Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Raw Gifting

Hello! Glad you all enjoyed the race recap and the weird eats in a cup. I did bring utensils with us but next time I plan on bring a bigger cooler, bowls, and a lot more plastic baggies. :)

Anyway, its been quite the week of playing catch up. I think I say that every week but this week has flown by, which is  good thing! Looking forward to catching up with the family this holiday weekend. Speaking of family, my good friend and distinguished chef Molly Peck (Vanilla Orchid Catering) is like a sister to me. I love her to death! She amazes every day with her creations and has a heart of gold.

Sorry Molly about the old picture. We must update that soon!

You see, Molly and I have a lot in common. We both have passion for cooking good healthy food (she's a PRO) but unfortunately we've both also had a lot of food allergies and have had to find alternative ways to nourish our bodies. So when Molly asked me to make her a RAW COCOA BROWNIE for her big 30 birthday, I couldn't turn her down. Its gluten free and dairy free. Perfect treat for her (us) without causing any distress on the good 'ol gut. Cooking for a chef of her status is SCARY but she inspires me each day so I decided to give it my all!

RAW COCOA BROWNIES:
  • 15 sulfur free misson figs (or around 115grams)
  • 3/4 cup raw cashews
  • 2 tbsp sesame seeds (hulled)
  • 1 tbsp raw honey
  • 1/2 small banana
  • 3 tbsp Tropical Traditions Virgin Coconut Oil
  • 1/3 cup 100% Cocoa powder (unsweetened)
  • 1 tsp almond extract
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • Stevia in the raw (to sprinkle on top)
Directions:
Place figs, cashews, sesame seeds and banana into your food processor. Blend on low then slowly add in oil, cocoa, extracts, and honey. Continue to blend until it thickens into a heavy paste.
Transfer into a 8 x 8 casserole dish (coated with a little organic coconut oil spray) and flatten out to the edges. Then sprinkle a little more cocoa in top along with some stevia powder or sun crystals. Cover and refrigerate for 30-45 minutes.





NUTRITION STATS- makes 12-14 brownies

Amount Per Serving (for a 14 servings batch)
Calories 97.8
Total Fat 6.5 g
Saturated Fat 3.1 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.3 g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.5 g
Total Carbohydrate 10.5 g
Dietary Fiber 1.7 g
Sugars 6.1 g
Protein 1.7 g


Perfectly yummy and delicious. Sure hope Molly likes them. We'll find out tomorrow!

Just wanted to say thank you to Tropical Traditions for sending me their 100% Virgin Coconut Oil. Its been great to use in RAW/VEGAN recipes as well as in other gluten free recipes. Just like butter, it melts great and that good fat never tasted so good. I'm a BIG advocate of coconut's saturated fat. Its helped me so much in healing my past digestive problems. Enough said!


So....wanna try this golden oil? Yep, you go it.....its a giveway. I usually don't do giveaways but I gotta share the love with this product. Just do the following and leave me a comment telling me. Thanks!

1. Subscribe to Tropical Traditions newsletter here
2. Follow them on TWITTER
3. Tweet about this "virgin" giveaway!
4. Tell me one of your favorite birthday gifts that you have received.

I'll announce the winner Sunday July 4th. Perfect 4th of July celebration.

Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

Note for Canadian bloggers: Tropical Traditions is not responsible for customs or duties that Canada may charge if you decide to participate in this Tropical Traditions sponsored blog giveaway
 
Alright, that's it for me. I saved some raw brownies for us and I must get to them before the hubs eats them all.

Cheers,
LC

30 comments:

Heather (Where's the Beach) said...

cool recipe. I am so thankful I don't have any food allergies. We recently found out that my husband is allergic to dairy. Thankfully that's easier to deal with than gluten, soy, or so many of the others.

Bre said...

mmmmm chocolate and brownies...those look yummy! Not that I'm surprised they look delish since you are a master of the kitchen and making crazy good recipes! ;)

Averie @ Averie Cooks said...

love this recipe!!!!!!!!!!!


i make raw vegan brownies and have a recipe on my site, this one looks great!

enter me, please, i am subbed to their newsletter

Averie @ Averie Cooks said...

fave bday gift...staying out all night with my hubs on my 25th and being on the sand and the ocean. fun memory!

Averie @ Averie Cooks said...

tweeted

Averie @ Averie Cooks said...

twitter follower

Maggs said...

OMG. Gonna make that recipe for a BBQ this weekend. Thanks!

Eden said...

Awesome recipe! i cant wait to try it! I've been craving brownies and have been trying to stay away from wheat cause of tummy issues. I will follow you on twitter and tweet.
favorite Bday gift? well, my 21st Bday was my last day after 4 months of being in a residential eating disorder treatment center, so being able to leave on my birthday and recovery was the best gift.
Once again, I'm running over to the store to make this recipe, its that time of the month and I need my brownie fix!

Erin Helgerson said...

Oooh! I didn't even know you were having a giveaway! I was stopping by to chat about the lack of Kombucha and how I'm going through withdrawals and I know you must be too...what's up with that?!?!?
BRING BACK MY KOMBUCHA!

Hope you're having a great week!!!

Erin

Unknown said...

Eden, thats a pretty cool bday gift. The gift of healing! :)

Lindsay @ http://pancakesnpajamas.blogspot.com/ said...

How cool that you are able to whip up such fantatic treats to accomodate allergies. The recipe looks wonderful. I'm a fig fan for sure. My favorite birthday gift would have to be my first sport watch. It got me to start running.

Mo said...

I think my favorite birthday gift was when a boyfriend surprised me with a party - twice, for the same birthday.

Mo said...

Oh, and I also am following on twitter. I'd love to try that coconut oil.

Maggie said...

Can't wait to make those brownies. YUM.

april said...

You don't have to enter me in the contest since I already have some, but I just have to tell you again how pretty you are!

Lisa (bakebikeblog) said...

oH MY - HOW DELIGHTFUL is this recipe! Thankyou so much for sharing!!!!!

Anonymous said...

oh these brownies look amazing!

Kelsey Ann said...

oh wow girl these are a must make!! how decadent yet healthy at the same time!!

so happy u found gluten-free graham crackers!!! hopefully u love them! <3 im sure they'll come in handy ;)

xoxo <3

Fit Chick in the City said...

Those brownies look amazing! Thank you for the great recipe and giveaway! It's always fun to stumble upon a giveaway the first time you read someone's blog. =)

Favorite birthday gift might just have been my Garmin.

Fit Chick in the City said...

I just followed them on twitter.

Joanna Sutter (Fitness & Spice) said...

You know I am digging this recipe as I am totally eating on the raw lately.

Thanks, girl(s)!

matt4melis said...

Subscribe to Tropical Traditions newsletter

matt4melis at hotmail dot com

matt4melis said...

Follow Tropical Traditions on TWITTER @matt4melis

matt4melis at hotmail dot com

matt4melis said...

tweet

http://twitter.com/matt4melis/status/17683798757

matt4melis at hotmail dot com

matt4melis said...

favorite b-day gift was a Bosch mixer

matt4melis at hotmail dot com

matt4melis said...

tweet

http://twitter.com/matt4melis/status/17683798757

matt4melis at hotmail dot com

matt4melis said...

Subscribe to Tropical Traditions newsletter

matt4melis at hotmail dot com

Fit Chick in the City said...

I just followed them on twitter.

Kelsey said...

oh wow girl these are a must make!! how decadent yet healthy at the same time!!

so happy u found gluten-free graham crackers!!! hopefully u love them! <3 im sure they'll come in handy ;)

xoxo <3

Anonymous said...

I'm amazed, I have to admit. Seldom do I come across a blog that's both educative
and engaging, and without a doubt, you have hit the nail
on the head. The issue is something that not enough people are speaking
intelligently about. I'm very happy that I found this during my search for something relating to this.

Have a look at my page ... sexyhotgirlz.com