Ani Phyo Lucuma Powder Ice Cream

Lucuma powder is one of my favorite alternative sweeteners. Not only does it taste good with it's mild, buttery, soft, sweet flavor, it's loaded with carotene & antioxidants! Ani Phyo, one of my favorite raw food chefs, makes an amazing raw ice cream out of this stuff. Your going to love it! It's simple, easy, and your friends are going to be amazed that this ice cream is actually healthy for you! Yes, sugar is sugar, but if your going to have it,  you mine as well throw in some nutrition into the mix too!

This stuff was so good that when I went to get some more out of the freezer, I noticed my husband nearly killed the entire thing!. I will definitely be buying more cashews at my next health food store stop : ) Enjoy it! I know we did!

Lucuma Ice Cream by Ani Phyo

ingredients

1/2 cup lucuma powder

1 cup cashews

1 tbsp vanilla powder or extract

1/4 cup yacon syrup or agave

1 cup water

directions

1. Blend, store in container, freeze overnight, serve

Raw Chocolate Nut Cookies

I hope you guys enjoy these! I have been really enjoying making different recipes with coconut lately. If you LOVE coconut butter and chocolate as much as I do, then definitely try these out! YUMMY YUMMY!

Chocolate Nut Cookies
ingredients
1/2 cup coconut butter
2/3 cup agave
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup dried coconut
1/4 cup almonds, chopped

directions
1. Melt coconut butter and agave then stir in cocoa powder and vanilla until well blended
2. Add coconut flakes and almonds
3. Place spoonfuls on plate and refrigerate until hardened. Say YUMMY!!!

Coconut Peanut Butter Granola

I have been so in the mood for peanut butter lately. I go in phases with my nut butters. After a long winded love affair with macadamia butter, I think I am ready to move on to another one of my favorites....PEANUT BUTTER!! Just got home from the health food store with some organic peanut butter so I can make some super delicious Coconut Peanut Butter Granola! You have to try this!




Coconut Peanut Butter Granola
ingredients
2 cups oats
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup agave
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 tbsp coconut butter
3/4 cup coconut flakes
sea salt

directions
1. To keep it RAW: Mix everything together in bowl and enjoy OR
2. Preheat oven to 275
3. Heat all ingredients in saucepan until melted except oats and coconut flakes
4. Then add oats and coconut flakes and mix together
5. Spread on cookie sheet, cook for 10 min. Remove and spread around, place back in oven and cook for another 10 min. Let cool and YUMMY!

Banana Coconut Ice Cream

I made this for my husband tonight and he loved it! I have been playing around with different frozen banana ice cream recipes and this one takes the cake! Try changing up the dried fruit or using cocoa nibs instead! If you love ice cream, you'll love this!

ingredients
3 frozen bananas
1/4 cup dried coconut
1/4 cup raisins
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cocoa powder
1 tsp coconut butter
2 tbsp water

directions
1. throw everything in either the blender or food processor and process until smooth
2. SAY YUMMY!!!

Radish Apple Onion Salad w. Dill Dressing

I found a similar recipe to this about a year ago from one of the handouts at my local farmer's market. Since then, I have taken out some of their ingredients, added my own, and put a twist on the dressing. This has to be one of my favorites for salads or at least on the top of the list. It's super easy, satisfies both my salty and sweet tooth, and loads me up with nutrition for the afternoon. This is great in the Spring but I love it any time of the year really.

Radish Apple Onion Salad w. Dill Dressing

ingredients

6 radishes thinly sliced

2 apples, cored, seeded, thinly sliced (toss them in juiced lemon to prevent browning)

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

dressing

3 tbsp apple cider vinegar

pinch of stevia or other sweetener

1 tsp sea salt

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp dried dill (or 2 tbsp chopped fresh)

directions

1. Combine all vegetables in bowl

2. Combine all dressing ingredients and whisk

3. Add dressing to veggies, mix, serve. That's it!

Autumn Sweet Potato Soup (Dairy/Soy Free)

My family had three Thanksgivings this year! Thanksgiving day at my Mom's, day after at my Aunt Gail's, day after that Aunt Susan's. On day two, my aunt made a delicious and nutritious Sweet Potato Soup that was so good that I decided to recreate it using my own creative twist and whatever else I had to use up in my fridge. I only had about one celery stalk but had a huge broccoli stalk headed towards its death in the crisper so I chopped that up and used it instead of the additional celery. I left the skin on the potatoes and the apple for the added fiber. This soup is excellent when it's cold outside and there is nothing better then a hot bowl of soup. Really warming, extremely grounding, and full of LOVE!

Creamy Sweet Potato Soup

ingredients

3 lbs sweet potatoes, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

1 sweet onion, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 apple, chopped

6-7 cups water

2 tsp sea salt

pepper

ginger to taste (optional)

directions

1. Roast potatoes in oven on 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes (until cooked)

2. Heat olive oil on medium high and add onions, apples, and celery. Let saute for about 15 minutes or until cooked through

3. Add cooked potatoes, water, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Add soup to your blender and blend or use an immersion blender to mix up and say YUMM!!

Easy Raw Thanksgiving Recipes

So for this year's thanksgiving, we are going to my parent's house like we do every year. I figured, if I wanted to have some dessert and healthy side dishes I better step in. I've decided to be responsible for making the apple pie and cranberry sauce. I am NOT talking about the buttery, floury, sugary filled apple pie, that feels like you have just consumed a brick after dinner. I'm talking about an even tastier, healthier, raw apple pie that doesn't make you feel guilty even after your third slice!

So the recipe is super easy and can be put together in a pinch. No need for your oven or long wait time for the apples to get just right. Just get out your food processor and you are good to go!

Yummy Raw Apple Pie!

As for the cranberry sauce, since I prefer not indulging in cranberry sauce that is held together by who knows what to create some jellow looking glob, I decided to find a recipe that could provide some great nutrition to my body without giving me the sugar spike and crash. I am so excited to try this really yummy looking recipe on Angelic Monkey's blog.

Raw Cranberry Sauce (recipe from Angelic Monkey blog)

Raw Cranberry Sauce

Raw Cranberry Sauce (recipe from Angelic Monkey blog)
ingredients
2 cups fresh cranberries
1 apple peeled
1 orange (zest first then peel, cut, quarter)
pinch of cinnamon
5 dates, pitted

directions
1. Combine everything in food processor
2. Pulse in food processor if you like it chunky or blend  in blender if you like it smooth

Click here for more health thanksgiving recipes!

Raw Apple Pie

Lisa's Raw Apple Pie

ingredients

crust

1 cup pecans

1 cup walnuts

16 dates (remove pits)

filling

5 apples (variety is best)

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp juice of lemon

directions

1. Mix crust ingredients in food processor, roll crust in ball, flatten in pie dish

2. Mix filling ingredients in food processor, pour on top of crust (if you want to slice apples instead to make it pretty instead of mixing in food processor you can, but I like them all chopped up). Do a taste test and add more of any of the filling ingredients to taste.

3. Line pie dish with pecan pieces around circumference of pie (optional but enhances the crust like feeling on the edges).

Click here for more delicious healthy thanksgiving recipes!

Falling In Love...With Raw Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

I love helping people find healthy alternatives for sweets and candies. When I was about 5 or 6 years old, my grandmother owned a candy shop and I decided to be her little helper for the day. For my break, she took me to her friends restaurant upstairs from her shop where I helped her bake chocolate chip cookies for her customers. She let me eat as much of the raw cookie dough as I wanted and I think from then on, I fell in love. In love with the raw cookie dough that was.

So now, over 20 years later, my cookie dough craving still sneaks up on me from time to time. With a bunch of food sensitivities and not being a big fan of those sugar ups and downs, the raw cookie dough I grew up on wasn't an option. So here's to all of us health conscious, food sensitive, cookie dough cravers out there that want a nutritious cookie dough snack without having to sacrifice ANY flavor! Raw cookie dough that is actually nutritious AND delicious??? 


Some of these simple ingredients are oats, cocoa nibs, and cashews. Here's the full recipe!

Chocolate Walnut Truffles

Chocolate Walnut Truffles
I came across this recipe yesterday and these looked delicious! I put my own twist on it. Instead of the agave nectar I added dates to keep this recipe as whole as possible. I didn't heat the coconut oil to keep it raw and more nutritious and you can try using different dried fruits in place of the dates. This is a great snack on the go and an easy start to encorporating coconut oil!

ingredients

1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil

1 cup raw walnuts

1/4 cup cocoa powder

3 medjool dates
dash of sea salt

directions

1. Process walnuts in food processor until finely ground, set aside

2. Mix coconut oil, cocoa powder, and dates in food processor

2. Add ground walnuts and process everything.

4. Spoon small portions and roll into balls. Roll balls in cocoa powder

5. Store in fridge or freezer

Raw Basil Pesto

So my husband just got his food sensitivities test back. I am going to have to start getting really creative with our dinners. I started tonight and transformed Ani Phyo's Pesto recipe into my own so that my husband can eat it. It turned out so good!!! I thought getting rid of the garlic in a pesto recipe would have killed it but it SAVED it!!! I didn't use as many nuts and I'm glad I didn't because my stomach can't handle it. You can use this in sushi, as a spread for flax crackers, or added to pasta's, grains, or raw grains if you are on a raw food diet!

Raw Basil Pesto
ingredients
2 cups basil leaves
1/2 cup salted pistachios
1 small lime, juiced
1/4 cup olive oil

directions
1. Grind pistachios in food processor, set aside
2. Pulse basil leaves down to small pieces in food processor
3. Add pistachios, lime juice, and olive oil in the food processor and mix everything all together
4. YUMMY!!

variation
add to pastas, flax crackers, or sushi

Sesame Cinnamon Oatmeal

I had these this morning and they were so satisfying! Not too sweet and not too much cinnamon. They were just right and kept me satiated until lunch. Enjoy it!

ingredients
1 cup oat groats
2 large turkish figs
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp sesame seeds

directions
1. Soak oat groats overnight and rinse
2. Add groats, figs, cinnamon, and water to food processor and process until creamy
3. Top with sesame seeds for an added crunch!

Raw Banana Pancakes

ingredients

1 cup ground flax seed
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 banana
sea salt
cinnamon

directions
1. mix all ingredients in blender on low
2. form into little patties and eat!

variation
add sliced strawberries, blueberries, or drizzle apple butter on top

Chickpea Miso Soup

This Soup is so easy to make. It takes about 15 before spoon filled goodness enters your mouth and the warm sensations of a first bite of hot soup runs down your throat and into your tummy ; ) I found this recipe on the side of the chickpea miso container by this company. Being a little chef in my own kitchen, I now know how flavorful leeks are in soups, Oh My Goodness, Wow! Definitely will be using more leeks in soups to come!

Chickpea Miso Soup
2 leeks, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 cup chickpeas
4-5 tbsp chickpea miso (or miso of choice)
4 cups water

directions
1. Bring leeks and carrots to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes
2. Add chickpeas and cook an additional 5 minutes
3. Mix a little of the water with miso paste until it becomes a liquid
4. Add miso to soup and turn off heat
5. Serve and enjoy!

Raw Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls

Raw Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls
Recipe inspired by www.loveveggiesandyoga.com
ingredients
2/3 cup cashews

1/3 cup oats

4 medjool dates

1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup cocoa nibs
2 tbsp water
Here is where to buy my favorite Cocoa Nibs!

directions

1. Blend oats and cashews into a flour

2. Add dates, vanilla, and water, then blend into dough

3. Stir in cocoa nibs

4. Wet your hands and roll into ball

5. Store in fridge or freezer for an easy to grab snack!

variations

add chopped walnuts or enjoy cookies with a tall glass of my Raw nut milk

Raw Chocolate Pudding

ingredients
1 avocado
1 banana
2 tbsp carob powder

directions

1. blend until smooth
2. store in fridge for 2-3 days, or in popsicle

variation

mix with strawberries, granola, or hemp seeds

Banana Nut Muffins (Gluten/Dairy/Egg Free)

These muffins are delicious!! I found these on this website and decided to play around with the recipe. I like to keep the sugar content in my recipes to a minimum or use whole foods to sweeten it up as much as I can. You can bake these or dehydrate them if you want to keep this a raw recipe. Whatever works for you. I kept these in my refrigerator in a closed container for a week and they stayed nice and fresh! Yummy Yummy!

Banana Nut Muffins (Gluten/Diary/Egg Free)

1/4 cup cashews
1/4 cup flax meal (ground flax seeds)
1 banana
1/3 cup hazelnut meal (ground hazelnuts)
4 dates
2 tbsp agave
1 tsp cinnamon

directions
1. Blend cashews and flax
2. Add remaining ingredients and blend
3. Pour into muffin tins
4. Bake 350 degrees for 20 - 25 min (or dehydrate overnight to keep it a raw recipe)

Goji Grape Rice Zinger

ingredients

1/2 cup cooked brown rice

sliced grapes

goji berries

squeeze of lemon juice

directions

1. mix all together in bowl

2. ZING!

how do I cook brown rice?

1 cup brown rice, 2 cup water, bring to boil, simmer covered for 50 min, let sit covered for 5, uncover, fluff, serve.

Ruby Red Tomato & Pepper Salad

ingredients

1 large tomato

2 red peppers

1 green pepper

1/2 lemon juiced

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp olive oil

sea salt to taste

directions

1. cut tomato into wedges, then cut wedges in half

2. cut pepper into slices, then cut slices in half

3. add remaining ingredients and stir

4. chill in fridge (optional)

5. serve!