Sunday, January 18, 2015

Triple-Layered Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

I wish I wasn't such a fat ass and had some more of these to eat, but I inhaled all of them in like two days. This post is for all my fellow Reece's lovers. I know I promised my protein pancake recipe before this one, but I got too excited and wanted to share these first due to popular demand.

I hope you guys are ready for some serious deliciousness...
 


For the base layer you'll need:
  • 1 cup of pecans
  • 1 cup of pitted dates (make sure they're pitted)
  • 1/4 tsp. of cinnamon
 
 For the center layer you'll need:
  • 1 cup of peanut butter
  • 1 cup of flour (I heard coconut flour is the healthiest)
  • 1/2 cup of sugar
 
For the top layer you'll need:
  • Cacao Powder
  • Coconut oil
  • Agave nectar or maple syrup for sweetness
 
 
Begin by grinding the pecans and dates in a food processor, a little at a time. You want them to process enough so the nuts heat up and release their natural oils. Soft nuts such as macadamias, walnuts, pecans and pistachios are higher in natural oils and break down a lot easier than harder nuts, so it only takes a minute or two. Than add in your cinnamon and give it a final whirl.
 
Next, grab two bowls and make your peanut butter and chocolate. I just eyeballed the chocolate ingredients, so go easy on the coconut oil to prevent your chocolate from being too runny. If that happens, just add more cacao powder to thicken it up. Add as much sweetener as your heart desires. If you're new to baking with cacao powder, you may want to use a decent amount of sweetener, because it's slightly bitter.
 
 
Roll out some parchment paper and make little 'patties' using the date/pecan mixture. Put something under the paper like a cutting board so it's easy to transfer into the fridge! I learned that the hard way.
 
 
It's always nice to have a sous-chef
 
 
Than glob on a generous amount of PB and create a well in the center
 
 
and fill that bitch with chocolate!!
 
 
 
Transfer the cookies into the fridge and let them sit for about an hour...
 
And Voila!
 
The best thing about these cookies, since they don't contain egg (boneless chicken), is you can lick all the bowls worry free and not get diarrhea! Hey, I'm just looking out for your buttholes.

Much Love guys!

Thursday, January 15, 2015

JACKSONVILLE ADVENTURE

This past weekend I packed up a duffle bag and hit the road on Friday afternoon. My friend Shelby, whom I met freshman year of college, got married on Saturday in St. Mary's Georgia, so I drove up to Jacksonville and met up with a bunch of people throughout the weekend. Shelby was the crazzzziest one from our freshman group, who partied harder than any of us and used her fake ID more than her student ID. I'm pretty sure she gained the freshman fifteen in Natty Lights. She and I have done a lot of embarrassing and unclassy things together so instead of sharing stories, I'll use this photo to pretty much sum up her college experience. She's in the pink haha


But over the last couple of years she got her act together, graduated, began eating healthy, fell in love and matured drastically. I couldn't be more happy for my Guita! I call her Guita because she wore so much self-bronzer in college when we went out, that she looked like a Jersey Shore cast member. haha

I also got to see three of my old roommates and a few other friends in the duration of my mini vaca...along with some of my frat bros at the beach bars! Yayyyyy not.

Plus, one of my buddies got super drunk, shouldn't have been driving, dented the front and side of his new car and than smashed his iPhone to smithereens. Never a dull moment.


Luckily, he got everything situated at the mechanic and AT&T store the following day. I'm convinced he did it so he had an excuse to get the iPhone 6 and play Clash of Clans on a bigger screen haha

Here's some wedding pics

Wedding Bound
 
Guita tying the knot in freezing cold weather
 
 
 
Open bar = white girl wasted
 
As much fun as I had this weekend visiting everyone, I realized how thankful I am that I no longer live in Jax, which was a huge revelation for me. It seemed as though everyone I ran into at the beach bars were in the same exact cliques, going to the same bars every weekend, doing the same thing. I would have probably fell into that trap as well and I'm so happy I didn't because life is all about change and growth. I am perfectly content with visiting every 4 months.
 

Much Love Guys.

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Commercial Studs

'I Can't Believe It's Not Butter' 

Your product is disgusting but your marketing team knows what they're doing.
 
  

These ladies want the D too...but who can blame them?

 
 

Thursday, January 8, 2015

DIY Homemade Vanilla Latte Sugar Scrub

Mmmm how good does that scrub sound?!

Not only does it smell heavenly, but it'll leave your skin feeling so damn good, you'll want to have sex as soon as you get out of the shower.

I started investigating GMOs and dyes about a year or two ago and the extensive list of chemicals on the back of products terrifies me, most of which I can't even pronounce. I feel like I'm back in Chemistry class trying to read this gibberish. We're not science experiments! From food, to household cleaners, to beauty products...it seems like there's toxins in just about everything now.

Our bodies aren't designed to be ingesting and absorbing these harmful chemicals, which is what sparked my motivation to make my own scrub in the first place. I've been reading more and more articles exploiting dyes and GMOs as being carcinogens, so please be conscious about what you're putting in and applying onto your body. Your body is your temple, so take good care of it.

I'm sure you've heard about dyes, but if not, here's a list of the seven FDA approved dyes to look out for: Blue #1, Blue #2, Green #3, Red #3, Red #40, Yellow #5, Yellow #6

Several countries use natural dyes like beet and carrot juice, matcha and cocao powder, blueberries, paprika, etc. to enhance the color of their foods and products. Here in America, we use dyes, because population control. Some of our (America's) products are banned in other countries to prevent their citizens from being harmed.

My dad has called me a conspiracist a few times, but I'm convinced our government is playing a sick game and the top corporations are using these chemicals to keep pharmaceutical sales on the rise, in a twisted cycle of never-ending sick people and thick wallets. Our country makes so much money off pills, chemotherapy, depressants, pain relievers etc. etc., which makes it pretty obvious that their more interested in money than our health. Okay, enough ranting.

Here's a short list of 'foods' that contain the highest milligrams of dyes that you should AVOID at all costs!

Foods: Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, cake icings, Fruit Loops, Capn' Crunch's Oops! All Berries (basically all colored cereals)

Candy: M&M's, Gummy Bears, Skittles

Drinks: Energy Drinks, Sports Drinks, Sodas, Koolaid

All that shit is complete garbage, so don't put it in your body.

Without further adieu, here's the Vanilla Latte Sugar Scrub recipe that I promised. :)


Ingredients:
 
½ cup finely ground coffee
½ cup sugar or brown sugar (organic is best)
2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil (not in pic)
½ teaspoons natural Vanilla Extract
 

 
Place the coffee and sugar in a medium size bowl.
 
 
Add the vanilla and the oils and stir with a fork until well mixed and moistened.
 
 
The three bars of soap in the first pic were a Christmas gift to me, handmade by my friend Michelle. She used peppermint and yarrow flower to make them and they smell divine! I'm going to experiment with making my own soaps and I'll share my results with you guys!
 
Stay healthy.
Much Love Guys.

Saturday, January 3, 2015

Vegan Tortilla Casserole

Vegan Tortilla Casserole


Ingredients: 

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 
1/2 cup chopped onion (1/4 onion)
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic (2 cloves)
2 tablespoons brown rice flour
1 cup almond milk
1/2 cup low sodium vegetable stock
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup organic canned black beans, rinsed and drained (I used kidney)
1 Tofurkey Italian sausage
Tortilla chips
3 baby bell peppers, chopped
shredded Dayia Cheese
chopped green onions to sprinkle on top
 
 
Preparation:
 
1. Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; cook 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and brown rice flour; cook 2 minutes. Gradually add almond milk and veggie stock, stirring constantly; bring to a boil. Remove from heat; stir in cumin, coriander, salt and pepper.
2. Preheat oven to 350°.
3. Bottom Layer: Spread of the saucepan mixture over bottom of a broiler-safe casserole dish. Layer beans, 1/2 sausage and crushed chips Middle Layer: Sprinkle cheese, remaining 1/2 of sausage, 1/2 bell peppers, and chips Top Layer: Spread remaining saucepan mixture. Sprinkle cheese, remaining peppers, green onions and Nutritional Yeast (optional).
4. Bake for 30 minutes.
5. Dig in!

Peace out