Im super tired today, as our working with the deadline of the ebook, and other deadlines kept us awake during the early hours. Tonight, no more work, just time to snuggle up in bed, watching a nice movie. Im into this one, The horse boy. It's a documentary about a more or less desperate family with an autistic boy, doing everything they can to help him improve. They are horseback riding through Mongolia to meet with a Schaman there. Totally fascinating!!! Watch it, it's an order! I've loved the vast lands of Mongolia since my early teenage years, don't really know why but there is something with the landscape there and the close bonds the nomads have with their horses. To live there, the way they do must be the ultimate freedom I think. But this tale about a very special and talented boy, is very moving. The love the parents give him, it's just amazing.

"I would love to tell you about a guy, he's a friend of mine and very shy. When ever he went for a walk, it was as if the world stood still and like nobody talked. He'd wander about looking at things, amazed by the way they looked and got him to think. That the world is a funky place, if only you open your eyes to the ever beaming love~rays". /Karolina

Today arrived a package in my mailbox that I've anxiously been waiting for! Two raw chocolate products that I wanted to test before I decide wether or not to sell it in my upcoming raw webshop, and best of all: my Camu camu!! I've read the best info about camu camu that you really should read. OMG. What a super food. Im amazed of how I could miss to incorporate it into my daily super food smoothies after 4 years into this smoothie-habit. 

And the verdict for the chocolate... The raw Conscious chocolate with maca, vanilla and blue-green algea had such a nice texture, chewy and soft. J liked this best. The Rawr chocolate with mint, were my favorite, but then again I love mint! It was a bit firmer to chew on. 

And now.. it's time for some nice raspberry tea and just relaaaax.. Talk to you soon!

Valentines Cake recipe!

Hi you people of bewinged hearts!

I hope you have a nice and romantic day with jummy goodness. If you don't I've posted a little cake recipe for you to enjoy. If you don't have the ingredients at home for the moment, I can assure you that it is tasty the other days of the year too :) You'll make this cake in a matter of minutes. Let it then rest in the fridge for 1-2 hours or until firm. If you cant wait, pop it into the freezer for a while to firm faster.


It's a black currant / strawberry cake on a lovely base that is
good enough to eat as it is (for a Swedish recipe, look further down). The strawberry layer comes from one of the cake recipes in the dessert ebook that will be launched any day now!

I put blueberries on the cake for the actual photoshoot, but ignore that, it's supposed to be black currants.


Black Currant and Raspberry Heart cake (see recipe in Swedish further down!!)


The base

Click to enlargen!

• 1 1/4 cup walnuts
• a little over 1/2 cup almonds
• 2 pinches of pink Himalayan salt
• 1/8 dessertspoon of real Vanilla
• 1/4 cup crushed flax seeds
• 1/2 cup dates, pitted and soaked (save the soaking water)
• 1,5 handfull of Cacao nibs

In a food processor, grind the walnuts and almonds into a flour. Add the rest of the ingredients putting the Cacao nibs in last. Now you have a dough ball. Take a cake pan and put some plastic film in it so that it covers the bottom and sides. Press down the dough ball with your hands and form a nice base. Use a spoon to even the surface. Don't work the dough up along the sides as if it were a pie. Only cover the bottom of the cake pan. Continue with the raspberry filling!


The raspberry filling

• a little over 3/4 cup cashews
• a little over 3/4 cup raspberries
• 1/3 cup of the date soakingwater
• a pinch of pink Himalayan salt
• 4 tablespoons of virgin Coconut butter
• 1 tablespoon of purple corn (optional)
• 1 dessertspoon of Sunflower lechitin (optional)

Click to enlargen!

In a food processor grind the cashews to a fine flour. Add the rest of the ingredients but the Coconut butter and the Sunflower lechitin. Process until completely smooth. Can require up to 5-10 minutes of mixing..

Now add the Coconut butter and mix some 30 seconds more, and then add the Sunflower lechitine and process for another 30-60 sek. If you don't have Purple corn or Sunflower lechin at home, it's still going to be a tasty filling.

Pour the raspberry filling over the crust and top the cake with lots of black currants and a pretty flower. Put in the fridge to harden for 1-2 hours. Before serving, lift the cake by holding the plastic film and carefully remove the film by supporting the cake underneath with a spatula or some kind of flat tool.


About black currants... I love to take some branches in the winter and put them in water. After a week or so the buds crack open and you see a bit of green leaves. The wonderful thing about this is that you can then smell the wonderful scent of the black currant, wich put you instantly back to lazy summerdays in the middle of the winter.

Black currants are full of antioxidants (twice as much as blueberries), vitamin C (four times as much as in oranges), essential fatty acids (GLA a very rare omega 6-fatty acid) and minerals like potassium (twice the amounts of bananas).

About Sunflower lechitin... 

• Is raw and free from chemicals (compared to the soy lechitin).
• Lechitin is an essential nutrient that people can be deficient in if they don't eat eggs.
• Lechitin contains choline, which is good for pregnant women, as it helps the baby to develop.
• Choline also enhances mental focus and physical endurance (it has been used to treat dementia).
• It strengthen the gallbladder (can combat gallstones) and heal the liver.
• Contains essensial fatts.
• To improve the cholesterol levels in the body, the bad LDL cholesterol needs to be reduced and the god HDL cholesterol increased. This is what a lot of nuts do, and also lechitin.
• Lechitin helps to break down fat molecules into smaller parts. The body can then use the fat for energy instead of storing it as body fat.
• Improves male sexual performances.
• Sunflower lechitin is a prebiotic = food for the good bacterias in your gut = stronger immune system.
• Brakes down plaque in the blood vessels.


/ Karolina~

Have a lovely Valentines day!!

 

Valentinkakan på svarta vinbär och hallon

Kakbottnen

• 3 dl valnötter 

• 1,5 dl mandlar

• 1-2 små nypor av rosa Himalayasalt

• 1/8 tsk äkta vanilj

• 1/2 dl krossade eller hela linfrön, 

• 1 dl dadlar, blötlagda och urkärnade (spara ca 1 dl av blötläggningsvattnet)
• en näve kakaokross / kakaonibs

Om du vill grodda valnötterna och mandlarna först går det utmärkt. Kör alla ingredienser i en matberedare tills du har en degboll. Klä en pajform med plastfilm, och tryck ner degen jämnt och fint med händerna. Använd en sked för att jämna till ytterligare. Om du hellre vill ha kakan i en form med löstagbar kant går det också. Fortsätt med hallonkrämen!

Hallonkräm


• 2 dl cashewnötter (behöver vara torra)
• 2 dl hallon
• 1 dl av dadel-vattnet
• en liten nypa rosa Himalayasalt
• 4 msk virgin / kallpressad Cocosolja
• 1 msk Purple corn eller Acai bärpulver(valfritt)
• 1 tsk solroslecitin (valfritt)

Gör först ett mjöl av cashewnötterna i en matberedare eller elektrisk kaffekvarn. Tillsätt resten av ingredienserna utom cocosoljan och solroslecitinet och mixa till en mycket slät kräm. Tillsätt därefter cocosoljan och solroslecitinet och mixa ytterligare någon minut. Beroende på hur kraftfull matberedare du har, så kan mixningen med en mindre kraftfull maskin ta 5-10 min för att få en slät kräm.

Häll hallonkrämen över kakbottnen och ställ kakan i kylen över natten för att stelna, eller i ca 5-4 timmar.
När det är dags att servera, lyft upp kakan ur formen genom att dra i plasten. Ta ett platt verktyg typ slickepott eller osthyvel för att stödja kakan när du drar loss plastfilmen underifrån. Det låter svårare än det är. Dekorera med svarta vinbär / björnbär / blåbär eller vad du har hemma och en fin blomma i mitten! Hoppas att du tycker om den lika mycket som jag ♥

How physical exercise benefit your brain & raw Apple tarts recipe!

Howdy!

I think it's a bit of a lucky day for me today. Just came back from the gym, after having a blast with a ball, you know one of theese. I didn't actually work out on it, just bumping and bouncing around having silly fun for a while (plus working out with your partner is serious fun). I forgot my shoes so I couldn't use the treadmill, otherwise my adrenaline-bliss would have reached over the moon my now. When we got home Jakob made a great sallad for me while I made the dessert; some raw apple pies (pics and recipe further down). I also got a super cute fan-mail in my inbox and got some help with the last details of the dessert ebook before the publishing *yay*.

Working out is one great way to help new synapsis develop in ones brain. Scientists from The University of New South Wales discovered that working out changes the chemistry of the brain in a way that you more easily can tackle negative thoughts linked to traumatic events. The brain of an exercising body has an increased number of the BDN F protein, which helps the nerve cells to grow in the part of the brain that controls the way we react on stress and trauma. And another research from Cambridge shows that after only a couple of days of working out creates 100 000 of new brain cells! The new brain cells helps your memory and keeps the brain fit and alert. You need to exercise at least half an hour, three times a week to gain this effect.

I've noticed that the quality of my thoughts have been improved right after the gym. If you are interested in re-programming your brain (which might be a good idea as the automatic programming we grow up with doesn't do much good...) starting to exercise is a wonderful idea! The type of programming we grow up with are for instance "Life is a competition", "survival of the fittest", "Im not good enough", "I got to measure up" and so on.. is toxic thought-material that swirls around in a huge collective thought-cloud that we get exposed to every day. Im wondering how many of the thoughts in our heads are actually ours and not a part of our cultural programming? (or other worse types of bizzare invisible public programming, but Im not going into this now). We shouldn't identify so much with thoughts, that's for sure.

The impact of our thoughts is proved in a collective manifestation in Washington DC, when 4000 yogis from 62 countries came together to meditate in july 1993. Some cool things happened as a result to the meditations project like political changes, wether patterns and crime rates (source: Institute of Science). 

 

These are really simple to do! Just make the crust, press it into the cake plate or small forms, make the filing and decorate with apples, almonds, raisins or what you feel like!

Raw Apple Tarts with cinnamon and almonds

For the crust

• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• one or two pinches of Himalaya salt
• 1/4 dessert spoon real Vanila
• 1/2 desserts poon Mesquite powder
• 1/2 cup dates, pitted and soaked
• 1/4 cup chrushed flax seeds

In a food processor, mix all the ingredients into a dough. Press into a pie form.

For the filling

• shred 2 organic apples, put in a bowl
• 1/2 cup pecans
• zest from 1 organic lemon
• 1 dessert spoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons coconut butter
• 1/2 dessert spoon cinnamon
• a pinch of Himalaya salt
• a little less than 1/4 cup raisins (less if you don't like too sweet desserts).

In a food processor, mix until you have a paste, then put the shredded apples in and stir by hand. Put the filling over the crust and decorate. Eat at once! *^_^*

Soon Im going to the stables to ride my new darling - Mackie! She's one fiery lady, she's missing a break.. ^_^ I just love the feeling of getting on a 900 pound wild, mad horse. The sense of mastering this huge animal beats... everything.


Love and cute things
/Karolina~