Thursday, November 19, 2015

Raw Vegan Pumpkin "Cheese" Cake


Alright so, first off - You're welcome. Cause you will most likely be thanking me for this recipe :P Just kidding, but...... You will.



For this (delicious) recipe, here's what you'll need:

{Ingredients}

/CRUST

12 dates, pitted (soak for 30 minutes)
4-6 TBSP (the date^) water
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups raw almonds
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

/FILLING

2 cups raw cashews, soaked 6+ hours (overnight is good), drained.0


1 can pumpkin (13.5 oz)
2/3 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

/TOPPING (optional)

Nutmeg 
Canned full-fat coconut milk

----------------------------------------------



Instructions!!!
Crust:
In a food processor, add the dates, date water and salt. Blend until it becomes a paste. Set aside.

In a food processor, pulse the almonds until they are a coarse texture.

Add in the date paste and coconut oil and pulse until the mixture starts to mold together.

Transfer the mixture into a 9 inch pie dish. Press the mixture evenly into the side and bottom of the dish.

Place the crust into the freezer and allow to chill before adding the filling. (About 15 minutes)



Filling:
In a blender or food processor, add the cashews, pumpkin, coconut oil, maple syrup, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, vanilla, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Blend until the mixture is smooth. (If you are using a blender and the mixture is too thick to blend, add one TBSP at a time of any non-dairy milk (I use almond) until it's able to blend.)

Pour the mixture into the chilled pie crust, smoothing out the top, and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour!

For topping, scoop the thick coconut top from the canned coconut milk and smooth it onto the pie. Sprinkle with nutmeg!

Before serving, run a knife along the end to "release" the crust from the dish.



Anddd.......... *drum roll, please*........ ENJOY!!

Thursday, October 1, 2015

A Year With Dreadlocks

 

As October sprang into life today, I was reminded of the day I first got my dreadlocks. There were so many doubts and questions as to whether or not I was going to keep them, what others were going to think about me, what I was going to think about me and most of all how awesome this journey was going to be! 



It was OH so hard in the beginning... They would begin to fall out, they became extremely frizzy and I wasn't so sure if I could stick this whole thing out. But so many people have been a constant blessing to me! Encouraging, always encouraging.



Making it to 2 months was amazing, I remember thinking how wonderful my hair was at that point and how it was coming together. I couldn't believe I'd made it that far...



Then around 6 months I was pretty much in awe that I had been SOOO patient as to get to that point. They were quite nice then too, I might add, after finally giving in and doing some much needed work on them.



And then quickly (very quickly) months 7, 8 and 9 had passed and 10 months was peeking around the corner. I absolutely could NOT believe it. I would always keep checking my numbers and counting from Day 1, just to be sure I wasn't missing something...



And now next thing I knew, we have made it to a year, my dreads and I... And how lovely this journey has been. Moments of doubt and frustration, impatience and commitment, all bundled into one experience. An experience I'm so glad to have journeyed on!


Cheers to a year and more! 

Blythe

Homestyle Fried Rice


-INGREDIENTS-

1 Medium Onion, Diced
3 Cups Cooked (Brown) Rice (refrigerated for 4+ Hours)
3 TBSP Butter or Coconut Oil
1 10oz Bag of Frozen Veggies (peas, carrots, corn, etc.)
4-5 TBSP Organic Gluten-Free Soy Sauce 
1 tsp Salt (or To Taste)
*optional | 4-5 Eggs, Beaten


In a large skillet on medium-low heat, sauté the diced onion in butter (or coconut oil), adding water when needed, until they are clear and soft. Add the bag of veggies into the skillet and cook until they aren't frozen. Now add the salt and the rice, stirring well while adding the soy sauce in batches. For eggs, fry them already beaten into a flat pack cake like texture. Cut into cubes and add to your dish! Enjoy. :) Makes 6-8 servings.

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Homemade Tomato Soup


With fall here and all this rainy weather lately, all I can think about is soup. Specifically tomato soup with grilled cheese. But while making this recipe last night, with the intention of having grilled cheese as well, I realized we were out of cheese... So garlic toast it was. Still completely satisfying! 

-INGREDIENTS-
5 Large Tomatoes, Diced
2 Large White Onions, Diced
5 Large Cloves of Garlic, Minced
2 7oz Jars of Tomato Paste
4 Cups Water
2 TBSP Butter
1-2 TBSP Salt

In a large skillet, melt the butter. Add the onion and garlic and sauté, adding water when needed, until the onions are soft. (Add salt if desired). 

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a medium-large sauce pan. Add the tomatoes and salt. When the onions are ready, add them to the saucepan. Cook on low for 20-30 minutes or until the tomatoes taste cooked and not raw. In batches, blend the soup in a vita-mix (blender) until creamy. Add the last jar of tomato paste to the last batch before blending. Stir together and voilà! Your Soup is ready. (Feel free to add any other spices you may like). Garnish with feta cheese if desired. 💕💕

Blythe

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Raw(ish) Blueberry Coconut Cream Pie + Raw Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Ok, so I'm sitting here eating this pie thinking, "Yeah... People need to know about this..." So yeah, Imma tell you about it :)

I was inspired to make this whist looking up raw brownies to make and coming across this amazing raw food website that does insanely amazing raw cakes! It's right here. So. Amazing.

Anyway, I was trying to go by this one recipe, but threw in the hat because it wasn't working. You see, I had a young coconut to be used. Pronto. And nobody has a pie recipe with coconut meat in it. So I made one. So now there is one! yay! :) Also, it's in the ice-cream! (which is my recipe too.)

And here we go...

(Go ahead and start soaking the nuts. 1 1/4 Cup Cashews. 1 Cup Macadamia Nuts)

Raw Vanilla Bean Ice-cream

1 Cup Cashews, Soaked 1-2 Hrs
1/2 Young Coconut Meat
1/2 Cup Maple Syrup or Agave
1 1/2 Cup Water
1/4 Vanilla Bean, Scraped
Pinch Sea Salt
1/2 Cup Coconut Oil

Blend all ingredients in Vita-mix until very smooth. Pour into ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions.

Raw(ish) Blueberry Coconut Cream Pie



Pecan Crust
1 1/2 Cups Pecans
2 TBSP Maple Syrup
2 TBSP Coconut Oil
1 TBSP Date Paste (see Mystery Pecan Pie Recipe here)
Pinch Sea Salt.

Blend all ingredients in food processor until smooth. Spread evenly in bottom of a cake pan.

Layer One - Coconut (Cream Color)
1/2 Banana
2 Dates, Pitted
1/4 Cup Coconut Flour
1/4 Cup Young Coconut Meat
Pinch Sea Salt
1/4 Cup Cashews, Soaked 1-2 Hrs
2 TBSP Coconut Water
2 TBSP Maple Syrup
1/4 Vanilla Bean
1 TBSP Coconut Oil

Blend all ingredients in food processor until smooth. Press evenly over crust.



Layer Two - Cream (Green Color)
8 oz. Package Cream Cheese
3-4 TBSP Maple Syrup or Agave
3 Drops Food Coloring, Blue
4 Drops Food Coloring, Green

Blend all ingredients in food processor until smooth. Spread evenly over Layer One.

Layer Three - Blueberry (Purple Color)
1 Cup Macadamia Nuts, Soaked 1-2 Hrs
1/2 Cup Fresh Blueberries
1 TBSP Coconut Oil
Pinch Sea Salt
1/8 - 1/4 Cup Coconut Water
1 Drop Food Coloring, Purple

Blend all ingredients in food processor until smooth. Spread evenly over Layer Two.

Refrigerate for 1 Hour. Then serve with Ice-cream!


How to open a young coconut...

Cut soft layer off with a knife. Knock a hole in the side with a hammer.








Insert a funnel into the hole and drain coconut water into a jar.
























Hit the coconut vertically with a big knife until you can pull it apart with your hands.

Scrape coconut meat with a spoon or your fingers. :)

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Dreadlock Update: 4 Months + Hair Styles

It's up on youtube! Check it out here: Dreadlock Update: 4 Months + Hair Styles And It's 15 days late!! :( But I hope you guys enjoy it and get a little more educated on my dreadlocks :P haha. Leave comments if you have questions.

Saturday, February 7, 2015

Mystery Pecan Pie {Paleo; All Natural Sugar; Corn-Syrup Free}

Y'all, this pie.


You need this in your life. So I decided to share. This recipe is concocted from two different pecan pie recipes that I found and tweaked (a lot) to make it grain and processed sugar free (and corn-syrup free)! Now, mind you, there is a lot of good sweeteners, so don't think it's a nasty un-sweet pie. Cause it's not. And it's pretty expensive to say the least... Just getting that out there. Now, get your apron on and grab your food processor and get ready to make something amazing!

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

For the crust:
2 1/4 cups pecans, soaked overnight and dehydrated at 118 degrees for 24 hours
(soaking/dehydrating is optional, but the healthiest.)
2 Tablespoons maple syrup
1 Tablespoon coconut oil
1 Tablespoon date paste (1 cup dates, pitted. 1/2 - 1 cup water. Blend.)
1 Pinch sea salt

Place pecans in food processor; pulse into small crumbs. Mix pecans and all remaining ingredients together well by hand. Press into 8-inch glass pan to desired thickness. Place in the oven for about 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

For the filling:
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
4 large eggs
3/4 cup maple syrup, divided
2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup (3/4 if preferred) raw honey
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Beat cream cheese, 1 egg, 1/2 cup maple syrup, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and salt at medium speed with electric mixer until extremely smooth.
Stir together honey, melted butter, remaining 3 eggs, remaining 1/4 cup maple syrup, and remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla.
Pour cream cheese mixture into your piecrust. Then slowly pour the egg/honey mixture evenly on top (will probably sink to bottom, which is fine.) Be careful not to overflow. Sprinkle pecans over the surface and bake at 325 dregrees for 60-90 minutes or until knife/toothpick comes out clean. (It's will be wobbly, but thats totally fine.

And thats it folks! Enjoy and share with friends!


Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Simplicity

No WI-FI.

I have been thinking and thinking (and thinking about thinking) of my "next" blog post... What I'm going to write about, what I'm going to share... and here I am. My mind has gone blank (it does that a lot) and I can't remember what I was going to write about... So... No WI-FI.

We've been struggling (more like suffering) these past few weeks because AT&T cut our WI-FI off. It was a total misunderstanding, but then they told us we might not be able to get it back. (thank goodness, that didn't happen!) So they showed up out of the blue the other day and got it going!

I've been thinking a lot lately (more thinking, I know...) about this situation. When our lives are turned upside down just because we can't get on the internet, or check instagram as often, or even worse, watch netflix, which was truly the worst for me! Then that's a problem. And I think about how much more valuable our lives became when we couldn't do those things. When we actually got things done and put our phones down. It was much more nice than what I thought it would be. So I guess what I'm trying to say is, sometimes we just need to live. Simpler, yet harder. That is what God has been showing me lately.To live simpler. Just say no sometimes. Go outside and just walk around. Have a cup of tea. Get rid of things instead of hoarding them because you "might need them" later.

"Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. Then people who are not Christians will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others." 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 (NLT)

"A simple life in the Fear-of-God is better than a rich life with a ton of headaches." Proverbs 5:16 (Message)

I love these two verses. They remind me and encourage me to do these things. There are many more to choose from as well, so it's obvious that God wants this for us. It will also help us to focus and rely on Him more and more.

Now: Onward.

It's off to live a simpler life for me. The cousins just got home from school and I've got a pecan pie in the oven. Better go get it out before it burns! Have a wonderful week!


Friday, January 2, 2015

New Blog; New Year + 3 Months of Dreadlocks!

I was never good at this whole blogging thing... It kinda freaks me out (to say the least). Putting my thoughts into words and showing them (myself) to the world, if, of course, the world wanted to see. I've been doing this whole "life thing" for 19 years now and it just gets harder. Showing the person God made me to be to everyone I know, or anyone who knows me, is really tricky. Not for me, but for them. They see me how they want to see me, I just go with the flow. They don't know who I really am deep down and who God created me to be, which comes out the more I live this beautiful life.

Wow... that was deep... really deep...

Now lets get down to some less serious stuff! I'm doing this blog as a part of my "new year resolution", which is to better myself. I've resolved to live a healthy lifestyle, which will include exercise, clean eats (I've given up gluten and refined sugar and can I just say how awesome I feel and that I've already lost 3 pounds! :D) and of course, getting active and not being lazy. Doing more for my family and saying "no" sometimes (Which is going to be the absolute hardest for me... I'm a people pleaser!), I wear myself out helping others and then I'm not able to help my own family! So its gotta change and I need to put a new order of things into my head: God; Family; People. 

I'm also committing to more of Jesus. Reading His word, studying it, really getting to know Him and trusting Him with my life. Specifically, learning how to love Him with my whole heart.

Living simpler is another one that I just decided right now... like 5:08 PM on January 2nd 2015. Yeah, I work that way. Because loving Jesus reminded me of my heart, which reminded me of the things i love, which reminded me of how many things are taking His place, which reminded me of how they probably need to go... :/ Well, that revealed some stuff about me! (Don't pretend you think you know who I am. Lol. God totally just laid that one on my heart!! :P)

So now to the final resolution - patience. I'm so super impatient and most of you know that. When I want something or want to do something, I want it NOW! You better move out the way cause I'm charging to the car or looking for how-to's online. And for as long as I can remember, it's been that way. And because of it, I'm not successful probably 75% of the time. I try too hard too fast and it blows up in my face... So here's to patience!! *CHEERS!*


And as a side note... kinda... not really... my dreadlocks are 3 months old! So I wanted to share a photo or two (or three) and tell you how wonderful they are! Yes, this is part of living simpler... so if you hate them, please be nice!

I'm extremely happy with them at this point. It's almost like they changed overnight into their wonderful selves! (Look at me, talking about them like they are real live things! haha) They are super locking and super duper looking dang fabulous! No more itching, no more crappy not-locking and best of all, NO MORE AWKWARD BANGS!!!! They are just the right length to complete my look and I'm loving it! Loops are showing up everywhere and i have no idea how they are doing that, but it's fine with me! I always thought that I would want perfectly round non frizzy dreads, but they changed my mind very quickly. so without further adu:

A few of my loopy loops!

And that's it folks! I hope you enjoy this blog and comment away because I'm probably gonna need some encouragement and a reason to post. You are all so special! :)