• Eat like you want to live for ever, live like there's no tomorrow
• Drink water from a wine glass
• Always have a mopped floor and vacuumed rugs
• Own at least one painting you know the whole history on
• Wake up being grateful
• Fall asleep being grateful
• Smile at a stranger for no reason (grin if they don't respond)
• Have a blender/juicer take up the most prominent part of your kitchen
• Take regular walks
• Re-read your favourite book of all time
• Admit that you've been wrong
• Cherish silence. Just listen. Shhh...
• Always have clean hands and nails
• Stretch often
• Think of those that matter to you and truly wish for them something you know they really want
• Be specific when giving a compliment
• Have a favourite snack recipe and always the ingredient for it in stock
• If looking at a photo that doesn't bring you joy and take you back to that moment, bin it
• Own pot plants, many of them

Recent trip to Rome. Felt amazing energies at St Peter's Basilica

• Write a list of all that upset you, forgive them individually, burn the list
• Always keep a clean kitchen bench
• Call someone out of the blue
• Remember what it was like being 5 years old
• Look forward to your birthday and celebrate with joy
• Love the body you've been gifted, no other has the same
• Think of the real reason why you eat and love your food for that
• Go to the park and blow bubbles
• Be on time. No, be early
• Detox often- your wardrobe, your desk, your body
• Say hello to a tree. It also likes hugs
• Buy a product/ brand/ food you are not familiar with
• Love for no reason, carry on loving for many
• Meet a new person each week
• Show real interest in people
• Thank the bus driver
• Sing out loud
• Make a healthy treat and share it with a neighbour you've never met
• Take a different route to work
• Enrol in a random class
• Love herbal tea
• Remember to breathe
• 
  

Cherish your own hopes and dreams... even when noone else believes in you

My top 25 in one image

1) Family and sushi. I'd be lying if I told you that visiting mum and dad was not my Top Best. It's been 18 months since I last saw them! And then there is mum's insane sushi! I can think of many raw foods that I crave, but only a select few I am sure I can live off. THIS is something I can live off easily. Lucky for you my super amazing mum is sharing her recipe right here as a special guest. Find it at the end...




2) Yoga with a view. Every morning for two weeks straight we were treated to a breathing moving heaven of  a yoga. Irlianna Samsara shared her knowledge, tips and techniques that were totally exciting, rejuvenating and always spontaneous. I love my yoga, but I get too easily bored after 3 classes normally when I get the hang of it and can predict what's to come next, ending up just counting down time instead. Terrible I know, but this time I've not only lasted two weeks with Irlianna, I cycled full speed every morning with dad to get to her!




4) Getting a puppy. I am sooo happy that mum and dad happened to find their new baby while I was visiting. I got to spend the best time with her, as she is at her cutest, funniest and most irresistible stage. Cuter still is her name- curly Kiwi. :)




5) Potluck at the Monarch's. So many parties, dinners and gatherings to choose from for my top ten, I had a difficult time deciding. Accept Matt and Angela's potluck was a no-brainer, a definite highlight. In fact so good, I will have a separate post just for it coming up next..




6) Wild edible herbs walk. Man, this walk was right up my alley, I was deing to find out what sort of local herbs and greens I could pick for juicing and to my surprise- pretty much ALL we passed were medicinal on some level. And I am telling you- there were alot! My fave was the Prickly Pear Cactus aka Nopal Opuntia, which lowers blood pressure, regulates blood sugars, supports immune system, has masses of Vitamin C and 17 amino acids. You just peel it and chop into your salad. It has the texture of a smooth cucumber and OMG so tasty.




7) Chocolate Club Dance Parties from Amsterdam. DJ Crystal DNA is Bastiaan Swager who is also the co-owner of a European based Raw Food business Mastercare. I was over the moon to meet my 'neighbour' all the way in Ecuador and the outdoor parties he put on were just awesome! It was especially hilarious when a whole crowd of locals gathered to watch the drug and alcohol free raw food 'zoo animals' get wild. Love!!



8) Raw Thai Dinner Experience. If you've seen my post on Eating New York, you'll know how much raw goodness I try everywhere and I would easily say this dinner was one of the best. Kirsten Gum, the leading chef of this incredible experience and founder of Raw Trips came for a few short days, just to tease us it seems, but she sure made it memorable. Specialty fruit and chia smoothie, spicy spinach soup, thai nori rolls and dip, pad thai kelp noodles and mango icecream with coconut bites. I went to Raw Food Heaven.

Happy Valentines Day everyone!!! That's right, you know it's coming, so whether you love it or love to hate it, there is no escaping 14th of February :)

With my Valentine in Machu Picchu

I just love this day! I love all the tacky decorations and chubby cupids and silly hearts and the commercial hype this day brings. So whether your Valentine is your significant other or a friend or a cat, there is always a reason to feel the looooove... especially with a brand new recipe that I have to share with you today!!!




For the essentials
Blender
Piping bag
8 Medium baking cases
Juicer (optional)

For the Cupcakes
1 x Cup Almond pulp/meal (what is left after making almond milk)
1/2 x Cup Hazelnuts (soaked overnight)
2 x heaped Tbsp Cacao Powder
10 x Pitted Dates (soaked 1 hr-overnight)
1 x Avocado, meat only
2 x heaped Tbsp Coconut butter/oil
2 x heaped Tbsp Raw Honey

- In a blender, put all ingredients apart from the first three
- Blend until creamy, use a tamper or just pulse if you have a standard blender
- Add cacao powder and pulse again
- Either add in the hazelnuts and almond meal to the blender or fold them in with the blended ingredients manually in a separate bowl
-[Tip: you should get a thick dry mousse type of mixture, roll it in your hands, pop into a baking case and gently press it down so it forms a flat surface and looks like a baked muffin]
-Transfer to the fridge while preparing the frosting

For the Red Frosting
1 x Cup Cashews (soaked 1hr- overnight)
10 x Pitted Dates (soaked 1hr- overnight)
2 x Tbsp Coconut butter/oil
1/4 x Cup Beetroot juice (see Tip below)

[Tip: to make the red colouring, juice 1 beetroot or if you either don't have a juicer or like me and want to avoid more cleaning up- just blend enough chopped beetroot (about 2-3) to cover the blade of the blender and then strain]
-Put all ingredients into a blender
-Blend until creamy, either using a tamper or pulsing if you have a standard blender
-If the mixture is too warm from the blade, let it sit to cool down, before piping
-Transfer the mixture into a piping bag with a medium sized nozzle and pipe in a spiral motion inwards
-Transfer into the fridge while preparing the heart shape

For the Chocolate hearts
Use my Basic Dark Chocolate Recipe

[Tip: To achieve solid heart shapes like mine, so they don't run or break easily, add more Cacao Powder to the recipe]
- Prepare a board with tin foil or baking paper over it
- Transfer all the chocolate into a piping bag with the smallest nozzle
- Draw heat shapes with a long end, so you can easily stick it into the cupcake later
- Transfer to the fridge for 10 minutes, then firmly press the shapes into each ready cupcake


So how do you like them?

Now is probably a good time to let you know that I am working on my next book, that will be all about chocolate and full of my best and favourite recipes, that I have been compiling over the last couple of years!

What chocolate flavour/recipe/type do you absolutely love?

Let me know in the comments below and if I haven't already got it on my list, but choose to include in the book, I will email you the book as soon as its ready in April!

Go on, tell me below...





UPDATE: The eBook I mentioned above is now out! Check out 'Seduced- Raw Chocolate Recipes to get very excited for'>>

Well into Christmas stretch now and right in the festive spirit, today was certainly THE highlight! I got up to a delivery- a Christmas parcel both from my parents in Ecuador and my sister in New York!!

I was not brought up to wait around and this time was no exception , so I ripped off the tape and opened the box and took off the wrapping and tore the plastic bag and look! looook!!!...


Wowee! Now this is what I call Christmas- Organic Chocolate galore of all flavours straight from Ecuador (majority, but not all raw- I do have to do my market research to whip up the best raw variety, right? :)), amazing spice mixes, hot summer heals and super cute outfits, finest Lama hair scarf for Elliot (I shall steal, be warned), dried flowers (and things I do not recognise, nor understand the meaning of in Spanish, but excited about nevertheless, perhaps tea?), the real deal coffee -freshest and most natural there is (more luck for Elliot, as he is the one that will be drinking it), the biggest warmest comfiest blanket, a Zapper (oh how I have wanted you!) aaaand a whole box of jewellery, including the most beautiful Lapis healing crystals and gemstones on a silver chain.

Thank you my beautiful family, I really didn't expect so much. I am wearing the bracelet you sent and feeling the energy from you this Christmas, loving every moment and missing you! Oh and by the way- THIS was the winner for me...


That is Cacao beans coated in... Cacao! Does it get any better than that? I think so, because it is spiced with dried ginger. Wow! I can't believe I haven't been introduced to such heaven before. I tried to figure out if it is a Raw product, as none of the ingredients suggest otherwise and I have a feeling it may just be- you can usually tell by the taste- when the chocolate doesn't have that bitter roasted tang and in this case you can even tell by the colour of the powder coat- it is light, just like raw cacao, not dark like roasted.


An all round good family day ends with an all round good family time, so we had Elliot's sister Alex over for the Eve of Christmas Eve.

For those still struggling to compile the finishing touches to their Christmas dinners, I wanted to share this fun recipe, that wouldn't eat up your precious time, but certainly look the part...



1/2 Cup Cashew Nuts
1/2 Cup Sunflower Seeds
1/2 Cup Walnuts
1/2 Cup Mesquite meal
1,5 Cups Pitted Dates
1 Tbsp Tahini
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
Optional for coating: cacao powder, desiccated coconut
Ribbon (thin, about 3metres)

- Grind all the nuts to a powder in a food processor
- Add the Dates and process pulsing, until all the ingredients are broken down and the mixture is sticky
- Add the Tahini and sprinkle evenly Mesquite and Spices over the mixture and process again
- Roll the even sized balls, any size you wish
- Prepare the ribbons for hanging your decorations: cut into roughly 25cm pieces, fold in half and tie a knot on the end
- Cut each Caramel ball half way (careful not to slice right through), insert the tied ribbon as in picture, so the knot is hanging at the bottom and just touching the ball (the knot will help stop the sliding of the ball off the ribbon while it hangs on the tree)
-  Press together to seal it back and roll a little to regain the shape
- At this stage I also coated the Caramels- half in Cacao power and half in Coconut