Lovely Lunch + Great Giveaway!

Hello all!


Hope you are having a fun humpday Wednesday! I haven't had much time to make extra goodies this week as we have been hitting the gym pretty late and afterwards I'm pretty beat. Today I decided to make a greater energy packed lunch as I found I was was getting hungry only an hour or so after I ate my simple salad. So to add some PUNCH to my salad I placed an avocado in there. All those healthy omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids really made a difference to my satiety. I also made some lovely pate that was so good with my Ryvita crackers.

Here's the breakdown..

Greeny Salad

1 bunch of organic spinach, washed thoroughly, cut into bite sized pieces including stem

handful of parsley

1 avocado, cut into chunks

2 tablespoons Nomi Shannon's Miso Mayo ( I made it into a dressing by just adding more water)

Yep, that's it! You can add more veggies if you want. I just took what I had left in my fridge.

Of course you could add whatever dressing you want, I just wanted to give the miso dressing another shout out as it is so fabulous!

I was in heaven eating this, I really didn't want it to end!

Lovely Pate - Love is in the air ...and in the pate!

1 Cup sunflower seeds, soaked overnight

1/2 Cup sundried tomatoes, soaked for 1/2 hour, keep the soaking water

1 small onion, chopped

1 large garlic clove

juice from half a small lemon

pinch sea salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/8 teaspoon cumin

Place the sunflower seeds in your food processor and grind until you get the texture that you like. Add the sundried tomatoes and blend until they are all encorporated. I add some of the sundried tomato soaking water as I prefer the pate pretty smooth (this also helps my small processor blend easier). Add the onion and garlic and blend until you cannot see any big pieces of onion. Add the lemon juice and remaining ingredients. Adjust the spices as needed.

You can eat this with crackers, lettuce leafs, veggies. It is so yummy and easy!

I have been eyeing all the amazing chocolate recipes that are around the blogosphere, here, here, and here. I'm so looking forward to trying some of these out, my mouth is watering just thinking about it. Making my own raw chocolate, how cool is that? So, to get me geared up on my chocolate journey I decided to make the Chocolate-dipped Date Truffles featured on Carmella's blog The Sunny Raw Kitchen. They are actually just about ready as I type this. Hold on, I've got to try one right now.........WOW!! definite winner. They have this chewy center with an almond butter-stuffed date and a chocolaty coating. I'm telling you its pure heaven. What a great treat. This was made with all raw ingredients except the almond butter (roasted) and cocoa powder.

Chocolate-Dipped Date Truffles

Chocolate Dip:

1/4 Cup raw honey (original recipe called for agave)

1/4 Cup coconut oil (can also use coconut butter)

3 Tablespoons Cocoa (original recipe used raw Cocao or carob)

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

pinch sea salt

Truffle:

8 dates ( I used Deglet Noor dates, would be best to use medjool)

cold almond butter

I took off the stems (hard part at one end of the date) and cut a small slit to take out the seed. I wasn't too successful at keeping the slit from spreading. Yet, once I got the almond butter in there it acted as a glue and so you couldn't tell if they were a bit more split. Once you have done this with all the dates set them on a plate that has some wax paper on it. Move on to the chocolate dip. Heat the coconut oil so that it is completely melted. I placed a bowl over some hot water and that seemed to do the trick. Add the cocoa powder then the honey, vanilla, and sea salt. Mix until smooth. Now dip the dates in the chocolate and roll them around to get all sides. Place back on the wax paper. Repeat with remaining dates. Place in the freezer 5-10 minutes.

Now, I had some leftover chocolate dip and decided to try something out. I cut a banana into small chunks and rolled it in the chocolate. Placed them in the freezer with the dates. Do you see where I'm going with this? Yep, I want to see what kind of softserve this will make. I'm sure its going to be awesome!

Last , but definitely not least, Gena from Choosing Raw is having a great giveaway! She is giving away 2 Tribest blenders. These are really cool as you can use glass jars to blend in. I looked into these a couple of months back, and there are lot great reviews out there. Looking at the amount of comments she has received, 475 to be exact, and soon to be 476, this is a hot item! So, head on over to her site and shoot her a comment. Good luck!

Ps sorry for the crappy pictures. I took this with my blackberry as I'm still waiting for my laptop parts to arrive....

Have a great rest of the week and enjoy a piece of chocolate today!