Coconut Lime Pie

So, I was inspired to create this recipe after seeing a coconut pie in Whole Foods the other day while shopping.  It looked mouthwatering that my mind  started racing and thinking up of ideas & ways to make a raw version of it! I got home and ended up with this! I think this turned out to be my favorite dessert so far!


                                                       

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 cup raw pecans soaked overnight

1 cup raw walnuts soaked overnight

2 tbsp. coconut oil

1 tbsp. coconut syrup

Place the nuts in a food processor or Vitamix and pulse until coarse,   spoon out the nuts and place it in a mixing bowl. Add the oil, syrup and spread on a pie dish. Set in the freezer for 15mins.

Filling:

2 cups raw cashews soaked overnight

3 tbsp. raw coconut butter

2 tbsp. coconut syrup

Flesh of one coconut 

Juice of one lime

Place all the ingredients in a Vitamix, blend until thick cream and spoon out the filling into the pie crust. Set in the freezer for 15mins. 

Coconut Whipped Cream:

2 cans coconut cream (best when left in the fridge overnight then use)

2 tbsp. raw coconut syrup/raw honey

1 tbsp. raw coconut butter

1 tsp. coconut vanilla

Open the cans and place the coconut water in a cup, save the water for another use. Spoon out the cream into a mixing bowl, add the 

honey or syrup, vanilla and mix for 2 mins. Scoop out the whipped cream and place on top of the pie smoothing it out, add coconut flakes and slices of lime. Set in freezer 15mins. or overnight in the fridge before serving.

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Banana Ice Cream

 I've never met anyone who's never liked ice cream.; I think it's safe to say that it's everybody's favorite dessert. And those ripe bananas are great to just throw in the freezer for the times you're in the mood to make this again.

Hey, every time I was pregnant I had to have Cold Stone almost every night because I was craving it! Yes, you heard me right! I said Cold Stone! This has to be the most fattening ice cream around. Well pregnancy does that to people; I had no craving for my healthy stuff.

So, this ice cream is good to eat every day without the junk in the trunk! Ha, ha! Sometimes, I crack myself up!

Ingredients:

2 frozen bananas (I usually peel ripe bananas first, wrap them in plastic  & place them in the freezer)
1/4 cashew whipped cream (1 cup soaked raw cashews, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1 tbsp. cashew milk, 2 tbsp. coconut nectar)
1/4 raw cacao powder
14 unrefined coconut oil
2 tbsp. coconut nectar
1 tbsp. raw unsweetened shredded coconut
1 tbsp. raw raspberry "granola" mixture
1 tbsp. raw cacao chips (or Enjoy Life dairy-free & soy-free chips)
1 tbsp. raw almond butter
1 tbsp. raw black sesame seeds

Slice bananas, put in the Vitamix, blend and place in a bowl.

Add all remaining ingredients.

For  cashew whipped cream:

Blend cashews, cashew milk, add vanilla, and coconut nectar.

For the raw cacao sauce:

Melt coconut oil in a small bowl and place over a large bowl filled with very hot water. Add cacao and coconut nectar. Drizzle chocolate sauce on top and place in freezer for 5-7 mins. until the chocolate sauce becomes hard then it's ready.

Enjoy every spoonful!

Many Blessings!

Almond Butter Cup

Many of you don't know that I got started in learning about healthy foods from my first grade teacher back when I was in college. Yes, I keep in touch with my first grade teacher! I babysat for her kids and lived with her for a short period. I am SO thankful for her! She taught me all about tamari, Bragg's amino acid, spelt, kamut flour, quinoa and tofu; which I did a major marketing report on for one of my business classes. She taught me how to bake and cook a lot of different things. We've been trying to get together recently but we both got busy and haven't touched base. She will always be my inspiration!

So, I was making "regular" brownies for a bake sale to raise funds for the Philippines and it made me crave for some chocolate sweets. Actually, they were gluten-free brownies. I'm not normally a chocolate type of a person but my husband absolutely loves it; for him the darker the better! I really enjoy sweets but chocolate wouldn't be my first choice; which is kind of odd for a woman. I think most women crave chocolate constantly. These almond butter cups I like to enjoy with tea (organic kombucha green tea).

The almond butter cups are made of raw cacao which contains high antioxidants, phenylethylamine
(mood enhancers); some might say it helps with depression. Cacao also contains theobromine (mild
stimulant), and many essential minerals such as magnesium, calcium, zinc, iron, manganese, copper
and potassium. So, ladies if you are suffering from low serotonin; eat some cacao to raise the level.


Have I convinced you enough yet to start eating more cacao?

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut oil (melt it by placing it in a small bowl over a large bowl filled with very hot water.)
1/3 cup cacao
3 tbsp brown rice syrup or any other sweetener that you prefer. (Try to use the brand Lundberg which I've read it contains no arsenic)
Raw almond butter or peanut butter
Muffin cups (about 4-5)


Use a hand held mixer to mix all the ingredients. Spoon the mixture into the paper muffin cups (about 2" high), place them in the freezer for about 10mins. Then, take the cups out and spread some almond butter on top of the frozen chocolate. Put the chocolate cups back into the freezer for another
5-8 mins. for it to set. Then, place a top layer of chocolate and place it back into the freezer for another 10 mins.

   

You can enjoy almond butter cup by itself, with tea or coconut ice cream. This one I put raspberry jam in between and sprinkled some raw black sesame seeds. Enjoy!

Coming soon, I will be discussing sweeteners.



Many Blessings,
Mum

Apple Pie

It all started last month while we were apple picking; it made me think about raw apple pie. I would say out of all the desserts, apple pie is emblematic of the American culture. So, I had to come up with something especially with Thanksgiving coming up. It was a little bit of a challenge to come up with a raw version but I like challenges, I'm all for it! The only thing that's missing is tasting the warmth of the apples in the a la mode version. Seriously, after eating a lot of this raw apple pie you'll start craving for the hot version. I made a whole pie, so Chris and I had to eat the same dessert for a week. Yes, sometimes I get tired of eating the same stuff everyday. I don't recommend this by the way unless you really love raw apple pie.

These are macoun apples, great for pies. 

 

Ingredients:

Crust:

2 cups almonds (soaked in a bowl for 2-4 hrs)

1 cup of oatmeal (soaked in a bowl overnight or 24hrs)

2 tbsp coconut syrup

1 tbsp coconut oil

Allow the oatmeal and almonds to dry a little bit, then place ingredients in a high powered blender. Add the coconut nectar and oil into the mixture, then remove and place into a pie dish. Using your 

hands, spread the mixture evenly in the pie dish. Let it set in the freezer for about an hour.

Filling:

3 medium size apples

1 cup of cashews (soaked in a bowl for 2-4 hrs)

2 tsp of all spice

1/4 almond milk

Remove apple cores and slice them. Place apples in the blender a little at a time turning it on medium speed. Next, add the cashews and almond milk then remove from the blender, place the mixture in a 

bowl and add all spice. After using a spoon to mix, take the pie crust out and pour the filling inside the crust. You can use a butter knife to spread it evenly.

Let everything set in the freezer again for about 2-3 hours. When you're ready to serve, slice some apples and sprinkle cinnamon on top. Enjoy!

Many Blessings,

Mum

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Have you noticed I changed the name of this blog? The reason is because I personally do not maintain a 100% raw diet. I believe that it works for some people; ideally for me it would be 80% raw and 20% cooked. I will be showing some cooked and some raw.

Last night, I was so grateful to be invited to a friend's house who I normally have bible study with for some hot pot. I've never had homemade hot pot before; only at restaurants in Flushing, Bayside and NYC. So, I went along with a friend (one of my yoga students). If you're wondering what hot pot is; it's when you have a pot of hot broth boiling on the table, it can be spicy or mild. Then, there are some noodles, seafood, meats, and vegetables on the table. You put in whatever you want to eat into the "hot pot" to cook it and then take it out within a minute or two. There were about 13 of us and we all had a great time! Thank you George & Amanda for your hospitality!

Anyway, back to my recipe; I made these vegan chocolate chip cookies last night to bring along with the shrimp and enoki mushrooms. They are nice and soft which is how I like my chocolate chip cookies but you can add 1/4 cup of coconut oil to make it a little crispier.
I prefer to use beans from a box rather than from a can because they tend to be very low in sodium and BPA free. You can purchase the boxed beans at Whole Foods but they seem to be out of stock for the time being.

Ingredients:

2 boxes of garbanzo or cannelli beans (13.4 oz)
1/3 garbanzo bean flour
1/4 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips
1/3 cup raw honey
1 tsp vanilla

Warm oven at 350 degrees, Combine the beans, flour and vanilla in a blender. Place in a mixing bowl and slowly add the water as needed into the the mixture. Bake for 10-15 mins or until golden brown.


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