Blackberry Nice Cream Tower with hints of Chocolate and Ginger

Happy New Year!!!

I hope you are all off to a great start this New Year. It's almost hard to believe it is 2015. I still remember Y2K and how I thought there would be a sudden shift of the way we lived. Now, 15 years later, we are seeing futuristic technological advancements that do seem to be out of the Space Age. My husband discusses some of them as well as many other life-changing enlightening topics in his new book 7th Planet, Mercury Rising! It is hot off the press, released 1/1/2015!!! I can NOT wait to read it! I've had the joy of hearing it and reviewing it, but not doing a deep dive with my notebook and highlighter out. Soon! Gerald was blessed with the artistic touch from UHL Studios where artists David Uhl and Stuckie D took Gerald's design concepts and created a beautiful masterpiece! Thank you both so much for pulling this together so quickly and doing such fine work. Each time I see it I say "wow"!

Gerald was blessed on more than one account with editorial oversight from Jeanie Brosius King, co-owner of Junction Rivers Winery in Junction, Texas. She worked long hours under an incredibly small deadline and got the job done with smiles along the way. Thank you Jeanie for your endless dedication to Gerald's mission!!!

The excitement is in the air tonight at our home! Good news is on the horizon for The Artistic Vegan Community as well. Select recipes from Artistic Vegan will now appear on One Green Planet's website! The first recipe shared was a huge success getting over 2K likes in the first day and at 3.8K today. I am so happy to be a part of the "Green Monster" movement!​

With the onset of 2015 it brings thoughts of New Years Resolutions. Do you make resolutions each year? If so, do you keep them? Do you ever go back and see if you finished them? This year I decided to do something different. I'm going to dig out old journals, (I have some on my desk now in anticipation) vision boards and to-do-lists to see what I accomplished and what I didn't. If the old resolution, goal or to-do list item still resonates with me then I am going to start there versus making a whole bunch of new resolutions. I want to have better self-integrity and keep my dreams alive. I also want to keep doing what I've been doing...it seems to be working. More of that please! :) So, that is my plan! What is yours?
Now, enough soul food let's get to the yummy ice cream. This recipe was inspired by a funny conversation I had with a girlfriend, Mari. I was telling her that in general "I keep a somewhat vanilla front with sparks of chocolate chips here and there." She thought it was pretty funny and came back with "I think I am more like vanilla or even strawberry with a chocolate vein and hidden wells of hot ginger no-one was expecting to find and some pretty tooth breaking nuts too." I about rolled on the ground, tickled by her expression, but then the "fat girl" in me thought dang, that ice cream sounds good! haha!
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The next morning I was bubbling with enthusiasm as I made ice cream inspired from my friends interpretation of her personality. It sure made it more exciting than most mornings. I decided to add a spark of my flare with blackberries and beet powder for a pulsing vibrant color. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. It is a new favorite flavor of ours. Mari-Ice-Cream bursting with life! This ice cream reminds you of why you are alive. To live, enjoy, taste, touch, feel and splurge in a health conscious way. It is enormous, creamy, pretty and vibrating with life. Enjoy this mouthwatering, lick-your-bowl, "did you finish yours?" treat!

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Ingredients:

• 3 cups frozen bananas
• 1 cup frozen blackberries
• 1 tsp beet powder
• 1 tsp fresh ginger - peeled and sliced fine
• 1/4 cup cacao nibs
• 1/4 cup cashews
• 1/2 cup dairy free milk

Directions:

1. Place ingredients in a blender or food processor
2. Use a butter knife or strong spatula to press sides down, repeat until creamy
3. Give it an extra blend 
4. Place in a zip lock bag with the corner cut off, seal and squeeze in circular motions into two bowls creating a large tower of ice cream.
5. Dig in!!!

Thank you all for your support in 2014! May many lives be changed as more people take on a new lifestyle that embraces Mother Earth! To your continued health journey.
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With love,
Christa