Raw Vegan Update + Healthy Choco Recipe

So we're still raw vegans over here. Well, 98% raw vegan. One night a week we eat red meat and one night we eat fish so technically we're not vegans. And surprisingly, the two nights a week of cooked protein come a lot more often than you'd think! This healthy balance that we're finding is actually kind of hard. It's one thing to be raw and it's one thing to eat the standard American diet (SAD), but combining them...well, if feels right, but it's weird.

So we start out the day with either a green smoothie (spinach, frozen bananas, fresh strawberries, rice milk or coconut water, spirulina, flax oil and dates is our favorite right now) or a vegetable juice (carrot, spinach, cucumber, celery, lemon, apple, ginger and either romaine or kale or chard depending on what's going bad first). The rest of the day is mostly a combination of snacks rather than solid, sit-down meals. We eat nuts, raisins, oranges from the tree, apples, almond butter, dehydrated onion bread, dehydrated flax crackers, avocados, and here's the best part, dessert!

Raw desserts are unlike anything you've had before. They're amazing. Let me try that again. AMAZING. Can I tempt you? Would you be interested in chocolate brownies for breakfast? Oh yeah. You read that right. Brownies. For breakfast. It's gooooooood. (I substitute honey for agave in that recipe, by the way. Agave is still somewhat controversial but honey is almost always a great sub that we know is nutritious.)

We don't make a habit of it, but when the mood strikes I actually have no hesitation serving Dia a lovely raw vegan brownie for breakfast. This girl is well-versed in her chocolates. Raw chocolates, that is. High in essential oils, the superfood raw cacao (which does not have caffeine in its raw state) and yes, even protein (from the walnuts and almonds).

And just in time for Valentine's Day, here's our most beloved recipe for raw chocolate. It's super duper easy: mix, pour and freeze. You may get carried away and eat the whole batch by yourself...but it won't give you even one little cavity (I'll tell you the story someday about how I went five years without seeing a dentist and without brushing regularly while never flossing, but since cutting out sugar had zero cavitities at my first dental appointment and did NOT even require a deep cleaning as is per usual for someone who hasn't been to the dentist in that long). Instead, it will hydrate your skin, improve your mood and dole out a delicious dose of antioxidants. Who doesn't feel good about that?!


Raw Chocolate
1 1/2 Cups Cacao butter or coconut oil (in its liquid state)
1 to 1 1/2 Cups Cacao (not cocoa, but cacao--check online or at Whole Foods) depending on taste, the more cacao the darker the chocolate flavor
1/2 Cup Agave or maple syrup or even liquid honey
1 Tbsp Vanilla extract
1 1/2 to 3 Cups Almonds or other favorite ingredient (raisins, walnuts, goji berries, etc.)

Mix ingredients in mixer adding almonds last. Spread on wax paper on cookie sheet, freeze. Score into small pieces 15 minutes after placed in freezer.

(Did you catch that? This makes an entire cookie sheet of chocolate! All for you!)

A few notes:
-Coconut oil is very, very good for you. Some people tried to get us to believe that fats from things like avocados and coconuts were bad for us, but it's not true (that is so 80's!). So don't feel bad about this "saturated" fat. It does harden when frozen which is what keeps the chocolate solid, so make sure to keep it in the freezer and only take out as much as you can eat, otherwise you will have very chocolately fingers!
-Agave is not exactly good for you. There are a lot of rave reviews out there and while I will always believe it's better than sugar, splenda, equal or any other chemical, it should be eaten in conservative quantities. Unless it's that time of the month. Then you eat this entire cookie sheet of chocolate by yourself. In one sitting. While watching Steel Magnolias (80's on the brain, I guess). With a glass of pinot.
-You can buy most of these ingredients at your local health food store, Whole Foods has everything for sure or you can always go online for better deals (although then you'll have to wait longer for the chocolate...hmmm...). Don't hesitate to buy a large container of coconut oil--it's one of the best oils to cook with (it may leave a slight coconut flavor, though, which I've never detected but just be aware).
-Since the beloved V-Day is right around the corner, feel free to pour this chocolate into heart molds or anything else cutesy. Just store it in the freezer and you're good to go.
-You can buy this chocolate in stores (well, Whole Foods or the hippie herb store Chakra). It's stored at room temperature (if I knew their secret I wouldn't be handing out my recipe for free...) and is made with love in Sedona. They are called L.O.V.E. Cups and are good, but not quite as rich and hearty as this yummy recipe.
-You will love this. I recommend keeping a sheet in your freezer at all times. Not only will it save you money, but it might just save your health (and your teeth!), too!