Red Velvet Cake Smoothie (vegan, dairy and gluten free)

Packed with antioxidant powerhouses - beets, cocoa, and raspberries. This smoothie will rock your socks. And it's smoother than any charming Italian.

 

 

If you've tried my Carrot Cake Smoothie (comes with rave reviews) or even my Green Vanilla Smoothie, then you'll love this sweet vegetable and fruit smoothie.

Did you know my father's side of my family claims they brought back the recipe for red velvet cake from Italy? We're not even Italian! They just lived there a couple years. So this recipe is sort of a piece of my heritage, just with my "blended" spin on it!

Red Velvet Cake Smoothie
1 1/4 cup milk of choice (plain or vanilla but unsweetened - I used almond)
2 beets, steamed and peeked
1 cup raspberries
1/2 banana
3-4 TB cocoa powder (use raw cacao for even greater antioxidants)
2 Dates
1 big scoop nut butter + vanilla extract or 1 scoop vanilla protein powder of choice

1. Blend all ingredients in high-speed blender until completely incorporated.

Have you ever noticed how paper straws, although fantastically beautiful, are really quite awful to sip out of for a long time (longer than five minutes)? They get all soggy and limp. It affects the experience, going from drinking delicious smoothie to slobbering all over wet paper to slurp up a miniscule amount of smoothie (the straws now boasting a slight wet-cement flavor).

And they are almost worth it because they are so darn cute. Almost...

I saw these Stainless Steel Drink Straws (4)  on sale for $5.89 (+$2.99 shipping). They have pretty good reviews and come with a straw cleaner (looks similar to a pipe cleaner). I ordered them for my new kitchen! So excited! I'll let you know how well they work!

Question of the Day:
Have you ever used a paper straw? Was the cuteness worth the limp, ineffective, straw?

Week of Love: Chocolate Fig Pudding

Oh my figgy darling!

The fig was well-known in ancient times as an aphrodisiac and was thought to encourage fertility. And no wonder... when broken, the soft, plump skin erupts into a million edible little seeds.Their rich colors offer a sweet taste and an enticing texture.

Figs are a good source of Vitamins A, B6, K, and E and are rich in calcium, iron, manganese, and potassium. These plump fruits are also a good source of fiber.

Fiber isn't a word usually associated with Sexy but if we are being blunt, neither is bloated. Fiber can improve performance (in more arenas than you think *wink wink*) and help relieve bloating.

Before we get to the recipe, don't forget to enter the Massage Lotion Bar Giveaway!

Chocolate Fig Pudding
1/2 banana (I used frozen)
3 Tb cocoa powder
1 1/2 cup non-dairy milk of choice
1 tsp vanilla extract or beans from 1/3 vanilla bean
Pinch of Salt
16 dried figs

1. Cut off fig stems if needed. Soak figs in milk (in fridge if you want cold pudding) for one hour or up to overnight.
2. Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender. Serve, refridgerate (or freeze in popsicle mold).
3. Enjoy!

Double Chocolate Black Bean Cookies with Sesame

I can't take credit for these delicious and healthy cookies. I used the base from Sarah Britton's Black Bean Chocolate Chili Cookies and did my own take on her recipe. I wasn't even planning to post this until my sister begged me too. Well, begging might be exaggerating - I mean I'm not that cruel. For my take, I used chocolate chips and less sweetener, I passed on the cherries and cayenne (but that would make a delicious addition). Instead, I generously sprinkled sesame seeds over half the batch.

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Sesame seeds are a wondrous little seed. You can see them featured in my bone-building chocolate sesame melts. Sesame is one of the most calcium-rich foods, teaspoon for teaspoon. It's also loaded with trace minerals such as magnesium. Eating magnesium with calcium is important as it acts as a "'glue' that binds calcium to bone’s protein matrix, creating strong, dense bones. (Spry). Eating one ounce a day of sesame seeds can help provide 28% (based on a 2,000 calories diet) of the calcium needed daily (Nutrition Data.com). When incorporated into the diet, these little wonders of joy can help provide a good base to building strong, healthy bones (or mantaining them).

I love sesame seeds sprinkled on eggs, rice, soup, cooked greens and baked goods! Of course, these are optional (hense why I photographed half of them without). You can buy them from your local grocery store in the bulk section or Mountain Rose Herbs sells organic sesame seeds for an amazing price of $4 for one pound.

Black Beans are a great source of iron, protein and fiber. You can read more about this understated superfood on Sarah B's post.

Besides these wonderful nutritients, the cookies are relatively inexpensive and quite easy to prepare. No bowls are dirtied. Only the food processor!

Also if you don't want to turn on your oven (and you haven't used eggs in the batter), this batter makes a wonderful dip for apples or spread on sweet crackers. Or just eaten by the spoonful *wink wink*.

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All in all, these fudgy cookies are a great treat or snack for anyone! Being vegan and void of most allergens.

Doubling the recipe is a good idea so you have enough to share!

Double Chocolate Black Bean Cookies with Sesame Seeds (or brownie dip if you prefer not to bake it)

(This recipe is inspired by my bone-building chocolate sesame melts and mainly by Sarah B's black bean chocolate chili cookies).

1 1/2 cup cooked black beans (or one 15 oz can, drained and rinsed well)
2 Tb coconut oil
1/3 cup + 2 Tb cocoa powder
1/2 tsp course sea salt
1/4 cup maple syrup (or you can use same amount of non-dairy milk with liquid stevia equivalent)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tb chia seeds (or 2 Tb ground flax seed or Sarah says you can use 2 eggs)

1/2 heaping cup chocolate chips or 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. In food processor, add beans and coconut oil. Process until smooth.
3. Add remaining ingredients (except for sesame seeds) and process until smooth (about a minute). Wait a few minutes for it to thicken and the chia to expand.
4. Scoop heaping tablespoonfuls onto stoneware or parchment lined tray and flatten with fingers or fork.
5. Bake for 15 minutes. Let cool for at least ten minutes before removing from pan.

Makes ten or so unless you eat a lot of the batter like we did.