Happy Sunday, almost Monday morning! Well, hey, at least you had fun this weekend, right? What did you do? I did yoga on Saturday, and it was awesome to find out that I am nearly finished with my 500 Hour Yoga Teacher Training Program, as I mentioned yesterday! Sunday morning, I did some yoga at home, had Scott get lost with Skylar for 3 hours, and I ran around like a freak mommy on a mission! I was in 3rd Birthday Party Decorating, Shopping, and Organizing Mode! I managed to hit CVS Pharmacy for a card and cute wrapping bag, the grocery store for some last minute eats and candy Sprinkles which are a party necessity, and Target for everything from Sesame Street books to a pink tutu. Here’s a couple sneak peak pictures and I promise lots more birthday party pics tomorrow!
I flew home, got everything wrapped, house decked out in pink streamers, cupcakes with sprinkles ready, just in time for the Birthday Girl to walk in!
And she loved every second of her party!!!
I am really glad you enjoyed my Highlights of the Week Post, where I recapped everything from Vegan Gluten Free Pancakes
to Greenery with Homemade Salad Dressing
To my Homemade high Raw Vegan Desserts:
Raw Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls
and No-Bake Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars
But, it’s a new week and time for a new recipe!!!
Remember when I made my Raw Vegan Peanut Butter Cups?
And while you’re at it, my high Raw Vegan Chocolate Turtles are a snap, too!
Anyway, I thought it was time to re-make and tweak my high Raw Vegan Peanut Butter Cup Recipe using Vegan, Gluten-Free White Chocolate!
Don’t like store-bought? Make your own! Use Hannah Kaminsky’s Recipe.
Hannah also happens to be the Author of This Book: My Sweet Vegan which I previously reviewed and completely adore! Stay Tuned for my spin on Vegan Fudge inspired from this book coming up soon…
Recipe & Directions for: Averie’s Vegan White Chocolate Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cups
The White Chocolate Outer Coating
1 c of white chocolate chips, chunks, or hunks (if using Baker’s Chocolate, about 10 squares)
Optional: 1/4 c dark chocolate (about 4 squares), see below
Chocolate Vanilla Peanut Butter Filling
1/3 c Peanut Butter (could also use Almond, Sunflower Seed, or Cashew Butter)
1 Tbsp Raw Cocoa Powder (if you don’t want to chocolate-ize your Nut Butter, then omit this)
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Tbsp Agave (Or use maple syrup or yacon syrup. This is optional but you may find that after adding the cocoa powder to the PB that the PB becomes quite thick. If you’re using Almond Butter or Sunflower Seed Butter for the filling which are naturally thinner and runnier than PB you may omit the additional liquid. If you want it sweeter, add sugar or stevia.)
The Filling Recipe Yields 8 discs.
Note: This filling alone makes awesome snacks (more on this below)! The cocoa powder turns the Peanut Butter into a dough-like consistency, without sticky PB-fingers!
First, I melted the White Chocolate
In the Microwave, 45 seconds, remove & stir.
Then, 30 more seconds & Stir. Watch chocolate in the micro like a hawk, checking every 10-15 seconds so you don’t scorch it!
Pour the White Chocolate into paper muffin liners
Let it Harden for 5 Minutes in the Fridge and get busy Creating the Filling.
The Filling–See Above for Amounts
Peanut Butter, Cocoa Powder
Agave, Vanilla Extract
Stir. Tastes really divine as you now have chocolate peanut butter sweetened with a little agave and flavored lightly with vanilla.
Make disc shapes with the Filling
Mentioned Above but Bears Repeating! This filling alone makes awesome snacks! The cocoa powder turns the Peanut Butter into a dough-like consistency, without getting sticky PB-fingers!
Fetch your Muffin Liners from the Fridge & Place the Discs into the Liners
Cover with more White Chocolate
And for those of you who Can’t Decide Between White or Dark Chocolate…
….melt some Dark Chocolate (Baker’s Chocolate, Semi-Sweet, vegan chocolate chips, other chocolate chips, whatever you enjoy)
And Cover the other half with Chocolate!
Refrigerate for 10 minutes to fully harden
After Refrigeration
Then, Unwrap an All White
The Center
Unwrap a Half White/Half Dark
The Center
Posing Together
Showing their Middles
And Skylar wants In On The Act!
Then I wrapped them up. Guess who’s Getting these?
My Secret Valentine Is!!!
I signed up for Janetha’s Secret Valentine Exchange. I hope the recipient likes them! And no, you can’t sign up now; the deadline has already passed, sorry!
Recent Greenery Included Raw Brock, Sugar Snap Peas, Tomatoes, Carrots, and Brussels’s that I steamed for 1 minute in 1 inch of water in a microwave-safe bowl. I am asked this frequently, so I am just repeating it for all my awesome newer readers!
And dressed my Greenery with homemade Vegan Slaw Dressing
And Dessert…
….well, yes, a White
…And a Half-White/Half-Dark.
And The Birthday Girl (February 2 to be exact) had fun eye’ing them, too.
But she loved her birthday cupcakes. Her first cupcake ever in life was eaten today. Age 3. She’s looking at it like it’s the holy grail of sugar and honestly, I was glad to give it to her to make her day exactly what she wanted as she’s been requesting cupcakes for the last few months! My little vegetarian gobbles raw veggies better than most adults and you only live once, right! And you’re only 3 once, live it up sweetie, I love you soooo much!!!!!!!!!!! One day I hope you read this. Love, Mom! xoxoxo
Yoga Today is Kukkutasana
Full lotus first, but be sure to warm up your Hips and pay attention to your hip opening, rather than just thinking this pose is about the knees, when entering full lotus. Then, insert your arms through the holes. Then lift off. Lean Forward if you’re lifting off. Lean Forward far more than you think you need to. You need to bring your center of gravity forward or else your bootay is going to weigh you back and downward and you won’t achieve liftoff. As I’ve mentioned before, these are poses to work towards; not feel bummed if you’re not there today. And really just have fun with yoga!
Tip of the Day: My Yoga and Raw Vegan Foods Retreat!
On the Beach in San Diego
August
Be there and get your Om Shanti Shanti on while eating your weight in veggies.
Next Tip: Questions:
Which PB Cup would you Grab: A White? or a White-n-Dark Combo? Or Both?! haha!
I loved both!
I normally love my Chocolate Dark, but in the Spirit of Valentine’s Day, I wanted to do something White! And that inner Filling! Mmmm….PB, Cocoa Powder, Vanilla Extract, and Agave….what’s not to Love?
Next:
If you could receive something in the mail, up to $25 bucks, what would you like to receive? And yes, I am sorta fishing for my Secret Valentine’s present in addition to the homemade goodies I’m sending. Or would a big stash of homemade goodies from me be ok?
Next:
Valentine’s Day Plans! Have any? What are they? Anyone just trying to get a date think that you’re getting engaged, getting married? Or maybe you’re going out for dinner and hoping your date at least popped for some Godiva! We will be doing precisely nothing. Especially on a Sunday night with a 3 year old. Romance would be someone other than me unloading the dishwasher. Please all you young hot things, tell me what you have in store for the big V-Day! I need to live vicariously…haha!
This Week Stay Tuned For Birthday Party Pics, a Mega Oats Post, and other good stuff…
Oh my….those oats look intensely beautiful! I'm drooling!
Well, my husband went vegan at the exact same time as me, and he is even more committed to it than I am. For example, if a pair of tongs have been used on hamburgers, and then they were used to pick our portabello mushrooms off the grill, I will eat the mushroom. Cody says no thanks! We are both animal rights vegans.
My father came to veganism through his yoga practice and through my cooking, especially after we did the Great Vegan Challenge of 2010 and he had such great results with his weight loss and blood pressure. He follows about a 90% vegan now, but he will have chicken or fish once or twice a week. But no dairy at all! Yay! For him it is purely about health.
My mom knows that it is the healthiest way to eat, and loves animals, and she has made some small changes. But she is unfortunately too much of a workaholic to spend much time on her health, and since I live here and she lives in America, she doesn't get to eat vegan too often. But when I stayed with her for a month before we left she ate vegan exclusively. She loves it, knows it is for the best, but doesn't really do it when I'm not around.
And…my sister….show claims to have studied nutrition….well, she won't even eat bananas because she thinks they have too much sugar and she tries to follow a low-carb diet. Ridiculous.
My in-laws are old-fashioned and will never make the vegan leap, but they do make a lot of my dishes for health reasons, which is great.
And my friends range from full on raw vegans to meat eaters! But they are all very supportive of me and love vegan food when they eat it. If they weren't supportive they wouldn't be my friends for very long!
Great question!
Honestly, a lot of people do think I'm weird – especially during the times I've been 100% raw. I don't always eat "vegan" but I do most of the time.
Some people make fun or give weird looks or make rude remarks. For the most part, I'm used to it now but sometimes it bothers me – and sometimes it bothers me a lot. It just depends on what is said and who says it, I suppose.
Thanks for another fantabulous post, Averie! You're RAWKin' over here!
Big hugs,
Michele
i am dyinggggggggggggggg over the white choc PB cups
oh emm geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
LOVE those butterfinger oats girl!! i bet REESES would be even better!!
I just ate dinner and all those photos just made me hungry again!
My family…well, let's just say that when I go home I hear a lot of "what is THAT?" and "is that your dinner?" and isn't there supposed to be meat in a sandwich? But, they didn't know about my digestion issues until recently, so I decided to cut them some slack. I also found out that they were feeling badly about their own eating as a reflection of the way I eat. It was interesting, and I never thought about how my actions could affect people in that way. Negative, instead of positive, you know?
I have a lot of intolerances too, and I refuse to let anyone guilt me into eating differently. I know what works for me, and that is what I do!
Wow, Butterfinger oats! Yeah, that would be my favorite too!
My mom is a vegetarian and has been for years. She was also super conscious of what we ate, NO packaged/processed foods, refined sugar, food coloring, etc. was out. I didn't know what an oreo was until I was 12 years old. My dad was allergic to gluten so my mom always made gluten free meals when I was a kid. My boyfriend's family is really into natural whole foods.
But, I think they still all think I'm a little nuts! Which I was surprised about at first, and still kind of am. They've all warmed up to it and have really enjoyed most of the foods I've shared with them. I finally got my boyfriend to try your vegan chocolate chip protein bars… and he finished the last five I had in the freezer.
Most of my friends do NOT eat like me. My roomate, thankfully, is mostly vegetarian and we have similar tastes and styles of preparing food but other than that most of my friends are carnivorous and as far as I can tell are a lot less conscous of the food they put into their bodies than I am. I've been a vegetarian for so long I don't even notice if people think I'm weird for the things I choose to eat anymore. Honestly, I'm a lot less in-yo-face about it now than I have been in the past, but if anyone comments on my diet lately, it's either complementary ("You eat so healthy!") or inquisitory ("What made you decide to become vegetarian?")
That said, I'm pretty sure I'm starting to rub off on my boyfriend. When we first started dating two years ago, he really didn't "get" it. He would always ask me, "So what do you eat that's REAL food?" and would try to get me to eat meat. Over the course of our relationship though, he's come around to accept my dietary habits and isn't afraid to ask me questions about it because apparently I've influenced him into healthier eating. The other day we actually had a long talk about how food affects your body and what kinds of food help boost your energy and what tires you out! I was so thrilled. ANd it's been a really long time since he seriously asked, "Where's the food?" and when we go out to eat now he always finds places with vegetarian options to keep me satisfied.
Ooooooh the Superbowl! Some of my family is from N'Awlins so I'm THRILLED the Saints made it!! I'm going to a friend's apartment to watch the game … ack I better find out what they're serving and bring something healthy of my own!
your daughter is gorgeous…honestly…
butterfinger oats? …scott has good taste :)
no superbowl plans…might watch it acutally for the fun of it….The Who are playing half-time….the halftime show might be decent…the commercials are always supposed to be the "big fun"…have lovely evening lovely lady.
At first my family/friends thought it was strange. But I never pushed my beliefs/food choices/opinions on anyone and with time they started becoming interested in my lifestyle and now they're asking me for suggestions!
Thanks for the pose :) Is hanging in rag doll a good substitution? I love that one
i think i eat healthier than a lOT of my friends. whoever has you for the secret valentine blogger thing is one lucky girl :)
xoxo
shelley
Sadly no one eats like me in my family/circle of friends. They eat for taste. period. I eat for taste while attempting to shave off as many cals as possible. My mom especially used to hate my HJs, as coincidentally did my nutritionist who said I should not try to feed myself with huge volumes of nothingness, but rather have smaller portions of more substantial foods. Sigh. A whole post unto itself.
I'm the only vegan in my family, but it is what works for me. :) As far as this Sunday, er, I'll be watching the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet with my puppy.
Averie- I made your peanut butter cups tonight (finally)and they are heavenly. Thank you for posting such great, healthy recipes.
Skylar always looks SO happy. Very cute!!
I have a few vegetarian friends, but for the most part, my friends/family do not eat like me. I'm kind of known as the "health nut."
Love power yoga!!
<3 jess
xoxo
I wanna hang out with Skylar.. she is always glowing.. love it!!
Im lucky.. as you know, my hub is also vegan (for completely different reasons than myself) BUT it works out. My mom reads my blog and is getting some ideas .. she just sent me a pic of a cheese free pizza she made..lol.
UH superbowl?? Yeah, Ill more than likely be on the couch with a book (tv off). I hate sports :)
oh I love care packages! Someone is gonna have a fun time with that!
not sure how my family (external) views the changes in my lifestyle and eating habits. My brother once said my "food looks gross" and that makes me laugh (cuz HE's NUTS) but they are all pretty much beer and chicken wings kinda crowd.
I have changed the way my family views food and that's enough for me…and they tummies are happy so I am happy. Good healthy food should TASTE GREAT too!
We enjoy our food. We eat great 90 percent of the time and okay the last 10.
I do have a few family members that are totally amazed at the stuff I am doing and making so when we see them and they want to know what I've been cooking…it makes me super happy.
oh, that's right Sunday is Superbowl Sunday…Well the Teen and the Toddler are hanging with our friends while Hubs and I are getting our massages. No parties here. I haven't had a superbowl party in ages. Whenever we host parties I always offer raw appetizers, veggies galore and salads…I alwasy make a dessert too that is (normally one of your) raw/vegan things. Just to get some attention to the fact that you can eat so healthy and it can taste soooo good!
Happy Wednesday!!!
Love lil Skylar's HUGE SMILE! She's a beaut that one!
xo