have a favorite raw bar or granola bar recipe? We would love to hear what it is! Share it in the comments below. Links are welcome.

 



RAW ENERGY BAR WITH DATES AND APRICOTS

 

 

I really wish these bars would last longer when I make them.  Seriously,  they seem to disappear so quickly and probably so because I love giving these to friends to try.  So far, my first energy bar post has been the most popular.  You can find that recipe HERE. 

 

What I love about this recipe is that you can literally use any of your favorite nuts, dried fruits or even oatmeal and switch the recipe up to keep it interesting.  And this recipe is what we like to call super simple.

 



 

Here's the recipe...

 

RAW ENERGY BARS WITH DATE AND APRICOTS

Ingredients:

 

16 oz pitted dates
1 cup dried apricots

3/4 cup pepitas

3/4 cup cashews

1/4 cup macadamia nuts - optional
3 table spoons chia seeds

 

Note: You can also add 1/2 cup dried shredded coconut, which I think I am going to do next time.

Blend the dates and the apricots in the food processor until blended. It will be very, very sticky. Transfer it into a blow and then mix in all the other ingredients. Wet your hands slightly and knead and fold the ingredients togehter by hand. It will be tough but if you knead and fold it will eventually all be mixed togeher.

Tip, don't put in too many dry ingredients, it will make it more difficult to fold, mold and stick together.

Press the ball of ingredients into a wax paper lined 9" x 13" baking pan. Chill for 1 hour in the freezer and then cut into bars. I like to store these in the refrigerator, it keeps them at a nice firm consistency.

Voila!  I know you will love these and make them as much as I do.

Join the discussion!

Do you have a favorite energy or granola bar recipe? We would love to hear what it is! Share it in the comments below. Links are welcome.

 



RAW: DATE PASTE + A SNACK WITH APPLES & MACADAMIA NUTS

 

 

 

What I love about the recipes we share on A Simply Raw Life is that they are, for the most part, simple and easy to make.  We hope this makes it just that much easier for you to take that next step to adding more plant based and non processed foods into your diet.    If you are new to eating a plant based diet, raw foods, or even vegan, we hope that you enjoy these easy recipes.  Please feel free to email me or post a note as to what kind of recipes you would like to see on the blog and I will do my best to work those in.  What I have found is that I have not lost taste or satisfaction in the foods I eat after making this transition.  There are so many flavors and tastes to enjoy!

 

Here's a really quick basic recipe that can be an easy staple to keep in your refrigerator.   If you like my fig jam recipe, or you keep other sweet spreads in your refrigerator, this is a perfect natural addition.  If you are trying to eat more raw and unprocessed foods, why not make your own spread or sweet treat at home?  Spread it on fruit, toast, or crackers.   Here's how to make it and also a simple snack I made using it.

 

 

 

This recipe yields roughly 2 cups of Date Paste. If you think this may be too much then you can freeze half of the batch, or just make a half batch.

DATE PASTE

 

INGREDIENTS:

40 medjood dates, soaked in warm water until your dates are soft and tender.

2 table spoons of water.

Soak the dates in warm water until they are soft and tender and drain.  Remove the seeds by hand.  Put all the dates in a food processor with 2 table spoons of water and blend until smooth.  Depending on how large your food processor is, you may need to stop processing in intervals to scrape down the sides to remove it all  and process some more.  Don't be discouraged.  It's worth it.

Puree your Dates until they have become a thick whipped and creamy texture. Place your date paste in an air tight container and store in the fridge or freezer.

 

So easy!

I cut up some apples, spread on some of the date paste and sprinkled it with some chopped macadamia nuts.  Super delicious.



Bon Appetit!



 

Helpful Hint:

 

You can make your Date Paste in bulk. It will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer. Store your Date Paste in a ziplock baggy, laying it flat in your freezer. Freezing it flat will enable you to break off a small or large piece as you need it. This is a great way to get your kitchen raw food ready. The more advanced preparation and planning you do, the better you will eat.

Check out the health benefits from eating dates HERE.

 

Enjoy!!

 

 



BLUEBERRY + CUCUMBER SMOOTHIE

BLUEBERRY + CUCUMBER SMOOTHIE

 

Written by contibutor Britney Manuel of Btanjerine and A Simply Raw Life. 

 

 

Looking to add some unique smoothies to my repitore,  I came across this one again from the app Whole Living Smoothies (here's the link to the website).  I am always trying to make sure to incorporate something green, I mean might as well since you won't taste it anyway.  And this one came out light and mild.  Perfect in my opinion!

A few health tips.  Berries are full of anti-inflammatory and disease-preventing stuff (too many words I can't pronounce but trust me it's good stuff).  And cucumbers are loaded with water to help keep you hydrated.  They are also a source of silica, a trace mineral that strengthens connective tissue.

The Line-up before

Et Voila! The finished product!

BLUEBERRY + CUCUMBER SMOOTHIE

 

THE LINE-UP

1/2 c. frozen blueberries

1/2 cucumber

1 c. almond milk

1 pear

2 dates

THE PROCESS

Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth.

Makes 1 serving approximately 2 cups.

Enjoy!

GREEN SMOOTHIES & INSTAGRAM

Monday  mornings are tough...  I have to get up at the break of dawn and the best thing I can do for myself to pump me up for the day and get me out the door is make a smoothie.  Particularly a green smoothie.  Currently this one is my favorite.  I vary the fruits on different days, but seriously you guys, it tastes so good you don't even realize that you are drinking any vegetables.  My 3 year old even loves this one!  (He thinks he tastes chocolate in it, shhhhh.... don't tell him there isn't an ounce of chocolaet in it.)

INGREDIENTS:

Equal parts...
ALMOND MILK
FRESH APPLE JUICE
SPINACH - ADD A LITTLE MORE IF YOU WANT MORE GREEN
FROZEN STRAWBERRIES
FROZEN BANANAS
FROZEN PINEAPPLES (OR PEACHES)
2 CHOPPED DATES

You can even add in 2 table spoons of flax or chia seeds.
Blend all the ingredients together in a high speed blender.
Voila!

If you are on instagram also check out @simplegreensmoothies for more ideas.  Jadah also has a great website for healthy families called Family Sponge - A Playground for Parents.  If you are a newbie to green smoothies, her LINK on breaking into green smoothies is helpful.  What a great way to stay healthy.  I know my family LOVES it!

Have a great Monday!




GREETINGS: MY FOOD REVOLUTION

Ta-dah!

I am excited to write my first post for A Simply Raw Life!  I am really excited to be able to jounal my thoughts, recipes and happenings that revolve around food, which is a HUGE part of my life.  One of the recipes that got me started on this food revolution is a Raw Peach Cobbler recipe from Just Glowing with Health.  I went crazy with it and have adapted it into my everyday meals.  The "crust" of the Raw Peach Cobbler recipe has become something I eat almost every day with my favorite fruit.  I even use it on desserts!  I've made a couple versions of this which I will detail below.  This Crumble is so delicious, I hope you love it just as much as I do.

RAW ALMOND, COCONUT & DATE CRUMBLE

INGREDIENTS

1 cup raw almonds

1 cup raw dried coconut

6-12 dates

Add all the ingredients into a food processor and mix together.

Spoon onto your favorite fruit and add a drizzle of raw honey or raw agave to add some gooey sweetness.

Here's a slightly different version for those who want something a little sweeter and not so "raw".

ALMOND, COCONUT & DATE CRUMBLE

INGREDIENTS

1 cup raw almonds

1 cup bakers coconut

6-12 dates

Add all the ingredients into a food processor and mix together.

The baker's coconut is sweetened, however, you still can add a drizzle of agave or honey to make it just that much more sweeter.

Dates have become one of my new best friends.  It's a super food that is a force to be reckoned with even though it is small in size.

Check out the nutritioinal information on dates HERE.



Here are a couple more photos of the crumble on various dishes I have eaten...

with pears and blueberries



with peaches, blueberries and ice cream