Chhaya & Tatyana Takeover: Valentine's Day Special
Valentine's Day can mean whatever you'd like it to. Maybe it's a day that you spend with friends, family, or a significant other.
We wanted to help make it special for you by creating easy homemade recipes that are sure to impress your date (friend or otherwise)!
Lip Balm Love
The first is a recipe we adjusted from Hello Glow. It's a DIY lip balm with three simple ingredients: coconut oil, beeswax, and freeze dried raspberries.
The original recipe calls for:
-1-2 tablespoons coconut oil
-1/2 tablespoon ground freeze dried raspberries
-1/2-1 teaspoon of beeswax
We adjusted it a little by adding four drops of Vitamin E oil and 2 teaspoons of cacao melted cacao butter. With the original recipe, our balm was drier than our personal preferences so adding some oil made the consistency a little more creamy!
We also bought freeze dried blueberries which you can use if you're allergic to the raspberries or you'd like a different color.
Directions:
1) Melt your coconut oil in a double boiler.
2) Add your beeswax.
3) Melt beeswax and stir the two together.
4) Grind your raspberries in a coffee grinder.
5) Add raspberries to the mixture and stir.
Notes:
-Keep heat medium-low while stirring as to not burn your balm.
-If you don't have a double boiler (I don't), we used a glass bowl and a pot that was larger than the bowl as an improvised method.
-Let your mixture cool in a container of your choice. We used a salad dressing container and there you have the perfect Valentine's Day lip balm!
Coconut Oil Chocolate
This is a Vegan Dark Chocolate recipe.
Ingredients:
-1/4 cup of coconut oil
-1/4 cup cacao powder
-2-3 Tablespoons of agave or maple syrup
Directions:
1) In a bowl, melt your coconut oil.
2) Stir in your cacao powder.
3) Stir in your agave or maple syrup.
4) Pour into your favorite mold and decorate.
5) Put it into the fridge anywhere from 30 minutes-1 hour.
That's it. It's really that simple.
Notes:
-Coconut oil can melt, so you want to keep your chocolate refrigerated.
-Add whatever toppings you like... we used cacao nibs, pepitas, and grated coconut.
-You can add some sea salt to your recipe if you'd like.
-If you like spicy, add some cayenne powder as a topping.
Cacao Butter Chocolate
Ingredients:
-1 cup cacao butter (cocoa works)
-1/2 cup cacao powder
-3-5 Tablespoons agave or maple syrup
Directions:
1) In a double boiler, melt your cacao butter.
2) Take it off the boiler, stir in your cacao powder.
3) Stir in your agave/maple syrup.
Notes:
-You can add vanilla extract, sea salt, hemp seeds, cinnamon powder, or even matcha powder to decorate your chocolate.
-These can be placed in baking cups, molds, or whatever you'd like to use to shape your chocolates.
Chocolate Nut Butter Cups
If you're feeling fancy, you can make nut butter cups. Use either chocolate recipe for the nut butter depending on your preference.
Nut Butter Recipe
Ingredients:
-1/2 cup nut butter
-3 Tablespoons oat flour
-2 Tablespoons any sweetener you'd like (monk fruit, stevia, etc.)
-1 Tablespoon of agave/maple syrup
Directions:
1) Blend oats until it become a powder.
2) Mix in all your ingredients.
3) Place your mixture in the fridge to solidify.
4) When you're ready to make your cups, pour enough chocolate on the bottom just to cover the base.
5) Roll a small scoop of nut butter into your palms to form a circle.
6) Flatten your circle and place upon your chocolate in your cup.
7) Pour chocolate on top of the nut butter balls to cover it.
8) Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to one hour.
That's it!!
It's so easy to make things at home and for so much less than what stores will charge you. Go to any farmer's market/vegan place and try to find the same for less money.
You'll eat healthier, chemical free, and you'll impress the hell out of your Valentine's Date.
If you're wondering where to get all these ingredients, Amazon is a great start! Here are links to products we used. No we're not sponsored, nor are we endorsing any of these products. These worked for us and if it makes your life easier, we are happy to share with you!
We also used recipes from But I Could Never Go Vegan by Kristy Turner. It's a great book if you're delving into that world.
Happy Valentine's Day Everyone! Have fun, bon appetite, and happy kissing!
