Coconut, Macadamia Nut, Apricot Pie *raw vegan*

This week I was thinking about how much I love the combination of apricot, macadamia nut and coconut. So I tried my hand at making a raw dessert with these flavours and I was very pleased the results. 

Here I present, Cocomacricot Pie...

Crust

1 cup sprouted walnuts (soaked for 8 hours and rinsed thoroughly)
10 medjool dates
4 dried apricots
1/3 cup ground macadamia nuts
1/3 cup coconut powder (I use a coffee grinder to grind dried coconut to a powder)

Put the walnuts, dates and apricots in your food processor and process until it becomes thoroughly combined and the walnuts are in very small pieces in an apricot and date paste. Chunks are okay. Mix in the ground macadamia nuts and coconut powder. Press this into a greased pie plate (I used extra virgin olive oil).

Filling
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup dried apricots (soaked in the warm water)
1 cup young coconut meat (I used all the meat from 2 young coconuts)
1/2 cup macadamia nut butter (I used Nuts to You Raw Macadamia Nut Butter. You can make your own raw macadamia nut butter just by processing raw macadamias for many minutes in a high power food processor- my processor is not a very good one- or you can buy some like this one here.)
3 Tbsp maple syrup

Soak your apricots in the warm water until they are softened. Add everything to the blender and blend until it becomes smooth and frothy. Pour this over your crust and place in the freezer for one hour. Serve right away or place it in the fridge until you're ready.

This pie will keep a few days in the fridge as long as it's kept covered. We ate this up fast and I'm hoping to make another very soon. It makes a really tasty breakfast. If you make your own cocomacricot pie, I'd love to hear about it.

This week was a truly wonderful week. The weather has been so lovely. We've been enjoying time outside as much as possible. I'm looking forward to more time outdoors this weekend.

Have a fun weekend!

♥ Andrea ♥

Lemon Pudding *raw vegan*

Last week I whipped up this delicious and nutritious recipe. It's tangy and sweet, light and fluffy. This might just be my favorite raw recipe I've ever made! If you're a sucker for tart lemon desserts, you're going to love this one.

Ingredients & Directions

1/2 cup almonds (soaked for 8 hours and thoroughly rinsed- I just soak mine over night and always keep some soaked almonds in the fridge)

1 cup water
juice from 2 lemons
zest from 1/2 lemon
6- 12 medium dates (medjool are my favorite)
1 Tbsp agave or maple syrup or raw honey if you're not vegan

Blend the almonds and water in a blender at high speed until well blended. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy. You may need to add more water to get the consistency you like.



This recipe is nutritious, delicious and cleansing and alkalizing to the body. I find it to be a particularly good snack in the afternoon when I'm feeling tired and tempted to eat something sweet or drink a coffee for a pick-me-up. I hope you love it :)

♥ Andrea ♥

Cocoa Nutty Monkey Pie *raw vegan*

This is my latest raw dessert recipe and let me tell you, I've seriously outdone myself this time! If you decide that you're only going to attempt one raw recipe, or you want to serve one to people who may be a little suspect about eating raw, this is the one to try.

I have really focused on raw dessert recipes over the past couple of years because I have a major sweet tooth and I am convinced that I can satisfy it without eating garbage. I've always eaten very well and now I can really indulge in the things I want like chocolate, chocolate and um, chocolate while continuing to keep a healthy diet.

Imagine a dessert with high amounts of fiber, protein, potassium, antioxidants, enzymes and essential fatty acids with no sugar besides naturally occurring sugars, no dairy, no gluten and no cooking! I know right? I can hardly believe it myself.

So, here's what I did...

Actually the first step was a trip to the bulk food store. Does anyone else get as stupidly excited as I do about having a fully stocked pantry shelf of fresh healthy nuts, grains, legumes and other staples? I'm a total nerd about it. The bulk food store just may be my favorite store!

*Find raw cocoa at ChocoSol Traders.*

I made a double batch of my raw chocolate pudding recipe that I shared with you last week. You'll notice that I made an update to that recipe because while I had made it a couple of times very successfully before I posted it, I tried it again and it came out runny. In the update, I give you ideas for fixing that if it happens to you.

Here's the recipe again:

Raw Chocolate Pudding
Filling 
1/2 cup sprouted* almonds (*soaked overnight and rinsed thoroughly)
1 1/2 cups water
5 pitted medjool dates or a handful or more of raisins
5 heaping Tbsp of cocoa powder or raw cocoa powder (it has to be very finely ground- grind it well in a coffee grinder if it's not)
raw honey to taste (about 1-2 Tbsp)
5 tsp finely ground flax seed powder (or the amount needed to reach the consistency desired)

Blend this all up until it's the consistency of pudding.

Then Add:

1 heaping Tbsp of cocoa

3 frozen bananas

1/2 cup of raisins. 

Blend again.

I took out my food processor and made a raw pie crust much like one recommended in Jeremy A. Safron's book, The Raw Truth: The Art of Preparing Living Foods

Crust
1 cup sprouted* almonds (*soaked overnight and rinsed thoroughly)
2 handfuls of raisins (you can use dates instead)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp agave or maple syrup (raw honey if you're not vegan)
olive oil (just to moisten to dough consistency)

Take these ingredients and blend them together in a food processor. Press the mixture into a pie plate. Then pour the filling on top of the crust and place it in the freezer.

When I served it for dessert, my husband said, "this is f#@king amazing!" No word of a lie folks, it truly is f#@king amazing.

Are you thinking about making this recipe? Let me know if you do. I'd love to hear all about it.

I get really into raw food recipes in the summer months. I hope you're enjoying them. I'm sure there will be more to come.

♥ Andrea ♥

Almond Date Orbs *raw vegan*

These orbs are incredibly healthy and every man, woman and child I've offered them to loves them! They are very easy to make but do require planning because you must soak the nuts. Soaking your nuts makes them more digestible because by soaking them, you wash away enzyme inhibitors and begin the sprouting process. This is very beneficial for your body. Squirrels and other animals bury their nuts and eat them after they have begun to sprout (animals are so much smarter than we are).

Here is a summary of why it's good to soak your nuts.

I became inspired to make these while reading, 12 Steps to Raw Foods: How to End Your Dependency on Cooked Foodby Victoria Boutenko. This is a great book for anyone who wants to learn more about the raw food diet. When I make these, I tend to wing it and just add whatever amounts seem right at the time but I'll write out a proper recipe for you here that you can change to suit your taste.

Ingredients
1/4 cup raw almonds (soaked over night)
1/4 cup sunflower seeds (soaked over night)
1/2 cup of chopped medjool dates (or other dried fruit of your choice)
extra virgin olive oil (as needed for desired consistency)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
unsweetened dried coconut flakes (to your taste)

Directions
Soak the almonds and sunflower seeds overnight in cold water
In the morning, drain and thoroughly rinse your nuts and seeds
*If you are not ready to make your orbs right away, you can seal your seeds now in a container and place them in the fridge for up to a week*
Add your nuts and seeds to a food processor and grind into small chunks
Add 1/2 cup of chopped medjool dates to the food processor and process until it becomes a lump
Transfer to a mixing bowl and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil
Add a teaspoon of ground cinnamon
Mix until you have a moist lump of dough
Make the dough into bite sized balls and roll in unsweetened coconut

This recipe freezes well and makes an excellent snack or addition to breakfast. Another great combination is soaked pecans and dried unsweetened cranberries. I was thinking as I made these that ginger would be a great addition to this recipe. I'm going to try that next time for sure!

♥ Andrea ♥

Handmade Gifts and Mango Salad

Handmade gifts are the best! We received this lovely cat last week from a couple of up and coming crafters who live across the street! One sister made the little cat and the other made the sweet bag.



The kids are fighting over him they love him so much. And I got something too! Thank you so much Amelia! I love my new necklace!



I recently created this new mango salad recipe by mistake. And it's oh so good! I was trying to make this Mexican salad on allrecipes.com. It turned out poorly, very bland and boring. So, the following night I added a sliced mango, lots more lime juice- equal parts lime juice and extra virgin olive oil, a lot more cilantro as well as some maple syrup and lemon juice. It's absolutely delicious and certainly worthy of our favorite food list.

Here's the recipe...

Mango Salad

1 cup sprouted garbanzo beans
3 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
1 red pepper, diced
a bunch of sweet cherry tomatoes
1 mango finely sliced
lots of cilantro (to taste)

Dressing
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
squeeze of lemon juice
maple syrup to taste
sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions
Make up the dressing separately and pour over salad.
Let sit for about an hour in the fridge before serving.

I'm looking forward to a great weekend outside! It's 8:30am and it's already 8 degrees outside!

Have a great weekend!

♥ Andrea ♥

Halloween Greetings! Carrot Cake Balls Recipe *raw vegan*

I hope you are enjoying your Halloween day! Halloween is my favorite time of the year. But, I do get a bit frustrated because unhealthy food seems to overshadow everything else on this most awesomest of days.

I just made a yummy, very healthy and Halloweeny raw vegan recipe today and I thought I'd share it with you. It is inspired by the carrot kake recipe in Jeremy Safron's book, The Raw Truth.



Carrot Cake Balls with Macadamia Nut Cream Topping

If you are going to soak your nuts and seeds (this makes the recipe more easily digestible by washing away the enzyme inhibitors that naturally occur in seeds and nuts, it also makes them blend more easily) soak your nuts and seeds over night before you are going to make this recipe. You can also juice a bunch of carrots and have carrot juice the day before because you will need the carrot pulp left over for your carrot cake mix.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups macadamia nuts (soaked over night and rinsed)
1 cup sunflower seeds (soaked over night and rinsed)
1 1/2 cups dates (soaked for an hour- save the soaking water)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup carrot pulp (left over from juicing)
1 Tbsp grated lemon zest
1 Tbsp grated orange zest
3 heaping tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup chopped pecans (I don't soak these because they add crunch to the cake)

To Make Topping:
In a blender, combine the soaked and rinsed macadamia nuts, 1/2 cup of the soaked dates, the lemon juice and vanilla extract and blend until smooth.

To Make Cake Balls:
Place soaked and rinsed sunflower seeds and the rest of the soaked dates in a food processor, add the olive oil and as much of the soaking water left over from the dates as you need to facilitate blending.
Once smooth, add this mixture to the carrot pulp.
Mix thoroughly and add all other ingredients.
Roll into balls and top with the macadamia nut cream sprinkled with some cinnamon.

This is a lovely healthy recipe that my kids love. I hope you like them too!

Happy Halloween!

♥ Andrea ♥