Yogurt Parfait

Yogurt Parfait
The Anti-KFC

This is Vegan, Soy free, Gluten Free, Non GMO/mostly Organic and Low Glycemic 

You will need nine 8 oz jars for this recipe. 
Ingredients for base:
GF rolled oats: 1 tbl sp 
Ground flax meal: 1 tbl sp 
GF Granola (optional: 1 tbl sp)
Hemp seeds: 1 tbl sp, ¼ tsp
Cinnamon: 2-3 dashes

Ingredients for filling:
Unsweetened almond yogurt (I buy the 24 oz): 2-3 tbl sp
Monk fruit sweetener (optional: to taste)
Coconut sugar (optional: to taste)
Strawberries (1 package): chopped in quarters
Blueberries (1 package)
Or any seasonal fruit of your choice

I loved the parfait dessert from KFC as a kid so this is my adult, healthier version. It’s great for breakfast or a snack. With my last doctor‘s visit, I needed to be mindful of a few things: lowering my cholesterol, decreasing my sugar intake, and stabilizing my flora/digestive system.
To begin your base, take one scoop of gf oats and place on the bottom of each jar. Begin to layer with granola, hemp seeds, flax meal and cinnamon. Next is the yogurt, about 2-3 heaping table spoons (tbl sp). Then time for the 2-3 tbl sp of fruit, layered more with 1-2 tbl sp of yogurt. Top it off with more flax, hemp seeds, cinnamon and lastly a few blueberries. 
Enjoy and Bon Appetit!

The Better Helper

When I was a kid, we didn’t have a whole lot of $. We made do on government food and a military budget shopping excursion at the Commissary.  I grew up on junk food (kool-aid, chicken nuggets, Hamburger Helper and PB&J's) and I’m grateful I’m eating a lot healthier as an adult today. :)
I was craving comfort food on this cold California night and I loved this one particular Hamburger Helper dish that was pasta, cheese, marinara sauce & (gasp!) ground beef (before my non meat eating days). I decided to make a vegan, gluten free version.  Here's the recipe:

1-2 tbl spoons of Earth Balance vegan butter (I use the soy free one)
1 Better Than Meat pattie
1 box of Daiya cheddar mac n cheese
1-2 cups of marinara sauce
1/4 cup of nooch = nutritional yeast
Himalayan salt to taste
good music to dance to while cooking!

In medium pot, fill 3/4 with water and heat on high until boiling.  Place pasta in water and stir occasionally until al denta (about 5-min).  Rinse with cold water and set aside.  In medium size sauce pan, saute butter on medium heat. Place BTM pattie in the middle and after a minute or two, separate pattie with fork and spread out.  Cook for about 5 min. On low heat, add pasta, cheeze and marinara sauce.  Mix well.  Don't forget to do some dance moves!  Lastly, add nooch and H salt.

Et voila! 

Suffice it to say...it was Delish!! Memories of my childhood rushed forth and my heart (and belly) were so warm and fuzzy. Bon Appetit!

The Goddess Cafe

One Day...

For the longest time, I've had this desire to have a cafe of my own..and not just any cafe, a Goddess Cafe featuring non gmo, organic, vegan, gluten & soy free yummylicious food and desserts. It would be THE place where people congregated, gathered and connected. The Center where enlightened souls divulged in orgasmic morsels and discussed their current spiritual practice(s) or latest novel being voraciously devoured. 

It would be a space where spiritual nourishment transcended from a 'practice' to a work of art such as tonight's dessert served in a wine glass: drizzled chocolate love sauce on the inside, a bottom layer of the special yoni berry sorbet, layered with ice cream and topped off with chopped up banana and yes! more chocolate sauce. Special chants, prayers and crystals were used. The end result? Total surrender for your taste buds and comfort food that essentially was intended to activate a mind, body, heart connection. 

Who says you can't have an 'experience' while satiating your appetite?

And if there are skeptics and naysayers present, I'd like to invite you to try some Yonilicious Chocolate Love sauce if you're up to it...for that, my sweeties, is one of the reasons why the Goddess Cafe came into fruition. :0)

The Premise:

Until a proper location is secured, the Goddess Cafe is mobile and travels within Ventura, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles counties.  However, traveling not only domestically but internationally is a possibility for the future. Most items are purchased from our local farmers markets and made with more love than the world has people. Seriously. 

Food is prepared and served at the designated Goddess House. Typically, The Goddess Chef chooses a theme and creates a menu. We gather together, eat, laugh 'til our bellys hurt and our tummys are filled to capacity. 

Who We Are:

We are Conscious Women co-creating and sharing our Gifts. We are a network of Spiritual BEings whom love to cook, connect, share, laugh, support and live healthy lifestyles.  We are passionate about so many different causes ranging from health, environment, politics, animal rights/activism, feminism, spirituality, and alternative healing to name a few.

Our Intention:

We feel that the choices we make and the steps we take directly reflect who we are and what we stand for. To BE healthy is to Live healthy and in order to do that, being mindful of what we put into our bodies is one of our top priorities. And we'd like to share our Love of Good Food and our hearts with You! We offer collaborative dinners, potlucks, and presentations.  Not to mention edible, educational and entertaining workshops showing you how easy it can be to eat with heartfelt and healthy intentions.

And, guess what? It's only the BEginning! :0)

For a tasty teaser, check out tonight's menu below!

Menu for 02.19.13

Theme: Comfort for the mind, body & heart

For Karin.

Starter: Kale salad topped with hemp seeds, almonds, mangoes. Simple dressing of hemp oil, apple cider vinegar, mango bits and salt 

Entree: Mashed potatoes mixed with rice milk, vegan butter, nutritional yeast w/ gypsy dance gravy (veg broth, gluten free flour, onions & garlic, herbs, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper). Sautéed Mushrooms on the side for Holly & moi because we are the biggest mushroom lovers in the world.

Side dish:  Corn sautéed w/ spinach, basil, garlic w/ the usual Athena staples (nutritional yeast, Himalayan or sea salt, pepper, love, giggles & shakes)

Dessert:

Special yoni berry sorbet: strawberries, blackberries, pineapples, maple syrup, coconut sugar, prayers/chants topped with special Chocolate Love sauce, chopped bananas with layers of ice cream served in a wine glass.

I made two kinds of chocolate sauce because Holly has an allergy to nuts and has some difficulty with coconut oil.

Holly's chocolate sauce consisted of: hemp oil, cocoa powder, toffee flavored liquid stevia, maple syrup, cinnamon, date syrup and crystal water.

The second consisted of the same ingredients except instead of hemp oil, coconut oil was substituted.

The dessert looked something like this:

A dessert fit for a Goddess...and that Goddess is You!

xoxo

What to do when you're 'stressed'...

Some people have a difficult time indulging. Judgement, guilt and other 'stuff' come up when some think of having dessert(s). AND...what some don't know is that 'desserts' is 'stressed' spelled backwards...so when one is 'STRESSED', this is one of the things you could do...

Are you counting calories and granules of sugar? Are you depriving YourSelf of the well deserved Dessert you've earned after a hard day's work? Are you beating yourself up and judging YourSelf after eating that bar of chocolate?

Why in the name of the Goddess/God are you doing that?

Soooo....what if you can indulge guilt-free calorie-wise? What if you can savor the yummyness of a dessert with a low glycemic level of sugar AND it's a blissful orgasm in your mouth?  I mean...think about it. When was the last time you allowed yourself the deliciousness of something that was simple to make, was actually good for you AND tasted like you'd died and gone to heaven? If you took longer than a second to answer then... it is time for you to indulge...

First, let's just be really clear here. This is just for you.

Ready?
Do you swear?
Do you pinky swear?

Okay, then.
Read on...

Recipe for:
Vegan Chocolate Avocado Pudding
Single serving

Equipment:
Blender

Supplies:
wine glass (because dessert in a wine glass always makes it better!)
spoon (teaspoon or table spoon, your call)
lighted candle for ambiance

Ingredients:
-half of an avocado
(if you have more then this is the only time you're allowed to share but first you'll have to promise to have yours first... ;)
-1/4 to 1/2 cup of non-dairy milk (I used rice milk but hemp milk, almond milk and coconut milk will also work)
-3 tbl spoons of coconut sugar
-3 tbl spoons of cocoa powder
-3-4 drops of toffee flavored liquid stevia (this is optional. I added this later because I realized that it needed something so I put this in and liked the taste)
-a few drizzles of chocolate syrup (mix together 1/2 cup of date syrup (soaked pitted dates and water blended), melted coconut oil about 1/2 cup and 1-2 teaspoons of cocoa powder)
-a few dashes of cinnamon (optional)

Directions: place all ingredients in blender (except the chocolate syrup). Blend on high until all ingredients are blended thoroughly. If the pudding is too thick, add a teaspoon of non-dairy milk until desired consistency.  If the pudding has too much liquid, add in some more avocado by the tablespoon.  When you've achieved the desired perfection of your creation, drizzle chocolate syrup on the inside of the wine glass.  Pour the pudding into the wine glass.  If so desired, add a little bit more chocolate syrup on the top. Swirl, make a heart...create to your heart's content.

Now!

Grab your spoon and commence in your indulgence.

Congratulations! You have successfully indulged in a dessert that contains not only good fats (avocado), sugar that is low glycemic and chock full of minerals and vitamins (coconut sugar), an ingredient that contains dopamine which provides us with a sense of well-being as well as helping to release endorphins (cocoa powder)...you most importantly indulged!!

Close your eyes and let the makings of your beloved dessert carry you to the blissful state of no longer being 'stressed' but becoming just 'desserts'...

Welcome to the World of the Living and Loving...You...

Just peachy thanks..

I couldn't decide which picture was better so I posted both. This WAS my breakfast. Gluten free, vegan pancakes with hemp milk and vanilla topped with caramelized peaches, chocolate sauce and maple syrup. O. M. G. Yeah, I'm still squealing with divine bliss...

A GF, SF, Vegan version of Fettucini Alfredo VVV Style!

The Gluten Free, Soy Free, Vegan version of a favorite: 

Fettuccine Alfredo 

Ingredients:

Gluten free pasta (available at Trader Joe's)

3-4 stems of broccoli

1/4 cup of chopped onions

8 small mushrooms (sliced)

1 tbl sp chopped garlic

1 tbl sp Earth Balance soy free margarine

1 cup Daiya mozzarella cheeze

3 tbl sp nutritional yeast

1 1/2 cup (or more) original flavored hemp milk

1 tbl sp dried basil

1 tbl sp dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat iron skillet or pan on high. Place butter until fully melted. Then add the garlic and onions. Allow to cook  for a few minutes. Next are the mushrooms. In a separate smaller pot, heat on a high with a little bit of water. Add broccoli and cover (about 10 minutes). While items are cooking and sizzling, get your big pot out and fill it with water (about 3/4 full). Heat on high until it boils. Add the GF pasta. Take your pasta utensil and stir up the pasta periodically or it will all stick together like one huge ball! Lower the heat to medium and let it cook for about 12 min. Don't forget to stir intermittently. By now, the mushrooms should be ready. Add a cup of the hemp milk and stir. Now, add in 1/2 cup of the cheeze until fully melted. Add in the rest of the milk and cheeze. Stir well. Make figure 8's if you want or sing. Add in nutritional yeast, basil, oregano, salt, pepper. Taste. Add more if need be. Broccoli should be done. Set aside. Check the pasta. Done? No, maybe 2 more minutes. Done now? Okay! Treat the GF pasta like regular pasta. Place in a strainer and run cold water on it. Let it drain. Place broccoli in sauce and mix. Voila! See? That was easy! :0) Now call all your friends over for dinner!

Bon appetit!

More Gluten Free, Soy Free, Vegan donuts!

 

I did an experiment to see how they would taste after refrigeration and freezing. I put one in the freezer and the rest in the refrigerator. The left one (with sprinkles) was put in the freezer and the the right one (with coconut) was in the refrigerator with the rest. Both have the coconut milk yogurt icing as a base and both were equally scrumptious after being re-heated in the toaster oven (baked for about 7 minutes at 300 degrees). So Bon Appetit! 

Gluten Free, Soy Free, Vegan Donut

Gluten Free, Soy Free, Vegan Donut

Recipe:
2 cups G/F Flour
1/4 cup almond meal/flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup dry sweetener
2 tbl sp margarine (Earth Balance has a soy free brand)
2 egg substitutes
3/4 cup rice/almond/hemp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Icing:
1/3 cup vegan yogurt (So Delicious has a yogurt made from coconut milk)
1/2 cup dry sweetener
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix dry ingredients except for sugar. Mix sugar and margarine. Add egg substitutes, gently mix. Then, add all wet ingredients and then add to the dry. Spoon batter into each donut section in pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes. For the icing, add all ingredients and whisk. Enjoy! <3