We're going to a friends birthday party tonight. He is a gourmet chef to the stars and *he requested* I bring him a cacao magic cake! He is in LOVE with my superfoods which is such a complement (and accomplishment!). I get really excited when I can help someone who is the extreme opposite in terms of nutrition and health (he cooks with a lot of butter/cream etc) be inspired to get more nutrient dense foods into their daily life! I hope he loves this cake as much as I do... I tasted it as I was making it and it was absolutely Divine!

Here's what I created: 

Cacao Magic Crust

-1 3/4 C dry raw almonds

-5 T Cacao Magic powder

-3 1/2 ounces date paste

-1 t liquid vanilla

1/8 t pink sea salt

Mocha Filling

-3 C soaked raw cashews (only need to soak 2 hours)

-1 1/4 C espresso (use decaf if you don't wanna be WIRED!)

-3/4 C almond milk

-1/2 C agave nectar

-1/2 C cacao magic honey

-2 oz cacao magic powder

1/4 C liquid vanilla

1/4 t sea salt

1 1/4 C coconut butter (cheap on vitacost.com)

blend ingredients in a food processor or high speed blender until smooth and creamy. Pour filling into springform pan with prepared crust. Put into freezer for 1-2 hours or until middle of cheesecake is firm to the touch.

Decorate with Raw Cacao Sauce!

Raw Cacao Magic Sauce

-1 C almond mylk

-2 oz Cacao Magic powder

-1.4 C agave or Cacao Magic honey

-1/4 C liquid vanilla

1/4 t pink sea salt

blend all ingredients until smooth and creamy! will last up to 5 days in the fridge in an airtight container. dip strawberries into for a healthy treat or use as a superfood sauce on vegan ice cream!

other fun recipes using Cacao Magic:

-Black bean healthy truffles 

-Healthy breakfast cookies

-Chocolate chia seed pudding

-Cacao Magic grawnola 

Have a grateful day! ♥

I've had several requests to share what I feed my sweet boy(s). Leo is now 6 months old and I've started to slowly experiment with food for him. So far he's had raw zucchini and cucumber, banana (he loves!) and oatmeal with a little breastmilk and GREEN DREAM! I'm so excited to continue to explore and experiment for new Philosophie products with my sweet boys.

Here are some foods that Kai (2 1/2 years old) LOVES.

1. Green Dream Smoothie- depends on the day but usually I do the classic recipe with almond butter, cinnamon, spinach/kale and banana. Lately I've been doing a fun tropical one with mango, pineapple, kale, coconut oil and Berry Bliss.
2. Cacao Magic Smoothie- (just not too close to bedtime!) i always add leafy greens to this smoothie... so easy to sneak a lot in because it tastes soooo good!
3. Goji Berries, Pumpkin seeds and Sunflower seeds as a trail mix. Great for a snack on the go. If your child is younger and doesn't have a lot of teeth, you could process in a food processor until powdery and mix with coconut oil, Berry Bliss and dates to make into a bar by pressing it into a pan and freezing.
4. Coconut Butter, Cashew Butter and almond butter- straight from the jar! We both love sharing it that way and it makes it more fun! My favorite brand is Artisana for the butters or Garden of Life for coconut oil. These are "good fats" so don't be afraid of them! SO IMPORTANT for your growing child!
5. Frozen lima beans, corn, peas and/or edamame- SO EASY. I just heat up on the stove top and add a little coconut oil or earth balance "butter" with a pinch of sea salt. Frozen veggies get a bad rap but according to the research I've done, most of the time organic veggies are flash frozen at their most ripe stage, preserving most nutrients. "fresh" produce, may have spend days in transit or at the store, so it isn't necessarily better for you.
6. Fresh berries-Especially strawberries and blueberries. I just take the entire box of blueberries with us on a walk and let him hold it in the stroller... he LOVES IT. SO much fun to have it all to himself!
7. Raw "ice cream"- I blend frozen banana with green dream powder and whatever fruit I'm in the mood for. Sometimes we do a strawberry banana with Berry Bliss powder which is great because it adds protein, most times I do a chocolate one with Cacao Magic. DEEEE-LISH!
8. Fresh Coconut Water- he could drink 10 of these if we had them. I am going to start getting them by the case from the Thai Market in Thai Town because it's just ridiculous how many we buy one by one throughout the week.
9. Seaweed Nori strips- sometimes we buy the unsalted large sheets, other times we do the small sheets roasted and lightly salted that come in a container. He's happy with either!
10. Superfood Protein Truffles- recipe here! So easy, raw, vegan, gluten-free and simple to take in the car and on the go. We all gobble them up so quickly! Next time I'm going to make triple the amount and freeze them so they last longer!
11. GREEN DREAM POPSICLES! this was a guest post/recipe from a wonderful, inspiring friend. My soul sister on the other coast! Here's the post if you want the recipe!

I'm SO excited because I finally got the courage to ask the principal to Kai's preschool if I could bring in fresh fruit and veggies and Green Dream and give them a smoothie recipe for all the kids. He eats so beautifully at home and at school it's not "bad" but definitely not superfood rich! So I'll bring some Green Dream in Monday morning and they will blend it up! I'm thrilled.

For more specific tips on sneaking healthy foods into your kids meals, see this post.

What do your kids love that you love?  What's super healthy but they beg for it and it makes you secretly smile? Please share below in the comments!

Love,

Sophie, Kai and Leo! <3

Leo's cousin, Omri and my sister-in-love came to visit this weekend! Omri and Leo are only 7 weeks apart and soooo sweet together. Today I was making Philosophie Superfood Smoothies for the hubby, sista, Kai (my toddler) and myself and the babies WENT NUTS for it. We gave them little tastes which then turned into huge gulps. Lots of grabbing and whining for it. They were SO happy and elevated... all of us giggling, jumping, loving-- high on the superfood magic.

Here's the recipe I used (I tripled it for all of us):

• 8 oz coconut mylk (can use almond, hemp or oat mylk)
• 1 T Green Dream
• 1 T Cacao Magic
• 2 handfuls frozen organic kale
• 2 ice cream scoops of coconut mylk Mint Chip vegan "ice cream"
• fresh mint (about 10 leaves)
• 1 T Cacao Nibs
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 T coconut oil
• 1 T sunflower seed butter (could use any nut butter)
• 2 handfuls of ice

BLEND!

In Joy....with those you love most!!!!

The Jaffe Family <3

Fiber breakfast cookies with Cacao Magic

You know how you’ve heard people say “eat dark chocolate” for antioxidants and abundant health? Yeah, that’s because of UNPROCESSED, RAW, VEGAN Chocolate… CACAO! Cacao powder is chocolate in it’s most raw and nutritious form. The Philosophie Cacao Magic has Cacao nibs, Cacao powder, Tocos (Vitamin E- good for skin and nails), Mesquite (high in iron & protein), Maca (good for energy & balancing mood) and 3 medicinal mushrooms that are excellent for anti-aging, preventing cancer* and healing the body.

WET INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup chopped prunes or prune puree*
• 1/4 cup sweetener (such as maple, brown rice or agave syrups)
• 1/4 cup apple sauce
• 1/4 cup nut butter (such as almond, pumpkin seed or tahini)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 egg or 1/2 ripe banana
• 1 tsp vanilla

DRY INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup whole grain flour (or gluten-free flour)
• 1/2 cup psyllium
• 1/2 cup ground flax
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup or more of nuts, seeds, trail mix, or chopped dried fruit
• 2 TBL or more of Philosophie Cacao Magic

*to give them a sweeter taste, you could add chocolate chips!

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Place chopped prunes in a blender and just cover with boiling water. Let soak while you prepare the dry ingredients. Also, lightly oil a large baking sheet and preheat oven to 350.
2. Measure all dry ingredients into a large bowl and mix well. Measure all wet ingredients into the blender with the soaked prunes (do not drain), then liquify and stir into dry ingredients, combining well. Drop batter by the heaping tablespoon onto the greased cookie sheet and flatten just a bit with wet fingers or the back of a wet spoon. Bake for 15 minutes. Make sure you have a glass of water or cup of tea with each cookie. Makes about 20 cookies.

This recipe makes the cookies slightly crunchy on the outside. For a softer cookie double the amount of prune puree and apple sauce. This will make them almost muffin-like.

Enjoy!

This amazing recipe was contributed and created by Julie Collier–THANK YOU, JULIE! Please keep sharing your delicious, creative recipes, Philosophie lovahs! I’ll keep posting them as you send them in!

I have a lot of people in my life that, in the past 10 years, have figured out they are allergic, intolerant or sensitive to wheat glutens. One of my best friends discovered she has celiac disease (also called celiac, nontropical sprue, gluten intolerant enteropathy, or gluten intolerance).

Many people discover that they feel better when they eliminate gluten from their life. For some people, it's a matter of a personal preference. For others, a gluten-free diet is a medical necessity.

Here are some reasons for choosing a gluten free diet:

• wheat allergies (wheat is one of the common allergies)
• gluten sensitivities, intolerance
• celiac disease
• low carbohydrate dieting
• ADD/ADHD
• digestive disorders, bloating

Studies have shown that persons with celiac disease may suffer chronic digestive reactions when ingesting food products with gluten. Wheat, barley and rye are grains that contain other ingredients that are irritating and cause immune reaction. All of these grains have been shown to trigger a negative response when consumed by people with celiac. Even though there may not be overt negative symptoms from consuming these grains, the gluten may negatively affect the digestive tract.

Gluten is everywhere!

They sneak it into seasonings, sauces and soups. When transitioning to a gluten-free life, you must learn to read labels. Wheat-free products may not be gluten-free. Many "wheat alternative" also contain gluten and should be eaten with caution if you are avoiding gluten in your diet.

If you are wanting to make the shift to a gluten-free lifestyle, a juice cleanse is a great way to transition into this way of eating.

Here are some grains you can ABSOLUTELY have and ENJOY on a gluten-free diet:

• -corn/blue corn-cornmeal,polenta
• -arrowroot
• -buckwheat
• -quinoa
• -rice
• -potato
• -teff
• -amaranth
• -millet

I also know some great gluten-free labels/brands out there for when you go shop. Ask if you have any questions!

Remember, Gluten-free doesn't have to be about LIMITING your life... it can be about expanding and exploring a variety of new grains!

check out this recipe for a delicious gluten free bread!!

*If you are considering going gluten-free, please check with your healthcare practitioner