Almond Butter Bliss

We had a long day around the house today, and a super special treat was definitely needed!
My oldest daughter hopped in the kitchen with me and helped me create these amazing delights!
Enjoy!
PS Notice the baby fingers photo bombing, trying to steal my almond butter cups!

Raw, Organic, Almond Butter Bliss

Recipe Type: Dessert

Cuisine: Raw Vegan

Author: Gina Law, CHHC

Ingredients

• For the Filling:
• 1 C Almonds
• 1/4C Melted Coconut Oil
• 2 Tbsp Sweetener of choice (If you are using stevia, about 5 drops should work well, but start at 3 and add a drop or two at a time, tasting as you go so you don't get that "stevia flavor"
• 1/8 tsp Salt

For the Chocolate:

• 1/2C melted Coconut Oil
• 1/2C melted Cacao Paste
• 7 drops clear liquid stevia
• dash salt

Instructions

1. Food process the almonds until they become smooth and creamy.
2. Then add the rest of the filling ingredients and process until combined.
3. Pour into a bowl and let harden a bit in the freezer while you are preparing the chocolate.
4. Mix all of the Chocolate ingredients in a warm pan.
5. Depending on size of your mold (Mine are fairly small), pour a 1/4 tsp of chocolate into each of the molds, and then place the molds into the freezer until chocolate is slightly firm, you can take it out periodically and swirl the chocolate around in the mold to let it harden in the sides in order to cover the entire cup in chocolate.
6. Once firm, place about 1 tsp of the almond butter mixture into each mold. Flatten just below the top of the mold. Then pour chocolate into the mold to fill each one.
7. Place back in freezer until hard.
8. Store in the refrigerator. 

Matcha Milkshakes

One of my favorite memories of my time in Patagonia, AZ, was when I would sit in the shade with my Cafe Sisters on a hot Arizona day, and sip on a tall glass of Matcha Milkshake.  It was always wonderful, and by midway through our drink we would all have smiles spreading  from ear to ear.  If you can get your hands on some of the scrumptious DoMatcha brand Matcha, I can't recommend it enough. 

For those of you new to the concept of Matcha, Matcha is a powdered green tea originating in China by Zen Buddhists, and brought to Japan in the year 1191 where it continued to be important within the Zen monasteries.  Matcha is prepared in a different manner than traditional green tea.  Weeks before the plant is harvested, the plant is placed under shade, removing it from direct sunlight and forcing the it to take up more nutrients and minerals from the soil, resulting in the formation of amino acids.  The finest buds are hand-picked, laid flat to dry and then ground into a fine powder.  When consuming Matcha, the powder is added directly to the drink, where all of the nutrients are taken into the body, verses steeping the leaves and discarding the leaf.  The resulting product leading to a blissful, peaceful, awakened state.  


Traditionally, Matcha is consumed in a ceremony, however, living in the west, and not being exposed to the sacredness of this tea, I learned to drink Matcha as a blissful, summertime drink.  All of my ladies have their own rendition of the drink, I will provide you with my favorite recipe, but please, the fun is in experimenting and finding the combination that most tickles YOUR taste buds.


And if my Cafe Sisters are reading this, I love you and can't wait for our next Matcha break!!!

Matcha Milkshake

Tools:

Blender

Ingredients:

2C Nutmilk

6 dates, pitted

1/2 tsp vanilla powder

3/4 tsp matcha powder (or substitute in cacao, lucuma, mesquite or other superfood powder of choice)

twist of himalayan pink salt

1 tray ice cubes

Blend nutmilk, dates, vanilla, matcha and salt until smooth.

Add ice and continue blending.

Pour into two pint glasses and share with someone you love.

 

Strawberry Almond Delight Cookies!

Or...
What to do with that leftover nut pulp!

I've been asked so many times, what do I do with the leftover pulp when I'm through making almond milk?? It's so pricey, and there is so much of it that goes to waste.

We like to get creative. A lot of times it ends up being turned into cookies.
This is the recipe that I threw together this morning.

I started with the pulp of 3 cups of soaked almonds (I used this to make a full carafe, 64oz of milk)
In the blender, I mixed with the pulp:
1-10oz bag of strawberries
1/2C maple Syrup
A dash of cinnamon
1-2 twists of Himalayan Sea Salt
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
Blend well.

I poured this into a bowl and then added:
1/2 - 3/4 C ground chia seeds. You can do this in your high powered blender if you rinse and then thoroughly dry it first, otherwise you can use a coffee grinder.
Mix thoroughly.

If you let it set for 15-20 minutes the chia will firm up the batter and make scooping easier.
I used a cookie scoop and placed the balls on a solid dehydrator tray and dehydrated until firm (several hours) and then transfered to a mesh sheet where I finished drying.

All three kids have been gobbling them up. Its a great snacky-snack for in between meals, when you want them to have something nutritious. The hardest part has been having them NOT eat all of the cookies before they are finished dehydrating!

This is one of my quick and easy solutions to almond pulp.
Get creative! Its easy!
Be sure to let me know what you come up with that you can't keep your fingers off of!