Two is better than one

This blog has been split in two:

http://aura-celeste.com

http://gojisandgreens.blogspot.com

Dolphin-Free Tuna!

My mom was kind of confused when I asked her the other day how she used to make tuna when I was a kid.  I didn't really like tuna when I did eat meat, and when I read on a can "Dolphin Free" probably in 2nd or 3rd grade, my tuna adventures were over once I learned that sometimes when they're out looking for tuna- dolphins accidentally get caught.  So, when creating this mock tuna I used my mom's spoken word recipe and what I can remember from eating tuna in early grade school.

Mom was probably confused for a number of reasons when I asked her about the canned tuna "salad" she used to create.  First, I don't eat animals and second I don't like mock meats (and she may have been confused because I asked for a recipe from her and she's not blessed in the kitchen).  While its true that I don't care for mock meats, this is different that tofu crusted wheat gluten with seasoning.  This is simple food, good food that would be great without coming up with a cute name for it and a cute way to prepare it.  But cuteness is fun, right?

The mock tuna starts with a base of raw soaked nuts or seeds.  I used a 1/3 cup of each walnuts, almonds, and sunflower seeds, but all of one of the above would be okay.  To get a pink-ish color I added in one cup of carrots and processed with celery seeds, lemon juice, and dulse in the food processor.  I stirred in the nut pate with chopped celery and coated with a mayo made of cashews, but smashed avocado or your favorite vegan mayo would work great to get a tuna salad consistency.  Stuff in romaine leaves or roll in cucumber slices.  The dulse (a seaweed) adds a salty seafood flavor that also gives the tuna salad a nutrient burst.  This isn't like Star Kist, but you can eat this at your desk without your friends commenting on how awful your lunch smells.  Oh!  And its dolphin free :)

My new website is up and running:

http://aura-celeste.com 

I'll cross-post a few more entries, but soon everything will be over on that .com :)

Green Chocolates and Other Sweet Treats!

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!  How are you celebrating?
I know some people celebrate this day as an excuse to get together with friends and drink (green beer).  I spent the day with family and friends- including meeting up with Brandon of hyperion herbs to make green chocolates!
I've been dreaming of making white chocolate since I got my hands on raw cacao butter.  The light colored base was perfect to add a little chlorella to make it green and festive.  This version of white chocolate was made rich, creamy and sweet by lucuma powder.  Its an energizing sweet treat with maca and bee pollen- and I added in some vanilla, mesquite powder, and stevia just to make it extra delicious.

Green Chocolate Bites with Goji Berries

1/4 cup melted cacao butter

1 tbs coconut oil

3 tbs lucuma

1 tsp mesquite

1 tbs maca

2 tbs bee pollen

1 tsp vanilla

6 drops of liquid stevia

1 tbs of chlorella (optional)

Stir everything into cacao butter that's been melted in a double boiler.  Top with gojis, or throw them in the chocolate.  Freeze for 20 minutes.  Enjoy!

What is chlorella?  Its an algae that's cousins with the better known spirulina or blue-green algae.  I like the name because it reminds me that its full of chlorophyl.  Any green powder will work to tint your chocolates.  Or add to dark chocolate for a nutritional burst :)

We weren't done making chocolate- Brandon brought over some of his awesome reishi , he shou wu , and cordyceps to mix in with raw cacao powder and other goodies to make some truly medicinal chocolates.

We made cinnamon herbal chocolate squares with gojis thrown in, chocolate maca butter cups,

chocolate coconut truffles, and chocolate turtle bites.  All raw, all sugar free and dairy free.

Chocolate Turtle Bites

10 dates soaked and pitted
2 tbs coconut oil
12 raw walnut halves plus 1/4 cup to grind up (all soaked)
pinch sea salt
vanilla
melted chocolate

In your food processor make date caramel using finely chopped dates and coconut oil and let it run until its the consistency of caramel.  Take half of the date caramel out of the processor and add 1/4 cup walnuts, a pinch of sea salt, and vanilla in with the remaining caramel.  Process until sticky.  In mini-muffin cups, or just on a plate- layer a small round flat thingy of the date/walnut stuff, a rolled ball of the date caramel, a walnut half, and spoon some melted chocolate over it.  Freeze and enjoy!
I got all fancy with my melted chocolate with raw cacao butter and raw cacao powder and the whole shebang.  You can keep this recipe casual by melting a chocolate bar or chocolate chips you have hanging out around the house.  In the picture the one on the left is cut in half.  You can make these bite sized or roll them out into a layered bar or get as fancy/casual as you'd like.  I'm not precise in my food making- it should be a stress reliever not a stress causing thing for you!

Chocolates To-Go!

What is your favorite chocolate treat?  I love blended hot chocolate drinks with plenty of spice (cinnamon and cayenne), but my maca butter cups and raw chocolate truffles are favorites too.  Sometimes I bring a bag of cacao nibs to snack on at work or school.  How do you add chocolate into your daily routine?

Also, get ready for a change.  I'm working on aura-celeste.com ... Aura's Vegan Kitchen will still be around, but I'm looking to gain more readers by taking away the vegan emphasis (not that I'm switching up my diet) and talk about other stuff besides food that I'm into.  Did you know I'm passionate about massage and body work and especially natural healing?  I'll be talking about that more.

Thanks for stopping by,
<3 Aura

New Finds :)

I went out to the grocery tonight and got some new food stuff!  Averie always posts what she got at the grocery- so I'm giving it a shot, too.

So Delcious coconut milk yogurt, locally made kim chi, a sprouted sun salad, roasted pepitas from the bulk section, seaweeds, lara bars, and all organic produce- lemons, bananas, apples, red and green kale, parsley, ginger, sweet potatoes, cabbage, a pear, and a cucumber!

More super stuff:

I got the Vitamineral Green and the Dr. Ohhira's Probiotics online.  The bee pollen is locally sourced- perfect for preventing spring allergies!

Earlier today I had an amazing juice that was super cleansing and I want to share the recipe with you all-

Spring Cleaning Juice

4 ribs celery

2 granny smith apples

1 small knob of ginger

1/2 lemon

1 cup water

If you have a fancy juicer- this will go quickly for you- if not- blend (in the Vitamix), then strain through a fine mesh strainer or a nut milk bag... Or I've found that a mesh paint strainer from the hardware works just as well for straining nut milks and juices.  

I call it my spring cleaning juice because everything in the juice is so crisp and known to be cleansing to the body.  

Super Cheap Eats!

A filling vegan meal for less than $2 per plate?  Yes- its possible!

1 package of frozen organic mixed veggies- $1.99

1 package of frozen organic "spud puppies"- $1.79

2 cans of organic chickpeas- $0.89 each

2 cups of brown rice- $1.69/lb

I don't like to rely on frozen or canned stuff a lot.  Actually if time allowed- I'd choose to skip anything packaged at all, but sometimes its easy on the pocketbook.  This dinner was a "I-don't-want-to-go-grocery-shopping" dinner- and it worked out.  It's enough for 4 people to get pretty full. 

Chickpea Patties

onions or garlic (or skip this step)

1 package frozen veggies

chickpeas- drained, rinsed, and mashed

1/4 cup garbanzo bean flour (or any flour you have will work)

salt, curry powder, cumin, and any other indian spices you have on hand

saute onion/garlic until aromatic, add frozen veggies, mashed chickpeas, flour and spices and combine until veggies have de-thawed.  form into patties and fry or bake (at 425 for 25 minutes- flipping halfway thru)

Serve with brown rice that's been cooked with cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, and saffron.

Sweet Maca!

My friend Adam LOVES maca.  He likes it so much that he practically eats it by the spoonful.  What is maca?  Its an Incan cousin to the radish that is crazy rich in nutrients like B-vitamins, zinc, potassium, magnesium, sterols, amino acids, fatty acids, and more calcium than milk.  It was an important part of an Incan warrior's diet and is available in powdered form here in the US at health food stores and online.
Maca is known as a hormone balancing adaptogen that provides strength and endurance as well as mental clarity.  I know some people who like maca on their popcorn, mixed into (coconut) yogurt, and in their morning smoothies.  I like maca best when its paired with chocolate.  Adam was over tonight, and although I still think he'd prefer to have maca alone, together we made two maca based desserts/snacks that I'm really excited about!


Raw Cacao Maca "Butter Cups"

Chocolate coating:
Cacao butter
Coconut oil
Agave nectar
Vanilla
Cacao powder
Lucuma powder
Mesquite powder


Maca filling:
.5 cup soaked almonds
.5 cup soaked cashews
1 cup maca
sea salt
2 dates, pitted plus 1/8 cup raw local honey


In a double boiler, melt cacao butter and coconut oil down.  I don't have exact measurements for the chocolate- feel it out.  Sugar would work instead of agave nectar.  Lucuma and mesquite are raw sweeteners and flavor enhancers that give raw chocolate an almost caramel taste.  They are not necessary to have great chocolate.  If you want to simplify- melt any good quality chocolate bar in a double boiler.
Turn the heat off and after chocolate cools slightly spoon into muffin tins.


The maca filling was actually doubled for the maca bars listed below- and it was made in the food processor.  I use raw, local honey and dates to sweeten and bind most of my nut mixtures.  [[I know honey isn't vegan.  I'm vegan first for health reasons- and I can't find a better cure for allergies than raw, local honey.  Plus its delicious and binds well in raw sweets :) ]] If you'd like to use only dates- I've found that 2 dates is about the same as 1 tbs of honey.  After the food processor mixes the maca "dough" roll into balls and then smoosh into flat pancake-ish shapes and throw on top of your chocolate hanging out in the muffin tins.  Spoon more chocolate over maca pancake-ish discs and freeze for at least 15 minutes.  


Cinnamon Maca Bars

.5 cup soaked almonds

.5 cup soaked cashews

1 cup maca

sea salt

2 dates, pitted plus 1/8 cup raw local honey

1 cup coconut flakes

1/4 cup coconut oil

2 tbs cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1 pinch cayenne

Process in food processor until a dough ball forms.  Flatten out into a small bar pan, freeze for at least 10 minutes and cut into squares.  Wrap in aluminum foil for easy transport.  

Better than Lara Bars!  Filled with Maca energy :)

Quick and Simple Lunch

Quick and Simple are two words that have been describing my meals lately.  I like meals that let me work on homework while I'm in the prep process.  This meal was so simple and perfect for a blustery wintery day.  A baked sweet potato, a green salad with a creamy lemon dressing, and mashed chickpeas over quinoa.

First, an hour before I was ready to eat I set the oven to 400 and rubbed my sweet taters with olive oil and wrapped them tight with aluminum foil.  I measured out my quinoa and water in a 1:2 ratio and put in my rice cooker.  I stepped away and studied for about 30 minutes.  Then I grabbed a can of chickpeas and drained and rinsed them and let them hang out on the stove with 1 cup of water, 1 tsp cumin, a pinch of cayenne, and 1 tsp agave nectar (or sugar) covered on medium high stirring every few minutes.  I tore up my lettuce and cut up some veggies for a green salad.  In my blender I prepped the creamy lemon dressing-
half of a lemon- skin and all- 1/2 cup of cashews, sea salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper, 1/4 cup of water, and 3 drops of stevia.
After the salad was prepped the quinoa and sweet potatoes were done- the only thing left was to roughly mash the chickpeas and plate the food!

I sprinkled the sweet potato with garam masala- but cinnamon would work just as well.

My Lunch Bag is Full!

Getting ready for bed, about to have a "hell day" tomorrow consisting of school and work back to back.  I thought I'd quickly post what I'm packing in my lunch bag tomorrow...

Morning smoothie with chia seeds, frozen berries, vitamineral green powder, and a base of gynostemma tea.  Lunch, snacks, and dinner include leftover pad thai my roommate and I had for dinner tonight, dulse chips, romaine and broccoli caesar salad, ants on a log with dried cherries, baby carrots, an orange, homemade "aura bars" (my take on the lara bar), and homemade raw healthy chocolate I just whipped up made with lucuma, mesquite, raw cacao powder, and raw cacao butter from ultimate superfoods and herbs from hyperion herbs.

I hope everyone has an amazing rest of the week.

Books and Cookbooks

I spend some of my online time on livejournal where there are some awesome vegan communities.  Often people will ask what books are good sources for their specific needs.  So here is a working list of books that I've found particularly inspiring or just plain amazing.

Skinny Bitch- I hesitated putting this book at the top of my list, but as far as not eating animals goes- this is the most entertaining yet fact based book there is about the crazy crap the meat and dairy industries are doing.  Rory and Kim take a weight-loss angle to veganism.   To some their writing could be seen as offensive, but if you'd like to know more about why people go vegan, this is the quickest, funniest, and cheapest book out there.

Eating for Beauty-  This is my favorite raw foods book out there.  David Wolfe makes the connection that consuming living foods will beautify you from the inside out.

Green for Life-  My hope is that one day green smoothies will be as abundant as Coca Cola.  Check this book out to find out the research behind green smoothie consumption.

The Body Ecology Diet- This is not a raw or even vegan book, but a lifestyle diet that advocates for fermented foods, seaweed, a low sugar diet, and grains like quinoa and millet.

The China Study-  Want solid facts to beef up your arguements when coworkers, friends, or family question your decision to not include animals in your diet?  This scientific study is full of reasons to go meatless!

The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved-  This is not a vegan or raw foods book either, but a book advocating local and wild foods.  It touches on most issues that were included in Food Inc.

The books above have a few recipes included, but are more informational.
I will make a recipe book post later, but here are my top three recipe books at the moment...

Babycakes- The vegan, gluten-free NYC bakery has its own cookbook!

I Am Grateful- Raw recipes from San Francisco's Cafe Gratitude.

The Voluptuous Vegan- Hearty recipes that taste good!

Raw Raspberry Chezcake Bites

Valentines Day is this Sunday and I don't have a special Valentine lined up.  Most single girls can get pretty bummed about Valentines Day, but not me.  Valentines Day just gives me an opportunity to make goodies for people I care about.  No romance for me, just lots of sweet treats.  

Tonight I took a break from studying and made Raw Raspberry Chezcake Bites.  These red and white bites are super festive and tasty.  The crust is so good it could be eaten by itself, and actually its a similar recipe to my raw pecan snickerdoodles.  The filling was whipped together in my blender- just young coconut meat, soaked raw cashews, lemon, and vanilla.  Together the chezcake filling and the cookie-like crust would be enough to put a smile on anyone's face, but since its mid February I jazzed up these gems with a raspberry sauce- just raspberries and agave blended together.  You could make this into a full size chezcake, or if you have a mini muffin pan, use that!  I put the chezcake filling into a sandwich bag and cut a hole in one end and piped it into the mini crusts, and used the baggie trick for the raspberry topping too.  

Raw Raspberry Chezcake Bites

Crust:

1 cup almonds

.5 cup pecans

2 dates pitted

pinch salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tbs of coconut oil

Process in food processor until sticky, press into pan or muffin tin.

Filling:

1 cup soaked raw cashews

meat from 1 young thai coconut

zest from a full lemon

juice from half the lemon

1 tsp vanilla

2 tbs honey (or 6 dates or .3 cup agave)

Blend until smooth, scrape into pan or sandwich bag to pipe into mini muffin tin.

Raspberry Topping:

.5 cup of frozen raspberries

agave to taste

Swirl with chezcake filling.  Freeze chezcake bites or full chezcake until firm and enjoy!