Monkey Smoothie Powered by Big Tree Farms™

I just love peanut butter… I mean, I really love it. So it only seems the obvious choice to flavour my smoothies with it as much as possible! I am always looking for new amazing flavour combinations, although this one is a bit more simple, allowing my precious peanut butter to shine. For those steering clear of peanut butter, almond butter makes a great substitute.

Today’s smoothie is powered by our friends at Big Tree Farms. They make fantastic fair trade products, including the Organic Coconut Nectar I used today. Coconut nectar is a delicious sweetener that has a very low glycemic index. It’s a great substitute for honey or maple syrup, with a very unique taste. It’s also a superfood of it’s own, high in nutrients and boasting 16 essential amino acids! Pick some up today and give this smoothie a whirl.

What you’ll need:

• 2 frozen bananas
• 3 Tablespoons of peanut butter
• 6 pitted dates
• 1/4 cup Big Tree Farms TRU RA™ Sweet Nibs
• 2 Tablespoons Big Tree Farms™ Organic Coconut Nectar
• 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut shreds
• 1 1/2 cups non-dairy milk of your choice (more or less to desired consistency)
• Handful of ice

(makes two servings)

Enjoy this delicious organic and fair trade treat, inspired by the jungle, and suitable for you and all your little monkeys.

xx

Making Açaí Bowls at Home

Açaí has been renowned for it’s super antioxidant properties, rich in vitamins, good fats, and high protein content. Not only that, it’s also extremely delicious… We’ve all heard about the Amazonian superfruit berry, in smoothies, chocolates, and other super delicious healthy treats.

Yet, at the heart of it all, what brought this wonderful flavour out into the rest of the world, was the Açaí Bowl. These original bowls were discovered in the heart of the Amazon and have since spread like wildfire throughout the world. Lots of different places, locations, and cafes wind up putting their own spin on it, but today we’re going to go over the real raw way of creating an Açaí bowl at home, with a flavour just like you would find in the Amazon.

Here are some tips and tricks to creating the perfect bowl at home!

Two Packs per Serve

When preparing a proper Açaí bowl, using two frozen smoothie packs per serve will yield a hearty and satisfying meal or snack. You can purchase sweetened or unsweetened packs depending on your preference or sugar sensitivity. Both taste great, and you can sweeten the pure packs yourself by using honey or stevia.

Don’t Go Bananas

I’ve noticed a lot of independent cafes using up to three bananas per bowl! (whoa) This is something that takes away from the taste of the Açaí berry. Then it turns into a smoothie bowl, which is still very delicious, but completely different from the original. Using a little bit of water and purely smoothie packs allows the flavour profile to really shine. If you really like the creaminess of the banana, use only half for blending. The best way to enjoy banana with your bowl is sliced up as a topping.

No Nut Mylk

Another common mistake that I see a lot is adding nut mylk or rice mylk to help the blending process… Resist the urge to do this! Your bowl will come out creamy and soupy, which is what we want to avoid (unless you are making a smoothie). The consistency should be like soft serve sorbet, and the vibrant colour of the Açaí should shine, deep and purple. If your blender doesn’t pulverise as well as some others out there on the market, you can add a little bit of grape juice or water (or better yet, Açaí juice!) This is what the official Sambazon Cafes in the US and Asia do, and it keeps your bowl vibrant and pure.

Invest in a Great Blender

If your blender just isn’t cutting it (no pun intended!), then it may be time to get yourself a new one. With raw foods and healthy self-preparation at home getting more and more popular, now is the time to treat yourself and invest in a great blender! The Vitamix is an all-time fav for us, and for those who are okay with spending the extra cash and going the extra mile, there is also the Thermomix, which cooks as well!

Creating Your Masterpiece

With all of these great ideas in mind, start with your base of thick frozen goodness, and get creative with your toppings! Classic Açaí bowls are served with granola and sliced banana. Here are some ideas for other great toppings:

• shredded coconut
• raw cacao nibs
• chia seeds
• chopped nuts
• fresh berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, etc)
• sliced tropical fruits (kiwi, mango, papaya, pineapple, etc)
• dried goji berries, dried cranberries
• sliced fresh figs
• pomegranate seeds
• sunflower seeds
• anything else that is a healthy whole food topping, here is where you can get creative!

Send us photos of your beautiful creations! Email om@feelingjoy.org

Or find us on Instagram @feelingjoy and use these hashtags with your upload! #feelingjoy #acaibowls #sambazon

xx

-Ashley

 

Being ‘Flex-itarian’ – Sweet & Spicy Orange Salmon Recipe

My regular and subscribed readers know that I’m usually posting superfood raw vegan recipes, which I personally love, and believe should be a great base for a healthy lifestyle; consuming a mostly plant-based diet.

When people ask me what I would call myself, my husband and I both respond in saying that we are ‘Flex-itarian’. Our belief system is that everyone’s body is different, people respond differently to different foods. There are many different reasons for choosing a particular diet, religious and moral reasons, eating for your blood type, etc. The truth of the matter is, we should always listen to our bodies… just do what feels good, and feels right.

I myself eat mostly superfoods, with a strong basis in plant-based vegan-ism. It simply feels good to me, I always have more energy when I’m juicing and eating smoothies and nutrient-packed salads. Lately I’ve noticed that when I am eating 100% raw vegan, that I can become a bit anaemic, lacking B-vitamins and Iron necessary for building strong muscles and healthy blood. These can come from a number of different sources, but sometimes I just need a little bit of meat. Even if it is a splurge once per month, or a bite of my husband’s steak out at dinner with friends, my body lets me know when it needs a little extra, and most importantly, I listen to it.

This recipe is one of my mother’s favourites to make. She passed it along to me to share with my husband’s family this week, and now I’m sharing it with you… It’s a truly delicious take on baked fish!

What you’ll need for the marinade:

• Two whole oranges
• 3 cloves of garlic
• One small handful of fresh rosemary
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika (more or less to taste)
• Crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)

Zest the rind of one orange, and mix together with finely minced garlic, chopped rosemary, honey, and other spices. Juice the zested orange and add juice into the mixture. To create a really beautiful presentation, take the second orange, slice it in half. Juice one half and add it to the marinade. Stir together and pour over the fish in a deep baking dish.

Take the remaining half of the orange and slice it very thin. After pouring the marinade over your fish, add the slices to your baking dish. It will not only add a bit of colour and flare to your dish, but will also act as a protective basting layer to keep your fish succulent and juicy.

Bake at 350°F / 180°C until just about done. For the last few minutes, you can turn on the broiler to give it a nice crisp browning on the edges.

I made this dish with garlic sautéed kale and quinoa for a truly delicious, nutrient-packed meal!

Enjoy! xx

Raw Vegan Carrot Cake Recipe

Coming into fall in the northern hemisphere, feeling that crisp morning air and the winds of change… Doesn’t it make you wanna bake? Maybe it’s the woman/virgo in me…

When these times hit, I find myself getting caught up in these delicious new treats, then easily in one week, can undo a whole summer’s worth of hikes and beach yoga…! Not to fret, this is where I turn to raw vegan desserts such as this one. The gentle warmth of traditional carrot cake spices makes you forget you’re eating an unbaked good!

This delicious recipe is both satisfying and packed with nutrients.

What you’ll need:
2 lb. bag of organic whole carrots
2 cups of shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup organic pure maple syrup
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup almond meal
1 cup ground golden flaxseed
1/4 cup rasins (optional)

For the icing:
2 cups organic raw cashews
1 oz. organic liquid stevia extract
1/4 cup coconut milk or coconut cream
Two lemons

(pre-prep) To prepare the icing, soak the cashews in filtered or spring water for at least 4 hours in the refrigerator.

• Run the carrots through your juicer, and put the pulp in a mixing bowl.

• In a separate bowl, combine the shredded coconut, maple syrup, and carrot juice. Stir until mixed completely. Set aside.

• Mix together the pulp, sunflower seeds, almond meal, flaxseed and rasins if desired. Add the coconut mixture and stir thoroughly.

• Spread in a glass dish, or if you are feeling extra artistic, you can shape it on a plate, like the one pictured here!

Icing:

• Remove cashews from the refrigerator, rinse, and drain water completely.

• Combine cashews, hemp seeds, stevia, coconut milk and lemon juice in food processor and blend for 2-3 minutes or until whipped completely and beautifully smooth. Adding more or less milk for desired consistency.

• Spread icing over carrot cake and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour to set completely

Enjoy this delicious way of eating your veggies in a truly satisfying way!

Holy Hemp Guacamole!

This weekend we spent the day with our friends over at the Hemp Heals Foundation, a project geared towards bringing light to the often unclear world of hemp products and their countless, sustainable, eco-friendly uses.

Did you know that hemp is the highest form of vegan protein, and delivers all of the same nutritious amino acids as a piece of steak?

I’ve always been a huge advocate of hemp products, especially hemp protein, but I learned so much more over this past weekend! We made recipes for their new website (launching soon), I got to make some of my signature dishes, and incorporated hemp seeds for their delicious nutty taste and protein rich nutrition.

Hemp Heart Guacamole

• 1/2 small red onion
• 2 roma tomatoes
• 1 small bunch of cilantro / coriander
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 jalapeño (or other chiles from your home garden)
• 4 large avocados
• 4 Tbsp. of Hemp Hearts
• 2 limes

Chop the tomatoes and onion and place them in mixing bowl. Finely mince the garlic and chile and add it in. (sometimes I put the chile, garlic and limes in a blender and create a small sauce to add it in if I’m feeling a bit lazy…!)

Mash up the avocados in the mixing bowl, stirring together with all of the other ingredients. The key to good guac is keeping one of the avocado pits and leaving it in the bowl. This, combined with the fresh lime juice, keeps the guac from turning brown.

Gently stir in 3 Tbsp of hemp hearts and lime juice.

Sprinkle the remaining tablespoon of hemp on top with a bit of cilantro for a gourmet touch. Ole!

Enjoy with your favorite chips or veggies… we love cutting carrot coins and using those for dipping! Yum!

Juice Recipe: Cucumber Pineapple Jalapeño!

This juice is super refreshing and invigorating, great for hot summer days!

• One whole Pineapple
• 3 large Cucumbers (Hothouse or English)
• 2 small, ripe and crunchy Jalapeños

This juice is so simple, but has a lot of flavor, the sweetness and spice work together so well to create a delicious balance, and the cucumber evens everything out and blends together nicely. If you are sensitive to spice, try starting with one jalapeño and see how it tastes, and adding more if you’d like afterward! Enjoy!

Green Juice with… Bell Pepper?

Dark green goodness! Bell pepper may seem a bit random for juice but their health benefits are tremendous. Across the board vitamins and good minerals. Great for vegans, they are also rich in B-complex and iron (which I’ve been personally trying to get more of). It’s easy to miss out on these two important nutrients without meat in your diet, but it is possible to get them from other sources, just like protein!

• 1 green capsicum (bell pepper)
• 1 lemon
• 1 lime
• 4 celery stalks
• 1 large cucumber
• 1 half bag of spinach
• 1 half bag of kale
• 1 small piece of ginger root (about 3 inches)
• dash of cayenne pepper (optional)

Makes about 2-3 servings

Green Power Smoothie!

It’s smoothie time! Today is a super powerhouse of a treat. Was feeling a little low energy today and not drinking coffee right now so this is a great alternative!

• 1 banana
• 1 Tbsp spirulina
• 1 Tbsp ground flax seed
• 1 Tbsp chia seed
• 1 tsp maca root powder
• 1/2 tsp reishi mushroom powder
• 2 Tbsp raw cacao nibs
• 1 Tbsp raw cacao powder
• (optional) small handful of coffee beans for those who desire
• 1 Tbsp honey
• large handful of power greens – baby kale, chard, spinach
• almond milk and ice

ZING! You’ve got a green power mocha!

Now buzz on out and zoom through your day with clarity and ease!