Chocolate Geodes

These geodes evolved from our "Salted Chocolate Marzipan Cherry Bloops"

They were quickly gobbled up and with a pot luck to go to, I had to make more. So we did. But added more dried fruit. They look so lovely and taste delicious. They are also no bake and so easy to make. How easy? My 3 year old helped me with every step....especially the sampling.

Ingredients

- Marzipan (almonds and icing sugar, you can get this at your grocery store, bulk barn and even IKEA)
- Dried Fruit
- Chocolate chips
- Pink Himalayan salt

Directions:
1. Take about a tablespoon of marzipan and flatten out. (Try rolling into a small ball first then flattening)
2. Place dried fruit in the center and roll into a ball. Doesnt have to be perfect, after all its a geode. Place aside.
3. Melt chocolate in a double boiler
4. Roll marzipan balls though chocolate and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
5. Place a piece of rock salt on top (optional)
6. Put in freezer or fridge for 10-15 minutes to set

Salted Chocolate Marzipan Cherry Bloops

These no bake, super easy to make 4 ingredient bloops are fast becoming popular in our household.
So simple that my 3 year old can make them too.

To add a fun and festive twist, you can soak the dried cherries in some brandy for some extra kick (which obviously makes it a no no for kids, but this way you can enjoy more of them yourself).

Ingredients:
- Marzipan
- Dried Cherries
- Chocolate chips
- Pink Himalayan salt

Directions:
1. Taking about a tablespoon of marzipan, flatten out.
2. Place one dried cherry in the center and roll into a ball
3. Melt chocolate in a double boiler
4. Roll marzipan balls though chocolate and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
5. Place a piece of rock salt on top
6. Put in freezer or fridge for 10-15 minutes to set

This was a lot of fun to make and my 3 year old had a great time participating. She was able to do many steps on her own (minus the melting of the chocolate part).

Flattening out the marzipan, adding the cherry and rolling it into a ball

Super Vegan Lactation Cookies

Ive been nursing for four years now. At the beginning I had a lot of difficulty with not having enough milk. These cookies saved me. I went from barely having enough to leaking milk virtually overnight.

Here is what I have learned over the years as to what works best for me to increase my milk supply.
1. Eating healthy fats
2. Drinking lots of water
3. Nursing (tells your body your baby needs more milk)
4. Oats and Brewers yeast.

I have relied on this recipe, for these 4 years.....but have also been tweaking it.

As a nursing mum, Ive come to realize my body needs more vitamins, minerals and better food in general especially if its also making food for a growing baby and toddler. So Ive played around a bit and added a few key ingredients that I found gave the lactation cookies a much needed nutritional boost.

Hemp Seeds: They are high in omega 3 and 6 fats. great fiber content and amino acids. They also have lots of magnesium (great for calcium absorption) and 10 grams of protein per 3 tablespoons!

Molasses: adds extra iron

Nuts and Seeds: provides more of those healthy fats as well as proteins.

So, here is the revised recipe. Hope you enjoy it as much as I (we) do.


1. Preheat the oven to 350

Ingredients:

Wet

• 3/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 4 tablespoons molasses

Dry

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons of flaxseed meal
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups of oats
• 1/2 cup of hempseed 
• 4 tablespoons of brewers yeast (you can add more to help boost your supply)
• Nuts and seeds of your choice (you can mix them in or place them on top)

Method

2. Mix together dry ingredients

3. Mix together wet ingredients and combine

(You can add more water if you find it hard to work with)

4. Form into balls (about 2-3 tablespoons worth)

(You can also add an almond in the centre)

5. Bake for around 10-15 minutes (depending on the thickness of your cookies).

Allow to cool and if you want them to last, tell family members that these lactation cookies work on everyone....otherwise you will be making these more often.

Note: yes, I purposefully made these cookies look like boobies!

Its not every day you turn 9!

Wiggles, our fuzzy-daughter, turned 9 today. Thats 69 in HUman years. Its surreal to think we have had the pleasure of her company for 5 of those years. She was surrendered 'pet' because her family developed allergies to her. Plus she had a nasty case of the meanies....but that was 5 years ago. And my, how Wiggles has changed.

She now has a loving Husbund, Connor, a warm, safe and happy home. Family that loves her, and she gets as many (or little, it depends on her mood) pets as she little heart desires.

So, naturally we had to throw her a party!

She had 'cake' (lettuce, pears, carrot shavings, raspberries, banana and parsley) No, we did not lite the candle for good reason.

We had streamers, balloons, a banner, even presents! Which Noodles had to show Wiggles how to open. Wiggles even ended up sharing her cake with Connor (so nice of her). She then slept the rest of the afternoon, warm, happy, with a belly full of love.

Happy Birthday Wiggle bear. May your next 9 years bring you even more health, love and happiness.

Vegan Lactation Cookies

A what now?

These are cookies, that you can eat raw (because there are no eggs in them)  and are animal product free (aka no dairy) AND as a bonus, help a woman increase her milk supply when she is nursing her baby.

You know how they sometimes say, "If you want your milk to come in have a beer"? Well, this has all the benefits without the hangover. All kidding aside, its a great way to boost your milk supply without the effects of alcohol. 

Another bonus: They taste amazing!!!!

Here is what you will need and where to find it

•  1 cup coconut oil (Coconut oil can be bought at Costco. 1.5L tub for $25)

•  1 & 1/2 cups brown sugar or maple syrup

•  1 cup of water and an additional 4 tablespoons of water for the flaxseed meal

•  2 tablespoons flaxseed meal (This is just ground up flaxseed and can be found at Bulk Barn)

•  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

•  2 cups flour

•  1 teaspoon baking soda

•  1 teaspoon salt

•  3 cups oats, thick cut

•  Optional 1 cup of chocolate, almonds, or any ingredients you like.

•  2-4 tablespoons of brewers yeast (Can be found at Bulk Barn).

Method

1) Mix together 2 tablespoons of flaxseed meal and water, set aside for 3-5 minutes. (This acts as an egg substitute. Since the cookies are better when slightly raw, eliminating the egg reduces any food dangers).

2) Mix together the coconut oil and sugar. You can melt the coconut oil and add the sugar/maple syrup.

3) Stir flaxseed mixture and add with vanilla to the coconut/sugar mix. 

4) Sift together dry ingredients, except oats and nuts/chocolate chips.

5) Add to coconut oil sugar mixture. Stir in oats then chips.

6) Form into cookie shapes and place onto cookie sheet.

7) Bake for 8-12 minutes, depending on size of cookies. 

They can be eaten raw as well since there are no harmful ingredients in them. 

If you don’t notice much of an increase the first time or if you need to increase your supply even more, add more brewers yeast.

A Natural, Efficient, Easy To Make Deodorant Recipe you have been waiting for

I will just get to the point here. I have spent hundreds of dollars and years looking for something that works, only to realize I can make my own! So, here it is. Give it a try, save some money AND get a wonderful product!

No, this has nothing to do with bunnies other than the fact that its not tested on them, which is kinda huge.

All-Natural Deodorant

Ingredients

·         1/4 cup coconut oil, melted


·         1/4 cup baking soda

·         1/4 cup arrowroot powder or cornstarch


·         1 tablespoon Shea butter

·         15 drops of essential oils of choice (tea tree & wild orange for example. I recommend using tea tree as a base and adding wild orange, lavender, lemon or any other fragrance you like).

Directions

1.   Over a double boiler, melt coconut oil and Shea butter.

2.   Combine baking soda, and arrowroot/cornstarch in a mixing bowl.

3.   Add essential oils to coconut oil & Shea butter

4.   Mix dry and wet ingredients

5.   Let cool and transfer into deodorant containers

6.   Refrigerate for 15 minutes

Bunny Butt, Piggie Kisses and a Donkey

Sometimes all you need in life are the above three mentioned. Or below shown. Eleanor and I had the privileged of going to the Wishing Well Sanctuary near by, which is always the highlight of our month.

We get to see rescued animals and lovely people and be with our kin. The pure joy on her face sums it all up.

Support your local sanctuary please :)

Outside Frolick

We love playing in the front yard just because it has a large tree that provides the lovliest of shades. Plus the sunlight dances through its leaves creating a relaxing and oh so delectable mood.  It doesnt hurt that the cute little squirrels are out too watching us.

As you can see, good times were had by all. I think Wayne also tried to play with the Tonka. He is such a house rabbit tho. He kept cleaning his paws.

Rabbits & Children

We had three bunnies before our wonderful daughter came along. So we had to do some creative parenting to ensure that the transition was successful.

Some bunnies (Wayne) took to Eleanor as if she was his own. No, literally. This rabbit guards her at night.

The other two, well, like most rabbits, need some adjusting.

What does this entail? Not leaving my daughter alone with them. Always supervising them. She means well, but can get grabby. This goes for any pet. The parent always needs to be there.

Please never ever buy a 'pet' for a child. Its your responsibility as an adult to take care of these animals and ensure they dont get in harms way.

Noodles means well, but she can get a little too excited. As you can see, these bunnies can bring out the fun in all of us. 

The BEST Carrot Cake (that also happens to be vegan but no one needs to know that) Recipe

The BEST Carrot Cake you will have. 

Per my original post and much thanks for the inspiration from Apt. 2B Baking Co. this is my modified version of their wonderful recipe. 

People are often shocked that this is vegan, and often ask me to share the secret. So here it is. I'm posting it to my blog, its just easier to send the link.

So, enjoy. 
Yes, it works amazing with coconut cream, no you don't need to add the walnuts, and yes you can substitute the raisins for any dried fruit like currants.

So here it is :D

METHOD:
2 1/4 cup flour

1 cup packed brown sugar OR Maple Syrup

1T ground fresh ginger

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1c plus 2 Tablespoon orange juice (room temp)

1/2 cup coconut oil

1 1/2 Tablespoon vinegar

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup golden raisins (or any dried fruit)

1c crumbled walnuts, or pecans

3-4 cups shredded carrots

Can or two of coconut milk (depends on how much icing you want)

Icing sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Be sure to place can of coconut milk in fridge overnight. 

Preheat oven to 350, grease pans with coconut oil

1. Add raisins/dried fruit to room temperature orange juice to soak while you prepare the other ingredients.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda). Stir in the walnuts

3. In a large bowl whisk together the wet ingredients (sugar or maple syrup, oil, vinegar and vanilla). Then stir in the orange juice with raisins/dried fruit, and shredded carrots

4. Add the flour mixture to the liquid mixture all at once and fold gently to combine.

5. Pour into cake pan and bake for 20-25min or until a cake tester comes out clean. (even if it doesn’t come out clean its ok since the cake has nothing harmful in it and can be eaten raw)

6. Let the cakes cool in the pan for about 20 minutes, then invert on a rack to cool completely before assembly.

7. Icing (This can be done in advance)

- Remove can from fridge

- Carefully open (do not shake). The cream of the coconut will have risen to the top while the water will remain in the bottom.

- Carefully scoop out the cream on the top and place into a mixing bowl. (My trick is to cut a V into it with a knife and drain the water)

- Add desired amount of icing sugar and whip

- Use as regular frosting  

Thats it.

Hope you enjoy and share please! And yes, take all the credit :D