Apple Squash Tarts

Crust

• 12 dates
• 150g walnuts
• 100g pecans
• a dash of sea salt
• a dash of cinnamon and ginger
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil

Squash Filling

• 1 cup squash
• 1/2 can coconut milk
• 1/2 cup cashews
• 4 dates
• 1/4 lemon juiced
• 1/2 cup coconut oil melted

Cinnamon Apple Topping

• 2 small apples (peeled and chopped)
• 1/4 lemon juiced
• 1 tsp coconut sugar
• a dash of cinnamon, clove and allspice 

In a food processor, blend everything together until smooth and then press into muffin tins.  You can line them with liners or saran wrap for easier removal later.  Place them in the freezer.

In a high speed blender, blend filling ingredients until smooth and place equal amounts in the tart shells.  There may be a bit left over you can have as a tasty pudding later.  

Place all the topping ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  Then top the tarts and place in the fridge overnight to solidify, or the freezer for an hour or less to speed things up.

Zucchini Bacon Stacks with Basil Curry Nut Cheese and Sun dried Tomato Tapenade

With an overflow of zucchini finally popping up in my family garden, I came up with this tasty way to experiment with their neutral flavour and sturdy texture.

 

Slice zucchini as thin as possible.  Drizzle with olive oil and sea salt to soften and set aside.

For the basil curry nut cheese, blend half a cup of soaked cashews, 1/2 tsp curry powder, a dash of sea salt, a couple of sprigs of purple basil and water for desired texture.  

Crisp up some bacon in the oven.  425 degrees for 12m.  Remove from the baking pan and pat dry with paper towels.  

Dice up some kale as small as possible.  Massage with some sea salt and set aside.  Then combine, 1/2 lemon juiced, 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and 1 tbsp of grainy mustard.  Massage the dressing into the salad. 

I used some store bought sun dried tomato tapenade but feel free to experiment with making your own.  

Layer the ingredients, stating with a layer of zucchini and build the stack to your liking.  Top with a dollop of basil curry nut cheese and a fresh sprig of purple basil.  Adapt this meal for vegans by using coconut bacon or omitting it all together. Enjoy! :)

Citrus Mango Ice Cream Cake with Mint Lime Coulis (Raw Vegan)

Crust

• 1 1/2 cups Walnuts
• 2 Medjool Dates
• A Dash of Sea Salt
• 4 pieces of Soaked Dehydrated Mango (insulated)
• 2 tbsp Coconut Flakes

Filling

• 3 cups Soaked Raw Cashews
• 1 Lemon, Zest and Juice
• 1 Lime, Zest and Juice
• 2 Oranges Zest, 1 Juiced
• 1 Mango
• 1 tbsp Honey
• 1/2 tsp Almond Extract
• 2 Medjool Dates
• 1/2 cup Melted Coconut Oil

Mint Lime Coulis

• 1/4 cup Fresh Mint (packed)
• 1/8 cup Water
• 1/8 cup Maple Syrup
• 1/2 tsp Chlorella
• 1/2 Lime, Zest and Juice
• 1 tbsp Chia Seed
• 2 tbsp Coconut Cream

1. For the crust, soak mango slices for at least 2h.  Then drain them and throw them into the food processor with the other ingredients.  Blend and press into the bottom of a spring form pan.  Place this in the freezer to solidify.
2. In a high speed blender place 3 cups of soaked cashews, lemon, lime and orange juice and zests, along with mango, honey, dates and melted coconut oil.  To melt the oil place it in a glass dish in a late bowl of boiling water.  Stir consistently.  This keeps all components of the cake raw.  Blend everything together and top off the crust with the filling layer.  Put this back in the freezer to set.
3. Then blend all coulis ingredients until smooth.  The chia will help to solidify the sauce slightly.  The colour may be off-putting but trust me, it’s taste is worth a mouthful.
4. When the cake has set, cut into slices and drizzle with coulis to serve. 

Summer Garden Salad with Mustard Mango Dressing

Summer Garden Salad

• 2 big handfuls of Kale
• Romaine
• Fresh Chives
• Red Pepper
• 1/4 an Avocado
• Coconut Bacon
• Fresh Grated Ginger

Mustard Mango Dressing

• The juice of one Lemon
• 1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/4 Cup Mango
• A pinch of Salt and Pepper
• 1 Tbsp Grainy Mustard

To make the dressing, juice on lemon and place the juice in a blender.  Add all the other ingredients and blend.

Then chop kale into small pieces, dice up fresh chives toss in a bowl with the dressing.  Massage the salad until the kale softened a bit.  Place on a bed of romaine and then top with red pepper, avocado, coconut bacon and fresh grated ginger.  

Virgin Gold Mojito

Virgin Gold Mojito

• 3/4 cup Original Kombucha
• 2 sprigs of Fresh Mint
• Juice of one Lime
• 2 tbsp Coconut Sugar

Blend and pour over ice.  Then garnish with a fresh sprig of mint.

This recipe could be adapted to a alcoholic version with white rum to your taste.

Refreshing Citrus Cooler

• 1 Orange
• 1 Grapefruit
• 1 Lemon
• 1 Lime
• 1 tbsp Coconut Oil
• 1 tbsp Chlorella
• 1/2 tsp Maca Powder
• 1/2 tsp Almond Extract
• 1 Frozen Banana
• Ice

Juice all the citrus fruits and place the juice in a blender.  Add banana, coconut oil, chlorella, maca, almond extract and ice.  Then blend and enjoy.

Gingerbread Cheesecake (Vegan)

Gingerbread Cheesecake (Vegan)

Base:

9oz raw Almonds

A pinch of Sea Salt

10 Dates

1/4 cup Coconut Oil

Bottom Layer:

1 cup soaked Cashews

1/3 cup Vanilla Almond Milk

1/3 cup Molasses

1 tsp Cinnamon

2 tsp fresh grated Ginger

1/4 tsp Cloves

A pinch of Sea Salt

The juice of 1/3 a Lemon

1/3 cup Soy Lecithin

Coconut Cream Centre:

1/3 cup Coconut Cream
1/3 cup Raw Cashews

1 tsp raw Vanilla Bean Powder

1/4 cup Vanilla Almond Milk

2 tbsp Maple Syrup

1/3 cup Coconut Oil

Top Layer:

Repeat recipe for bottom layer.

Blend all base ingredients until they stick together and then press into the bottom of a well greased springform pan, with coconut oil.  Place this in the freezer.

In a high speed blender, blend all the bottom layer ingredients except for the lecithin, until smooth.  Then mix in the lecithin until the granules are no longer visible and the consistency is thick.  Spread this out over the base and place back in the freezer.

Once again, in a high speed blender, mix all the ingredients for the coconut cream and pour over the first layer.  This one with take a while to set so give it a bit of time to freeze before re-making the gingerbread layer for the top.

Let the whole thing set in the fridge over night or in the freezer for 10-20m or so.

Strawberry Milkshake (Vegan)

Strawberry Milkshake (Vegan)

1/4 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup filtered water

1 cup strawberries

3 medjool dates

1/4 tsp almond extract

1/2 tsp raw vanilla bean powder

Blend everything together and garnish with fresh berries.

Marzipan Protein Bites

These little morsels are rich and satisfying, made of nut butters and sprinkled with a touch of cacao.  It's like dipping your spoon into the almond butter jar but 10x better.

1/4 cup almond butter (raw is preferable, but I didn't have any)
1/4 cup raw walnut butter (Artisana)
5 medjool dates
1 1/2 tsp organic almond extract
1/8 cup melted coconut oil.
raw cacao powder for the topping

1) Blend nut butters, dates and almond extract in a high speed blender or food processor until smooth.

2) Place coconut oil in a glass dish, then place that dish in a bowl of boiling water until the oil is liquified.  Then add that to the blender mixture.

3) Press into a small dish or sealable container and top with raw cacao powder

4) Refrigerate until solid and cut into small squares.

Thai High Smoothie

Thai High Smoothie

1 mango

1 handful fresh parsley

3/4 cups water

1 handful ice

1/8 cup unsweetened coconut yogurt

the juice of 1/2 a lime

A fresh, creamy taste of summer to beat the snowy winter blues.  
Blend all together and enjoy :)

Basil Pear Juice (Blender Style)

Basil Pear Juice

For those of you without a juicer, there's no reason why you can't have fresh juice with a blender on hand and the simple purchase of something as cheap and reusable as a nut milk bag (about $12.)  This recipe is a sweet and refreshing example of how it's done, not to mention a good use for leftover stems from your greens.

-1/2 cup green grapes

-1/4 cup fresh basil

-1/4 cup fresh mint

-1 pear

-1/2 a lemon

-the stems of one bunch of kale (good use for leftovers)

-a dash of cardamom

-1/4 tsp maca

-1 cup filtered water

Blend everything together except the cardamom and maca in a high speed blender.  Then strain the mixture through a nut milk bag.

Pour the mixture back into the blender with some ice, cardamom and maca; then blend it all together.

Pour into a nice glass and drink up.

If you choose to try this recipe in a juicer, you could try using the whole kale leaf to get more liquid, though the taste might differ lightly.  

Vegan Turkish Coffee Pudding

This is a great pick me up treat that's satisfying and just enough sweet.

Vegan Turkish Coffee Pudding

1 1/4 cup Soaked Raw Cashews

1/3 cup Coconut Milk

3 tbsp Water

1/2 tsp Cardamom

1 tbsp Raw Cacao Powder

1 tbsp Instant Coffee

8 Deglet Noor Dates

Blend everything in a high speed blender until smooth.  Place in the fridge first to solidify a bit or eat as is for a nice coffee treat.