I used to be really big on goal setting at the start of the year, but I haven’t really felt the urge this year. Maybe I will write some goals once I can sink my teeth into the year a bit more. Right now, I’m still wrapping my mind around everything that happened in 2013. It was a year full of challenges, one I’m happy to learn from and put in my back pocket. There are a few big plans on the agenda for this year, so I think if I can make it through those I will consider it a success. The rest will fall into place, I’m sure!
I really like the idea of picking a mantra (or two) for the year. Have you done this before? Two of mine this year are:
To be knocked forward (instead of knocked down) by the challenges I face.
To make choices that are love-based, rather than fear-based.
How many times do you make choices that are based out of fear, rather than love? I do it much more than I would like. It’s something that can happen on autopilot after a while, like a knee-jerk reaction, and I don’t even realize that fear is behind the decision unless I take an honest look at it. It’s so easy to tell myself that I’m not good enough to do x, y, or z, to make a snap judgment about someone or something because it stirs up negative feelings, or to assume my writing or thoughts aren’t really important enough to share. All of these are fear-based. Luckily, Eric has a built-in fear detector and he often calls me out on it. Love is totally not blind; it’s honest in the best way possible…even if it hurts to hear the truth. We all need a human bullshit detector in our lives.
So, I’m thinking if I make choices out of love rather than fear the doors start opening and new possibilities emerge. Suddenly, the new person I met is open to my friendship just as much as I am, that new business venture I wasn’t going to do is now an exciting (even though scary) possibility, and the times I’m asked to put myself out there and risk failure don’t seem quite as bad. Fear closes us down and shut-outs love, or any remote possibility of love. Fear convinces us that we can predict the future (and it often turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy) when really, we can’t.
Here’s the plan. The next time I find myself making a decision out of fear, I’m going to try to do the opposite and see what happens. Obviously, this doesn’t apply to all of life’s situations (after all, sometimes fear or getting a “bad feeling” about something is a good thing), but hopefully this will help to keep in mind. I’ve already put it into practice a few times this year and so far, so good.
Try it for yourself. You just might do the unthinkable in 2014!
Featuring all new, protein-packed salads, hearty toppers, flavour boosters, and dressings you'll want to drink, my new cookbook will transform the way you think about salads. Oh, and be sure to flip to the back for a surprise dessert chapter!
Luxurious Dairy-Free Hot Cocoa
Yield
6-7 (125 ml) glasses
Soak time
1 hour or overnight
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Sometimes we just need a little hot cocoa to pass the long, cold days of January. This is the perfect, all-natural drink to warm you up on a cold day. Made with soaked cashews, it's super creamy and thick all without a hint of dairy. It's very lightly sweetened with dark chocolate flavour. Add it to your Valentine's Day menu for a decadent drink option! This recipe is adapted from Anthropologie.
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked
- 1 large Medjool date, pitted and soaked
- 3 cups water
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup or agave (or to taste)
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, or to taste
- 1-ounce dark chocolate (I used Trader Joe's 72%)
Directions
- Soak cashews and pitted date in a bowl of water for at least 1 hour, preferable overnight. After soaking, drain and rinse well.
- Place cashews and date into a blender along with the water, sweetener, cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt. Blend on the highest speed until super smooth.
- Transfer to a medium pot and add the chocolate. Heat until the chocolate is melted and it's hot enough to your liking. It will thicken up a bit. Stir to combine. Be careful not to burn the bottom. Remove pot from heat.
- Serve & enjoy with some shaved chocolate on top.
- Store leftovers in the fridge and reheat on the stove top. You can also enjoy this chilled!
Tip:
Note: This hot cocoa thickens up substantially as it sits. Feel free to thin it out a bit with a splash of almond milk or water.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)~~~
PS- I sent out the first OSG cookbook newsletter last Friday! If you didn’t get it and you are a confirmed subscriber, please check your spam folder as some of you mentioned you found it in there. Another reader mentions if you have Gmail to look in the “promotions” or “social” folders for it.
This post was like a warm hug to your readers. Thanks for reminding usto examine our motivations – we all need that sometimes!
Love the idea of having a mantra for the year–yours are especially great! That cocoa looks pretty fantastic too.
Hi Angela~
I did not receive the cookbook newsletter. I checked my spam file and it’s not there.
Could you possibly re-send it to me?
Thanks so much.
Susan Gordon
Hi Angela,
I appreciate you sharing your journey with food, life and love. Please excuse the unsolicited opinion – I concur with the sentiments expressed above – this blog alone is a love-based (or at least not fear-based) endeavour!
Your post reminded me of a passage from The 8th Habit by Steven Covey: “…I know another person, who says audibly, or in her heart, ‘I love you. What’s your name?’ Seeing people through the lens of their potential and their best actions… generates positive energy and reaches out and embraces others.”
I am also writing to tell you how much I value your recipe ‘qualifiers’ (nut-free, gluten-free, etc) under each title. It’s GREAT to be able to immediately discern if the recipe is suitable for my dietary choices and restrictions.
I also appreciate that you’re Canadian, you recognize there are “banana haters” in our midst and you’re not afraid to drop a cuss word here and there. Variety is the spice of life!
Finally, I also appreciate that I haven’t read a single post where you use the word “yummy” – yeah, I’m serious. :)
Keep up the good fight!
Kat
I’ve been a vegetarian for years & am trying to move towards veganism. If anyone can get me there, it’s you. My family isn’t very supportive, but I try to slip vegan meals in sometimes. Thanks to you, I am able to do so, because your food looks “normal”. No nut loafs for my husband.
I live in Nova Scotia & it’s nice to see Canadian products since I can buy the same things.
I’ve been a subscriber for a long time & I didn’t get your cookbook by email either.
I’m excited for your print book to come out. I usually look up recipes online, but yours is a book I will actually buy.
Thanks for all you do!
Hi Angela,
First I need to say you are a HUGE inspiration to me. Not only just your zest for life and your amazing ability to cook and create in the kitchen, but your lifestyle choices and your story behind them. I am GF and DF and I have recently giving up red meat as I can’t process it anymore. I see myself becoming meat free in the future, but I need to take baby steps. I first “met” you when I bought my Vitamix 2 years ago and I had a mission for this new machine. I knew it was a vital key to my health, but I didn’t know how yet. I found your Green Monster smoothie recipe and tried it and LOVED it. I have tweaked it a bit since, but the essence is still there. I have tried many other health smoothies and juices, but this one is like my smoothie soul mate. (My Green Monster: Aloe vera juice, coconut milk (or other non-diary milk in the house), 1 frozen banana, 2 handfuls of spinach, chia seeds, coconut oil, peanut butter and ice). Even my kids like it and they 4.5 and 3! From your Green Monster site I found Oh She Glows and I have been addicted ever since. I have used a lot of your dessert recipes and brought them to work or family functions and everyone is usually shocked (in a good way) that it is vegan and gluten free. That equals a success in my book! With your story and so many others who have found health through the clean food and nutrients that we put in our body, I know I am not alone and I will find the “mecca” of balance and nutrition I am striving for.
The mantra idea is awesome, I really like that idea, instead of depriving ourselves or beating ourselves up trying to change ourselves, be positive and enrich ourselves.
Lastly, I pre-ordered your cookbook and I can;t wait to get it. I can add it to the mess of printer copy recipes on my counter from your website!
Thank you for doing this blog, I hope you never tire of it. Your recipes are amazing and the stories within each post are entertaining and inspiring.
Cheers!
Heather
P.s. I am thinking about doing a blog for myself to publish my journey. It may not become a huge hit like yours, but it will offer entertainment for my children when they are older ;)
Oh this looks perfect! Freezing rain in Alaska right now, I wish I was home with a big glass of hot chocolate! :) I love cashew based dessert beverages!
Hi Angela,
Your mantras made me excited! I have recently decided that I too want to move away from fear-based living. Realized that so much of what I did or didn’t do was based on fear…and I want my decisions to be based in love…for myself and those around me.
I love your blog and hope all the best for you in 2014!
Thank you! I have not a decent hot cocoa in years since I switched to a dairy-free, refined sugar free way of life. Made this tonight and I was skeptical as I’ve had some hot cocoa fails but I love this one!
I just made this. It turned out excellent. I was too lazy to wash another pan so instead of moving it to a saucepan I just whizzed it in the vitamix for 5 minutes on high and it was the perfect temp and quite frothy. I put the chocolate right into the vitamix at the beginning and it got chopped up and then melted when it heated.
Made this last night. It was lovely and comforting and really creamy :)
This was exactly what I needed to read this morning. Thank you Angela for my Thursday morning inspiration!
Excellent post. Thank you for mentioning that you sent an email – I also found it in the spam, so sad.
I am thrilled about this hot cocoa recipe. I have taken on a challenge this season — to not buy food until I’ve used up my incredibly large supply of wonderful ingredients. Hopefully by spring the freezer + the other freezer + cupboards + pantry will all be empty & ready for a defrost and/or clean, and to be refilled with new items from the garden. At any rate — the hot cocoa recipe is timely, because I used up the last of my “fresh” milk, and yesterday I was desiring some hot cocoa. I have most things I need…chocolate, sweetener…but no milk to give it that creaminess! And I’m not loving powdered soy-milk as much as I thought I would. I haven’t any fresh milk, but I DO have a ton of raw cashews!!! Wahoo!!!
I am excited to experience come luxurious cocoa soon! Thanks!!
Hi Angela,
I just want to say I love your blog. I caught it years ago and I always love coming back :) Your post today resonated with me INCREDIBLY. Your encouragement to make decisions love-based rather than fear-based is exactly what I need to hear daily. Although you might not fully understand because we have different backgrounds, I am a middle eastern girl growing up first generation in the US. I met someone I love very deeply but he isn’t what everyone “pictured.” It was a hard end of the year in 2013 and because of my family’s reaction, we split ways. We are now back together and I love him deeply, and I hope I can re-open this subject because of the great love I have rather than being afraid to make anyone uncomfortable. My family is my world and so is he, I hope I can mesh the two successfully. I hate fear and I love love. I hope love wins here!
Thank you again :)
xoxo
Aishah
Sounds lovely! Thank you!
yum yum…i will try to make it this weekend…thanks to your blog and your awesome photography..i became an avid chocolate lover…before knowing your blog i use to hate choc flavor(i know i am weird for not liking choc :-))) now i want it more every day :-))….i add a scoop of cocoa powder to even my oatmeal most of the days :-)
I’m having trouble getting the newsletter too. I tried signing up again, but it said I was already signed up. It did resend a welcome email, but I checked all my folders and can’t find it. I wonder what’s going on.
I have been wondering lately about how to make a vegan hot chocolate and I love cashews in everything, so I am definitely going to be trying this soon! Thanks for the great recipe idea!
Dairy is a big allergy for my brother in our house! I am so glad to find his favorite treat here! Thank you!
So exciting to standing up to fear!
Dear Angela! You are so amazing, an inspiration to so many…and I don’t know how you do it but every recipe is yummier than the other, this hot chocolate is delicious, so creamy, filling we love it!
I found your Newsletter in my spam folder in my gmail account! So happy to get it!
Thank you for your block, your recipes, your words!