Chocolate Maca Treats and Bean Salad

Last night I decided to try a new recipe from a book that I took out from the Library called Everyday Raw. Raw cashews can be used in so many raw dishes that it is sometimes hard to decide what to make. I decided to try something new.

This truffle recipe uses maca which is a Peruvian root. It has kind of a mild or bitter butterscotch taste. You can find it in bulk or in capsules. It is often used with chocolate dishes like this or in hot chocolate drinks. I like the idea of this recipe, but I think the next time that I do it I will change a few things. For me it is a lot of maca and I might like it more if there was a little less. Really you could take the base of the chocolate and cashews and add your own flavor profile. I did love the texture of the dough that it created. However it was a little harder to clean out of the vitamix.(tip-scrape all you can out of the Vitamix then instead of washing with soap and water add almond milk to help remove all the chocolate and then you have a little bit of a bonus..Chocolate Milk)

I adapted the recipe and cut it in half. I usually cut the recipe in half when it is new just in case I don't love it then I haven't wasted a lot of high quality ingredients. This recipe uses maca and cacao powder.

Then some cashews, coconut oil, sweetener and vanilla powder.

Blend well. It takes a while to blend. I had to adapt the recipe and add some water to get it going. I also cut the sweetener down and replaced it with water. It turns into this thick dough. Scrape out and place dough in freezer for an hour or two.

Then roll into balls and coat with Maca. Note this is messy. If you plan on doing half chocolate and half dipped in maca, it is good to keep them separated. As you can see the maca powder gets everywhere.
My daughter Blyss was my little helper. We were covered in chocolate!!

Then....my sister Michelle came over and dropped off some lettuce and bean salad. This was great as my husband was out of town and I had no car and was craving a salad.

Top your lettuce with bean salad. There is a dressing on the bean salad so just put a huge scoop of the beans right on top of the salad.

Michelle's Bean Salad (non raw version)

Ingredients
Apple Cider Vinegar
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Sweetener

Kidney Beans
Chick Peas
Onion
any other bean you would like to add


Enjoy!!! Yum. Even my daughter who is a picky eater loved this bean salad.

I am really getting excited to share a lot of the things that I am learning about raw food. I am studying at night and I am almost finished taking David Wolfe's Ultimate Raw Nutrition course. It has been really interesting and I have been learning a lot about the body and raw foods. I also have a few other courses to finish up in the area of cleansing and detoxing.(more about that later).

Please let me know if there is anything specific that you would like me to make or talk about.

Also I would love for you to join us on facebook by clicking the "LIKE" button on the right hand side of the blog. Now off to yoga...wish me luck it is my first class in a long time.

Reflection on Stress and Eating Well

Today and last night I ate this nutrient packed arugula salad. Arugula is a great addition to your shopping cart. It is part of the mustard family. It is a source of sulfur which is great for your hair, nails and skin and it also contains several vitamins and is a source of Vitamin C.It tastes slightly peppery and is great in salads and juices.

Today I am reflecting on stress and how it influences my eating. Yesterday was a hard day for me and here is the quick lowdown on why I was feeling so overwhelmed.

1 semi sick daughter home from school
1 very sick son(with special needs so the illness was an urgent matter)
1 sick husband
1 food processor lid melted and stuck to the stove top
1 batch of sunflower cheese sitting in the processor waiting...
3 hours of sleep last night
1 trip to on call clinic at 7:30pm
1 trip to the pharmacy

Hence I was feeling stressed and when I feel stressed I want to grab things that are quick, pre-made and satisfy my hunger and cravings. And let me tell you the cravings were for things that are not healthy. Since I was so busy yesterday I ended up skipping a couple of meals and low and behold I was starving and tired and ready to jump off my health eating. However I am happy to say that my will power and Arugula won out.

So why am I telling you this story? Well because I think that a lot of us have some type of trigger, event, person or mood that might causes us to make less than ideal food choices and routines. However it is these quick choices that add up day after day, week after week, year after year and eventually create our overall health and vitality or lack of it. So yes it was a small choice...but I won.

For this easy salad add the following ingredients:

Organic mixed greens
Sunflowers soaked overnight with a little garlic and tamari
Tomatoes
Arugula chopped
Nutritional Yeast

Make a quick dressing by mixing some apple cider, agave and olive together and that's it. I also added some chopped up Walnut Veggie Burger on top. I got the idea of the veggie burger on top from a fellow blogger.(Ginger is the New Pink)



I also added in two shots of wheat grass juice


And a Yoga magazine to look at for my down time.( Whenever that comes)

What makes you want to give into your cravings or eat poorly? What types of food do you eat under pressure? Do you have a system to deal with your challenges on the road to eating healthy? I would love to here about them.

Keep posted for some great giveaway contests coming soon.