Coconut Clouds

I call these "clouds" because they are light and fluffy-and sweet! This is one of my simplest, and tastiest, recipes, I think!

200g Desiccated Coconut
2-3 (to taste) Heaping Tablespoons Agave Nectar
3 teaspoons Virgin Coconut Oil
1 tsp Date Sugar
About 1/4 Tsp Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
1 Small pinch Salt (Optional)

Everything goes in the food processor at high speed. Leave blending until everything is thoroughly incorporated. Use a measuring spoon to make sweetie balls. 

Ice Cream Fudge COOKIES

Yes. You read that correctly. Ice Cream Fudge Cookies. This is basically a spin off of my Double Chocolate Ice Cream With Fudge Sauce, but I think it tastes even better!

120 Ml (1/2 Cup) Corn Flour
120 Ml (1/2 Cup) Other flour---you can use ground oats if you like, but I used Dove's Gluten Free White Flour.
60 Ml (1/4 Cup) Cacao or cocoa Powder
1/2 Sun Dried Vanilla Bean pod (sub with a teaspoon or so vanilla extract if you like)
1 Tbsp Arrowroot Powder
2 Pinches of Date Sugar, optional
3-4 Dried, Pitted Dates
60 Ml (1/4 Cup) Rice milk (or oat milk, or breast milk, whatever)
3 Tbsp Maple Syrup
2 Tbsp Freedom Natural Sweetener (a syrup made from dates & grapes, you can sub maple syrup or agave if you like)
1/2 tsp Virgin Coconut Oil
OPTIONAL:
6 Pecans
A chunk or two of vegan chocolate
A swirl of peanut butter

Starting with the dry ingredients, blend together in a food processor. Now add the wet ingredients and blend. This will require a bit of stirring because the ice cream tends to clump together like a clay. When it is well mixed, heap it onto the counter and form a log. Roll it so that it has an ovular shape, and cut cookies from it. It should be firm enough to do this without freezing. Now, allow your cookies to freeze for about an hour. In the meantime, make a Raw Chocolate Fudge Sauce-this is optional but, I cannot recommend it enough. You can eat the cookies on their own with fudge spread over them, or you can sandwich them together, up to you. These are seriously chocolatey and yummy.

Black Forest Pudding

Here is a very simple, relatively easy dessert recipe for two.

2 Ripe Hass Avocadoes
200g dark Cherries
5 Tbsp Rice Milk (or other milk sub)
A handful of dates
3 Tbsp Agave Nectar (or maple syrup or honey)
2 Tbsp Cacao/cocoa Powder
1/4 Tbsp Virgin Coconut Oil

Everything except for 1/3 of the cherries goes in the blender at hi-speed. Now chop the remainder of the cherries and add them in! You may also add some vegan chocolate chips to this if you want more chunks, but that will change the sugar-free status of the meal. Enjoy!

Salmonella free COOKIE DOUGH!!! :)

I got the inspiration for this from the awesome vegan dessert blog, Chocolate-Covered Katie's most popular post. However, her recipe wasn't working out for me for some reason, so I completely reinvented it working around a couple of same base ingredients.

1 Can of Chickpeas, Drained (Yes, you read that right. Chickpeas. Garbanzo beans.)
2 1/2 Tablespoons Nut Butter of your choosing
2 Tbsp Sunflower Oil
About 120 Ml (1/2 Cup) Sweetener-I used a combination of Agave & Maple Syrup
145 Ml (or a little over half a cup) Rolled Porridge Oats (Oatmeal)
1 Sun-Dried Vanilla Bean
1-2 Tbsp Rice Milk
1 Tbsp Gluten Substitute (I used Orgrans' G-F Gluten Substitute)
1 Tbsp Cornflour
1 Tbsp Arrowroot
1/2 Tbsp Date Sugar (Optional)
1/8 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/8 tsp Fleur De Sel/Sea Salt

Everything goes into the food processor at high speed. Leave it on for a few minutes, stir periodically. You may do what I did and add some vegan chocolate chunks, or you can stir in some cinnamon. Freeze for 20-30 minutes if you want it a bit thicker.
Makes a huge bowl of cookie dough-divide between 2-4 people. Yum!!

Cinnamon Chocolate Cake Bites

240 Ml (1 Cup) Desiccated Coconut
120 Ml (1/2 Cup) Dried, pitted Dates
120 Ml (1/2 Cup) California Raisins
1 1/2 to 2 tbsp Cacao (or Cocoa will do fine) Powder
1/2 Tbsp Agave Nectar (or maple syrup)
1/2 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
7 Pecan Nuts (optional to omit if you are allergic)
Pinch of Allspice
Pinch of Sea Salt

Everything except for the agave (which will make it stick to the sides and difficult to blend right) goes in the food processor. Blend on high speed, stir, do this consistently until it is all well mixed. Add the agave and blend it up again. Use a teaspoon or other round measuring spoon to form candies, or you can use a small cake pan and make a proper cake out of it!

Char-grilled Mushroom Burgers (Not Raw)

These...are not raw. HOWEVER. They are DELICIOUS (they taste JUST like real burgers!!), totally fat-free and jam packed with good nutrients. I got the inspiration for them from a mushroom burger recipe that I found at vegalicious.com. Note, I hate mushrooms normally...but I LOVE these!                          

240 Ml/1 Cup Brown Rice
480 Ml/2 Cups Oat Flour (I will teach you how to make your own below if you don't have any on hand)
200g Mushrooms (I used chestnut, but you may use portabello or other if you like)
3 Cloves Garlic (raw)
5 Cherry Tomatoes, rinsed
2 Tbsp Tomato Paste (or pasta sauce will do fine)
1 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
Seasonings...I use:
1/2 tsp Fleur De Sel/sea salt
1/4 tsp Onion Granules (/Onion powder)
1/4 tsp Chipotle Powder
1/4 tsp Thyme
1/4 tsp Ground Mustardseed
1/4 tsp Black Pepper

Set the rice to cook. Rinse your veggies & put them in the food processor at high speed. Blend thoroughly. Make some oat flour if needed by putting 480 Ml or 2 Cups of oats in a blender, blending and stirring until you have something that is majoratively powder. Strain your rice and put it and the spices/seasonings in the food processor with the mushroom mix, allow it to be a bit bitty/chunky the way ground beef is. Now put the mushroom mixture in a large bowl and stir in the oat flour. Form into balls and put straight on a grill (George Foreman works great for this) or, alternatively, a lightly oiled frying pan. Cook until golden & crispy on both sides. Enjoy however way you will-add some raw by eating them with greens leaves in place of a bun, or alternatively you may eat them in a tortilla or with some rye bread. Whatever suits your fancy.

                                                                                             

Sticky Christmas Candy!

This is more of a fruitarian recipe-we are trying to eat more fruits in our diet as they are so good for you.

180 Ml (3/4 Cup) California Raisins
120 Ml (1/2 Cup) Desiccated Coconut
2 Tbsp Dried Cranberries
4 Dried, Pitted Dates
2 Chunks of Dried Mango (or a teaspoon or two if you need a measurement)
2 Tbsp Agave Nectar (or maple syrup or honey)
1 Tbsp Chopped Nuts (I used Pecans but any nut would do fine. Just be sure to rinse them before blending.)
1/4 tsp Ginger
Pinch of Cinnamon
Pinch of Allspice (optional)

Everything in the food processor at high speed. Use a teaspoon to scoop it into little balls. This would also make a good pie filling if you doubled the recipe or so; as it tastes sort of like mincemeat (for you in the States, mincemeat is not meat at all. It is a spicy-fruity filling used for pies and such). Enjoy, and Happy Holidays!

Smokey BBQ Sauce

I gotta say-I like this BETTER than SAD (Standard American Diet) type BBQ!

240 Ml(1 Cup) Chopped Tomatoes or Cherry tomatoes
9 Sundried Tomatoes
7-8 Dried Pitted Dates
2 Tbsp Sunflower Oil
1 Large Clove Garlic
1/2 Tbsp Water
1/4 Tbsp Agave Nectar
1/4 Tsp Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tsp Chipotle Powder
1 tsp Mixed Herbs; or Thyme
1 tsp Nutritional Yeast
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Cayenne Powder
1/4 tsp Ground Mustard Seed
Pinch of Cumin (optional)
Pinch of Onion Powder/granules (optional)

Everything goes in the blender @ high speed until well mixed. This may take a while. This recipe will be easier if you double it, however I didn't have enough ingredients on hand to make a larger batch.

Double Chocolate Ice Cream with Fudge Sauce

As far as decadent goes this takes the cake. YUM. This is not entirely raw so if you are a very strict raw foodist you may wish to omit this recipe. However; this is gluten and sugar free goodness with lots of rawness. Mmmmm!

For the ice cream; you will need...

240 Ml (1 cup) Corn Flour
60 Ml (1/4 Cup) Cacao Powder
60 Ml (1/4 Cup) Rice Milk (or breast milk or almond milk, whatever)
3 Tbsp Maple Syrup
2 Tbsp Organic, Local Honey
3-4 Dried, Pitted Dates
1/2 of A Sun Dried Vanilla Bean Pod (I am sure you could substitute with a teaspoon or so of vanilla extract if needed)
6-8 Pecans (OPTIONAL, if you have nut allergies avoid this)

Blend all dry ingredients (incl dates & vanilla) except the pecans in a food processor until well mixed. Now transfer to a bowl and stir in the liquid ingredients...or you may do as I did and do it in the food processor BUT be forewarned it will require plenty of stirring and creates a hard to clean food processor if you do it this way. Now chop some pecans, stir them in, and let freeze for an hour (create your fudge sauce in the mean time).

Fudge sauce:

240 Ml (1 Cup) Dates
120 Ml (1/2 Cup) Rice Milk
80 Ml (1/3 Cup) Cacao Powder
60 Ml (1/4 Cup) Water
4 Tbsp (Virgin, Cold-Pressed) Coconut Oil (AKA Coconut Butter)
1-3 Tbsp (depending how sweet you want it) Maple Syrup or Honey ect
1 Tbsp Cornflour or Arrowroot, to thicken
1-2 Cashews, optional, to thicken

Everything goes on a blender at high speed-you will need t scrape the sides a few times, and give this at least a few minutes of nonstop high speed blending to really get the consistency right. This fudge sauce tastes just like the real thing.

After the ice cream has frozen for about an hour, drizzle in fudge sauce and serve. Serves 2-3 (or 1 if you love chocolate, ha ha) you will probably find you have some fudge sauce left over, feel free to refridgerate this and use as a dip for fruits or a frosting for something else.

Aubergine Jerky

-REQUIRES A DEHYDRATOR-
This is based off of how I learned to make eggplant "bacon"; but I think it tastes more like jerky. It's quite nice.

2 Aubergines (eggplants)
1/4 ripe Avocado
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2-4 Tbsp Maple Syrup (depending on how sweet you want it)
2 Tbsp Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast (optional)
1/2 Tsp (or more) Fleur De Sel or sea salt
1/4 Tsp Cayenne or Chilli Powder
A few pinches of black pepper
Pinch of Thyme

Throw all ingredients except the aubergine into the blender and create a marinade by mixing on high speed, stirring regularly as needed. Slice the purpley goodness into thin strips, coat it with the glaze (I just tossed it all in a bowl with my hands then laid it out...but I am lazy) and allow to marinade for an hour or so. Dehydrate at 40 degrees C-this may take up to 2 full days (do NOT leave the dehydrator on while you sleep) but it is worth it.

Above is a "BLT" type sandwich I made using the aubergine jerky, spinach leaves, chopped cherry tomatoes, Basic Cashew Cheeze, and nutritional yeast on top of some (not raw) rye bread. mmmmm...

Dark Chilli-Chocolate Balls

2 Heapin' handfuls of Desiccated Coconut
3 Handfuls of Dates (if I had to guess I would say 240 ml/1 Cup)-Dried & Pitted
5 Pecans (you may omit this if you are allergic but I think they make it much nicer)
2 Tbsp Wholenut Peanut Butter (regular will do in a pinch, but whole nut is less sweet so if you use smooth ect reduce the sweeteners that you add)
2 1/2 Tbsp Cocoa Powder (I prefer cacao as it is raw, but we are broke and cocoa powder is cheaper.)
2 Pinches Date Sugar
2 Pinches of Chilli Powder(or about 1/8 to 1/4 Teaspoons)
3/4 Tbsp Maple Syrup

Everything goes in the food processor. Add dates & coconut first, grind them on hi-speed, then rinse the pecans to remove the enzyme inhibitors and then add them...and then everything else, one by one blending each time you add an ingredient. I used 1/2 Tbsp to scoop it into balls but any size spoon will do. Yumm! I missed chilli chocolate-not anymore!

Vanilla Cheesecake

Crust:
1 Cup + 2 Tbsp Nuts (of your choice-I used mixed nuts as they arte CHEAP!)
Large handful of Dates
Pinch salt

Grind it in a food processor and line a cake/pie pan...you may put down desiccated coconut or corn meal down before hand if you are worried about it sticking to the bottom.

Filling:
3 Cups Cashews
1/2 Vanilla Bean
3/4 of a Fresh Lemon (The Whole Lemon may be used if you wish it to be more "zesty")
3 1/4 Tbsp Maple Syrup
1/4 Cup Rice Milk
2 Dates, Dried + Pitted
1/4 tsp Arrowroot

Soak the Cashews for 3-4 hours (to sofetn and remove enzyme inhibitors). Add all ingredients except the ricemilk & arrowroot to a food processor and blend on high speed. Mix the ricemilk & arrowroot in a seperate bowl, stirring until well blended. Add this too, to the food processor and mix well. Spoon the cheesecake mixture on top of the crust and refridgerate or freeze while you make the topping (the coldness will help the arrowroot to "set" and harden the cheesecake.

Topping:
3 Handfuls Frozen Blueberries (Or Other Berry of Choice)
1 Handful Dates
1 Tbsp Agave Syrup

Everything goes in the blender at high speed. You may need to use a spoon to stir up the dates. Drizzle atop your cheesecake and spread around with a spatula or the back of a spoon.

...And enjoy! Will serve 4-8 (depends how hungry you are...)

How beautiful is this?

The Ginger Mother's Frosting

Here is some frosting calling for the very healthiest ingredient in all of human kind-HUMAN mother's milk (breastmilk). This is nutrient packed and great for toddlers-and adults too.

115-120 Ml (1/2 Cup) Expressed Mothers' Milk
180 Ml (3/4 Cup) Cashews
2 Large Handfuls of Dried, Pitted Dates
60 Ml (1/4 Cup) Water
4 tsp Agave Nectar
4 tsp Cold Pressed Virgin Coconut Oil (AKA Coconut Butter)
1 tsp Organic Locally-Harvested Honey (Commercial bees are kept and treated in a manner that is inhumane and definitely inconsistent to veganism)
1/8 to 1/4 tsp Dried Ground Ginger(not raw)-depending how strong you want it to taste-optional

Everything goes in the blender at high speed, you must scrape the sides repeatedly and continuously burst air pockets with a spatula when blending to ensure everything gets thoroughly blended. Blend for several minutes, until smooth and velvety-it will have the consistency of a thick yoghurt (if you need it thicker, add more Cashews as needed). This would go great with my "Honey Butter" Cakes, the frosting for which I made was more fruity and caroby. This would also taste great as a dip with banana slices or berries. 

A footnote; don't worry if you don't produce enough milk to whip out  this much breastmilk all at once. Eat some organic apricots (known to increase breastmilk production) and accumulate it in the fridge one pumping at a time if you must. I pumped (expressed) breastmilk twice, one in each day, to get this much simply because I am breastfeeding a 1 year old which as I'm sure you can imagine, requires a LOT of milk. This recipe is well, well, worth it but make sure you keep the breastmilk in the fridge and do not leave it in the refrigerator for more than a total of a week, after which it will go bad.

Cheezy "pasta" sauce

240 Ml(1 Cup) Cashews
150 Ml(5/8 Cup) Sunflower Oil
120 Ml (1/2 Cup) Water
4 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
2 Cloves Garlic
1/4 Tsp Ground Mustardseed
1/4 Tsp Black Pepper
1/4 Tsp Fleur De Sel (or sea salt)
1/8 Tsp Onion Granules

Blend on high speed for a few minutes...
Serve over grated butternut squash as I have done in the photo (which taste like noodles with this sauce) or quinoa with chopped tomatoes & basil.

Frosted Honey Butter Cakes...mmm

Delicious! This is easily one of our new favourites, my husband the honey bear just LOVES it.

1 Cup Pitted Dried Dates
1/2 Cup Cashews
1/2 Cup Brazil Nuts
1 Tablespoon Honey
1 Tablespoon Desiccated Coconut
A couple pinches of Fleur De Sel (or sea salt)
1/4 Teaspoon Allspice
Dash of Cinnamon
Dash of Nutmeg

Process in a food processor, starting with the nuts and salt (you want the salt to mix in evenly, this is integral-and add them in slowly. Slowly add in the dates, then everything else. Use measuring cups (of any size you like) to form round cakes. Frost (if you want):

180 Ml (3/4 Cup) Dates (dried & pitted)
60 Ml  (1/4 Cup) Dried Mangoes
120 Ml (1/2 Cup) Rice Milk
60 Ml (1/4 Cup) Water
60 Ml (1/4 Cup) raw Carob Powder
4 Tbsp Virgin Coconut Oil
1/2 Tsp Honey or Agave Nectar

Blend on high speed in your blender for several minutes, poking at the top of the mixture with a spatula repeatedly to make air pockets so that the entire mixture gets down to the blades. This takes a while to blend thoroughly but it is very worth it. Once it has a smooth, velvety consistency, frost those cakes...and enjoy! This also would taste great with bananas or strawberries. Mmmm.

Garlic Spinach Soup

MORE SOUP!? Yes. Great, unusual way to get your greens...

3 Big Handfuls of Spinach or Baby Spinach
6 Cherry Tomatoes
4 Cloves of Organic (or small cloves of regular) Garlic
1 Cube (vegan, yeast & gluten free, organic) Vegetable Stock
1 3/4 Cups Warm Water
3 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
2 Tbsp Basic Cashew Cheeze
1 Tbsp Sunflower Oil
1 Tsp Black Pepper
1/4 Tsp Onion Granules (or you may use fresh Onion)
A couple squeezes of Fresh Lemon
Pinch of Salt

Blend on high speed until smooth & enjoy!

Make Your Own Mini Green-za's!

NOTE: THIS RECIPE REQUIRES A DEHYDRATOR.

This is just plain old FUN! I like inspiring people to try healthier, raw options, and I know for me that was an issue of convenience for a long time. For a lot of you, an issue is that you have older kids who are not vegan/raw and convincing them to switch to a diet like this might be hard. So you might need some yummy, fun to eat finger-foods for the family. I've got one for you right here! A wonderful, truly green pizza. Now, this takes a while, so you're gonna have to put in some prep work beforehand...

Crust:
480 Ml (2 Cups) Milled Flax Seed
360 Ml (1 1/2 Cups) Ground Almonds
240 Ml +  1 Tsp Water
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Mixed Herbs (Or just equal parts Thyme and Oregano will do)
1 Tbsp Basil
1 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
1/2 Tbsp Rosemary
1/4 Tbsp Local, Organic Honey
A Couple Pinches of Salt

Stir all ingredients in a bowl or, better yet, use your hands! Roll out into golf balls, smack in your hands to flatten to a little less than a quarter-inch thick and pop onto the dehydrator trays-dehydrate on 40 degrees C for about 7 hours. This is a lovely GF Italian herb bread and you can use it for anything, sandwiches too, whatever you like.

Green Cheeze (This is for you Ali-an easy Cheezy for my nut-allergic friend!):

240 Ml (1 Cup) Pumpkin Seeds
2 Tbsp Pine Nuts
2 Tbsp Sunflower Oil
1 Tbsp Rejuvelac (I make quinoa rejuvelac because it is gluten free)
1 Clove Garlic
1/4 to 1/2 tsp Fleur De Sel (or sea salt)
Pinch of white or black pepper
Pinch of ground mustardseed (optional)

Soak the Pumpkin Seeds for about 4 hours or so. Drain and put in a food processor or a blender (but the food processor will work much better) and mix with all the other ingredients, stopping and stirring continuously until you have it well blended.

Once your crusts and cheeze are ready, put the cheeze in a bowl and the crusts on a plate. Slice up some organic cherry tomatoes onto another plate and you're ready to serve your make-your-own mini pizzas! These are AWESOME with My Rawkin' Raw Ranch Dip. Pizza + Ranch, and it's all healthy and raw?! I must be joking, right? Nope. Give it a try for yourself. Out of this world, and tons of fun! I finished it off with some raw carob brownies, but those are for another time...

Bold n' Spicy Veggie Soup

I know. ANOTHER SOUP! Sorry. but I love them! They are low-cal, rich in flavour, cheap, easy and PACKED with veggie goodness and, SO flavourful. I'll let you in on a little secret...I...don't even like vegetables on their own! OK, I do, but not so much. It's boring. My taste buds have been ruined by the horrible standard of eating I once had. I long to be this forager who eats single ingredient meals, and just stuff my face full of naked spinach and broccoli, no dressings required day in and day out. However until that day comes, I shall blend my beautiful, precious vegetables into soups, smoothies, and so forth-and get their raw goodness in any form I can get it. I did something a little different for this soup, however, than my "routine"soup base and I am impressed with the results.

2 Large Organic Carrots (Use 2 Small to Regular Size "Normal" Carrots if Organic Absolutely Cannot Be Obtained)
1 Large Organic Parsnip (Or 1 Small to Medium Size "Normal" Parsnip)
2 Organic Celery Stalks
2 Cups Vegetable Stock (You can make your own raw stock by googling how or you can just buy some organic, yeast & gluten free in the store and mix  it with 1 1/2 cups of water like I did. Lazy, I know.)
1 Big ripe Tomato
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 1/2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
3 Cloves raw garlic
1 Tsp Black Pepper
1/2 Tsp Fleur De Sel (or sea salt)
1/4 Tsp Dill
A few sprigs of fresh basil (optional)
Pinch of ground mustard seed (optional)

Toss everything in the blender and...blend. Garnish with pine nuts if you like-they are delicious and like crutons in a savoury soup. Mm, mm mmm

Rawkin' Raw Ranch Dip

JUST like the real thing! I got the inspiration for this fromThe Rawtarian's Raw Ranch Dressing Recipe, but I made it my own because I prefer my ranch a little bit thicker, peppery and less "tart"/sour (or more sweet, whatever). So here is my version, which I hope you will like:

300 ml (1 1/4 cup) Cashews
180 ml (About 3/4 Cup) Water
2 1/2-3 Tbsp Lemon Juice
40 ml (1/6 Cup) Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar
80 ml (1/3 Cup) EVOO
3 Tbsp Agave nectar
3 Large Cloves Garlic
3 Tsp Onion Granules
1 Tsp Dill
1 Tsp Fleur De Sel
1/2 Tsp Black Pepperhh

Throw it all in the blender & mix on high speed. Add a little more water if you want it to be more of a salad dressing and less of a dip. Keep in the fridge in old syrup containers or hummous tubs (ect)-tastes fantastic with fresh veggies...cherry tomatoes & carrots...mmmm

HOLY DONUTS!

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think this may be my new favourite food. Maybe. I don't know, but. DROOOL!
Chocolatey raw donut holes. Oh. Absolutely. AMAZING. and EASY!! I like easy.

100g (or about 7/8 cups I think) Brazil Nuts
240 ml (1 cup) Dried pitted Dates
1/2 Tbsp Virgin (cold-pressed) Coconut Oil
1/2 Tbsp Agave Syrup
----
Coating:
3/4 Tbsp raw Carob Powder
pinch of Cinnamon

In a food processor (or a blender if you do not have one), put one ingredient in at a time starting with the nuts and blend.
Put the Carob Powder & Cinnamon in a bowl. Take the donut mixture and scoop out with a Tablespoon. (pack it into the tablespoon with your fingers, then press it so it gently slides out and you have a half-ball shape. That's at least, how I find the easiest way to do this.) Take the half-balls and roll them, with the round side facing down, in the carob mix-shake off the excess. Will make about 13 donut holes if I remember correctly. Mmmmm.

Hot & Earthy Carrot Basil Soup

I make a lot of soups, the majority of which I do not post the recipe to (sorry) because they are just spur of the moment things I do not bother to measure out. I love raw soups because they are so cheap, easy, delicious, healthy, and did I mention easy? I like that. A lot. I think this is one is tied with my Creamy Spiced Corn Chowder for my favourite soup recipe.

Hot & Earthy Carrot Basil Soup:

4 Organic Carrots
1 Stick of Celery
4 Sun Dried Tomatoes
Large Handful of Fresh Basil
A Few sprigs of Fresh Parsley
360 ml (1 1/2 cups) Warm Water
2 Tbsp Sunflower Oil
2-3 Tbsp Basic Cashew Cheeze, optional
1 tsp Black Pepper
A few grinds of Mustard Seed, optional
A pinch of Fleur De Sel, optional

Blend all ingredients together in a blender. Garnish with nutritional yeast if you like (as I did). Mmmm! Serves 2.

Good-bye gluten, hello-a Quinoa!

My dear old Daddio reccomended I try this fantastic stuff called quinoa (thanks Dad, this is FAB!) to replace whole-wheat pasta, since that was one of the few things I was cooking and the only thing I was still eating containing gluten, an inflammatory agent found in wheat and other grains. I decided to do a bit of research online and make the quinoa the raw way, and YUM, it is absolutely FANTASTIC stuff. I FAR prefer this to pasta!

I decided to make a salad that's reminiscent of pasta-but I like this much better.

Quinoa Pasta Salad

150g uncooked Quinoa (you can buy this in the health food section at Tesco's, or I'd imagine anywhere else you do your shopping seeing as how Tesco's is a "commercial" grocery store!)
1 Large Aromatic Vine Ripened Tomato
2 Medium Greens Leafs (A large handful of spinach leafs would substitute fine, I'd imagine.)
1 Tbsp Pine Nut Pesto, optional
Ground "Feef" for meatballs
Nutritional yeast
White Pepper

Soak the quinoa in a bowl of water-leave it overnight, for between 12-18 hours. The Quinoa will soak up the water, soften and sprout a bit. Drain the excess water and divide between two bowls. Chop the tomatoes and Greens and divide them, spread them over the bowls....use a half-teaspoon to make mini meatballs to put in (I used 6 meatballs per bowl. spread out a little bit of pesto if you like, and use nutritional yeast in place of parmesan cheese. Nutritional yeast is fantastic because it is loaded with rich B vitamins and is deactivated so you needn't worry about candida. Sprinkle the salad with white pepper to taste and serve. Serves 2, of course, but you can easily double, triple, or quadruple this recipe if you are uncooking for a larger crowd. This is very quick and easy to make-took me less than 10 minutes to throw everything together after the sprouts had been soaked. Easy healthy dinner!

All-purpouse Ground "Feef"

Admission; MY guilty pleasure, the thing keeping me from going vegan for a time was ground beef. I love love love the taste. I've been missing it for a long time. So I had to recreate it. I think I've done a pretty decent job, because this really hits the spot.

Raw Feef (Fake Ground Beef):
3 Organic Carrots
480 ml/2 cups Walnut halves/chopped Walnuts
24 Sundried tomatoes
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Sesame Seeds
3 Cloves Garlic (remove the green bits in the middle if raw garlic tends to give you indigestion)
1 tsp Ground Black Pepper
1/3 tsp Fleur De Sel
1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
Pinch of ground mustardseed (optional)
Pinch of basil (optional)

Pulse, stir, pulse stir ect until you have a gritty, paste-y texture. You can make meatballs(as I have done in the photo above by scooping with a tablespoon!), form burgers (which are great on a bun of greens with mustard), use as taco meat, ect. Pile on some Basic Cashew Cheeze to a meatball and this is out of this world. Yum!

All Hallows' Eve Special-Pumpkin Pie! Yum...

Wow, this turned out so, so good. Minus the filling being a bit more sloppy than the baked kind, it's pretty spot-on I'd say. This makes A LOT of pie, so half this recipe if need be, but serve it in a small pie pan if you're gonna do so. It will keep well in the fridge or freezer with some tin foil over it though.

For a Basic Pie Crust, you do something similar to my (un)cookies. This is really easy and doesn't take much work.
1 1/2 cups Cashews
2 Cups Dried, Pitted Dates
1/2 tsp Cinnamon

Pulse this in your blender/food processor until it's blended up nicely. It's gonna be chunky, but you want it to be well mixed. It won't take more than a minute'r two.

Now take this, and press it with the back of a spoon and your fingers into a large pie pan. The crust is sticky so this part is a little difficult, but it's not that bad. Stick it in the fridge while you make the filling.

Filling:
(I halved this and did each half at a time since I only have a cheap blender. If you have a food processor you can do this all at once and save yourself a lot of time, however.)

Approximately 1420 ml/6 Cups chopped pumpkin (small pieces)
240 ml/1 cup Ground Almonds
2 Tbsp Desiccated Coconut
4 Tbsp Maple Syrup
2 1/2 Tbsp Organic, Local Honey (Otherwise the Bees are treated in a manner that is very cruel and grotesque...eugh...)
2 Tbsp Provamel (or other rice milk/milk substitute)
1 1/2 Tsp Allspice
1 Tsp Cinnamon

This is tough work in a cheap blender, and might take some time, but pulse, stir, pulse, stir, ect until you get it well blended.

Topped With A Walnut, Just Because I Thought It Was Cute.

Fill your pie crust with your filling and smooth out the top with the back of a spoon. Refrigerate for 30 min to an hour and serve. Yum, yum, yum!

Rawnnaise

Time for a sauce. A sauce which is admittedly, not my favourite. Why? Because mayonnaise DISGUSTS me and I mean REALLY, REALLY disgusts me. However, my husband LOOOOOVED the stuff. He could have eaten a mayonnaise sandwich (hmm, not unlike my brother...if only I lived close enough to convince him to try this)! So I like a lot of the "raw" versions of things, but this one tastes exactly like mayonnaise. Wow. I have offended myself. Paul, on the other hand, I have made a happy man. So if you are like Paul, and you love mayonnaise, try my recipe:

175ml (3/4 cup) Macadamia Nuts
175 ml (3/4 cup) Cashews
120 ml (1/2 cup) Water-Add a little bit more if you want this to be more of a "salad dressing" type mayo.
2-3 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Raw, Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Clove of Garlic
1/4 to 1/3 tsp Fleur De Sel
1/4 tsp ground Mustard seed/Mustard powder
Pinch of Basil
Pinch of Cayenne powder

Blend it up, and there ya go!

Moist Carrot Cake

mmm...

Cake:
4 Organic Carrots
240 ml/1 cup Desiccated Coconut
240 ml/1 cup Dried, pitted Dates
1 Cup Mixed Nuts
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/3 tbsp raw Carob Powder
1-2 tbsp Maple Syrup

Wash & finely grate the carrots into a large bowl. Tedious, but this recipe is well worth it, believe me. Grind (pulse, stir, pulse, stir...) Dates & Nuts together in a blender or food processor until they are a relatively smooth mush. Add this and the rest of the ingredients to your large bowl. You may whisk or stir this until it is very well blended, but I found it easier to just get in there with my hands and mix it up. Press the cake mix into a glass pan and even it out with your fist. Alternatively, you could turn these into cupcakes! Frost and enjoy. Will easily serve 4-6, or more...but not if you're hungry like we were when I made it. The two of us ate about half of it in one sitting. :))

Frosting:
About 1 cup Ground Almonds (you may grind them yourself in a food processor if you wish, but they were cheaper to buy pre-ground at Tesco's. Easier too.
4 Tbsp Maple syrup
2 Tbsp Desiccated Coconut
Rice Milk

Add all ingredients into a bowl & stir, add rice milk gradually until the desired consistency is obtained. Recipe may be doubled if you want a sweet cake or you just want some extra frosting for whatever else. Smooth onto the cake with a knife or the back of a spoon.

Why go RAW?

I wanted to do a special post here and tell my readers about my decision to become a raw vegan. What swayed me.

1. I wanted to make a change for the environment. Livestock are responsible for 18% of the greenhouse gasses that cause climate change. I have never wanted to drive, majoratively for the sake of reducing my carbon footprint, and I have known of this fact for much of my life. It has been a large source of my guilt and unhappiness.
2. Meat is a murdered animal. There is absolutely no getting around that fact. Between avocadoes, nuts, seeds, olive oil, and leady greens I see no reason to get my protein, iron or anything else from a nonrenewable source.
3. Dairy and eggs? Even crueler than meat. Cows are forcibly impregnated (raped), babies are taken off their mothers without being able to bond or nurse, and the cows are killed anyway. Hens spend their lives in cages.
4. Cow's milk DECREASES bone density, contrary to popular belief. In tribal societies where it is not consumed, they do not suffer osteopourosis.
5. Raw foods=I know what's going into my meals, all of the time. I do not buy anything with preservatives. We are soy free, gluten free, and preservative-free. There is this saying I heard once, something about how if your grandparents wouldn't know what it is, don't eat it-for the most part, that makes a lot of sense to me. Chemicals begone!
6. I have lived with an unhealthy relationship with food for almost half of my life. I have fallen in and out of disordered eating from the time I became a teenager. Those days are behind me. There is nothing to feel guilty about when the food you eat is dense in nutrients. Everything I eat is vital to my health and wellbeing. No empty calories, no "junk".
7. I have more or less spent 4 years of my life bedridden when I became the victim of an "adverse reaction" to Gardasil. Yes. I am a grown-up Gardasil girl. I am now walking several times a week, doing my own grocery shopping, cooking, doing light housework, lugging my kid around all the time (instead of just playing with him on the bed/floor) I am still heavily fatigued and feel a lot of pain, but I am no longer stiff or weak. I am 50% of what I used to be and that is a VERY, VERY DRASTIC IMPROVEMENT! I do not know whether I will ever be 100%, but I know that I owe this tremendous recovery to raw foods and getting rid of toxic garbage (including chemical laden cleaning products, ect) from my life.
8. What could be more loving than the gift of good health to one's family?
9. I wanted to do something for myself, and this is, I feel, the kindest, most loving thing you can do for your body, your mind, your soul. Alleviating the guilt, and replacing it with vital nutrition.

We are not 100% raw, I should admit, it is more like 85%. We do eat rye/linseed bread (wheat & gluten free) and some wholegrain pasta, and I like to make potato wedges on my George Foreman grill. We have no oven however, and as aforementioned, I check the ingredient labels on EVERYTHING-no preservatives, no chemicals, no JUNK.

Paul's Mushroom Salad

OK, I am...not a mushroom person. However, it was a big effort on my former cheese luvvin' husband's part to go vegan, let alone RAW (you rock, Paul, seriously). So, to thank him for the tremendously good thing he is doing for: the environment, animals, plants, his body and health, in being a positive role model for our son, ridding himself of his negative relationship with food and boosting my ego (by loving my uncooking!) and happiness...well, to thank him, I take the rare requests he makes and do my best to uncook what I can with them. So, my husband loves mushrooms. LOVES. Here is a hearty, earthy salad we've invented together:

2 Large Chestnut Mushrooms, chopped
1 Large Tomato, diced
About 2/3 of a Leek, diced
About a Tablespoon's worth of diced Red Onion
Small handful of Pine Nuts
Black Pepper

Toss ingredients in a bowl. Paul used a Mexican honey-mustard for a dressing, but you could use whatever you like.

The cancer cure: BURGERS?!

OK, these might not magically cure cancer, but the ingredients contained in these brrgers will come a long way in helping to prevent cancer and will also help you fight cancer if you are unfortunate enough to already be doing so. Plus, they are pretty darn tasty, so what have you got to lose?

3 Organic Carrots (see my note on organic fruit & veg)
100g Sesame Seeds
A small handful's worth of Broccoli-heads only
4 Sun Dried Tomatoes
2 Tbsp Olive Oil (the herbed OO from the Sun-Dried Tomato jar-optional, but it is so much yummier than regular olive oil)-NOTE: I think my burgers may have came out more pliable with less liquid, so feel free to only add 1 tbsp, nonetheless I love the taste!!)
1 Fresh Tomato
About 1 tsp Leek
1 small handful of Pine Nuts
2 Garlic cloves
A few sprigs each of fresh Parsley & Basil
1 Tbsp Fleur De Sel (grey salt)
1 tbsp Black pepper
1/3 tsp Mustard seed
1/2 tsp Cayenne powder
1 Tbsp Basic Cashew Cheeze, optional

Pulse, stir, repeat until you get a gritty but well blended burger mix. I served ours using Cornish Greens leaves in place of buns, but you may use some flatbread or linseed/rye bread (wheat free, score) if you feel so inclined. These go nicely with American mustard or hummous.

HOW do these fight cancer, you ask? Well...you may read more in detail here and here. This is also a great blend of foods for recalcification of the body, to reverse tooth and bone decay. I had 4 visible cavities before I began recalcifying, now I cannot notice any tooth decay!

Butternut Soup and...Nutterbutt Ice Cream!

Creamy Winter Squash Soup:

About 240 ml/1 cup Butternut Squash, peeled and chopped
1 Small carrot
1/2 to one whole small leek leaf, depending how you want it to taste
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tbsp ground Black Pepper
2 tbsp Sunflower oil
2 tbsp Basic Cashew Cheeze
1 Tbsp Pine Nuts
1 Clove Garlic
1 tsp Fleur de Sel (which you can read about here, it is so good and loaded with minerals-I highly reccomend ditching your white salt and opting for this instead!)
240 ml/1 cup warm Water
Dash of Allspice, optional.

...You know the drill...toss it in the blender and mix on high speed until creamy and smooth. Serves 2.

Carob Nut Ice Cream

The bottom (round plump part) half of a Winter/Butternut Squash, peeled, seeded and chopped (I left about half of the mulch/pulp inside, but not the seeds.)
1 large handful of dried, pitted/stoned Dates
2 handfuls of nuts (I used 1 ea of Walnuts and a "Mixed Nuts" blend that contained Almonds, Peanuts and Walnuts)
3 Tbsp Maple Syrup
3 1/2 tsp Raw Carob Powder
1/3 tsp Allspice (I know, I use this stuff in everything...but it's so damn good!)
1 Tbsp Rice, Almond, Coconut or Breastmilk (for this particular batch I used Provamel's Rice Milk, which is one of the nicer milks I think)

It is important to note that this is not one of my easier recipes, so, I apologise in advance (but HEY, give me some credit, most of my things are pretty cheap and easy). This might not be the case however if you have a really good food processor, but if you are like me and are working with a cheap blender, be prepared to put in a bit of elbow grease.

Now. Chop up that squash into small pieces because otherwise you will do what I did and be stuck blending the darn thing a bit longer than you will like to. I put in very large pieces and was blending for ages. Toss the squash in with the liquid ingredients and pulse, stir, pulse, stir until you've got it into a chunky mush. Now add the dates and nuts and continue doing that pulse and stir thing until you have a consistency you are happy with, it should be like runny home-made ice cream with small chunks (I like chunks in my ice cream, don't you?) now add the powdered ingredients, pulse and stir a couple more times, and you can put this into a couple of plastic tubs and freeze it. I used two large hummous pots and managed to fill them to the brink, so in other words this will easily serve 4, or could just as easily serve only 2 if you keep it on hand in your freezer for those occasions, you know, when a friend needs you to come over pronto with a tub of ice cream...keep this on hand for just such occasions. What a favour you'll be doing them, bringing something so delicious AND giving their body to a raw treat... :) This has a very carob-y, nutty, ice-cream esque taste and consistancy and is just. YUM.

Apple Walnut Pie With Caramel Crust

More sweet, un-sugary, un-baked goodness for the harvest season. Yummy yummy!!

First, I made the caramel crust:

240 ml/1 cup Dried, Stoned/Pitted Dates
About 180 ml(3/4 cup) Nuts (I got a bag of mixed nuts at Tesco's for .50p that had Almonds, Peanuts and Walnuts and that is what I used here. Bargain!)
1 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp carob powder

Mix all ingredients in the blender/food processor on high-speed-pulse, stir, pulse, stir, repeat until the dough is gritty and well mixed. scoop into a bowl and refrigerate while you prepare the apples.

Apple-walnut filling:

3 organic apples, peeled and diced
120 ml(1/2 cup) chopped walnuts
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp water
1/4 tsp allspice

Stir together the walnuts and apples in a large bowl. In a small bowl, stir together the maple, water and allspice. Add into the apple-nut blend and stir continuously until they are evenly glazed.

Pull the 'crust' out of the refrigerator and press as evenly as you can into a small round cake or pie pan. Spoon the apple-walnut blend on top of it and spread it out. Serves 3-4 (or less if you're feeling gluttonous...warning, this is very hard to put down!)

NOTE: This is quite sticky and a bit hard to serve (though surprisingly easy to clean out of the dish) so unless you are like me and eating this with someone you don't mind eating straight out of the pan with I recommend halving or quartering the dough beforehand onto separate dishes to make individual pies. :)

Mambo Italiano!

This meal is a beauty (and very heart-healthy with all the tomatoey goodness :)) it is not entirely raw, but mostly so and is jam packed with Italian inspired flavours.

For a starter, we have:

Stuffed Tomatoes with Pine Nut Pesto

2 large Aromatic Tomatoes
1 large Greens leaf (I don't know what kind of "greens" these are...at the store it just says "Cornish Greens" :/ The leaves are however HUGE, very long and dark green and they come in a big bulb somewhat like cabbage does, I hope that helps some...they are similar to spinach so spinach could easily be substituted if you cannot find something like this! )
Pine Nut Pesto, which I will detail below.

Gently cut off only the very tops of the tomatoes. Cut them in half and scoop out the innards. Chop and dice your greens and divide them into quarters. If you desire, you may gently cook the tomatoes open-face down on a skillet-but be careful not to cook them too much because A. the nutrient content will be drastically altered with cooking which is why we eat raw to begin with and B. they will fall apart when you try to "stuff" them. Now, simply stuff the greens inside and garnish with as much pine-nut pesto as you like. Serves 1-4, depending on how much you want to eat ;)

Pine Nut Pesto

3 Handfuls of Pine Nuts
2-3 tablespoons Olive Oil (I used the nice flavoured oo from the sun dried tomato jar, but EVOO will substitute fine.)
1 clove Raw Garlic
A few sprigs of fresh Basil
A few grinds of black pepper

Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor. Pulse, stir, and repeat a few times, noting that it will be chunky.

Pasta

Whole-wheat spaghetti
Sauce of your choice (I used Napolina's Tomato & Basil, I know...lazy!)
Pine Nut Pesto

Cook, top with sauce and pesto, enjoy!

Superfood Soup

This soup is very healthy - loaded with rich vegetable antioxidants such as vitamin A, B vitamins, calcium, lycopene, fatty acids, omegas and protein. To health!

1/2 of a large, ripe Hass Avocado
1 Small Carrot
2 Large Aromatic Vine-Ripened Tomatoes
A small handful of uncooked, thawed frozen spinach-one or two large handfuls of fresh spinach would do equally well.
1 Sun Dried Tomato (from a jar if possible, soaked in olive oil)
2 tbsp Olive Oil from the sun-dried tomato jar, seasonings included (optional-I just think it makes it taste better. You may use regular EVOO if this is not available.)
A few sprigs of fresh parsley
1/2 clove raw garlic
240 ml/1 cup warm water
1/4 tbsp dried basil
Black pepper for garnish

Cut the very tops only off of the tomatoes & carrots. Chop carrot and spoon out avocado. Add all ingredients to blender and pulse until smooth and creamy. A spoonful or two of Basic Cashew Cheeze may be added if you wish to make the soup creamier. Serve and crack black pepper on top to garnish. Serves 2.

Basic Cashew Cheeze

200ml Cashews
About 3 tbsp Sunflower oil
1 Clove Raw Garlic
Sea Salt
Black Pepper

Soak cashews in water overnight. Put drained cashews, oil & garlic into blender or food processor, add a fair amount of sea salt (maybe a half a tablespoon, but your taste buds are your best guide) and a couple of grinds of black pepper. Blend, stir, blend, stir, blend, stir, ect until smooth and creamy...and enjoy! Tastes great on everything and you can hardly tell it's not real cheese!

A Taste Of Autumn: Creamy Spiced Corn Chowder & (un)Cookies

Mm, mmm! Dinner turned out SO yummy...I LOVE my cheap blender.

Creamy Spiced Corn Chowder:

1 Tin of Green Giant Sweet Corn
Warm Water
About 3 big spoonfuls of Basic Cashew Cheeze
Fresh parsley
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1/4 tsp Allspice
Sea salt
Black Pepper

Empty the tin of corn, including the water in it, into your blender. Scoop in the cheeze and add the oil. Rip off a tiny handful of fresh parsley and toss it in. Add the allspice and put a few grinds each of black pepper and salt. Finally, fill the tin with warm water and add this to the mix. Blend on high speed until smooth and serve. Garnish each bowl with a sprig of parsley. Serves 2-3.

We ate this with carrots and hummous. Mm, mm! For dessert, we had...

Maple (un)Cookies

240 ml (1 cup) Pitted Dates
240 ml (1 cup) Cashews
1-1 1/2 tablespoons Maple Syrup
1/4 tsp Allspice

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend on high speed, pulse and then stir, pulse and then stir, ect...do this as many times as you can be bothered to do, basically. Then, form the dough into balls, mash flat in your palms and serve. These keep very well and taste great with a side of rice milk. Yum, yum!