Summer Recipes: Açai Bowl, Avocado Salad, Watermelon Juice

I cannot believe I am typing these words... but the last days of Summer has gone. What?... Seriously where did the time go. Don't get me wrong, I love fall too but as you may know Summer is my favourite season of the year due to the warmth and the amount of glorious sun we get each day. It's now the end of September and to celebrate the beautiful summer days I wanted to share with you all a few picture, and recipes of the amazing food I've had this summer.

1. Watermelon Juice

My number one most consumed juice this summer is definitely this Watermelon Juice... I have had several if not cups, but pitchers of this juice. It has been hydrating me all summer long and watermelon is just my all time favourite fruit. It's super refreshing, hydrating, and delicious. Ok just make sure you don't drink a whole pitcher before going on a long car trip ;)

How to Make:

This super simple and you can definitely elaborate on the basic recipe. 

Ingredients:

~ 2 Cups Watermelon (Cold)

~2 Cups Water (Cold)

Method:

Blend these two ingredients in a blender and pour into your favourite glass, jar, etc.

Variations:

1. Add a few Mint Leaves to make it extra refreshing!

2. Add a few drops of stevia if you want it just a touch sweeter.

3. Add some Lemon Juice for an uplifting touch. 

Seriously the variations are endless! Play with it! 

...

 2. Raw Fruits and Veggies

Summer foods must must must include raw fruits for me... I am addicted to raw fruits. Especially in the mornings. I find myself devouring a crazy amount of either mangos, peaches, or watermelon, all my summer faves. 

Ok next to raw fruits... Salads are also a must. Another reason I love summer I can eat lots and lots of raw foods in which the amazing enzymes in our veggies have not been cooked and killed. This summer I have been obsessing in salads, in particularly this one Im gonna share with you all. 

This is my Summer Avocado Salad.

How to Make:

Again... So simple. Basically you just toss everything together ;)

Ingredients:

~ 1 Cup Arugula

~ 1 Cup Spinach

~ 1 Baby Cucumber

~ a few Cherry Tomatoes

~ 1 Avocado

~ 1 Tbsp Hemp Seeds

Dressing:

1 Tbsp Olive Oil, 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice, a few dashes of Garlic Powder, Sea Salt, Black Pepper, and Paprika 

Method:

Basically chop, and toss everything together in a large bowl and season well.

Super Simple.

...

Best for Last:

Açai Bowl

Saving the best for last. My current obsession. I am OBSESSED. I can have this everyday for every meal. No joke. The oh so humble Açai Bowl. What makes it humble? Well first off Açai is a Super food and it is very high in antioxidants, Vitamin C, boosts immunity, and promotes anti aging properties, along with many benefits to a healthy heart. The list of pros is quite long and I could go on and on about how amazing Açai is for our bodies. Now some people use the frozen Açai Packets which are usually easily found in North America in stores such as Whole Foods, but in Europe it is a little harder to find so I like to use the powder form of Açai which I find from my local health food store. 

My Açai Bowls usually consists of frozen bananas, frozen blueberries, frozen/fresh kale, almond milk, a few dates, grounded flaxseeds, Maca Powder, and Açai Powder. This bowl is filled with superfoods, and foods high in fibre. I promise you it tastes like ice cream, and is just heaven to start off the day with... especially when you know its super good for your body.

How to Make:

This recipe is definitely not by the book, I definitely experimented with how I like mine to taste, and also what to add in for the nutritional benefits. So feel free to take out or substitute any ingredients that you need.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Frozen Blueberries

2 Frozen Bananas

1/2 Cup Frozen Strawberries

1 Cup Almond Milk

1 to 2 Tbsp Açai Powder

2 Large Dates

1 Tbsp Maple Syrup (Optional)

Method:

1. Place all ingredients into a high speed blender and blend. If you don't have a high speed blender slowly blend each frozen fruit.

2. Note that it is often that the mixture gets stuck due to the fact that it is frozen. If this happens add a little more almond milk.

3. Blend everything together until smooth and transfer to your favourite bowl.

4. Add Toppings! This is the best part! The choices are endless here are just a few I love:

Goji Berries

Granola

Fresh Fruits

Almond Butter

Chia Seeds

Bee Pollen

Cacao Nibs

Hemp Seeds

Inca Berries

...

The simplest, yet most delicious. I love topping it with my Maple Coconut Pecan Granola, which I have a recipe for and will share very soon, but seriously you can go all out with the toppings. I love love Açai Bowls because they taste too good to be healthy, yet they do wonders for our health. I really hope you guys will try all these recipes out. I look forward to the new month of October and creating many yummy fall recipes. Till then I send everyone lots of love and happiness.

xoxo

Coco

Recipe: Vegan Tahini Pad Thai Noodles

Over the past couple of days the weather has been screaming summer with the temperature around 25 degrees everyday and the sun bringing us loads and loads of shine. These nights I couldn't really bring myself to 'cook' my dinner. With my boyfriend already complaining about feeling too hot I decided to stick to cold noodles... Now I'd say this was a success. Having recently gotten back from Spain our cupboards were quite empty I rounded up some ingredients that were lying around the house and decided to make a Tahini Sauce which would be mixed together with some veggies that both my boyfriend and I loved... And so now we are just a tad obsessed with these noodles on those days where you just want something 'cold' for a change.

Tahini Sauce

Ingredients:

- 2 Tbsp Coconut Sugar
- 1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
- 2 Tbsp Sesame Oil
- 4 Tbsp Tahini
- 1/3 Cup of Hot Water
- 2 Tbsp Vinegar
- 1 Tbsp of Grated Ginger

Directions:

1. Heat up a pot of Boiling Water and pour this into a large bowl.

2. Next place a smaller bowl, (I use a glass measuring jar) into the large bowl of Boiling Water.

3. Now place your ingredients starting with your Hot Water, then Sugar, then Soy Sauce, Sesame Oil, Grated Ginger, Tahini, Vinegar into the measuring jar and keep stirring. The heat from the Large Bowl of Hot Water should keep the sauce at a liquid temperature. Just keep stirring.

Noodle and Assembly

Ingredients:

- 1 Package of Udon Noodles
- 1 Cup Bean Sprouts
- 1/2 Cup Chopped Snap Peas
- 1 Small Hand full of Chopped Cilantro
- 1/2 Cup Chopped Red Cabbage
- 1 Block of Firm Tofu
- 1/2 Cup of Chopped Chinese Cabbage
- 1/2 Cup of Chopped Cucumbers
- 1 Clove of Garlic
- Sprinkle of Toasted Sesame Seeds (Optional)

Directions:

1. Cook the Udon Noodles in a pot of boiling water, once cooked drain the noodles under cold water and keep them in the cold water so they don't stick.

2. Cut your veggies (Cucumber, Red Cabbage, Cilantro, Snap Peas, Chinese Cabbage).

3. Dice up Tofu into Cubes.

4. Dice the Garlic and heat it up in a frying pan with 2 Tbsp of Olive Oil.

5. Once the pan is heated place the cubed Tofu into the pan and fry until it is Golden Brown on the outside, add salt and pepper to taste.

6. Now its time to assemble everything... First I drain the noodles and place as much as I would eat into a bowl, then I place in the Chopped Veggies (Cucumber, Red Cabbage, Chinese Cabbage, Snap Peas) and give a good toss. Next I place the Sprouts on top and layer on the Fried Tofu. Finally I pour on the Tahini Dressing, and Garnish with the Cilantro and a sprinkling of Toasted Sesame Seeds.



Now look at that! Finished and it is perfect to prep ahead of time to store away in the fridge to a night in the week where there is just no time, all you have to do is assemble the ingredients. I really hope you will give this one a try, I for one am in love with this Tahini Pad Thai.

xoxo
Coco