Cocofroyo

Just a little something I threw together last night:

I'm calling it cocofroyo!

•  Meat of 3 young coconuts
• 1 tbs. coconut butter
• 1 tbs. cacao butter
• 1/2 cup coconut water (cocoH20, if you're feeling cool; I know I am)
• 1 tbs. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tbs. chopped vanilla bean (this gives it the lovely vanilla bean flecks!)
• 15ish drops liquid stevia OR 1/4 cup maple syrup OR a combination of the two
• 1 tsp. Celtic sea salt
• Ice, as needed
• Frozen wild blueberries

First, open the coconuts, set aside 1/2 cup of the cocoH20 and pour what's leftover into a jar and keep for other recipes (or drink!).  Scoop all the meat out and place it in the blender with the cocoH20.

Coconut carnage.

Then add all the other ingredients (except the blueberries) and blend, blend, blend away!  Add the ice a little at a time until it's nice and thick.  Then pour into a mug/bowl:

And top with blueberries!

So, so yummy.  Not the wisest choice for a January treat, but it's been so warm lately... excuses, excuses.  :) 

In love-
Mada

Wrap-ture

Good title, right?

Oftentimes when people find out about how I eat, they say something to the effect of, "... so you eat, like, salad?"

Usually that's the point at which I try to convince our hypothetical person that I'm not a salad-crazed lunatic by talking about more complex dishes; nuts, seeds, dehydrated treats, pizzas, pates, cakes, cookies, etcetera.   But I have to say, deep in my heart of raw hearts, SALADS ARE MY FAVORITE.  And wraps?  Wraps are just another way to bask in the green glory.  (Shimmy shimmy.)

The past few days I have been living off the most simple, satisfying salad wraps you could possibly imagine.  Here's the basic recipe:

• Salad.  This can, obviously, mean a number of things.  Greens, dressing, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, whatevah.  Be creative!
• Sprouts.  Alfalfa, chickpea, sunseed, pea shoots, etc.
• Avocado, slice-y or dice-y.
• Optional: a nut/seed pate of some sort.

Then you basically just throw it all in a wrapper of some sort.  I've been using either collard greens or sheets of nori (or one on top of the other!).  Delicious, nutritious as all get out, physically gorgeous; what more do you want?

Wrap party.  (I'm hilarious.)

Camille gettin' down with a wrap-to-be.

So wrappable.

KALE PESTO!  (With a few changes, of course.  I can't help but personalize.)

Spreading the wrap-ture.

Avocado nirvana.

Camille taking a closer look.

Oh, isn't it beautiful?

Mia mamma creating her collard-nori wrap.

My lunch-wrap today.  Oh my god.

Featuring: Claire's red pepper pate.

Ahhhhhhh.  Highly recommended. 

In other news, as of last night I can officially hold a headstand!  YES!  After taking a long walk with the lovely Claire this morning, we both spent about half-an-hour experimenting with upside-down-ness in the family room.  I have videos.  And this picture of Claire:

I love this girl.

In love, gratitude and yogic excitement-
Mada

Catch A Healthy Habit Cafe!

Yesterday, after literal years of trying, Claire and I finally made it down to Catch A Healthy Habit Cafe in Fairfield, CT!  (Claire had been there before, a number of times- see her post about it.)  It was an unbelievable blast.  Both of us had been feeling a little cooped up, and it was so nice to go somewhere new and have someone else make us (incredibly delicious) food.

If you're ever in the Fairfield area, I definitely suggest stopping in.  It is 100% raw and vegan.  The food, like I said, is amazing; the staff are warm and friendly; the atmosphere is bright and open.  While we were there, lots of apparent regulars came in to pick up green juices, shots of ginger, milkshakes and sandwiches.  Several people were there with their young children.  Glen, the wonderful owner, made a balloon dog for a little boy sitting near us (he was enjoying a big green salad and a macaroon- awesome raw kids!).

We happened to be there while Ian Ziering (actor, health educator) was presenting about antioxidant levels in the body.  A woman was using a biophotonic scanner to measure peoples' antioxidant levels right there.  Claire and I both got our levels tested for fun, and scored in the highest sector!  Yay for raw food!  Plus, it was donation-based and all the proceeds went to Nourish the Children, a non-profit organization dedicated to ending starvation for children in Africa.  And now onto the food! 

Menu

 There were so many delicious-looking things on the menu that we ordered two and split them.

The spring rolls; kelp noodles, avocado and veggies in a spinach-coconut wrapper with coconut amino-ginger sauce.

The house burger; a nut-seed burger topped with avo, 'ketchup' and mustard on onion bread, plus a side salad.

They were both so ridiculously delicious and satisfying (without being overwhelming) I couldn't choose a favorite.  I have to say, though, that the spring rolls were very unique.  I haven't had many raw dishes like them.  Super thumbs up!

Claire clearly enjoyed it, as well.

Completely devoured.

....And then we had dessert.

Caramel bar, cinnamon roll, oatmeal raisin cookie.

Claire ordered the caramel bar, I ordered the cinnamon roll and the cookie.  In general, I don't eat a lot of sugary things, and I almost never eat chocolate, but it was a special occasion so I let it slide.  We each shared bites.  Wow.  Wow, wow, wow.

Brownie batter with wild jungle peanut butter.

And just when we thought the decadence was over, the very lovely woman who served us said she was making brownies, and would we like to try some?  The answer was a resounding yes.  It was like peanut butter fudge.  Or Reese's cups made into pudding.  It was fantastic.


So after all this food-bliss, we packed up our cameras and made for the door, but not before Glen stopped us and gave us even more delicious food as a parting gift.

Butter pecan ice cream pie. !!!!!!!!

Two macaroons, one 's'more' and an oatmeal raisin cookie.

Oh my god!  It was raw overload!  Luckily, we waited to eat the gifts and drove off, grinning ear-to-ear and very talkative from the chocolate-

to visit the beach!

Boots on the beach.

And picked up durian on the way home:

I know, I know, it's not the most beautiful thing you've ever seen, but my GOD it's delicious.  (My entire family disagrees.  My brother says it smells like rotten eggnog and my mother says decaying corpses.  There's no accounting for taste, I guess!)

A very successful day.  Any happy day is a successful one!


In love and gratitude, namaste all the way-
Mada

Something to remember

I get excited every time I have Yogi tea.

Meyer lemons + spinach pesto

Hello internet!  I was lost in the wonderful world of snow this past week, and only today did I emerge (ahem 52 degrees what the heck Earth).

So gorgeous, right?

I haven't done too many interesting food things lately, but I did try Meyer lemons for the first time the other day.  The Willimantic Food Co-op, where I buy all my food, had organic Meyer lemons in stock for the first time I can remember and I brought some home.  They were DELICIOUS!  Tart and tangerine-y!  I made lemonade with lemon juice, water and stevia:

And yesterday I made spinach pesto!  I'm a huge fan of pesto (who isn't, really?) and since basil's not in season, I used spinach to make a delicious spread that I devoured almost instantly.

  

 The recipe's basic and variable:

• 1/2 cup nuts or seeds (pine nuts, hemp seeds, sunflower seeds, macadamia nuts)
• 2 cups spinach (or kale or other green of your choice)
• 2 tbs. olive oil
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• sprinkling of fresh oregano (optional)

And just throw it in the food processor!  Awesome on collard wraps, cucumber slices, raw pasta.... the list goes on and on.

Today, since it was so warm and beautiful, Claire and I took a nice, long walk down a trail near my house.  Very grateful to live in the beautiful place that I do!

In love-
Mada

Sunshine cookies + salad report

Sunshine cookies!  I've had a huge, beautiful butternut squash sitting on my counter for weeks and I finally decided how to use it.  Recipe as follows:

•  1/2 butternut squash, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 cup coconut butter (not oil)
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. cardamom
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• few drops almond extract
• 8-10 drops liquid stevia
• maple syrup (or extract) to taste

Peel, chop and food process the squash until it makes a soft mash.

Then add the rest of the ingredients and process until well combined.  Form into little patties and place on a dehydrator tray covered by a piece of parchment paper (or Teflex sheet).

Let them dehydrate overnight (or until they feel crisp on the outside- keep in mind that once they cool off they will harden more because of the coconut butter). 

Sunshine cookies with a zucchini/carrot latke in the middle- recipe forthcoming.

They're delicious warmed up with coconut oil and a sprinkle of salt.

Now for the salad report.  Here are two recent creations:

Massaged red kale, alfalfa sprouts, avocado, black olives, tomato, cucumber, hard-boiled egg*, hemp seeds, olive oil vinaigrette.

Mixed baby greens, tomato, alfalfa sprouts, cucumber, avocado, olive oil vinaigrette.

SO DELICIOUS!

Now I'm off into the big wide world of today.  Our Italian group gathers this afternoon!  To help fund our ground transportation while in Italy, click here.  Thank you so much!

In gratitude,

Mada

*A note about eggs: I don't, as a general rule, eat animal products (except honey), but you will see me occasionally eat an egg or two (even though, to be honest, eggs make me a little congested).  This is partially because I think they're very nutritious and partially because they're so crazy yummy.  The other day I was craving an egg like nobody's business, so I made this salad.  Whenever I eat eggs, I make sure they're local and free-range with the reddest yolks I can find (happy hens!).

Cooking with kids! (Calzones, curry and cookies)

I spent Monday cooking and cooking and cooking with my brother Declan and sister Deidre.  It was a ton of fun.  They're awesome chefs; both full of great ideas and in possession of a capacity for food bliss that I very much relate to.

Deidre started it off with mini chocolate-chip cookies which my mother dubbed 'Bellybuttons.'  Deidre had originally wanted to make Hershey kiss cookies, but, since we had none, she downsized and came up with these adorable munchies!

Aren't they the cutest?

Then Declan wanted to make dinner for the family, so we talked it out and he decided on calzones and coconut milk curry.  I ended up making most of the curry, but he did an excellent job chopping the potatoes and carrots.   I made up the recipe, and (foolishly) didn't write it down, but it was a pretty basic creamy curry with coconut milk, carrots, potatoes, eggplant, cilantro, onion, garlic, peas, corn, coriander seeds and a couple different curry powders.  

Now for the calzones.  Declan used a basic pizza dough recipe out of a Moosewood cookbook, and did all the rolling, stuffing, folding and baking himself!  Deidre also made a mini-calzone of her own with a spare bit of dough.

Beautifully rolled.

Diligent grating.

Thumbs way up!

It was a complete success!  I can't wait to do more cooking with both of them.

In love,
Mada