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Blogger Meetup, WF Finds, Raw-ifying Brownie Cupcakes

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How are you doing today? I’ve had a fun day because I met Maureen of MommyRD and her baby girl, Ava, at WF’s for coffee.

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Maureen and I had originally talked about a park playdate but on account of all the rain and horrible dreary and cold weatther we’ve had, we figured we’d rather be cozy and dry and sipping our java indoors .

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Plus Skylar could bounce on the comfy chairs if we were indoors. Always a bonus.

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I met up with Maureen (Mo) once before in This Post , and it was fun to see her again . Mo and I had chatted last week and she told me she was sick of spending money on the Chocolate PureBars and did I have a way to recreate them? Indeed, I do….

Hand holding a Pure Chocolate Brownie Bar - 15 Hand holding a Pure Chocolate Brownie Bar - 16

I told her to use this recipe of mine for Dark Chocolate Fudge Balls and just shape them into bars, not balls. And it’s been working great for her. Way to go, Mo! For saving all that cash and doing it yourself! Love it!

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Skylar and I had a great time… I mean look at the cheeseball grin that Skylar’s flashing!

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After I was well-caffeinated, I browsed the ridic selection of bars.

Health bar section of grocery store - 23 Health bar section of grocery store - 24

Maca Power anyone?

Box of Ruth's Maca Power Bars - 25 Box of Ruth's Maca Power Bars - 26

I power up on Popcorn with Maca , Nooch, Stevia, Cinnamon, & Chocolate Chips .

Popcorn with Maca, Nutritional Yeast, Stevia, Cinnamon, & Chocolate Chips - 27 Popcorn with Maca, Nutritional Yeast, Stevia, Cinnamon, & Chocolate Chips - 28 Close up of popcorn - 29 Close up of popcorn - 30

And then I saw ProBars, RawRevolution Bars, I saw 18 Rabbits, and every kind of bar known to The Blogosphere Man. But they are all pretty pricey. Til I saw this…

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…the evasive yet widely coveted Luna Cookie Dough Protein Bars for a $1 Buck Each!

Luna Cookie Dough Protein Bar Sale tag five for five dollars - 33 Luna Cookie Dough Protein Bar Sale tag five for five dollars - 34 Three Luna Protein bars on countertop - 35 Three Luna Protein bars on countertop - 36 Nutritional Facts on back of protein bar - 37 Nutritional Facts on back of protein bar - 38 Nutritional label on back of protein bar - 39 Nutritional label on back of protein bar - 40

3 Bars, 3 Bucks. Love It. Don’t love the long ingredient list, but cest la vie.

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I wonder how the Luna Cookie Dough will stack up against my high Raw Vegan Cookie Dough ?

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Maybe you can skip the Luna bars and just make some Raw Vegan Cookie Dough Balls!

Close up of Raw Vegan Cookie Dough Balls on plate - 45 Close up of Raw Vegan Cookie Dough Balls on plate - 46

Moving along… My Bar Guru highly recommended this bar: Jokerz . It’s been compared to A Vegan Snickers . I cannot wait to break into these given the high praise Evan gave them and I since I used to love Snickers, caramel, anything really dense and candy-bar like, this just seems too good to be true! I’ll keep you posted.

Two Jokerz Candy Bars on countertop - 47 Two Jokerz Candy Bars on countertop - 48 Dairy free, vegan and no trans fat on Jokerz Bar - 49 Dairy free, vegan and no trans fat on Jokerz Bar - 50 No hydrogenated oils, no cholesterol and nothing artificial on Jokerz Bar - 51 No hydrogenated oils, no cholesterol and nothing artificial on Jokerz Bar - 52

So I happily snapped up two of these bad boys, at 2.29 each. Not a bargain but I’ve seen worse…

…Like In the Raw Granola Section in WF it was loan sharking type prices.

Raw Granola Section in grocery store - 53 Raw Granola Section in grocery store - 54

A Small Bag of Granola Bars marked down from 9.99 to 7.99

Organic Granola Price Sale Tag - 55 Organic Granola Price Sale Tag - 56 Two Mom in the Raw Bag of Granola - 57 Two Mom in the Raw Bag of Granola - 58

You can make my No Bake Vegan PB Choc Chip Coconut Oil Protein Bars for probably a quarter per bar , give or take, and it’s all homemade, vegan, Gluten & Soy-Free, No-Bake, the whole she-bang , loaded with flax, chia, whatever seeds you include, coconut oil if you choose, healthy fat from the nut butter and coconut oil… and did I mention cost-effective. No Bake Vegan PB Choc Chip Coconut Oil Protein Bars

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The ironic thing is before I was as into raw vegan foods and just not quite as savvy as I am now about ingredients and such….well, rewind the clock to my early 20s, I had tons of disposable cash and would blow it on random stuff at WF’s . Now, I can totally appreciate the care that it does take to make these great specialty products, and the quality of ingredients that are used, but I can’t afford them. Well, I could theoretically buy whatever I want, but these huge pangs of guilt set in that I could be blowing this cutie’s college savings plan on raw granola bars, and I happily put them back on the shelf.

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I’m glad you enjoyed yesterday’s recipe for a new salad dressing: Cheezy Hemp Dressing . I know, it was time for something new! And glad you were happy for me about the Artisana . Me too!

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And I enjoyed hearing a bout your Guilty or Secret Pleasures & Indulgences ! Good stuff but very few of you got down and dirty with any super impressive Guilty Pleasures that you admitted to . I was hoping you’d say that you happiply enjoy microwaving empty plastic nut butter containers and eating oats in a jar from plastic that’s leeching BPA or fun stuff like that! haha!

Time to Raw-Ify Brownie Cupcakes! In my Highlights & Recap Post that was super glitchey that I posted twice on Saturday , I made Brownie Cupcakes with Mint Chocolate Frosting with White Chocolate Drizzle. And I also mentioned them in my last post … that I was going to raw-ify and veganize these! Sit Tight on That Version…

Brownie Cupcakes with Mint Chocolate Frosting with White Chocolate Drizzle in paper liners - 69 Brownie Cupcakes with Mint Chocolate Frosting with White Chocolate Drizzle in paper liners - 70 Close up of Brownie Cupcakes with Mint Chocolate Frosting with White Chocolate Drizzle - 71 Close up of Brownie Cupcakes with Mint Chocolate Frosting with White Chocolate Drizzle - 72

I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking from the latest batch… Place Brownie Dough into Cupcake Liners

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Bake a for 8-10 Minutes, then Smoosh Candy Into the Centers. And Bake another 7-8 minutes or til Done.

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Frosting: The difference today from the Last Batch is in the Mint Chocolate “Frosting” I made using . Dark Chocolate & Mint Chips

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And White Chocolate

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Melt & Apply Frosting. Put the Brownie Cupcakes into Storage Containers. These won’t linger around the house and present any “storage” issues, trust me.

Finished Brownie Cupcakes with Mint Chocolate Frosting with White Chocolate Drizzle in clear containers - 85 Finished Brownie Cupcakes with Mint Chocolate Frosting with White Chocolate Drizzle in clear containers - 86 Close up of Brownie Cupcakes with Mint Chocolate Frosting with White Chocolate Drizzle in containers - 87 Close up of Brownie Cupcakes with Mint Chocolate Frosting with White Chocolate Drizzle in containers - 88 Close up of Brownie Cupcakes with Mint Chocolate Frosting with White Chocolate Drizzle in clear container - 89 Close up of Brownie Cupcakes with Mint Chocolate Frosting with White Chocolate Drizzle in clear container - 90

Scott and Skylar love them!

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I didn’t have any on account of the vegan and gluten situation. No worries because…

Three Brownie Cupcakes with Mint Chocolate Frosting with White Chocolate Drizzle in paper liners - 95 Three Brownie Cupcakes with Mint Chocolate Frosting with White Chocolate Drizzle in paper liners - 96 Raw Vegan Chocolate Brownies in clear container - 97 Raw Vegan Chocolate Brownies in clear container - 98 Close up of Raw Vegan Chocolate Brownies - 99 Close up of Raw Vegan Chocolate Brownies - 100

…You can Raw-Ify Them by Making a Batch of Raw Vegan Chocolate Brownies Or Another Option… See This Post for info on how to make the cupcakes with Cookie Dough if you’d prefer cookie dough over brownie batter!!!!

Whip up some high Raw Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

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Spoon the Raw Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough or the Raw Vegan Chocolate Brownie Batter into your Muffin Tray and Dehydrate . Or not and eat raw because of course, it’s perfectly edible and delish raw. Or use a low oven , like 200F for a short time to take the raw edge off if you prefer a slightly baked cupcake.

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After dehydrating, baking, or neither…

Make Raw Vegan Peanut Butter Cups and Stuff them into the middle of the brownie batter or cookie dough batter!

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Or stuff the centers with Homemade Raw Vegan Turtles

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After stuffing the centers with the candy of your choice, dehydrate or bake again, or don’t. And get ready to frost these up!

Melt Some Chocolate (vegan chocolate chips, Baker’s Dark, etc.)

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Or, Make Your Own Raw Chocolate: (This recipe that follows below is similar to my Raw Vegan Coconut Oil Chocolate Recipe ,

Sliced Raw Vegan Coconut Oil Chocolate - 117 Sliced Raw Vegan Coconut Oil Chocolate - 118 Diced Raw Vegan Coconut Oil Chocolate - 119 Diced Raw Vegan Coconut Oil Chocolate - 120

…But will be slightly runnier and is more frosting/chocolate ganache consistency than chocolate bar consistency.

Raw Vegan Chocolate Frosting/Chocolate Ganache 3 Tbsp Cocoa Powder 2 Tbsp Agave 1 T Tbsp Coconut Oil Dash of Vanilla Extract Optional: Dash of Mint Extract Stir& Frost the Cupcakes

And for the White Chocolate Drizzles… Make your own Vegan White Chocolate Like I Told You About Here

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So There You Have it, an recipe for Raw Vegan Brownie Batter Cupcakes Stuffed With Vegan PB Cups and Frosting with Vegan Coconut Oil Chocolate and Vegan White Chocolate Drizzles! And this cupcake picture is not vegan and not raw. And it worked very nicely for the fam!

Raw Vegan Brownie Batter Cupcake in paper liner - 123 Raw Vegan Brownie Batter Cupcake in paper liner - 124

Admittedly, it sounds like a lot of work to raw-ify this recipe!

Many of you write to me asking me to raw-ify or “health-ify” a particular dessert for you. And I can usually whip something off the top of my head based on previous recipes I’ve made in order to help you , and please don’t you all start writing me because this is not something I have the time or desire to do! But my point is that where there’s a will, there’s a way. It just may not be 20 minutes like the non-vegan baked version…instead, it may be hours to create a raw version . Which at that point, one must ask hey, is this important to me? And if it is, great and proceed down the raw path . And if it’s not, as I said in yesterday’s post about Guilty Pleasures & Indulgences… …Sometimes it’s just worth it to indulge in whatever way you want to and not get caught up in trying too hard! After all this is a dessert, not kale; it’s not necessarily supposed to be “healthy”! haha!

Green Food Included: Romaine Lettuce, Brussels, Asparagus, Sugar Snap Peas, Cukes, Tomatoes

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And dressed with Homemade Vegan Slaw Dressing

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Dessert was a few Raw Vegan Peanut Butter (or Sunflower Seed Butter in my case) Vanilla Balls

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And Raw Vegan Coconut Oil Chocolate

Sliced Raw Vegan Coconut Oil Chocolate - 139 Sliced Raw Vegan Coconut Oil Chocolate - 140 Diced Raw Vegan Coconut Oil Chocolate - 141 Diced Raw Vegan Coconut Oil Chocolate - 142

Yoga Today is Floating Marichyasana A

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Tip of the Day: My Celestial Seasonings Tea & Wellness Kit Give Away!!!! !

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Questions 1. Where do you cut corners or skimp? What Won’t You Skimp On? As I mentioned in the post, I “could” buy $4 protein bars and $6 bottles of salad dressing or $8 bags of gourmet raw crackers, but I don’t because I can make it at home cheaper , or more to the point, since many pricey items are not essential to my diet, I simply don’t buy them and nothing “bad” is going to “happen”. Fresh Produce is another story for me and I don’t skimp on fresh produce . I try to shop as seasonally and economically as I can , but being a plant-based household, I can’t skimp on our fresh produce. It’s our mainstay, that’s where we get our energy, nutrients, and all the good stuff that keeps us happy and healthy! Where do you skimp vs. not?

  1. What Dessert Would You Love Veganized, No-Baked, Raw-ified, or generally healthified in some way? And I absolutely do not promise one iota that I will attempt it; I am simply curious…don’t get all excited on me! But if enough people comment with the same thing, I may take it under advisement.

  2. Do You Love Massages? I do and I really need one but I am trying to be frugal and not pay for one. I love Scott and he does an awesome job, but I still get knots in my back that require Professional Grade Strength! Before Skylar, I used to get about two massages per month but life is different now. What other alternative practices do you enjoy? Rolfing, acupuncture, chiropractic, energy & chakra balancing, reiki, cupping, oil pulling, you name it, I’ve done it and loved them all. What’s your Fave Type of Bodywork or What would you like to Try?

Stay Tuned For Nooch (Nutritional Yeast) Recipes as Promised…