Halloween Chocolate!

For many people the word Halloween is synonymous with chocolate!! I love to indulge in a piece of healthy raw chocolate once in a while, and Halloween is a great excuse:)

Don't worry, making raw chocolate doesn't have to be scary, unless you want it to be!

This recipe is yet another incarnation of my raw chocolate chip recipe. It uses mostly cacao butter and just a spoonful of coconut oil to enhance the melt-in-your-mouth quality. It is a harder chocolate that will stay hard at room temperature, as long as your room is less than 80 degrees:)

Halloween Raw Chocolate Recipe

Ingredients:
1 cup grated cacao butter, ½ cup melted measure
¼ cup agave, or sub a scant 1/4 cup maple syrup or coconut nectar
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon coconut oil
Pinch salt

Preparation:

1. To melt cacao butter, place grated butter in a glass bowl placed inside a pot or larger bowl filled with hot water. I use water that has been warmed on the stove to just below a simmer.

I check the temp of the melted butter with an instant read thermometer. It stays below 90 degrees when melted. Cacao butter may also be melted in a bowl in the dehydrator. Do not allow water to get into the chocolate, as it will "clump".

2. Once cacao butter is melted, add agave, cocoa powder, coconut oil, and salt.

3. Allow mixture to cool slightly, until it starts to appear a bit dull and has thickened. This is also the texture you want to pipe raw chocolate chips.

4. Carefully spoon chocolate into molds. Tap mold on counter to level chocolate. Place lollipop sticks into chocolate and turn once to fully coat stick with chocolate. Tap again on counter to level if needed.

5. Place filled molds into fridge until hard. This should fill two average chocolate molds, depending on size.

6. When fully hardened, turn mold up-side down and gently press back of each mold to release chocolate. Special treat bags are available for lollipops .

All molds, sticks and bags are available at large department stores and craft stores.

This is my favorite chocolate recipe, and it is very versatile. It is awesome with dried fruits and nuts added. Try adding some buckwheaties for a Nestl*s Crunch kind of treat. Great for dipping fruit like strawberries, too!

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A little about the ingredients used in this recipe:

These are some of the ingredients I usually need to purchase online. I do try to avoid doing this, but some things just are not available in the several stores I shop at. I try to get the best quality I can afford at the time of my order. The coconut oil, Organic Nectars agave and cocoa powder pictured are from stores:)


To grate cacao butter, I use the fine shredding blade on my food processor.

The entire pound of cacao butter can be stored in a quart sized mason jar once grated. I cut out the name(for identification), and nutrition label from the package it came in for reference. I find the melted amount to be about 1/2 of the dry grated butter measure.


I hope you will enjoy making some raw chocolate as much as I do. This post will be added as a link to my Healthy Raw Halloween Recipes post.

Halloween6....I Scream!!!

As promised, I am back with another freaky, fruity, raw, and healthy treat for Halloween.

Please check out my main post on Healthy Raw Halloween Recipes for all the treats you don't have to be afraid of enjoying this Halloween!

This one is so simple, and again, can be made a head:) of time.

Banana I Scream

Ingredient:)
7-8 ripe organic bananas

Preparation:

1. Peel and slice bananas into about 1 inch chunks. Place banana slices in a freezer-safe container or zip top bag. Freeze about 6 hours or overnight.

2. Place frozen banana into food processor fitted with "S" blade. Pulse to start breaking down banana, then process until light and creamy. You will have to stop and scrape down a few times.

3. Fill mold and tap on counter to allow mixture to fill smaller indentations. I wasn't as careful as I could have been, but it still looked fine. Next time I would fill in the teeth cavity:) first using a spoon instead of a huge scoop.



4. Freeze until solid, about 6-8 hours. Overnight is better. This can be made days in advance and kept in freezer until serving.

To un-mold, rub over outside of frozen mold with a clean towel wrung out in very hot water, or carefully pass under warm water for a second to loosen. Gently press out onto serving platter. You can smooth over any rough spots with a clean finger. If using a silicone mold, just pop out, no need to warm.

The only trick to this treat is that you need to purchase a mold for the I Scream.
Wilton made the one I used today, and there is also a silicone mold with 6 individual cavities:) These are available at Michaels craft stores.

This can be made using any white(ish) ice cream recipe. I used the incredibly easy banana ice cream first made popular by Alissa Cohen in Living on Live Food (p. 516). When I first tried it a few years ago, I was so surprised how much it tasted like ice cream! It was the inspiration for my favorite variation, Triple Thick Chocolate Shake:)

Another suggestion is to fill the mold with blended young coconut (meat and water). Float coconut ice skull in a punch bowl filled with green smoothie. It will keep the smoothie cold, and add delicious flavor!

I was happy to see this banana ice cream idea enjoy a new popularity when the lovely Gena blogged about it. I love the title of her post, and check out the response she got from it!!!

I was also really happy to see T.V. foodie Rachael Ray make a variation of it as well. I love when I see raw food go mainstream:)

I'll be back next week with more healthy raw Halloween treats!

Raw Halloween2

Here is another simple, healthy, and raw way to celebrate Halloween. When I opened the fridge today, I noticed a bright orange pepper, so this is what I thought of making. This cute idea takes only a few minutes to create. Try to pick a pepper that looks pumpkin-like:)


Punkin Bowl

1 orange sweet bell pepper
1 sheet nori
1 cup creamy raw dip
cut veggies for dipping

1. Cut off top of pepper, remove ribs and seeds, reserve top.

2. Carefully cut features in pepper, just like a jack-o-lantern.

3. Fold nori sheet to fit inside pepper, covering cut-outs. This will highlight the features and prevent the dip from coming out, so make sure all cut-outs are covered.

4. Fill with favorite dip and replace top of pepper.

5. Arrange on plate with cut up veggies for dipping.



Hope this idea gets you into the spirit of Halloween:)

Check my earlier post on Healthy Raw Halloween Recipes

Healthy Raw Halloween Recipes

October has always been my favorite month. Fall is such a beautiful season. Crisp air, changing leaves against the bluest skies, and some of my favorite fruit, like honeycrisp apples and concord grapes!

It is also the month to celebrate harvest time and Halloween!

I would like to share some of the healthy raw treats I have created especially for Halloween. The first four treats were made last year. I am adding links at the bottom of this post for all the new creepy cuisine from this year:)* More than 10 new recipes and ideas for 2009!!!

Darlin Clementine Punkins

Ingredients are per 'pumpkin'

1 clementine
12x12 square cling wrap
1" clear tape
scraps of felt, cut for eyes , nose, mouth, or googly eyes:)
twist tie
silk ivy leaf
green floral tape
glue, if not using self stick felt or googly eyes

Preparation:
1. Wrap clementine in cling film and twist tightly.

2. Secure at top with clear tape.

3. Cover clear tape with green floral tape, snip to desired length.

4. Attach ivy leaf to twist tie with floral tape,cover entire length of tie with tape.

5. Twist leaf/tie around stem as desired.

6. Apply face as desired.

Note: choose self-stick felt for really little children. This is a great one to have the kids make with you...they create the cutest faces!

This is the perfect healthy nut-free handout treat for Halloween, and the little ones really seem to love them:)

This pic shows the different steps:

You can also use colored construction paper for features and leaf and masking tape as an alternative for the stem:


Here are some cute faced punkins:

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Boo~nanners!

Ingredients:

peeled banana, cut in half, each banana makes 2
orange juice
dried shredded coconut
currants or raisins
popsicle sticks
Preparation:

1. Sprinkle banana with orange juice

2. Roll in coconut...you may find it a little easier and neater to use a zip top bag for this step if the little ones are making these:)

3. Gently press in currant eyes

4. Place on popsicle stick

Can be frozen if the kiddies like them that way:)

I recently told someone in my HFS about the boo~nanners, and mentioned to just "Google" it for the recipe. I googled it myself to make sure it would come up and was very pleasantly surprised how many websites featured my lil boo~nanners:)
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Frightening Fruit Fiends

Servings: 4 per apple

Ingredients:

1 apple, cored and quartered
assorted nuts and seeds
nut butter
berries,grapes,or small fruit like kiwi berries
frilled toothpicks
orange juice
Preparation:

1. Carefully remove football shaped slice from apple quarter, reserve for tongue

2. Sprinkle all cut surfaces with orange juice

3. Fill with nut butter ,if desired

4. Add nuts or seeds as teeth, tongue is cut from removed apple piece(stick in with a bit of nut butter)

5. Add eyes with toothpicks using berries or grapes

These may be better for a little older boys and ghouls…I mean girls:)
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Fudgey the Friendly Bat


Ingredients:

2 cups unsoaked, pitted dates
¼ cup cocoa powder
sesame seeds, optional for "eyes"

Preparation:

1. Place dates in food processor fitted with “S” blade, and process until well chopped.

2. Add cocoa powder and process until a ball forms.

3. Roll to desired thickness, between cling wrap.

4. Chill until firm.

5. Cut as desired ..I used a small bat:)...also shown as a truffle in mini cupcake paper with holiday pick.

6. Decorate with sesame seeds for eyes and use the end of a straw at an angle to make a smile:)

Of course , you can use your favorite fudge or brownie recipe for this and make any additions like vanilla bean, or other flavorings:)

If you would like to individually wrap these, let them dry out a bit on the counter before slipping them into lollipop bags.

Store in fridge.
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Click here to see these and more healthy raw Halloween treats from Gone Raw.

Oh, and Happy World Vegetarian Day everyone!

I am very honored to be mentioned on Vegan Baking, Raw Halloween Treats From Around The Web by Mike, aka CanarsieBK. Check out his site, and the other awesome links in that post:)

Thanks to Raw Food Nation for including two of my recipes in this post!

Thanks to Recycle Your Day for choosing my Halloween Chocolate to be in the top 5 healthier Hallogreen treats for 2009:)

Thank you for all the love and links in the blogosphere too:)

*I will be adding new raw and healthy Halloween ideas here:
Punkin Bowl for dip








Sarma's Congo Bars dressed for the party!








Watermelon Brain!








Creepy Creature Finger Food








I Scream








The Grim Rimmer











Swamp-water Smoothie and 3 cute kid snacks!









Halloween Raw Chocolate Recipe








Savory Raw Halloween Ideas








Spooky S&M Salad








Smoky Bones











Creepy Caponata









Ghosts in the Gravy Yard









Vampiric Vermin:)









Spooky Sweets

Another Cute Ssssssnack:)

Here is another very quick and easy snack your little ones might like. This one might appeal more to the boys however:)

Snackie the Snake

Ingredients:
1 banana per snack
3 tablespoons almond butter, or nut butter of choice
1/2 teaspoon agave or honey
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 small slice dried papaya, or any fruit leather you may have
2 currants, or 1 cut in half

1. Slice peeled banana into about 12 slices.

2. Mix nut butter with agave and cinnamon.

3. Spread a small amount of nut butter mixture between each slice, and re-assemble on plate in a slight wavy pattern.

4. Add currants for eyes.

5. Add sliver of papaya for tongue, cut as desired.

Best if prepared right before serving, or sprinkle with a little orange juice to prevent browning.

Sweet Strawberry Mice!

Here is a quick and easy treat for your little ones:) A cute back-to-school or after school snack!

Strawberry Mice

Ingredients per "mouse":
1 strawberry, remove hull, trim bottom to make it sit as desired.
2 pieces sliced almond
2 currants, cut in half, 3 halves are needed per mouse
1 thin strip dried papaya
toothpick for applying eyes and tail:)

1. Stick almond slices in strawberry for ears as shown.

2. Add cut currants for eyes and nose, cut side should be sticky, stick on using toothpick.

3. Insert papaya for tail as shown, making hole with toothpick if needed.

For "Cheese"
1 apple or pear makes several wedges

apple or pear, peel and remove core
lemon juice to prevent browning
drinking straw

1. Cut apple or pear into wedges

2. Push straw through wedges of apple or pear to look like swiss cheese:)

3. Sprinkle with lemon juice

Check out what happened to my sweet mice on Halloween!

Raw Food For Children

I hope your little ones will enjoy some of my unique raw recipes created especially for them!

Fun Fries
















Ingredients:
for fries:
apple, pear, or mango cut into fry shapes (to prevent browning, sprinkle with lemon juice, and optional cinnamon,nutmeg,date sugar)
for goji ketchup:
½ cup dates, pitted
¼ cup goji berries
¼ cup water

Preparation:
1.Soak dates and berries in water for at least 1/2 an hour to soften.

2.Blend until smooth,may need additional water if dates aren’t juicy.

Serve as ketchup with fruit fries.

Play around with the jam by mixing other dried fruit with the dates or sub. fresh berries for the dried ones and water.

Ladybugs on a Log













Ingredients:
1 stalk celery
1 tablespoon almond butter
5 dried goji berries, soaked for 1 hour
1 sprinkle chia seeds,pictured, or poppy or black sesame seed

Preparation:
1. Wash and dry celery.

2. Fill with almond butter.

3. Sprinkle berries with seeds, and place across almond butter.

A variation:
ladybugs on a "raft"
Top sliced apple,pear,banana the same way.
Sprinkle the fruit slices with lemon or orange juice if making ahead (to slow browning)
Sprinkle with cinnamon, optional before adding the "ladies"!

fruit fiends














Ingredients: 
1 apple, cored and quartered
assorted nuts and seeds
nut butter
berries,grapes,or small fruit like kiwi berries
frilled toothpicks
orange juice

Preparation: 
1. Carefully remove football shaped slice from apple quarter, reserve for tongue.

2. Sprinkle all cut surfaces with orange juice.

3. Fill with nut butter ,if desired.

4. Add nuts or seeds as teeth, tongue is cut from removed apple piece(stick in with a bit of nut butter)

5. Add eyes with toothpicks using berries or grapes

If possible, let the little ones help to make these goodies. The best way to get children to eat healthy food is to get them excited and inspired about it. Children are more likely to eat foods they helped prepare:)