How to diet fast 1 week

I was the lucky winner of the Sinful Pleasures Dessert Contest on Julies Raw Ambition last month and yesterday my box of goodies arrived in the mail: cacao nibs, vanilla beans, coconut butter, macadamia nuts, and agave nectar. 

It was hot, humid and 83 degrees out. I took one look at those ingredients and thought, "Mmmm, chocolate milkshake!" 

{ Funny, less than two weeks ago, the snow was falling and my thoughts turned to chocolate then too...see a pattern here? Hey, its a superfood, ya know! }

Soak the nuts in water overnight, then blend and strain through a nut milk bag. Pour milk back into blender. Add bananas, cacao nibs, coconut butter, vanilla, agave. Blend until smooth and creamy. Garnish with a sprig of mint. Slurp to your hearts content!

Speaking of superfoods, heres my superhero.  FUN.

Oh baby, its cold outside. Didnt break 20 degrees here today. And with the wind chill factored in, well, lets not even go there.

Cutest thing I heard this week: Aimee (aka A Bitt of Raw) said it was so cold in Seattle, she turned on her self-cleaning oven to warm up the house. Thats one way for a raw foodist to make use of her oven! Usually, the only time it gets turned on is when making dog biscuits. Her poor pooches gathered round, thinking they were getting homemade treats. No such luck.

My fur kid and I went hiking in this frigid weather today. Crazy? Yes, but youll recall that I have a Siberian husky and shes over the moon when the temperature drops like this. Me, not so much. Once home, I threw another log on the fire and immediately set to work on warming my innards.

Hot Chocolate In The Raw

A raw cacao bean contains over 300 identifiable chemical compounds, making it one of the most  complex food substances on Earth. Heres just a small sampling of the goodies:

4 C almond milk*
4 ounces raw cacao beans
1/2 C raw honey
1 vanilla bean, scraped
1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
1/4 tsp nutmeg

*Instructables: How to Milk an Almond

Blend ingredients on high speed until smooth and creamy. If you have a high-powered blender, you can continue blending until the mixture begins to heat up. Or, you can warm your hot chocolate using one of the methods I mentioned here — either using a double boiler or a mason jar submerged in hot water.

Pour into your favorite (pre-warmed) mug and enjoy! Wanna really warm your tum-tum? Make like a Mayan and sprinkle in a wee bit of cayenne pepper before serving. Fire down below!

How bout a little somethin somethin to go with your hot chocolate? You might sample my Holiday Sugar Plums or nosh on these beauties.

Thumbprint Cookies
Yields two dozen cookies

Dough:
1 medium zucchini, peeled and chopped
2 C almond meal
1/4 C raw honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp orange zest
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 C raw nuts, finely chopped

Filling:
1/2 C raspberries (thawed, frozen raspberries can be used)
1/4 C raw honey

To make the dough: In a food processor, blend zucchini until pureed. Add almond meal and pulse until mixed. Transfer into a large bowl, add the honey, vanilla, cinnamon, orange zest, salt and mix well by hand. Chill dough in freezer for 20-30 minutes.

Shape into small balls by rolling between the palms of your hands. Roll each ball in chopped nuts and place on a dehydrator tray lined with a ParaFlexx sheet. Using your thumb, make an indentation into the center of each ball.

Dehydrate at 105 degrees for about 4 hours. Remove the ParaFlexx sheet. Dehydrate another 2-3 hours. Climate, temperature and humidity all affect dehydrating time. The cookies should be crispy on the outside and still moist inside.

To make the filling: Blend together raspberries and honey to make a jam. Fill the center of each cookie as it comes out of the dehydrator.


What do you have planned for this winter weekend? Snuggle up to someone you love and stay warm!