Vanilla Bean | Fitness Lifestyle Health Club

Posts Tagged ‘vanilla bean’

Afternoon Delight

May 8th, 2010

The FLHC

It has been soooo hot here in Portland (mid to high 90’s). In between camps, swimming pool runs, hikes, bike rides, gardening and work I often find myself needing a little afternoon pick me up. I went to my refrigerator today and found a huge containter of blueberries waiting for me (a common sight in our home during Portland berry season). I threw together this smoothie and it definitely did the trick! Blueberries and cacao are of course high in antioxidants and the coconut water is a great electrolyte replacer. In this particular smoothie I added coconut butter for a creamy consistency. You could also use almond butter or a banana and it would taste great! Enjoy!

Afternoon Delight Smoothie
2 cups coconut juice
1 cup blueberries
1-2 tablespoons raw cacao powder (or organic cocoa powder)
1 cup ice
1/2 vanilla bean or a dash of vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons raw honey
1 tablespoon coconut butter or almond butter
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of cayenne
pinch of sea salt

Blend until smooth

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Tags: Afternoon, almond butter, butter, cocoa powder, coconut, coconut butter, coconut water, creamy consistency, Delight, Portland, raw cacao powder, smoothie, vanilla bean

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Sweet Cashew Hempseed Treats

February 17th, 2010

The FLHC

Raw food recipes have a reputation of taking forever to make (and honestly some do take a lot of prep time, forethought and dehydration, soaking, etc). My goal for these blog recipes is to make them suuuuper easy for you throw together. There will be a few that take some time but here is one that is very easy, delicious, healthy and kids love it! Enjoy…

Sweet Cashew Hempseed Treats

1 1/2 cups cashews
10 dried figs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla or 1/2 vanilla bean seeded
1 tablespoon raw honey (or agave)
1/4 cup hemp seeds
1 tablespoon raw cacao powder or cocoa powder(optional)
Pinch of sea salt

Pulse Cashews in a food processor until finely ground. Add the figs one at a time until the mixture holds together when you squeeze it between your fingers. Next pulse in the vanilla, honey and last the hemp seeds, salt, and cacao until all is combined well. I like to roll mine into little balls or you could press the mixture flat in a small pan and make bars out of it.

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Tags: Cashew, cocoa powder, food, hemp seeds, Hempseed, raw cacao powder, raw food recipes, raw honey, Sweet, teaspoon vanilla, time, Treats, vanilla, vanilla bean

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Truffles mmmmm….

November 5th, 2009

Tommy Grobmyer

Every year in our neighborhood families get together and create a Halloween celebration without the added corn syrup, hydrogenated oils and FD&C reds, blues, etc. We make home made treats or crafts and our kids go from house to house gathering their treats. This year I had a request for these chocolate truffles. You can make them in a food processor or a high speed blender. They are easy, I promise! I added cacao/cocoa powder to make chocolate truffles but you could omit the chocolate, add more coconut, dried fruit, nuts, cinnamon, anything you might like. Its hard to mess it up with this base of ingredients here. Enjoy!
P.S. I notice a number of my posts are on chocolate (must be getting towards the holiday season). Don’t get me wrong, I love it and there are numerous health benefits. I do however limit my consumption of it and try not to feast on it everyday!

Raw Truffles

1/4 cup coconut butter softened (I put mine in my dehydrator at 115 for 30 minutes or so, you could do it on the stove or rest the jar in a bowl of hot water)
1/2 cup agave or to taste
2-3 tsp maple sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 vanilla bean seeded
pinch of sea salt

Combine all ingredients in a vitamix, blendtec, or food processor. Once combined and as smooth as you can get it transfer to a bowl and add:
1 cup of cocoa/cacao powder
and/or
Any chopped dried fruits, nuts, spices you might like.
Place bowl in refrigerator for about 30 minutes until the mixture has set and can be easily formed in to balls. Using a 1/2 teaspoon measure out and roll into small truffles. I like to roll mine in extra cocoa/cacao powder or coconut. Yum.

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Tags: blendtec, chocolate, chocolate truffles, cocoa, cocoa powder, cup, Don, halloween celebration, neighborhood families, P.S. I, speed blender, vanilla bean

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Easy Raw Chocolate Torte

October 27th, 2009

Tommy Grobmyer

This is an all time favorite with my family and friends. It is very easy to make, kids love it and its a great dessert to wow people with that aren’t familiar with raw food! Any nuts can be used for the crust. I prefer to use pecans. Be careful not to over process the crust as the nuts will release oils and it will become too greasy. Enjoy this torte topped with fresh fruit (strawberries or raspberries) or sprinkle shredded coconut on top. Keep it refrigerated until serving so that it is nice and chilled. If left out at room temperature for too long it will soften (still yummy but not as much like a pie, more like a pudding). Enjoy!

Crust:
2 cups pecans
½-1 1 cup pitted medjool dates (or enough so that when you squeeze the crust it holds together)
1 teaspoon coconut oil
Pinch of sea salt

Pulse nuts in food processor until slightly crumbled. Add dates and pulse a few more times. Add coconut oil and sea salt. Pulse until uniform and crust holds together when you squeeze it between your fingers. Press into bottom of classic 10 inch tart pan.

Filling:
2 cups cashews (not soaked)
¾-1 cup cacao powder
1 ½ cups water
½ cup coconut oil
¼ cup agave (or to taste if you like it sweeter, less for more bitter)
½ vanilla bean seeded
Pinch of sea salt

Combine all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Pour over crust and refrigerate until firm (1 hour in refrigerator, ½ hour in freezer)

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Tags: coconut, coconut oil, crust, cup, cup coconut, oil cup, shredded coconut, tart pan, teaspoon coconut, vanilla bean

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Buckwheat Granola

October 6th, 2009

Tommy Grobmyer

Buckwheat Granola
6 cups buckwheat soaked overnight
6 apples
¼-1/2 cup agave
½ lemon juiced
2 tbsp carob powder
1 tpbsp mesquite powder or 4 tablespoons cacao powder
¼-1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 vanilla bean seeded

Soak buckwheat overnight. In the morning drain and rinse well removing any gelatinous material. Put drained buckwheat in large bowl and set aside. In a heavy duty blender blend apples, lemon, agave, vanilla and salt. Add mixture to buckwheat and mix well. Next add carob powder and mesquite or cacao powder and again mix well. Finally add shredded coconut and combine. Spread on teflex sheets at ¼ inch thick and dehydrate 8 hours or overnight. Flip and dehydrate until crisp (another 12-18 hours). Yields 5-6 Excalibur dehydrator trays worth of granola! Serve with fresh fruit and nut mylk…enjoy!