Hola beautiful readers!
Have you been enjoying the splendidly cold weather? Actually, I’ve been experiencing a bit of the frigid cold as well. I recently traveled to South Dakota from Costa Rica to visit family. Read all about that here.
From San Jose, Costa Rica… to:
Vale, South Dakota
Part of the reason for coming back was that my sister is almost 8 months pregnant (about ready to pop) and was having her baby shower! This was a fantastic opportunity, then, to partner up with my other lovely sister and create the baby shower menu!
I literally jumped off of the plane (okay, not that literally), drove to South Dakota, and had the next day to create the food for the main event. Here’s all what I made: (not raw, again, read what state I traveled to)
Mediterranean Veggie Wraps
These had a home-made roasted garlic and carmelized onion hummus, olives, tomato, avocado, bell pepper, onion, and cucumber in a wholesome wrap. Cut into threes, they were perfect for hand-held food.
Deviled Potatoes
A fun vegan take on Deviled Eggs, these appetizers didn’t turn out exactly as planned (make sure to mash the potatoes, not blend them with the rest of the filling). I also added too much apple cider vinegar, but they still were interesting to make and worth the effort.
Raw Herbed Cream Cheese Bites on Spinach-Basil Crackers with Cucumber
Recipe below! These were a huge hit – everyone loved the cream cheese. The ‘cheeze’ is also super easy to make.
Blueberry Crisp Dessert
(Not Vegan – not super healthy, but still fun to make)
Herbed Cream Cheese (Raw)
Preparation Time: 10 Minutes
Serving Size: 1 1/2 – 2 Cups
Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Cashews, soaked for 3 + hours and drained
1/3 Cup Water
1 Tbsp Coconut Oil, melted
1 Tbsp fresh Parsley
1 Tbsp fresh Chives
1 Garlic clove, peeled
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
1/2 tsp Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 – 1 tsp Sea Salt
*Optional: Diced Onion, Carrot, Red Bell Pepper
Directions:
1) In a high-speed blender (like the Vita-Mix, using the tamper), combine cashews, water, coconut oil, garlic, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, and sea salt until smooth and creamy.
2) Roughly chop your herbs and toss them into the blender. Pulse just enough to mix. Scrape out your ‘cream cheeze’ into a storable container.
3) Stir in your (optional) diced onion, shredded carrot, and finely diced red bell pepper.
4) Use your raw cream cheese with… raw (or cooked) bagels, raw vegetables, or as an appetizer (like I did at the baby shower, smearing on vegan crackers with a thin slice of cucumber on top).
Stores for 5-6 days in an air-tight container.
These are great served on cooked or raw crackers with a slice of cucumber. You may also create wraps, sandwiches, raw bagels, etc… with the cream cheese and enjoy the health benefits it offers.
All in all it was a great party – check out the photo below! My parents are growing tons of Kale!
As I talk about here, it was a great lesson to come back and be with family. Even with our ‘new lifestyles’, it can be tempting to drop your old life and sail off into the sun.
However, family is truly there in many ways and this trip has helped me realize that. By sharing my new self-realization, non-dogmatic attitude, and love for life, I’ve formed even better relations with those I hadn’t seen in 1 ½ years. It’s only 
strengthened my relationship with my close family, therefore I urge you to also be your true self.
Even if you don’t feel your immediate family will not accept your new lifestyle and mindset, as long as you are loving, truthful, and non-judgmental, there is great chance they will happily learn from your example and you will grow closer.
We are all one – enjoy healthy food, love your family, and bloom for life!
PS –
I’ve also been creating vegan dinners for my family all week long. In response, my dad has committed to going cheese-free for 2 weeks to see how he feels (day 4 – already feeling great!) and they’re all loving the food! Yippee!
Enliven Your Life with Fruits and Vegetables!
XOXO
Mandy
