Vegan Vanilla Hot Cocoa, Product Reviews & Finds

How did Monday go for you?  Is it chilly willy where you live because it’s coooold and raining here!  Brrrr!!!  Just over Thanksgiving I was running on Thanksgiving Day in a sports bra, no shirt.  And now, a down coat!  Which is why I was grateful to get a nice, hot, yoga class in this morning.  One of the major perks of teaching at this one particular club is that I am able to take classes there and they have extremely low cost, practically free, childcare on the premises.  So, Skylar gets to play with a bunch of other sick and germy toddlers and bring some H1N1 germs back home, and I get a great yoga sesh in.  Works out perfectly! 

Today’s yoga practice involved holding all poses for 1 minute.  So Warrior A & B, right and left sides, were one minute each (4 minutes of Warrior’ing!)  The splits: left, right, center, for one minute each (Splitting my pants for 3 minutes!).   Handstand was 1 minute.  Headstand was 3 minutes.  You know a real light workout.  Kidding!!!

Any stories to fill me in on from Monday on your end?  I’d love to hear what you’ve been up to!

I want to thank everyone who wrote raving about the Raw Vegan Gingerbread Cookies & Cookie Dough Balls recipe from yesterday.  

Honestly, I am happily blown away by new commenters (thanks for coming out of the woodwork to those who’ve de-lurked) and faithful commenters who gave me major amounts of sweet praise for my creativity on that recipe.  

Thank you and please make them and report back with pics, stories, and holiday cheer!

And thanks for catching me up to speed in the comments section about your favorite cookies, what you’d do if you came into some extra cash, and your blogging strategy for the holidays.  I lovvvvve the feedback…muah!!!!

Just wanted to give a shoutout to Kathleen who wrote me and said she melted semi-sweet chocolate over the stove and simply used organic peanut butter for the filling for her version of my Raw Vegan Peanut Butter Cups.

If you somehow haven’t jumped on the Raw Vegan PB Cup Bandwagon, start jumping on it!  Maybe these pics will get you inspired!

And here’s the inner workings of my Raw Vegan PB Cups.

Anyway here’s a few things I’ve been up to….
Shopping for yoga clothes.  It’s quite sad that I went to pick up my check at this one studio and pretty much spent my check and then some on yoga-wear.  Oh well.  

A Pair of Hippy Dippy Tie-Dyed Pants. 

If these don’t scream Flower Child Earth Goddess, I don’t know what does.  But OMG these things are sooo comfy!   And I want to buy the entire collection!

Next was a burnout tshirt I found that had the phrase: Do You Practice?  on it.

So, what do YOU practice?  Yoga? Mindfulness? Meditation?  Chocolate and raw vegan dessert face stuffing?  What do you practice?

 And another burnout tee with a Tree with an Om symbol in the middle of the tree

The tee’s a perfect match for my Om tattoo

And we’re going to be taking a little trip and I needed to get some essentials packed that may not be readily available: Agave, 2 types of Stevia, and organic cinnamon.

And Gluten-Free Oats, And Sun Warrior Brown Rice Protein Powder in both Chocolate and Vanilla.  Normally I don’t go nuts with protein powders, but when traveling, I’d rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

Moving along to a few bars I’ve tried.  Sale finds, my friends.

The Clif Spiced Pumpkin Pie bar

Smells lovely, and very chewy, and sugar-lover that I am, the entire bottom coated in some sort of highly processed soy-based frosting was actually exciting in a very non-earth Goddess kind of way… 

….But the bar was a little bland and lacked rich pumpkin flavor. 

Just not the BAM of pumpkin I was hoping for, but for a $1 buck on sale, it was fine for Skylar’s liking.

Moving to another $1 dollar sale find.  The Clif Cranberry Orange Nut Bread. 

Super Moist as you can see by the ability to curl it without it breaking in two.   Nice.  Nothing worse than dry food.  Blech! 

Flavor is Orangey and plesant, but again, just a little lackluster.  Maybe it’s because I am used to Green and Raw types of bars so these uber-processed bars just don’t cut it for me.  Which is actually a nice sign I think.  However, I don’t want to be negative on these bars because I do think for a non-raw bar they are fine, they are reasonable, you can find them easily, and they’ve got great fiber.  So there’s your silver linings.

Moving along to foods that ARE raw.  Salad eating included Mixed Field Green, Carrots, Tomatoes, Cukes…

….And then slathered with my Creamy Tahini “Cesar” Inspired Vegan Dressing

 

And because it’s been so chilly here, I decided to whip up some Vegan Hot Cocoa.  I’ve made it before, check this post out for the microwave-able, fast and easy way to warm your tummy.

And I just kicked it up with some Vanilla Extract.

And boy, it totally hit the Vegan Vanilla Hot Cocoa Spot.


Averie’s Vegan Guiltless & Fast Vanilla Hot Cocoa
In a mug combine:
1 Tbsp Cocoa Powder (Or 2 Tbsp if you’re like me & want it extra chocolaty)
5-6 oz water (or nut/seed milk of your choice)
Stevia or Agave to Taste (I used both agave and liquid cocoa bean stevia but I like things really sweet)
1/4 Tsp Vanilla Extract (or more to taste)

Stir well or Whisk
Microwave for 60 seconds and Voila…

Why do I say guiltless?  Because at probably under 50 calories I feel like I am really indulging in a decadent, warm, soothing treat without any regret.   

Optional Recipe Tweaks:
Add cinnamon
Add a drop of coconut oil
Add a drop or two of hazelnut or almond extract
Add a pinch of nutmeg

My Vanilla Hot Cocoa went perfectly with dessert!

For Dessert, I savored a few Raw Vegan Gingerbread Cookies & Cookie Dough Balls

Yoga Today is an Astavakrasana Variation

Tip of the Day:  **Both Contests End Tuesday (tomorrow)**

And my Favorite Twins have a great Give Away going on!!

Next Tip of the Day: For anyone who’s written me asking if yoga is a workout?  YES!!!!
We burn calories doing anything from peeling an apple to running a marathon.  It’s just how many and at what level.  Yoga, depending on what style of yoga you do, most definitely burns calories!  I am into ashtanga yoga, that is my path, my calling because it challenges me physically and mentally, spiritually and emotionally, too.  But other higher physical intensity forms of yoga include: power, vinyasa, flow, viniyoga, and then random “styles” of classes like bootcamp yoga or yoga for runners.  Those are your code words for more physical forms of yoga because although it’s lovely and nourishing to chant and breathe, I also believe in asana (physical poses) practice, too!

What’s your theory on working out in the rain?  Yay or nay?  Or if you’re a cold-weather climate dweller, do you skip your outdoor workout if it’s cold out?  I grew up in MN and then Chicago and I was that freak person outside running, power walking, or doing something outdoors because I truly crave fresh air, daily!  But I dressed in a ridic amount of layers and normally wouldn’t go out if it was less than 0 degrees F.  However, had I been into yoga and knew that I could savor an indoor physical activity, I would have been doing that instead!  What about you, do you work out in inclement weather?