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 :)

Kale Chips

I think we all have cravings for crunchy things and sometimes celery doesn't satiate that craving.  I've been known to gorge myself on potato chips, but I'd prefer to avoid anything fried and super oily.  I think I've mentioned before that Kale has been my very favorite veggie of 2009.  I love buying bunches and bunches of it for my smoothies or to cook it down with some garlic, thai chile paste, lime, and sesame oil.  So, when I had a craving for a crunchy snack- my fridge was already stocked with the perfect ingredient.  

Kale chips have become very popular in the raw foods community.  Traditionally kale chips are made in a dehydrator with nutritional yeast and/or cashews.  If you don't own a dehydrator, there's always an option to purchase kale chips at your local health food store, but that's not always cost effective.  I don't have a dehydrator, and I don't have a ton of cash to shell out for a tiny bag of raw kale chips... so I looked to my oven.  And, although I appreciate the raw kale chips, my baked ones satisfy my cravings until Santa brings my Excalibur dehydrator this year. 

Kale chips can be as simple as a little olive oil and sea salt- this recipe calls for a sprinkle of nutritional yeast after coming out of the oven.  Sometimes I add cayenne pepper, lemon juice, braggs liquid aminos, liquid smoke, or agave nectar to the chips before baking.   Just make sure you rinse and de-stem the kale and tear into pieces- toss and shake with the oil, salt, or whatever else you'd like, and place on a cookie sheet.  

Oven Baked Kale Chips

1 bunch kale

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp of olive oil

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

Bake at 300 for 10-15 minutes until kale is bright green and crispy.  Space evenly on cookie sheet before baking to allow the kale to crisp up.  Remove from oven and lightly coat with nutritional yeast and enjoy!