Keeps the doctor away? Nah. But it sure keeps me pumped. 
And I'm pretty sure feeling great about completing a 'challenge' is something to say for your health. Which in return means no doctor. Who goes anyway? I know I don't. I'm all about being all nat-u-raaaal. Medicine free. After changing my diet- into a vegan one. Wow. The benefits. I just truly don't get sick as often, and I feel good. Feel more energetic. Of course, don't get me wrong. There are many ways of being an unhealthy vegan. You can do anything the wrong way- believe me. 
It's more than anything, more than being vegan, more than working out for 2 hours a day- it's MORE about being healthy all the time. Consistently. Not milking every moment of everything. Ya know? And I know you know! We all know. 
We all were once babies ;) We know how to get what we want. But we also hopefully learned discipline...also. Which we have to carry on in our adult life with. So about this post. Where am I going with it- after that extreme long tangent. 

I'd like to propose another challenge! My first one, in case you missed it, was a 5 day Cleanse. Which has been going surprisingly well for me and others who are in on it. :) So proud of you guys by the way! It ain't easy! Even though were all trying to act like it is ;)

The Challenge of the week! Join me or Join me not. All up to you! But I mean, why not? Don't you need a boost?
I know I still do- even after this cleanse. So for me, my reasons may be different than yours. But 5 days of being raw, isn't enough to kick my bad habits. Which are eating to much carbs alllllll the time. Talk about milking it :/ Yeesh. I 'used to be' a carb hugger. But since that 'used to be me'. I am changing my ways , acknowledging it and moving on. So I am challenging myself to another week of none of them. Then after that I will not crave them as much. Which will be awesome! Cause thats the issue. I'm flushing them all out in order to get rid of all my toxins. Which for me was mostly Coffee, Wine and unused Carbs. Unused in the manner of I didn't go running after that- to use my carbs wisely. I actually have had absolutely no workout plan the past few weeks after quitting the gym. It's hard, but I know some of us can't afford to maintain the cost of the gym unfortunately. And to be honest- I just don't use it enough, for what it's worth. I am nature person, I love being outside. So what am I doing? I need to go outside! Right!? Sometimes when we say something out loud, were like, for real? Wake up call! DUH! :) But no seriously. If there is something you've been wanting to do- and haven't been doing it, can we all just agree to tell ourselves to be quiet and just do it. :)In the nicest way possible I mean that! 

Our inner self wants the best for us. So I don't know where that other voice comes from telling us to remain on the couch or not get up and do something, etc. Gotta make it go away and change it into a motivational voice. Hopefully the voice you hear as you read this! Even though you have no idea what I sound like :)

So for my proposal-
Same concept as my raw food cleanse. 
This is a detox, I repeat, this is a detox. Either your ready or not to join the challenge.

Detox: No: coffee, alcohol. Bread/grains. Sugar. Oils
Includes: Veggies, Fruit, Nuts, Raw Cacao, Seeds, Beans & Legumes.

Outline: 3 meals a day- 1 meal being a smoothie. 1 meal being raw, 1 meal being cooked.
Snacks: Fruit or nuts, dark chocolate with no sugar.
+Most importantly lots of water

so theres this thing that everyone seems to love... and its a bit tasty, can be flavorful, can be plain- but always mostly good. it's called ice cream. 
and I made some.

make your own people! theres not enough to go around. by the way- this recipe is just too simple for you not to try it. Basically scrounge up whatever you got in your cabinets, like I did. and make something good!

2 frozen bananas
2 tbsp. almond butter
cinnamon
chia seeds
2 pc of 86 % dark chocolate

blended in a food processor... and made some beautiful soft serve. oh yes.

I'm in a sweets mood. <3 kinda weird for me- but oh well.
so these are just some abstract photos I took of the process. No pun intended ;) The pic- is just missing the other banana I decided to add in later.

oh and my chocolate chip chia almond butter swirl pancakes from this morning.
I bought Bob's high fiber pancake/waffle mix yesterday- So I've been on a waffle/pancake kick. 
The almond butter swirl was adapted from OSG's site. She has a recipe for peanut butter swirl pancakes, so I changed it into almond butter cause I like it better for me.

1 cup whole wheat high fiber Bob's pancake mix
2 tbsp water + 2 tbsp chia seeds 'for a egg replacer'
1 tbsp apple sauce 'oil replacer'
2 tbsp. raw sugar
cinnamon
handful of dark chocolate chips (70% cacao or more)
3/4 cup almond milk


the swirl part:
2 tbsp apple sauce
2 tbsp almond butter


put swirl part in plastic baggie- cut tip off, and once you put the batter in the pan, swirl in whatever style you'd like on top of the pancake after it's bubbling- then flip. proceed to cook regularly.

Hmmm. Really? Those two together, eh? I know it sounds weird. I do. But just trust me on this. These brownies are soooooooo delicious. Not to mention their nutritional value. For me, nutritional value makes me love something that tastes good so much more. And that is also how I know I'm a health nut. Yes I know. Ahem, any who. So avocados, you cannot taste them in this recipe. Why are they there? They create that mousse like consistency. These brownies aren't firm like your typical soft brownie. It's more of a chocolate mouse on top with a nutty chocolate crust. So extremely good.  



In conclusion... when your not feeling like turning on your oven to cook some brownies- now you know what you can make. Raw Avocado Brownies!

Recipe- Crust

1 cup almonds
1 cup dates
1/4 cup cacao powder

Icing

1 avocado
1/4 cup agave
1/4 cup cacao powder
2 T coconut oil
1 T vanilla extract
dash of salt
dash of cinnamon
[and a few pictures for guidance ;)]

You can also make this into a pie, if brownies aren't your cup of tea. ;) 
I'll take this in whatever shape or form I can get it ;)

I have come to realize I have never shared with you my precious gem.
So I have these 2 things I love that I make. Cause they make anything I eat, taste better.Cashew Cheeze and Hemp Seed Pesto(which will be in the next blog). But Seriously. 
So much so. Some people have an issue with nuts, I don't. They wanna talk about calorie count, etc. Come on! Give it up! I eat super healthy. And adding some cashew cheeze to my steamed broccoli, kale, kelp noodles and/or spaghetti squash, I think just might be ok! ;)
Being a vegan, this -hands down is the best replacement for cheese, for me. The best. I have made my own version, and always do it a little differently each time, depending on what I'll be using it for. So, wanna know all that you can do with cashew cheeze? Here you go.

This is what it looks like alone....

Just to name a few ;) 
So how does this work you may ask? Well depending on how much water you add to the recipe when you make it, is how you get whatever texture and consistency that you prefer. For tacos and pizza, I prefer to have a thicker type of 'cheeze' similar to goat or ricotta. And for the sauces for pasta I add lots more water to make it more like a sauce. I also drizzle it over steamed veggies for dinner sometimes as well.

So here is the infamous cashew cheeze. enjoy.

-First off : food processor!

1 cup cashews
1 tsp salt
1-2 tbsp lemon juice (more if you'd like)
2 garlic cloves (more if you love garlic, like me! ;)

Optional: (Not optional for me, however ;P )
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chipotle powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
- If I am making this for tacos I add chili powder.
-and oregano and fresh basil if making an italian dish

-Process all of it in the food processor (until all is blended well.)
-Now add your water, start with a 1/4 cup, then blend well. See if you like
that consistency, if not add a little water at a time to get to your desired texture!
I use just about 1/2 -3/4 cup. I like it to be creamy.
It keeps in the fridge in a sealed container for about 5 days. (Use a mason jar for it to stay the freshest!)

Enjoy !