Peanut butter! I know some people who are crazy about it but I just couldn't understand  why, up until last week. I finally gave in and bought my first jar of peanut butter from Santa Cruz. I didn't even want it but when I see organic food and products, I just go nuts. I can't even afford it all the time but it makes me happy seeing organic goodies in Davao City as supply and demand is nearly non-existent. So whenever I can find some goods, I buy them, maybe not right away if they're expensive but I always go back for them.

When I was growing up, I never really enjoyed peanut butter, I really hated them sticking on my palate but the Santa Cruz Organic Crunchy Peanut Butter is an exemption. It had me at first spoonful and t's crazy delicious, I swear and only had lightly roasted peanuts as ingredients. It cannot get healthier than that, in my opinion at least.

Somehow I'm happy that I bought a jar but also, unhappy at the same time because I am now obsessed with it and my jar is nearly empty. No judging, please! I did make some snickers bars with it which I shared the recipe here few days ago and speaking of recipes, here's another one I'd love for you to try because these little cups are insanely good.  If you ever get a chance to make these yourself, you wouldn't even think of eating the store-bought ones ever again.

Here's a little trivia for you though, if ever you really want to pick up a pack of Reese's Peanut Buttercups.  Did you know that Reese's Peanut Buttercups have about 19 ingredients with about 4 artificial colours and carnauba wax which is first refined and then bleached before it can be added as an ingredient? The very same carnauba wax they use for automobile waxes, shoe polishes and furniture & floor waxes.

So why would would you want to eat anything that uses an ingredient that is being used for car waxes? When you can just make your own with as few as 6 ingredients plus it's healthier and fun to make.

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups


Ingredients

Makes about 8 mini cups


60 g Dark Chocolate Bar (65% to 85% Dark)
1 T Organic Cold-pressed Coconut Oil

5 T Organic Crunchy Peanut Butter
1 T Organic Raw Dark Agave Nectar
1/4 t Pure Vanilla Extract

60 g Dark Chocolate Bar (65% to 85% Dark)
1 T Organic Cold-pressed Coconut Oil


Method

Line a muffin pan with 8 mini paper liners. Set aside.

Melt 60 g dark chocolate over a double boiler and once melted, add in the coconut oil and stir thoroughly.

Pour evenly on each paper liners (about 2 tsps each) and use a brush or small spoon to coat the liners with chocolate almost all the way up the sides. Refrigerate for 10 minutes to set.

In a bowl mix crunchy peanut butter, agave nectar and vanilla extract.

Once the chocolate has set in the fridge, spoon about a tbsp of peanut butter mixture and flatten the tops. Freeze for 10 minutes.

Melt the remaining 60 g dark chocolate with the coconut oil. Spoon 2 tsps on top of each peanut butter cups until tops are fully-covered completely and refrigerate to set once more.

Serve on top of nicecreams or eat them straight. They’re great either way.


* All ingredients may be substituted with non-organic ones
** Make sure that the dark chocolate bars that you use only have two or ingredients: cacao liquor and cacao butter (with a little bit of sugar is fine)
*** Agave nectar can be substituted with rice malt syrup or maple syrup.

There are days when I can be bothered doing all the hard work when I make recipes but there are also some days when I just want to be a cat and nap all day. But I don’t really have the luxury of just resting all day, with all the things that need getting done in the cafe or just some things needing my personal attention. Some people think that having a business is all glamour and money, that couldn’t be further from the truth. When you have a business expect days, weeks and even months of restlessness and stress, and I believe that I had more fun when I was still a employee. However, don’t get me wrong. Although life now is more difficult than it used to be, I have never been happier. Having the The Vegan Dinosaur is a dream come true for me that now I am able to do what I am passionate about and advocating for something I truly believe in. Although plenty of struggles along the way, at the end of the day, I can tell myself that I am living the life that I have always wanted to live and for that I will always be grateful.

Back to my story of wanting to be a cat today, I'm sure you have your days as well. I mean, I can't be the only one who sometimes want to do nothing. It's just so bad that my laziness kicked in yesterday when I was having some serious cravings for some snickers. If you know me personally or has been following my blog or instagram posts for a while, you’d probably know by now that I am sort of addicted to chocolates.

I did say it was serious cravings and I wasn’t exaggerating, I was seriously craving for them and I couldn’t let it go just like that. The only thing that’s keeping me from giving in to it straight away was the work involved. I could not be bothered doing the lengthy procedure of doing my own nougat, nut butter and all the other things that go with making raw snicker bars. Bill Gates once said 'I choose a lazy person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.' I can somehow agree to this, a lazy person will always find the easiest way to get some work done and I did. I came up with snickers bars recipe that I'm proud to share with you all. If you're into healthy eating and you haven't had the unhealthy version for quite a long while, you will thank me for this! And you're welcome. Give in to your cravings and enjoy a mouthful of these heavenly goodies.


Here's a close-up photo of the Snickers I had this morning and tell me if this doesn't make you want to gobble it up in a second or two. Taste-wise, this may not taste like the store-bought snickers and might even be a little bit bland to those whose palates are already accustomed to refined-sugar and artificial flavours but if I were to choose, I'd go for these bars every time.

Snickers Bar


Ingredients

About 10 slices

Base

200 g Raw Cashews
100 g Dates
1 T Filtered Water
1/2 t Pure Vanilla Extract
Pinch of Salt

Peanut Butter

5 T Santa Cruz Organic Crunchy Peanut Butter
1 T Raw Organic Dark Agave Nectar

Chocolate Coating

7 Mini Bars of 65% Chocolate
1 T Organic Coconut Oil


Method

Line a 7x7 square pan with a baking sheet. Set aside.

Place all 'base' ingredients in a food processor and process until it has form a dough ball.
Press evenly in the baking sheet.

Mix peanut butter and agave thoroughly and place on top of the chocolate base then freeze for 2 hours.

Slice the ‘cake’ lengthwise or whichever size or shape you prefer.

Melt the chocolate with the coconut oil. Coat sliced bars with the melted chocolate and refrigerate until the chocolate coating hardens.

Serve and eat with caution. They're so good you might just end up eating them all.



* The cashews can be substituted with any nuts. Macadamia and almonds would go well with this recipe.
** I find Santa Cruz Organic Peanut Butter quite pricey so you can use local and non-organic ones if you prefer. Just make sure to adjust agave or any sweetener you use as local  nut butters usually have tons of sugar added,

For weeks now, I've been trying to come up with new cake recipes and I did. But I failed and I failed miserably. Baking cakes is easy, making a vegan and gluten-free version is a different story. I have to come up with a good recipe that isn't too grainy for my taste or would turn rock-hard when cooled. Let's be honest, glutenfree breads and pastries (if not done well) are just so bad . . .

I love chocolates, especially those yummy little blocks of raw chocolates from Pana. Chocolate. Too bad that I cannot get them here in the Philippines. But anything chocolatey is my favourite anyway and chocolate cakes are no exemptions. I could eat it all if you leave me long enough to finish a whole. But then, ofcourse, I'd regret it few minutes later. We all know cakes are all nasty little devils, before you know it, you're a pound heavier than you were before. But who cares, really? Delicious food is always worth it and this cake is sure to satisfy your chocolate craving, in a much healthier way!

Glutenfree Dark Chocolate Walnut Cake

Ingredients

Serves 6

Dry

1 cup almond meal
1/2 cup Orgran gluten-free plain flour*
1/2 cup good quality unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup cane sugar (rapadura)
2 tsp baking soda

Wet

1 cup cooked sweet potato (mashed)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cup soymilk (water is okay)*

Walnut Chocolate Glaze

1 block good quality 72% to 80% dark chocolate (chopped)
2 tbsp coconut oil
1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts*

Method

Preheat oven to 170 degrees. Line an 8cm cake tin with baking sheet and set aside.

On a bowl, sift all the dry ingredients. Ensuring no lumps left then mix thoroughly.

On a separate bowl, mix all the wet ingredients. Mashed the sweet potato in a food processor (if you have to, to make sure there are no chunks left). It's a secret ingredient thus, mashing it properly will ensure that it cannot be tasted in the cake.

Pour the mixed wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until they're thoroughly mixed. I used a wooden spoon to do this but feel free to use an electric mixer if that's easier for you.

Spread the batter into the prepared cake tin and smooth the top with spoon (or wet fingers!). Bake for 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes in the cake pan.

While waiting for the cake to cool down, combine chocolate and coconut oil in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir with a metal spoon until smooth. Remove bowl from heat then add chopped walnuts, stir gently.

Spread chocolate mixture on top of the cake and let it set in the fridge for 20 minutes. Serve with your choice of cold milk, hot tea or coffee.


*can be substituted with a brand or an ingredient of your choice

Allergen: nuts

How good are chia seeds? They're healthy and packed with essential nutrients and omega-3 fatty acids plus they're very easy to incorporate in our daily meals. Whether sprinkled over our smoothies, cereals, snacks and as for me, I prefer them as desserts. This pudding is a no-fail dessert and is an instant hit at home. It's delicious, super healthy and requires very minimal effort.

If you're like me who likes thai sago pudding, you would love this recipe. And if you're like me who loves nutritious and clean desserts, you would love this even more.

This recipe could be made completely raw using home-made nut milks like almond, macadamia or hazelnut.

Prep time is less than 5 minutes so why not give it a try and let me know how it turns out. x

Ingredients

Serves 2

• 2 tbsps chia seeds (black or white)

• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 cup almond milk (can be substituted with soy, coconut milk, rice milk or any liquid you prefer)

• 1 tbsp agave nectar or maple syrup

• cinnamon powder (for dusting - optional)

Method

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl except for cinnamon powder. Cover and refrigerate overnight or 4 hours prior to serving. Make sure to stir the mixture once in a while to remove clumps. Dust with cinnamon powder and serve.