Today I had a massive craving for a Chocolate Milkshake. It came out of nowhere and I couldn't think of anything else! I'm trying to do my homework and every few minutes visions of a thick chocolate shake flood my mind. What's a girl to do? Make one of course! I should confess though, that I was never really a huge milkshake kind of a gal. I had one occasionally (like once a year) and usually I would get strawberry. So I'm not really sure where this sudden need for a milkshake came from? I should also tell you that a couple of hours earlier I had a MASSIVE craving for Eggs Benedict. However, I have no tofu in the house and it's WAY too cold for me to even consider going out to the store so, I didn't cave in to that craving. (I'm also still in my pj's!) I usually get these funky food cravings after a night out, so I guess it was to be expected. I ate a simple leafy green salad for lunch in case I got any other weird, unhealthy cravings I could at least feel good about that choice!
Anyway, back to the shake. Let me start by telling you that this shake, which tastes so decadent, is actually super healthy too! I love when I can get a chocolate fix and not worry about my waist line! Who am I kidding? I would eat the chocolate regardless of what it would do to my waist line! But I don't have to anymore.
On to the recipe.
The banana adds a creamy texture while the dates give this shake it's sweetness. It's so chocolatey and yummy, you have to make this ASAP!
Chocolate Macashake
serves 1
1 frozen banana
2 dates, pitted
1 1/2 tbsp RAW Cacao powder
1 tbsp Maca Powder
1/2 cup Almond milk
dash of cinnamon
pinch of sea salt
Put all the ingredients into your blender and process until smooth. Pour into a glass add a straw and enjoy! *You can definitely add more milk if you think it's too thick. I wanted mine to be super thick - and it was!
On another note; I'm still missing my Bella but, the chocolate shake has definitely helped put me in a happier mood.
This is a dedicated post to my sweet and beautiful cat, Bella.
Bella
Many people who have pets consider them a member of their family, or even their fur children. I'm one of them. But Bella was different. She wasn't really my fur child because she was always so 'grown-up'. Even when we first got her. I was almost 15 years old when my mom brought home this little kitty in a box. What a scraggly little thing! She was a rescued alley cat who, at 15 months, had already had a litter of babies (a litter of kittens?).
Anyway, trying to come up for a name for my very first cat was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. We came up with a lot of the usual names like, Precious, Fluffy, Princess... and none of them suited her. At some point, one of us blurted out 'Bella', which totally stuck. And thankfully so. Because initially, Bella was not a beautiful cat. I wasn't kidding when I said she was a scraggly alley cat. We got her right after she was fixed AND de-clawed <---- (which, by the way, I do not agree with (the de-clawing part) - she came that way). Over the years, Bella became such a beautiful cat. And somehow, also ended up becoming a kind of matriarch in the family. This tiny pip-squeak who used to climb up our artificial Christmas Tree (no claws, people!) until she put a hole in the middle of it from sitting on the branches, became the 'boss'. She came into our lives at a time when we really needed her. Or at least my mom and I did. I don't think my brother would ever admit to needing a cat... my sister might, though.
There has never been a cat like my Bella, nor will there ever be. If you were sad, or upset, or angry, Bella sensed it and would approach you to see if you were okay. If my sister and I were having a screaming match (all the time when we were teenagers!), Bella would come right up to me and 'meow' - if I was sitting, she would jump in my lap. She hated when we fought. One time, my mom was home alone and feeling a bit sad over something. Bella totally sensed it and cozied up to my mom to comfort her. In the early years this was not typical Bella behavior. She was not a lap cat no matter how much I wanted her to be. If I picked her up she would do her best to wriggle out of my arms. If I put her in my lap she would immediately jump out. If I started to pat her she would walk away. This is the cat I'm dedicating my post to! Ha. As she got a bit older she started to change her snobbish ways and became the sweetest cat on the planet. Don't worry, I loved her like crazy when she was a snob, too.
Bella was also like the dog I never had. I have a dog now, and she is nothing like Bella. Bella always greeted me when I got home from school, and then later in life, when I got home from work. I was locked out all the time when we were teenagers and Bella used to sit and watch me from the inside while I sat on the porch waiting for someone to get home. Sometimes I used to imagine Bella unlocking the door for me, but unfortunately (for me), that never happened! Ha. This cat followed me around everywhere. In her defense, I followed her around everywhere when we first got her. I'd never had a cat before so I didn't know what it was like. When Bella would head down to the basement and hide under the stairs, I would go too, crawling through cobwebs to 'rescue' her. I didn't know it was normal for cats to hide and get used to a new environment! I just wanted to be able to see her at all times. And I wanted her to hurry up and love me like I already loved her! Ha. In the early days, that poor cat was probably wishing she was never rescued! And it didn't help that my mom was just as annoying as I was- carrying Bella to her food, water and littler box just to make sure that Bella knew where they were! What a couple of fools we were but, I wouldn't have done it any other way. We've rescued other cats as well, but we were never as annoying as we were with Bella in the early years!
I could write all day about her and not even scratch the surface about the wonder that was Bella. She was THE BEST mouse catcher of any cat I've ever known even though she had no claws! This cat has been through A LOT. She overcame diabetes, complications from diabetes, pancreatitis, eye infections - you name it! If cats have 9 lives then Bella's had like 20! She was such a fighter and a total trooper. I've had to give her needles, pills, eye drops, and she still loved me in spite of it all! She was amazing with little children, put the other animals in their place, and converted cat-haters into cat-lovers. The two of us couldn't be separated for more than a couple of days - and if we were, I would ask to talk to her on the phone. No joke. When I went away for a couple of months to California, Bella became depressed. For the first couple of weeks she would run to the door any time someone came in, hoping it was me. After a while she would go hide out in my room. Back in California, I would have visions of her sitting next to me on the couch. Talk about separation anxiety! Needless to say, we had a major reunion when I finally came home. I never went away for long periods of time after that!
Sadly, after living 17 glorious years, I said good-bye to Bella on Thursday. She was one in a million and I'm going to miss her like crazy.
So I've just made a connection between veganism and religion. "Huh?", you say. Okay, before you freak out, just hear me out for a sec. Being vegan is kind of like being Serbian Orthodox. No one really knows what's going on but, they are so concerned with what you can and can't do (or eat, for that matter). Well, my family happens to be Serbian Orthodox, which means we celebrate Christmas on January 7th... which means that Christmas Eve is tomorrow! Eek!!
It's funny but people who have known me for years are still asking me questions like, "do you guys do a big dinner"? "Do you open gifts"? Um... it's the same thing just a different date!! Of course we have a huge dinner (both nights!) and open gifts (duh!) and have family over (hello!). Imagine. A holiday without food and family? Who would do such a thing? Okay, I know what you're thinking: SARCASM OVERLOAD. It's been that kind of day, though. Did I mention that these people KNOW me? I thought so.
Anyway, in all seriousness, I can't wait for tomorrow and Saturday. This is my first Christmas as a vegan, but really, I never ate much of the meat anyway (my family roasts a whole pig for Christmas dinner). But, I LOVE cabbage rolls and you better believe that I'll be veganizing them this year! I can't wait to see (taste) how they turn out! I'll share the recipe with you after I taste test and make sure that they are awesome! In the meantime, here is another recipe...
Last week I promised you guys the recipe to my semi-raw Beehive Cookies. Here it is:
Beehive Cookies
For the base:
1⁄2 cup pecans
1⁄2 cup almonds (soaked)
1⁄2 cup coconut (shredded)
1⁄4 cup raw cacao powder
1 tsp sea salt to taste
1 cup medjool dates (this amount is approximate.)
Place the pecans and almonds into the food processor and grind until broken down. Add in the coconut, salt, and cacao powder and process again. Add dates slowly until your mixture starts to stick together. You should be able to form balls in the palm of your hand.
For the Lemon Kream Filling:
1 cup cashews (soaked for 2 hours or overnight)
1 – 2 juice of lemon
2 Tbsp Agave Nectar
1/4 - 1⁄2 cup water
Blend in a high speed blender until smooth.
1-2 wafer sheets
*If you have the beehive molds; roll the base into a walnut sized ball, mold it into the beehive shell, fill it with a small amount of cashew kream, and seal it with a wafer sheet.
**If you DON'T have the beehive molds, fear not! You can still enjoy these cookies! Simply roll them into bite-size balls and drizzle with some cashew kream.
OR
Roll them into balls and then flatten them into cookie rounds. Ice them with the lemon kream and enjoy, or keep them in the freezer until you are ready to eat them. The possibilities are endless, so have fun!
Have a great weekend, and Merry Christmas to everyone who is celebrating this weekend!
Love,
Ves xx
I just wanted to take a moment to wish you all a Happy New Year! This morning while I was driving home with some friends (after a fabulous night out), we each took the time to reflect on our highs and lows this past year. Here are some of mine:
I became a vegan,
started a blog,
became a Godmother(!),
took a huge leap and began a nutrition course,
got an apartment (gulp!),
joined a boot camp (and liked it!),
...and so much more!
This year had so many ups and certainly some downs as well. Most notably when my step-dad had open heart surgery; that was a very scary time for all of us. Thankfully, the surgery went well and he is on his way to healing and making healthier food choices!
If you haven't taken some time to reflect on 2011, take a moment now to do so. You'll be glad you did. Oh, and I don't make resolutions for the New Year but I do like to set some goals for the year ahead. I'm so excited for 2012 and have so many things that I'd like to accomplish. I plan to make a vision board as well, to help keep my goals in sight. Here are some of my goals:
Blog more,
take myself less seriously,
practice yoga,
get a clear vision for my Health Counseling career,
hug my nephews even more than I already do,
laugh more than I already do,
make more time for friends and family,
read more,
haul my tush to California,
find time to relax,
don't feel guilty for relaxing(!),
and so much more!!
I think this year will be the first in a long time that one of my goals is NOT to "go to the gym more"! Ha. You don't know how good that feels (or maybe you do?)!
Anyway, I'm off to eat my version of a Hoppin' John Salad. Apparently it's good luck to eat black-eyed peas on New Years day, so that's what's for dinner!
May 2012 bring you all heaps of good health and happiness!
Love,
Ves xxx
Hi everyone! I just wanted to leave a quick note and wish a VERY Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! Enjoy this time with your loved ones and eat, drink and laugh a whole lot!
Oh, and here's a little sample of what we made today:
Semi-raw bee-hive cookies with a lemon kream filling. Vegan!
We had so much fun making these little bee-hive cookies! Aren't they adorable? I'll share the recipe in an upcoming post. I'm told they taste really yummy but, unfortunately (for me) I lost my taste buds today because I'm so congested (boo) so I can't give you my opinion. I'm hoping I get my taste back in the morning because I'm totally having one of these for breakfast!
I love the holidays! Especially spending time with my family, baking yummy treats, and eating tons of delicious food! I'm really excited about the time off of work as well. I wish I could say that I'd be relaxing, but what I really need to be doing is homework. I've been neglecting it a bit, especially this week, which means I have lots to catch up on!
Aren't they cute!?
But, I won't bore you with anymore homework talk. And by the way, I do plan to spend a bit of time baking, hanging out with the family and of course, Boxing Day shopping. If you're not Canadian, Google "Boxing Day" and you'll understand. I also need to get over this cold that I finally caught. Trust me, you're bound to catch one when you have tiny children sneezing on you all day and all of your friends and family seem to be sick as well!
Anyway, I promised you some info about my raw food workshop that I attended and I'm sorry it's taken me this long to post! Here goes:
The location...
The workshop was held at Marbles Restaurant where Renee (our host) is a Raw Food Chef. It's a cozy restaurant with a charming atmosphere. Renee was very enthusiastic and informative.
She began by introducing herself and talking about why she went raw in the first place. She initially went raw to try and clear up a skin disease when nothing else would help. Well, she cleared it up and after 6 years on the raw food diet she's still loving it.
We talked about what it means to eat raw foods (foods that are whole and unprocessed and still have there enzymes intact). We covered some raw food basics like equipment: a blender and a knife is really all you need to get started. You may also like to have a food processor, juicer and dehydrator down the line. We also went through some pantry essentials, like raw nuts, seeds, herbs and spices, fresh produce, etc.
Here's what we ate:
Pasta Marinara with sesame seed parm and microgreens
Chocolate truffles with cashew kream
The food was of course super delicious and definitely great for people new to raw food. No crazy ingredients to scare the newbies away! I'm glad I went and would totally go to something like this again.
Anyway, I also promised you some holiday baking! Well, I'll definitely have more pictures and recipes soon, as we plan to do some baking tomorrow on Christmas Eve (fingers crossed that I'll be well enough to participate). But, here's a pic of a couple of goodies that my mom made the other day (yes, they're vegan).
She made way more than this and different kinds too, but they were gone by the time I thought to take a picture! Ha. I'll try and do better tomorrow!
Oh, and one last thing. I've been trying to beat this cold for a while with lots of green juices and smoothies, and even though it finally caught up to me, I'm still going strong with them. Here's what breakfast has been looking like lately:
Cucumber, lime, celery, romaine.
If you haven't tried a green juice yet, you really should. You won't believe how much energy you have after drinking it!
Have a wonderful holiday! May it be filled with joy and laughter, family, friends, food and fun! (and maybe a green juice or two!)
I have been so busy lately that I've been neglecting one of my favorite things: my blog! I don't like when I stay away for so long but unfortunately it can't be helped. I've been so busy lately and will continue to be busy, so I thought I would share with you what's been going on with me. *inhale*
First of all, I haven't really talked about school with all of you. Those of you who know me, know that I've "gone back to school" in the sense that I am taking a course through distant education. I'm studying to become a Holistic Health Coach through The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. It's really exciting and I'm learning a lot! For some people it may seem like it came out of left field, but, for those who know me it seems like the 'right' next step. Since changing my diet and essentially my lifestyle, I haven't been able to stop reading and learning about healthy living. I also find myself answering questions and giving advice to so many people that I figure, why not go to school and properly train for this? So, I did my "homework" and researched a ton of different programs and finally chose the one from IIN. It teaches over 100 dietary theories and many of them by the forefront educator or speaker for that theory. I'll be hearing lectures from David Wolfe, Deepak Chopra, and Andrew Weil, just to name a few. The main focus, or teaching, is of a well rounded, holistic lifestyle, which I firmly believe in. I'll keep you guys up to speed and let you know when I'm able to take clients.
Oh, did I mention that I'm still working full time while I complete this course? Yup, I am. And some days I feel as if I can't breathe because I have so much to do! But, that's okay, because I love my job and I love this course. I'll just work on time management and try not to do everything all at once!
The next thing I have going on is that I'm moving! I'm so excited about this as well! And, even though I won't be moving for another month and a half, I can't seem to stop decorating the apartment in my mind, and searching for furniture and paint colors on the internet. Talk about time consuming... but oh, so much fun!
Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles!
In the midst of all this, I'm also knee deep in Holiday prep and fun! 'Tis the season' for Holiday parties, gatherings, baking, and shopping! I love the Holidays and tend to go all out at work and at home. My favorite thing of course is the baking! Recently, I made the most delicious Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles from the genius herself, Isa Chandra over at the PPK.com. I brought these to a Holiday gathering where everyone loved them, but they almost didn't make it there... my family almost gobbled them all up! I'm getting ready for more holiday baking... some new recipes plus veganizing old, loved recipes... so stay tuned for that!
The last thing I want to share with you is that I'm going to a RAW Cooking Class with my Aunt tomorrow! I'm most excited about this because I get to share with you guys everything that I learn! I'll be charging my camera battery tonight and making sure that there's plenty of memory as I plan to take tons of pictures and notes to share with you guys! I have no idea what we'll be making or how many people will be there but I'm excited to meet the chef and also more 'like-minded' people. *exhale*
Stay tuned for my next post where I'll be sharing pics from the raw food class! Also, if you have any questions about health coaching or if you'd like to be a part of my mailing list, leave a comment below or send me an email!
