Frothy Hot Coconut Cacao for a Rainy Day!

I just so happened to stumble upon The Nourishing Gourmet's blog post for Rich, Dark Hot Cocoa (Dairy and Refined Sugar Free) today while the kids were napping. One look out my windows at the dreary sky was all it took to convince me I *needed* to make some and FAST!

I waited until my 2yo DS woke up so he could share the warm drink with me, then I gathered up my ingredients. Using TNG's post as a guide, here's how I made our Frothy Hot Coconut Cacao:

Step #1 -- Empty one can of organic coconut milk into the Blendtec blender jar. I used Roland brand, bought when on sale at Amazon.com. I used the full fat version.

Step #2 -- Add roughly 1/4 cup of organic raw cacao powder. I used the Navitas Naturals brand, from Amazon.com.

Step #3 -- Add roughly 2 cups of water. I used tap water. (Note to self: need to research water filters)

Step #4 -- Add honey (or other sweetener) to taste. I added 3 big squeezes from a honey bear jar of local raw honey my mom brought me back from a recent trip to Florida.

Step #5 -- Blend.

At first, I tried blending on level 1, then up'd it to level 5. It mixed fine but just wasn't warming the drink up the way I had hoped. Then I switched the setting to "Soup" and after one cycle it was nice and warm. If you wanted warmer, you could always do one more cycle, but for us, it was perfect. You could also warm this up in a pot on the stove if you wanted.

The best part about the drink was that it developed a nice froth on top that lasted all the way through to the last sip of...ahem...TWO mugfuls! The froth made the drink feel very "upscale coffee shop." :)

Overall, I'm super pleased with how it turned out. It was perfect because it warmed us up on a rainy day, and the coconut definitely felt springy! Mmmm... This definitely hit the spot!

Trail Mix

I am a snacker. Always have been. Probably always will be. One thing that has changed recently though is my choice of snacks. Instead of a whole sleeve (or two!) of Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies, I'll have something a lot more health conscious. This doesn't mean I have to sacrifice my chocolate or that it can't be delicious!

One snack I have come to really love (read: CRAVE!) is trail mix. I've had various trail mixes throughout my life, but really started to get into them when I found a couple of varieties I liked at the health food store Trader Joe's. Problem is, they're fairly expensive, and unless you buy different varieties, they're always the same. Since I have started buying in bulk and have begun to learn to use a dehydrator, I really enjoy creating my own trail mixes.

Here are some of the "pros" of creating my own mixes:
*I can whip up a snack in minutes
*I can have as many or as few ingredients as I want
*It can be a different mix every time or I can repeat my favorites
*I can include more variety than store bought mixes
*I control the ingredients, so I can be sure there are no unnatural additives or preservatives
*I can ensure my dehydrated fruits and my nuts/seeds are really raw for added nutrients
*Since I buy all my ingredients in bulk, creating the mix is much cheaper than buying a small bag of pre-made trail mix
*Because I buy in bulk, I always have ingredients on hand that make nice trail mixes
*I can make as much or as little as I want

When I buy foods in bulk, I take out a portion for daily use to keep in an airtight jar or canister. The rest of the food is stored away in an appropriate place (i.e. pantry, freezer). As my daily portion runs low, I simply refill from the larger portion that has been stored.

To make my trail mix, I simply pull out the containers with the ingredients I want to use and scoop the desired amount into a bowl. I mix the ingredients up with my fingers, and TA-DA! There you have it: instant (healthy) snack!



Today's trail mix consisted of:
*Raw Coconut chips (Wilderness Family Naturals -- I blogged about these yesterday!)
*Organic Raw Pepitas/Pumpkin Seeds
*Raw Sunflower Seeds
*Dehydrated Apples (Just Tomatoes, purchased through a coop)
*Dehydrated Bananas (homemade)
*Dehydrated Cherries (Just Tomatoes, purchased through a coop)
*Dehydrated Blackberries (Just Tomatoes, purchased through a coop)
*Organic Rolled Oats
*Raw Almonds
*Raw Cashews
*Organic Goji Berries (Navitas Naturals, purchased through Amazon subscribe & save)
*Organic Raw Cacao Nibs (Navitas Naturals, purchased through Amazon subscribe & save)

It only took a minute or two to throw together, but WOW was it yummy! And filling! I didn't produce any plastic waste that needs to be thrown away, and I ate a wide variety of fruits, nuts, and seeds. I even snuck in a few grains!

Now, this trail mix wasn't perfect. Ideally, I'd have liked for it to have been all raw, but I am just getting into this and learning more and more. To be as "green" and thrifty as possible, I feel I need to use up my on-hand ingredients first. I have purchased a lot from Just Tomatoes through coops in the past and actually have a large order on the way now. I am pretty sure these dried fruits (while super delicious) aren't dehydrated at temperatures that are considered raw. My goal now that I have a dehydrator of my own is to begin dehydrating my own fruits more and more; and actually the banana chips were dehydrated by me, but I'd better stop there because that's a WHOLE other post! :)

So, what do you like in YOUR trail mix??

Persimmon and Coconut Cream Parfait

I saw a recipe for a raw persimmon and whipped cream parfait the other day, and search though I might, I cannot find the link for it. If anyone knows where it is, please let me know and I'd be happy to give credit where credit is due.

The beautiful photos of the parfaits reminded me that I had several freezer bags full of pureed raw persimmons from my uncle. I first had persimmon last year when my son was still eating baby food. My uncle had given them to us and so I read about them online and decided to puree them for him. Well, DS loved them, but I found out that so did I! So this past fall, I mentioned to my uncle that we'd love to have more of his persimmons. Finding this recipe for a RAW parfait got my persimmon tastebuds churning!

I defrosted my frozen persimmons by placing them in a bowl of water. It didn't take long before I was able to dump them out of the freezer bags. I put them into the Blendtec for a quick spin to ensure no icy chunks were left. We wanted SMOOTH puree.

Then I searched swagbucks for a raw whipped cream recipe and found one that I modified to fit my needs and on hand ingredients.

Coconut Whipped Cream
*1 cup nuts (the recipe called for cashews; I only had walnuts, so that's what I used, though I'm sure cashews soaked for at least an hour would have made it much creamier)
*1 cup light coconut milk (canned from Trader Joe's)
*1/8-1/4 cup of honey
*1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
*splash of vanilla
*pinch of himalayan pink salt
*coconut oil (a good bit)

My cream turned out flat and runny, but tasted divine! For a thicker cream, you could try adding some thickeners: chia seeds, flax seed meal, etc. Or, it might also help to refrigerate or freeze the cream before serving.

To serve, simply put the pureed persimmon and the coconut cream in alternating layers in a pretty glass or serving bowl. You could also create a topping of ground goji berries or nuts to sprinkle on if you wanted, but we just ate ours plain. Yum, yum!