Raw mango pie - using only 4 foods

I had Jody over, from JoJo's Raw Kitchen and she introduced me to the most delicious and easy to make RAW pie.  When I think of dessert I think of chocolate. I am not much of a fruit and nut dessert girl. So when Jody mentioned mango pie, it was not my first choice, but now I have become officially obsessed! This is something that I could eat every day as a sweet treat and not feel bad about it. Seriously awesome.

​Ingredients:

• 1 cup almonds
• 1 cup dates (take out the pits)
• 1 mango
• 1 banana

Directions:

In a food processor place almonds and chop until almost a powder. Add in dates and blend together until they form a paste. This will be your raw crust. Take out and place in a pie dish to make a crust. Press the paste down hard and form a base to your pie.

Cut up 1 mango and 1 banana. Place in food processor and and blend. This is going to be your "cream" part of the pie!

Pour the mango and banana mixture on top of your raw crust and place in the fridge for 10 minutes then serve. The pie stays good for 4-5 days. It might lose its bright yellow color, but it is still good to eat.

Some tips:

• If your dates are hard soak them in water for about 30 minutes to soften
• Your pie may crumble when you serve it. WHO CARES. Because it just tastes so good.
• Make sure your crust is really stuck together and there are no holes.
• If the almond/date crust is not sticking together add more dates to the mixture.

YUM! Enjoy! Do you have any raw, quick and easy recipes that you would like to share??

Wedding dress designers you haven't heard of and a nice cold treat (scroll to bottom)

goddess dress

This post on wedding dresses seems appropriate because not only have I had requests from readers to do more "wedding stuff" but a few weekends ago I went to NYC and finally gave my dress a GO! It is happening. My wedding dress is being made. And as you can tell from the picture below I get really excited when surrounded by wedding dresses!

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An amazing designer/seamstress in NYC is working on the dress that we designed and put together. I found inspiration through many different styles and dresses. Through my dress search I came across certain features and detailing of dresses that I loved.  Most of us have heard of Vera Wang, Jim Hjelm, Oscar de la Renta, and Reem Acra. But below is a list of designers that are not so popular. Many of them are London designers, and I found myself attracted to their styles. Hopefully you can find some inspiration!

Jenny Packham- The beautiful backs to her dresses caught my eye.  Her dresses have amazing bead work and detailing.

Sarah Seven - A designer from the USA! Portland Oregon. Her dresses have frills, layers, and movement. Girly and oh so sweet. I love  her accessories too!

Sarah Janks- Feminine. Beautiful backs. Sexy Elegance.

Temperly London- When I see these dresses I think elegance, sophistication and royalty. Lace and sleeves.

Amanda Wakeley- Light fabrics and not your traditional wedding dress. Her take on the staples dress is my favorite. London Designer. Her style reminds me a bit of Nicole Miller.

Clair Pettibone- Vintage feel. Most of her dresses have texture or lace. Very few are staples.

Penina Tournai- The first designer I fell in love with. Her work is amazing. So intricate and truly pieces of art. These dresses are for the avant guard bride and those with a larger budget! Israeli Designer.

J Crew- Simple. Elegant. And will not break the bank. We often look over J Crew, but they really have some beautiful dresses. Check them out for brides maid dresses too.

Nicole Miller - Simple BUT the little detailing will give you an edge. Most of these dresses are slim fitting. Some of these dresses are perfect for an outside wedding.

What are you favorite dress designers? What is your favorite style of dress?

OH and I made this last night. SO good, SO easy, you SO need to try it!

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ingredients:

• 7-10 FROZEN strawberries
• 10-15 FROZEN blueberries
• 1 FROZEN banana
• Then add about 4-8oz of unsweetened almond milk (you can use coconut milk, rice milk, cows milk, whatever). Decide what consistency you like it and just play with how much milk you add in. Start adding the milk in slowly, because you can always add more. **if you do not have enough milk your blender will get jammed up.

Directions:

• add all ingredients together in blender
• blend
• add more milk as needed
• enjoy

homemade ice cream... no ice cream maker needed!

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Who loves ICE CREAM?! With a little experimentation and fun I created homemade ice cream. Excuse the image quality, I was shaking with happiness when I realized what I had just made.

Ingredients:

* The following measurements are approximate. This is the first time I made this ice cream,  and I didn't measure anything. So feel free to switch around the measurements, and do what is best for you. My camera man did not think the ice cream was sweet enough but I thought it was fine. The first couple of bites might have tasted a little like play-dough, but whatever.. it was homemade and I was happy!

• 1/4 C almond milk (I bet you could use regular milk as well)
• 1 tbs vanilla extract
• 2 tbs sugar ( I did not use any, but if you like it a little sweet I would add some)
• 3 zip lock bags (freezer kind if possible)
• ice cubes
• salt (lowers the freezing point of the ice cubes)

Directions:

• Mix the almond milk, vanilla extract and sugar in zip lock bag. I would put it in a thick freezer kind, just so no leaks occur, but no big deal if you do not have them. Squeeze all the air out of the bag and seal.
• Place your zip lock bag in another zip lock bag. Make sure all air is squeezed out of both bags! Seal it up.
• Place both bags in ANOTHER zip lock bag, but to this one add plenty of ice and salt, so that it surrounds the other bag filled with the almond milk mixture. Seal.

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Grab a towel to wrap around the zip lock bags and begin to shake, does NOT have to be furious. Just get the mixture moving a little. Do this for about 5 minutes. Then place in freezer for about 5 minutes, then pull out and shake for another 5 minutes. This is what I did and then end product was awesome. I am not sure if it is necessary to put back in the freezer, but I was tired of mixing it around and thought putting it in the freezer would be the best place while I rested before I started my mixing again.

Check the mixture and continue to move it around until you see it becoming more solid... it is such an exciting feeling when you realized you have made ice cream!!!

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When your mixture is more or less solid(ish) take it out of the two bags, and then cut a little corner off of the last bag containing your ice cream . Squeeze contents out... and there you have it :)

flourless chocolate cake

bakeoff_Lauren

Sarah, from Sarah Fit, and I decided to have a bake-off! Our mission was to make a dessert that was on the healthier side, yet still able to satisfy the sweet tooth! I went with a chocolaty taste and Sarah went with more of a pumpkin pie-ish flavor. I thought they both came out great. I am actually going to make Sarah's dish for my Thanksgiving gathering. I can’t wait to share how it comes out!

*Sarah's 100 calorie Pumpkin Pie Dessert Bars

Check out our videos and try both recipes. Which do you like more? [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gknIC2yASh4]

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq8ecJrlLm0&w=560&h=315]

My inspiration for this dessert came from my love of chocolate and sweet potatoes! The recipe that I followed is from Chef Toni Robertson, as I also added my own twist here and there.

Ingredients:

¾ C semi sweet chocolate

2 ripe bananas

1 medium-sized sweet potato

3 egg whites and 1 whole egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbs chia seeds

1 tsp of cinnamon? If you wish!

1/4 c (or less) honey

2 tbs brown sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350

Melt chocolate (any way you know how!) add in 1 tsp vanilla if you wish

Microwave the sweet potato and peel. Place sweet potato, 2 ripe bananas, honey and sugar in blender. Blend until smooth.

Remove the melted chocolate from heat and fold over sweet potato/banana puree add 1 whole egg and chia seeds. Mix well.

Beat the 3 egg whites until a little foamy. Add this to your mixture.

Place chocolate mixture in (sprayed) single serving custard cups. This recipe serves 6-8. The more filling in the cup the longer it cooks!

Cook for about 10 minutes. If you desire it more cooked through add 5 minutes or less. Keep a lookout though, every oven cooks differently!

I had an awesome time cooking with Sarah. You have to check out the videos. Her new camera is insane!! Have an awesome Thanksgiving.

100 calorie Lara Bar inspired snack!

lara bar food 001

I love Lara Bars, not only because of their sweet goodness, but also because they are made from about 4 ingredients. I thought, if Lara can make these bars... so can I (and so can you!)

lara bar food 002

For my "Lauren bars" I used:

4 dates

1/2 C figs

1/4 C walnuts

1/4 C almonds

1 tbsp chia seeds

In a blender (I used a mini food processor by Proctor Silex) throw in all the nuts. Make sure not to turn the nuts into a powder. You want to have some chunks in there to add texture to your bar. Set the nuts aside.

Next: Throw the dried fruit into your blender. Blend until they form a paste like this:

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I used a vegetable cutting board and laid out my dried fruit paste. I took the chia seeds and added it to the top.

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After mixing the chia seeds and paste by hand, I threw in my nuts.

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Mix nuts and paste together. I always loved playing with my food. You can make a mohawk if you would like.

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Divide mixture into 8 snack balls. Throw the balls in a plastic bag and store in your fridge.

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Each ball will contain a little over 100 calories  (~108) and provide you with a sweet  and nutritious filled snack that will give you your afternoon boost, or that pre workout lift. You can get creative with the mixtures and add different dried fruit for the paste, or nuts for the filler. Let me know if you try it, and how it comes out! Did you add something different?