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Iced Chai Snickerdoodle Snowflakes

Raw Vegan Iced Chai Snickerdoodle Snowflake Cookies

Merry Christmas Friends!

Iced Chai Snickerdoodle Snowflakes are SO darn incredible it's as though a Christmas angel flew in to my kitchen and took over my brain to bring these delectable (semi totally addictive) cookies to life. Yes, they're raw vegan… but don't bother telling anyone as they won't know the difference. Are they healthy – yes, of course they're totally amazing for you… but again, don't bother telling anyone that either as, again, they won't know the difference, they're so tasty. The insane cardamom icing is worth making alone, however, once spread atop these unbelievable Chai Snickerdoodle cut-outs, it's seriously all over – SO divine!

Iced Chai Snickerdoodles Snowflake Cookies are the stuff Holiday dreams are made of… heck these gorgeous little cookies are perfect all winter long. Come spring just switch up your cookie cutter to a tulip or a bunny and you're good to go. You'll never want to be without your stash. Trust.

Raw Vegan Chai Snickerdoodle Snowflake Cookies

Raw Vegan Chai Snickerdoodle Snowflake Cookie-Cake!

Recipe for Iced Chai Snickerdoodle Snowflake Cookies

Makes 3-4 dozen depending on the size of your cookie cutters & your ability to restrain yourself from eating all the dough & icing prior 🙂 Make the dough and icing 2 days in advance. Do your cutouts the day after. Dehydrate. Then ice the 3rd day.

INGREDIENTS

Raw Vegan Chai Snickerdoodle Snowflake Cookies

3 cups oat flour (made from 2 c oat groats processed in Vitamix)
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 1/2 cups medjool dates
1 t celtic salt
1 t Ceylon cinnamon
1/2 t ginger
1 1/4 t cardamom
1 T powdered stevia
1 T vanilla powder or 2 T vanilla extract
2/3 cup almond butter
1/3 cup coconut nectar
1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil
1/4 cup + 2 T filtered water + extra as needed

Raw Vegan Cardamom Icing

1 t vanilla powder or 2 t vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut butter
3/4 cup cashews soaked for 8 hours, rinsed & drained
1/2 cup extra virgin coconut oil
3 drops edible grade lemon essential oil (or sub fresh lemon juice)
fresh ground cardamom powder for sprinkling as the most-incredibly-delicious-do-not-skip-it garnish

METHOD

Raw Vegan Chai Snickerdoodle Snowflake Cookies

Place oat flour, coconut flour, dates, celtic salt, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, stevia, vanilla and almond butter in a large capacity food processor and process, scraping the sides of the bowl many times until the mixture resembles wet sand.
Add coconut nectar, coconut oil and 1/4 cup filtered water and process until fully incorporated and the mixture comes together as a dough. Add more water by the Tbsp as needed. Taste to adjust seasonings & sweetness. It will have the texture of gingerbread dough.
Dump the dough out, halve it, and form it into two smooth discs. Tightly cover each disc in saran and place in the refrigerator overnight.
The next day remove one disc at a time, allow to come to room temp for 20 minutes, then roll out to 1/4" (1/4" is much easier to work with) or 1/16", just as you would standard gingerbread or sugar cookie dough. Rolling the dough on a piece of parchment paper placed on a large cutting board works well for no-slipping. Also, I use my french handle-free rolling pin and find it's much less effortful than a standard handle rolling pin.
As you cut each shape, press the cookie cutter into the chilled dough, then pull the edges away from the cutter on the sides that are un-usable, then pick up the cutter with dough still inside and tap it out onto a silpat lined dehydrator sheet. As you can see, I used about the most difficult intricate snowflake designs one could use- to make it easier, I gently pushed out the skinny parts using the end of a spatula or my finger tips. You should have no problems, especially if using a less intricate cutter.
Once you've cut out all your cookies, put them into your dehydrator on 135F for 1 1/2 hours, then turn down to 115F for another 1 hour or until they're firm enough to transfer from a silpat to a screen. Transfer is easy: simply place a dehdrator tray fitted w/ a screen over the cookies on their silpat lined tray, flip over with your hands keeping everything aligned. Next peel the silpat off the cookies and place them back into the dehdrator, now on their screens, for 2 – 4 more hours or until reach your desired crispness. I personally like the cookies just slightly chewy, however they're also delicious crispy! (Alternatively, if you don't yet have a dehydrator, put them in the oven on it's lowest setting with the door propped open with a wooden spoon until reach desired crispness. This method doesn't guarantee they'll stay raw.)
Let the cookies cool before icing.

Raw Vegan Icing

Add all the ingredients into a Vitamix and blend scraping the sides down with a spatula several times, til totally combined and creamy.
Scrape out into a bowl and place in the fridge for 2 hours. Before you go to bed, pull the icing back out & let it sit out on the counter overnight. When you awake it will be the perfect icing texture (if your house is about 68F). Otherwise, just leave it in the fridge overnight, come morning, take out the icing and place on your counter for an hour or until reaches icing consistency. If it warms up a bit too much while using, simply pop back into fridge for 10 minutes or until thickened, feeling free to whisk it back up to return it to perfect texture.
Next ice your cookies: this is easiest if you have a couple of large cookie sheets to place cookies on as you ice them. After each tray of cookies is complete, sprinkel with a pinch of fresh cardamom- don't be shy – I LOVE a generous pinch. If it's cold out as in 35F or lower, place your trays outside and the icing will harden almost instantly. Store your cookies in the fridge in airtight containers with layers of parchment separating them.
Snuggle up with a plate full of sweet, iced, caradamom dreams… high-vibe, guilt-free decadence that leaves us looking and feeling just as dreamy 🙂

Do you have a favorite "traditional" recipe you'd like upgraded into a beautiful Vegan & Raw version? Share it below for a chance to have me recreate it for you!

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All Love,

Juliane

Thank you for visiting 🙂

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Food, Style

Bread Pudding Stuffed Pumpkin with Creme Caramel Drizzle

Happy Holidays Friends 🙂 Bread Pudding Stuffed Pumpkin with Creme Caramel Drizzle is a deliciously sweet treat to serve up to your family and friends during this beautiful season of gratitude. Who doesn't love a moist, rich, fruit studded bread pudding… cooked up and presented in a pumpkin no less!

Bread Pudding Stuffed Pumpkin with Creme Caramel Drizzle takes a comfort food classic to new heights in presentation and flavor with its over-the-top-unbelievable Creme Caramel Drizzle – people, we're talking uncharted territories – this raw vegan caramel is so seriously amaze!

As always, in true StyleNectar form, we're keeping all the indulgence and none of the guilt. I've replaced cream with rich, full-fat, medium-chain saturated fatty acid boasting coconut milk, butter for creamy, immune & beauty-boosting coconut oil, and delicious low-glycemic, nutrient rich coconut nectar for sugar… along with a gorgeous gluten-free crusty farmer's market loaf tossed with loads of moist raisins, plump apple-juice sweetened dried cranberries, sprouted pecans, ginger, cardamom and ceylon cinammon (I don't use cassia cinnamon as it's toxic & tastes no where near as delish as ceylon).

It's as easy as tossing everything together, stuffing the pumpkin and next thing you know the house smells diiiii-vine 🙂 Prepare one larger pumpkin or several individual pumpkins… the choice is yours. Regardless, how you do it, it's a show stopper and a sweet treat everyone will love and remember 🙂

This is my submission to Tinned Tomatoes & Lisa's Kitchen No Croutons Required & Bookmarked Recipes Challenges and to Ren Behan's Simple & In Season!

Recipe: Bread Pudding Stuffed Pumpkin w Creme Caramel Drizzle

(Serves 4-6)

Ingredients

2 1/2 lb sugar pumpkin, a nice lid cut out of the top & set aside, seeds & stringy flesh removed
1 cup, 1" cubed gluten free crusty bread
1/2 cup pecans roughly chopped (as in halved)
1/4 cup jumbo thompson raisins
1/4 cup apple juice sweetened dried cranberries
1/2 cup large flaked coconut (optional)
3 tsp EnerG egg replacement mixed w 1/4 cup warm water (the equivalent of 2 pastured eggs)
2 Tbsp coconut oil melted
1/4 – 1/3 cup coconut nectar or coconut crystals
1 tsp ceylon cinnamon
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp ginger
sea salt to season interior of pumpkin, and to season mixture to taste
1/2-3/4 cup coconut milk

Creme Caramel Drizzle

1 cup raw cashews soaked 6 hours & drained
1/2 cup raw coconut nectar
1/2 cup full fat coconut milk
Sea Salt to taste
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp vanilla powder

Method

Pre-heat oven to 350F. Spread coconut oil around the bottom and sides of a deep dish suitable to house your pumpkin.
Place 3 or 4 bread cubes around the interior bottom of the pumpkin to soak up juices.
In a large bowl toss together the rest of the bread pudding ingredients, reserving 1/2 the coconut milk, until everything is well moistened and incorporated.
Layer the bread pudding mixture into the pumpkin being careful to distribute the nuts and dried fruit througout so it doesn't all end up at the bottom. As you layer, drizzle the rest of the coconut milk, again helping to distribute it amongst the layers. Pack it firmly, and, since all pumpkins are shaped differently, if you have leftover bread pudding mixture, simply bake it up alongside in a couple of coconut oiled baking ramekins or tiny bundt tins.
Place the pumpkin "lid" back on the pumpkin and bake for an hour 1/2 to 2 hours (checking on it after an hour 1/2) until juices are bubbling out and the skin is easily pierced with a knife. The bread pudding will rise up out of the top of the pumpkin in a most satisfactory fashion!
Meantime, make your creme caramel by simply whizzing up the ingredients in your vitamix until smooth and creamy. Pour into a dish and place in the fridge where it will thicken further.
When Bread Pudding is finished allow to cool enough to safely handle, then serve warm, either by the slice or by scooping it into small dishes, being sure to include the yummy pumpkin insides with each serving. Drizzle generously with Creme Caramel and drift off into bread pudding bliss!

Will you make yours in multiple pumpkins or one larger pumpkin like I did? What are your Holiday plans?

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All Love,

Juliane

Thank you for visiting 🙂

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Food, Health, Nutrition & Wellness, Nutrition & Beauty, Philosophy/Meditation/Spirituality, Style

Spiced Ayurvedic Sleepytime Mylk

Mmmm… Warming Spiced Ayurvedic Sleepytime Mylk is yumminess so soothing, delicious and comforting before bed I find myself turning in earlier just cause I can't wait to make it! This mug of exotic spiced mylk sweetened with a touch of raw honey tingles the tastebuds and warms the insides. Minutes later, tucked into soft jammies and lavender spritzed covers, I'm falling into a deep slumber of fantastical adventures… dreams so beautiful I don't wake up until dawn. Ok, the falling asleep quickly part is definitely thanks to my Warming Spiced Ayurvedic Sleepytime Mylk, excellent for inducing sound, restful sleep. The continuation of a night filled with brilliant dreams leads me to a subject of an upcoming post, however, I'll give you a sneak peek…

Yet another Ayurvedic technique to promote restful sleep is rubbing a little warm sesame oil (cold pressed) on the soles of the feet (which contain reflexology points connecting all over the body). I add a few drops of pure **Frankincense Essential Oil to enhance this and I'm experiencing the affect of ultimate relaxation and beautiful dreams. I adore a night of deep sleep filled with intense dreaming, magical adventure that can't be bothered by waking up in the middle… designed by the universe just for us, stimulating our creative brain until it's perfectly time to open our eyes, look out the window, in a purely refreshed state of excitement for the daytime portion of our lives! Beautifully restful those dreamy nights where anything and everything is possible, preparing our subconscious for the grounded adventure of sunlit days. That's what sesame oil and frankincense do for me – it's no wonder the three wise men brought baby Jesus Frankincense, Myrrh and Gold. I'll share in an upcoming post, which essential oils (EO's) I use in addition to the amazing power they have. Not all EO's are created equally for there is a highly refined art to how they're grown, distilled and combined. Therefore, it's important to properly source them. However, I've already delved much farther into this subject than intended, so stay tuned for more exciting details soon!

**Frankincense oil is an ancient oil which has been used for over 5000 years for restoration of the immune system, enhancing skin care, and harnessing spiritual connection to help us release parts of our ego which hold us back from connecting with our soul, as well as releasing feelings of unworthiness and insecurity. Often used in meditation, it's useful for visualizing, improving spiritual connection, centering, and providing comforting properties that help focus the mind and overcome stress and despair. The uses and benefits of Frankincense date long before the time of Christ to the Egyptians and Sumerians. Today, scientific research has shown Frankincense contains 8% sesquiterpenes which stimulate the part of the brain that controls emotions, and 78% monoterpenes which are known to be calming and restorative.

What I will say – on a seemingly different subject and yet not since everything in life is so inextricably intertwined – is that awakening (pun intended) is pure joy! All the tidbits I share on StyleNectar are simple ways to Live Beautifully, to help us experience the profound joy that is our birthright. People, do not give up. Even if you feel hopeless, do not give up. Trust me I've been there. We all have. However, our problems are indeed opportunities in disguise. They inspire us to look beyond the limitations of conditioned mind – beyond simply meeting ego's needs – as it dawns on us that ego's needs can NEVER be met. It will never be enough. Ego's appetite is insatiable and its promises empty. The good news, however, is our freedom, our bliss, lies not in some external person, achievement or thing. Freedom is in our own hands – we're at the mercy of no one, no thing! It's designed that way – and in fact it's our life purpose to realize. Some might call it learning to love ourselves. I would say it's realizing we are love. Meditation weans us from our addiction to distraction, disatisfaction, drama, and living in stories of past and future. Finding freedom is SO much more fun than the futility of attempting to appease ego. It's why many people who so called "have it all" are still not satisfied, blind to the simple, beautiful fact that we had it all from the very beginning. We always have. Always will. The heart. Love. Through meditation we experience this disrobing of the layers of disatisfaction, to bathe in love, be one with who we are. Experiencing our true nature. Our highest potential. When we bring true nature to our human experience we open our eyes to everything that has been within and around us all along. The magic of life force, of being alive. We see that it's about the process, each moment. Forget the results, they're just another addiction to tear us away from the moment. When we leave the moment we disconnect from the source and dive headfirst into suffering. Meditation and living in tune with nature reinforce our oneness with the source, opening ourselves up to a magical way of living not possible, or encouraged – by the conditioned world.

Ayurvedic Spiced Sleepytime Mylk w Turmeric, Cardamom & Ginger

The science of Ayurveda, based on the ancient healing traditions of India, supports living in sync with nature, adjusting our way of living to balance the affect changes in our environment have on our doshas (doshas being the three mind-body types: vata, pitta & kapha). These changes in the rhythms and forces of nature such as the shift from morning to night and the inevitable seasons have a profound impact on us. According to Ayurveda, a key to good health, peaceful mind and higher level functioning is to live in harmony with these patterns of nature. This means continually balancing our inner ecology and our doshas to adjust to our ever changing environment.

Fall provokes the qualities of the vata dosha, characterized by such physical attributes as dryness, cold, subtlety, mobility, lightness, clarity, instability & astringency. Thus, Ayurvedic guidelines for autumn revolve around pacifying vata and grounding by keeping warm, calm, maintaining a regular routine, eating warming foods & spices and avoiding extreme cold, cold foods and too many raw foods. While there are many incredible reasons to include loads of raw foods into our diets, I'm not dogmatic about a 100% raw food philosophy. Currently, I'm experimenting with a 70% raw food, 30% cooked food breakdown. That said, don't forget, just because food is raw, doesn't mean it has to be cold – soups, entrees etc. can all be warm, yummy and comforting and stay raw. I'll be bringing more of these warming dishes to you this season.

Autumnal shifts in my diet are accompanied by going to bed a bit earlier, the addition of cozy blankets, sweaters, scarves and slippers; you won't catch me without a mug of something warm such as green tea or this Ayurvedic Spiced Mylk. I find myself wearing my hair down in its natural waves around my neck and ears like an extra scarf to keep me warm. Dinnertime brings warming stews spiced with seeds of cumin, mustard & coriander, or spicy thai noodles w/ shiitakes and coconut cream sauce (yes coming soon!)… It's a gorgeous, cold, light, blustery and dry time of the year. Leaves sparkling and rustling in the autumnal gusts. Even my kitty changes her routine, heading back to nap in her pillow-lined basket in the kitchen.

Sleepytime Ayurvedic Warming Spiced Mylk with Turmeric, Ginger & Cardamom

With these adaptations to the change in seasons I've been inspired to incorporate additional Ayurvedic structure to my days. I experience an incredible amount of life force on a 100% raw foods diet combined with my dedicated meditation practice. It's probably something one has to experience to be able to relate to… spiritual breakthroughs of a whole new level, such oneness with nature it's frequency pulses through my veins. However, from an Ayurvedic perspective, though we do live in heated homes, a 100% raw food diet might not be best in winter. While I did remain close to 100% raw last winter, as I was brand new to it and unwilling to let go of the high frequency living a raw food diet was providing, old school Ayurvedic science would feel this could provoke too much vata. On the other hand there are "living" Ayurvedas who would completely endorse 100% raw year round for the level of prana it provides. Which side to take? As Ghandi said, "My life is experiments in truth". So this year I'm experimenting, taking the middle way by incorporating more grounding cooked food into my routine. I find life is constant change, refinement, which forces us to stay awake, keep our eyes open. Far better than falling asleep on auto-pilot thinking we've figured it all out. So here's a peek at the rest of the Ayurvedic inspired daily routine I'm transitioning into:

Ayurveda would recommend waking up early, around 5 am to experience the calm stillness of the morning this time of year. I'm working on that, finding 6:00 am is my current goal 🙂 A bit of yoga is advised upon waking, which I find quite wonderful, only 10-20 minutes or so, focusing on the following asanas especially soothing of vata: Cat and Cow, Spinal Twist, Cobra, Vajrasana, Forward & Backward Bend, and Lotus. Shoulder Stand and Headstand are good in moderation. Additionally, Sun Salutations in sets of 12 at minumum for good exercise or a maximum to the number of one's age -tho work up gradually if you try that! I follow yoga with bathing & oil pulling, breakfast & meditation. If I've gotten up early enough I'll take an early walk in nature, otherwise, I'll soak up the sunshine on a lunchtime walk. After a day's work, supported by my essential oils (again more on these soon!) I have dinner (sometimes raw, sometimes cooked, always warm) relax, and aim to go to bed within an hour after sunset – yes that early! It's fantastic. Just before bed it's a short second meditation then my delicious Warming Spiced Sleepytime Mylk. As mentioned, it completely helps me sleep through the night – and even if it didn't I'd still drink it cause it's SO darn comforting, yummy and freakin delicious people! Yes, it does have turmeric in it- which is of course unbelievable for us on so many levels, and it tastes phenomenal. If you think you wouldn't like it with turmeric, try it, I think you'll be surprised 🙂

Lastly, after having my sleepytime mylk… I wash up for bed and rub the soles of my feet with the aforementioned sesame oil and frankincense to cleanse my body, sleep like a baby, and dream like I'm in a whole new world. As I said, more on the essential oils coming soon…

**Turmeric has a vast variety of uses. In general it's a good anti-inflammatory. In traditional medicine, it's used to treat liver disorders, parasitic infections, ulcers, skin problems, bruises, joint pain and inflammation, sprains & strains, cold & flu symptoms and as a general digestive aid. Scientific research shows that turmeric aids in breaking down liver toxins, strengthening gallbladder function, aiding lipid (aka fat) metabolization, and preventing blood clotting. Recent studies show turmeric may help prevent lung, breast colon, and other forms of cancer.

PS. I can't possibly discuss Indian science without mentioning one of my top (as in top 3) favorite books, the Baghatvad Gita (translation by Eknath Eswaran). Life changing. Just like us. Just like nature.

Recipe for Warming Spiced Ayurvedic Sleepytime Mylk

Ingredients

1 cup of almond, coconut or your fav non-dairy mylk
pinch of cardamom
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of black pepper
pinch of ginger
pinch of turmeric
raw honey

Method

Pour your favorite mylk into a small pot.
Add spices to taste and whisk to combine. Start with less and experiment with more later. I actually use 1/2 tsp of each spice which makes my mylk bright yellow and I LOVE it! However, a pinch is all you need.
Bring mylk to baby bottle temperature to keep it raw. If you don't care about it staying raw, bring it to a light steam.
Add a raw honey to taste & give mylk another whisking.
Pour into your favorite mug and enjoy heavenly sleepytime yummminess! Sweet Dreams 🙂

Do you meditate or have you ever considered meditating? How are you transitioning into the cooler weather?

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All Love,

Juliane

Thank you for visiting 🙂

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