Chocolate Raspberry Larrybars

I'm sure you have all been twiddling your thumbs and tapping your toes waiting for another blog post. February left five of the six of us ill and with 3 birthdays to celebrate too! I feel like I'm just catching up around the home front. I have blog post ideas just sitting here piling up. So it's time for a recipe!

I do have a disclaimer when it comes to my recipes though. I have a hard time writing(and also following) recipes. Be prepared for a lot of words like "smidge", "dash" and "to taste". Because that's what happens around here...a lot. Usually I get lucky and it turns out okay. My hubby keeps lovingly reminding me though that people are wanting actual recipes. -The kind with numbers and measurements.- I will try harder! While I'm on the subject of confessing my kitchen secrets I should also mention that I'm probably the messiest cook ever. No really...

Let's go back to that whole not writing down recipes thing for a minute. I made some homemade Larabars( I'll call them Larrybars) a week and a half ago. I was so proud of myself for writing it down and even pulling out the good camera to take pictures. 

YUM!

(Almonds, Dates, Cranberries, Coconut, Pumpkin Seeds, Chia Seeds)

I go to find the recipe and I couldn't find it anywhere! Ugh! It is slightly different than actual Larabars because of the seeds, but I like the texture. I do know what ingredients I used in it so I'm sure I'll be able to work on the amounts and get the recipe again. I did however make a whole different flavor yesterday! 

 Meet my Chocolate Raspberry Larrybars 

Not as pretty with my the phone on my camera. But equally as delicious! Plus this one comes with a recipe. Score!

Chocolate Raspberry Larrybars

10-12oz Raw Almonds

15 Medjool dates (pitted)

1/4 C. Freeze Dried Raspberries

2 T. Flax Seeds

1-1 1/2 T. Coconut Oil

1/4 C. Chocolate Chips

2-3 t. Cocoa

Add the almonds into a food processor and grind into a small pieces. Secondly add in the dates and mix them until they're in little pieces. Then add in the raspberries, flax seeds, coconut oil and cocoa. Mix them together. Next add the chocolate chips and only process until the chips are chopped. -Try and say that five times fast!-  Line a square dish(I used an 8x8 pyrex and had some extra) with wax paper and press the mixture into it. I like to fold the extra wax paper on the sides into the middle to help squeeze it together. I made mine about 1/2 in. thick.  I like to store mine in the refrigerator also. This recipe made 14 bars.

They're so good you'll want 2! 

These are the "yummy little gems" I used in my recipe. I would have liked to have used more but I used all that was left. I'm just lucky there was some! 

Some tips:

Too dry- add another date or two

Too moist- add some more nuts

You can mix and match different types of fruit and nuts with the dates for a ton of different combinations. I love using Trader Joe's Smooshed Banana and coconut. Or cranberries and peanuts for a PB&J treat. 

Camilla over at Power Hungry has a great list of a few varieties you can try out. As well as a great post on Homemade Larabars. I've used both her technique and what I mentioned above - they both work. Her's may stick together a little better than mine though. I also own her 150 Best Vegan Muffin recipe book which has the Banana Split Muffins I've raved about before.

What would your favorite combination be? Let me know in the comments.

Beta-hydroxy-di-ethyl-what??

Tatiana talked about making the move to veganism and chemical or biological additives to food and being in charge of your body—instead of your body being in charge of you. Wow--where did she get all those smarts? 

 By the way, it is amazing to me the things that the FDA says are “natural” that can be put into our foods or even NOT included on the label…but THAT’S another post. 

I’m going to chat about my personal experience with chemicals. (cue sinister music ♫♫)

Several years back, I had an allergic reaction, cause unknown.  I suffered for several days using alternative remedies; however, when nothing worked, I decided I had better see my primary care provider.  It was diagnosed as “contact dermatitis” (which I already knew).  The only thing that I had changed in my life was moving to a fabric softener that was labeled free of dyes, perfumes, etc.  He mentioned that there are so many chemicals we encounter in our daily lives that even items labeled ‘free and clear’ still contained many of the same chemicals and that I should give my body a break from those items.

A light bulb went on in my head…duhh!!

 I just paid someone to tell me that?  

 (I am thankful he helped me re-think things though).   Everything I used around the house and on my body was made of chemicals…hand soap, shampoo, body wash, household cleansers, dish soap, laundry detergent, automatic dish-washing liquid, antiperspirants, fabric softeners…and many, many more with ingredients that I couldn’t pronounce or had never even heard of in my chemistry classes.

With his instructions to cut out those items, I started to move away from chemicals around our house...and, voila, my rash went away!  Don’t get me wrong—I still cover my gray and use Paul Mitchell’s color-protectant shampoo—like I said in my bio to the right, it's a work in progress!  I am trying decrease exposure to most of the chemicals in my life and to use more environmentally-friendly items.

I use Simple Green to clean as well as white vinegar, baking soda, and biofriendly detergents (like BioKleen or Mrs. Meyer products).  I just found out from my sister that Simple Green has petrochemicals in it and is just as toxic as other chemical cleaners!  Alas, companies that create household cleaners are not required to put all ingredients on the label!  C-r-a-z-y but true...marking that off my shopping list forevermore! 

 My body wash is organic with olive oil, avocado oil and green tea. The family is working on shampoos and will probably move to Dr. Bronner’s tea tree castile soap and baby castile soap for McKenna.

Todd and I have purchased name brand foaming hand soap for several years.  We noticed how dry our hands became and every 6 months, I would have bleeding cracks all over my hands because they were so dry from all of the chemicals I use at home and work.  (I am a nurse and the soap and hand sanitizer at work is very effective for killing bacteria—but they also kill my hands!). 

I wanted something neat and un-messy in order for the bathroom sinks to stay just a little cleaner and yet offer munchkins and not-so-munchkins adequate anti-bacterial protection so I started trying different concoctions out about 6 months ago and came up with my newest creation: 

Foaming hand soap!

One caveat—you need a foaming pump dispenser.  I, wanting to be a green girl, recycled my Dial foaming soap pump containers and refill them with this recipe.  I use Dr. Bronner’s Tea Tree Pure Castile Soap to save my tea tree essential oil for other things.  I use lavender oil and between the two, I still get the same antibacterial properties.  You can use his unscented soap and create your own scent...but it won't be antibacterial!  Use a combination of oils if you like, but I recommend staying around 20 drops maximum of all oils combined.

Best Ever Foaming Hand Soap

• 2 Tbsp Dr. Bronner's Pure Castile Soap

• 10-20 drops of essential oils

• About 1 cup filtered (or tap) water  

If you are using the Dial soap type of dispenser—just place the soap and the essential oil into the container and fill to the line with water. Shake gently to mix ingredients.

Note:  This recipe is strictly for foaming soap--too watery to use for regular soap. I haven't come up with an adequate recipe for regular hand soap yet.

Ta-da!  Simple as that!  My hands don’t crack and split and I know that it still has the antibacterial qualities I want because of the tea tree and lavender essential oils but WITHOUT ALL THE CHEMICALS!

 In addition to decreasing chemicals ON my body, obviously I want to ingest as few chemicals as possible  (or other nasty biological germs--like E. Coli...ew) , so I always make sure I wash/soak any fruits and veggies. 

Honestly, I can’t always afford to buy organic fruits and vegetables, but I DO buy mostly organic so I don’t have to worry about chemicals (but I still have to worry about biological germs!) and I always wash them.

FRUGAL FRUIT (& VEGGIE) WASH

1 cup white vinegar
1 cup water
2 Tbsp baking soda

      Mix all together in bowl and then pour into spray bottle (after fizz as settled down). 

       IMPORTANT:  Let produce sit in rinse for 3-5 minutes before washing off.

       Hard-skinned fruits/veggies:  Spray on, rub in and wash off.  Soft-skinned fruits/veggies:  Spray on and wash off.

  

The acetic acid kills bacteria and helps dissolve the wax and pesticide residue while the baking soda acts as a gentle scrub to remove them!

  

 

(You can also use commercially prepared fruit & veggie washes like Environne—purchase fairly cheaply at your local health food store or health food section of grocery store.  I know that Tatiana uses lemon essential oil for her wash.  )

Just yesterday, I was wondering if Grapeseed Extract (GSE)* would work as a wash because it’s an antioxidant as well.  I found a recipe that I’m going to try...I will let you know what I think and how I adapt it!

 GSE Produce Wash

3 cups water

1 cup white vinegar

2 Tbsp baking soda

15-20 drops grapefruit seed extract

    

Combine all ingredients in a large container. Then, transfer to a spray bottle with a pump. Spray mixture on produce, and rinse thoroughly after at least 5 minutes.

*Grapefruit seed extract is available at your local health food store.

What chemicals can you cut out of your life?

When did vegetable start with a Mmm?

We get a fruit and vegetable box delivered to our house a couple of times a month. This was one of the weeks. As I was pulling all the vegetables out of the box I realized I always feel like a kid on Christmas or at least a parent since I already knew what was in the box.

I started to do a little self reflecting - I mean as much as you can, as a mom of four, in the 2 minutes I had.

How the heck did I go from the seventeen year old Hollywood Video girl who would rather eat Sour Patch Watermelons and drink soda on her dinner break...

Yep, me. 10+ years ago! Hi!

or the new wife that thought a good dinner was having boxed hamburger helper(sans meat, we were broke) with asparagus on the side...

to the gal who is pulling snow pea out of the veggie box and moaning. Yes I literally was making "Mmmm" sounds. I mean look at those babies! So much beauty and color. None of it made in a lab. Not-a-thing!

...Back to my reflecting...

I tried to pin point the exact moment I thought to myself "Um, self, what in the world are you doing?! Shouldn't things be, oh I don't know, a little more natural?!"

I'm not just talking food now. 

I've realized there have been many smaller moments(some big ones too) in my life that have led me to this place. Maybe I will talk about them more in a future post. Once it's not our "first date". I wouldn't want to scare you off or anything!

One of the more recent events was coming to the realization that my body, all imperfections and extra lbs included, is the best gift I have ever received. So why in the world was I treating it so badly? Did the things I do, use or eat help me beautify this gift? Nope.

-I don't mean the Hollywood version of beauty-

I want to use this gift to it's full potential. Be the best me. Feel strong and in control of it! I sometimes found my self wanting to scream "Food! You are not the boss of me!" 

But guess what? Food kind of is the boss. Of my body at least. As far as helping me function! But I get to say what, how much and when. 

So take that food! 

What was I putting in my body though? I mean food companies would make sure things were safe...right?....right?!

About 5 years ago we started researching more about High Fructose Corn Syrup.  We decided to take that completely out of our diet. -We thought that was hard to do!-

Flash forward 4 years, several food documentaries and some researching later we decided to try our hand at a vegan diet. I will say those first 2 weeks were the hardest! We weren't big meat eaters anyway. We usually ate chicken and only had red meat a handful of times a year. We did consume a lot of dairy. Our bodies had to detox all of that out of their systems. They also had to get used to all the fiber and nutrients. 

-Did you know most American's diets are deficient in calcium and fiber(among other things)?-

I was seriously thinking what in the world have we gotten ourselves into. But you can't unsee and forget the things you've learned. So we continued moving forward. I'm so grateful that we did! There are so many benefits to this lifestyle. Not only the health benefits but also the impact we have on the environment. After those 2 weeks I started feeling lighter. Not weight-wise, but something more. My whole body felt better. My skin cleared up. My husband lost around 10 lbs.

My kiddos do still eat vegetarian sometimes when we go out to dinner. They also still have their free cookie from Fred Meyers. Why? Because I'm okay with it. You have to make individual choices for yourself and your family.

Becoming vegan wasn't the only thing we changed. 

 I started looking at packages, boxes, and bags(in my best Grinch voice). What are these things I can't pronounce? Why does my toothpaste need dyes? Food created in a lab? You can put the words "100% natural" on anything?! 

-Did you know the food labeling term "natural" is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)?! Meaning anyone can put it on anything! *Insert Tommy Boy guarantee joke here* But let's not get started on the FDA-

Now I've started thinking...This ingredient is made out of what animal part?! Ew.

-can we say Castoreum? Nuff said-

Out came the Genetically Modified Organisms(GMOs) and the dyes.

I love the quote from Hungry For Change:

 "we are not eating food anymore; we are eating food-like products."

I had a friend ask if our grocery bills have gone up. They have increased, but not from eating vegan. It's more from the other choices we have made with food.

I leave you with this:

Know where your food comes from. Know how it got from point A to your taBle. Know what is in and on it.