Raw Cacao Almond Butter Pie

Watching the commercials for peanut butter pies made me want to make one we could eat.  Here is what we created. Even the hubby liked it!

Ingredients:
crust:
1 1/2 cups almonds
12 pitted medjool dates
1/2 cup cacao powder
pinch salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
grind the above ingredients in a food processor until it looks like graham crackers
we added 3 TBS cacao butter melted and process to incorporate
line a pie pan with parchment paper and press crust into pie pan

Almond Butter fillings:
1 cup almond butter
1/2 cup maple syrup (or use 8 dates soaked in 1/2 water)
3/4 cup water (use1/4 cup water plus the dates' soaking water)
1/2 cup cacao butter melted
1/4 tsp salt
mix the above ingredients until well blended, we used our high speed blender. Pour over the crust. Refrigerate or freeze until set.

Cacao ganache:
2 TBS maple syrup
2 TBS cacao powder
2 TBS cacao butter, melted
pinch salt
1/4 tsp vanilla
In a small bowl combine until well mixed. Drizzle over the set, cold pie.
Slice and eat.

Vegan Broccoli Soup

This recipe is from Hummusapien.
We used vegetable broth instead of water, omitted the oil and the salt. We added 1-2 TBS of nutritional yeast to give it a cheesy taste.

The creamiest broccoli soup there ever was...completely healthy, guilt-free, and vegan!

Alexis: Alexis Joseph, MS, RD, LD

Recipe type: Soup

Serves: 6-8

INGREDIENTS

• ¾ cup raw cashews, soaked
• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 16 oz broccoli (about 7 cups, packed)
• 6 cups water, divided (vegetable broth)
• 1½ tsp salt (or to taste)
• freshly ground pepper
• 1 TBS nutritional yeast

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place cashews in a small bowl. Cover with water. Soak for at least 30 minutes, or overnight. (I brewed water in a tea kettle, poured the boiling water over the cashews, and let them soak for 15 minutes. If you have a high-speed blender, they won't need to soak long.)
2. Add oil to a large pot (I used my dutch oven) over medium high heat. Once hot, add onion and a pinch of salt and sautee for about three minutes. Add celery and carrots and sauté for another five minutes. Add garlic and broccoli and sautee for another five minutes.
3. Add 5 cups water, salt, and pepper. Stir and bring mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.
4. Drain cashews. Place cashews and 1 cup water in a blender (I used my nutribullet). Blend until very smooth and creamy. There should be no clumps. Set the cashew cream aside.
5. Puree soup using a large blender or immersion blender. You'll likely have to do this in batches.
6. Once soup is pureed, stir in cashew cream. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper, if desired.

Matzo Brei

One of my husband's favorite breakfast dishes is Matzo Brei and he wanted it added to the recipe blog. He serves it with a couple of slices of pork bacon

Ingredients:
1 egg
1 and 1/2  matzo squares, crumbled
1-2 TBS maple syrup

crumble crackers in the scrambled egg and soak for 1-2 minutes (until the egg is absorbed)

Pan fry. When done add maple syrup to the pan to heat the maple syrup.

Beet Root, Balsamic, Macadamia cheese Ravioli with Basil Oil

We saw the paperback version of Raw Organic Goodness by Megan May at Wholefoods while in Atlanta. It is a beautiful book containing so many wonderful recipes with amazing pictures. I felt this cookbook was worth $20 and the kindle version for $2.99 is a steal.
We made the "Beet Root, Balsamic, Macadamia cheese Ravioli with Basil Oil". It was amazing. We have made other Beet Ravioli which have been fine but the marinade and the macadamia cheese made this dish. The beets were softened but not mushy texture. The marinade made an incredible dressing for the leafy greens.
Two other recipe series we plan to make are the chili and the Mediterranean Platter.

Coconut or Oatmeal Raw Thumb Print Cookies

A couple of years ago we made raw thumb print cookies. When we made them this week, we couldn't believe how "greasy" they were, so we reinvented the recipe. The fat is from whole food sources, almond butter and coconut flakes, without using the coconut oil. The soaked dates bring the needed moisture to the mix.

Thumb print cookies

Ingredients (Makes approximately 12 cookies)

• 3/4 cup raw almond meal
• 1/4 cup organic almond butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4-6 dates, soaked at least an hour to soften
• 1 cup organic shredded coconut or 1 cup rolled oatmeal
• pinch salt
  
  Cacao filling (this is our favorite cacao blend for cookies and candies)
• ¼ cup raw cacao butter
• 2 TBS cacao powder
• 1 TBS lucuma powder 
• ½ TBS maca powder
• ½ TBS maple syrup
• pinch salt

Instructions

1. Mix the coconut, almond meal and almond butter together in food processor
2. Add vanilla, salt and dates in food processor
3. Place rounded tablespoons of mixture out onto a plate and then press the center with your thumb or back of a spoon.
4. Dehydrate until firm but not necessary
5. Melt cacao butter in a pan with a little water; add maple syrup and remaining ingredients.
6. Scoop cacao out with a spoon and place inside the thumbprint of each cookie.
7. Cover and stick in the fridge or freeze for several hours.
8. Enjoy!

Recipes from Living Foods Institute's Holiday Workshop

When we went to the Living Foods Institute for their holiday workshop this was the menu
Green Smoothie to start one's day and the following for our lunch

Creamy Tomato Pepper Soup

Arugula Salad with Beet dressing

Wild Rice and Cranberry Relish

Walnut Curry Loaf

Almond Snow Balls with Raspberry drizzle

Green Smoothie
Ingredients
2 apples
2 celery stalks
2 cups water
 1 tsp ginger root
pinch cayenne
1 cup sunflower sprouts

Blend until smooth

Creamy Tomato Pepper Soup

Ingredients

4 cups red bell pepper

2 cups tomatoes

2 t basil

1 tsp salt

3 cloves garlic

2 cups soaked cashews (overnight), rinsed and drained

Blend everything, adding water as needed

Arugula Salad with Beet dressing
Salad ingredients
arugula, shredded carrots, cherry tomatoes, shredded beets

Dressing
1 cup coconut aminos
1/2 cup coconut vinegar
1 slice of a beet
1 cup olive oil
1 TBS dried basil
3 garlic cloves
Blend in a high speed blender 

Wild Rice and Cranberry Relish

Wild Rice

Ingredients

1 cup wild rice

5 cups water

Place in the dehydrator at 115 for 24 hours. This will make 5 cups of rice.

Cranberry Relish

Ingredients:

2-3 cups cranberries

2 cups apple, diced

2 cups pear diced

Place in a bowl

2 cups dates 

1 cup orange juice

Blend the dates and the orange juice to make a cream sauce

Fold the sauce over the fruit.

Combine 2 cups bloomed rice and 1 cup cranberry relish

Walnut Curry Loaf
Ingredients
5 cups raw walnuts, soaked overnight, rinsed and drained
4 TBS dried basil
1 TBS dried dill
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp salt
4 TBS coconut aminos
Place ingredients in food processor and process.
Fold in the following
2 cups celery
1 cup pepper
1 cup green onion
1 cup cilantro

Almond Snow Balls with Raspberry drizzle

Snow Balls

ingredients

2 cups soaked almonds (overnight), rinsed and drained

1 cup coconut oil (too much oil for me)

1 cup coconut flakes, divided (1/2 for food processor and 1/2 for coating the balls)

1 tsp vanilla

3 cups soaked dates (save the soaking water for another recipe)

Process 1/2 cup coconut flakes to make a powder. Blend the remaining ingredients in a food processor. Roll into balls, roll in coconut flake powder

Raspberry drizzle

Ingredients

Raspberries

puree in blender and drizzle over snowballs

December Potluck 2015

This month we have a Holiday Theme. Of course everything is delicious!!!

Creamy Holiday Soup

Ingredients

3 c. Tomatoes

3 c. red bell peppers

2 c. Carrots

3/4 t. cinnamon

2 cloves garlic

2 T onion

2 T olive oil

1 t Celtic sea salt

1 c water

1/2 c fresh parsley

1T dried basil

Put all ingredients EXCEPT water in high speed blender and blend until creamy.  Add water as needed.

Red and Green Salad with pomegrates and cherry tomatoes









The Sweet Potato Souffle recipe is from Brenda Cobb's Holiday cookbook (this was my favorite!!!)

ingredients:
6 cup diced and peeled sweet potatoes
1 tsp salt
2 tsp nutmeg
2 cups soaked over night cashews, rinsed and drained
2 cups pitted dates, soaked overnight, reserve the soaking water to use if needed

Combine in the high speed blender and blend until smooth

Fold in
2 cups raisins, soaked over night  and drained
2 cups pecans or walnuts, soaked over night  and drained

Cranberry Relish

White Chocolate Raspberry Tort  

Raw Almond and Cherry cookies

Black Bean Fudge









Hot Cocoa (serves 3)

ingredients:
2 cup almond milk
2 cup water
8 dates
4 TBS cocoa powder
1 inch vanilla bean
pinch salt

Blend in a high speed blender on soup cycle to make hot

Stuffed Poblano with Sweet Potato

Again the Farmers' Market had poblano peppers as well as sweet potatoes. Here is our recipe for tonight. For my husband we added roasted chicken diced.

Ingredients:

• 4 to 6 large Poblano peppers 
• 1½  cups black beans cooked, or 1 can, drained
• 3 medium sweet potatoes, diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• 2 cups kale or spinach
• 1-2  teaspoons sea salt
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1½ teaspoon chili powder
• 1½ teaspoon ground corriander
• Salsa of your choice
• Cheddar Cheese (we used Daiya)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Add the sweet potatoes, onion, spinach, and spices to a pan. Sauté for 15 minutes until the vegetables have softened slightly.
3. Cut a slit lengthwise on the top of each pepper. Gently scrape out the seeds from the inside the peppers and discard.
4. Stuff each pepper generously with the mixture being careful not to tear the pepper.
5. Spoon ¼ cup salsa over each pepper. Pour the remaining salsa into the bottom of a large baking dish and arrange the peppers in the dish. Top with cheese
6. Bake, covered, for 15 minutes, then uncovered for 15 minutes until the peppers are soft and the sauce is hot.

Raw Oatmeal Cookies

This recipe is from Jennifer Cornbleet with a few alterations to fit our needs and taste. Thanks Faith for your help today!!!

Raw Oatmeal Cookie Bites

Yield: 12-15 cookies

3/4 cup rolled oats

3/4 cup raw cashews

10 pitted medjool dates

1 tablespoon melted coconut oil, we used cacao butter instead

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup raisins, currants, or vegan chocolate chips (optional)

Put the oats, cashews, and dates in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt, and process until the mixture sticks together. Add the optional raisins and pulse to combine.

Form the mixture into small balls and dehydrate for several hours. Stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator, Raw Oatmeal Cookie bites will keep for 2 weeks in the refrigerator and 2 months in the freezer.

Thanksgiving Dinner Italian Style 2015

 We have made our Italian Style Thanksgiving Feast a tradition in our home. Many of the dishes are the same as last year. 

antipasto platters

Course 1: Antipasto platter consisted of a nitrate free chorizo, olives and artichokes. The vegan one was a raw vegetable antipasto platter  consisting of onion, zucchini, mushrooms, red pepper, and green beans in a orange marinade.
The wine for this course is a pinot grigio






Course 2: Salad consisted of mixed greens and radishes from our garden, red peppers, carrots,, cucumbers, and sprouts.
The wine for this course is a pinor noir







Course 3: Last year the guys "complained" that there was no turkey, so this year instead of chicken soup we made turkey soup. For the vegans we made Black Forest Mushroom Soup.

Black Forest Mushroom

The wine for this course is a Sauvigon blanc

Turkey

Course 4: Rice pasta with a living tomato sauce
The wine for this course is Chianti

braciole

Course 5: For a main dish we served braciole stiffed with ricotta cheese and a herb mix, as well as a raw zucchini manicotti

Zucchini manicotti

The ricotta cheese recipe is

Herb Ricotta cheese
1 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup macadamia nuts, soaked overnight, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup pinenuts
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBS lemon juice
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp oregano
1 probiotic capsule
1 cup filtered water

green beam casserole

Directions: combine everything in a high speed blender and process until smooth. Place in a glass container leaving on the counter overnight. Refrigerate until ready to use.
As a side we had raw green beans casserole, using celery instead of mushrooms.
The wine for this course is Sangiovese

Course 6: Fruit and cheese platter was served. We used a soft cheese, as well as an almond feta served with pitted dates, raspberries, and pear slices
The wine for this course is Riesling



Course 7: Dessert is Raw Raspberry White Chocolate Tort using cacao butter instead of coconut oil, served with sparking apple or lemon kefir, herbal teas, and coffee.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

12-Genius Foods

This is a wonderful chart on 12-Genius Foods from Steph Jackon

The foods included are blueberries, broccoli sprouts, cabbage, celery, chia seeds, kale, peppermint, pumpkin, rosemary, spinach, tomatoes, and walnuts. Ir lists the nutrients provided as well as other health benefits.

Black Forest Mushroom Soup

This recipe for Black Forest Mushroom Soup is for Dr Fuhrman's website. We altered it to fit our needs.

Serves: 5

• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 pounds mixed fresh mushrooms (button, shiitake, cremini) sliced 1/4 " thick
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 2 teaspoons herbes de Provence
• 4 cups carrot juice (5 pounds of carrots, juiced)
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 2 carrots, coarsely chopped
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 3 leeks, cut in 1/2-inch-thick rounds
• 1/2 pound rice pasta
• 1 cup dried lentils, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup raw cashews
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 5 ounces chopped kale
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Heat the water in a large saute pan. Water saute the mushrooms, garlic and herbes de Provence for about 5 minutes, or until tender, adding more water if necessary to prevent from sticking. Set aside.

In a large soup pot, bring the carrot juice, 1 quart cups of broth, carrots, onion, celery, leeks, pasta, and lentils to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.

In a food processor or high-powered blender, puree the cashews and remaining 2 cups broth. Blend until smooth and creamy.

Return the pureed soup mixture to the pot. Add the remaining herbs, mushrooms, kale and parsley. Heat until the kale is wilted. 

Raw Apple Cranberry Cobbler

With cranberries available this time of year, we wanted to make a low fat, high fiber Raw Apple Cranberry Cobbler. This recipe is so easy. You will need a food processor.

Ingredients:
Crumble
1 1/2 cups of dried mulberries
6 pitted medjool dates
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
juice of half a lemon, 1-2 TBS
In a food processor, chop all ingredients together into a crumbly, but moist texture. Set aside in a bowl.

Apple filling
9 organic apples (organic are usually a little smaller, if using large apples, 6 should do), cored and quartered
1/2 cup raw cranberries
6 pitted medjool dates
½ teaspoon of cinnamon
Pinch of sea salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
juice of half a lemon, 1-2 TBS

In a food processor pulse 6 of the apples and cranberries into small chunks and transfer to a mixing bowl. Don’t pulse too much. Process the remaining 3 apples with the dates, cinnamon and salt, until smooth (like applesauce).
Mix both together and spread into the bottom of a 9x9" pan and then sprinkle the crumble on top.

raw-vegan-creamy-pasta-alfredo

This recipe is altered from Raw-vegan-creamy-pasta-alfredo

Alfredo Sauce Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 1/4 cup macadamia nuts
• 2 T lemon Juice
• 1 clove garlic crushed
• 1/4 t sea salt
• 1/2 t onion powder
• dash of white pepper
• dash of nutmeg
• 1 T tahini
• 1 t miso
• 1 T nutritional yeast
• 1 small zucchini (we used the ends from the zucchini that we spiralized)
  
  Blend pine nuts, zucchini, lemon juice, garlic, onion powder, nutritional yeast, salt, white pepper, nutmeg, tahini, and miso in a high speed blender until smooth and creamy.  

For zoodles we spiralized 4-6 zucchini. This served 2 as a main dish and 4 as a side.

To serve warm we plated this and placed it in the dehydrator for 1 hour..

Raw Potluck November 2015

This month's theme was to use at least one ingredient from the squash family

As usual everything was delicious!

Our December Potluck is the 5th. The theme is a holiday dish.

Zucchini Hemp Casserole

Hemp Tabouli
Ingredients:
1/2 cup hemp seeds
1/2 cup cucumber, diced
1/2 cup parsley, minced
2 TBS olive oil
2 TBS green onion, sliced
2 tsp mint leaves minced
1 TBS lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup chickpeas, canned, drained
salt and pepper to taste

Spinach salad with apples and cucumbers with

a balsamic dressing

The Spectacular Broccoli Salad was a take off from Kris Carr's recipe
Pomegranate seeds were used instead of goji berries, cauliflower was added as was chayote squash






Almond Butter Cacao Cupcakes

Lemon Kefir/ Kombucha Tea (from one of our  Healthy Self students)

Raw Nut-free Fat Pumpkin Pie with Coconut Whipped Cream

We try to keep our fat consumption to under 20%. The coconut whipped cream will not allow that but it is much less without the nut crust.

Ingredients: for 1 12-slice pie
Crust ingredients:
12-15 pitted medjool dates
2 cups dried mulberries
2 TBS cacao powder
small piece of cinnamon stick (1/2 tsp ground)
Directions: place all the ingredients in the food processor, processing until "graham cracker crust-like". Press into a pie plate lined with parchment paper.

Pie filling ingredients:
3 cups raw pureed pumpkin **
a pinkie inch of ginger (1/2-1 tsp ground)
an inch of a cinnamon stick (1 tsp ground)
1 pound of medjool dates
an inch of a vanilla bean (1 tsp liquid)
1 cup ground crispie* pumpkin seeds (high in zinc and lower in fat than cashews)
Directions: place all the ingredients in a high speed bender until smooth. Pour into the pie crust, smoothing with a spatula.

Coconut Whipped Cream:
1 can Thai organic coconut milk
1 tsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp vanilla
Directions:
Refrigerate the can of coconut milk at least 8 hours, do not shake. Open the bottom of the can using a electric or hand can opener. Pour off the coconut water. Scrap out the coconut cream. Whip with the maple syrup and vanilla.

Topping:
2 TBS cacao nibs
Directions: Sprinkle nibs over the top.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

* soaking the nuts, seeds, legumes, and grains helps the phytic acid bind to  minerals and using salt water helps neutralize the enzymes allowing more nutrients to be utilized by one's body.

** We sliced, seeded, and peeled the pumpkin as if it was a cantaloupe. Then we diced the pumpkin and used a high speed blender to puree. We froze the pureed pumpkin in 2 or 3 cup portions.

Nutritional facts: without the cacao nibs and coconut cream
calories: 281.5
Fat: 2.0 g
Carbs: 53.05 g
Protein: 4 g

Fruit and Vegetable Substitution List

This Substitution List is from Reboot with Joe

Item	Substitution
Apple	Any variety, pear, red grapes, black grapes, cherries, blackberries, blueberries
Arugula (Rocket)	Spinach, kale, watercress
Avocado	Roasted veggies (squash, mushroom, eggplant), banana, olive
Banana	Avocado
Basil	Parsley, cilantro, mint
Beets (Beetroot)	Golden beets, red cabbage, tomato, radish
Blueberries	Blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, cherries
Bok Choy	Kale, beet greens, dandelion greens
Broccoli stalk	Celery, cucumber, cauliflower
Broccoli	Cauliflower, green cabbage
Butternut squash	Pumpkin, carrot, sweet potato, acorn squash, spaghetti squash, delicata squash, Hubbard squash
Cantaloupe (Rockmelon)	Mango, papaya, peach
Carrots	Sweet potato/yam, winter squash, pumpkin, parsnip
Celeriac root	Celery, turnip, parsley root, kohlrabi, jicama, daikon
Celery	Cucumber, zucchini, jicama
Cherries	Raspberries, strawberries, blackberries
Chives	Scallion
Cilantro (Coriander)	Basil, parsley
Coconut water	Water, diluted fresh juice
Collard Greens	Mustard greens, kale, beet greens, dandelion greens
Cranberries	Cherries, raspberries
Cucumber	Celery, zucchini, jicama
Dandelion Greens	Kale, mustard or collard greens, beet greens
Eggplant	Mushrooms
Fennel	Celeriac root, kohlrabi, jicama, daikon, endive
Garlic	Shallot
Ginger	Lemon
Grapefruit	Another variety of grapefruit, clementine, orange, tangerine, blood orange, star fruit
Green Beans	Asparagus, long bean, french bean
Green cabbage	Red/purple cabbage, kale, arugula, watercress, endive
Green peppers (Capsicum)	Red or yellow peppers, mushrooms
Honeydew (Melon)	Green grapes, avocado
Jalapeno (Chili pepper)	Serrano pepper, yellow wax pepper, chile pepper of choice
Kale (Tuscan cabbage)	Arugula, watercress, spinach, Swiss chard, green cabbage, mustard/collard/beet/turnip greens
Kiwifruit	Mango, orange, tangerine, lime
Lemon	Ginger
Lime	Lemon, orange, clementine/tangerine
Mango	Papaya, kiwifruit
Maple Syrup	Honey
Mint	Ginger, sweet basil
Onion	Garlic, leeks, shallot
Orange	Grapefruit, clementine, tangerine, kiwifruit, mango, papaya
Oregano	Sage
Parsley	Cilantro, kale, arugula
Parsnips	Turnip, parsley root, celeriac root
Peaches	Nectarines, plums
Pear	Apple, celery root, peach, plum
Pineapple	Orange, grapefruit, mango
Pomegranate	Pineapple, strawberries
Portobello Mushroom	Any variety mushroom, eggplant
Radish	Red cabbage, tomato
Raisins	Dried cranberries, figs
Red/purple cabbage	Green cabbage, radish, cauliflower, broccoli, radicchio
Romaine	Bib lettuce, radicchio, endive, Boston lettuce, green or red leaf lettuce
Shallot (Eschalot)	Garlic, onion
Spinach	Kale, Swiss chard, romaine lettuce
Strawberries	Raspberries, blackberries, cherries
Summer Squash	Zucchini, cucumber
Swiss Chard (Silverbeet)	Kale, spinach, romaine, mustard/collard/beet/turnip greens, green cabbage, arugula, watercress
Tangerines	Orange, grapefruit
Thyme	Rosemary
Tomato	Radish, red pepper, watermelon
Watermelon	Red grapefruit, cantaloupe, honeydew, tomato, radish
White Wine vinegar	Red wine vinegar, cider or champagne vinegar