• Fermentation

    Are you familiar with fermented foods? Your great grandmothers would know all about them. Fermenting foods seems to be almost a lost art, which is so sad! I’m excited to say though that there has been a huge resurgence lately in these old school cooking, and preserving methods. Several weeks ago I made sauerkraut at home and I was shocked at how easy it was. I had been debating buying a bottle of probiotic pills, but fermented foods have the exact same effect for a much smaller price tag. Eating just a tablespoon of fermented foods a day gives you the equivalent ‘good bacteria’ for you guts, as an entire…

  • Raw Peppermint Squares | Koko's Kitchen

    Raw Peppermint Chocolate Squares

    Sooo…if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you will know the recent tragedy and devastation that I endured, as I realized I had lost the recipe for these raw blackcurrant and lemon squares. Yes, it is a very serious matter-haha. I promise I will remake them or find the recipe some how. I decided I needed to drown my sorrows in some more raw goodness. So I made these Raw Peppermint Chocolate Squares. They did a mighty fine job of making me forget all about those blackcurrant and lemon squares….for now. These have a really nice, subtle peppermint flavour because most of the mint flavour comes from real mint,…

  • The Simpsons Donuts

    “The Simpsons” Donuts

    This month’s recipe for Drop Dead Clothing has been released and I’m so excited about it. In case you didn’t know, Drop Dead Clothing has recently released a new collection, and it happens to be an Itchy & Scratchy collaboration. I may not be the hugest Simpsons fan in the world, but I can appreciate greatness when I see it, and this is awesome! I can’t wait to get my hands on some of these items!  To go along with the new collection, I had to make something Simpsons themed. Of course, the first thing that came to mind was Homer Simpson’s favourite donut. I searched high and low, all…

  • Homemade Natural Deodorant

    Okay guys, today we are gettin’ weird. We’re talking straight up hippie here, but I don’t care! I may have had you slightly convinced with the homemade toothpaste, but I know that homemade natural deodorant is a bit harder to wrap your head around. I can just hear you asking “um… does it work!?” and yes, I can assure you that it does work, it smells great, and you will not be stinky at all!! If you’re also wondering why anyone would want to make a homemade natural deodorant, just look at how regular antiperspirants have been link to breast cancer and alzheimers- a simple google search will turn up tonssss of…

  • Rawesome Review

    Rawsome Vegan Baking Review, Recipe & GIVEAWAY!

    I’m pretty stoked to be able to share a review, recipe and a giveaway for you today brought to you by Emily Von Euw (a fellow Vancouverite!!) of This Rawsome Vegan Life. I was very excited to receive a copy of Emily’s new book, all the way to New Zealand. My first cookbook here! I just love flipping through cookbooks even when I’m not looking for something to cook…is that weird? My favourite kind of cookbook is one with lots of pictures and Emily definitely meets my requirements for that. Of course, you probably already knew that since her blog, This Rawsome Vegan Life is just smothered with drool-worthy pictures…

  • Ginger Energy Bites | Koko's Kitchen

    Ginger Energy Bites

    These little bites are just what you need after doing a four-minute plank. Yes, I did FitFluential’s #FFAprilAbs challenge, which means doing a plank per day in April. If you follow me on Twitter (@kokobrill), you saw my progress. On April 1st, I started off with a 2-minute plank, and now I have worked my way up to 4 minutes and 5 seconds which is ridiculously hard. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a liar!! I once read that Ryan Gosling was so busy that to stay in shape for a movie he was in he only had time to do an 8-minute plank per day. That is insane. Anyway, my…

  • Drop Dead Clothing | Koko's Kitchen| Vegetarian Black Bean Chili

    Drop Dead Recipes- Veggie & Black Bean Chili

    I know most places are creeping into Spring right now, but there are always those cold, wet, rainy April days and who couldn’t use a warming bowl of chili on those days. I am heading into the New Zealand winter and kind of unsure what to expect. I know it will probably be a lot less dreary than endless Vancouver rain, though! I kind of look forward to those gloomy winter days when you can cozy up with a nice warm bowl of soup or chili. This veggie & black bean chili is bursting with flavour from aromatic cumin, coriander, and chili powder. It’s packed with yummy extras like portobello…

  • Coconut Mango Recovery Cereal | Thrive Energy Cookbook | Koko's Kitchen

    Thrive Energy Cookbook- Review, Recipe, and GIVEAWAY!

    Ohhhh you guys sure are lucky…I’ve got an absolutely divine cookbook to talk about with you today. I’m even going to share a recipe, and give three lucky readers the opportunity to win a copy! I’m talking about Thrive Energy Cookbook by Brendan Brazier. If you recognize that name (as you should!), it’s because Brendan Brazier is the renowned Ironman triathlete, Ultra-marathon champion, and creator of Vega plant-based nutritional products. This guy has some serious street cred. Brendan has more than enough personal experience and knowledge in plant-based athletics and this book is here to teach us how to achieve his level of health and optimum energy. All 150 recipes…

  • Tropical Chia Pudding

    Tropical Coconut & Passionfruit Chia Pudding

      One of my favourite things about eating raw foods is that often dessert and breakfast can be the same meal! Who doesn’t want a chocolatey raw cacao and banana smoothie, or banana soft serve with fruit and coconut cream for breakfast. In this instance, I made a sweet and fruity tropical coconut & passionfruit chia pudding for breakfast; but I could easily enjoy it as a healthy, sweet dessert, too. I love all of the amazing fruit they have here in New Zealand. I rarely get to work with things like passionfruit, or guava. We stopped at “Fruit World” the other day, and picked up quite the haul of…

  • Drop Dead Recipes- Sushi

      I couldn’t wait to reveal this recipe for sushi to ya’ll and thankfully, I didn’t have to wait for too long. If you haven’t seen it already, my latest Drop Dead Recipe is up. You can take a peek, by clicking here. I have made four vegetarian sushi rolls, and three of them happen to be vegan as well. There is a veggie roll, a mango and cream cheese roll, a pickled beet roll, and a sweet potato and avocado roll. In the mango-cream cheese roll, you could easily use Tofutti or another vegan cream cheese substitute. This recipe makes the best sushi rice, just like at your favourite…

  • Vegan Milkshakes | Koko's Kitchen |Drop Dead Clothing

    Drop Dead Recipes- Vegan Milkshakes

    This month’s recipe for Drop Dead Clothing is all about milkshakes- two flavours to be exact. Toasted coconut and chocolate espresso…mmmmm. I’ve found all kinds of amazing vegan ice creams lately from brands like Almond Dream, Rice Dream, So Delicious, and my favourite Coconut Bliss. The flavours of dairy-free ice cream that they are coming up with now are just amazing. There is really no need to miss out on ice cream if you are vegan, or suffer from dairy allergies. I’ve created these two recipes as a basic guideline, and from there, you can create all sorts of different flavours. I’ve included a list of suggestions that I personally think would be delicious, but go ahead and experiment-…

  • Drop Dead Recipes- Vegan Sugar Cookies

    It’s that time of yeaaaaaaaaaaar!! I just wanna curl up and watch Christmas Vacation and ELF!! Christmas is one of my fav times of the year and I am a little sad to be ‘missing it’ this year. By missing it I mean I won’t be at home for Christmas, as I arrive in New Zealand on Christmas Eve. I do look forward to meeting a lot of new people and spending Christmas with Rhys’ family and friends, in the sunshine. It will be a different Christmas, that’s for sure. In the meantime, I want to take full advantage of Christmas festivities while I’m in still in Vancouver so that…