Chocolate Cherry Smoothie

Let me begin this post by saying that I never measure ingredients when making smoothies. It just seems unneccessary. I taste and add as I go. So the measurements given for this chocolate cherry smoothie are imprecise and are definitely allowed to be adjusted based on your taste preferences.

I had the idea for this smoothie originally when I bought 2.5 pounds of cherries one week when they were on sale. It turns out that me and the boyfriend can't eat that many cherries by ourselves before they go bad. So before the cherries could take a turn for the worst I popped them in the freezer and began brainstorming on what recipes I could make with them. For some reason the idea of doing a healthy take on the Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia flavor stuck with me. I'm not really sure why, because I don't think I've ever actually had the Cherry Garcia flavor. But this is what came out of my brain and into the blender (figuratively, not literally).

Chocolate Cherry Smoothie:

• 3/4-1 cup frozen or fresh cherries
• 1-1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp almond butter
• Drizzle (maybe 1-2 tsps?) agave nectar
• 1 cup almond milk

Place all ingredients in the blender. Blend until smoothie consistency. Add more milk if the smoothie is too thick. Drink up!

Vegan Chocolate Silk Pie

So what's the excuse this time? School, work, thesis? Regardless, I've been slacking. But I'm here with a recipe for a kinda sorta healthy chocolate pie. And it's vegan. So that counts for something, right?

I believe I found this recipe during one of my many Foodgawker stalking nights (that counts as busy, right?). As soon as I saw the recipe and realized I had all the ingredients on hand I knew I had to make it. And I'm so glad I did. It couldn't be easier and it couldn't be more delicious.

You can use any pie crust you prefer. I made a graham cracker crust, but I also would not judge you at all if you used a store bought crust. I also won't judge you if you don't make a crust put simply spoon the chocolate silk into your mouth straight out of the food processor.

Chocolate Silk Pie:

• 1 package silken, extra firm tofu (I used mori-nu)
• 1 tsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp almond milk (or soy, rice, whatever)
• Pinch of salt
• About 1 1/3 c vegan chocolate chips
• 1.5-2 tbsp agave nectar

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or microwave (your choice, I used microwave). Then throw all of the ingredients into a food processor. Process until completely smooth, no chunks of tofu. Pour into a pie crust of your choice. Place in fridge, chills for a few hours. Devour. I garnished mine with fresh raspberries. Strawberries or bananas would also be good. I'm also thinking next time I might add a tablespoon of cooled coffee to enhance the chocolate flavor. Enjoy!