How are you doing on this Humpy kinda day? Things are ok around here. I am flying solo with the little one while hubs is off earning his keep our keep, and traveling on the road for biz, so I am fending for myself and holding down the fort.
I am so glad the Raw Vegan Chocolate Donut Holes were suchhhhh a hit! Three cheers for that! Seriously, don’t be afraid to get a little naughty and roll them in powdered sugar or cocoa powder if you’re a true chocolate fiend. But of course I don’t think you can ever have too much chocolate! Duh.
And it’s been great hearing in the comments from the last post who’s a vanilla chica and who’s a chocolate worshiper and who’s half-n-half. Interesting!
I wanted to take the time today to do some Product Reviews and give lots of shoutouts today….
First, thanks to the Pom Wonderful people. They sent me some of their POMx Iced Coffee drinks. They must have known how much I love my coffee because these were a great surprise! Even though I love chocolate, my favorite sips were from the Vanilla flavor. After a few token sips, Scott was the lucky recipient of helping me polish off my loot.
Next shoutout goes to Matter of Flax.
I was genuinely blown away by the samples they sent me. A variety of flax crackers.
Dried Hummus
Tomato Chips
Here’s a little bit about the company. From their site:
Matter of Flax, LLC produces flavorful, USDA certified organic, raw food snacks that are “Alive with Wellness.” By using a special dehydration process that keeps temperatures at less than 110 degrees, the products retain all of the nutritional and enzymatic values found in sprouted raw food. All products are wheat-free and gluten-free with no artificial coloring or preservatives.
For me, the important and awesome things are Organic, Raw, Vegan, And Gluten-Free. Can anyone say home run?
I love the tomato chips and the flax crisps! For any Mary’s Crackers lovers, these will knock your socks off! Crunchy, savory, yummy, and raw. And the fruity krisps….so good alone and extra good with nut butter on top!
I also love that this business started in a kitchen and out of brown paper bags. Maybe Averie’s Raw Vegan Bakery is not too far off?
Next shoutout goes to Navitas Naturals for these awesome raw un-baking products!!!!!!
Yacon syrup, lucama powder, and coconut oil!
I adore Navitas Naturals products because they are raw, organic, and are socially-conscious products!
For those of you not familiar with yacon, you could use this in place of maple syrup or agave. And with lucama, you could use this in place of where you’d use other sweeteners or even cane sugar. And coconut oil...well the possibilities are limitless as we all know. Thanks Navitas Naturals!
Next shoutout goes to Vega. They sent me some of their brand new Vega Sport Performance Optimizer and a cute go-cup! I really enjoyed the samples I’ve drank so far. I admit I used to love Gatorade Lemon-Lime but haven’t had it in years cuz it’s really not the healthiest choice, but Vega’s new beverage is a great vegan alternative to getting your electrolytes in and I really enjoyed the lemony flavor.
And speaking of this good stuff, Gina has got a GiveAway Going on! Go get entered to win some!
Whew….that was alot! I hope that info helps you decide on buying and trying new products. If you have questions, just ask me, alrighty?
Onto some foods I’ve been makin-n-munchin….Huge salad of greens, cukes & zukes, tomatoes, carrots
Slathered up in my homemade Peanut Sauce
Cauli, asparagus, tomatoes, cukes & zukes dressed in the juice of 1/2 orange, agave & cracky blacky
And what’s that sawdust doing on your cauli & zukes? No, that’s Nooch (nutritional yeast). Cheesy flave, vegan-friendly, chock full ‘o nutritients.
For dessert, I slurped some cinnamon-agave-apple juice ate Raw Vegan Apple Crumble
And of course, went to town on the Raw Vegan Chocolate Donut Holes
VeganMofo in the house today.
Yoga today is Natarajasana (Lord of the Dance Pose)
Tip of the Day: All these awesome products that I’ve just hollered about!
Plus a GiveAway from Eat Clean Live Green!
And Missy Maintains has a GiveAway
Random housekeeping note….a few of you have written me to tell me that in the last 3-4 days you have had a hard time accessing my site and get a weird error message when you try to click through to comment to the effect of “Operation Aborted.” Well, I figured out that all of you with this problem were using Internet Explorer 7. If you upgrade to Internet Explorer 8, glitch goes away. Here’s a Microsoft Link to hook you up cuz I don’t want anyone missing one second of the raw vegan eats around here! Or you could just scrap IE entirely and switch to Firefox, Safari, Opera, or another browser, too.
So I know this question has been asked before, and I know you read alot of food & health blogs, so what are some products or foods you’ve seen on blogs that you’ve incorporated into your life? And now you love something that recently you didn’t even know existed? Nooch and raw vegan protein powders & bars are a few of mine. Can’t wait to hear your responses!
Stay tuned for chocolate action tomorrow….
ahahah I love the fact that you had to do it again using the vitamix. It took me a long time to choose vitamix vs blendec.. this is a good example how the vitamix is MUCH better ;)
That banana bread sounds/looks REALLY good! I can't pick just one baked good, but I love a good chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, anything with a chocolate/PB combo, anything moist and rich!
fave baked good = pumpkin bread or honey bran muffins…yum
My favourite baked good would have to be my pumpkin muffin recipe or zucchini chocolate brownies. Or there's also my grandma's rhubarb cake that I just love and have since started to making it so it's vegan and added a few more things to and think I've made it even better than what it was.
My favourite baked good is Elana's gluten-free sandwich bread:
http://www.elanaspantry.com/gluten-free-bread-20/
Favorite baked good hands down is chocolate chip cookies!!
I have always loved my mom's homemade banana bread and my memere's cinnamon buns..the smells that fill the house and eating it warm from the oven..HEAVEN!!
My favorite baked good is pumpkin pie.
My favorite baked good is my mom's pistachio bread or my grandma's banana bread :-)
My favorite baked good would have to be chocolate zucchini bread. YUM!
My favorite baked good is muffin tops! And gingerbread. Or anything with a crust, really…as long as I only get to eat the crust =]
fave baked good is cookies. any kind really.
My favorite baked good is definitely whole wheat scones. They are so good no matter what you put in them!
My favorite baked good definitely has to be this cinnamon coffee cake my mom makes. It's HORRIBLE for you, cake mix, 6 eggs, 1/4 cup veggie oil, tons of sugar and brown sugar… but good!
Banana bread is good, but my all time favorite baked goodie is carrot cake with the works: raisins, walnuts and pineapple.
I love my banana goodness bread
such adorable pictures! oh my gosh I want a Vitamix!!! looks wonderul :)
saw this link from alyson's last post. I am definitely making this bread this weekend. Thanks Averie!
wow. i made this tonight and it is DIVINE. i subbed walnut flour for the almond flour. YUMMY
My favorite baked good is hmmm….pie. Yum!
My favorite baked good is probably chocolate chip cookies. Deelish!
my favorite baked goods are cupcakes … but I have a soft spot for banana bread, too.
Carrot cake with cream cheese icing is my definite favorite!
My favorrite baked goods are scones :D So buttery and crisp
favorite baked good…. i really love anything that has chocolate in it… brownies = yum; scones (more specifically the ones from my favorite restaurant in new york – souen) – so good. cornbread too though i haven't had it in awhile… trying to look up a good vegan recipe for it!!
my favorite baked good is zucchini brownies? any cupcake in cupcakes take over the world book? oatmeal cookies? DO I HAVE TO CHOOSE? haha :D
my favorite baked good has to be red velvet cupcakes!
omg this bread it looks fantastic!! PB nd banana is the best combo alive! I entered into your giveaway and i would loovvee to make honey roasted cinnamon peanut butter banana bread!!
<3
My favorite baked good is bread pudding, *swoon*
Hmmm… My favorite baked good has to be German chocolate cake. Oh my!
Your banana bread looks so good! I love me a good chocolate chip cookie (or 2!) though :P
I love blondies :)
I think my favorite baked good is actually unbaked. Cookie dough! Which is why I need to remember to pick up some cashews to try your raw cookie dough balls :)
Favorite baked good: carrot cake! :) OR White Chocolate Mac. Nut cookies!!! I need to find some vegan white chocolate to make some of these babies!
My favorite baked good is lemon cake!
Favorite baked good is cookies. Any kind, any place.
That bread looks incredible! Coincidentally, my favorite baked good is banana bread – warm, with PB and more bananas on top! Of course, a fresh cookie or brownie is hard to turn down too :)
I never met a baked good I didn't like. Brownies with strawberries and chocolate sauce on top are pretty great.
Aww my favourite baked goods is a Red Bean bread (chinese thing)…it's a sweet, light fluffy bread filled with a sweet red bean filling :)
so funny you linked to this post bc i have a ton of ripe bananas and plan to make banana bread this weekend, and i want to put the slices on top so they come out pretty! my fave dessert of the moment is dates with peanut butter all melty…but in general i'm a fan of most desserts :)
My favorite baked good would have to be banana bread – just because I'm in the mood for it now :D
My favorite baked good is my banana goodness bread
Hi your blog is lovely and that PB Banana Bread looks amazing! A question: what can I use in place of blackstrap molasses? I don't have any and would rather not buy any since I have all the other ingredients for this bread already. Thank you!
Hi! I've never commented before but finally decided to pop in and say how much I love your blog! It combines my two obsessions: vegan treats and yoga! I have seen a lot of new poses on here that I sometimes don't get to practice in class, but thanks to the pics I get to practice them at home!
I think I"m going to have to make this banana bread as soon as polish off the pumpkin pie I made a few days ago, and aren't those fudge babies great?! I have yet to try the cookie dough but I've done something pretty similar and just eaten it out of the bowl :X
Hope your week is off to a great start! And keep sharing pics of Skylar, she's absolutely beautiful!
I want to try this but don't have a vitamix – think a food processor would work?
aw, what cute pics from the pumpkin patch! your daughter is beautiful (as are you)!
I'm gonna have to try out the banana bread. that's one of the hub's favorites, and I haven't made any in too long! I haven't found a great go-to recipe yet; maybe this will be the one :)
It's impossible to imagine it being 102 right now. It barely got 59 here today.
Oh man I would have been seeing red having to get TWO small appliances dirty. Inquiring minds want to know: why wouldn't you start with the vitamix to begin with? I guess I don't know much about the BlendTec but it seems like the VitaBeast would be where it's at! Do you have a food processor too or is the VM all you need?
That bread seriously looks like biiiig trouble. I rarely make desserts because THEN I WOULD EAT THEM – but this looks like something I'm going to have to take for a spin. (In the Food Processor, not my blender!)
HOW do you stay so slim with these all these decadent desserts?? This is a real question!
That's an interesting yoga pose. I LOVE sirsasana, so I'll have to give that one a try. An upside down ab-toner, great :)
Our favorite bread growing up was banana bread as well. Though my grandmother made some really good zucchini orange bread. We remember coming home from school and my mom had a fresh loaf of banana bread in the oven. :) Got the best mom. Now with all of our food allergies/restrictions/etc. we had to re-create our mothers version. I must say it is not too shabby! :) Yours look good though can't have peanuts. But almonds would work!
ohh a pumpkin patch, I love that kind of stuff!!! I always want to link the screen when reading your blog…that's not cool
**cue harping angels** this recipe completely exceeded my expectations :)
my favorite cake is DEFINITELY carrot cake – no question… and it has veggies in it so that like, automatically makes it health, right? ;) if only…
oh little peanut <3 she is such a gem!!!! I miss when my mommy used to take me to the pumpkin patch :( hope y'all got some good ones with carving potential.. imperative!
omg where is this pumpkin patch??? I want to go! haha, that sounds so fun. And your banana bread looks amazing! The top is so pretty, too.
Pumpkin picking in 102 degree heat? That is amazing to me since it snowed here yesterday! But the pics of the babe are adorable.
And I can imagine the words I would have coming from my mouth with all the extra clean up!
As for the bread. I totally agree, dry breads etc, not for me. But something about the word moist grosses me out, so I hate when that word is used to describe food, even though I hate it dry!
Skylar is so beautiful! And that banana bread looks yummy, visting your blog is such an indulgence!
xxx
The bread looks so delish! Thanks for the recipe!
Yet another great invention Averie! I love moist bread too so I lay a piece of aluminum foil over the top once it's brown and it keeps it from getting too dark.
Thanks for the heads up on the giveaways!
As for my favorite baked treat, pumpkin anything! I do like banana bread too I just can't have nuts in it. I like nuts by themselves but not in baked goods, weird huh?
WOW that bread looks so delicious!!! I absolutely love the top of it- how you put sliced bananas on it and it is all crackled. Looks like it should be in martha stewart magazine!
Hi i'm new to your blog and I just wanted to tell you that I absolutely love it. I'm a new blogger and its so nice to look at other blogs for ideas on how to live a healthier life style and how they include their children in that lifestyle as well. Your daughter is just too cute for words!
Skylar is so cute :) And so are you ;)
That bread looks so good! That would be dangerous to have at home ahah
girl.. i am telling you.. COOKBOOK! you never cease to amaze me with your recipe creations. and i think your sassy attitude would put such a fun twist on a cookbook. "a few choice words" :P i love it. i have always wanted to go to a pumpkin patch! fun fun! i cant believe it is still over 100 there. no thanks!! i hope you have a fabulous week averie! <3
Skylar is so cute! Love the name too! Your banana bread looks incredible!
OH MY GOODNESS!!!! That sounds and looks so amazing. Yum Yum Yum!!!!
Skylar is beautiful :)
Cheers XOXO,
Kristen
Skylar's eyes ARE gorgeous! WHAT A SWEET POTATO she is!
I antsy to hit the pumkin patch…but with sick Teen…we didn't get out this weekend. Perhaps next!
I am amazed (or confused) that you use a blender to mix the ingredients up…That is where I would have pulled out my hand mixer. FUNNY!
(OLD FASHIONED I GUESS) and if I can get away with it I mix by hand (good arm work out)
HA
OKAY…THANKS for the particulars on the hand stand (or half hand stand) that MOTIVATES me for sure.
You'd be proud! I finally got a very bad but lifted kuku…post (the rooster one that I asked you about) I had good yoga juju all weekend and even this mornings sess was a good one.
LOVIN' IT!
I like bread in all it's forms. right now banana/pumkin and zuchinni is calling me!
happy day. hope it cools down. were back to the 70's and 80's
WEIRD!
Ohmigosh the bananas..the peanut butter…the bread…I want it all!
ahhhhh i cannot believe you have 102 degree temps while i have already busted out boots, jackets and tights for 30 degree weather. insanity.
ummm that bread IS insanity! so moist, and looking at the ingredients, gosh, so dang clean and yummy. you are queen :)
skylar = adorbs, obv.
your half headstand = pure jealousy from me. love you mama (and yes, i owe you an email, which i will have to you today :)
It looks great. I just love gooey things so this sounds right up my street!
Holy poop it was 102 there!! I'm in Eastern Canada and it snowed a few days ago … want to switch? LOL!
Can't wait for the 45 sec hummus tomorrow … will it be raw??
^_^
I've got to make that bread!! Looks and sounds AMAZING!!!
Your daughter is adorable, love the fun pics!! Sounds like a great weekend!
that banana bread looooooks so yummy…can't wait to bake!
thanks for posting all of your wonderful recipes!!
=)
have a beautiful monday…
Nothing like starting my Monday morn out with a little deliciousness from Averie!! lol LOOKS amazing.. I really really want to make this.. I don't have a crazy blender though so Im wondering if my hand mixer or food processor will do??
How fun that you went to the pumpkin patch.. Skylar is adorable!! It's funny to see you guys in like shorts and stuff.. its freeeezing here!! lol
Oh by the way..My bro used to live in San Diego, as well, Ill need to ask him about the co-op you mentioned.
Have a super day!! :)
I make "Monkey Muffins" (banana, nut butter, and Vegan chocolate chips) that are GF/DF/and soy free. My hubby LOVES them.
I guess growing up my fav cake was a poppyseed bundt cake my mom used to make. I have successfully recreated it (GF/DF) using a GF yellow cake mix. Here's the problem. I can eat half the cake in one sitting! GAH!
I love hearing about how warm it is in your area! The bread looks yummy and moist, just how it should be. You are a desert baking machine!
I keep wanting to make banana bread, but my husband goes through bananas before I get around to it (he's already had three today and its not even 8AM!). That bread looks fantastic though, I might just have to hide some from him.
Awww, those pics of Skylar are just adorable. I bet she had such a fun time!
LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe Averie! PERFECT ingredients. I can only imagine how wonderful it made the house smell. ;)
xxoo
Heather
You and me are definitely on the same wavelength when it comes to desserts: the wetter the better! It has to be moist and gooey and, as I like to say: barely holding on to solidity! That is my FAVORITE kind of dessert. This bread looks gorgeous, can't wait to give it a try!
That banana bread makes me think about actually baking again. As for my favorite bread or cake, it would have to be a raw cupcake, of course :-)
girly! This bread looks so yummy! Tip on the browning- cover it with aluminum foil during the last 15 minutes or so of baking and the cooking will continue with less outside browning!! Sklar is just gorgeous (like mama)
That bread sounds SO GOOD! I ingredients are lovely as well, can't wait to try it! :)
LOVE THIS RECIPE!! I am printing it NOW!
cannot wait to try it! it looks incredidbly moist!!
yummmmmmy averie!!
Cute photos of Skylar and you!
LOVE your bread recipe! And thank you for the mention ;)
Holey moley, that bread looks awesome. I'm the same way – desserts MUST be moist and delicious.
I love, love, LOVE when you post pictures of Skylar. She is so beautiful and radiant, just like her mama! You have a gorgeous family.
So… your bread! PB&Banana bread is one of my favorites, and I actually HAVE all of those ingredients (for once). And I agree, most bread is KEY.
Have a great week, my dear!