We’re back at it again!

Hey Hey Hey!

Okay, so Thanksgiving is over. You ate as much food as possible and now you can’t poop. Does that sound about right? Or your stomach has been in pain, which started from a few hours to now an entire day! Put down the pepto bismal ya’ll! Now is the time to get your body back into the business of providing you with good nutrients that will not only make you look better but FEEL better.

We are doing the RAW Vegan Challenge again for three days straight!! If you need further guidance, check out my RAW Vegan Challenge blog and follow naturally cocoa on instagram for some useful inspo. This time around I plan to do things a bit differently. My first goal is to prep. I want to prep everything (as much as possible) because that was my struggle in the previous challenge. I only prepared a few items in advance but I should have done more. Yup, that means make smoothies and juices ahead of time and throwing them into the freezer to thaw ( I will guide you on the process via Instagram video- coming soon!). Since I have some experience with this challenge, I know which recipes my husband and I enjoy. We love smoothies and juices! Raw nuts were filling and created yummy dishes, guacamole provides a shining star with any meal and sauces are for more than just cooked foods! I plan to incorporate more physical activity as well. I would like to do some light workouts (walking/jogging/yoga).

I am gradually preparing for the RAW Vegan Challenge- meaning, I have been eating at least one RAW meal a day. Breakfast is easy for me, so I’ve been making green smoothies and eating fruits and veggies on the side. This time around, I want to focus more on how I feel versus being vain and trying to lose those pesky 10 lbs (can that be an added bonus, tho?!). I plan to take 3 days off of social media and concentrate on myself (and family) more. Meditation and reading will be my top priority. I have a list of goals that I made last year and I would like to reevaluate them and adjust for the upcoming year ahead. If you are a veteran at the three day RAW, I challenge you do more. Whether it is focusing on goals for the future or turning away some hours that are normally spent watching television… figure out what works for you. If this is new to you, welcome. All I ask is for you to keep an open mind.

Please take pics and tag naturally.cocoa ! Remember you can do this ANYTIME in the month of December..even on Christmas 🙂

The Challenge Continues..

Better late than never should be the title of this blog. Remember September ( I know it feels like 20 months ago)? Well, during that time on Instagram (and this blog) we discussed the RAW 3 day detox challenge. If you don’t recall, just scroll down a post or two ago and you will land at the RAW Detox Post which will guide you with recipes and advice on how to complete a 3 day RAW Vegan Meal Prep. So I had a few people join the challenge with me and they gave me their personal opinion on it:

+ “Smoothies are easy for me. I can do smoothies for every meal.”

+ “It was a bit much for me about 1.5 days- I think I should have detoxed before starting.”

+ “It wasn’t bad”

+ “I lost a few pounds”

+ “I lost two pounds”

+ “I was grocery prepared than mental, but I got my parents to do it with me and they were pretty good accountability partners.”

assorted fruit lot on brown wooden table

My personal opinion on the challenge is different since this has been my third or fourth time. I was hungry the first evening but that was to be expected. However, this was my first time meal prepping EVERYTHING! Prior to it, I would just buy salads and raw dishes from local restaurants ( I use to live downtown which made life easier to access all the good vegan places). Every night I stayed up to prep for the next day and by Day 2, I was pissed at the amount of time I was spending making meals for everyone ( hubby, myself and my child who eats a normal diet since she is 1 and because I SAID SO…argue with yourself before you try me)J

My mind was sharp and I felt in control with my emotions. 2020 has been a tough road for my little family and the raw foods calmed my spirits. My husband felt the same way and wanted to continue. I was sick of prepping and said we will figure out a strategy for next time. Otherwise I would totally do it again! And I plan to…right after Thanksgiving J

This time I will prep all 3 days as best as possible and provide more smoothies. My fave recipes included the juices and RAW Tacos!!!! So bomb. Follow me on Instagram at naturally.cocoa and join the upcoming challenge. Details will be on the gram!

Vegan Lemon Cheesecake

Happy Saturday! Today in my very BLACK household, we are treating today as a day of rest. This country has so much to work on in terms of injustice, police brutality, homophobia, racism and sexism that the Howard household felt like today was not a day to celebrate this country..it would be hypocritical. However, we are going to enjoy some vegan treats with our family and play some Marvin Gaye and Frankie Beverly outside..why? because we can 🙂 and we don’t take being alive for granted!

This morning I whipped up a very quick vegan dessert for our afternoon festivities. I got a chance to relax from work for a few days prior and found this recipe from pinterest. Now that my little one is a toddler and gets into EVERYTHING, I am more aware of how I spend my time. Literally, this recipe took 5 minutes to make. I did use a pre made crust and the vegan whip cream is not homemade ( I used Trader Joe’s coconut whip cream- AMAZING), so that cut the time in half. I did not use fresh lemon juice either but its your choice. Like I said, I love to cook but I also love my child, and I need to keep my eye on her at all times 🙂

Recipe is below pic. Put whatever fruit you like. I choose the colors of the PAN African Flag, red, black and green. Red for the blood we shed, black for black people and green for growth.

No Bake, Dairy Free Vegan Lemon Cake by Sarah Jane Parker of “The Fit Cookie”

Ingredients

8 ounces Daiya non-dairy cream cheese (or other brand of dairy free cream cheese)
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/8 teaspoon natural yellow food color powder (I use McCormick natural colors)
Zest of 1 lemon
3.5 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 container So Delicious CocoWhip* (9 ounce container)
MiDel gluten free graham crust (8-9 inches, or a vanilla homemade cookie crust)
Fresh raspberries and mint leaves for garnish (optional)

Instructions

In a large bowl, beat the non-dairy cream cheese with a hand blender to soften it and make it smooth. Then add the powdered sugar, natural yellow food color, and the lemon zest.
Then beat in the lemon juice and vanilla, mixing well so the cheesecake mixture is smooth.
Add 1/2 of the container of CocoWhip to the bowl and beat together with the cream cheese mixture until it’s smooth and mixed thoroughly, then fold in the remaining CocoWhip by hand with a spatula.
Spread the cheesecake mixture into the pre-made or homemade cookie crust, spreading out to make it smooth on top.
Chill for 4 or more hours, until it is chilled and has firmed up.
Serve topped with raspberries or strawberries and mint leaves for garnish. Enjoy!

Vegan Pecan Pie

Its holiday season folks! Bring on the cheesey music , games and laughter. But let’s not forget the pie! My instagram family voted for pie as a dessert to make and I couldn’t have been more happier. This Pecan Pie is so easy to make and so good— it’s a must for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The special ingredient…coconut milk brings a nice surprise to the flavor. Check it out and let me know your thoughts.

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoon vegan butter (I like Miyokos)
1 and 1/2 cups finely chopped pecans
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3/4 cup unsweetened full-fat coconut milk
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons corn starch
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 prepared pie crust

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350°F then parbake your prepared pie crust for 7 minutes. Set it aside to cool. In a measuring cup, combine the coconut milk and cornstarch then whisk until smooth.

In a saucepan, melt the vegan butter over medium heat. Add the pecans and toast in the pan for about 30 seconds while stirring continuously. Pour in the maple syrup, coconut sugar, coconut milk mixture, vanilla and salt. Whisk until smooth.

Remove from heat then pour the mixture in the pie crust until filled to about 1/4-inch of the top of the crust. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until filling appears mostly firm when you gently jiggle it. Cool on the counter for 2-3 hours then cover and store in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, ideally overnight. Allow to sit at room temperature for at least an hour before serving. If it’s too cold then it will be firm but serving it at room temperature makes for the perfect texture.

Photos

Vegandale Food Festival

Hey yall- I lovvveee festivals. Margarita festivals, Caribbean festivals, food festivals— >> especially Vegan Food Festivals. Although I am not complete 100% Vegan, I am aware of the wonderful benefits behind the lifestyle! You’re helping the environment, the animals, your health..but no one told me about the really great food festivals in this benefits package. Vegandale Food Festival makes its way to several big cities throughout the year and when it made its stop in Houston on Saturday, I knew I had to check it out.

A few of the vendors I was already familiar with such as:

Agape Juices
Cinnaholic
Soul Food Vegan

However, they have 25+ vendors and I wanted to explore. Our first stop was Pythagoras conscious food philosophy. We stopped and grabbed a pizza. The wait was a bit much but that is a good thing for business. The pizza was very yummy. The pepperoni taste like the real deal and they warmed each personal pizza in the small oven. While waiting on pizza, I slid to the booth next to us called Cascabel. They had tacos with the original fixings of jackfruit and soy crumble. To me…I could make these same tacos at home BUT the sauces they had gave it a good punch. Hubs loved the spicy red sauce on one taco and that sold me as well.

We washed everything down with a Dragon Moon Punch from Pythagoras Conscious Food Philosophy. The punch was $4 but it wasn’t much in the cup. I was handed a open cup of roughly 6 oz. Tony and I gulped it down in 2 seconds, disappointed we didn’t have more juice. But that’s apart of the healthy food world. Food is pricey. So we went to what we knew, which was Agape Juices. We received a 16 oz. (edit original) for about $8 of freshly pressed juice. Pricey as well but its black owned so we let it go lol. I received a sunshine drink made of oranges, turmeric and ginger. Very tasty. It wasn’t sweet but I figured since oranges aren’t in season this was the reason. Tangy with spice. Loved.

Next we made our way through the crowd with our baby stroller to another booth. Side note: Next time I would suggest they chose a larger park. The Sam Houston Park was packed and it was a struggle going through certain areas. Maybe they didn’t anticipate the high turnout but I think Discovery Green might have been a better location. Tony went to a booth that advertised vegan crab cakes po boy. I stayed in a line that advertised vegan buffalo chicken sandwich. This booth was called Snackrilege and I’ll admit I was nervous going up there. Looked a bit demonic with the symbols and horns as such. BUT Never judge a book or booth in this situation, by its cover. Everyone was so nice and friendly. And the sandwich—literally >>>the BEST FOOD ITEM I HAD ALL DAY. Hands down- they won! The texture of the meat substitute was great. It didn’t leave an aftertaste like some products I have discovered. They also had great buffalo sauce but the star of the sandwich is the “blue cheese” dressing. Its mixed with shredded cabbage or slaw and it was out of this world. So amazing. It sucks they aren’t located in Houston. They are all over Cali and of course, Austin. Hubs swore that he would go back the next time he has an audition in Austin for them. He even followed them on social media. Yup it was that good.

Last but not least, we needed something sweet. I heard great things about the donuts booth towards the front but Tony really wanted the ice cream. We had to choose since our little one was with us and I knew she would be getting fussy pretty soon. We went for the ice cream. Eggloo company (based in New York) had a long line for their waffle cone and ice cream. Tony ordered cookies and dream but they were out of that ice cream so we had to sub it with vanilla. I got the strawberry. The line was super long but we made friends with the people in front and behind us. The friendly couple behind us offered a mozzarella stick from another long vendor line and we greatly appreciated it. Tony and I split the stick. Though there was clearly no pull, leaving the hot stick in your mouth gave a pleasing taste. Very yummy. I was impressed but not enough to get in line. After we got our dessert orders we sat on the bench and finished it off. The waffles were soft which is a plus because I hate hard shelled waffle cones (which is everywhere). The ice cream was good. I wasn’t super impressed by the ice cream. Ben and Jerry’s makes an amazing dairy free line that has made my taste buds spoiled so now I am a snob when it comes to vegan ice cream.

After we ate we made our way home. Our 3 month old received many compliments and honestly she was such a good baby there. Once home, the Howard family collapsed from food comma. Can’t wait for the next vegan festival!

Halloween Caramel Candy Apples

Halloween is one of my fave times of the year! Between the costumes and scary treats, its a great time to let your creativity rise. Even though this year Tony and I did not dress up ( we were a pb and j sandwich last year…which is around the same time we created baby girl lol), I still wanted to have some fun with the treats. This is a great recipe to use in the kitchen with children. It’s also pretty healthy since we created the caramel sauce with medjool dates. Try it and let your taste buds soar!

Medjool Date Caramel Apples

Prep Time15 mins

Total Time15 mins

The easiest way to make caramel apples ever! No candy thermometers, no working with hot liquid sugar. This is a safe, easy, and HEALTHY way to make a caramel apple. Vegan, dairy free, no bake. Course: DessertCuisine: American, Canadian

Servings: large caramel applesCalories: 386 kcal

Author: Sam Turnbull • It Doesn’t Taste Like ChickenIngredients

16 Natural Delights Medjool Dates, pits removed
1/4 cup non-dairy milk, (such as soy or almond)
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1 1/2 tablespoons peanut butter (or other nut butter)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 granny smith apples

Additional toppings (optional):

Chopped peanuts
Coconut flakes
Mini vegan chocolate chips
Sprinkles
Melted vegan chocolate
Vegan candies
Melted vegan chocolate

US Customary – MetricInstructions

Add the pitted dates to a food processor or blender along with the non-dairy milk, melted coconut oil, peanut butter, and vanilla extract. Blend well, stopping to scrape down the sides often until you reach a smooth caramel. It will be thick and sticky, so it might take awhile and lots of stopping to scrape the sides before everything is blended well.
Push a stick into the center of each apples to create a handle. Use a spatula to evenly spread a thick layer of caramel over the apples. If you don’t want any toppings, you can smooth the caramel down by wetting your fingers and lightly rubbing away any bumps. This is just for look and is optional. If you want to use toppings, you can skip that step and just roll the caramel apples into toppings of choice. Drizzle melted chocolate on top for extra glam.
Put the apples on a tray and chill them in the fridge for an hour. The caramel will firm up, and if you used melted chocolate, it will set. Store in the fridge until ready to serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 386kcal For decoration I added candy eyes, which took this treat right to the Halloween Level.

Vegan Bacon Mac N Cheese

Really? A dish like this actually exist?! Heck yeah it does, and it’s pretty easy too. Now I will admit, while creating this dish I noticed some things that needed to be fixed. I should have soaked the cashews or just throw away my cheapo ways and get a LEGIT blender- to make the dish prettier. Also, I could use a dehydrator, which would have made my vegan bacon crispier. REGARDLESS, when I tell you its the cheesiest mac ever- I am not exaggerating. Try it out and let me know your thoughts!

Vegan Bacon Mac N Cheese

Author: Veronica Howard

Servings: 10

Ingredients:

½ cup of fresh water

2 cups of Viola Mozzarella Cheese (Vegan)

1 cup of Daiya Cheddar Shredds (Vegan)

½ stick of Earth Balance Butter

½ cup of flour

1/2 cup of Almond Milk (or any Dairy Free milk you prefer)

2 packages of mushrooms ( any you prefer)

2 tbsp of Liquid Smoke

4 dashes of Soy Sauce

1 package of noodles

Shake of Salt

Shake of Pepper

Shake of Slap ya Momma

Instructions:

Make noodles according to package, set aside when complete.

Soak your raw cashews for 3 hours or longer (for smooth cheese). Add water and blend in blender.

Add nutritional yeast, garlic, and lemon juice with the cheese as well and blend.

In stove pot, add butter, milk and flour and stir slowly on low heat. Add Vegan Shredded cheeses in the pot. Stir for 3 minutes. Add cashew cheese into stove pot and stir on low.

Mix noodles with cheese. Top with leftover Vegan Shredded Cheese.

For Vegan Bacon:

Pre-heat oven at 400 F

Slice mushrooms into very small, thin slices. In a bowl add liquid smoke, salt, pepper and soy sauce together. Add mushrooms. Let marinate for 15 minutes.

Place mushrooms on pan. Make sure they are not touching each other and spread out evenly. Put in oven for 25-30 minutes.

Sprinkle on macaroni when completed. Add Salt, Pepper and Slap ya Mamma seasoning at the top.

Portobello Pot Roast

” So… are you Vegan?” I get asked this question quite often. If you know me, you know I HATE labels when it comes to food, so my answer is always ” I’m healthy..ish”. I don’t want a label and I don’t want people scrutinizing what I eat and why. They tend to do that anyway since I’m in the nutrition field.

The recipes I choose to highlight tend to have little or no animal product AND taste freaking amazing! Most of my family members are carnivores, so when I pick a recipe to make and I don’t have any leftovers- that lets me know, it was LEGIT! This Vegan Portobello Pot Roast is just that.

It’s hearty, filling and warm. Complete opposite of what I need to eat in the summer but hey- I wanted to create something that would leave me full and satisfied and it did just that. The house smelled amazing and after I posted the meal- I received calls with people asking for a plate. Check out the recipe below. Your carnivore family will be very suprised it’s a plant based meal. I paired it with Minimalist Baker’s Recipe for Vegan Cornbread. Dinner was a hit!

Ingredients

1/2 cup | 120mls red or white wine , I think red works best
4 large portobello mushrooms sliced into 3/4-inch pieces
1 large onion sliced
2 cloves garlic pressed
3 tablespoons flour if sensitive to gluten use gluten-free flour
1 teaspoon rubbed sage
1 teaspoon dried basil
3 cups | 720mls vegetable broth divided. If you use all the broth it will end up with thin gravy like in my video. I personally prefer to use less and have a thicker gravy. Usually about 500 mls total.
4 large potatoes quartered
4 large carrots cut into 3-inch pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper or lemon pepper to taste
2 teaspoons vegan Worcestershire sauce , or 1 tablespoon of soy sauce or tamari
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary

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Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (for slow cooker instructions see recipe notes)
In a large saucepan (or a large stovetop to oven like a Dutch Oven , heat 1/4 cup of the wine and add the portobello mushroom slices. Allow them to cook through and brown a bit—you’ll need to keep moving them around and turning them—and then remove from the pan and set aside.
Add the remaining 1/4 cup wine to the pan and add the onion and garlic. Caramelize the onions by stirring them until they wilt and begin to brown. Remove the onions from the pan and set aside.
Mix the flour, sage, and basil together in a small bowl. Stir in 1/4 cup of the broth to create a paste, and pour the mixture into the same pan you used for the mushrooms and onions. While stirring constantly over medium heat, very slowly add the rest of the broth so that you create a gravy or sauce.
When the mixture just starts to boil, turn the heat off and add any additional seasonings you prefer, such dried herbs and black pepper.
Add the potatoes, carrots, salt and pepper, and Worcestershire sauce to the gravy mixture. If more liquid is needed to keep the vegetables from drying out, add more broth.
Add the mushrooms and onions to the mixture and ladle into a large ceramic or glass pot or casserole dish with a lid, layering in the sprigs of rosemary and thyme. Place the lid on and put into the oven and bake for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and serve hot.

Notes

For more flavour, replace some of the broth with extra wine and throw in a handful of dried porcini mushrooms before it goes in the oven.

If you would like to cook this Portobello Pot Roast in a slow cooker then prepare as directed until the gravy is made, then tip it into the slow cooker and add the rest of the vegetables and the seasonings. Sit well and cook on low for around 4 hours or until the potatoes are tender. Add a little more liquid if it looks like it might dry out towards the end. You could use broth or some red wine.