Dreaming Insights to a delicious life : Brooke's 3rd Birthday!

Dreaming Insights : Brooke's 3rd Birthday!: Brooke's 3 rd Birthday  Fairy Princesses in Training! Silky Chocolate Dream Pie Brooke's favorite   My husband and I d...

Brooke's 3rd Birthday!

Brooke's 3rd Birthday 

Fairy Princesses in Training!

Silky Chocolate Dream Pie
Brooke's favorite

  My husband and I decided months ago that we wanted to have a big party for our daughter's 3rd birthday. It always sounds like a good idea months in advance. Before I knew it... it was 3 weeks till the party then I blinked and it was 1 week till the party! Thank you God for the internet it makes sending invitations so much easier!  As the week went on I lost track of how many people would be attending. Here in costa the traditional invitations don't always work because its not like we all have mailboxes in front of our homes and some of us live up in the mountains where the only directions are turn right at the second dirt road then up a massive mountain that looks impassable but just put the truck in 4 wheel low and you will be fine, next cross the river but only if it isn't or hasn't rained in the last 24 hours. Remember we live in the rainforest! LOL! Ok, so you get the point! And to be perfectly honest I'm horrible at organizing invitations and thank you cards.  

Piñata Time

 

Brooke decided she wanted a princess fairy party. Ok easy enough. We live in the rainforest so the stage is set for fairies, lush greenery all around, parrots and toucan flying over head, and little fairy friends (lizards, insects, and butterflies) everywhere you look.  So Brooke and her sister dressed in their best princess gowns, crowns, and fairy wings and were ready to party like fairy princesses! Brooke wanted a piñata but since we don't eat your typical piñata candy we picked out small toys and necklaces at the party store to stuff into her Tinkerbell piñata.  

Happy Birthday To Brooke!!!

Surprise cupcakes, silky chocolate dream pie, raw carrot cake, banana cream pie

 

 

Banana Cream Pie

Raw Carrot Cake

  I started thinking of the menu weeks before and came up will lentil Chili, brown rice, salad, Chocolate Surprise Cupcakes, Chocolate Cheesecake Pie, and a Raw Princess Cake. As you can see the desserts were my priority. As Wednesday approached the day before feria ( farmers market), I started to get a little nervous wonder and I was going to have enough food. The party was growing by the day, inviting all our friends we ran into. I came home with a mountain of fruit and veggies, I was NOT going to be short on food! Saturday I got up at 6:00 am and started cooking like a mad women, and it was fun! I always work better under pressure.
 So, here is the revised menu. 

Appetizers: 

• Guacamole w/ Corn Chips  
• Loaded Humus w/ assorted veggies for dipping  

Buffet:

• Lentil Chili
• tofu sour cream  
• Portobello Bacon
• Brown Rice & Black Beans
• Kale & Cabbage Salad w/ creamy-cheesy-dressing 
• Brown Rice & Shrimp
• Cucumber Balsamic Vinegar Salad
• Carrot Mango Salad
• Huge Fruit Salad w/  Watermellon, Pineapple, Mango & Strawberries (thank you Jenny for saving me a massive chunk of time chopping and for he great company!) 
• Marinaded fish in ginger, garlic, white miso, and extra virgin olive oil, and a bit of white vinegar. We don't eat chicken but many of our friends do so I marinaded legs and thighs in salt and vinegar. My wonderful husband prepared the yard and the grill area where he would be in charge of cooking all the meat. 

Dessert: (this is my favorite part)                                                                                                                                                                                                 

•  raw carrot cake
•  silky-chocolate-dream-pie
•  chocolate-cupcake-surprise
• Banana cream dream pie (I will so be posting the recipe).                                                       

                                                                                                                                                        Drinks:

• Oh, I almost forgot no princess fairy party would be complete without blue butterfly fairy tea! That was a big hit with the little ones and packed full of health with aloe, stevia, and butterfly pea flower that is growing right in my own backyard ( I will be posting this recipe soon as well). 

                                                                                                                                                                     I wanted to have everything finished by Sunday so that I could finish up all lose ends such as icing on the cake and blowing up balloons before the party started at 1:00 p.m. That did not exactly happen but it all worked out and went much smoother then I even hoped. This was my first experience preparing an abundance of food that was healthy and conformed to our new healthy life style.  Preparing every dish with the same amount of love I put into my own children meals was an incredibly rewarding experience.  I look forward to doing again! Thank you everyone for sharing in this very special day! 

Butterfly Pea Flower

Butterfly Fairy Tea

Awesome Friends

   

I love our community we are one big happy family 
in the middle of the rainforest!

  Roots run deep amongst our friends. Many of us came to Costa Rica over a decade ago. We have watched each other grow, find our soul mates, and create families.  Both new and old friends have come together leaving much of what we knew as children and young adults behind in search of something different someplace less focused on possessions. I feel blessed that our children are growing together in strength and love understanding the importance of community and family support knowing that their heart and ability to hold up their fellow brothers and sisters all over the world is what gives life meaning and purpose.  

Raw Lasagna 

All natural ingredients, all natural beauty! 

Raw Vegan/gluten free

My first thought after making this was, Wow this is beautiful! The colors are so vibrant it looks alive and radiating health! Just looking at it I know it's going to do amazing things for my body! 
It has been over two hours since I ate this delicious raw creation and I'm still stuffed! I'm new to this raw food diet and one of my concerns is always that it will not be a sufficient amount of food to satisfy my family. Eating raw for a beginner ( at least from my perspective ) just doesn't seem like it could be a complete meal. I am being proved wrong over and over again. After eating a raw meal I don't only feel that my hunger is satisfied but I also have a renewed energy not that sludgy feeling I sometimes get with cooked meals. I found this recipe on www.rawmazing.com. I made a few adjustments adapting to what I had available. 

Raw Vegan Lasagna with Kale Walnut Pesto and Walnut “Sausage”

serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 medium zucchini, sliced thin lengthwise
• 1 tomato, sliced thin
• Marinara Sauce
• Kale or Spinach Walnut Pesto
• Cashew Cheese
• Walnut Sage “Sausage”

1. Place a layer of zucchini on a plate. Top with marinara sauce, fresh tomato slices and cashew cheese. 

2. Top with a layer of zucchini and top that with pesto.

3. Top with another layer of zucchini and sprinkle the walnut pesto and fresh tomatoes on top of that. 

4. Finish off with one more layer of zucchini, marinara sauce, cashew cheese, kale pesto and sprinkle top with walnut sage “sausage”.

Marinara Sauce

• 1 clove garlic
• 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, softened ( bought from Suzanne at the feria in SI)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 lemon, juice from ( I used mandarina from my garden)
• 4 dates, soaked until soft and pitted
• 2 tablespoons water (if needed)
• 1 teaspoon italian spices ( oregano, basil ) 

1.  With food processor running, drop garlic in and chop fine.

2.  Add remaining ingredients. Process until smooth.

Kale Walnut Pesto

• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 cups spinach
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup walnuts, soaked at least 6 hours, drained and dried
• 1/2 lemon, juice from
• 10 basil leaves

1.  With food processor running, drop in garlic.

2.  Add remaining ingredients and process until a paste is formed.

Cashew Cheese:

• 3/4 cups cashews, soaked overnight, drained
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice ( mandarina)
• pinch Himalayan Salt and pepper

1. Place all ingredients in food processor. Pulse until a cottage cheese texture is achieved. Add a little water if necessary.

Walnut Sage “Sausage”

• 2 cups walnuts, soaked for at least 6 hours in fridge, drained and rinsed
• 1 teaspoon sage
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon marjoram ( I used fresh oregano )
• 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped fine
• 2 tablespoons nama shoyu ( I used Braggs soy sauce)
• Himalayan salt and pepper to taste

1. Place all ingredients in food processor. 

2. Process until coarse crumb is achieved.

I love this meal! Not to mention it is beautiful! 

Enjoy!!

Rawfully Delicious Granola Breakfast Bars

Rawfully Delicious Breakfast Bars

vegan/gluten free

Recipe from www.thesweetlifeonline.com

Oatmeal is my breakfast staple. I dress it up with walnuts, raisins, cranberries, chia seeds, coconut and sometimes cacao powder bathed in deliciously creamy homemade almond milk. However, if I don't have the time to sit down in the morning because I am on the run, or my husband is flying out the door at 6am to start his day, OR like this morning my 4 year old was up at 5am repeating to me over and over again I'M HUNGRY and I can hardly form a thought let alone answer her and tend to her need, a pre made breakfast bar is a wonderful option! I am out of breath just rereading that last sentence but maybe that gives you a sense of how some of my mornings start out. Breakfast Bars are like a gift to myself helping keep my sanity intact. Little note here remember if you are gluten intolerant make sure you buy GF oatmeal. 

This is one of those recipes you can have fun and play with.  

Rawfully Delicious Breakfast Bars 

1 1/2 cups walnuts, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed

1 1/2 cups dates, pitted (Date health benefits) I've also substituted 3/4 dates & 3/4 prunes ( Prune Health benefits)

1/2 tsp Sea salt

2 cups oats (use gf to make bars gluten-free)

3 tbsp raisins

2 tbsp Flaxseed

1/4 cup chocolate chips Homemade Easy Chocolate

3 tbsp hempseed (Additional info)

Great substitute options: sunflower seeds, Chia seeds, cranberries , apricots, 

Instructions:

In a food processor blend dates, walnuts, and salt. If your substituting this would include all the big chunky ingredients. Blend until complete mixed and chopped into very small pieces it should only take 1-2 minutes. Now add 1 cup oatmeal and blend. Time to get your hands dirty so take off your rings. Next empty food processor contents into large bowl, add remaining ingredients, and mix by hand. When everything is well mixed scrape all the rawfully deliciousness into an 8x8 Pyrex. Spread mixture with fingers or I like to use the spoon that came with my rice maker for procedures like this. It's a big flat spoon that is perfect for evenly spreading, flatting, and smoothing batter into place. Place in fridge for an hour to firm up a bit. Cut into squares and EnJoy!!

 

Creamy Cheesy Dressing Vegan / Gluten free

Cheesy Creamy Healthy Salad Dressing

W/ nutritional yeast

vegan / gluten free 
Oh....Cheese how I've missed you!!!

I think I found my new favorite salad dressing! Sometimes I get stressed out about making salad dressing because it can be a pretty expensive mess-up. I bought some nutritional yeast from IIena at the Feria (farmers market) in San Isidro and got inspired. I have heard many good things about this product but I had no idea what I was in for! I searched online for recipes and came up with a concoction using what I had available.

Nutritional yeast is a dead yeast so it will not have a negative effect on people with candida or gluten issues. 

 Nutritional yeast provides the full spectrum of B vitamins including B12, amino acids, protein, folic acid, biotin and minerals such as iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, chromium, and selenium. Nutritional yeast is one of the few vegetarian sources that provide all nine essential amino acids, which are used by the body to form protein. - http://www.naturalhealth365.com 

Just a few of the reasons I love this cheesy nutty goodness! 
 Looking forward to trying tis sprinkled on popcorn!

 Click  raisingraw.com  this is my friend Lauren's blog she not only has great photos and info on the feria but her story is truly inspiring. Lauren, Jeremy, and their two young children sold everything they had in the states and moved to Costa Rica and started their journey as raw vegans! Their's is a truly inspiring story of a families journey to health and overall happiness and well being! 
 The hardest part to changing your life is just making the decision to do so.

Cheesy Creamy Dressing 
Ingredients:

1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup tamari, soy sauce, or Braggs ( I used Braggs )
1/3 cup raw apple cider vinegar (I only had dark vinegar and it still tasted amazing)
2 tbsp crushed garlic (more or less you decide)
1 cup extra virgin olive oil 

3-4 tbsp hempseed  

Instructions:

With love and appreciation place all health filled ingredient into vitamix (blender) and blend on high for 1-2 mins. 

EnJoy!!!

San Isidro Feria 

 

Raw Carrot Cake

Raw Carrot Cake w/ Cashew Icing 
Vegan & Gluten Free 

    Who likes carrot cake?  I do!!! Next to chocolate this is probably one of my favorites. My husband who is not the biggest chocolate fan ( he can't even eat a whole chocolate bar in one sitting) asked me to make a carrot cake.  He almost never asks me to make anything and eats all my chocolate desserts without complaint... and I make a ALOT of chocolate desserts! Even if it didn't start out as a chocolate dessert it usually ends up becoming a chocolate dessert. I admit it ... I AM a chocoholic! I was looking online for vegan, gluten free carrot cake recipes and I found another awesome website www.thesweetlifeonline.com. However, I was nervous... with this vegan diet cheese is not an option and what good is carrot cake without that delicious cream cheese icing! Well I have great news... there is an alternative and I like it more than cream cheese icing!  I have already started dreaming about this icing making an appearance on chocolate cupcakes and numerous other desserts in the future! I have another batch of cashews soaking in almond milk in the fridge as I write this and... it's a double batch!! 
By the way Chocolate is mentioned 10 times in this non chocolate post! LOL!!

Carrot Cake

2 1/2 cups shredded carrots (about 3-4 large carrots)

1 cup raw walnuts (I prefer them toasted)

1 cup pitted dates

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

pinch of salt

Cashew Cream Frosting

1 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight in almond milk or water (just enough to cover the cashews in sm bowl)

1/4 cup water
3 tbsp raw agave nectar

1 tsp vanilla

juice of 1/2 lemon or mandarina

pinch of salt

1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

walnuts and extra cinnamon for garnish 

Line 8x8 pan with parchment paper. Shred carrots and set aside. Place walnuts and pitted dates in food processor and blend till mostly smooth but still a bit chunky. Add spices and coconut blend. Now add shredded carrots and mix until complete combined. Whipping down sides often during blending process.  

Place carrot cake mixture into 8x8 pan. I use my rice maker spoon (I love that thing) to spread mixture evenly in pan. Place in fridge or freezer to chill.

Now...da.dada..daaaaa ...... the ICING!!!!

Remove cashews from the almond milk there should not be much almond milk left over if any. Add all ingredients except coconut oil in vitamix or blender and blend till silky smooth. Now add coconut oil and blend once more. 

After pouring on top of chilled carrot cake. Place in freezer for 2 hours. Remove from pan by pulling up the sides of the parchment paper. Let thaw 10 minutes. Cut cake into 4 rows horizontal and vertical creating 16 decadent slices.  Decorate with walnuts and dust with cinnamon. You can eat as ice cream nuggets or let thaw an additional 15 minutes for more of a cake like texture. However you decide it will be delicious!

Enjoy!!

Tofu Mayo

Tofu Mayo
Vegan & gluten free 

      Mayo is a staple in most households and it can be difficult figuring out how to survive without it. I mean some people ( especially here I'm Costa Rica) use it on everything right down to their ceviche (fish cooked in lime juice). McDonalds even hands you ketchup along with a packet of mayo, I don't remember that happening in the States. McDonalds however is a distant memory as well. So, I have been experimenting with Tofu. I want to be fair and mention here that I have heard of negative side effects due to tofu. I have not researched it extensively so if anyone does have something to share pro or con for tofu please feel free to post below. I am on a journey of health and wellness but I am not ready to give up everything until I am sure in my heart it is for the best interest of all. 
      I have been using this tofu mayo as an alternative to sour cream as well. It is delicious on tacos, rice and beans, crackers, and tuna fish just to name a few. 

Cashew Mayo Click here

Ingredient:
12.3 box firm tofu 
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt maybe a pinch more
1/2 - 3/4 juice of a lime
2 cloves garlic
Optional* 1 1/2 tbs horseradish, a friend who did not have horseradish available used wasabi with success. I'm looking forward to trying this as well! 


Place all ingredients except oil in vitamix ( blender) and blend on medium while drizzling in oil. Let blend until silky smooth. ENJOY!