Yes that's right.. sea moss. Check out this recipe for a thick and creamy vegan chocolate milkshake packed with all the benefits of sea moss from The Transformation Factory.
Serves 2 | 5min. 
Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons of sea moss gel 
• 3 frozen bananas
• 1.5 cups of almond milk 
• 2 dates (optional)
• 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon 

Instructions: 

• Blend all the ingredients at the same time until you get a smooth consistency.
• Serve your milkshake and add your preferred toppings such as non-dairy chocolate, cinnamon, fruit, etc.

Post Credit: New Zealand Manuka Honey
A combination of delicious New Zealand Manuka Honey and pureed Kumara is delicious and must be tried!
Its gooey, rich, but not too rich centre is courtesy of perfectly pureed sweet potato and New Zealand Manuka Honey. You wouldn't even know there were vegetables in here! It's made with Manuka Honey because it is a great accompaniment with sweet potato.
Sweet potato or known in New Zealand as Kumara has an extended history of cultivation in Aotearoa. It was brought by early Maori settlers over 1,000 years ago from the Pacific Islands. Kumara grows best in a warm climate, which is why particular regions of the North Island of New Zealand began growing the vegetable. The Maori people had articulate horticultural skills and therefore had the ability to grow several different varieties of Kumara.

The Kumara eaten today, however, has originated from larger South American varieties. These were brought to New Zealand in the early 1850s. The Maori people and early settlers of New Zealand saw the potential these larger varieties had and quickly began growing them using the same techniques they had adopted. 

Prep Time - 30 minutes
Cook Time - 50 minutes
Servings - 10
Ingredients 
Kumara Brownie

• 2 large Kumara (sweet potatoes), peeled and cut into small cubes
• 12 Medjool dates (you can use normal dates just soak them in warm water for 10-15 minutes so they become soft)
• 100g ground almonds or almond meal
• 100g oat flour
• 2 Tablespoons of coconut oil, melted
• 6 Tablespoons of cacao powder
• 6 Tablespoons of New Zealand Honey Co. UMF™ 5+ or 10+ Manuka Honey
• 2 Tablespoons of almond or peanut butter (optional)
• Water from x1 400g can of chickpeas
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• A handful of dark chocolate chips (optional)
• Pinch of sea salt

Chocolate Sauce (optional)

• 1 teaspoon cacao powder
• 2 Tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 Tablespoons New Zealand Honey Co. UMF™ 5+ or 10+ Manuka Honey
• 4 Tablespoons coconut milk or any milk you like
• Pinch of sea salt

Method 

1. Preheat the oven to 180c, fan bake
2. Put the sweet potato into a saucepan or steamer with boiling water for 15-20 minutes. The sweet potato should be completely soft and nearly falling apart.
3. While they cook, grind the oats in a food processor to create the oat flour
4. Once the Kumara has cooked drain them and place them in a food processor along with the dates. Blend until smooth. 
5. Next, add the remaining ingredients except for the chocolate chips if you are using them. Once blended then add the chocolate chips. 
6. Spoon the mixture into a lined baking dish (12x12 inch works well for this recipe). Cook for 45-50 minutes or until you can pierce the brownie with a fork or skewer and bring it out clean. 
7. Remove the tray and allow it to cool for at least 10 minutes. This is very important if you want it to be gooey! The cooling time allows the brownie to stick together. 
8. While the brownie is cooling you can make the chocolate sauce. Simply, place all the ingredients into a saucepan over medium heat. Stir continuously until each ingredient has melted and combined to form a smooth chocolate sauce. It takes approximately 5 minutes. 
9. Poor chocolate sauce over the brownie right there and then and devour! Or alternatively, decorate it however you wish and take it to a loved one for a potluck dinner. 

But as Mahani travelled, the fate of Easter Island troubled her. Buried in thousands of pounds of plastic and ocean trash, her home as she knew it was in danger of disappearing forever--until Mahani used recycled garbage, solar panels, and sustainable gardens to build Easter Island’s first school of music!You can buy the book here on Amazon.

We're big fans of Margaritas including Strawberry Margaritas. We're pretty particular about the mixes we use as they need to be natural and of course taste fresh. We advise you check out Portland, Oregon-based Mary's Mixers and their Margarita Recipe as their mixers are all-natural and organic and use sustainable packaging, Ingredients include Water, Agave Syrup, Seedless Strawberry Purée, Strawberry Juice Concentrate, Lime Juice Concentrate, Sugar, and Tangerine Juice Concentrate. Enjoy!

Air Dried Carrot Crisps with Smoky Barbeque Seasoning is now part of the Dirt Kitchen Snacks' portfolio at www.dirtkitchensnacks.com. 
 
“Dirt Kitchen Snacks believes the best things in life come from the dirt. Our mission is to make real, recognizable veggies into irresistibly delicious snacks, to help people get more veggies into their lives,” said Katrina Borisjuk, head of marketing for Dirt Kitchen Snacks.  The new product contains 35 calories per serving, and like all Dirt Kitchen Snacks varieties, the new product is vegan, non-GMO, and gluten-free. They contain no artificial flavors, colors, preservatives or added sugar. Enjoy!

Do you love cream cheese but want a delicious plant-based option? Spero Foods, the makers of plant-based dairy and meat alternatives, announced today that they have won the prestigious Expo East 2022 NEXTY Award for Best New Dairy or Meat Alternative. This award is a testament to the quality of Spero's products and their commitment to bringing healthier, more sustainable options to consumers.​

The NEXTY Awards are presented by the largest natural products expo in the United States and spotlight the best of the natural products industry. More than 500 products were nominated during the first round of NEXTY's judging, and Spero was named a finalist in the first round, along with two other brands. During the final round, Spero Smoked 'Salmon' Sunflower Cream Cheese was selected as the Winner for The Best Meat or Dairy Alternative. The judges chose Spero because of the brand's commitment to delicious, sustainable, and healthy food products.

NEXTY's judges said, “This is pretty unbelievable. This tastes like real ‘salmon’ cream cheese.”

They were floored, and continued to elaborate, “It’s so good, and it’s neither salmon nor dairy.”  They added, “[Spero is] using sunflower seeds in this particular product, which is very notable because a lot of these products we are seeing use almonds [or cashews], which is a good alternative as well, but we see that sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds use less water for production. So there are a lot of layers of sustainability with it in there."

Spero's Smoked ‘Salmon’ Sunflower Cream Cheese is a plant-based cream cheese that captures the flavor and texture of smoked salmon. The cream cheese is light and creamy, with notes of dairy and a rich, delicious, and delightful flavor profile. It is perfect for spreading on bagels or crackers or for use in recipes that call for smoked salmon. Spero Smoked ‘Salmon’ Sunflower Cream Cheese uses no dairy, soy, nuts, gluten, grains, additives, “bad” oils, or starches.

The brand selected sunflower seeds because of their minimal land and water use and near negligible CO2 and CH4 (methane) emissions. Spero uses cutting-edge patented technology focused on low-cost, sustainable, and scalable ingredients such as sunflower and pumpkin seeds—which require much less water than almonds. Spero's products are also nutritious, featuring unmatched bold tastes and creamy textures without using any dairy, soy, canola, nut ingredients, or additives and are allergy-friendly.

“At Spero, we believe healthy food is a human right. We believe sustainable food is a planet right,” said Phaedra Randolph, Founder and CEO of Spero. “When I thought about creating food to help solve our imminent global climate crisis, I knew that the ingredients we chose would be imperative. We had to pick something sustainable and healthy, something grounded in science.”

For more information or to find out where to purchase Spero products, visit sperofoods.co

Hi Gratitude Gourmet Fans! Check out this new Book:T​he Green Amendment by Maya Van Rossum (featuring a foreword by Mark Ruffalo). With record droughts affecting the American West, many cities have resorted to paying residents to replace their lawns with drought-resistant plants. But are we ready to cut the grass out of our lives entirely? Veteran environmentalist, author of The Green Amendment, and leader of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network Maya van Rossum explains:
“Manicured lawnscapes are a serious source of environmental harm. They are a major contributor to water pollution, drought conditions, flooding conditions and flood damages for downstream neighbors. Maintaining lawns is also a source of air pollution, noise pollution and a loss of critical habitat for species of all kinds. People need to reconsider their definition of what is ‘yard beautiful’ – changing it from mowed lawns to native landscapes."
Maya has outlined key points on the evils of lawns:

• When it comes to stormwater runoff which causes and contributes to downstream flooding and flood damages, lawns are almost as bad as pavement – they have a similar hardness that forces rainfall to runoff rather than soak in.
• In many regions, lawn care can be responsible for up to 75% of water consumption for residential and commercial land uses – depriving aquifers of critical water particularly important in times of drought.
• Rainfall that runs off lawnscapes often carries herbicide, pesticide and excess nutrients used by the property owner, as well as animal feces and other pollution that is carried to streams via storm drains and systems.
• The volume of water that rushes off of lawnscapes—whether directly via storm drains or passing intermittently through detention basins—causes unnatural volumes of water to enter streams causing significant flooding, flood damages, erosion of public and private lands (including undermining bridges, roadways and other infrastructure) while also harming stream water quality and ecosystems.
• According to NASA, it has been estimated that over 40 million acres of turf grass exists in the U.S., that is 2% of our nation.
• Replacing lawns with trees and shrubs can increase the market value and marketability of your home, as well as reducing cooling costs during those hot summer days.
• Replacing lawns with native trees, shrubs and flowering plants provides critical food and habitat for bees, birds, butterflies and wildlife that have been seriously impacted by dwindling habitat due to development and industrial land uses.

We always prefer to purchase cruelty-free make-up brands, and check out EVXO Cosmetics, a female-owned, LA-based makeup and body line with vegan, organic gluten-free products. EVXO’s clean beauty mission is to create vegan, organic and better for you makeup with sustainable ingredients and packaging with skincare benefits you can bring to life your personal beauty. Animal rights and advocacy are just as important to the brand and ensure all EVXO’s products are cruelty-free.
EVXO’s collection of affordable clean cosmetics features mascara, foundation, lip stick, bath and body, and more. All products are available online at evxocosmetics.com.
We tried the Strength n Length Mineral Mascara, Vegan Cheek Palette and Swipe Right Lip and Cheek Tint and they all work great for going out and/or being on a work call :)

Ron Barceló is pleased to announce the launch of their newest rum, Barceló Organic. Barceló Organic is distilled from the fresh juice of organic sugar cane and aged in new American oak barrels.  Whether served straight over ice or mixed in a refreshing cocktail such as a Barceló Organic Highball (see recipe below), the amber-colored, 80-proof Barceló Organic possesses a rich taste and a long, smooth finish.

INGREDIENTS 
Barceló Organic Rum - 1½ oz 
Orange juice - 1/4 oz 
Lime juice - 1/4 oz 
A dash of Angostura® bitters (optional) 
Ginger beer - 3 oz 

PREPARATION 
Build Barceló Organic, orange juice, lime juice and Angostura® bitters in a highball glass with ice.  Add ginger beer and gently stir.  Garnish with a slice of lime or orange and fresh lavender.
Enjoy!!

We would like to recommend a NEW Book for our Readers:

Let It Shine: The 6,000-Year Story of Solar Energy by John Perlin paperback edition features a new preface by the author and a foreword by Stanford Professor Mark Z. Jacobson, PhD. The Book:

• Features a new preface by the author, detailing the explosive growth of solar since the publication of the cloth edition of Let It Shine in 2013
• The price of solar modules has dropped by 90 percent since 2010, and installation has grown exponentially
• Solar panels are now the cheapest energy source in history
• Features a new foreword by Stanford professor Mark Z. Jacobson, a pioneer in developing road maps to transition states and countries to 100 percent clean, renewable energy

What People are saying: 
“The definitive history of solar power.”
— The Financial Times

“John Perlin is the historian of solar energy.
— Daniel Yergin, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Prize and The Quest

More about the book:
Even as concern over climate change and dropping prices fuel a massive boom in solar technology, many still think of solar as a twentieth-century wonder. Few realize that the first photovoltaic array appeared on a New York City rooftop in 1884, or that brilliant engineers in France were using solar power in the 1860s to run steam engines, or that in 1901 an ostrich farmer in Southern California used a single solar engine to irrigate three hundred acres of citrus trees. Fewer still know that Leonardo da Vinci planned to make his fortune by building half-mile-long mirrors to heat water, or that the Bronze Age Chinese used hand-size solar- concentrating mirrors to light fires the way we use matches and lighters today. 

Let It Shine is a fully revised and expanded edition of A Golden Thread, John Perlin’s classic history of solar technology, detailing the past forty-plus years of technological developments driving today’s solar renaissance. This unique and compelling compendium of humankind’s solar ideas tells the fascinating story of how our predecessors throughout time, again and again, have applied the sun to better their lives — and how we can too.
You can buy it at your local bookstore and here is one store from San Francisco.
Enjoy!!

“As a company, Sprout World is made up of 80% female employees. It was during a creative workshop that the idea of ​​a plantable makeup pencil arose, with the majority saying that they used makeup pencils daily, eyeliner being the most popular,” said Michael Stausholm, Founder and CEO of Sprout.  “It created an instant buzz of excitement and it was this tangible ‘buzz’ that led to the conclusion that the only appropriate plant the new makeup pencil could sprout into were wildflowers that were good for bees.”

 
Why the Sprout eye-and browliners are special 
* Made from certified wood 
* Patented worldwide – the only plantable makeup pencils in the world
* Soluble cellulose cap that dissolves in soil 
* Bee-friendly wildflower seeds 
* Recyclable sugar cane cap 
* High-quality makeup
* Waterproof
* Eyeliners in black and brown, browliner in brown

Kind to you and the planet
* Made from only natural ingredients 
* Developed without microplastics 
* AllergyCertified 
* Minimum waste and sustainable packaging 
* Materials from ethical sources   
 
How to plant the Sprout Liners 
1. Use the eye-or browliner until it becomes short to use
2. Plant it in a pot with the capsule lightly covered with soil
3. Add water and sunlight
After 7-12 days, the eyeliner germinates and turns into beautiful wildflowers
Available at Sprout World and Amazon, this innovative new concept in makeup will help push the cosmetics industry in a greener direction. 

"Growing up in an Italian household, food was always a big part of our lives and we wanted to share that in a unique way...with a special Limoncello twist", said Phil Mastroianni Co-owner and Co-founder of Fabrizia. "What separates us from everyone else are the ingredients that we choose to use for our Limoncello and baked goods. We import all of our lemons directly from Sicily and they are the ONLY thing that provides our Limoncello with its flavor and color. That Limoncello is then used as the foundation to our cookies, biscotti, lemon loaves, blondies, cake jars and whoopie pies!".

Less than a year after its launch, Food & Beverage magazine called Fabrizia's Limoncello cookie 'The world's most perfect cookie...irresistible!" All of Fabrizia Lemon Baking Company's products are perfect holiday and hostess/host gifts and can be found at https://www.fabrizialemonbakingcompany.com