I like to make this healthy grain-free muffin recipe after my children go to sleep at night so they have something nourishing to eat for breakfast—especially helpful on really busy mornings! The other day my daughter wanted to know how much protein each muffin had so she worked out how many grams of protein each ingredient contained and then divided the total number by 12. She came up with 6.3 grams per muffin, not bad.

I generally use roasted almond butter in my baking recipes, including the recipes in my new Nourishing Meals cookbook. The brand I like to use for these recipes is Zinke Orchards. Although this almond butter is not certified organic it does come from spray-free almonds. For eating or raw recipes we like to use raw organic or raw sprouted almond butter.
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If there was one thing you could do right now to improve your health would you do it? Eating raw cruciferous vegetables daily might be our saving grace in this increasingly toxic world. Cruciferous vegetables will upregulate or "produce" the enzymes your body needs to eliminate environmental toxins and properly metabolize estrogen. They also provide the sulfur, folic acid, and magnesium these enzymes need to function optimally. Worried about cruciferous vegetables causing thyroid problems? If you closely examine the scientific literature, you will see that people who have thyroid issues after eating cruciferous vegetables are iodine insufficient. Eating nori, cooking your beans with kombu, and eating wild caught Alaskan salmon are ways to increase your iodine intake. We (including our children) also take a kelp extract supplement daily. Researchers are now finding that environmental toxicants have a major role in the rise of thyroid related disorders.....so eating raw cruciferous vegetables protects your health on many levels.
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I have something for you, just in time for 4th of July celebrations.....and no cooking required! I used to think that making tarts was a complicated process, but it is really quite simple. You will need a 9 or 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, which can be found on amazon.com or your local kitchen store. For this recipe I use my standard nut-date crust which is pressed into the pan. Then the filling is added and topped with whatever berries or fresh fruit you have on hand. Raw tarts come together so quickly!

For the pastry cream, I use coconut butter, which is made from both the oil and the meat. We like the brand Artisana, but you can use others. Sometimes it is labeled with different names such as coconut mana or coconut cream concentrate, but it is all the same thing.
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A few weeks ago, the night before Valentine's Day, my daughters asked me to make cupcakes and frosting to give out to their friends at school. I had an idea to make a healthy frosting using almond butter and coconut oil. Thinking that I needed to chill the frosting for a while before spreading it onto the cupcakes, I made it first. A few hours later I took it out of the refrigerator to whip up into what I thought would be this beautiful, light, and fluffy frosting. For a second it did look like that, and then the oil began separating. My girls tried it and said it tasted good, like brownies, and that I should bake it! I was so busy that night that I didn't have time so I got to it the next morning, Valentine's Day. I decided to add 2 eggs and put it in the oven....and voila....a beautiful, moist, tender chocolate cake emerged!

I took photos of it that day, what you see here, and planned on testing it one more time before posting it. We then took a trip to visit family for nearly two weeks. I tested it there and everyone loved it. My dad said I should call it "the accidental chocolate cake!" I've been so busy finishing the new cookbook that I have not had much time to post to my blog. Over the next month I have a few guest posts scheduled. After the book is done, I'll be back. In the meantime, enjoy this yummy cake!
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Anyone remember those orange creamsicle popsicles we enjoyed as children? This frosty dairy-free smoothie captures those flavors and provides a host of nutrients and protein. I got the idea for this smoothie from one of our favorite restaurants, Thrive Cafe, in Seattle. Whenever we are in Seattle or driving through we make a stop there either to dine in or to get take-out for the road. It is a mostly raw, vegan, organic cafe with very reasonable prices. All of the to-go containers are biodegradable too!

This smoothie is made with raw almond milk. I have a recipe in my cookbook for making raw almond milk if you need one. I usually soak a big bowl of truly raw organic almonds overnight and scoop out some for almond milk and leave the rest for smoothies and snacking. Place the almonds and water into a high-powered blender. A pinch of sea salt and a dash of maple syrup is all you need to add. Blend, adding more water if needed, and then strain and squeeze though thin dish towel or a nut milk bag. Tom likes to eat the leftover pulp. You can also use the pulp to make dehydrated crackers or cookies.



Raw Orange Creamsicle Smoothie

This smoothie is more like a frosty beverage rather than a thick smoothie. It is quite refreshing on a very hot day. If you don't want to use raw almond milk or have a nut allergy then use any milk of your choice, such as hemp milk or rice milk. I prefer freshly squeezed orange juice because all of the enzymes needed to help digest it are intact, but you could also use store-bought orange juice. I use valencia oranges because of their high juice content. Omit the frozen bananas if you would like and just use a few cups of ice cubes. This recipe makes a large batch (to feed our family plus some). You can easily make a half batch. Leftovers can also be poured into popsicle molds for a healthy frozen treat later on.

4 cups raw almond milk
2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
2 medium frozen bananas
1 to 2 handfuls ice cubes

Place the almond milk, orange juice, and bananas into a high-powered blender (I use a Vita-Mix) and blend for about 60 seconds or until smooth. Add ice cubes if desired and blend again. Drink immediately or pour into popsicle molds and freeze. Source: www.NourishingMeals.com



More Smoothie Recipes:
Blueberry-Cucumber Smoothie
Super Antioxidant Smoothie
Cherry Beet Detox Smoothie

I shared this recipe last Monday at my gluten-free dessert cooking class. Our goji berries were very dry so we decided to soak them for about 10 minutes in warm water. The filling turned to a watery mush! It was a great learning experience for me and the whole class! We started over with a fresh batch of very dry goji berries and it worked out. I was planning on saving this recipe for the next cookbook I'm working on right now, but I just couldn't resist sharing it with you today.

Dried Goji Berries

My recipe testers have given me feedback on this recipe and one of them told me recently that she used raw almond butter which didn't hold the filling together very well and they turned into flat rounds instead of balls. I use a lightly roasted creamy almond butter when I make them. Having fresher, chewier goji berries also changed the outcome. Coconut nectar is thicker than maple syrup so this can also slightly change the outcome. I used maple syrup in the truffles pictured here, though I normally use coconut nectar, which is very thick. If you don't eat these all within a few days, feel free to freeze them and take one out at a time when a chocolate craving arises!
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