A Perfect Winter Day...

Winter has been wearing on me.  I want to feel the sunshine.  I want to make sun tea.  I want to walk out back and feel the grass on my feet.  I want to stop wearing socks.

However, every once in awhile, God blesses us with a perfect winter day.  The type where you can't help but be in awe of His creation.  The way the snow sits just perfectly on everything it touches...

Not only did the snow look gorgeous, but we caught a glimpse of some young Amish boys out for an early morning ride.  The way they live so simply is inspiring.

Days like this make winter actually enjoyable.  But...I'm still eager for Spring's arrival! :)

Raw Vegan Steamer

So, ever since I discovered that hot chocolate I wrote about in my last post, I've been drinking it...a lot.  Today, the desire to have one was strong.  So imagine my heart shattering into a million pieces on the floor when I discovered I was out of cocoa.

Of course, I decided that my husband coming home to a wife going ballistic over being all out of cocoa might fall into the category of "irrational anger" so I decided to calm myself down and figure something else out.  (It was the kids' lucky day - they were out at a friend's house while their mama was having a serious chocolate withdrawal. ;) )

I came up with this:  A nice raw vegan coconut milk steamer.

COMFORT IN A GLASS!

RAW VEGAN COCONUT MILK STEAMER

1 1/2 cups of coconut milk

6 dates

dash of cinnamon

dash of vanilla

Stir this baby up in the blender.  If you have a vitamix you can warm it up right in the blender.  If not, warm it up any way that suits your fancy!

Raw Vegan Hot Chocolate

My family and I, we've managed to make it through January without getting the "blues". And we've made it half way through February.  But, the winter blues have finally gotten a hold of us in the Carew household.

Any of you who struggle with this know that our kids depend on us to keep going, even if we feel like crawling into bed for the rest of the day. There is a chance my kids could struggle with the winter blues one day, and I want to teach them to try and not let it get the best of them.  So, when I woke up this morning feeling "blah", i let myself lay on the living room floor for 15 minutes, and then I made myself get up, take a shower, and attempt to be a good mom today. :)  I managed to be successful, setting up some painting with the kids, and spending a lot of time in the kitchen making delicious, healthy and yummy food.

Of course, when you are feeling down, a little chocolate is always a good thing! I made sure to make some raw vegan hot chocolate.  This was AMAZING!  My kids loved it! :)

Raw Vegan Hot Chocolate

2 cups homemade coconut milk

5 dried dates

a sprinkle of cinnamon

a dash of vanilla

2 TBSP of unsweetened cocoa

Throw it in the blender, let it do it's thing.  

This is where i learned that the Vitamix was the best purchase ever and totally worth the money.  I didn't have to heat up this hot chocolate on the stove.  I let it run a few minutes in the vitamix and it was nice and warm from all that blending.  I love my vitamix almost as much as I love the man who gave it to me. :)

And yes, i've discovered how to make my own homemade coconut milk...just dried coconut and hot water,and a nut bag or cheesecloth to strain it.  Who knew it was so easy?  

Okay, i've got to end this post because if i stay on this page much longer i am going to want to make myself this hot chocolate again, and i'd like to try and wait at least until tomorrow for another mugful. ;)