Orange Sesame dressing and coconut bars

   So lately I've totally been enjoying the challenge of trying out new salad dressings. I've just been going on Dr. Fuhrman's website all the time, looking over recipes to see what ones seem like they'd come out good. Great thing about my blog for all its readers is that you guys get some previously reviewed, Ariel-approved recipes. :)

I tend to get sick of eating the same thing every day so it's so important for me to keep up a wide variety of healthy dressings so I can actually look forward to a giant salad. I recently came across a salad dressing recipe that came out amazing and you can find this one in Dr. Fuhrman's book 'Eat To Live'. It's called Orange Sesame Dressing. It took me about five minutes to make. 

I also love the fact that you don't have to measure out these salad dressings, you can use as much of them as you want, without worrying about too many calories! 

 It is slightly sweet, and the sesame seeds add a nice crunch too.

            Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp. unhulled sesame seeds
• 6 raw cashew nuts
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2 tbsp. rice vinegar (I used garlic rice vinegar because that's all we had and it tasted great)
• 2 oranges, peeled and diced, or 1 jar unsweetened, mandarin orange slices. 

   Toast the sesame seeds in a dry skillet for 3 minutes, shaking the pan frequently. In a blender or Vita-Mix (as I used), combine 2 tbsp. sesame seeds, the cashews, orange juice, vinegar and the 2 oranges. Sprinkle the remaining sesame seeds on top of your salad. SO good!

Another one of my favorite websites for healthy-ish recipes is Chocolatecoveredkatie.com. I absolutely love her and all of her recipes. I feel like I've made about 100 of them and still haven't come across one that came out badly. 

My sister had some friends over this weekend so I decided to make them the No-Bake Coconut Crack Bars that I saw on Chocolate Covered Katie's blog. They were the most delicious things I have eaten in a long, long time. Almost reminded me of an Almond Joy, except better. Not to mention, they were probably one of the easiest desserts I've ever made. Perfect for summer since there is no hot oven or stove involved.

I doubled the recipe since her portions are usually SO tiny because we were having company over.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup agave nectar or maple syrup
• 4 tbsp virgin coconut oil
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp of salt

Combine all ingredients in food processor. I squished it into an 8x8 pan and put in the fridge for about 2 hours. The recipe says they will come out fine after an hour in the fridge or the freezer for 15 minutes. Can be stored in the fridge or freezer for a few weeks.