Vegan Raw Desserts

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Holiday Peanut Butter Cups

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Happy Holidays Everyone! Today I am putting a holiday twist on an all time favorite, Peanut Butter Cups. These healthy vegan treats have all  the fun, but none of the guilt or refined sugar. I have this chocolate in my freezer at all times.

Check out the video below to see how easy it is to make these little guys.


Vegan Holiday Peanut Butter Cups
Print Recipe
Healthy, vegan holiday themed peanut butter cups.
Servings Prep Time
24 candies 10 minutes
Passive Time
1 hours
Servings Prep Time
24 candies 10 minutes
Passive Time
1 hours
Vegan Holiday Peanut Butter Cups
Print Recipe
Healthy, vegan holiday themed peanut butter cups.
Servings Prep Time
24 candies 10 minutes
Passive Time
1 hours
Servings Prep Time
24 candies 10 minutes
Passive Time
1 hours
Ingredients
Chocolate
Peanut Butter Filling
Servings: candies
Instructions
Chocolate
  1. Mix all wet ingredients together in a small bowl. Add cacao powder and whisk until well blended. Use about 1/2 teaspoon to distribute chocolate into holiday tree mold. Transport to freezer to set while making peanut butter filling.
Peanut Butter Filling
  1. Mix all ingredients together in small mixing bowl. Place filling into piping bag. Fill remainder of tree mold with peanut butter mixture. Let freeze for one hour.
Recipe Notes

Helpful Hint:

A little goes a long way with the chocolate sauce. Remember that the peanut butter is the superstar and let it shine. Also note peanut butter trees should be enjoyed straight out of the freezer.

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FAT: It Doesn’t Make You Fat!

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food-nature-autumn-nuts

F-A-T.  This three letter word has caused too much confusion for far too long!  Today, I want to shed some light this topic. People are still afraid of eating fat, which is so sad.  Back in the day, it was widely excepted by nutritionists that consuming fat caused people to get fat. But the science of today has been updated… much like your new smart phone (loving that new iOS 10!). And, let’s be honest, none of us want to trade in our new and improved smart phones for an outdated flip phone. So, it is time for all of us to get the latest update, but this time for our nutrition and better health! My goal is to keep this post short and sweet as this is the first post I am writing on this topic, and I am sure there will be many more to come.

hand-top-white-old-1

Lets start with the most basic fact we need to know. Fat is essential to our diets and general wellbeing. Now to be clear, I am talking about healthy fats like nuts, avocados, olive oil and coconut oil. I do not mean the unhealthy fats in processed fast food. To understand the difference between healthy and unhealthy fat check out this link.

olive-oil

So why is healthy fat so essential?  Eating fat improves your energy levels, regulates hormones, supports brain function, helps to absorb fat-soluble vitamins (A,D & E), helps gain muscle and, when eaten with carbs, slows down the absorption of food, which helps control blood sugar spikes! Meaning it controls insulin spike! This is so important because insulin is a fat-storing hormone. So fat actually does the opposite of what we all thought to be true years ago. These are just some of the awesome benefits to eating fat. If you would like to learn more, I suggest checking out Eat Fat, Get Thin, & Always Hungry?.

I hope this post peaks your curiosity and inspires you to learn more. Be on the look out for my next blog on what I eat in a day to stay on track.

Sweets In The Raw: Naturally Healthy Book Launch Party

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raw book launch party

Earlier this month, I had my official launch party for my cookbook, Sweets In The Raw: Naturally Healthy Desserts, at True Food Kitchen Fashion Valley.  I pulled out all the stops to make it truly amazing! I figure you only have one big launch party for your first cookbook ever, right?!?

raw book launch party food

I was so happy to see everyone who came to support and celebrate the book, despite it being a Thursday night, the official start of the football season (Go Chargers!).

raw book launch party group shot

To see so many loving and familiar faces was truly humbling, but to see so many new people who have been following me through my blog, social media and TV appearances was incredibly flattering. Thank you ALL for being so supportive. I really hope you love this book and the desserts inside it as much as I loved creating it! With that being said, there were so many different things that came together to create this event, so I wanted to take a minute to share some images and thank some important people who made it all possible.

raw book launch party book display

vegan lemon cookies
vegan chocolate truffles                 sunfoods launch party
raw book launch party samplingraw book launch party 3

A massive thank you to Sunfood, True Food Kitchen (Lea, the restaurant manager there is the best) and BROOKE LIMPERIS PHOTOGRAPHY for sponsoring my event. Not to mention everyone who has made this cookbook a reality: Mike Carpenter (photographer), Stacey Uy (graphic designer for cookbook), Danielle Grady (editor), Lisa Dibbell (editor), Jeniffer Thomas (book consultant), Samantha Murphy (social media graphic designer), Kristi Dosh (national pr), Tricia van Dockum (local pr), Paulina LaScola (photographer) and of course my #1 supporter, Dan Marquis (test taster & husband).

raw book launch party people raw book launch party event                              raw book launch party book signing

Long before before creating this cookbook, I dreamed of how it could impact individual people’s lives and then hopefully, the world. At the event, I was able to hear everyone’s specific stories as to why they came, and those stories were truly inspiring.  To see the impact this project has already started to create is incredible. Without you, I would’ve never thought about making a cookbook.

raw book launch party group shot true food raw book launch party family pic