This week we'll explore chocolate and a special Matcha Strawberry Swirl Freezer Fudge recipe for Valentine's Day. We'll also delve into an update about our Hawaiian Goose family and my biggest secret for healthy eating (hint: it's very boring).

Eat Colorfully

Seasonal Ingredient Spotlight: CHOCOLATE

With Valentine's Day coming up next weekend, how could we not talk about chocolate? Although chocolate sometimes gets a bad reputation for being unhealthy, the reality is that it's loaded with powerful antioxidants and is also high in heart-healthy fats, iron, magnesium, and some harder-to-get nutrients like copper and manganese.

If you want to get the greatest benefit from chocolate treats this Valentine's Day, opt for dark chocolate of at least 70-75% cacao (it's highest in the above nutrients) and try to choose lower-sugar options both with regard to the chocolate itself and what you're using it in. There are some great minimally-sweetened, ethically sourced chocolate bars available, especially at artisan food stores.

How about some brownies? My absolute favorite indulgent, chocolatey treats are these Vegan Snickers Brownies. They have some satisfying protein, get most of their sweetness and structure from dates, and are entirely plant-based and grain-free. I also have Vegan Samoa Brownies on my blog, which are a similar concept but have a coconut caramel topping inspired by the classic Girl Scout Cookies. If classic brownies are more your speed, you'll love The ULTIMATE Healthy Brownies.

Need some other chocolatey treats? If you're looking for a special Valentine's Day breakfast, check out these Vegan Mocha Banana Blender Muffins. Or, for an easy, portable snack, these Chocolate Chickpea Protein Truffles are perfect. For a show-stopping Valentine's Day dessert, this Vegan Chocolate Cream Pie is creamy, dreamy, and made from avocado.

Special Recipe: MATCHA STRAWBERRY SWIRL FREEZER FUDGE

If you're looking for a special (but secretly healthy) Valentine's Day treat, you have to try this adorable freezer fudge. It's easy to make, vegan, and naturally sweetened, plus it has some protein and healthy fats thanks to cashew butter.

My biggest tip for making this pretty treat: make sure you have really good matcha. A high-quality matcha is delicate, bright green, subtly floral, and fresh, whereas lower-quality matcha can be bitter, assertively grassy, and off-putting. My go-to is Matcha Nude (use the code ROGUE to get 15% off).

Ingredients:

• 14-oz jar of smooth, natural, raw cashew butter (I like Artisana brand)
• ½ c melted coconut oil
• ¼ c maple syrup
• 1-2 tsp matcha
• ½ c freeze-dried strawberries, divided

Directions:

1. Line a bread pan with wax paper or several layers of plastic wrap, leaving enough on the sides so that you can pull the fudge out after it sets.
2. In a small mixing bowl, combine the cashew butter, melted coconut oil, and maple syrup, then stir until creamy and homogeneous. Divide the mixture evenly into two separate bowls.
3. To half of the freezer fudge mixture, add the matcha and mix.
4. Chop the freeze-dried strawberries as finely as possible and stir most of them into the other half of the freezer fudge mixture, reserving about a tablespoon for sprinkling on the top.
5. Pour most of the matcha freezer fudge mixture into the prepared bread pan, then add dollops of the strawberry mixture on top, then finish with the rest of the matcha mixture. Use a knife to swirl the two together.
6. Sprinkle the remaining freeze-dried strawberries across the top of the fudge, pressing them down lightly into the surface so they stick.
7. Cover the loaf pan with plastic wrap and place it in the freezer. Freeze overnight.
8. Remove the fudge from the freezer. Using the sides of the wax paper or plastic wrap, pull the fudge out of the pan. Make two cuts lengthwise and five cuts widthwise to create 18 portions.
9. Store the fudge in the freezer in an airtight container for up to several weeks. Serve directly out of the freezer.

Live Colorfully

In the Natural World: NENE CHICK UPDATE

I'm excited to report that our Nene (Hawaiian Goose) family is doing wonderfully. In case you missed it, I told their story in this newsletter issue from a month ago.

Nene are very rare geese, endemic (meaning they're found only here) to the Hawaiian islands. Nene were almost hunted to extinction and the population was down to only 30 birds in 1950. Thankfully they've rebounded well due to a lot of conservation efforts, but they remain the rarest goose species in the world and there are still only a few thousand birds total.

This is the first year we've had a family with chicks living right near us, and we've gleefully watched them grow every day. The quadruplets (who we've named Eeny, Meeny, Miny, and Moe) have gotten huge! They seem to eat constantly and have developed a lot of nice wing and tail feathers. It's hard to believe these are the same birds as the tiny balls of fluff who appeared here on December 15.

Nene represent an amazing conservation success story. These four little ones are a great example of how wildlife can still thrive in our modern world, as long as we act as responsible stewards of this special planet.

Self-Care Pick: MY BIGGEST HEALTHY EATING SECRET

Are you ready to hear me spill the biggest secret to repeatable, sustainable healthy eating? It's actually not very exciting... in fact, it's the opposite. My big secret is to be boring.

Many people think that healthy eating requires fancy ingredients, complicated recipes, and lots of time in the kitchen, but that's the exact opposite of what actually works. The key to making healthy eating sustainable is to have some go-to's that you can easily fall back on when you get busy, so that you're not inclined to reach for convenience foods like take-out.

Boring? Maybe. Infinitely sustainable? Definitely. Personally speaking, I make almost the exact same breakfast every morning; it takes about two minutes, keeps me from guessing, and eliminates decision fatigue. I also make an iteration of the same lunch most days, protein oatmeal.

What about dinners? Sure, I love to cook something fun and different if time allows, especially on a weekend. But on busy weekdays, my meals often follow a similar formula: tons of greens, a plant-based protein, an easy whole grain that I make in a big batch and use for several days, and a satisfying fat like avocado.

Over the past couple months on Kaua'i, we've been outside a ton and come home starving. We also have a pretty limited pantry and kitchen here, so most of our dinners have looked like this:

1. Fill most of the plate with a mixed crucifer and green salad (cabbage, kale, romaine, sometimes hearts of palm, whatever we have on-hand)
2. Add an easy plant-based protein, like beans or a raw tofu salad
3. Add a protein-rich whole grain, like my favorite Turmeric Farro "Risotto"​
4. Top with a smaller amount of a satisfying fat (like avocado) and something crunchy (like dry roasted edamame)

A meal like this is easy to customize too. For example, I tend to eat more greens, while my husband tends to eat larger portions of protein and grains. I try to make a bean or tofu salad that's big enough to last for two nights, and a batch of quinoa or farro that's big enough to last for three or four nights. Simple!

Thanks for joining me for this issue of Eat Colorfully, Live Colorfully! I'd love to hear from you, so please feel free to reply with questions, thoughts, or requests. If you missed a previous issue, you can view all my newsletters here. Have a great week!