Raw Vegan Lemon Cranberry Ice "Cream" {3 ingredients}

It's been such a miserable winter (& equally miserable Spring here in Canada), that I am so very excited to say these next two words:

"IT'S SUMMER!"

And to celebrate the first day of summer, here's a special treat that's super quick and easy to whip up for the hot summer days ahead.

 

Here's what you'll need (only three ingredients):

• 2 bananas, peeled & chopped
• 1/2 lemon, freshly squeezed
• 2 handfuls of dried cranberries (extremely precise measurements are always used here on Shanghai Monkey)

The taste of the ice "cream" will very much depend on both the ripeness of the bananas and how much lemon juice you add.  I had very ripe bananas, so I used half of a very large lemon to give the final dish a sweet, but also tart flavour.

Mix the bananas and the lemon juice in a freezer safe container.  Mix well and make sure all the bananas are coated in the lemon juice and place in the freezer overnight.

The next day simply toss the mixture into the food processor along with the cranberries.  Combine in the food processor until the mixture begins to resemble soft serve ice cream.  Remember not to blend for too long or you'll end up with a smoothie.

Use an ice cream scoop to serve.

I love the bright red cranberry flecks in the yellow mounds of ice "cream"

The variations on banana soft serve style ice "cream"s are only bound by your imaginations.  Here are some of the others featured on my blog:

The original raw serve ice "cream"

Triple Berry raw serve ice "cream"

Blueberry Pie raw serve ice "cream"

Cinny (cinnamon) raw serve with walnuts

Double Strawberry raw serve ice "cream"

Wishing you many happy & sunny days of summertime fun and festivities.  The sun is already shining it's mighty beams on my newest dessert creation ...

Quick & Easy Recipes | VEGAN Round-up

Here are a few of the lovely looking vegan recipes that have been popping up in my news feed recently ...

Raw Coconut Lemon Bites from The Vegan Pact

Gracious Living Banana Maca Chai Pudding

Sweet n' Succulent Kale & Avocado Salad by Karen Knowler via Better Raw

Raw Pear Berry Swirl Cheesecake by Sweetly Raw

Get Glowing Superfoods Breakfast Pudding by Healthful Pursuit

Raw Coconut Bok Choy Spicy Soup by Rawmazing

Ginger-Peanut Power Up Greens Salad Rolls by Healthy.Happy.Life

Sweet Zen Popcorn by The Simple Veganista

My mouth is watering looking at all these wonderful dishes.  I hope I can photograph my creations this beautifully one day.

Raspberry Pomegranate Smoothie | Vegan | Raw | G-free

Here's a quick and easy recipe for a pick-me-up smoothie with tons of health benefits:

• seeds and juice from 1 pomegranate
• 1 cup raspberries
• juice of 1 fresh orange
• raw honey (or other sweetener) to taste

Swirl everything together in the blender until smooth.

Renown as a "super-food" pomegranates have a long list of health benefits, including:

• Polyphenols, powerful antioxidants that aid in heart health and anti-cancer benefits
• These polyphenols may also help prevent plaque buildup in arteries 
• The seeds have more antioxidant power than cranberry juice or green tea
• Lowered blood pressure and delay the oxidation of LDL cholesterol in patients with coronary heart disease
• Improved blood flow
• May slow the progression of prostate cancer
• An excellent source of fibre, B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin K and potassium
• One pomegranate supplies one-quarter of a day’s worth of folate (a B vitamin needed to synthesize and repair DNA) and one-third of your daily vitamin C
• One medium pomegranate contains: 3.5 grams fiber, 9 milligrams vitamin C, 14 micrograms vitamin K and 205 milligrams potassium, as well as being an excellent source of polyphenols.

So go ahead and add a little pom to your next smoothie.

Orange Cranberry Pecan Holiday Cookies (Raw & Vegan)

Remember my self-proclaimed horrible photography skills?

Well the photos of these Holiday cookie balls prove I am getting better, right?

(I do hope so ...)

Here's a quick and easy raw vegan cookie to serve this Holiday season.  I think the cherry red cranberries give it a festive look.  Here's what you'll need:

loving this font by Jenna Sue Design Co.

Into the food processor goes:

• 1 cup pecans
• 1/2 cup dates, pitted
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• zest of 1 orange + a squeeze of the juice
• raw honey, to taste (I used approx. 3 tablespoons)

Since I was using whole pecans, I pulsed them in the food processor first and then added everything else.  If the mixture seems too goopy, add more pecans.  Roll into balls or flat round cookie shapes.

I hope these sweet treats bring a little joy to your holiday season.

Smoothie Catalog Now Available

I finally have a visual catalog of all my favourite smoothies featured on the blog.  I separated them by green and non-green varieties.  I never realized until I saw all the smoothies side-by-side, but it's pretty much just green and pink smoothies.  I'll have to post an orange one soon ;)

And if you're not a smoothie lover, there's also a section at the end for juices, teas and other drinks.  I sure could use a homemade vegan chai tea on this cold and wintery morning. 

Check out my new SMOOTHIE page now!

2013 Eco Holiday Gift Guide

1. Enchantmints' wooden fairy forest lodge toy
2. Organic & fair trade Holiday Spice Set (cloves, nutmeg & cinnamon) from The Spicy Gourmet
3. Vegan lip tar and nail lacquer set from Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics
4. TOMS+ Grey Serpentine Desert wedges for women
5. Mosey working girl bag (made from 35 plastic bottles)

Have you started your holiday shopping yet?

Updated Recipe Page (& embarrassing photos)

 Updated!

It took hours upon hours of HTML code and re-uploading photos from 2008-2010, but I finally have a modern and up-to-date list of my recipes (mostly raw and vegan) featured here on the blog.

I have a separate page for smoothies and other drinks, which I am currently working on updating as well.  I'll be sure to announce when everything is done, so stay tuned.

As all you fellow bloggers know probably just about the worst thing about having a blog is looking back at your photography from when you first started ...

Oh my!  
This is a raw vegan apple pie from my Raw Thanksgiving Post, which incidentally (and also incredibly embarrassing) is currently the most popular post on my blog!  Looking at the photo makes me cringe ... I think I might have even photographed it IN the fridge!!  I mean I couldn't even arrange the apple slices in a decorative way??!!

Anyhow as a result, I now have an irrational urge to re-photograph EVERYTHING!  I think the yogi in me can "let it go and let it be" ... except for the apple pie.  It has to be re-done.

Have you ever gone "back in time" on your blog?

  

Peta's Blueberry Pie Recipe List

Raw Vegan Blueberry Pie Ice Cream

 

It's blueberry season!  

It seems that no matter where I go these days, I see a big ol' pile of luscious blueberries.  Why not whip up one of the vegetarian and/or vegan recipes from this list on Peta's Food board?  You might just see a familiar blog or two on the list.

Strawberry Rose Champagne Tea (copy cat recipe)

 

You know those free samples of tea at the mall?  Well I never really pay much attention to them since 1. the tea is always heavily sweetened and 2. I hate all those little plastic disposable cups they use for the tea (you can usually see a very large heap of them in the nearest trash can).

But today something was drawing me into the sample section of the Teavana store.  A powerful force ... Strawberry Rose Champagne oolong tea!  A small bag of tea retails at $12, but you can make this fruity tea at home for just pennies.  Since I was a little girl I have been going strawberry picking around this time of the year, so we always have lots of those little red gems around here.

Here's what to do:

Boil some water and let it sit while you prepare the tea.  Most tea snobs enthusiasts will not use boiling hot water for herbal tea because it will scold the herbs.

I use a stainless steel ball shaped strainer for my tea, and I love it.  I picked it up years ago at my favourite Asian market. 

It's easy to combine different ingredients and then pop it in a cup with some hot water.

After a few minutes of steeping you can take it out, empty and clean.  That easy.

 In your tea strainer combine:

• 2-4 fresh strawberries, cut into small pieces
• 1/4 teaspoon oolong (or green) tea leaves

Place the strainer in your cup with a drop or two of rosewater.  Add the boiled water, which by now should still be hot, but not scalding.

Let everything steep for 5 minutes and then consume!   

No actual champagne in my version (however according to Teavana's website their tea includes a "hint of bubbly champagne" (whatever that means).

You can sweeten the tea with some sugar or honey, but it is already naturally a bit sweet from the strawberries.  Try to use the best quality strawberries possible, as this will ultimately determine the taste of the tea (I didn't just sound like Martha Stewart there, did I?)  If you can't make it to the pick-your-own farm like me, then find some fresh, local strawberries from your farmers market for the sweetest cuppa'.

Gluten-Free Goodies

Here are a few treats (sans gluten) I am lovin' these days ...

1. Udi's Au Naturel granola
2. LÄRABAR's Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip
3. LesserEvil's Chia Crisps in crunchy dill pickle
4. Giddy Yoyo's raw organic chocolate bars (any & all varieties)
   
5. Veggie-Go's Cinnamon Spiced Beet fruit snack

I Like His Style: Blake Mycoskie

It's been a while, but I finally found another person worthy of a feature in one of my style posts ...

Last year I came across hottie humanitarian, Blake Mycoskie's book and I gotta say ...

I like his style! 

While traveling in Argentina, Blake was shocked to see many children without shoes.  Not a stranger to business (he already had started several), he began to brainstorm ways to help.  Helping children in under developed countries is not exactly a novel idea, so Blake knew it had to be different while still keeping a connection to the idea's Argentinian roots.  When he realized there may be a market back home for the unique and simple shoes worn in Argentina, TOMS was born.  For each and every shoe purchased another shoe is given to a child in need, a philosophy Blake calls One for One.   

That was back in 2006, and oh how far has TOMS come now.  I remember seeing the black, red or dark blue shoes all over college/universities campuses.  But now I am seeing all kinds of fun patterns, sparkly glitters and even VEGAN styles (no leather!!)

Of course Blake himself is frequently seen around town wearing his TOMS.  Wearing them both stylishly and cleverly, I think.  Wearing two different shoes to showcase two different styles.  Smart.

Actually I think his entire business concept is smart, and so do a lot of others.  Among TOMS' many other accomplishments, in 2011 Blake was named as one of the top entrepreneurs in Fortune Magazine's Top 40 Under 40 list.

How many products do we hear about or see where only a portion of the profits go to charity, or a measly $1 from a $40 bottle of shampoo goes to the endangered species of the month?  Too often.  What I like about TOMS (and so do others) is that when I buy a pair of shoes I know that the exact same shoe will be donated to someone who needs it (well ... actually I am not sure if he donates the sparkly glitter shoes, but you know what I mean).   

What I love even more about Blake is that he was photographed with my first style post muse, Lauren Bush, and they are each posing with their iconic style pieces.

I can see Blake Mycoskie's future and boy is it bright.  So bright he's going to need sunglasses.  Good thing TOMS has also started an eyewear line.

Raw Vegan Lunch & Dinner Ideas

I know it's been a million years since my last post, but I just couldn't resist posting another list of raw vegan dishes to make once I return "home".  Yep, I'm still in India ... my home away from home.

Raw Sesame Noodles from KrisCarr.com

Christmas Tree Salad by Healthy. Happy. Life.

Lavendar Creme de Cashew Cakes by better raw

Lime Chipotle Avocados by Raw on $10 a Day (or Less!)

 

Blackberry, Jicama & Apple salad from Vegetarian Times

 

Salad Rolls with Cashew Sour "Cream" by Organic Empire

Fresh Cantaloupe & Beet Juice from For the Love of Food

I guess I will just have to drool over these photos until I get back to Canada in March. 

If anyone is still out there, thanks for reading!!