Recently, my friends at Vega asked if I might be interested in sampling and reviewing their Vega One bar–a new extension of the Vega One line, which already includes Vega One shake. I said of course! The Vega vibrancy bars and the Vega Sport protein bars have gotten me through many a long day and night of post-bacc life, and I’m always excited to see what new foods the company is creating.

I was gifted with all three Vega One flavors: chocolate cherry, double chocolate, and chocolate almond. Lucky me!

Plus, some of Vega’s signature antioxidant, EFA rich oil blend (which I’m already a big fan of), and some of their maca chocolate, which I’ve been meaning to try!

Vega One is designed to be adequate either as a meal replacement or as a meal replacement component. I can’t really do snack bars as meals, but I definitely use them to tide me over between meals, and I can use them to replace breakfast or lunch if I enjoy them along with some fruit, some veggies, or whatever else is easy to transport. Like the Vega One shake, the Vega One bar boasts a wide range of nutrition, including:

• 15 grams of complete protein
• 6 grams of fiber
• 1.5 grams of Omega-3
• 25 vitamins and minerals
• a full serving of greens
• 1 billion dairy-free probiotics per bar

That’s a lot of nutritional bang for your buck–far more than a standard snack bar. The bars are also gluten free and soy free.

Checkout the chia seeds! And did I mention they’re dipped in chocolate? Because they are.

Delicious.

These bars taste like an indulgent treat, and yet they’re full of nutrition. Sweetness comes in the form of dates and sorghum syrup (14 grams of sugar per bar–not too shabby in the world of snack bars), and I love the balance of healthy fats from sacha inchi seed/oil and protein from brown rice and peas. Such healthy, plant-based food sources of nutrients! Here are the nutrition facts and ingredient panel of the chocolate cherry–pretty indicative of how all three flavors stack up:

In one recent product review, a reader pointed out cost, and I replied that I’d make a point of mentioning cost in all future reviews. I do receive complimentary food as a blogger, but I’m also a full time (and soon-to-be perpetual) student with loans, so I’m totally committed to addressing cost along with taste and nutrition. A single bar is $3.39, a box of 12 just over $40.62. Of course, these bars provide a significant amount of vitamins and minerals, so, depending on your nutrient needs, you may be able to use them in place of a multi, which makes the value much greater. Definitely chat with your health care provider about whether the bars are a suitable choice for you as a supplement.

You can purchase Vega One bars at Whole Foods and health food stores everywhere, as well as online at the Vega eStore. Check them out today! My favorite flavor is the chocolate almond, but the chocolate cherry–both sweet and tart–was a runner up.

And, if snack bars aren’t in your budget, fear not. You can check out my low maintenance, easy to customize vegan granola bars at Food52 instead!

Speaking of Vega–and by extension its creator, Brendan Brazier–I’ll be seeing B, as well as a ton of other vegan friends, this weekend at the Seed. If you happen to be there, say hi!

xo

Happy Thursday! Just a reminder that, if you’re in or around NYC, I want to see you this weekend at The Seed! It’s not on the schedule yet, but JL and I will also be on a vegan business panel late in the afternoon on Saturday. Come ask us lots and lots of questions.

It’s getting warmer (finally!) which means lots of outdoor activities. And outdoor activities mean portable snacks, because who wants to interrupt a hike or a day at the beach for snack time? As a student, I rely on snacks year round, and homemade energy bars are one of my all time favorites. The snack bars you see above are my most trusted formula: some oats, some seeds, some dried fruit, some sweetener, and some nut butter. Plain and simple. And oh-so easy to customize.

This week in The New Veganism, I show you how to make these delicious snack bars at home. Why pay $2-3 when you can create something in your own kitchen, using simple ingredients? Best of all, creating snack bars from scratch allows you to customize them exactly the way you want. Hate raisins? Use goji berries. Hate pumpkin seeds? Sunflower seeds will be great. The possibilities are endless.

Head on over to Food52 for the recipe!

xo

Two days ago, I mentioned the generous and wonderful bounty basket that I received from Relay Foods. It was bursting with fresh greens, strawberries, and mint–a wonderful offering, if you ask me. I’ve already whipped up one delicious salad with it. But with all of the fresh and beautiful strawberries I had on hand, I figured I had to come up with a smoothie, too! I whipped up a refreshing smoothie with strawberries, avocado, and spearmint, and it’s a new favorite.

This smoothie uses avocado for creaminess and texture, fruit and coconut water for sweetness, and the fresh mint for flavor. It’s not a high protein smoothie in its own right, but of course you could add a protein powder of choice, some hempseeds, or use my homemade hemp milk in place of the coconut water for a protein boost. Otherwise, it’s a light, energizing, and blissfully summery treat, perfect as a snack, a dessert, or a light breakfast option (for breakfast, I’d probably need to eat it with some sprouted toast to stay full).

But no matter how you enjoy this smoothie, I hope you’ll appreciate the silky texture and bright flavors. Be sure to garnish with a sprig of fresh spearmint to get the full effect!

If you’re in VA, MD, or DC, and you’d like to try out relay foods for yourself, you can still take advantage of a special offer of $30 off of any order over $50. Simply use this link or enter “ryxh59” as a coupon code at checkout. And don’t forget to check out my kale, strawberry, and avocado salad with basil! Also a beautiful way to put seasonal produce to good use.

xo

Before we get to the beautiful kale, avocado, and strawberry salad you see above, I want to wish all of my readers a happy Mother’s Day. Today, I’m thinking of mothers everywhere, both human and non-human. This holiday, no matter how joyous, always makes me reflect on the many mothers who are separated painfully from their children through animal agriculture. It’s a good reminder, as always, that we can choose compassion with every meal we eat.

A few months ago, the folks at Relay Foods reached out to me to see whether I might like to review one of their “bounty baskets.” I was excited; I’ve heard a lot about Relay this year. Relay Foods is an online grocery store that serves the DC, Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina area. They sell products from local stores, restaurants, and farms–from produce to speciality items–and deliver it to customers’ homes. They offer a bounty basket, which is a lot like a CSA box, full of seasonal produce from local farms, and their regular grocery section sells coffee, legumes, breads, grains, and pretty much anything else you might need. Both pickup options and deliveries are available, and you can choose exactly when you need something to be delivered, so that work schedules can be accommodated.

The Relay team offered me a half share bounty basket, which was just about perfect for a single person. I’m so glad I ordered when I did, because the overriding theme of this week’s bounty basket was green, green, and more green!

I was sent:

• Chard and Mushrooms from Local Food Hub
• Hydroponic Lettuce from Stover Shop Greenhouses
• Greens from Planet Earth Diversified
• Spearmint from Down Branch Farms
• Collards and kale from Harvest Hill Farm
• And 2 giant boxes of strawberries from Agriberry Farm

All of these farms are in the Virginia area.

Check out how stuffed my fridge was with green stuff! I have a small kitchen and a small fridge, so it’s usually busting at the seams with produce, but this was particularly funny:

I was thrilled with this bounty of fresh, beautiful produce. And the selection was perfect for me, since I could pretty much live off of greens and berries–so long as I was allowed the occasional avocado

With this in mind, I whipped up a beautiful brunch salad yesterday, featuring the exquisite berries and greens I had been given. Dressed with a touch of agave, some lime juice, and sea salt, the flavors might well have emerged from a summery cocktail. The salad is simple, so that the greens and berries can shine,  and it comes together quickly.

To round this meal out, you could serve it with some quinoa or chickpeas. It would also be great with flax crackers or any wholesome cracker of choice, or some Ezekiel toast. Or, if you like, you could simply follow it up with a giant bowl of strawberries–because it’s impossible to eat too many. I can’t believe I hated berries as a kid!

This salad would also be lovely at breakfast, especially in the coming warm months. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

To learn more about Relay, you can check out their website here. Read about their mission, and peruse their offerings. Relay is not a vegan online grocery destination, but the bounty box was certainly vegan and usually is (check each week to be sure that no animal products are included). In addition, a ton of vegan specialty items are sold through the site, so it’s an easy vegan shopping destination.

And if any of my readers here in the DC/NOVA/MD region would like to explore Relay, then I have good news! This link will allow you to take $30 off your first order over $50. So if you spend $51 on your weekly grocery haul from Relay, you’ll be getting it for $21. Pretty cool! You can also enter the link as a coupon code at checkout: relayfoods.com/friend/ryxh59.

Enjoy! And have a lovely Sunday.

xo

Happy Saturday, friends! Today, I’m delighted to share a Green Recovery from Ali Washington. Ali has commented frequently on CR, so her name might be familiar to you already. When she sent me her Green Recovery story, she told me that it had been a long time coming. I’d secretly hoped she’d write a post, too, because her comments about the recovery process are always so insightful and honest. Now that she’s shared some pieces of her history, I am so grateful to her for her courage, her confidence, and her compassion. I hope you’ll enjoy her very original insights into the relationship between body and spirit.

Hello, My name is Ali, and my body is my best friend and greatest guide here on Earth.

After reading that, I am willing to bet that 99% of you reacted in one of three ways:

1) You gagged at how sappy that sounded

2) You felt badly about yourself, because you do not feel that way about your own body, and you feel that you should

3) You decided you were not going to read this article because I am obviously some out of touch hippy who has nothing to say to a real person.

Hear me out.

This was not a natural, inborn state for me.  I have been through the ringer with my body, and that is exactly why I feel I am just the person to write an article for Green Recovery.  I have struggled with my body, and body image more than any other person that I know.  I have been overweight, underweight, sick, well, fit, fat and everything in between.

Coming to a place where I fully love and trust my body has been a process for me, just like it is a process for most people.

I now believe that our bodies are our greatest tools here on Earth.  I believe that we are spiritual beings having a human experience.  I believe that we all have a part of ourselves that has a pretty hard time with this whole “human” thing.  I am pretty bad at the whole human thing myself.  Getting to grips with eating when I am hungry, sleeping when I am tired, moving when I am antsy, were all and still are, practices for me.  Our Spirits are not great at being human.  Our bodies on the other hand, are AMAZING at being human.  Your body is what connects You, your spirit/ true self/inner being/consciousness whatever you call it, to the outer world.  Your body is your site of interface with this reality.  Your body, when used correctly, is your tour guide through this life.  It has been my experience that when you learn to fully connect with your body, it can tell  everything from what job you should take, who you should be friends with, even what color you should paint your toe nails.  Really.  It cares about the color of your toe nails.

I also believe that many of our problems are sourced from our lack of connection with our bodies.  Let me tell you a little story.

When I was 14, I went through a really stressful period in my life.  My family and I had moved from my small hometown to a big city two years before.  I had made new friends, but at this age, no one was particularly loving – to put it lightly, kids were mean.  About a year after we moved, my new best friend was diagnosed with cancer, and I took it upon myself to take care of her as much as I could.  This was no easy task because she was in so much pain that she saw me as her emotional dumping ground.  I was too young to really understand how I should have handled this, so I just let her walk all over me.   There were lots of snide comments, backhanded compliments, and betrayals of trust.  I was continually shown that I should not be expressing any vulnerability to this friend, but my gushing heart so badly wanted to believe the best about her that I put my hand on the burner over and over again.

I was also a very strict Christian with lots of rules and regulations weighing on my conscience at all times.  I was an overachiever, trying to earn amazing grades, take care of my friend, and not disappoint God.  I was also extremely sensitive, prone to anxiety as well as being overly emotional.  I felt every little change in the energetic environment and took everything personally.  My mom could not have a thought around me without me reacting to it.

My body was starting to show its sensitivity at this time as well.  I had always had a rather reactive constitution, but now I was getting to the point where I had a stomach ache 2-3 times a week.  I would be going about my business and then suddenly be attacked by stabbing pains that I could never find a clear source of.  I would be doubled over in pain. Once I was trapped in my stairwell for an hour and a half because I had tried to make it up from my bedroom to the main floor of the house, but the pain was too intense that I could not make it on my own, and my family were all outside.  I caught every bug that was going around, and even those that were not.  Then, on top of all of that, puberty hit.  I gained 20 pounds over night (or so it seemed to my 14 year old brain), got stretch marks, grew a nice cyst on my ovary and spent an entire year on the couch eating. Cookies.

I felt as though all of life was totally out of control.  My friends were mean, school was hard, I could not control my emotions, everything threw me off, and now I could not control my appetite, and I was fat.  I was at a total loss of what to do.  I wanted to feel better, but I had no idea how to go about achieving that.

Then it dawned on me.  If I could just get thin, all of this would get better.  I am not exactly sure how I made this leap, but there you have it.  I believed that if I could just get thin, I would be smarter, more likeable, more confident, less stressed, and have all my problems just go away.  I am willing to bet that I am not the only person on earth who has ever thought like this.  I in fact know that I am not the only one.

In the summer between grade eight and grade nine, I went on my first diet.  I lost weight, and I was happy about it.  I also began to become obsessed with my body and with food.  I spent the rest of my school career at a healthy weight, but became increasingly unwell in my thinking towards my body and food.  Between the ages of 14 and 17,  I tried every diet from low carb high protein, all the way to vegetarian, vegan and eventually raw food.

Things were going alright for me when I first “went raw.”  My food anxieties started to lessen, I felt far less obsessed with food.  There was a sense of knowing that what I was feeding my body was good for me, and good for the planet.  I alsp finally got rid of my chronic stomach aches and poor skin.   I felt like I had finally found what worked for me.  Then, I traveled to New Zealand for bible school, and things took a turn for the worse.  I was told by the leader of my group that my diet was from Satan – and that is a direct quote people.  I was told that it would make me mean, judgmental and un able to socialize and partake in the breaking of bread.  This man told me I needed to stop now.  He said that I would sit there and eat cake with everyone like a normal person.  I did sit and eat cake with everyone.  And that was the last time.  I vowed to myself in that moment that no one would ever tell me what to eat, ever again.

When I returned home from New Zeleand I was about 10 pounds lighter, and pretty much teetering on full blown eating disorder territory.  In the following months, my control issues around food got worse and worse.  My calorie intake became less and less.  I was no longer able to sit and enjoy a meal with my friends or family.  Everything had to be done in an exact way, at an exact time.

For the next year and a half, I spiraled out of control.  I was officially diagnosed with anorexia nervosa at the age of 18.  I was drastically underweight.  I had the beginning signs of osteopenia (thinning of the bones) heart irregularities, liver and kidney damage and a big old bald spot in the front of my head.  I was in rough shape.

The specialists wanted me to come stay at the eating disorder hospital full time.  Full time meaning moving in.  They told me if I had been 17 I would have had no say in the matter.  Because I wasn 18, I had the choice whether or not to participate in the inpatient or outpatient program.  Once they told me that they would not be able to support my plant based diet in the inpatient program, it was an easy choice to stay out.

I participated in what they called “nursing clinic” for the next 3 months.  I would visit the hospital to be weighed and checked out every two weeks.  On my 3rd or 4th visit, I was left in a room with a medical doctor who told me that I had osteoporosis, my heart was beating poorly and that I was basically a ticking time bomb for death.   This scared me.  Shortly after this encounter, when I was out for one of my many long walks, I finally accepted the reality that I was going to have to get serious about getting well, or I was going to be giving up my life.  I decided right then and there that I was not going to let myself die.  I was not going to let this thing take me.  I was going to start eating, damn it.

From there, my recovery was messy, as most all recoveries are.  There were lots of ups and downs, and I am not just speaking of my weight.  In order to fully recover, to fully heal, I needed to figure out what exactly had driven me to such lengths of self torture.  I needed to come to terms with the fact that I was in some real pain, and that I had been running from it. My eating disorder was not the disease, but a symptom of a much deeper issue.  I needed to develop new coping mechanisms for my pain.  I realized that starting to eat again and gaining weight were not guaranteed signs of recovery.  Those were just signs that I had enough willpower to fight through my thought and behavior patterns.  The old thoughts were still there, making me miserable.  I realized, that it really was not my body size that was bothering me so much, it was my thinking.  It was my beliefs about myself and about the world that were causing me such pain.

It took me a good five years of work to get to a place where I can say I feel pretty much recovered.  By recovered I do not mean that I never have a self destructive or negative thought, or even the impulse to act upon it.  By recovered I mean that I have come to a place where I fully love and respect myself, outside of what my body looks like.  I am in control of my actions now, not my pain.  I am able to live a life that I love, and make conscious choices to do or not do, to eat or not eat.  I have achieved a level of peace that I did not know existed before.  All is not perfect, but all is well, if you get my drift.  My thought patterns have shifted, and in turn my whole life has shifted.

I believe that my plant based diet helped me to forge a new, healthy relationship with food that I would not have been able to forge had I been eating animal foods.  My foods were full of life and vitality, they made me feel strong, nourished and cared for.  I felt that by standing in my right to eat plant foods, I was still at the wheel.  This was what gave me the platform to start making healthy choices for myself, not based on what others wanted me to do.  It was a way of taking my power back, which I had given up so long ago.

Now I remain fully plant based, and fully raw.  I am at a normal, healthy weight for my size, and I have the health to match.  My heart has healed, my organs restored and my hair is thick.  Recovery on a plant based diet is totally possible.  The main thing, is to know that you have choice, you get to choose to nourish and nurture yourself.  <3

Ali Washington is a Registered Nutritional Councillor, Trained Life Coach and yoga instructor. She can be reached through her personal blog, www.urbanfruitbat.com.

What part of Ali’s narrative stands out most to you? I could relate to a lot of it. I was especially interested in the way her physical discomfort in her adolescent body compounded and led to disordered eating. I can certainly relate: my GI problems seemed to intensify the fury I felt at my body, the sense that I was trapped in a flawed vessel. I’m also really captivated by the way Ali has redefined her relationship with raw and plant-based food, having explored it once with a still disordered frame of mind, and once with a healthier frame of mind.

Thank you, Ali, for sharing. I’ll see all of you back here tomorrow, with a lovely springtime salad!

xo

Last summer, I spoke at The Seed, a vegan lifestyle conference. My presentation was on the “semi-raw” life–an approach to eating raw food that focuses on taste and creativity without getting trapped in pseudoscience or dogma. This year, I’m delighted to say that I’ll be back for more. On May 18th and 19th–just about a week from now–I’ll be in NYC to participate in two days of vegan immersion once again.

My topic this year? Smoothies. And who better to chat smoothies with than my friend and superstar blogger Kathy Patalsky?

Kathy and I met at an event a few years ago, and we became fast friends. You may remember our fun collaboration in the Kathy Gena show, before she left DC (boo hoo!).

Kathy is the author of the upcoming book 365 Vegan Smoothies. I am so, so excited for this incredible resource! No one knows smoothies better than Kathy, and the book is sure to be full of incredible recipes and useful tips. Plus, it’s going to feature a preface by…me! I am so flattered that Kathy asked me to contribute some words about smoothie history and nutrition. More on the book’s publication soon–for now, you should preorder your copy!

Our presentation at The Seed will be all about smoothies, plus tips on smoothie nutrition AND two smoothie demos. It’s going to be so much fun. Here are photos from last year’s event:

This year is sure to be even more fun! Tickets are available here. If you’re in or around the New York City area, please join me and Brendan Brazier, Rich Roll, JL Fields, Jasmin Singer and Mariann Sullivan, Elizabeth Olson, Chloe Coscarelli, Fran Costigan, and a ton of other incredible vegan educators and speakers. If that’s not motivation enough, the conference will feature a ton of incredible food, including goodies from One Lucky Duck. Come, eat, enjoy, and please say hi to me if you’re there! I’d love to connect with any CR readers who can make it.

xo

They say it takes 21 days to make or break a major lifestyle habit. We should probably take this with a grain of salt, because habits run deep, and change is different from person to person. But I think there’s something to the idea that, after a few weeks of trying something new, we can at least see a vision of life lived differently. It took me a lot longer than three weeks to stop craving cigarettes, but after 3 weeks of not smoking, I could at least sense what life as a non-smoker would be like. It felt healthier and stronger, and I knew it was right for me.

When we make a major dietary change–like becoming vegan, or starting to eat a healthier, more wholesome diet–it’s totally normal to struggle with cravings or setbacks. Food habits are particularly hard to change, in part because the act of eating is so much more than a physical process–it’s emotional, cultural, and social, too. I’m not a fan of restriction, which means that, from within a plant-based model, nothing is off limits to me: sugar, starch, fat, caffeine–it’s all good, once in a while or in moderation. But sometimes health or ethical leanings dictate that we give up something completely, and when we do, there’s a period of adjustment. When I gave up dairy, it was because I loved it, but it didn’t love my sensitive GI system back. Nowadays, I steer clear of all animal foods because it’s what resonates with me philosophically. Those are major dietary shifts, and there have been things I missed along the way, but what I’ve found is that eating a lot of delicious, wholesome new foods can certainly help to make the change easier–and fun.

“Delicious” and “wholesome” are good words to describe the snacks and protein powders from 22 Days Nutrition, a snack and wellness company that’s leading the way in making plant-based transition easier. All products from 22 Days are:

• Vegan
• Gluten free
• Soy free
• non-GMO
• USDA organic
• Rich in healthy fats
• Full of raw and organic superfood ingredients
• Delicious

The company was started by Marco Borges, a vegan athlete and exercise physiologist who was hoping to offer his clients more wholesome, plant-based snacks. He found the market lacking in snack products that were made of whole foods and free of major allergens, so he set about creating his own line of healthy, on-the-go foods. 22 Days Nutrition was born.

If you look at the 22 Days Nutrition company mantra, you’ll get a sense of their philosophy: self-empowerment through whole, tasty, and simple food. My persoal favorite?

WE BELIEVE in the idea of embracing great foods, not avoiding bad ones, and that dedication can taste like decadence. 

I love this idea–it reminds me of my own “mantra” as a counselor, which is “add first, subtract later.” It’s no fun to approach change with a focus on sacrifice. And plant-based, whole foods have so much to offer us–beautiful, fresh ingredients, delicious taste, a rich array of nutrients–that it’s easy to focus on what we’re gaining when we start to center our diet around them.

22 Days Nutrition recently sent me a bunch of their products to review. It wasn’t my first time tasting their food–I’ve been a huge fan of the energy and protein bars since I first sampled them at a Whole Foods!

I really like the ingredients in the bars, and I also like that they don’t taste like vegan candy bars (not that there’s anything wrong with a candy bar…but if I want a candy bar, I’ll probably whip up some of my mini almond joys instead!). The sweetness is usually date paste or coconut nectar, and it’s perfectly balanced.

You can check out the ingredients and nutrition facts for the energy bars here. A sample ingredient list (for the Goji Mate Firecracker bar): Organic Raw Cashew Butter, Organic Coconut Nectar, Organic Dates, Organic Gluten-free Oats, Organic Dried Goji Berries, Organic Raw Sunflower Seeds, Organic Yerba Mate, Sea Salt. Not bad! And here’s a sample nutrition panel:

Energy bar flavors include:

• Pineapple chocolate chip wonder
• Cherry Chocolate Bliss
• Fruit Nut Karma
• Goji Mate Firecracker

The protein bars, which boast between 10 and 20 grams of plant protein per bar, include:

• PB & Chocolate Chip Nirvana
• Nut Butter Buddha
• Daily Mocha Mantra
• Enlightened Pumpkinseed

The PB & Chocolate Chip Nirvana has 20 grams of plant protein and 20% of your RDA of iron–sourced from brown rice protein and sesame seeds, respectively. That bar, as well as Enlightened Pumpkinseed and Daily Mocha Mantra (which is my personal favorite in terms of taste) fueled me through many, many long afternoons of MCAT study in the library. And it satisfied my chocolate craving, too!

The 22 Days protein powders are simple: brown rice protein, stevia, ground flaxseed, guar gum, sea salt (again, I wish the stevia were coconut sugar instead, but a lot of folks do avoid sugar for various reasons, so this fits everyone). 22 grams of protein per serving, in two tasty flavors: chocolate and vanilla.

My favorite 22 Days smoothie at the moment is a blend of mixed berries, the chocolate protein powder, my homemade hemp milk, and some kale or spinach if I’m in the mood for greens. It’s a super easy and delicious drink, and I can’t get enough of it!

It’s been such fun testing out the 22 Days products–and showing off the super cute t-shirts they sent me!

Because the values of 22 Days align so strongly with what CR is about, too, 22 Days is now a Choosing Raw monthly sponsor! Click through the banner to the right to check out all of their delicious products. You can now order 22 Days Nutrition products online or by phone, or you can find them at Whole Foods or the Vitamin Shoppe (check out the company store locator here).

I hope you enjoy 22 Days Nutrition as much as I have. A lot of my readers have already established the happy, healthy habits they’re hoping for–but it never hurts to have new inspiration in the form of delicious, nutritious snacks!

xo

One of the nicest things about having the MCAT behind me is being able to spend a little more time in the kitchen. In the last few weeks I’ve been able to cook a little more, wean myself off the excess coffee, and get back in touch with my favorite wholesome habits. One of these is juicing, which was once upon a time a daily ritual for me, but has been relegated by my post-bacc to “special occasion” status. A five pound bag of carrots left me with a ton of carrot juice–and consequently, a ton of carrot juice pulp. No complaints from me; I quickly set about turning it into these delicious raw carrot, raisin, and walnut cookies.

These cookies are easy to make and very healthy. They’re not super sweet–if you want them sweeter, you can add some agave or extra dates–but they still register as something special and uplifting. I like them because they can double as breakfast cookie as well as dessert cookie: that’s the nice thing about subtle sweetening!

If you don’t have carrot pulp, you can use grated carrots. Note, though, that it’s totally essential to squeeze your carrots out with some paper towels so that you remove excess water. Otherwise, you’re going to end up with a watery cookie mixture.

This recipe was actually inspired by my friend Jasmin, who made me a batch of cookies after I took the MCAT. Just because she’s ridiculously sweet. They were carrot/date/coconutty mix, and I loved them. I told myself that as soon as I had a chance to dust off my juicer, I’d take a stab at something similar.

To make things easy for everyone, I dehydrated half of the cookies, and baked the other half. Both turned out really nicely, so no need to shy away from making these if you don’t have a dehydrator. I even kind of liked the way they tasted with some toasting.

Also in the spirit of something-for-everyone, you have two options for a grain/psuedograin in the cookies: dehydrated buckwheat, or rolled oats. I used oats, and they worked really well, but they’re not technically raw, so my strict raw foodie friends will want to go with the buckwheat (which should work fine). Either way, these cookies are a great way to get healthy fats, simple sugars, and lots of Vitamin A. Enjoy!

Don’t forget to check out my profile of Coracao chocolate yesterday. I love this brand, and if you sign up for their newsletter and enter “Choosing Raw” when asked how you heard about them, you’ll be automatically entered to win an impressive chocolate gift basked–plus $25.00 worth of chocolate each month. Sounds sweet to me!

xo

A while ago, the folks at Coracao Confections, a maker of raw, organic, gluten free chocolates, contacted me and asked me if I might be interested in reviewing a box of their yummy creations. Would I ever, I responded, and was blown away by the beautiful and generous gift box that arrived. Then my computer got stolen, and I lost the photos I was going to enthusiastically share with all of you. But no matter–I still want to tell you about this special brand of raw chocolate, and encourage you to check it out for yourself.

Coracao Confections was founded in the Bay Area of California in 2008 by pastry chefs and raw food enthusiasts Matthew Rogers and Daniel Korson, who set out to create incredibly healthy and delicious chocolate. Their mission is to replace cravings for junk-food chocolate with nutrient rich, decadent, raw cacao treats.

All of Coracao Confections’ chocolates are made with raw cacao and contain no dairy, gluten, soy, or corn. Only low-glycemic sweeteners such as coconut sugar are used to sweeten the chocolate, which means that they’re certainly sweet enough to be a treat, but not so sweet that you’ll be nursing a sugar headache after you enjoy them!

Daniel and Matthew sent me the 22 piece deluxe box, which includes:

• Caramel CupsRaw Fudge Truffles
• Mayan Spice Truffle
• Raspberry Fudge Truffle
• Almond Coconut Dreams
• Ginger Saffron Truffle
• Hazelnut Mousse Truffles
• Espresso Ganache Truffles
• Peppermint Patty
• Rawmond Butter Cups
• Live Almond Heart
• One 81% Dark Chocolate Baby Bar.

How lucky am I? They also sent me two of their ridiculously delicious blondie bars, made with Raw Cacao Paste, Raw Cacao Butter, Coconut Flakes, Coconut Butter, Lucuma, Agave, Coconut Sugar, Vanilla Bean, & Himalayan Crystal Salt. It didn’t take me long to devour them.

In truth, these are some of the best raw, vegan chocolates I’ve ever had, and I’ve certainly had my fair share. I was so thrilled with how good the chocolates are that I asked Daniel if he had any interest in being a monthly CR sponsor (you can see the Coracao ad to the right, on my sidebar) and he said yes! From now on, I’ll be partnering with more raw/vegan brands I respect, both to keep this blog going and also to champion their products to all of you. I’m happy to be sharing Coracao, both because the treats are exceptional, and also because I love Daniel and Matthew’s enthusiasm and passion for what they’re doing.

I really recommend checking out the Coracao Confections website to peruse their offerings for yourself! You can find retailers, an online catalog, and you can order their products online. Note that a very small number of the confections may contain honey. The vast majority are marked clearly as vegan (and ingredients listed), so you can pick and choose a what works for you.

For those of you who’d love to get your mom something raw and vegan friendly for Mother’s Day, you might consider signing up for the Coracao chocolate of the month club! Each month, a chocolate box is automatically delivered to your doorstep. When you sign up for it, you get up to 37% off and free shipping, as well as a thirty day 100% money back guarantee. It’s the best deal on the site, by far, and makes a great gift for a parent or special mother figure in your life–or for you!

Daniel and Matthew also wanted a chance to keep CR readers posted on their new products and goings on, and to give one of you a special reward for staying in touch. If you sign up for the Coracao Confections newsletter here, you’ll be entered to win a complimentary deluxe box of raw, vegan chocolate goodies. All you have to do once you click through is to write “Gena” on the second signup page where it asks how you heard about the company. They’ll choose a winner on May 14th.

In the meantime, check out the website (or just follow the ad to your right), and connect with the company by Facebook or Twitter to find out what’s new. I hope you enjoy these marvelous treats!

Happy Saturday…

xo

Image courtesy of James Ransom for Food52

Well. I’m not really sure how to say “thank you” for all the love on yesterday’s post, so I guess I’ll just…say thank you. Thank you so, so much. A bunch of you said that you felt as though you knew me, even though we haven’t met. I can assure you that I feel exactly the same way, and consider myself so lucky to be a part of the community of readers and commenters here at CR. I’m really excited to tell you all about the next year of my life. Right now, it feels bizarre to be picking and choosing how I’d like to use my time, because it’s been so long since I could do that. More to come.

For now, let’s talk about the beautiful dish you see above. This dish is full of contrasts: hearty, earthy buckwheat soba is paired with light spring vegetables. Bright green pops out against golden brown. Soft noodles meet crispy asparagus and chewy fava beans. Warm ingredients are dressed with a cool ingredient, then chilled to perfection. This is a soba noodle salad with spring vegetables, and it’s totally delicious.

In today’s Food52 column, I tell you all about working with fava beans, one of springtime’s most short lived and unique produce offerings. Fava beans add protein and texture to this cold, soba noodle salad.

I’m sure you’ve had soba noodle salad before–it’s sort of a vegan mainstay–but this was my first time enjoying it with unconventional vegetables. Sure, there’s some broccoli and carrots, but asparagus? Favas? Unexpected, yet it all works beautifully.

Head on over to The New Veganism at Food52 for the recipe
. And enjoy it!

xo