Strawberry ginger macadamia shake

As you might have noticed everything I have made lately contains macadamia nuts in it. Part of the reason is I miss Hawaii big time and we lived off of them while we were there over a month ago. This shake makes a good desert that is easily digestible because of all the fresh ginger and no dairy. I just got a new blender and I am really excited because my other one was starting to die and just barely worked until it finally exploded (my fault-I stuck a spoon in there while it was blending to help it blend) I REALLY recommend the Kitchen aid blender because it is powerful (700 watt motor) and it doesn’t have a bunch of weird pieces that are impossible to clean. I’m sure the vitamix is even better but some of us can’t afford a $300 blender so this one does the job.

Strawberry ginger macadamia shake

2 cups coconut milk

1 cup frozen strawberries

handful macadamia nuts

3″ piece of ginger

1/2 avocado

30 drops stevia or to taste

1/2 vanilla bean(inside) or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pomegranate macadamia raw cheese cake

Pomegranates are great for your heart health and have been proven to lower blood pressure among the many benefits. They are also delicious and add beautiful vibrant color to any dish. This cheese cake has been in my head to make for a while and I am loving the combination of pomegranates and macadamia nut.  This recipe is for a 4″ mini cheese cake, just enough for 4 people. And yes we did have this for breakfast! Raw deserts make great breakfasts (as long as there is a protein source) especially in the spring/summer!

Raw pomegranate macadamia cheese cake

3/4 cup macadamia nuts soaked

3/4 cup cashews soaked

1 tablespoon coconut cream

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup pomegranate juice (freshly juiced)

2 tablespoons fresh beet juice (for color)

4 tablespoons melted coconut oil

1 tablespoon melted cocoa butter

15 drops stevia

2 tablespoons raw honey (or maple)

pinch of sea salt

For the crust:

1/2 cup ground cashews

1/4 cup ground blanched almonds (I buy the slivered almonds in bulk)

2 1/2 tablespoons melted coconut oil

pinch of sea salt

* Make the the crust and form to the bottom of a 4″ spring form pan.

* Process/blend the cheese cake ingredients together until smooth.

* Pour mixture into the spring form pan and refrigerate over night to set.

* Top with fresh pomegranate seeds and/or chopped macadamia nuts and serve! Makes 4 servings

You can also see this recipe here with many other great recipes http://dietdessertndogs.com/2013/05/30/wellness-weekend-may-30-june-3-2013

Dark chocolate and macadamia butter cups

I have been wanting to make these for a while and finally bought the ingredients that I needed. I have to eat chocolate in moderation or I will be bouncing off the walls with energy. You can use a dark chocolate candy bar to melt down or some baking chocolate with a few drops of stevia.  These work great with sunflower seeds also!

Dark chocolate macadamia butter cups

1 cup of melted dark chocolate baking chips chips or dark candy bar

1/2 cup ground dry roasted salted macadamia nuts

1 tablespoons fresh orange juice

1 tablespoon ground coconut

5 -10 drops stevia to taste

* Melt the chocolate in a pan on medium heat stirring the entire time.

* Stir until all chocolate is melted and creamy.

* Put 1 spoonful of chocolate in each cupcake paper.

* Put 1 spoonful of macadamia nut mixture on top of chocolate.

* Put 1 more scoopful of chocolate to cover all of the macadamia nut mixture and top is flat or semi flat.

* Refrigerate for about an hour until chocolate hardens and eat!

What I ate Wednesday and yes another tropical salad recipe

 

 

 

 

We just got back from Hawaii yesterday and all I have to say is wow!! Yes that top picture was actually our view! We could have spent all day just staring at it! If there is a heaven it looks just like Hawaii! Perfect weather, perfect warm clear water, perfect food, perfect scenery, sea turtles! If it wasn’t so expensive to live there and isolated from the mainland I would be moving there(still considering it). So I’m really hooked on tropical foods and I will be recreating my favorite dishes I had in Hawaii for a while. Some of my many favorite Hawaii memories were snorkeling and swimming with a school of fish at Hanama bay and seeing the sea turtles lounging on the beach on the north shore. The shrimp at the those crusty little shrimp trucks were some of the most amazing things I have ever tasted! We got the garlic shrimp and they were still in the shell but after one bite we were like caveman that haven’t eaten in a week licking our fingers. Back to what I ate Wednesday- for breakfast I had a handful of macadamia nuts and goji berries.

For lunch I had some crab sushi and a banana.

For dinner I tried to recreate my favorite salad in Hawaii. It was a grilled white fish salad with papaya seed dressing. The food in Hawaii tastes very fresh and nothing tastes like it’s from a mix, it tastes like it was made from scratch.  I don’t think I have ever eaten cod with a salad, I usually chose salmon. I am actually not sure if was cod but it tasted like it so that’s what I used.

Cod salad with papaya seed dressing

green leaf lettuce

cooked cod(grilled/baked) I cooked it with garlic, olive oil ,salt/pepper and lime juice

onions

avocado

tomatoes

shredded carrots

macadamia nuts

Papaya seed dressing

blend/process:

the seeds and fruit of 1 ripe papaya

pinch of garlic powder

2 tablespoons of olive oil

juice of 1/2 lime

1/2 packet of stevia

sea salt to taste