Chunky Monkey Ice Cream

Ice Cream is one of my all time favorite foods and as i've said in previous posts. Its so easy to make, and just tastes so frickin delicious! A bit of the right ingredients and a little bit of freezing time and you get what may be the best tasting raw ice cream you've ever had without the cost of the store brands (if you can even be lucky enough to find a good store brand).

One of my favorite flavors when I used to eat crap used to be a chocolate,peanut butter, banana combination known as "Chunky Monkey". It was delicious and absolutley one of the best flavors out there (right next to ones with oreos or cookie dough). So I figured with some of my organic bananas going bad on the shelf and some raw cacao in the cabinet calling my name, why not remake an old favorite of mine?

"Chunky Monkey" Ice Cream

(banana,chocolate, walnut)

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1/2c Cashews

2 medium sized Bananas

2 Medjool Dates (pitted)

1 c Water

1 1/2 c. Cacao Nibs

1 c. Walnuts

2 tbsp. Raw Honey

1 tbsp Himalayan Sea Salt

Method:

-Soak your cashews and dates in the water for about about an hour, or until softened.

-Grind up 1/2 c. of the cacao nibs until it is almost powder.

-Blend all except for the remaining cacao nibs and your walnuts of the ingredients into your blender or food processor (including the water). Make sure to blend until smooth and creamy.

-Pour into your ice cream maker and follow the instructions for your make and model. Now if you do not own an ice cream maker, then place the mixture into the freezer for about 2 hours. Then stir everything and place it into your refrigerator for about 1 hour.

-About 5 minutes before the ice cream is done in your maker (about an hour before done if useing the freezer), add in your remaining ingredients.

This is one of the few recipes my non-raw family really liked, and I absolutley loved it! It Was smooth with a crunch, and tasted pretty close to the real thing! The only criticism I got was from my mom, who thought the extra cacao nibs were a bit much, but it was one of my favorite parts. If you don't like it, try them just as a garnish. They make it look pretty too!

What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

-Andrew Morrison-

Raw Berry Ice Cream w/ rasperry-lavender compote

Ice cream is one of my absolute favorite things to both make and eat. I got an ice cream maker for christmas and since then, my exploration into the world of frozen deliciousness has sent me into the abyss. A little creativity, and you could set up some of the most astounding flavors your tastebuds have ever been introduced to.

With heat among us, I figured a simple berry ice cream would make an excellent dessert. So simple, so common, yet so delicious!

Raw Berry Ice Cream

w/raspberry-lavender compote

Ingredients:

1 c Cashews

1/4 c Raw Almond Butter

(My favorite is made by Mara-Nantha)

1 c Water

1 c Mixed frozen berries

1 tbsp Himalayan Sea Salt

Method:

-Blend all of the ingredients into your blender or food processor. Make sure to blend until smooth and creamy.

-Pour into your ice cream maker and follow the instructions for your make and model. Now if you do not own an ice cream maker, then place the mixture into the freezer for about 2 hours. Then stir everything and place it into your refrigerator for about 1 hour.

Compote Ingredients:

1 c raspberries(frozen or fresh)

8 tbsp. fresh lavender

1 tsp. raw honey

Method:

-Blend ingredients in your blender or food processor until it forms a chunky puree.

-Chill for at least 10 minutes (if you can wait that long!)

This fancy-ish dessert is as simple as that! Blend it up, let it freeze, and you suddenly have something that is not only rich, creamy and sounds like it belongs on a 5 star menu, but one of the healthiest desserts you may ever encounter (especially if you are relatively new to living foods and raw eating).

My family had mixed opinions on it. My mom said the ice cream itself didn't have enough of a sweet aspect to it, but that the raspberry compote countered that and fit in nicely. Personally, I think that the ice cream was incredibly creamy, but I might have added more berries next time.

Also, quick tip. MaraNantha is the ONLY raw almond butter I use and I would strongly suggest this product for so many reasons. It is a bit expensive, but it is a great consistency which i havnt been able to find in other raw nut butters. It's also organic, and i have seen jars of it at almost every grocery store i shop at so finding it isn't any trouble. Check them out!

What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

-Andrew Morrison-

Coconut Chia Superfood Cereal

As far as recipes go, pictures make them look really hard to make. Fancy food pics kind of throw me off all the time, even if the recipe was as easy as throwing some stuff together i probably have in my cabinet or fridge, and making it look pretty. I dont even bother to read. I just say "eh...too hard" and move on. But don't be like me and miss out on what just might be an amazing recipe. You could be missing out on some really tastey food and maybe even learn something new! And if not, then eh. You tried..

Even though i've been doing this for a while, this IS the first recipe on the blog so I figured i'd make it easy, yet delicious. This is just as simple as soaking some stuff in water, mixing it together, and eating it. Not only that, but I made it a breakfast recipe to go in line with first recipe/first meal of the day.

Coconut Chia Superfood Cereal

Difficulty: 1

Serves: 1-2

Ingredients:

4 tbs. chia seeds

1/4 c. dried fruit (i used gogi berries and cranberries)

2 tbsp. coconut oil

2-4 tbsp. raw local honey

2 tbsp. raw cacao

1 tsp. bee pollen(optional)

4 fresh figs

Method:

-Put your dried fruit into a bowl with 1/2 c. water. Let them sit until soft (about an hour).

-Mix your chia seeds with 4tbsp. warm water and let it sit for about 5 minutes, or until the water is absorbed.

-Drain the water from your berries and mix them into the chia.

-Stir in your remaining ingredients.

-Enjoy!

It is a bit unusual if you are not used to eating healthier, but I really like it. Its sweet, yet not at all overly so and has a very subtle coconutey taste and smell to it. Just to be sure it was good enough for you guys, i had my mom try it. Her words were....well.... "slimy, yet satisfying". She said it does taste healthy, but its almost sweet enough to be a dessert. And I agree. So grab yourself a bowl or two, and nom this stuff up!

What do you eat for breakfast?

-Andrew Morrison-

....And so.....it begins...

Whats up guys?

Welcome to the very first post to my blog! Im betting half of you are probably not going to read many of my posts, and some may not even finish this one. Im not for you. Its cool. Lets get on with it.

A lil bit bout me...

Im a raw foodie and love to eat! But aside from just om nom nomming on every piece of organiclly grown lettuce that crosses my path, I especially love to study food and how it affects our bodies. Food in its most natural state is called "Living Food" for a reason. When food is cooked, the enzymes in it are destroyed and your body has to pretty much re-code it just to figure out where to put it! And commercially grown food is an even bigger problem because it has barely enough minerals to begin with due to the soil it was planted in(hence the need for fertilization). The more food straight from the earth, raw and unprocessed, and as organic, homegrown, or wildly cultivated as possible , the more of a possitive effect it can have on our bodies and the better we become. Not to mention, your tastebuds become more active and able to taste the vast components of flavors in food because they arn't being destroyed slowly by enzyme-deprived food. What does that mean? Food tastes better raw!

So that's pretty much why i'm raw....

I've been a vegan since i was fifteen and am a mere seventeen now. I've learned so much the past two years about how amazing natural foods are, and plan to share my experiences with you guys. ya know. If you choose to hang around for dessert. Im just starting out as a raw foodie so bare with me.

And just know... I DESPISE reading bland article after article about nutritional whatever that ends up getting me nowhere, and not learning what I had set out to in the first place. With that said, I will try to make my nutrition posts as painless and easy as possible.

Recipes are the funnest part of the whole experience so you'll see a LOT of those coming up. Yah know. Where you actually get to eat something raw besides a piece of celery. I'll also try to throw in pictures, even if they are a bit crappy. But this will NOT be like my last blog where I just threw whatever on there to try to get as many posts up as I could without even trying the recipes before posting most of them. Everything on this blog I will make, taste, and get a second opinion before posting it. So no more things not turning out right.

I used to only want to just post on blogs to maybe get some views. Now, i'm in it for the food. The pictures may not be worthy of FindingVegan.com and a few posts may be more boring than intended, but you know what? This is me. This is my blog. You don't think it's worthy of you, then find something else to read. The rest of us will just enjoy some raw cacao brownies, mint-berry ice cream, and some amazing wraps without you.

With all that said, i hope you all enjoy learning with me the amazing and beautiful possibilities of being a raw foodie. If you don't plan on reading any more, its cool. But thanks for at least getting through this first post.

And now, my question to you....

What is your favorite raw food? It could be a recipe. Links are welcome ;D

-Andrew Morrison-