Recipe of the Week: Amazing Raw Chocolate Shake

Hi guys! How was your week?

Well, mine was wonderful and blessed! For one thing, our dear friend Mr. Sun has been keeping us company. Yay! After last year's pretty much non-existent summer, we are making the most of it!

On a hot summer day what better way to refresh oneself than hanging out by a nice cool river, eh? I went tubing with a couple of friends (my first ever!) and had such a fabulous time! There is something really meditative and magical about letting oneself be carried along by the current, leisurely taking in all the surrounding beauty. And oh what fun when we hit rapids! Woo hoo! I had a huge grin plastered on my face most of the afternoon. ;-)

I'm a gardener at heart but was never given the right circumstances to really get into it. This week, however, I found a garden to play with and an absolutely ginormous one at that! I swear I've never seen such an abundance of veggies: various greens, beets, carrots, beans, peas, tomatoes, basil, potatoes, squashes... And as if that wasn't enough, the setting is be-yu-ti-ful! It's amazing how good it feels to spend a few hours in the company of plants!

I helped thinning lettuce beds one day; I swear that some of the heads were at least 1 1/2 feet in diameter! Have you ever heard of the lettuce diet? hehe We've been throwing some in our smoothies, soups and of course, enjoyng huge salads.

Nature's mandala

 Oh and there's also some lovely flowers!

One happy gardener!

On a different note, I realized that I haven't been giving much news about the furries for a while. Well rest assured that they, too, are thoroughly enjoying their summer. One thing's for sure; they are getting plenty of rest! Neither of them venture too far away from our 'home on wheels', especially Puss who hangs out in the van almost around the clock.

Her favorite spots are the front seats...

... but she occasionally goes for a little stroll (or in this case nap) in the woods.

Kyky's fave spot is a comfy hole that he's dug out next to the van.

Smiling woo'fie

With all this going on I've been too busy to spend much time prepping food, but I do have a yummilicious shake recipe to share!

I recently got an email from a lady named Karen who pointed out her website, Nature's Garden Health Center, to me. I was totally blown away by what she and her family have managed to accomplish! With the help of their 10 children (yes, you've read right!) they are sharing their passion for healthy living and helping spread the raw movement all over Wisconsin, aka 'the dairy state'.

The Urbaneks have an organic grocery store, organize raw retreats and health expos, offer an array of classes and have even developed their own line of organic, homemade products including several raw creations such as bars, crackers, breads, as well as sauerkraut and kombucha starter kits. Oh and did I mention that they also have an organic cafe called Zuzu's with some raw items on the menu? Call them 'The Super Family'! Wow, you guys rawck!!!

The following recipe was published in one of Nature's Garden Health's newsletters. It reminded me a little of my Super Choconana Shake sans the superfoods. I like how quick it is to whip up, since you don't need to have almond milk on hand.

Really very good!

Lisa's Amazing Raw Chocolate Shake
Posted in Nature's Garden Health Center's Raw Desserts Newsletter

Blend 3 cups coconut water with 3 dates

Then add:
1 1/2 frozen bananas
3 heaping TB of raw cacao powder
2 TB almond butter
1 heaping TB hemp seeds

Blend until smooth.

TRY to savor it and not chug the whole thing….I believe there is a prize if you can make this one last!