Daiya gets polished up for a spa party

If you follow me on Instagram, you already know about the spa party I went to last night in honor of my nephew's bride-to-be (they're getting married tomorrow). His mom asked me to bring one of my dairy-free, gluten-free desserts that would be perfect for the occasion. Since I knew this could be a tough crowd to please when it comes to raw vegan, I opted to go with a semi-homemade spa-themed dessert with a non-raw Daiya Cheezecake as the star ingredient.

I had been dying to try Daiya's Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Soy-free New York Style Cheezecake for a while now, so you can imagine my excitement when I found it at my local grocery store. Honestly, I was wondering the aisles aimlessly, hoping for a spark of inspiration. The minute I saw it in the natural foods freezer section, I knew what I wanted to do: make Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Daiya Cheezecake Nail Polish Mini Desserts (say that 10 times fast).

To start, I needed to thaw the cheezecake out in the fridge for a few hours, so it would be soft enough to cut with a small, round cookie cutter, as shown.

The cheezecake was much softer at this point then expected, so I suggest pushing it up and out of the cookie cutter from the base to avoid squishing it (like I did to the one on the far left in the photo below).

As you cut out your cheezecake rounds (these will be the bases on your nail polish bottles), set them aside on a plate or serving platter. I was able to make 10 cheezecake rounds.

You'll be left with a lot of scraps, but that just means more for you :) It's also good for making other desserts (you can fill strawberry centers, make mini tartlets and more) or even blend into a shake.

Now, back to the nail polish mini desserts, you'll need to make the tops out of strawberry centers. Simply cut your strawberries (enough to top all your bases), as shown. All you need to do is cut off all four sides (reserve these to decorate your finished desserts), so you are left with a rectangular center.

Each of these strawberries will need to be put on the end of a wooden coffee stirrer to make them easier to dip in dark chocolate and attach to the cheezecake bases. I recommend placing them in the freezer while you melt some dairy-free chocolate chips in a double-boiler.

Once the chocolate is melted, dip each strawberry, one at a time, in the chocolate ...

... and put them in glasses to set in the fridge.

When the chocolate is set, cut off the wooden stirrer excess, as shown ...

... and attached the chocolate-covered strawberry toppers to the cheezecake bases.

Decorate your finished nail polish mini desserts with hearts cut from the strawberry scraps.

You can even add some other details to your platter of polishes, like some peach toe separators and another stirrer to looks like a nail file.

The nail polish mini desserts were a hit at the spa party, which was so much fun. I got my nails painted with this gorgeous Zoya nail polish in Oceane.

I also treated myself to a bunch of Coola Suncare products. I usually only buy the mineral sunscreens, but I couldn't resist this travel bag that contained some of the original formulations. It must have been the color :)

My hubby also surprised me with two new Pacifica Power of Love 100% Vegan Cruelty-free Natural Lipsticks in Compassion Passion and Nudie Red (check out my Pacifica post from the other day). I'm wearing Compassion Passion today.

I kept the spa theme going yesterday with a detoxifying smoothie that really has a kick. It was simply cucumbers blended with GT Kombucha in Gingerade and Philosophie Green Dream Vegan Protein & Superfood Powder. I'll probably use the rest of the kombucha in my smoothie today.

Speaking of smoothies, the other day I posted this Minion-inspired smoothie out of frozen bananas, cashew milk and Philosophie Berry Bliss powder. I poured it over fresh blueberries in a decorated Minions glass.

Hayden and I also used paper to decorate these mini bananas to look like Minions. So cute.

Are you going to see the new Minions movie this weekend? Are you going to the spa? What are your plans and are you going to make any of the recipes in this post? Let me know on Twitter at @Rawdorable or on Instagram (also @Rawdorable).

I Heart Pacifica Natural Beauty

As you all know, I frequently shop at Target and have been extremely excited about the latest natural products on its store shelves, such as Pacifica. It's a 100% vegan and cruelty-free natural beauty line that's reasonably priced (a portion of the proceeds goes to support clean water). It also comes in this eye-catching, colorful packaging (which is recyclable and printed with soy ink).

As you can see, it's also cute when the boxes are removed. I couldn't resist picking up the Aquarian Gaze Water-Resistant Long Lash Mineral Mascara with Coconut, Kelp & Vitamin B, Power of Love Coconut-Infused Mineral Eye Shadow Palette and the Power of Love Natural Lipstick in Super Love.

Honestly, the aquatic mermaid-like packaging is what got me to buy this mascara, along with the fact that it claimed to be water-resistant (it really is; it held up while playing "waterpark" in the yard with the kiddos, although I probably wouldn't try swimming underwater with it on your lashes). Although it stands up to splashing, as well as tears, it takes a few coats to really build up my lashes versus my trusty 100 Percent Pure Maracuja Oil Mascara that only requires one coat. Then again, it also is very easy to control. It's not clumpy at all (although I love my 100 Percent Pure mascara, I do recommend removing some of the product from the brush before application).

Obviously, I had to have this beautiful Power of Love eye shadow palette that just screams summer. I love the color variation. There are natural hues, as well as some pops of turquoise, navy and plum.

This palette even has something nice to say when you open it. I feel pretty already :)

Here are some swatches of the colors. They are quite beautiful, but not as dark as I expected. I do recommend a primer under these, if you want them to last all day. I personally prefer the colors that have more shimmer, as they also seem to go on better and last longer. I also love a good shimmer (meaning a nice glow/shimmer, rather than a glitter).

My favorite Pacifica product is this Power of Love (is anyone else transported "Back to the Future" when they read this? I can't get that Huey Lewis and the News song out of my head) Natural Lipstick in Super Love. I tend to wear red lipstick a lot these days. This is a Buy One, Give One Lipstick, where each Power of Love lipstick purchased = one free lipstick to a woman in need. Very cool.

This lipstick is gorgeous on my lips, lasts all day and is extremely moisturizing. It feels like when you apply coconut oil on them. This is currently my hubby's favorite lipstick on me. I recently wore this lipstick in this makeup look of the day pic on my Instagram, as well as in a lipstick of the day post in my July 4th recap. I'm also wearing the Pacifica mascara and some of the eye shadows from today's blog post. Don't I look a little like those girls from those Robert Palmer videos? I'm so dating myself :)

I'm so happy that Target is carrying Pacifica, as well as some of my other favorite brands, like Acure Organics (you may remember this post about them debuting at Target, as well as my skincare review). I like to keep these facial wipes on hand, especially for when the power goes out. Pacifica makes some nice ones, too.

I also can't get enough of all the Navitas Naturals products I've found there. I used to buy them all online.

Lastly, I nearly fell over the other day when I found Vega on a shelf at Target (I had been buying it at Whole Foods, which isn't as convenient). I remember when it was only sold in Canada, so I would make Brendan Brazier's original recipes in place of it (I once met him and also interviewed him).

What products have surprised you at Target? Have you tried Pacifica? Let me know on Twitter at @Rawdorable or on Instagram (also @Rawdorable).

July 4th weekend recap

Hi everyone. Hope you had a wonderful weekend. Mine was busy, yet relaxing at the same time. I managed to still check in on Instagram (I'm @Rawdorable) and Twitter (also @Rawdorable), but for those of you that don't follow me on social media, here's a quick recap, starting with this yummy red, white and blue smoothie. It's a frozen strawberry, cherry, watermelon and Philosophie Berry Bliss Vegan Protein & Superfood Powder slushie smoothie, topped with a cashew milk and chia pudding. I garnished it with fresh blueberries and a watermelon star.

As you can see in the above smoothie pic, I took a day off from makeup, with the exception of this 100 Percent Pure SPF 15 Sweet Mint Lip Balm. I think it's so cool how 100 Percent Pure teamed up with Operation Cuppa Joe to give these to the troops.

Also that day, Hayden and I found a heart in our watermelon. Love it :)

For the Fourth of July, I put on my red lipstick, specifically Vapour Organic Beauty Siren Lipstick in Courage. Thirty percent of the proceeds from Courage lipstick go to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, benefiting wounded veterans.

Surprisingly, my red lipstick held up all day, even while drinking my American Pie Trio in a Glass Smoothie. It starts with an apple pie base of frozen banana blended with cashew milk, cinnamon and vanilla. I stirred in some finely chopped apple and Jem Raw Organics Cinnamon Red Maca Sprouted Almond Butter mixed with almond flour (it acts as a pie crust or crumble). I reserved enough for the center layer, and then divided what was left to act as the base for the other layers. I blended it with frozen blueberries, Philosophie Berry Bliss powder and Gingerberry GT Kombucha to make the blueberry pie layer. I did the same with the cherry pie layer, except I used cherries. I also added in those almond butter/almond flour crumbs. It's topped with more of the crumbs, blueberries, an apple star and a cherry. Yum!

That red lipstick may have given me the courage to rock a bikini all weekend (just not wearing one in an Instagram pic). Thanks to my Instagram followers who helped me pick a patriotic suit (I wore the paisley one). Did you know that July 5th is National Bikini Day?

But, before I get ahead of myself, here's a firework from the Fourth of July :)

On Sunday, I kept with the patriotic theme, wearing another red lipstick. I selected Pacifica Power of Love Vegan and Cruelty-Free Natural Lipstick in Super Love. I also shared some things I am unable to do, as part of a tag. Did you know I am unable to whistle, despite being coached by Jiminy Cricket in "Pinocchio?"

I treated myself with yet another decadent smoothie, which was actually a SoDelicious Vegan Gluten-Free Cookie Dough Coconut Milk Non-Dairy Dessert Shake with added Berry Bliss powder to lessen the guilt. I also stirred in some blueberries and raspberries, as well as adding some on top.

I guess this will be a good post to reference for next Fourth of July. Don't forget about my Raw Apple Pie Cronut from my last post, too. I need to hurry up and enter it in Jem Raw Organic's contest. I seriously need a year's supply of that stuff. Wish me luck :)

Celebrate the 4th w/a Raw Apple Pie Cronut

Happy July and almost Fourth of July! You've gotta celebrate with an all-American dessert like the traditional apple pie or perhaps the more modern cronut (croissant/donut). I have yet to try a cronut (probably due to the ingredients in it), so I decided to combine both the apple pie and the cronut into a Raw Apple Pie Cronut. Here's how I did it:

To start, I took half an apple for a spin in a spiral slicer, which resulted in these thin apple ribbons. You could also just very thinly slice an apple (the key is to get it as thin as possible).

Next, I added a spoonful of Jem Raw Organic Cinnamon Maca Sprouted Almond Butter to a bowl.

Then, I transferred the apple ribbons to the same bowl and flavored/softened them with the almond butter.

On a small plate, I began layering the apple ribbons in a donut shape, sprinkling some almond flour in between the layers. The photo above shows the first layer.

I kept on layering apple ribbons and almond flour, ...

... more apple ribbons and almond flour ...

... and more apple ribbons and almond flour ...

... until I used my last apple layer. There's no need to add more almond four at this point.

Then, I opted to decorate my Raw Apple Pie Cronut, starting with a frosted layer of more Jem almond butter. It doesn't look that pretty at this stage, because I used what was left at the bottom of the apple bowl.

The almond butter frosting basically acted as the glue for the sprinkles. Since the red apple ribbon edges reminded me of the red stripes on the American flag, I opted to go for a blue and white theme on top, using coconut flakes and crushed freeze-dried blueberries.

It almost looked too beautiful to eat, so I had it pose for a couple pics before allowing it to set in the freezer for a few hours.

Once chilled and set, the Raw Apple Pie Cronut was able to be handled like a baked/fried cronut. It could be picked up and eaten.

Just look at those yummy layers inside. So good!

Have you tried a cronut or made a raw vegan version? Let me know if you have and if you try my version on Twitter at @Rawdorable or Instagram (also @Rawdorable).

Enjoy your holiday! :)