vegan chocolate pie & the closet clean out!

Made it through the July 4th weekend.  What I thought was going to be a relaxing, not much to do weekend, turned out to be BUSY! On Thursday I somehow ended up hosting a pool party for my teenage daughter and her seven friends (which turned out to be about 18!). I think I may have gotten a few grey hairs that night lol! Our sweet foster Cavalier Cooper ended up getting adopted and flying to his new home on Saturday with his new mommy.  That entailed trying to get into the vet on Friday for a Health Certificate and then a trip to the airport on Saturday.  Did get to spend some time in the kitchen this weekend whipping up a vegan chocolate pie (see below!), oil free cilantro jalapeno hummus, vegan southwestern mac & cheese and a rockin' tofu scramble for breakfast Sunday!  I also accomplished cleaning out my closet and removing my "fat" clothes from the house!! 

First food, after my cleaning adventure...

Vegan Chocolate Pie

Crust
From: The Vegan Pact

1 1/4 Cup Raw Almonds
1 1/4 Cup Shredded Coconut
2/3 Cup Dates, firmly packed
2 T. Agave
1 T. Olive Oil

Chocolate Filling
From: Clean Green Simple

2 Avocados

1 Large Banana

1/2 Cup Cocoa Powder (I use Dark Chocolate Coco Powder)

1-2 tsp. Agave nectar

1 T. Vanilla

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/2 Cup soy or rice milk

Top with shredded Coconut & Strawberries

 

• For the crust, pulse almonds and coconut in a food processor until fine
• Add oil, dates and liquid sweetener and continue pulsing until the mix is moist and crumbly
• Push crust evenly into a 9 inch pie dish
• For the filling, blend all of the chocolate filling ingredients. Start with half a banana and add the rest once you've tasted it to make sure it doesn't end up tasting like banana. Blend until smooth and pudding-like. Fill the crust almost to the top. Dust with Coconut and place strawberries on top.  Let chill for 2 hours before serving

I stayed out of the pie until I could share with my husband Sunday night.  It was hard, but it was just too pretty to dive into without J seeing first.  When we did cut into it on Sunday night it was beyond amazing and soooooooo worth the wait!! You would never know that there were avocados in there! Now I just need someone to come over and finish it off for me so I don't eat the rest myself!!

In With the New and Out the Old!

Yes, I did it....all of my clothing over size 8 has been removed from my house! I woke up Thursday and decided just to jump right in.  I stated with my fall/winter clothes folded on my shelves and made two piles Keep and Donate.  It felt good to let go and clean everything out.  Next was my summer clothing, did I really wear it?  No?  Bye-bye!  I ended up with three stuffed bags of clothing to donate, less the fat pants that my little dog came up to and peed on (guess he didn't want me to keep them either!). One pair of nice dress slacks size 12 (but fit me at size 14 too) made me think of winter and how I wore them to work just about every day as they were the only thing that fit me and looked nice for work. I hated those pants. I hated the feeling that they brought me.  Me making excuses for eating poorly, knowing that I really knew better.  Bye old pants.  Bye excuses.  Bye poor food choices.  I no longer need you in my life.  I know better now.

It felt refreshing and exciting at the same time looking at my clean closet less the fat clothing.  Like a clean new start, this is who I am and who I am meant to be.  Healthy and active!  My size 14 pants that started the whole weight loss, finding my vegan side again, getting too tight and need size 16....I had to try them on!  WOW! Lets just say, no need to button them as they slide right up and down!  Even pants I "thought" I still fit in, way too big.  It was just amazing!!

My husband and I let a few "bad" foods into our diet this long weekend (chips & beer, vegan junk food).  Wild how just a few bad choices can make you feel like crap the next morning.  BUT it's Monday, a new day to make choices for my body that it will appreciate!

Later this week I will share my other recipes from this weekend!