• Some of you have been curious about how my wedding planning is coming along, and today, I finally have an update. In case you didn’t see it, I am the newest monthly guest blogger for Rose Pedals Vegan Weddings, the #1 vegan wedding website on the ‘net! My Real Proposal Story (an interview of sorts), Amber & Matt’s 10-Course Proposal, went up in November, and today, my first official guest post has gone live. Click here to read Real Vegan Wedding Planning: Trouble In Paradise, Part One (uh-oh!).
• I’m still eating a smashed avocado salad for lunch every single day. I’m so proud of myself! My latest and greatest additions to the mix are chopped fresh cilantro and alfalfa sprouts, mmm.
• The last couple times I’ve eaten my cinnamon-spiced sweet potato-pumpkin purée, I’ve enjoyed it with extra coconut butter drizzled on top. Zomg, so amazing.

I can’t believe it’s already almost Valentine’s Day! Matt and I have no plans yet (that I know of), although I’m brainstorming a special treat to make for him. Meanwhile, I’ve got numerous ideas for Valentine yummies from the AV archives, so I thought I’d share a few with you today.

Italian food and pasta dishes always scream “romantic” to me, for some reason. Spaghetti and Vegan Meatballs…

…or Rotini with Walnut Sauce would make a fab main course.

Or you could turn up the heat with spicier fare, such as Tofu Makhani Curry…

…or Cuban Shredded Seitan over Black Beans and Cilantro Rice.

But who are we kidding? V-Day is really all about the SWEETS! On the baked side of the spectrum, you could make Hazelnut Cupcakes with Chocolate Mousse Filling…

…Pumpkin-Cheesecake Swirl Brownies…

…Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies…

…Dreamy-Creamy Tiramisu Cupcakes…

…Best-Ever Chocolate Cake (seriously, best EVER. Do not doubt me on this!)…

…or what is quite possibly my favorite baked dessert on this whole blog: White Chocolate-Peanut Butter Blondies.

Speaking of blondies, on the raw side of things, there’s my famous 5-Minute Raw Vegan Blondie…

…or, if you prefer chocolate, my Award-Winning Caramel-Fudge Brownies.

You could drizzle my raw Chocolate Hazelnut Ganache…

…or White Chocolate Coconut-Macadamia Nut Butter over, well, just about anything.

Finally, my raw Raspberry Cream Filled Chocolate Candies couldn’t be more perfect for Valentine’s Day!

QUESTION: Whether you’re single or taken, what are your V-Day plans? I know a lot of people hate this holiday, but for me, it’s always just been a fun excuse to make or bake sweet treats, whether I’m in a relationship or not!

3 years ago this week…
January restaurant roundup
Homestyle blueberry cobbler
2 years ago this week…
Cauliflower-chickpea tagine
Vegan Italian Valentine feast
1 year ago this week…
Review: Sacred Chocolate
P90X weeks 5-6: from cooked to raw

This week has been…trying, to say the least. On Monday night, there was a fire in the apartment adjacent to ours—thankfully, we’re back home now and everything’s ok. Then yesterday, Matt and I finally got an answer on the condo we’ve been trying to purchase for the past month—we were outbid over the weekend, and someone else got it. So we’re back to square one in finding a new home, which is now all the more pressing, because our current place is fire-damaged and smelly! In addition, I’m working on advance promo for Practically Raw, starting work on a second book, trying (and so far largely failing) to get my wedding planning underway, keeping up with emails and blog posts, and dealing with some health issues that are throwing me for a loop. Aaahh!

Suffice it to say, simple, easy foods are still really appealing to me this week. This healthy and delightful dessert is a great example. It’s warming and winter-appropriate, plus it’s vegetable-based and super-nutritious. Just what my body is craving!

Cinnamon-Spiced Sweet Potato-Pumpkin Purée

1 medium sweet potato
1 cup canned pumpkin purée
2 tablespoons almond milk
1 tablespoon coconut butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of sea salt
Stevia to taste

Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Stab the sweet potato all over with a fork, place on the baking sheet, and bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until tender. Set aside until cool enough to handle.

When cool, cut the sweet potato open lengthwise and scrape the flesh into the bowl of a food processor. Add the pumpkin, almond milk, coconut butter, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt and process until smooth. Taste for sweetness and add stevia if desired. Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled.

Substitution Options
Pumpkin: bake and use two sweet potatoes instead of one
Almond milk: any other nondairy milk
Coconut butter: almond butter, melted coconut oil, or just leave it out
Stevia: 1 tablespoon maple syrup, raw honey, coconut nectar, or any other sweetener

Yield: 1 huge or 2 medium servings
Per serving (1): 324 calories, 10.7g fat (8g sat), 56.2g carbs, 18g fiber, 7.5g protein
Per serving (2): 162 calories, 5.4g fat (4g sat), 28.1g carbs, 9g fiber, 3.7g protein

A bowlful of this pudding-like purée provides starchy-carb comfort along with loads of fiber and beta-carotene/vitamin A, plus nice hits of protein and healthy fats. Whether you eat it as a snack, a side dish, or a dessert, your body will thank you!

QUESTION: Do you like sweet potatoes? What’s your favorite way to eat them?

3 years ago this week…
Tofu parmigiana alla marinara
Deep chocolate bundt cake
2 years ago this week…
Overnight steel-cut oatmeal
Chocolate banana bread
1 year ago this week…
P90X week 4 + Happy Herbivore cookbook
Ethiopian feast & KC raw food meetup

I usually shy away from posting ridiculously-simple “recipes,” but after I saw how much you all loved my easy curry-roasted cauliflower, I started wondering if maybe I shouldn’t post recipes like that more often. Turns out, the answer is yes! To that end, today’s post features something I’ve been eating for lunch the last few days: a salad.

Long-time readers will know that in general, I don’t “do” salads. Maybe it’s the mild winter weather, maybe it’s the fact that I’ve enjoyed a few too many baked-good indulgences this season, or maybe it’s memories of the taco salad at Living Light that have been floating back to me…either way, I’ve actually been craving romaine lettuce + avocado. Here, then (because you asked!), is my embarrassingly easy “recipe” for my current favorite lunchtime salad.

Simple Smashed Avocado Salad

Chopped romaine lettuce
Shredded carrot
Diced red bell pepper
1/2 ripe avocado, pitted, peeled, and chopped
1-2 drops stevia (optional)
Lemon or lime juice
Nutritional yeast
Sea salt
Fresh-cracked pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Use your hands or a fork to smash the avocado bits into the lettuce. Eat and enjoy.

Told you it was simple!
What’s your favorite ridiculously-easy “recipe”?

3 years ago this week…
Tofu parmigiana alla marinara
Deep chocolate bundt cake
2 years ago this week…
Overnight steel-cut oatmeal
Chocolate banana bread
1 year ago this week…
P90X week 4 + Happy Herbivore cookbook
Ethiopian feast & KC raw food meetup

Today, I’ve got a whole slew of snacks to share with you, of the “bar” variety – protein bars, energy bars, snack bars, etc. First up: PureFit protein bars.

I’ve reviewed PureFit bars before, a long time ago, but what’s changed since then is that they’ve officially gone gluten-free! Of course, they also still contain no dairy, whey, artificial sweeteners, or hydrogenated oils, and the nutritional stats are the same: 18 grams of plant-based protein per bar.

The Almond Crunch and Berry Almond Crunch flavors are my faves, but since today is National Peanut Butter Day, I’ll show you a pic of the PB bar. All the flavors are delightful, though, and super-filling.

Some new-to-me bars I tried recently are Good Greens Bars.

Each bar is packed with their Z-52 superfood formula, purportedly containing 100% of your daily fruits and vegetables, and nice amounts of protein and fiber to boot.

I tried the Wildberry bar first, and was a little surprised to find that it seemed like a pretty standard dried fruit bar. Not bad, but not mind-blowing.

The other three flavors, though, are a different story! The Chocolate Raspberry, Chocolate Peanut Butter, and Chocolate Coconut (shown below) taste more like candy bars than nutrition bars, with chewy, melt-in-your-mouth fillings and a light coating of chocolate on the exterior. I would buy these three varieties again in a heartbeat!

That’s It fruit snack bars are different from the other bars here. They include no nuts, grains, superfoods, or anything else, for that matter; they’re literally just fruit!

The cherry bar, for example, contains 1 apple and 10 cherries. They’re chewy enough that they take some time to eat, but at just 100 calories a pop, they’re a great fix for a sweet tooth.

A very unusual new bar I got to sample recently is Thunderbird Energetica.

The ingredient lists are nice and short, and what’s more, all three varieties are soy-free, gluten-free, agave-free, added-sugar-free, non-GMO, and vegan, with 2 servings of fruit per bar. They also come in compostable wrappers and are – get this – shaman-blessed. Whoa!

They’re very dense and satisfying, and I love the flavor combos: Cherry Walnut Crunch, Cacao Hemp Walnut (shown below)…

…and Cashew Fig Carrot (shown below)! Thunderbird Energetica bars will definitely be making more appearances on my snack shelf in the future.

These last two aren’t exactly “bars,” per se, but they ARE handheld, all-natural, fruit-and-nut-based sweet snacks!

Awhile back, I had the pleasure of sampling raw cookies by Derrick Sky.

These gluten-free, soy-free, vegan cookies are absent of sugar, dairy, and additives. All the ingredients are in their natural state, crafted at low temperatures to keep the flavor, nutrients, and vitality of the food alive and jumping. With flavors like Meyer Lemon, Oatmeal Raisin, Coconut Macaroon, Chocolate Midnight Sky, and (my favorite) Snickerdoodle, these cookies make deliciously decadent (yet surprisingly healthy) snacks. They’d also make a wonderful Valentine’s Day gift for your sweetheart!

Lastly, I’d be surprised if any of you weren’t familiar with Chunks of Energy. They’re all vegan and gluten-free, and some are raw and organic as well. They’re sold in bulk as little poppable squares at most health food stores (I’ve posted about them before), and with the seemingly endless flavor varieties they offer, you’ll probably have a hard time choosing a favorite.

I think I know my fave, though: the Carob Supergreens, which you’d never guess contains spirulina, chlorella and wheatgrass. The Cacao-Goji and Chocolate Almond Chip chunks, though, are fantastic too!

QUESTION: Of all the bars/snacks shown above, which would you most like to try? (Perhaps in the form of, say, a giveaway? Hint hint!)

3 years ago this week…
Peanut butter banana bread
Tofu parmigiana alla marinara
2 years ago this week…
Roasted potatoes with garlic-cumin aioli
Pumpkin cheesecake swirl brownies
1 year ago this week…
P90X week 3: hearty winter meals
Mini microwave peanut-pumpkin protein cake
Hot Raw Chef contest + caramel-fudge brownies

Hi all! Today, I’m so excited to get to share with you some lovely photos from a few of the amazing folks who tested recipes for my cookbook, Practically Raw: Flexible Raw Recipes Anyone Can Make (which, in case you didn’t hear, is now available for preorder!). This’ll give you a fun sneak peek at a few of the delicious raw dishes you’ll find inside the book!

Jennifer made this incredible photo collage of all the recipes she tested from the Milks and Smoothies chapter.

Lisa‘s photos of my dishes are gorgeous too, including this one of Le Matin Parfait (a breakfast parfait with fresh berries, Coconut Yogurt, and Date-Nut Crumble)…

…and this one of her interpretation of Parisian Street Crêpes with Chocolate Silk Ganache and Strawberry Coulis (which you also see on the cover of the book).

My tester Billie made these Almond Butter Sesame Noodles (another dish pictured on the book’s cover)…

…as well as Deconstructed Sushi Bowls…

…and Spanish Garden Paella.

Dessert time!  My tester Samantha photographed two interpretations of my Crunchy Salted Cashew Cookies, one with Mesquite-Candied Pecans pressed into the tops…

…and this one, a cookie sandwich with firmed-up Chocolate Silk Ganache inside!

Speaking of cookies and chocolate, Samantha also made a big batch of my Chocolate Almond Butter Cookies.

While Samantha pressed my Famous 5-Minute Blondies into heart-shaped silicone pans…

…Billie cut them into classic square shapes.

I love how Samantha used a crunchy, coarse-grained sugar to coat my Sugared Doughnut Holes.

I’ll end with one more impressive collage from Jennifer, this one of some recipes from the Desserts chapter.

Thank you to Jennifer, Lisa, Billie, and Samantha for providing these photos!

So tell me, have you preordered Practically Raw yet?!
Which of the dishes pictured here are you most excited about?

3 years ago this week…
Vegan lemon bars
Creamy chickpea soup
2 years ago this week…
Random 2009 leftover madness
1 year ago this week…
P90X week 2: getting into a routine
Trials & tribulations of an almost vegan raw chef
The 5-minute, single-serving, raw vegan blondie