Chocolate Mint Leaf Pudding

Raw Chocolate Mint Leaf Pudding

sweetened with banana & honey

Today is the first day of summer and the temperature outside is climbing toward 90 degrees.  I'm not tolerating the heat well these days and I feel that I'm in for trouble. We've not turned on the air conditioning yet indoors, but we're going to soon I reckon, regardless of the high cost of keeping cool. 

What is your choice of a refreshing cool drink or a good-for-you snack? Today, I was thinking of something minty to go with a little chocolate—my most favorite food combination ever!

I enjoy watering my few flowers, herbs and small vegetable garden. When I water the chocolate mint plants which have taken over one of my planters, I immediately smell that awesome chocolate minty flavor—you can almost taste it in the air. Pick a leaf and whiff an aroma from heaven . . .

The Chocolate Mint 

in my yard

Adding the leaves to this pudding recipe or in a smoothie adds a refreshing minty flavor. 

Raw Chocolate Mint Leaf Pudding

by Kathy's Kitchen

Prep Time: 10 minutes

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Enjoy this "Pudding Perfect" chocolate/mint flavor sensation to cool off this summer.

Ingredients (1-2 servings)

• 1 cup almond milk (or milk of your choice)
• 1 ripe banana (sliced)
• 1 avocado
• 3 Tbs raw cacao powder
• 1 Tbs coconut oil
• 2 Tbs raw local honey
• 10-20 chocolate mint leaves (or any mint leaves)

Instructions

• Add all of the above ingredients to a high-powered blender (like Vita-Mix) and blend well. Pour into dessert dishes and refrigerate several hours before eating if you want it cold and a bit firmer.

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Try juicing mint, or freezing the leaves in ice cubes. Have you  tried it fresh in your herbal tea? It's also a great addition to your dinner salad. Check out more recipes and read more about this plant that is good for much more than tea.

What are the health benefits of fresh mint? Of course it is great for digestion as you'd imagine green leaves to be, and it's calming effect helps with nausea and indigestion. Mint is commonly used in oral health, killing germs and inhibiting the growth of harmful bacteria in the mouth. 

Yummy!

Do you like pretty chocolate candy decorations? 

Martha Stewart tells us how to make these easy 

chocolate dipped mint leaves!

Have you tried this yet? 

How do you use fresh mint in your kitchen?

Linking up with Gluten-Free Cat and Raw Foods Thursdays 
and Intoxicated on Life and Wellness Wednesdays

Popeye's Peachy Green Raw Pudding + MORE Ginger-ly Recipes!

Popeye's Peachy Green Raw Pudding

—with Ginger

I made this a few days ago and it tastes awesome—

What a healthy treat too!

And you thought I was depriving myself, doing this ALL RAW one-week-of-each-month uncooking!  Well, let me tell you . . . I'm not!

Yes, I am drinking juices and eating salads and raw veggie this 'n' that. But eating ALL (or mostly) RAW does take a little extra planning, and I'm not used to thinking too far ahead.

There are recipes to find (the fun part) and making sure I have ingredients on hand, and any prep that needs to be done. Then if you're doing 10 other things during the day like the normal lady in charge of the home and kitchen does, on top of those, you still have to plan the what, when, how and why.

In actuality, the first two days I spent with a dull headache but I managed to stay 100% raw. Days 3 and 4 were a bit harder—I felt good and wanted to eat more, and I didn't plan as well, so I managed about 90-95% raw up through today (day # 6). And at least the cooked foods I ate were healthy foods (sweet potato, rye crackers, sauteed veggies, taco shell) except for the small bag of potato chips I ate when I went to hear Sheriff Richard Mack speak last evening (I was hungry and cold it was a long meeting and I ran out of my healthy snacks and it was either that or a hot dog or hamburger). Not too shabby! 
 

I just may do an extension into week 2 since it's going so well, and ideally, THIS IS HOW I REALLY THINK I SHOULD BE EATING to get the most health benefits for me.

Eating Ginger-ly


My focus today is on GINGER and I'll be sharing some super recipes I've made, and give you some neat links to check out at the end, but right now take a peek at how easy Popeye's Peachy Green Pudding is and enjoy it with your family.

Add the following in order, to your high-speed blender (Vita-Mix) and blend well:

1/2 to 3/4 cup almond milk (or your choice milk)
Stevia to taste (I use about 1/3 of a packet) or other sweetener
1 Tbsp fresh ginger sliced
2 cups cut up, partially-frozen peaches
Big handful of spinach leaves 

 Pour into dessert cups and enjoy!

 Why Do I Want to Eat Ginger?

Adding ginger into my diet makes a lot of sense when I see all the following benefits of ginger and how they apply to me:

• Prevents migraines
• Stimulates and improves digestion
• Relieves nausea
• Neutralizes acid
• Decreases joint inflammation and pain of arthritis and also pain after a work-out
• Potent antioxidant (antibiotic, anti-fungal)
• Decreases flatulence
• Lowers cholesterol and improves cardiac health
• Thins the blood and prevents blood clotting
• Boosts immunity
• May prevent ovarian, prostate cancer, and other cancers
• Helps absorption of nutrients in digestion
• Aphrodisiac effect
• And more!

Did you know?

Ginger  is among the most important plants used in herbal medicine. It has been around a LONG time; the cultivation of ginger goes way back in history and is mentioned in the oldest medical texts from India and China.

Here's another healthy treat I made. Since the recipe only made two dozen cookies, my hubby said to make more!

 Raw Ginger Snap Cookies 

Inspired from this recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cups of raw almond meal (or flour)
1.5 cups of organic raisins
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp fresh peeled ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbs. maple syrup
2 Tbs. melted coconut oil
Raw coconut sugar to garnish

Place all ingredients into a food processor and mix well until you get a sticky dough to work with. (There were chuncky pieces of raisins still present.)

Form into small balls and press flat onto a dehydrator sheet. Sprinkle with raw sugar.

Dehydrate at 110 degrees for approximately 12 hours until the outside is slightly crisp. Keep refrigerated or frozen.

You may also eat the cookies without dehydrating. Like cooky dough?  

This is YUMMY stuff!

Lined up ready to go!

 Immune Boosting—

Apple-Beet Blend Juice

Put the following ingredients through your juicer:

1 large beet cut and peeled 

2 large carrots

2 apples sliced

2 large celery

Tbs size of raw ginger

2 garlic cloves

Few Tbs. of fresh lemon juice

This is a very good tasting and refreshing drink!

Tropical Fruity-Kale Smoothie

Add these Ingredients to a high-powered blender, adding in 4 large kale leaves separate and last, using the tamper to mix:

1 orange cut and peeled
2 Tbs lemon juice
1/2 cup fresh pineapple
 1 Tbs. fresh ginger
1.5 cups frozen cut strawberries
1 Tbs. coconut butter (optional)

Carrot Ginger Soup 

I had a cream of carrot soup last month at a restaurant and it was so delicious. I think that's why I thought of making this soup. Do a search for "raw carrot ginger soup" and you'll find many similar soups to choose from if you want to try this. 

I liked it OK, but I added in some sauteed onion, garlic and celery, plus I warmed it! (It's been freezing here in Arkansas this week.) It has a base of avocado and is very healthy for you—maybe if I'm sick I'll think of this again.

Stay tuned in and next week I'll fill you in on the rest of my raw diet experience.

How do you like to use ginger? I'd love to hear about it!

More Recipes Using Ginger . . . 

Speaking of being sick, check out this Homemade Ginger Tea!

Here is a great recipe for Red Cabbage and Apple Salad With Ginger Vinaigrette 


Make Raw Vegan Orange Ginger Pad Thai Recipe (Salt Free - Oil Free)

Make Your Own Happy Juice and Tonic 

 Informational Links:

Natural News shares this informative video:  The Amazing Health Benefits of Ginger  

Seven Ways Ginger Can Spice Up Your Health

10 Healing Benefits of Ginger


Linking up with Healthy Habits Tuesday and Wellness Wednesdays

And linking up with Raw Foods Thursdays

and Foodie Friends Friday

Luscious Lime Mousse (Raw, Non-Dairy)

Luscious Lime Mousse

(Raw, Non-Dairy)

If I hadn't given up chocolate recently, you'd most certainly see a Dark Chocolatey Mousse in that Lime Mousse's place. This Lime Mousse recipe has an avocado base along with frozen bananas and of course, fresh lime juice. But I do love the flavor of lime and this creamy treat tastes even better than it looks, and it's no doubt a healthy dessert for your family and mine.

I've given up most dairy for health reasons and I'm working toward eating a diet of 50% raw foods so this is a perfect treat for me. If you like gluten-free and vegan recipes, this may be perfect for you too. 

The health benefits of the avocado (including it's good fat nature) are reasons why I want to eat them as part of my anti-inflammatory diet that meets my personal health criteria. You can find avocado nutrition information listed at Avocado Nutrients. Want some "R-rated" history of the avocado? You'll find more than you want to know here.

FYI: The portion of the avocado closest to the skin is the most dense in nutrients, so be sure to scrape the skin clean before tossing.

It's thick and creamy.

Luscious Lime Mousse

(Raw, Non-Dairy)

Ingredients:

1/3 cup almond milk

4 Medjool dates (pitted and cut)

2 medium avocados (chunked)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup fresh lime juice

1 Tbsp coconut butter 

2 frozen bananas sliced

Add the first six ingredients to a high-powered blender (like a Vita-Mix) and blend. Then add frozen bananas last and blend well. Eat right away or refrigerate 'til later. You could probably freeze this in Popsicle molds and eat it like a frozen dessert, but I have not tried that yet.

Top it off with some frozen berries and treat yourself right!

For more information on avocados and why I need to eat them scroll down this page and take a peek.

Linking up with  

Wheat-Free Wednesday 

 And linking up with
Wellness Wednesday