The masculine energy, the left-brain ruler, the risk taker, decisive in action, the stability, the Yang. There is so much fire inside of the masculine, a rush of domination, survival, direction, and logic. What an amazing balance to the feminine. From the women, our mothers we get our water, our fluidity, nurturing, and creativity. With the men, our fathers, we get our fire, our stability, and our reasoning. Though at times, us women may joke and say that we could do without the men, but let’s be realistic. These men, our husbands, brothers and fathers, they are our foundation. They help bring us back to the earth and put our creative mind in direction. Men have this way about them that is so stable, linear, and rational. They see more of “black and white” that we women steer more away from. I know with anything in my life personally, for help with business, a sense of direction, anchoring, I turn to my Father. He is the rock, the mountain, the roots in my life. My mother has always been the true feminine, so water like and creative, inspiring me in such and open way that helps me float through life. It’s been such an amazing experience to open to both, the masculine and feminine and see the gains from both sides. Maybe we all can relate to this. We need these men, just as much as we need the women. Our fathers are our motivators, they want us to kick ass at life and not back down. They are the strength to our flexibility. Oh men, fathers, what would we do without you? Something I’ve found very interesting in years of baking, is men’s taste buds. They seem to like sweet but not too sweet. Tart but not sugary, and they love the simple things. For this Father’s Day, I wanted to experiment a little bit, creating a dessert that men would love. I went with creating a Raw, Vegan Chocolate Raspberry Tart, almost a Cheesecake like texture. It’s chocolatey, sour, sweet, nutty, and delicious. I had a mixture of men that I know try it and out and guess what, it was a hit! I’ve decided that I would love to share it with all of you so you could gift the men in your life with something a little different, and something that you would go bananas over as well. It’s our time to treat these guys for all the safety they give to us. I hope you all have a very happy, fiery, Father’s Day.
Father’s Day Dessert: Non-Baked Chocolate Raspberry Tart
Crust:
1 ½ cups Almonds (soaked for 3 hours or over night)
4 Dates Pitted (add more if the mixture doesn’t stick well with only 4)
3 Tbl Coconut oil
2 Tb Cocoa Powder
-Put Almonds into a food processor and blend until it looks like flour. Add the rest of ingredients and blend until it starts to stick together. Once the consistency is there, transfer the mixture into a parchment paper lined Tart Pan or Pie Pan at least 9 inches. Start spreading out the mixture so it covers the bottom of the pan, press down and form a crust. Then put to the side and start to make the filling
Filling:
3 cups Cashews soaked overnight or for three hours
¼ cup of maple (may add more if you want it sweeter)
4 Tbl Coconut oil (melted)
2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
½ Tsp of salt
5 Tb Cocoa Powder
-Start with blending the cashews in food processor until soft texture. Then add the rest of the ingredients except for the raspberries. If you want it to be more chocolate tasting, add 2 more tbl of cocoa powder and 1 tbl of coconut oil to balance it out. Once everything is combined, remove from the mixture. Add the raspberries and fold them into the mix. Then use a spatula to scoop the filling out and into the crust. Spread the mixture evenly and smooth out the top. Go ahead and store in the freezer. Before you wish to serve the pie, give it at least 15 mins to soften and make your chocolate topping while it thaws.
* this is just an add on
1 cup or less of either vegan chocolate chips or normal
Using a bain marie method, put the chocolate in the heat safe bowl over a pot with steaming hot water., Start using the spatula to mix and watch it melt. When it’s all melted, start to drizzle the chocolate all over the pie! Get funky with it! You can make a raspberry drizzle topping as well if you want some extra tart. Just blend a cup or half cup of raspberries in a mixer with just enough maple to get the raspberries into liquid form. Drizzle over the chocolate or leave on the side for a dip. Have fun and store the pie in the freezer if there are left overs. ☺
About the Author: Chelsea Shapouri is a Holistic Health Advisor based in Southern California. In her work, she offers Yoga and Meditation classes, Massage Therapy work, Nutrition guidance, 
food and recipes. Her journey to health all started in the early 2000’s when she chose to start eating Gluten Free due to difficulties with her digestion and energy. After receiving a diploma from Le Cordon Bleu in Pastry and Baking, she wanted to broaden her knowledge in the food world so she began self-teaching from holistic nutrition books, Ayurveda Encyclopedias, detoxing “diets”, and grain free living books. Her crave for the holistic ways of healing the body kept growing. In 2014, Chelsea went to Costa Rica to get her 200-hour certification in “Danyasa Yoga Arts,” a dance therapy with yoga and while in her training, she started to get introduced into the worlds of superfoods. Expanding her creativity even more, inspiring her food creations in a completely different way. When she returned to the states, her creative side bloomed. She was creating recipes constantly, hibernation in her kitchen for days. The passion she had for the mind, body, and soul connection and how to achieve that centeredness with health started to spill out of her. She then began to write about all the things she was learning so she could share it with the people around her. With that urge, she created her own company which signified the aspects of living a happy and healthy life; Then “The Grains of Life” was created. Chelsea continues to share her knowledge through the internet, with her massage clients, and in the yoga classes she teaches. She also does local deliveries with some of her plant based food. Facebook, Instagram, and Thegrainsoflife.com are where you can reach her. Make sure to watch her project of growing a more conscious way of living evolve.
