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 invitations by Lucky Penny Paperie

Most of my wedding invitations have been sent out and some are still on their way. But I am SO excited! It feels far more real now :)

I was searching for an invitation that would go with the "feel" and "theme" of our wedding. I wanted something chic, city, etherial, artsy but elegant  And I found it! I worked closely with Jessica the creator, artist and designer behind Lucky Penny and she was great. She personalized the invitation to make it more of what I wanted, and made little changes that made a HUGE difference. I found her while searching Etsy, and could not be happier. She was patient and went along with my ideas and worked with my budget!

My favorite part of the invitation is the invitation holder. It is a nice shimmery envelope and has a resealable sticker with our names on it and the wedding date! Gives the invitation a nice personal touch.

Wedding food tastings are my favorite. We went to about three different caterers, trying many dishes. I worked with the chef  in order to give my vegetarians some awesome food options. I am always excited when the vegetarian option at a wedding or event is NOT pasta. We came up with a filling, healthy and delicious vegetarian option. What better than quinoa and fresh vegetables! SCORE!

I will also be working with Jessica to help us create our wedding programs! This is so fun and exciting for me. Has anyone else found their wedding invitations? Where? Did you search online? Any luck on Etsy?

Water Challenge

Here is a Facebook post I received today! Set yourself a reminder so that you do not forget! I have had a lot of people tell me an alarm, or note helps.

It's happening! People are staying committed and drinking their morning glass of water!! I am loving seeing your tweets, messages, and posts! Keep up the good work. It is not too late to start with this healthy and EASY habit. Many people drink coffee first thing in the AM. But a lot people told me they made the effort this morning to drink a cup of water before their cup of coffee. YES!

http://youtu.be/bs_cCEUpv9U

Keep sending your water drinking pictures! Do it now! Tweet or post your pictures! Twitter: @SweatwithLH Facebook: Sweat With Lauren Hefez

The first couple of pictures that I received this AM... :)

Dairy free tomato soup! YUMMY!

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Yesterday I made a tomato soup. I read different recipes and came up with my own. The final product was delicious. A definite thumbs up!

Ingredients:

10 vine ripe tomatoes cut in quarters

5-7 garlic cloves

EVOO

1-1.5 tsp cumin

1tsp coriander

salt

pepper

basil

oregano

1 Cup chicken or vegetable stalk

cayenne pepper (optional for a little kick)

goat cheese (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450

Dice tomatoes into quarters and put them in a baking dish. Cover the tomatoes with EVOO and add plenty of salt, pepper, oregano, and basil. I would say add enough salt not TOO much, but do not be afraid to add the pepper, oregano, and basil.

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In the dish place 5-7 garlic cloves. They will get nice and soft as they cook in the oven and will add great flavor to your soup.

Place the tomatoes and garlic in the oven for 35 minutes. As they cook you will notice juices emerging from the tomatoes and a wonderful smell will fill in the air! Mix the tomatoes twice. Once after 15 minutes and again after 25 minutes.

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After the tomatoes are cooked, carefully take the dish out of the oven as the tomatoes will now be sitting in a lot of tomatoes juices.

Heat a large pot (one that you would make a soup in) and add EVOO or vegetable oil, crushed garlic, cumin, coriander, and a little cayenne pepper if you want a kick.  I would add about 1/2 tsp-1tsp of each, less for the cayenne. Feel free to add more of the seasonings and make sure there is enough oil so that the seasonings do not get stuck to the bottom of the pot. Do not let the garlic burn. Put the fire on medium to low heat. You want it to sizzle for about 3-5 minutes. Keep mixing.

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Add the tomatoes and all of their juices to the pot of seasonings and mix for a minute.

Add 1 cup of chicken or vegetable stock. Mix everything and simmer on low for about 3 minutes.

Take the tomato mixture off the heat and let it sit and cool down. After about 10 minutes  blend everything. You can puree if you have an immersion blender. Or you can pour it in your blender like I did! Works great.

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I made the soup with a grill cheese sandwich on the side. YUM. For my camera man I added a tsp of crumbled goat cheese, in his bowl, to give it a little more creaminess. Camera man said he LIKED the tomato soup!!!! This could be one of the very few dishes he has given positive feed back on. WOW.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Cooking a whole chicken. Excuse me if you "don't eat no meat!"

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Today is the first time I bought and am going to bake a whole chicken; skin, bones and all.  I asked my facebook fans for advice and some chimed in with amazing recipes and tips:

• " I like stuffing mine with lemon and thyme and roasting with root veggies around it."
• "Use plenty of fresh herbs and put lemons on the bottom of the pan. Also, I cook mine at a higher temperature to get it crispy. 400 degrees for an hour."
• Simple recipe where they do not use butter:  Her advice "watch out for your smoke detector b/c of the high temp... Also get twine and truss it! (this video is helpful)"
• Herb Roasted Chicken Recipe
• "Boil it and make chicken noodle soup. Its easy, just labor intensive. "
• " I like to have a thin layer of water on the bottom of the pan too - keeps it moist  and baste, baste, baste!"
• "Stuff it with lemon. Put sea salt, fresh ground pepper and a little bit of olive oil on top."
• "I was scared the first time I cooked a whole chicken too but it's super easy. I use Ina Garten's recipe. Also I don't eat the skin (and I'm guessing you don't either) so I cook it breast side down and it stays super moist!"
• Roast Chicken Magic, their secret is Citrus!

I have decided to cook my chicken tomorrow because I will not get home until 7:30 tonight and my chicken will not be ready until 8:30pm, which is kinda late for me.  Because I have the chicken today, but am not going to cook until tomorrow, I am thinking about brining the chicken in order to make it super moist. Have you ever tried this? Does it work?

I am looking forward to my adventure today when I brine, and tomorrow when I cook. I have no problem (usually) eating a nice cleaned chicken breast, but when it comes to touching the raw chicken it kinda grosses me out... anyone else?!  EW I am flinching just thinking about it. I have to over come my fear of raw chicken and cook it. I am going to cook it like a CHAMP!

One of my favorite movie scenes from My Big Fat Greek Wedding! Skip to 4:15 for the "eat no meat" reference.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3N5V9ml2VU