Blog / VitaMix

Life is pretty full lately, with lots of changes and transitions coming. I've had many years of emotional eating under my belt and the last 10+ have been changing the pattern a bit. In some ways, I've come full circle: when I used to raid the fridge if I was experiencing sadness or anger or frustration, etc, now I find that I can't eat if I'm feeling a big emotion. That's both good and very foreign at the same time. It's good because I think this is how "normal" people react: they hear awful news and they can't eat until their insides are settled down. It's also very foreign: there is a loss of what to do when something big happens. I have many tools in my toolbelt and I'm still learning how to take inventory of mind/body/spirit when change happens or stress happens or excitement happens, etc. There's always much to learn and I don't think I'm totally out of the water yet for emotional eating. Since we got the big Vitamix order, I was super excited and stressed (good stress) to make sure we had all our ducks in a row. Coincidentally, I had had a physical/blood test that showed some hormones that were extremely low - almost not existant. Could be my age, and doc suggested I try DHEA to help bring some hormones back. I did a little bit of research on DHEA and found a full spectrum of information ranging from no bad side effects to terrible side effects. I did some experimenting with it and on the one hand, I felt more "myself" in my body and there were other things that happened too, namely: having difficulty sleeping, getting BIG pimples on my face and gaining weight. In retrospect, I can't say for sure if it was solely the DHEA that made me gain weight, or the stress of the big order, or the problems experienced in relationship. I recall that I felt pretty darn hungry when I was taking DHEA - I typically don't wake up very hungry, for example, and when I was taking DHEA, I was waking up pretty darn ravenous. Whatever it was (and probably a combination of the three), I put on weight - about 20 lbs, which is a lot. This has been the norm for me, though. It's been rather easy for me to put on and take off the same damn 20 lbs for the last 10 years. What a habit. I'm longing to break this. It's a mental and emotional habit, I'm sure of it. (My 20 lbs is like average size people's 10 lbs. I'm six feet tall, which is why I don't refer to myself as average size. So I mean to say where it is easy for some folks to gain/lose the same 10 lbs, for me it has been 20.) Anyway, I went off the DHEA after 3 months or so of being on it. The major difference is that I'm sleeping better and the mad pimples are gone. The weight, however, is still there. Holding on. The good news is that I'm doing strengthening exercises and using weights to try to up my testosterone naturally. I'm able to hold the plank pose (yoga pose) for well over a minute now! I do feel stronger and so my overall health and well-being is good. I don't, however, feel good when it's time to wear my clothes and I no longer want to have a "fat" wardrobe" and a "thin" one. So, it is time yet again to step into this eating pattern and weight-holding-habit and see what I can do to get down to a healthy weight AND STAY THERE LONG TERM! I'm going to be working with Lauren Walker with this, she does energy medicine and so much of this for me is like a habit in the mind/spirit. I eat very well and I exercise. There is the mind of a fat chick in there, though. And the mind of a non-deserving person. These are the things to work on. I've been contemplating this for a while now and it occurred to me that the last couple of weeks I've been pretty stumped about what I want to eat, how I want it to look like. In the past, when I felt the best, I did a green juice in the morning, a green smoothie in the afternoon and a BIG salad at night with some added cooked stuff like brown rice and some Rhapsody tempeh. It's time to reboot the system here - the salads at night have turned into more cooked than raw and ending with desserts. I've also been snacking on raw chocolate during the day and that's also not a good habit for me to get into. Recalling the 10 days or so of eating lots of fruit this past summer, I remember how attractive fruit is. I remember how nice it felt to eat fruit (I had so many guilty feelings associated with fruit from books and raw foodies in the past that I associated fruit as being BAD!) I tend to have to gear myself up to green juicing (don't ask me why) and so I thought I would start the day with a fruit smoothie today and see how that feels. In the Vitamix pitcher (64 oz), I threw in: 4 ripe bananas 3 mangoes 4-5 honey dates (FRESH! What a treat in January) 1 blood orange Whirled it around in the blender and then poured into 3 glasses: 2 16 oz glasses and 1 32 oz glass. I had the 32 oz glass. It was yummy and a light yellow color. Very pretty. Thanks for reading. Let me know if you have similar experiences and what things work for you to get out of your own way to living your best healthy life. (I'm referring to energy and mind/spirit aspects of food here please!!!) Love, Linda

Ode to the Green Smoothie by Linda Wooliever Oh how there never shall be a green smoothie tastier than thee (except, of course, until the next one.) Today's first Green Smoothie after the fast

• 2 bananas
• 1 container of fresh strawberries
• 2 TBSP bee pollen
• 1 TBSP coconut oil
• 1 head green leaf lettuce
• coconut water

Blend in the VitaMix and serve. This made 2 massively delicious green smoothies (2 quarts). ENJOY!

Question: what vitamix model should I buy? — S. Answer: Thanks for your question! I want to start by saying that I've been using my VitaMix blender since 2001 and I still have the same one I bought back then. It works great. I've been using the 4500 from day one and thought for sure that this would be the only model for me. It has an on/off switch and a high/low switch. It's a powerful blender and it blends everything like a dream. You just turn the machine on and its 2+ horse power blends anything and everything super fast and creamy. I haven't had any problems grinding grains/nuts/seeds with it, nor with making juices, smoothies, soups, pates, spreads, ice creams, puddings, and everything else in between. For me, the 4500 was going to be my one and only blender that I was going to carry. I've just recently tried the VitaMix Turboblend VS, the one with the variable speed. I received this as a gift for submitting some of my recipes to VitaMix for their new recipe book. I received the blender in December so it's a new experience for me to use the variable speed. Because of that, I'd say it was a little difficult for me to get used to in the beginning. I think because I was so used to the 4500, I saw the variable speed initially as adding another step to the process and I wasn't quite "getting" the real use for it. Now that's it's been a coupla months since using the variable speed, I can say honestly that I do enjoy using it daily. I think it does an even better job of grinding nuts/seeds/grains. I think it makes quicker work of making creamy dips and spreads. It's less messy (and therefore easier/faster to clean) to use the VS when blending smoothies because the ingredients don't go shooting up to the top of the lid like in the 4500. I also think that it means not needing to use the tamper tool as much. So, I now love both the 4500 and the VS. I have never tried the 5200 but just from looking at it and reading it, it says that people should use the 5200 if they DON'T plan to grind their own grains. (Why on earth would you not grind your own grains?!?!) :-) There's also a grippy black handle vs. the other blenders that just have regular plastic handles. I'm sure it's a great blender, but I DO enjoy having the versatility of grinding my own nuts/seeds/grains as well as making ice creams and soups, smoothies, juices, creams, dressings, pates, spreads, etc. So my recommendations would be to save your pennies and get yourself a VitaMix - it doesn't really matter which one as you'll love it as soon as you blend your first smoothie in it. Get the 4500 if you want the base model (which is a really kickass model) - you'll save about $50 between the 4500 and the next model up. The VS and 5200 cost $449.00 and it's definitely has it's perks to using that variable speed. I don't want to discourage anyone from trying it at all. I love both models now and I think it's just a matter of preference. Make up your mind based on your budget and needs. I will end by saying that for $50 additional (for the VS), you'll not only get the blender with the variable speed, but you'll receive one of our hemp 12 x 12 nut milk bags AND the amazing recipe BINDER that has really awesome recipes in it. (All raw vegan recipes) - I really think that's special. So many people ask me what to do and how to get started and this really is a great kit to get you started on eating more health-fully. So that's that! Thanks for the questions! Please email me back and tell me what you end up getting. xoxo, Linda +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Ask Linda! Please feel free to submit your questions to linda AT vt-fiddle.com. Questions don’t have to be completely raw food related but please bring questions on health, recipes, diet, weight issues, nutrition, parenting, nursing, pregnancy, spirituality or whatever it is you’d like to ask. I’ll do my best to answer and will most certainly learn from this as much as I can give.

Linda, I just purchased a Champion Juicer but I'm considering sending it back. WHY? Because I've been making amazing juices with the Vitamix. I basically throw the ingredients in the Vitamix, whirl well and then strain through one of the nut milk bags I got at your place. It works really well and I can't see it being any easier than that!! It's quick easy and no cleanup! Help...your thoughts please.....I've been drinking 1-2 juices a day..and I don't mind straining in the nut milk bag. Plus I add a little water when whirling in vitamix so that adds a little extra to the juice. With the juicer, I will be adding no water thus NOT getting as much juice....................what do ya think??! ------C Linda to read more, please go here. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Ask Linda! Please feel free to submit your questions to linda AT vt-fiddle.com. Questions don’t have to be completely raw food related but please bring questions on health, recipes, diet, weight issues, nutrition, parenting, nursing, pregnancy, spirituality or whatever it is you’d like to ask. I’ll do my best to answer and will most certainly learn from this as much as I can give.

This week's question: Would you be willing to share your fav greens smoothie recipe? I'm trying to do better :) —M This week's answer: Hello there M! First here's a basic green smoothie recipe is: (serving one) a good couple handfuls of greens (lettuce, kale, chard, spinach, edible weeds in the summer, green sprouts, etc - stay away from the more bitter greens for green smoothies like arugula as they dominate the flavor.) so it would be about 1 cup packed or 2 loose cups. 1/2 cup of fresh or frozen berries (can substitute with pears, peaches, apples, oranges, pineapple, mango or any fruit you like) - feel free to add more if you want. 1 banana 1 1/2 cups water Blend up and drink. This is the basic green smoothie and can be added to and varied. To make it my favorite (and particularly as it gets colder out), I like adding a heaping TBSP green powder like Vitamineral Green to get a whole lot of green nutrition added. I'll sometimes add a TBSP maca. I'll typically add some coconut oil to mine, some vegan protein powder during colder months, hemp or nut milk instead of water sometimes to make it really creamy. Sometimes I'll add a sweetener if the fruit isn't sweet enough (particularly when kids and husbands are sharing with me. Sometimes we can tolerate new things better when they are sweet. So that would be a tsp of agave or honey or maybe a date or two.) Also, I add some chia for those lovely omegas! And last but not least, every couple/few days, I'll add a little sprinkle of cacao nibs to the smoothie too. But that's the basics. They are yummy! Also good to note that lettuces like romaine won't turn the smoothie totally green so it is a good "starter" smoothie for people who get weird about the color. Also note: REMEMBER TO CHEW YOUR SMOOTHIES! (Chew your drink and drink your food!) Have fun! I also just have to say that my favorite smoothie is the one that I'm drinking! They all taste great. This morning's smoothie had: banana, local org blueberries, local greens, Vitamineral Green, coconut oil, chia and some medicinal mushrooms like reishi. OH and I put in a bit of sunflower seed butter this morning because I was hungry!! I drink about 32 ounces of green smoothie throughout the morning. Take care, Linda +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Ask Linda! Please feel free to submit your questions to linda AT vt-fiddle.com. Questions don’t have to be completely raw food related but please bring questions on health, recipes, diet, weight issues, nutrition, parenting, nursing, pregnancy, spirituality or whatever it is you’d like to ask. I’ll do my best to answer and will most certainly learn from this as much as I can give.

here's my sweetie cakes recipe 2 cups golden flax seeds 1 cup soaked and/or sprouted raw buckwheat 1/2 cup raw agave 1 tsp lemon oil a pinch of himalayan sea salt 1 cup filtered water In a dry Vitamix pitchers, blend 2 cups of dry golden flax seeds in order to turn them into flour. Pour into a bowl. Then take 1 cup soaked raw buckwheat and blend in the Vitamix pitcher along with the agave, lemon oil and sea salt and pour into the bowl with the flax. Then add 1 cup filtered water and hand mix until well combined. Pour on a dehydrator sheet and spread evenly with a rubber scraper. This recipe is for one 14 x 14 dehydrator tray only. This should be thick on the tray. Score into the shapes/sizes you want and dehydrate for 6-8 hours at 105 degrees. Then flip the sheet and take off the dehydrator sheet and see if it needs anymore dehydrating. These cakes should remain pliable and chewy. NOTES on soaking and sprouting raw buckwheat For this recipe, you want to start with hulled raw buckwheat. You do not want to use the buckwheat seeds that you use for sprouting in soil that have the dark hulls still on them. You also don't want to use kasha - that is toasted buckwheat and it will turn to mush as soon as you soak it. To soak the buckwheat: Put a slightly rounded 1/3 cup of buckwheat in a bowl and cover it with fresh water. Let it soak overnight. The buckwheat will plump up in size considerably. Pour buckwheat into a colander and rinse under the tap. Soaked buckwheat will turn the water slimy so keep rinsing until the water goes clear. They are ready to blend now unless you want to sprout them. To sprout the buckwheat: After you've rinsed them, put them back in the colander and keep the bowl underneath to catch the water. Cover with a clean kitchen towel. Continue to rinse the buckwheat two more times on that first day: once in the evening when you get home from work and then once before bed. In the morning, rinse again and repeat rinsing in the early evening and night before bed. After about 2 or 3 days (depending on the time of year) you will have sprouted buckwheat. Now you can use them to make sprouted recipes. Using sprouted grains are much more digestible for people and the yields are good, making this a very economical way to eat! (By the way, buckwheat are not a gluten product!) Happy sweetie cakes! Linda

This question came in my inbox on Oct 22nd. QUESTION: What do people most like to use your nut milk bags for? Do they blend in a Vita-Mix and then strain through the bag? If so, does this work better than using a Champion juicer, for example? —Marsha ANSWER: Dear Marsha, Thanks for your email! People use our bags for:

• straining nut/seed milks
• straining juices
• sprouting
• making beer
• making kombucha and other probiotic drinks
• making tempeh
• apple cider press filters
• making cheeses
• making ice creams
• making teas
• bath herbal soaks
• we've even had carpenters use our bags to collect saw dust from their equipment!

Yes, people do blend up veggies in the vitamix and then strain through our bags. People even use their regular juicers and then filter through our bags to get all the fiber and froth out. I have heard quite a lot of good feedback that our bags work super well with the vitamix - better than juicers. I notice personally that when you blend the greens in the blender, they are entirely masticated and processed whereas in a juicer, a lot of leaves just get spit out the other side without actually getting juiced. I also find that it's a much easier process to do with the blender/bag vs the juicer and it is SOOOOO much easier to clean. You don't have to deal with all those parts on the juicer. It's pretty great, all the way around. High powered blenders are expensive and juicers are expensive. From my perspective, I get more bang out of my buck using the vitamix vs. the juicer, because I can make SOO many different things with the blender than I can with the juicer... The champion doesn't juice greens, by the way. So if you are comparing using the vitamix/our bags with the champion, I would wholeheartedly say with total confidence that the vitamix/nut milk bag choice is far superior to the champion for juicing. Hope that helps! Linda +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Ask Linda! Please feel free to submit your questions to linda AT vt-fiddle.com. Questions don’t have to be completely raw food related but please bring questions on health, recipes, diet, weight issues, nutrition, parenting, nursing, pregnancy, spirituality or whatever it is you’d like to ask. I’ll do my best to answer and will most certainly learn from this as much as I can give.

P.S. Before I begin, I'm writing about my OWN experiences here. I'm not advising that you do any of what I'm doing. I *am* advising that you look to your own heart and body for the wisdom it carries and I ask that you find some good support for your health in whatever ways they come to you: ND, chiropractor, massage therapist, etc and so forth. Don't go doing what I'm doing and then give me grief about it not working for you. We are all connected and yet we are all individuals so take care of yourself, be your own shaman, your own healer and DO NOT rely soley on the anecdotal information of others... OK, so now that's done, let me get on with my story... So I'm dealing with an old "war wound" - 9 years old to be exact. I gave birth to two beautiful big babies - the first was 9 lbs 8 oz and the second was 10 lbs 2 oz. The second birth was blissful and amazing. I had a doula (my sister-in-law) with me rubbing lavender oil on me telling me I have the strength of millions of women before me. The second baby was pretty low in my pelvis during that last trimester and she shot out like a canon. I had some serious hip pain from that birth that comes and goes. It used to be super bad - 7 years of pretty bad pain. I got used to it though and managed to do what I could although I was no longer flexible enough for yoga or able to walk or ride my bike. (Doing what I could do meant that I was just living with pain. Sitting, standing, walking, laying down, moving all gave me lots of pain. I just kinda got used to it as a lot of people in this world do.) I had gone to several chiropractors and physical therapists in the beginning. When one chiropractor told me I'd be in pain forever, I went to another one. (Don't tell me about forever! Everything in this world changes!) Finally I met a chiropractor that said, "Why would anyone tell you you'd be in pain forever? Everything changes." I replied, "Wonderful! I just found myself a chiropractor!" In the 2 or so years of seeing her, I've been able to get myself to a place where I'm able to walk 5 miles a day, ride a bike, do pilates and other stretches. She helped me to NOT rely on her for help by giving me exercises to do to help strengthen my body back up. HOWEVER, every now and then I have these recurrences of this "war wound." This past Sunday was the most recent one. This actually was the worst one yet. I'm not exactly sure what I did or didn't do. I was having some aches in my hip and front of my leg for over a week. I had seen my chiropractor (whom I hadn't seen for a couple/few months) and she gave me a tune up. I went home and was still having some aches in the front part of my leg where it meets the pelvis but just kept going on. The tightness in that front muscle (the iliopsoas) was just getting tighter and tighter. On Sunday I was having trouble moving my leg and getting into the shower. Picking up my leg to walk up the stairs was a bit tender, too. On Monday morning it was worse and I thought I would get on the floor and do some of the exercises that I learned to help my pelvis. But whatever I did must have made things worse because a couple hours after I stretched, the tightness turned to spasms. The spasms turned to incredible pain. My body became immobilized and I was shaking like an animal after a trauma. By about 9 pm I thought I might go to the hospital because the pain was so great but decided to take an ibuprofen and put on some ice packs. It was clear that there was inflammation and I didn't really want to get poked and prodded whilst in so much pain. So I asked my chiropractor for her opinion the next morning. She asked me to describe in detail the symptoms and based on what I told her she said that if it were her or someone in her family, she'd probably want to go to the ER or an orthopedist to rule out things like tears and fractures. She said it would be good to go and see and be sent home saying it's a severe muscle spasm but better safe than sorry. Matt was very willing to take me because he had never seen me in that much pain than I was in the night before. The kids, too, were wanting me to go to a doctor and see what they can do for me. So I went and I was nervous about getting and x-ray or MRI. To me, these are invasive and I don't want this or any real allopathic stuff done to me unless there is a broken bone or something. To me, that's where the allopaths are at their best - fixing broken bones, helping with emergency things like rashes or major allergic reactions. We got to the hospital and Matt borrowed a wheelchair so I didn't have to walk. Man, those things are great! I was wishing for one at home so I could be wheeled around to and fro, but really, it was a very fleeting wish and not one that I'd ever really want in my house... I met with the doctor and he asked who my primary care physician was. I told him I go to an ND. He asked if I ever go to an allopath and I said I went to an MD but she moved. (I didn't tell him the real reason why I stopped going to her... I'll save that for another time...) Anyway, he did a few stress tests on me and said he feels like I had a few inflammations going on. He pressed into a few muscles and I winced and he confirmed the inflammations. He didn't feel I needed an x-ray and wouldn't go with an MRI unless I was having this unbearable pain for several weeks. He thought because overall, I'm healthy and wasn't showing signs of nerve damage that it was best to treat this conventionally with a prescription pain killer/anti-inflammatory drug and things like going to the chiropractor, putting ice packs on the muscles, etc. He said that I could use ibuprofen but would recommend I take 4 times the dosage on the bottle. (ee-gads! I thought - 4 times! one ibuprofen really fucks up my stomach!) The nurse came in to give me the prescription and discuss the drug. It had a lot of side effects that I didn't want to bother finding out if I might get them. With both this drug and the ibuprofen, I was told it can tear up your stomach (literally and figuratively) so she advised to eat a full meal before taking it. And with the drug, it was advised not to take it for more than 7 days because I guess bad things could happen like stomach bleeding! Hearing the nurse tell me about the drug, I decided I didn't want any of that. Matt was thinking I was crazy not to take something to help with the swelling and the pain. I said, "if there's less side effects with ibuprofen, why would I take something else?" And then I started thinking about ibuprofen and I thought I didn't really want to take that either! LOL So I asked the chiropractor and she said that there are good alternatives for inflammation and she reminded me about a supplement from New Chapter called Zyflamend. "Oh yea! I have that in the cupboard!" And then I remembered that I have this stuff called Traumeel! OH YAY! I don't have to run to a store! And then I remembered about greens and how wonderful they have been to me, healing me in so many ways. Greens are good anti-inflammatory medicine. The chiropractor told me about big doses of tumeric and ginger. She said that tumeric in high doses can be thinning to the blood. She also said that if a person is prone to gallstones, then it would be better not to use the tumeric. So this is what I'm doing right now and I'll keep you posted on changes and on how I'm feeling: The pain is pretty tolerable at this point (it's Wednesday.) It hurts but I have a pretty high pain tolerance (everything gets compared to labor...) I went to the chiropractor this morning and she adjusted me and gave me a good massage. My muscles feel quite weak from the spasms they've been doing and continue to do. I'm massaging them 3 x/day as my chiropractor showed me in order to get circulation going in them. I'm drinking lots of water and liquids. I'm having green green juices. Matt made me one today that had: • local kale • local radish greens • local lettuces • an orange • 2 local apples • spirulina • filtered water He buzzed that in the Vitamix and poured it through one of our V-Shape nut milk bags. It filtered out really well and was really yummy. I gave a taste to my son and Matt had some too. I've taken double the dosage of zyflamend today. 2 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon. I've rubbed the traumeel on me a couple of times. Friends have recommended magnesium so tomorrow I'll add some CALM to my water and see what that does. I've used the ice pack several times today. Today I've been able to sit up again and walk around with a cane. I'm very slow moving and feel highly connected to my grandmother (she used to walk with a cane after she had half her foot removed from diabetes.) I keep saying, "Hi grandma!" as I gimp along with my shiny blue cane. I was able to go to most of the school play today but found that my muscles were shaking uncontrollably when I got there. They subsided and then on the walk home I was all shaky again. This, I'm guessing, is because my muscles are very strained and it is a great effort for me to walk. Perhaps I was overdoing it for today but I really wanted to see the plays. As it was I had to leave for the last part and missed some of my son's play. He was very disappointed and I feel badly about it. He understood but you know how that goes. Since coming home from the shaky walk back, I've been resting. I put a hot water bottle on my back as I iced my leg, pelvis and hips. I put some more traumeel on my leg and I cried out whatever needed to get cried out. I'm feeling good at the moment. My bed is comfy and the company is good. I'm off to clip some nut milk bags now. I'll keep you posted on this pain and inflammation journey of 9 years. :-)

I was munching on raw cauliflower today whilst painting and wishing that I had some lovely dip to dip the crunchy pieces in. So I decided to make something. I was really jonesing for my cheddary cheeze but am out of red peppers. I really love making recipes from scratch. It's fun to throw things together and see how they will turn out. So without further ado, here's the recipe I just concocted: Curry Carrot Dressing 2 cups raw cashews 2-3 dates, pitted 1 large carrot, washed and chopped 1/2 smallish yellow onion 2 Tbsp lemon juice 2 Tbsp miso, or nama shoyu pinch cayenne 1 tsp hot curry 2 Tbsp coconut oil 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast (optional) 1 cup+ fresh water In the VitaMix, blend until smooth. Add more water if necessary to make it more like a dressing. Feel free to adjust the spices to your liking. It's a really nice dip and I'm enjoying it now with everything: brown rice, veggies, salad, as a spread for wraps or sandwiches. This made quite a lot so it's good to just put in a container and keep in your fridge. Happy blending and experimenting! much love, Linda

Made a lovely smoothie today. Was in the mood for goji berries today which is wild because I'm hardly ever in the mood for goji berries. Here's the smoothie recipe - it's quite delicious - this made about 48 oz of smoothie goodness and served 2 • 2 bananas • 1/2 cup goji berries • 3/4 cup strawberries • 1 heaping cup clover sprouts • 2 Tbsp raw tahini • filtered water • Raw agave • warrior protein powder Blend in the VitaMix until smooth. Pour in your favorite glasses and enjoy.

I made a realllllly yummy fudge cake for the holidays. It doesn't take long to make at all but there is time spent in the freezer. Here's what I did: First, you'll need a spring form pan. Line the bottom with unbleached parchment paper if you'd like. I do that because someone cut into the bottom of the springform pan and I have not replaced it yet. So instead of getting a mess lodged in the thing, I just line it. This really isn't necessary. If you want the pie/cake to slide off easily, then another option is to grease the pan with coconut oil. OK, here we go: First layer, the Fudgiest part: • 2 cups of walnuts • 1/3 cup raw agave • 1/4 cup raw cacao powder • pinch of Himalayan sea salt In the food processor, process all ingredients until fudgie and smooth. Taste for sweetness. You'll process for almost a minute to make sure that it becomes really thick and fudgie. Then spread evenly in the bottom of the springform pan. Here's a tip: if the fudge is too sticky to spread, put your spatula or rubber scraper under some cold water and it will spread more easily with no sticking. Now comes a Creamy, Smooth Chocolate Pudding layer: • 3 Tbsp coconut oil • 2 avocados, peeled and pitted • 1/2 cup raw agave • 1/3 cup raw cacao powder • 1/3 cup filtered water • 1/2 tsp vanilla powder • 1/2 Tbsp non-GMO soy lecithin In the VitaMix, blend everything until smooth. Using a long, thin rubber scraper, scrape out pudding on top of the fudge layer in the springform pan. Now comes a Creamy, Sweet Orange Nut Butter Layer: • 1/2 cup raw cashew butter • 1/4 cup really raw almond butter • 1/2 cup raw agave • 2 Tbsp coconut oil • 1/2 Tbsp non-GMO soy lecithin • 1/2 cup filtered water • a tiny splash of orange oil In the VitaMix, blend everything until smooth. Using a long, thin rubber scraper, scrape out pudding on top of the pudding layer in the springform pan. Don't try to hold yourself back from licking the bowl, it won't work. Note: Now's a good time to put the springform pan in the freezer for an hour or so. The layers will all harden enough for you to spread the final layer off in the easiest way possible. and finally comes the Chocolate Frosting: • 1/2 cup raw agave • 1/2 cup raw cacao powder • 3 Tbsp coconut oil • 1/2 cup filtered water In the VitaMix, blend everything until smooth. Using a long, thin rubber scraper, scrape out pudding on top of the fudge layer which is now out of the springform pan. Notes: After the cake sits in the freezer for an hour or so, it is hard enough to take out and remove the outer springform pan. Drizzle the icing on or spread it on as you see fit. It hardens up very quickly as it hits the cold cake. So make the icing and spread it right away. Don't let it sit... not unless you live in warmer climates but in VT, the coconut oil stays pretty firm all year round. (And as such, it sometimes takes a little bit of time to totally blend up the coconut oil in the blender!) Serve and enjoy! This can be stored in the fridge or freezer. But what is best is to make this and share it with lots of friends.

I made this the other day and it was very yummy and delicious. It's full of good things for your body - it's thick and creamy and filling. Green Shake - Serves 2 or 3 hungry peeps * 2 bananas * 1 medium apple * 2 stalks celery * 2 Tbsps sesame seeds or raw tahini * 1/2 - 1 avocado (depending on how creamy you want it and how many peeps you are feeding) * 1 1/2 cups green sprouts like sunflower sprouts * filtered water or coconut water Put all ingredients into the VitaMix blender plus enough water to create a shake consistency. Drink and enjoy! This made about 64 ounces of creamy beautiful smoothie. YUM!