Creamy Peachy Mango Drink

Definitely one of my favourite drinks, especially when peaches and nectarines are in season.

Make sure your peaches smell ripe, and your banana is spotted. You can add a few frozen or fresh strawberries for even more flavour.

Ingredients:
2 cups peach or nectarine slices, peeled
1 cup frozen mango chunks
2/3 cup frozen or fresh banana

OR

3 peaches or nectarines, peeled & pitted
15 frozen mango chunks
1 banana frozen or fresh

 

In a blender, add fresh fruit, blend. Add frozen fruit and blend again. Voila! Makes 3 cups.



Mmmm..!



How To Make Raw Almond Butter

Almond butter is a versatile, nutritious spread, and tastes great when eaten along with something sweet. Making your own is easy, and way less expensive then buying it in the store.

Use the most fresh almonds you can get, as better quality yields a better tasting butter. You can also use your food processor to make any other kind of seed or nut butter you'd like.

Berry Orange Banana Drink

 The flavour of this drink is determined by the berries that you use. It’s sweet and kids love it too.



Raspberry Orange Banana

 

Ingredients:
1 - 1 1/2 cups frozen raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, or a mixture of these
1 cup orange segments or 2 medium oranges
2/3 cup frozen banana or 1 fresh banana

In a blender add oranges, fresh or frozen banana, and 1 cup raspberries (or other berry/mixture) and blend, adding more berries to taste.

Raw "Everything" Bagels

I got the idea for these bagels when I was reading a package of "everything" bagels that my boyfriend was eating. I based the amounts of each ingredient used, on the order of non-raw ingredients on the package.

Instant gratification - these are not. It will take about 2 days in the dehydrator for a "toasted" bagel, and about 1 1/2 days for a softer bagel. This recipe makes 2 regular-sized and 1 smaller bagel, or a pizza crust.

You can use this basic recipe to make a plain bagel, just omit the onion/garlic powders and the added seeds. I like this savoury version more for raw pizza bagels, pictured below.

Ingredients:
1 cup almonds (soaked at least 2 hours)
1 cup carrots
1/3 cup dehydrated onion powder (or flakes)
3 Tbsp whole flax seeds, ground
2 1/2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp olive oil (can use 1 Tbsp)
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp dry almonds, ground  -- This is the "cornmeal"
sesame & poppy seeds, as needed

In a food processor, grind the soaked almonds and carrots together with the vinegar, olive oil, & sea salt. Add the ground flax and onion/garlic powders and process until a sticky dough forms. You will need to keep scraping down the sides of your processor. You may also need to add 1-3 Tbsp water. If dough isn't quite workable, you can let it sit for a while, possibly in the refrigerator to firm up a bit.

Form into rolls, a bit thicker then the size of bagel you want, and mush the edges together to form the shape of a bagel. Remember it will shrink in the dehydrator, so to get a normal sized bagel, yours should start out a bit bigger. 

Sprinkle the top, and sides with sesame &/or poppy seeds, lightly pressing them in. Cover dehydrator trays with parchment paper, and use the ground almonds to dust the surface of where you will be placing your bagels. This will also make them easier to flip.

Dehydrate at 105 degrees until the top is slightly dry, flip over & sprinkle with more seeds, pressing them in. Dehydrate another hour or so & flip back over. Then leave overnight or roughly 8 hours. Carefully with a sharp knife, slice bagels in half. Dry halves until desired texture, flipping periodically.





raw "everything" bagel

 


 raw "everything" bagel  ...."toasted"

 
 


Raw "everything" bagel pizza with sun-dried tomato sauce, cashew "cheese", tomatoes, red & cayenne peppers, red onions, fresh basil, and spices.



A pizza crust made with extra dough. I think pizza is always just better on a bagel, even a raw vegan one. =) What do you think?



Simple Romaine Lettuce Wraps with Carrot Tomato Spread and Green Onions

The spread hardly needs a recipe, It's just 3 ingredients but tastes great when wrapped in romaine lettuce with lots of thinly sliced or minced green onions.

It's easy to make, healthy, light (yet filling) and something you can eat with your hands, which most people enjoy. This serves 1 person as a meal, or more as a light appetizer. I like it alot because it uses no sea salt. I've added sea salt and I didn't like it. 

Ingredients:
1 cup carrots (2)
1 cup roma or grape tomatoes
1/2 a large avocado or 1 small

In a food processor add carrots and tomatoes and break down as well as you can.

Then slice avocado in half lengthwise, pull apart, and add in the half that doesn't hold the pit. This way the other half will keep better at room temperature.

Process until slightly chunky or smooth depending on preference.

For best tasting results, use very ripe, and flavourful produce - even lettuce can be bitter sometimes, taste before use.

To Assemble:

Wash and dry romaine lettuce leaves or hearts. Spoon the spread onto each leaf and sprinkle generously with minced or thinly sliced green onions.

(I only use the green part - replant the white part in a container of soil and you will have green onions whenever you need them.)

Serve as is, or fold the sides of the leaf over, and tie with a green onion, or chive. You can wrap them tightly, or loosely to expose some of the spread.

(I tend to just assemble them as I eat)

Coconut Butter Cups With Date Filling

In place of raw chocolate-covered cups I'd been making, I thought I'd try to create a recipe using a coconut butter shell. I love how fast they are to make, & the fact that there is no added sweetener, & they still taste this great.

Similar to eating dates covered in coconut butter, only better and has almost a chocolate- like mouth feel. Even if you don't like dates on their own, you may like them in the filling as it's great on it's own, especially after being chilled.  

Ingredients:

Artisana Raw Coconut Butter, melted, as needed

1 cup dates, packed (a scant cup also works) 
1 Tbsp raw almond butter - (or other seed/nut butter)
1 Tbsp raw coconut butter
1/4 cup filtered water
1/4 tsp sea salt, or to taste *optional

Filling:

In a blender (or food processor), add 1/4 cup water, then the dates and blend to a thick paste. Add in 1 tablespoon coconut butter, and 1 tablespoon almond butter & sea salt.

You may want to use heaping tablespoons, taste as you add. Store in a glass jar & refrigerate, or freeze to chill. (best to use after it's chilled, but will also work right away).

Variation: Add the seeds from a vanilla bean for delicious vanilla coconut cups. Also try dividing the mixture and adding cinnamon, nutmeg, &/or ginger to spice things up.  

Note: If you don't have a blender or food processor, the filling can be made by mashing ingredients together on a plate with a fork.

To Assemble Cups:

Fill mini muffin liners with a small layer of coconut butter (1/4 inch), stick in the freezer for a few minutes until solid. Scoop 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon of filling into the center of cups, and smooth it out. MAKE SURE to leave space around the edges! Refreeze for another minute if the bottom layer start to melt.

Then fill in the top, and the edges with another layer of coconut butter, and freeze until the top hardens. They are now ready to eat. If you leave in the freezer until really solid, you can let thaw for a few moments before biting into them, but I like the hard shell.






I hope you enjoy eating these as much as I do, & don't forget to share :)

  



If you eat raw chocolate; give the cacao bliss version a try.