Creamy Dairy-Free Tortilla Soup

This post has taken me an eternity to write and I have only myself to blame. When I blog, I like my posts to be complete, well thought-out, educational and to feature beautiful food photography. Herein lies the problem – time.

Since we’ve settled into Santa Cruz, my work has been pulling me in many different directions (good problems – not complaining ;), leaving me with less time to create and write about new exciting recipes. Last night I came to the realization that this is part of life. There will always be something we’d like to do IF we just had a little more time. Well folks, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but one day is equivalent to 24 hours or 1,440 minutes, and unless someone quickly builds a time machine – this is not going to change anytime soon. So…I am done making excuses. It’s time to take control of the time I have.

* I will find more time to do the things I love – cook, write, practice and teach yoga, support my clients, get lost in nature and spend time with my friends and family!

* I will spend less time wandering aimlessly on the Internet

* I will worry less about whether my blog posts are complete and instead feel excited to share what I have

* I will spend more time learning about nutrition, wellness and mindfulness

* I will find a way to volunteer my time to a cause I believe in

* I will make the best use of the time I have for ME and those who I love

I leave you with one question, how will you make the best use of your time for you, the things you love and for those you love?

Now back to the post J. The hubs and I LOVE tortilla soup but not all the heavy cream and cheese that often times goes into it. I started researching different ways of making tortilla soups “creamy” without the use of dairy and guess what I found? Tortillas! Yes, good ol’ corn tortillas to thicken the soup, making it feel thick and silky. What an incredible idea! I used this as inspiration for my own version – because I don’t know how to follow recipes. I always end up adjusting spices, ingredients, etc. Today I leave you with just a recipe and a picture, nothing more. And it will be okay J

Ingredients

4 cups vegetable broth

1 can (28-oz.) fire roasted diced tomatoes

1 can of black beans
1 cup cup of organic whole kernel corn

1 small yellow onion, cut into 6 wedges

3 cloves of garlic (still in the paper)

1 jalapeño

2 teaspoons dried cumin

2 teaspoons chipotle chili powder

1 ¼ teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon of smoked paprika

½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

Sea salt & pepper

4 corn tortillas, chopped (plus one extra for crispy topping)

Juice from 1 lime

Optional toppings
crispy tortilla strips

cilantro

avocado, sliced

lime wedges

queso fresco

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss the onions, whole jalapeno and garlic cloves with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread on a large baking sheet and roast for about 20-30 minutes or until the edges of the onions darken. Toss them about halfway through. Remove the garlic after about 5 minutes, so it doesn’t burn and the jalapeno when the skin is blackened and blistering.

Place the roasted jalapeno in a small glass bowl and cover with a lid or plastic wrap (make sure the plastic does not touch the jalapeno). Let it cool for approximately 15 minutes. Using utensils, carefully peel off the skin and remove the stem and seeds, being careful not to touch your eyes when doing this.

In a medium pot, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil; add the onions, garlic (skin removed), jalapeno, tomatoes, oregano, cumin, chili powder, cayenne, paprika and some salt and pepper. Cook for 4-5 minutes.

Add a splash of apple cider vinegar and cook for 30 seconds more. Add the broth and chopped tortilla pieces and let simmer for 20-30 minutes. The tortillas will start to break apart. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Transfer to a high-speed blender and puree until smooth. Add additional broth or water if the soup is too thick for your liking. Squeeze in some lime, taste and season accordingly.

Stir in the corn and black beans. Serve with an extra drizzle of olive oil and the optional toppings of your choice J. 

Lip Smackin' Delicious Acaí Bowl

A few days ago I snapped a pic of my breakfast, with my iPhone, and published it on various social media channels: Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Before I knew it I was receiving requests for the recipe on my blog. Instantly I thought, “shoot, I didn’t style this in a way that actually captured the true beauty of the food using a real camera.” Eek! But then I realized something, I am just an ordinary girl, in an ordinary world, who happened to post a picture of a not so special but equally delicious Tuesday morning breakfast. And guess what? People still wanted the recipe! Awesome!!!

{I have a confession. I made this again just so I could snap a better picture. The image has now been updated J}

Acaí bowls (pronounced ah-sigh-ee) are gaining popularity on the West Coast in vegan restaurants, organic cafés, Brazilian food carts and coffee shops. The downfall, these power-packed beauties can burn a hole right through your pretty little coin pouch.  The upside you ask? Thanks to brands like Sambazon, frozen acaí packets can easily be found in the freezer section of Whole Foods and other natural food markets. Score!

Acaí is a magical little purple berry that hails from a palm tree found in the Amazon rainforest. This small fruit is a nutrition powerhouse and known as the “beauty berry” in Brazil because of its properties to make the body look and feel good on the inside and outside. Acaí is rich in antioxidants, specifically one called anthocyanin, known for fighting free radicals in the body and anti-aging. In addition, it contains healthy fats - omega 3, 6 and 9, essential for great skin, hair and nails ladies, and more grams of protein than an egg! Still want more? These little berries contain NO SUGAR!!! Acaí is definitely a superfruit worthy of being added to your diet. Just be sure to read the labels, especially on juices, because companies love to sneak in other ingredients like sweeteners.

This recipe takes a quick 5 minutes to make and is super filling, energizing and delicious!

Ingredients

Bowl

1 Sambazon frozen acaí smoothie pack

¼ - ½ cup of almond milk (depending on how thick you like it)

1 banana

½ cup strawberries (or berries of your choice; frozen is fine!) 

Toppings

½ banana sliced

½ cup strawberries (or berries of your choice)

¼ cup of granola

Directions

Add all “bowl” ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer to acaí mixture to a bowl, top with sliced banana, berries and granola. Take a big spoonful and eat J.

Valentine Chocolates with Caramel and Coconut Filling

Valentine’s Day is tomorrow and I have a super easy and delicious treat for you to make for yourself or for someone else ;) Yes, you have time - don't worry! I have been meaning to make homemade raw chocolate for so long and for some reason I’ve always hesitated because I figured the ingredients for something so decadent and awesome would cost a fortune! I mean have you seen the going rate for a chocolate bar these days? Upwards of $5-6! Holy smokes! After seeing this post from My New Roots', Sarah Britton, and with Valentine’s Day around the corner, I decided to go for it!

To my surprise (pleasant surprise!) raw cacao butter is not that expensive! For $10, I was able to get this entire bag of organic cacao butter. You only use a couple tablespoons at a time, so it will last a while (even if you are a raw chocoholic). If you cannot get your paws on cacao butter, just use coconut oil instead. The chocolates won’t have the same super creamy melt-in-your-mouth consistency but it’ll do the job.

I followed Sarah’s recipe for the raw chocolate and caramel (a.k.a. Rollo’s) but then I also created a coconut filling (think Mounds candy bar!) for half of them. Both versions are so incredibly delicious that I cannot put my finger on which I prefer. The answer is both!!! “Life is like a box of chocolates right? You never know which one you’re gonna get.” And in my life I like to have variety when it comes to chocolate.

*Note, you will want a silicon candy mold to make these chocolates (any shape will do!)

Ingredients

Raw Chocolate


¼ cup coconut oil, melted


1 ½ tablespoons cacao butter, melted


2 ½ tablespoons raw honey (or maple syrup)


4 ½ tablespoons raw cacao powder


1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Caramel

¼ cup pitted dates (soak dates in warm water if they are firm, then drain)


2 tablespoons maple syrup


Sea salt to taste

Coconut

¼ cup of unsweetened shredded coconut
2 tablespoons of coconut butter

1 teaspoon of coconut oil

2 tablespoons of raw honey (or maple syrup)

Directions

In a double boiler or heatproof bowl over a simmering saucepan of water, melt cacao butter and coconut oil. Remove from heat and whisk in honey until incorporated. Sift in cacao powder and salt (to avoid lumps) and whisk to combine until smooth.


In each chocolate mold, spoon in some of the liquid chocolate. Tilt the mold so that it coats the sides. Place in the freezer to set for about 10 minutes.


In a food processor blend dates and maple syrup until smooth. Add as much salt as desired, blend and taste.
Transfer to a small bowl and set aside. Rinse out the bowl to the food processor so you can make the coconut filling.

In a clean food processor blend the coconut, coconut butter, coconut oil and honey until smooth.

Remove the chocolates from the freezer. Spoon a little of the caramel or coconut (or maybe both!) into each mold on top of the set chocolate. Spoon remaining liquid chocolate over top, covering the filling completely. Place it back in the freezer to set. Wait until the chocolate is totally firm before taking it out of the mold, at least 1 hour. Remove from mold and place chocolates in a tightly sealed container in the freezer for one month (or store them in the mold and remove just before serving). Do not store chocolates at room temperature for more than 1 hour.

The creamy caramel in the inside was just the right texture and consistency - perfectly gooey! AHmazing!

* Optional, sift raw cacao powder over the top of the caramel filled chocolates or garnish with sea salt. Sprinkle coconut on top of the coconut filled chocolates. Plus this way you’ll be able to tell what filling is hiding inside of the chocolates (if you don’t like surprises J).