These. Are. Delicious.

I've had a jar of matcha powder sitting in my cupboard for... oh, maybe 6 months. Other than putting it in smoothies (and maybe milkshakes), I haven't had much use for it. Rick and I went to the Sacramento flea market over the summer, and there is a woman there who has a booth set up with jars and jars of herbs and spices. I don't remember if she grows most of them herself, but she has strange spices and her tea blends are amazing. Matcha is a powerful antioxidant, as well as a weight loss supplement. It also detoxifies, which is helpful while Rick and I are on our 'diet'. He has quit smoking so we are on a whole-foods, liver and kidney healthy, lots of fruit and veggies diet. It's been challenging, to say the least. I've already comprised a long list of healthy desserts to help curb my sweet tooth cravings when I have them. There's also a dark chocolate stash somewhere. It's comforting, you know. To know it's there if I need it. Anyway.

The bars. They're chewy. Sweet and just a little salty. Rick says they're healthy versions of almond joys but pft, please. These are way more decadent. And they take maybe 20 minutes to make!


raw vegan matcha coconut bars with dark chocolate drizzle

3/4 c. rolled oats OR almond flour
3 t. matcha powder (iherb.com)
1 T. flax seed meal
1/4 t. salt
14 oz. shredded coconut
3 T. coconut oil, divided
5 T. agave (or honey for non vegan), divided
dark chocolate


1. You can either use a loaf or tart pan, or you can use an 8x8 for thinner bars. I've done it both ways but prefer the 8x8 pan. Line pan of your choice with plastic wrap.
2. In a food processor, pulse oats into a fine meal. Transfer oats (or almond flour) to bowl and stir in matcha powder, flaxseed meal, and salt. Add 1 tablespoon of soft coconut oil and stir until combined. Add 3 tablespoons of honey and stir.
3. Transfer to prepared pan and stick in freezer to harden.
4. In a food processor, pulse coconut into small flakes. Stir in 2 tablespoons of coconut oil and 2 tablespoons of agave. Spread over frozen oat mixture and place back in freezer.
5. Melt dark chocolate in a double boiler. I melted about 1/2 a cup's worth. It helps to add a tiny amount of coconut oil so it drizzles a little bit easier. You can also melt coconut oil, then add honey and cocoa to taste if you'd like to keep this entirely raw. Drizzle (or completely cover like I did) over coconut mixture and place back in freezer.

I take mine out and let sit for 10 minutes before cutting into bars. You can also cut them into bars first, and then keep them in the fridge, they will just be a little soft.

Rick calls these 'granola bars part two'. So... I got it into my head that granola bars are a piece of cake and I was going to make the best ones ever. So I mixed my ingredients. They were vegan, so I had bananas, coconut, oatmeal, and a bunch of other stuff mashed up and put in a pan. It smelled delicious. It looked delicious. And when I pulled the pan out of the oven, the coconut was toasted perfectly and the chocolate was slightly gooey. Perfect. Or so I thought, and then I took a bite... and stopped mid-chew. I had forgotten the almond milk, and I'm not sure if two tablespoons would have really made all that much of a difference, I don't know. Maybe its one of those magic ingredients that just doesnt work without it. I fed it to Rick who took one bite and laughed and said "what is this?!" Needless to say, they ended up in the trash.

So I decided to try again, with peanut butter this time. Because peanut butter improves mostly everything. And for some reason they taste better when they're rolled into balls. Rick doesnt believe I threw the granola bars away and thinks I just mixed it up with some peanut butter, but no, I swear these are 10000000x better.



vegan granola protein balls

2 c old fashioned oats
2 c toasted coconut
1 c peanut butter
1/2 c ground flaxseed
2 T wheat germ
3 T chia seeds
1 T vanilla
1/2 c honey
1/2 c carob chips


You can substitute protein powder for the wheat germ, I haven't experimented with it but I'm sure it'd be fine. All you do is mix all of the ingredients together and form into bite sized balls! I refrigerated mine for 30 minutes before I formed them, it made it a little bit easier.

This is one of my favorite meals because it's easy and fairly healthy. Okay maybe not the pasta part.. or the bacon. Or the butter. I like to think it's healthier than the mac and cheese I just made though. We got the bacon from Rick's parents, who had their old pig butchered a little while ago. It truly is unreal. I don't buy bacon often because it's usually really salty and just, gross... but this didn't even taste like meat. I don't even know what I'm saying. Buying meat from local farmers is just so much better for you, tastes better, and I feel better knowing what this pig was fed and where it lived, that it lived a good life, rather than taking a bite and imagining little piggies in cages in a slaughterhouse. I wish I had the means to buy all of my meat local but sometimes I just don't have the extra cash or am able to drive out to the ranches. There's not much of a sauce to this but the combination of the flavors is truly yummy.


bacon chicken pasta

2 chicken breasts
1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
olive oil
4 strips bacon
2 cups penne (or fettuccine, in this case)
2 handfuls of spinach
1/2 c. shredded parmesan
1 T butter



1. Prepare your chicken. I say this because you can prepare it however you'd like, grilled, baked, etc. I put 2 T of butter in a pan and set the chicken in it, covered, for about 15-20 minutes. 2. While your chicken is cooking, put onion, garlic, and a little olive oil in a skillet. 3. This is when I prepare the bacon. I usually bake bacon when I do it eat, but I simply heated the slices up stovetop on a cast iron skillet. 4. Prepare your pasta. I chose fettuccine because that's what I had, but penne is what I normally use. 5. Once your chicken is cooked through, cut it into smaller pieces and add the onions and garlic. Salt and pepper to taste. Maybe a little Tony's seasoning. 6. Throw your spinach in there. Toss for about 5 minutes. 7. Add your parmesan and toss until melted. 8. Cut cooked bacon into small pieces and add to chicken mixture. 9. Drain your pasta and return to pot. Melt butter with the pasta and then chicken mixture to the pot. Stir to combine. If you want to be really adventurous, add a little of the bacon drippings in there. Yeah I did that.