Almond Milk:

To make almond milk, combine 1 cup soaked almonds (soak overnight) with 4 cups pure water in a blender.  A high powered blender works well for this but is not necessary.  Blend until smooth, then strain through a nut-milk bag or mesh strainer.

Put the “milk” back into the blender and add the following optional ingredients if desired: vanilla, sweetener and pinch of salt.  Will keep in the fridge in a sealed glass jar for 2-3 days.

*I love the almond milk just plain as it is, but some people like to sweeten theirs a bit.  Some ideas for natural sweeteners include bananas, dates, raisins, honey, maple syrup as sweeteners.  You could also add stevia which is a natural sweetener and has a zero glycemic load.  It is very sweet, however so only use a drop or two.  Feel free to experiment to find out what you like best!

A Few Variations:

Chocolate Almond Milk:

Follow the same directions above, but add raw cacao (chocolate) powder or cocoa powder for a delicious chocolate flavour.  Additional sweetener may be added if desired.If you don’t have raw cacao powder, then regular cocoa powder will do just fine.  (Cacao powder and cocoa powder are the same thing, but the term “cacao” powder is usually reserved for the raw, unheated version.)

Carob Almond Milk:

Follow same directions for regular almond milk, but instead of cacao powder, try carob powder.  It will act as both a sweetener and a flavouring.  It will give recipes a chocolate taste, but without the caffeine.

Mexican Almond Milk:

Add cinnamon and nutmeg to your regular almond milk.  If you’re feeling adventurous, add a tiny dash of cayenne to the mix.  Wowsers!

Almond Pulp: The pulp that is left over can be saved and used in a bread, cracker, cookie, or pate recipe, as it provides good fiber.  Alternately, it can simply be composted or discarded.

Cheater’s Almond Milk: Ok, don’t have enough time to make real almond milk?  Try this: Toss 2 cups of water into your blender.  Add a tablespoon or two of almond butter and blend.  Voila!  You have almond milk.  It won’t be as smooth, but if you don’t mind, it is a real time saver!

Freezer Tip:

I have had success with freezing almond milk in a glass mason jar for later use.  This worked well when I first discovered almond milk and was preparing for a camping trip.  I really wanted to take some almond milk with me for the week, and so I tucked a few frozen jars of almond milk into the cooler.  The frozen milk also doubled as an “ice pack” for the rest of our food.  It was delicious on my morning muesli!

Enjoy!

Robyn Lilley

Berrylicious Chia Pudding

by Robyn Lilley

Berrylicious Chia Pudding
by Robyn Lilley

This recipe is ideal for breakfast, but delicious enough to enjoy for dessert!  I LOVE this chia pudding! So easy and fast to make.  Full of protein and good omega fats.  Easy to digest.  Best of all it is RAW, and doesn't involve any cooking. I usually make my own almond milk, which is so much better than store bought, but you could use whatever milk you have on hand.  Enjoy!

Basic Version:

2 cups almond milk, or your choice of other nut/seed milk

1/3 cup chia seeds

1/4 tsp cinnamon

dash nutmeg

sprinkle sea salt

2 drops vanilla stevia and/or 1 tbsp maple syrup.  (Sweeten to suit your tastebuds.)

1 cup fresh, frozen, or thawed berries.  (Pictured recipe uses Saskatoon berries.)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together and let sit for 10-15 minutes before enjoying with your favourite spoon!

Upgraded Version:

Follow same directions as basic version, but if desired, add in these additional superfood ingredients if they are available:

1 tsp mesquite powder

1/2 tsp camu camu powder

1/2 tsp lucuma powder

Garnish with:

1/4 tsp vanilla powder - sprinkled on top.

Your choice of nuts or seeds.  Picture features almonds and gogi berries.

Enjoy!

Robyn

Holy Guacamole

by Robyn Lilley

This is a must-have recipe for any party or get together.  Avocados are such an amazing source of good fats.  This can easily be made with very little kitchen equipment.  All you need is a cutting board, knife and fork!  I make this all the time on the road or when I am camping.

Ingredients:

2 avocados

1 ripe tomato – diced

1 lemon (juice of)

1/3 cup onion – chopped finely

2 stalks green onion, chopped (optional)

pinch of cumin

pinch of cayenne (optional)

pinch of Himalayan sea salt (to taste)

*Additional optional spices include: basil, rosemary, and thyme.

Directions:

Pit and scoop out the avocados into a mixing bowl.  Mash the avocado flesh with a fork.  Next, chop up the tomatoes, and onions, and throw them in the mix with the spices and lemon juice.  Mix it all really well with a fork.  Scoop it up with “dehydrated garden crackers” (see recipe in blog post!) in romaine lettuce leaves as a romaine wrap, or as a dip for your fresh vegetables!

Enjoy!

Robyn

Cucumber-Dill Dip

Robyn Lilley

This is a very fresh and creamy dip!

1.5 cups to 2 cups of chopped cucumber

1 whole sliced cucumber (for serving, not for the dip)

1/3 cup pumpkin seeds

1/3 sunflower seeds

Juice of one lemon

1 tbsp Braggs or coconut aminos

2 tbsp dill weed (dried – or use 4 tbsp fresh)

Blend all ingredients into a blender until smooth.  For a runnier dip, or to create a salad dressing, simply add more cucumber.  For a thicker dip, add more pumpkin or sunflower seeds.  Keep this dish simple and garnish it with either fresh or dried dill, or a sprig of parsley.  Serve it with the freshly sliced cucumbers.  This smells and tastes amazing.  A party favourite!

Enjoy!

Robyn

Green Smoothies - my favourite breakfast drink!

Ummm….What exactly is a GREEN Smoothie?  I’m scared!

Don’t be scared.  Get excited!  A green smoothie is typically a smoothie made of about 60% fresh fruit and about 40% “greens” (green leafy vegetables.)  Drinking something that is green may sound a little questionable, but TRUST me, these smoothies (depending on what you put in them) can be truly delicious and are a great way to get more nutrition into your body.  Imagine consuming five or more servings of leafy greens for breakfast!  All things are possible with that magical blender of yours!

Some Examples of Greens:

Spinach, romaine, lettuces (green leaf, red leaf), kale, beet greens, celery (stalks and leaves), bok choy, cilantro, collard greens, swiss chard, parsley, dandelion leaves, plantain, lambsquarters, alfalfa greens, mint, and sprouts.  There are many more, but these are ones I have tried and like.

Some Examples of Fruits:

Apples, avocados, bananas, pears, apricots, cherries, cucumbers, dates, figs, peaches, plums, berries (strawberries, blueberries, huckleberries, saskatoon, cranberry, gooseberry, etc.) grapes, raisins, gogi berries, citrus fruits (oranges, lemons, mandarins, clementines, grapefruits), nectarines, peaches, guavas, passion fruits, papayas, coconuts, dragon fruits, durian, pineapples, lychee, mangos, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, persimmon, rhubarb, kiwifruit...just to name a few!

Other Possible Smoothie Ingredients:

I love the taste of just fruit and greens, but occasionally I might add one of the following ingredients: spices such as cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, allspice;  Nut milks such as almond, hempseed or cashew milk; Nuts and seeds such as almonds, walnuts, pecans, hemp seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and chia seeds.

While fresh produce is usually best, frozen fruits are great to always have on hand in the freezer so that…shazam!…a smoothie could be whipped up at any moment and you don’t have to worry about rushing to the store!  Oh, the possibilities!  If you will be making smoothies for the entire day, you may help preserve them by adding a bit of lemon juice, or by blending your smoothie with ice to keep it cold.  Alternately, you could keep it stored in a cool thermos with some ice if you will take it with you to work or school.  It is also possible to freeze green smoothies if you will be traveling and will be unable to make fresh smoothies.  (This is a great idea for camping.)

Here are some examples - but you can use whatever you have on hand and get creative!  I make mine different every time! 

“Popeye’s Dessert”

• Large handful or two of spinach leaves
• 1 cup of blueberries
• 1 cup cherries
• 1-2 bananas
• 2 cups pure water

“Romania”

• Large handful (or two) of romaine lettuce
• few sprigs of cilantro
• 1-2 bananas
• 1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries or strawberries
• 1/2 cucumber
• 2 cups pure water

“Kale Goodness”:

• 2 large handfuls of kale leaves
• 1 large mango (fresh or frozen)
• 1 cut up apple
• 1-2 celery stalks
• 2 cups pure water
• optional: some freshly grated ginger

Directions: place all ingredients in your high-speed blender and blend well.  Add more water if needed. Add ice if you plan to keep your smoothie cold for a long period of time. This is an awesome way to get your greens into your diet anytime of day.  I prefer to drink it in the morning. I feel good knowing that I have had my greens before 7am…if I can do that I can get on with my day knowing I've put some awesome nutrients into my body and I'm ready to face the day! 

with love and gratitude,

Robyn 

Delicious Chocolate Almond Butter Bliss Balls

I make these slightly different every time, but here is the recipe for some awesome Chocolate Almond Butter Bliss Balls I made the other night:

 

Ingredients:

2 cups almonds

3/4 cup medjool dates (sliced in half and pitted)

1/4 cup cocoa powder

3 tbsp maple syrup (the pure stuff - no Aunt Jamima sugar syrup here!!)

pinch himalayan sea salt (or another kind of high quality sea salt

1/2 tsp vanilla powder (you can just use liquid vanilla extract if you don't have vanilla powder).

 

 

Directions:

In a food processor fitted with an S blade, process the almonds until broken down, but not into a powder, while the food processor is running, add the pitted medjool dates, and let process for a minute or so.  Next, add the cocoa powder, sea salt, and the vanilla.  Lastly, add the maple syrup slowly until the mixture starts to stick together a bit more.  Usually, the whole mixture starts to form a sort of a big clump as it goes around and around. This is good.  What you don't want is to add too much maple syrup too quickly so that it gets too sticky and the mixture sticks to the side of the container. This makes it more difficult and messy to form into balls.

 

Stop the food processor and start rolling into balls.  I think the batch I made made about 25 or so bite-sized balls.  I ate 5 on the way to the party I made them for - couldn't help myself....they are so darn tasty! lol. Enjoy!!

 

Tip: sometimes I add in other random bulk ingredients from my pantry, like a small handful of gogi berries, raisins, pumpkin seeds, or hemp hearts!  You can also experiment by substituting other types of nuts such as walnuts or pecans.  So yummy.  I know you will enjoy these!

 

Robyn