Spicy Almond Fudge Babies: My caveman self would totally scavenge for these.

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almonds, chocolate, dates, dessert, easy, fruit, gluten-free, nut, paleo, quick, raw, recipes, snack, vegan

Years ago, my bro-in-law went on the Paleo diet. Years ago, a lot of people thought this sounded kooky. “Paleo, as in Paleolithic? What, do you hunt for your food and cook it over a fire?” It sounded like a good, healthy way to eat, but imagining a world without cheese or bread made me sad. And then I went the vegetarian route. Cavemen didn’t eat tofu, apparently.

Now it seems like everyone is jumping on the Paleo wagon. Rachel just threw an engagement party for her little brother and his fiancee. When I asked if there was anything I could make, she said that most of her relatives were eating like cavemen! Always up for a challenge, I said I’d make a Paleo-friendly dessert and set off googling. The first hit (maybe due to my location?) was from the Austin Post for things called Fudge Babies by Chocolate-Covered Katie. After reading a bunch (okay, that’s being generous) of other possible recipes, Fudge Babies it was.

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Vegan Avocado Ice Cream with Mango Sauce

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avocado, booze, easy, frozen, gluten-free, ice cream, lime, mango, raw, recipes, sauce, tequila, vegan

I can be a complete and utter nutter in the kitchen, but it usually turns out well, right?  *crickets*

This is my third sweet (and vegan) avocado experiment, but if it grosses you out, let me remind you about a couple of things.

1. Avocados are fruit.  I mean, look at those big honkin’ pits!

2. They don’t have a very strong flavor.  Most people are probably accustomed to avocados being mashed up with tomatoes, garlic, onion, etc. and dipping chips into said mixture.  However, in some parts of the world, they are used to make creamy, refreshing desserts.  Smart people.

Here I am presenting you with something that is not only creamy and refreshing, but vegan and raw!  The avocados make up the smooth base with their healthy fats.  Lime juice gives it a citrus zing, but the sweetness of the sugar prevents it from tasting sour.  Finally, what keeps the mixture from freezing rock hard is tequila!  Sí, señor!! 

The Present Moment Cafe

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Florida, gluten-free, organic, raw, restaurants, St. Augustine, vegan, vegetarian

As a follow-up to my previous post about things consumed whilst in the Sunshine State, I will now wax on about another place, this time having nothing to do with Harry Potter

On Wednesday of our trip, we drove up to St. Augustine, the oldest European-established city in America.  Two out of the four of us have celiac disease (myself not included), which made me realize just how tricky it is to find gluten-free meals while eating out.  After trying and failing to find a place for lunch and eating chips and popcorn in the meantime, I used my trusty iPhone to search for restaurants with gluten-free options for dinner.

Lo and behold, the first hit was for The Present Moment Cafe and it was almost entirely gluten-free!  We headed there around 5pm, but as we neared our destination, I noticed that it was also vegan…and RAW.  Rut-roh!  How could we all like it? Even I was nervous about the raw part as I’m not a big fan of raw veggies (vegetarian fail, I know).