Colourful Palate

Now that’s quite a mouthful, perfect for a Mother’s Day breakfast treat. Being a mom myself, I know I’d like one of these for my special day, especially if my little ones lend a hand in making it.

Oh, and let me introduce myself. I’m Shannonmarie of Rawdorable. I’ve been a blogging friend of Charissa’s for years now, so you can imagine my reaction when she asked me to do a guest post. I said, “yes,” of course :-)

When I first met Charissa online, it was via her raw blog. Since then, both of our eating habits and blogs have evolved, but still include some raw vegan recipes. For instance, I tend to post high raw vegan cupcakes, which I now refer to as Rawdorable cupcakes, as I don’t want to stress out over each and every ingredient or scare away anyone unfamiliar with my unbaked goods.

Charissa actually suggested I make a cupcake for this post, so I opted to create one for her, inspired by her scrumptious (my favorite word) breakfast recipes: Chocolate Banana Protein Pancake and Heart Protein Pancakes (protein-packed recipes, similar to these, help me keep my girlish figure, even after having two kids). Here’s my version in Rawdorable cupcake form – This makes one protein-packed Rawdorable cupcake, just right for Mom!

 Chocolate Chimp Protein Cupcake

1. ¼ cup cashews
2. ¼ cup oats
3. 1 Tbsp. Sunwarrior Protein Powder in natural flavor (or other plain rice protein powder)
4. 1 Tbsp. ripe mashed banana
5. 1 Tbsp. date paste (dates soaked overnight and blended into a paste)
6. ½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
7. ½ tsp. pure maple syrup (optional, or flavor with maple extract and stevia)
8. Sprinkling of cinnamon, to taste
9. dash of sea salt
10. 1 Tbsp. chocolate chips
11. (opt) heart-shaped strawberry slice for garnish
12. (opt) whipped coconut milk “cream” or canned whipped cream* 

*(Soyatoo makes soy- and rice based vegan canned whipped creams) for that extra special touch

In a mini food processor or blender, grind the cashews, oats and protein powder into a flour-like consistency, and transfer the “flour” to a bowl.

Next, add the mashed banana, date paste, vanilla, maple syrup, cinnamon and sea salt. Whisk to combine (a whisk helps keep the “batter” fluffier). The batter should be moist, but not so damp that it requires “baking” in a dehydrator (although you could if you desire).

Stir in the chocolate chips, and then form the batter into a cupcake shape, using a reusable silicone liner or small ramekin. Garnish the cupcake with a strawberry heart.

For that extra special touch, you could also pipe/dollop some whipped coconut milk “cream” (allow a can of coconut milk to set unshaken in the fridge until chilled and the “cream” has separated to the top. Remove the “cream” and whip to a fluffy consistency. This can be sweetened with a little pure maple syrup, to taste) or canned whipped cream of choice (this is quick and convenient for the kids to do. If you want to stick with the vegan theme, Soyatoo makes soy- and rice-based canned whipped cream) around the rim of the cupcake. Yum!

Kids can actually help make this cupcake for mom’s breakfast, as long as an adult supervises the food processor part. I know my son Jacob and daughter Hayden enjoy forming the “batter” into cupcakes, cookies and such, and decorating them, too. They especially like adding the whipped cream.

Jacob and Hayden also have fun making another recipe inspired by Charissa’s Sticky Date Popcorn. We make pink berry popcorn with only three ingredients. Just air pop some plain organic popcorn, drizzle it with melted coconut oil and toss it in finely ground freeze-dried strawberries (the best way to do this is by shaking it around it a closed container; time to shake our sillies out). The results are berrylicious for both moms and their kids.

Happy Mother’s Day! Thanks Charissa for thinking of me :-)

Note from Charissa: As Shannon Marie said earlier, we met years ago when I had my very first blog which was centered around raw food. Ever since then, through her blog, I’ve seen her kids Jacob and Hayden grow up (her blog is worth checking out just to see little Hayden’s adorable smile) and kept in touch with Shannon Marie. It’s been really special! Shannon Marie and I have decided that we’re “blog” family!! Please check out her website…Shannon Marie’s sweet spirit shines through what she writes and through her photos…I always get excited when she has a new post up! On her site, besides having a lot of fantastic  raw recipes, kid friendly (healthy!) foods, and her signature Rawdorable cupcakes…she also does some really fun craft/jewelry projects as well. Be sure to follow her on Twitter!