Raw Vegan Papaya Cheesecake with Passionfruit Fig jam and Mint Sauce

I haven't felt inspired to create anything in a really long time, but I think these good summer vibes have finally done the trick.  This tropical spectacle is sure to engage your pallet on a beautiful summers day. 👌🌞 

Filling:

2 cup Papaya

2 limes (juiced)

1/3 cup honey

2/3 cup melted coconut oil

2 tbsp soy lecithin

2 cups soaked cashews

Crust:

2 tsp matcha powder

2 tbsp maple syrup

1 cup pecans

1 cup walnuts

3 tbsp coconut mana

a dash of salt

Jam Topping

2 figs

4 passionfruit

1 orange

2 tbsp maple syrup

1 tbsp chia seeds

Mint Sauce

1/4 cup of mint (packed)

1/4 cup water

1 lime (juiced)

3 tbsp coconut oil

3 tbsp honey

1. Blend all crust ingredients in a food processor until it sticks together.  Press into the bottom of a springform pan and place in the freezer.

2. Blend papaya, lime juice and honey.  Either melt coconut oil on the stove on the lowest setting or with a double boiler, set your bowl of coconut oil atop a pot of boiled water and wait for the oil to melt, stirring occasionally.

3. Mix in coconut oil and soy lecithin and blend once more.  Pour on top of the base and set back in the freezer.

4. To make the jam topping, place figs (with skins), the contents of 4 passionfruit, one peeled orange and maple syrup in a blender and blend until smooth.  You will still see the flecks of passionfruit seed in the mixture.  Pour the mixture out into a small bowl and mix with chia seeds.  You can wait a while for this to thicken or just pour on top of the filling layer and place back in the freezer.

5.  Let the cake set for a good 5h or overnight.  Then decorate with fresh figs and mint of basal leaves.

6.  For the sauce, just blend everything in a high speed blender and drizzle on top.  It may be a bit runny but when it's refrigerated for a while, the consistence becomes more viscus. 

Rocky Road Caramel Drumstick Pie (Vegan)

~ Inspired by the nostalgia of caramel drumsticks and rocky road desserts, I half-hazardly combined the two in this vegan adaptation. ~

Graham Cracker Crust

1.5 cup finely ground gluten free graham crackers

1/3 cup coconut sugar

a pinch of salt

8 tbsp coconut oil

Mix together and press into a glass backing dish.

Bake for 7m @ 375 degrees.  Then let it cool.

Melt 1 cup dark chocolate chips in a double boiler.  Line the cooled crust and then place in the freezer to solidify.  This is to mimic the drumstick cone chocolate coating. 

Coconut Cream Filling

160 ml coconut cream

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/4 tsp vanilla bean powder

3 tbsp agave

Almond Butter Caramel

1/4 cup almond butter

1/4 cup agave (maple syrup would have been optimal but I was out.)

2 tbsp coconut oil

Toppings

Drizzle with almond butter caramel and top with vegan marshmallows, chopped, unsalted peanuts and shredded dark chocolate.

Grain Free Apple Turnovers via Life Made Full

Just spent the past 1.5h making some gluten free apple turnovers from the recipe I found over at 
Life Made Full: http://lifemadefull.com/grain-free-apple-turnovers-paleo-gluten-free-dairy-free/

They are delicious and a nice change from my ongoing chocolate everything obsession.
Despite begin time consuming, they're worth it for anyone looking for a gluten free option to regular turnovers.


Things to note:

- I ended up using arrowroot flour since I had no tapioca flour along with unbalanced almond flour instead of blanched.  These 2 substitutions didn't seem to affect the recipe in the slightest.

- The filling is slightly sweet.  If you're looking for something to really hit your sweet tooth, you may want to add some extra maple syrup or sprinkle them with confectionary sugar/icing before serving.  For my pallet, they were perfect.

- I beat my egg whites before putting them into the batter.  I don't know if this effected the recipe at but the batter seemed nice so you can add this step if you'd like.

Let me know how yours turn out! :)

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.

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.

Mint Chocolate Nib Smoothie

This Summer, I invented a smoothie that sort of tastes like mint chocolate chip!

-1/4 small honeydew melon
-1/4 tsp vanilla bean powder
-1 tbsp coconut oil
-1 tbsp hemp seeds
-1 tbsp cacao nibs
-8 mint leaves
-6 ice cubes