Delicious Raw Candies

Ingredients:
1/8 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup coconut butter
1/3-1/2 cup cacao powder
1/4 cup honey
1/8 cup water

Place all ingredients in a blender until smooth and creamy. Add more water if it is too thick. Shape into candies using molds, foil, or waxed paper. Add nuts, nut butters or shredded coconut if desired. Place the mixture in a pastry bag and refrigerate for 10 minutes. Then squeeze out into desired shapes onto waxed paper lined cookie sheet. Chill.

Raw Pecan Fudge

Ingredients:
1/2 cup raw pecan butter
1/8 cup coconut oil
1/4 + 1/8 cup coconut butter
1/4 cup brown rice syrup
Pinch of sea salt
1 tsp vanilla powder
1 scoop of protein powder

Mix together and chill.

Chia Cacao Squares

Ingredients:
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/2 cup brown rice syrup
1/2 cup raw honey
1 cup raw almond butter
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup raw cacao powder

Grind nuts and seeds. Blend ground nuts and seeds and all other ingredients together. Press into lightly greased 9x13 glass pan. Chill.

Carob Fudge

Ingredients:
1 cup honey
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup carob powder
3/4 cup powdered milk, tofu milk powder or protein powder
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans

In mixing bowl, cream honey and butter together. Stir in remaining ingredients. Press into an 8x8" pan. Chill. Cut into squares

Raw Turtles

Another one from The Rawtarian:

I have a smaller food processor so I halved this recipe.

2 cups raw pecans
2 cups dates
1 banana

1. Add pecans to food processor. Process until quite small - resembling coarse flour.

2. Add 1/2 of the dates. Process until well combined and you can't see dates anymore.

3. Add remaining dates. Process the same.

4. Cut banana into chunks and add to processor.

Pretty tasty!!

Peanut Butter Clusters

Ingredients:
1 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup honey
1 T coconut oil
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

In mixing bowl, cream together oil, carob powder, and honey. Stir in rolled oats and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoons into a 9x9" pan (close together) and freeze or refrigerate until ready to eat. Makes about 20 clusters

{Recipe from Erleen Tilten)

Superfood Chocolate Candy

Ingredients:
1 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup raw almond butter
1/4 cup almond meal
4 T honey
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup Protein powder
3 tsp Powdered Stevia
1 T vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup raw cacao or carob powder

Spray ice cube tray with non-stick spray.

Melt coconut oil, pour into medium bowl. Slowly whisk in almond butter, cinnamon, stevia and honey - one at a time. Whisk in vanilla. Stir in cacao or carob powder, almond meal, coconut and protein posder one at a time. Spoon into ice cube trays and chill in freexer for 15 minutes.

How?

So, what does it mean to take responsibility for my own health? And how do I do that?

What it means to me is that I am responsible for my choices. MY choices. They aren't anyone else's choices, just mine. The doctor can't choose what I am going to eat today or how (and if) I'm going to exercise, but it seems that when things go wrong, we head off to the doctor so that they can "fix" us. And for them to fix us, they tell us that we need to take this pill or that pill (and in my case for the rest of my life)!

But really, all that does is cause another symptom that we really don't like either. Now, how does that make us happy? We get stuck on the merry-go-round of prescriptions. We keep getting prescriptions to fix one thing or another.

When the doctor told me that I had to take this little pill for the rest of my life I was not happy. How could that be good for me? Why did I need to take that? How could I make my symptom improve so that I didn't need to take that pill? Why did this happen to me? Well, the doctor couldn't tell me. I came home frustrated!!

I searched online for my condition. I read blogs and books and found out that I didn't need to take medication for the rest of my life. I just needed to make some adjustments to my diet and thinking.

What? I was in charge of my health? That was totally new for me!

So I started.

I went to a Naturopath. And I started learning a lot about health. I read. I listened to CD's. And I gained hope.

And since I have been on this path for the last 6 years, let me tell you what I have learned.

5 things that need to be changed:

1. No soda! 
Bad, bad, bad stuff. It might not be a good idea to go cold turkey on it if you drink it very regularly, but start somewhere. Reduce the amount you drink until you have totally eliminated it from your diet.

2. No Margarine! Or Hydrogenated oils!
Did you know that Margarine is one molecule away from being plastic! It is a fake food. Don't even buy it! (Yes, I know it is was cheaper than butter - but it's just that - cheaper)!

3. Switch to whole grains.
Brown rice instead of white. Wheat, Spelt, Oat, Barley, etc. instead of all-purpose flour.

4. Cut out the junk and Eat more veggies and fruit!
At LEAST 5 per day. I like to eat more veggies than fruit.

5. Cut out the sugar!
Ouch - that one hurts! Sugar just so happens to be as addictive as cocaine! And it is also hard to cut out. I've heard that it is the hardest addiction to quit. Believe me - I've tried it and I agree! It is everywhere you go. You can't escape it. And it sure isn't a popular thing to do. People will really think you are weird. But you will be feeling so good that you won't care.

So here are 5 things to start doing:

1. Eat 75% alkaline foods and 25% acid foods.
More to come on this topic, but what it means is that you eat 75% fruits/veggies.

2. Use healthy oils.
Olive oil (unheated), butter, coconut oil, flax seed oil.

3. Learn how to soak your grains.
I love GNOWFGLINS! There are great videos and recipes that teach you how to do this.

4. Think Positive!
This one happens to be the most important thing to do! Maybe start here :)

5. Eat more RAW foods!
This is where I am at. I've found 2 websites that I really like. I've tried some of the recipes and they don't make me feel yuck after eating them.

Pay attention to how you feel after eating. Stay away from foods that you like but that don't like you. Maybe the problem is food combining?

Obviously, there are more things that will need to be done. I haven't even listed water or Organic produce, but it's a good start.

Remember, it's your choice - so make them good! It really is possible to feel good and have energy. If I can do it, so can you!

Deceptively Delicious Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients:
1 Avacado
1 Banana
2 T raw cacao powder
2-3 T cream (milk or coconut milk)
1/2 tsp vanilla
Pinch of Stevia to sweeten

Blend all ingredients together in a food processor until creamy and smooth. Refrigerate one hour and serve.

Makes about 2 cups.

{I can't remember where I got this recipe, but it is really good. AND it does taste like chocolate pudding - without the guilt!}