Simple Raw Delicacies

1- Carrot Truffles (as shown above); I like to juice carrots in the morning and needed something to do with the pulp...so I found this recipe in Gabriel Cousens "Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine."

-2 cups carrot pulp

-1 cup carob

-1/2 cup raisins, soaked

-1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

-combine ingredients. Roll into balls and chill. (I rolled them in unsweetened coconut for extra flavor)

2-Chocolate Mousse- (My inspiring friend Kathleen told me about this one)

-2 avocados

-3 medjool dates

-1 tsp. vanilla

-1 Tbsp. coconut oil

-2 Tbsp. cocoa powder

-put ingredients in blender, blend and put in fridge for a little bit.

3-Pecan Pie- ( This one is so cute!...I think I heard about it from Natalia Rose's "The Raw Detox Diet.")

-1 medjool date

-1 pecan

-Open a date and pit it. Place pecan inside and enjoy!...luv it! :)

Featured!...and my Etsy "love you" picks

My "i heart you crayons" have been featured on these fabulous blogs/websites. Go check them out!

I Married Mr.Rogers

kid giddy

360 handmade

...and here are my favorite handmade gift ideas for Valentine's Day...enjoy!

Starting at the top left...

*custom tree and tweet pair by Star House

*heart coffee scoop by Bee Hive Kitchenware

*classy mug by Darrielles Clay Arts

*sweetheart colour-it-yourself poster by Summersville

*Best-Friends art print by Pocket Carnival found on Hearts for Haiti

*love shower Valentine's card by Orchard and Brown

This is soooo ridiculous!...haha, just had to share. I think I had the giggles when watching this. :)

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

No Sweeteners...No Butter...No Eggs...No Wheat! Ahhh! What are in these cookies?!?! I was amazed with how these turned out! They are actually really yummy for not having any ingredients a normal cookie would have. I found the recipe from Peggy's Kitchen where I find tons of unique and hearty recipes. Here it is...

2 cups rolled oats

2/3 cup raw almonds

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 1/2 cups mashed banana (about 3 bananas)

1/4 cup oil

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a cookie sheet. Grind oats and almonds to a coarse powder in food processor or blender. Pour them into a large mixing bowl. Stir in baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In separate bowl or in food processor, beat together bananas, oil, and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Add banana mixture and raisins to oat mixture. Mix well. Drop cookie dough in Tbsp. on prepared baking sheet. Bake 13-16 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown. Makes 3 dozen.

*for a variation you could add carob or chocolate chips.

My Everything Smoothie

My smoothies are usually much simpler, but I had fun this morning! It was so colorful so I had to take a picture of it...Frozen mixed tropical blend(banana, mango, pineapple), frozen berry blend(raspberry, blueberry, blackberry, strawberry), dulse flakes, goji berries, baby spinach, and water. Then a little more spinach and water was added after mixing a little. There might have been a clementine in there somewhere too, I can't remember. :)

before the blend...

After!

Hearts for Haiti

As I go about my normal day cleaning up, preparing meals, running errands, playing with Will, doing laundry, etc. I think about what the day is like for those affected by the tradgedy in Haiti. My heart is heavy. While not everyone can go and help there are other ways. I found my way into donating to the Hearts for Haiti on Etsy. This is an Etsy collective of donated items from hundreds of Etsy shops to raise money to rebuild Haiti. 100% of the proceeds from this shop go directly to Doctors Without Borders. So everyone should go check it out; every bit counts!

Albertine

Albertine by Brooke Fraser

I am sitting still
I think of Angelique
her mothers voice over me
And the bullets in the wall where it fell silent
And on a thousandth hill, I think of Albertine
there in her eyes what I don't see with my own
rwanda

now that I have seen, I am responsible
Faith without deeds is dead
now that I have held you in my own arms, I cannot let go till you are

I am on a plane across a distant sea
But I carry you in me
and the dust on, the dust on, the dust on my feet
Rwanda

I will tell the world, I will tell them where I've been
I will keep my word
I will tell them Albertine

I am on a stage, a thousand eyes on me
I will tell them, Albertine
I will tell them, Albertine

In 1994 there was a mass killing in Rwanda. Almost a million people were killed in the hands of their neighbors and friends with in only a short 100 days. There have since been decades of tension and fighting between the two ethnic groups- the Hutus and the Tutsis. Brooke Fraser, the artist and singer of this song, went to visit Rwanda in 2005. She helped out in the local churches, schools, memorials, etc. With in her stay she met people from child-headed households, communities living with AIDS, and many people facing life with no medical care or basics like clean water. She met many people who were joyous and many people who were in a lot of pain. Brooke's friend wanted her to meet a young orphan whose personal history he was familiar with. Through out the whole trip he introduced Brooke as a a musician from the other side of the world who was going to go back and tell everyone about the people of Rwanda and help. Just before introducing Brooke to the orphan girl he told her..."You must go back to your people and you must write a song, and I will tell you what the name of the song is going to be." He motioned Brooke toward the girl. "This is Albertine."

"Albertine is alive today because of the selfless, sacrificial love of another. Funny thing is, so am I. And now I want to know what it's like to love other people like that, so have decided to spend my whole life on the experiment. Feel free to join me. We might just change the world." -Brooke Fraser

This song has been on my mind a lot lately. I am blown away by it's beauty! I hope you are too. You can listen to it by clicking on #2 of my playlist in my sidebar.

Also check out the interview Part 1 and 2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84RVRy0jFT4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Efi8mxIrcec&feature=related

Enjoy.