Fudgie Hemp Balls

Hello everyone! Just a quick hello and recipe idea today. You don't even want to know how busy we have been since the big move!

Of course, we all have to eat no matter how hectic our lives may be. Isn't it wonderful that even the simplest raw foods can be beautiful and nourishing? I have been living on smoothies, juice, salads, and an occasional treat:)

Sometimes around 3p.m. I need a little "pick-me-up". Often it is in the form of chocolate hehe. The following recipe is an estimate, hope you don't mind!

Fudgie Hemp Balls

For fudge balls:
8 Pitted medjool dates
1 heaping tablespoon cocoa powder, or carob
1 heaping tablespoon hulled hemp seeds (aka, hearts)
1 heaping teaspoon coconut oil
few drops extract such as hazelnut or vanilla, optional

For decoration:
1-2 tablespoons hemp seeds for rolling

1. Process first 5 ingredients in food processor fitted with an "s" blade until mixture starts sticking together.

2. Shape into 1 inch balls and roll in extra hemp seeds. Fudgies can be refrigerated about 1 hour to firm up. These are very soft and chewy if eaten right away. Recipe makes about 6 balls.

Another quick burst of energy recently came from this frozen treat...reminded me of a hazelnut mochachino...

The mug was drizzled with chocolate syrup (coconut syrup mixed with cocoa powder) and the frosty drink was a couple of frozen bananas blended with one packet of microground coffee:) 1/4 cup hazelnuts, a drop or two of hazelnut extract, 1 Brazil nut, sweetener, and a splash of water to blend. This had me going until midnight! Ya might not want to drink this the same day you eat the fudgies, just sayin':)

Now, if there are any gardeners out there, I would really appreciate your help! I am attempting my very first garden:) I would love if you could share your favorite online resources with me in a comment or email. I have started some seeds...

and really need specific details on organic gardening. Google searches have led to information overload. BTW, my gardening accomplishments include a pitiful herb garden in a pot last year...lol!!!

'Lil sprouts are so cute:)


Hope you are all having a wonderful day!!! Love ya:)

This Post Is For The Birds:)

Hello my sweet friends! I hope you are all well and happy.

Sorry it has taken me a while to get back to you. Thank you very much for your awesome blog comments, twitter DM's and e-mails. It means so much to me!

We have finally finished our move from upstate New York to the capitol region of Florida.

Yes, it took several months...lol! We made a total of 9 round trips, each about 2800 miles. Every trip took about a week, 2 days to go one way, a few days there to either pack or unpack, and 2 days back. We brought almost all our food to eat while traveling in coolers, and only slept about 4-5 hours (in the truck) each way.

Um....yeah. :)

We did take a few days off from moving here and there to explore our new home state of Florida, though:)

The only "thing" I was nervous about moving was my sweet little parrot, Nikki-bird:)

I had nothing to worry about, though. She was absolutely wonderful on the trip, and enjoyed sharing almost all my food with me:) Her favorite treats were raspberries and a raw pizza flavored cracker. BTW~ Nikki-bird is a thirty-something Blue-fronted Amazon parrot.

Although we still have tons of boxes to unpack, I wanted to say hi and share a little treat I have been making lately, but it is literally for the birds!

Our new backyard had a bird feeder and we have really enjoyed watching all the beautiful feathered friends in our new neighborhood. We added a new feeder, and also a seed cake made with suet. After the store bought seed cake ran out, I made a vegan version:)

Simply melt about 1/2 a cup of coconut oil, stir in a spoonful of nut butter, and add some birdseed. Fill the empty tray you were smart enough to save from the store bought suet;), and chill until firm. It pops right out when cold,

and fits perfectly in the holder.

The best part is that the birds seem to like it even better than the store bought one!

It is the favorite of the red-headed woodpeckers:)

The treat in the picture only lasted about 2 days, so I made another one, and also a bowl shaped one with all kinds of seeds, millet, and almonds. I also used some of the more frugal (aka cheap) coconut oil from the supermarket for this bird treat. It will most likely melt when the weather gets warm, so this is a winter treat for our feathered friends:) Do you feed the birds in your area in the winter? How many of you have made the classic pinecone spread with peanut butter and rolled in birdseed version?:)

It actually gave me the idea to someday try a raw treat for us with coconut oil and nut butter as the base...hmmmm:)

Well, that's it for today. We will soon be updating the kitchen here so I might not post anything too fancy for a while. I hope to be back to regular blogging before ya know it:)

Wishing you all tons of love, health, and happiness, always:)
Angela