Cheesecake Cashew-Coconut Whipped Cream

This whipped cream is instant gratification. You don't have to soak any nuts overnight or stick a can of coconut milk in the freezer overnight. As long as you have frozen bananas and coconut meat on hand (leftover from making smoothies etc) then there really isn't any other make-ahead items.

Raw Cashew-Coconut Whipped Cream

Ingrediets:

1/2 Cup Frozen Young Coconut Meat
1/2 Cup Dry Raw Cashews
7 Deglet Noor Dates
1/4 Cup Lemon Juice
1/2 Frozen Banana
1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
Zest of 2 Lemmons

Directions: Add all ingredients into the blender and blend at variable low and high speeds. Scrape down the sides and move the cream in towards the blades. Let the blender sit for a few minutes as it will take several runs to get this to a silky smooth consistency and you don't want to bake the cream by letting the friction of the blades heat it up. Refrigerate the cream for 30 minutes afterwords if it gets too warm.

You will need a small strainer and a zester or fine grater. Zest the lemons first, then juice them.

Lemon zest smells so good!

You can use a small hand strainer or use an electric citrus juicer. Don't let seeds get in the cream!

Ingredients for the cream!

Blend up the cream. Be sure to scrape down the sides to get the date fragments incorporated.

Scrape the cream out of your vitamix (or other high speed blender).

Its creamy, coconuty, and tastes like lemon cheesecake!

Store in a glass container. Eat it chilled.

It's better when its very cold.

This keeps really well in the fridge for several days. I have several recipes (soon to come!) that work so well with this creamy delight. It is delicious with fresh fruit. I will be posting more soon!

Frosty Deglet Noor Nut Milk (In 15 seconds!)

This milk can be made in a high speed blender in literally seconds! I love making nut milk, especially when it is this delicious and this FAST! Plus, you don't need a nut milk bag! This is also a delicious creamy banana milkshake all by itself. It's loaded with vital nutrients as well: Bananas are a good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Potassium and Manganese, and a very good source of Vitamin B6. While Almonds are loaded with Protein, Calcium, Magnesium and Manganese with  Zinc, Copper and other trace minerals. Dates are a powerhouse of energy, and a great source of Fiber, Folate and some Trace Minerals (not to mention an amazing caramel flavor!).  

Frosty Deglet Noor Nut Milk (In 15 Seconds!)

Ingredients:

1 ½ Cups Water

1 Frozen Ripe Banana

3 Deglet Noor Dates

2 Tbsp. Almond Butter

1/8 tsp. Stevia Powder

1/3 Cup Ice  

Optional: 1/4 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice or Cinnamon

Directions: Blend in a high speed blender until thick and creamy.
Pour over 1 cup of ice for a cold milkshake.
Use in place of milk for Cereal, Granola, Oatmeal etc...
There are so many uses for this delicious cold milk!

This is all you need for the quickest, creamiest, most delicious nut-milk you've ever had! I used Maple Flavor Almond Butter, MaraNatha brand. Any raw nut butter should work just fine (I would suggest either Almond or Cashew). You could make your own nut butter to ensure great taste and a fresh consistency, try this recipe created by Angela Liddon for 'Kitchen Sink Nut Butter'. Or, buy a raw nut butter from the health food store.

I love finding new products. Recently, I was shopping in Salt Lake City, I went to my favorite store, Sunflower Farmers Market. I found one of the most delicous finds! Fresh, moist, juicy Deglet Noor Dates! I usually use Medjool dates from Costco, but these literally taste like soft buttery caramel! And, the best part is,....... drumroll!..................... each date is only 20 calories ! I am so facinated by dates... there are so many delicious varieties!

Have you ever seen a Date Tree?

Nature is so amazing!

The Deglet Noor dates came from Hadley Farms, California.

Ashlee Crozier, (my amazing vegan sister, the genius behind plantinfusions.blogspot.com!) pointed out to me that if you take something away from somone you need to give them something even better in place of it. Say no more...

Fruit Swirl Sangria

This elixer is unlike anything I have invented before. Delicious. Nourishing. Satisfying. Instead of alcohol this is spiked with Apple Cider Vinegar. You'll be giggling when you feel this running through your veins!

Fruit Swirl Sangria

Ingredients:

Juice Base:

1/2 Bunch Celery (around 4-5 stalks)

1 Grapefruit, peeled

1 Orange, peeled

3 Apples
6 Carrots 

1-2 Tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar

Layer 1:

2 Cups Juice Base (above)

1 Cup Frozen Pineapple

Layer 2:

1 Cup Juice Base (above)

1/2 Cup Antioxidant Berry Mix

(or mixture of bluberries, strawberries, raspberries etc.)

Instructions:

Wash your fruits and vegetables with a quality produce wash or in water and vinegar. Rinse thoroughly.

Run the celery, grapefruit, oranges, apples and carrots through a juicer. Stir the apple cider vinegar into the juice.

Reserve the juice into a glass container and seal it tight (try to reduce oxygenation).

Be sure to add plenty of ice! This is really good chilled!

Now blend the ingredients for layer 1 and pour this into a glass of ice, about three-fourths of the way full.

 Now blend up the berry mixture, or layer 2, and carefully swirl it on top of the first layer in your glass so as to fill up the remaining one-fourth cup. Get creative, with experience you can create the most beautiful swirls!

You can see the bubbles forming from the apple cider vinegar, the color variations are so gorgeous. If you really wanted to impress someone with your new plant-based lifestyle, this would do the trick!

Berry Coconut Elixer

This is one of my new favorite drinks of all time. When I originally tried coconut water I couldn't stand it, it tasted like elmers glue water... then I figured out how to buy fresh coconuts and open them correctly and I came to find that I loved the water in smoothies, just not alone. The first time I had this smoothie a miracle insued. Within a few minutes after drinking the last drop a rush of energy cascaded over me. I never would have imagined how hydrating and electrically charged coconut water really was! Fresh, raw, young thai coconut water is all it's cracked up to be. And that is coming from a former sceptic :-)

"Coconuts are one of the greatest gifts on this planet. No matter where you are, what you have done, how much you have mistreated your body, fresh young coconuts and coconut oil can save your life. The coconut is a natural water filter that takes almost nine months to filter each liter of water in the shell. To get there the water levitates upward through innumerable fibers that purify it before it ends up in the sterile nut. This clear water is one of the highest sources of electrolytes found in nature. Young coconut water is identical to human blood plasma, making it the universal donor..."

-David Wolfe

Here is a movie of one of my favorite plant-based chefs, Diana Stobo. Watch her open a coconut!

I suggest drinking this a half hour before or after you work-out. This is a perfect whole foods replacement for gator-ade and other sports drinks. This would also probably help you re-hydrate a sick child instead of pedia-light popsicles and soda pop (as my family used to do for me when I was sick). Try changing out the fruit for variety or occassionaly using coconut water as the base of your green smoothie instead of plain filtered water. Getting coconuts in a bulk flat (about nine) from an Asian Food Market is how I get mine very cheap and fresh. Look online, there are dozens of vidoes showing how to open coconuts. It has become as easy for me as peeling an orange. And the meat freezes beautifully, you can make your own coconut cream in the blender for curries, cream sauces, yogurt etc.  The upside of doing this is that it is cheap ($1.50 per coconut if you buy the flat) and you don't get any BPA, or acidity from the canned product.

Berry Coconut Elixer
Ingredients:
1 cup Young Thai Coconut Water
1 cup Creamy Almond Milk
1/4 cup Young Coconut Meat
1 cup Organic Antioxidant Berry Mix (or a mixture of strawberries and raspberries)
1 Frozen Banana

Instructions:
Open the coconut with a mallet and drain the water into your blender. Scrape out the meat of the coconut and freeze whatever portion you don't need for later. Add the other ingredients and blend well. Add water or ice as needed.

This Antioxidant blend is the best I have found, hands down. It contains: frozen tart cherries, blueberries, pomegranate arils, red raspberries and strawberries.

I got this huge bag from Costco for $10.

TIP: For maximum sweetness and flavor, freeze your bananas when they get black spots on them. Eat ripe fruit, it will be at its peak of flavor and sweetness. Its easy, peel them, cut them in half and freeze in a big bag. Be sure you have a high quality freezer set very cold, otherwise they will go brown.

Easy Banana Apple Fruit Sushi

Many people in the raw food community are absolutely crazy about nori rolls. These rolls are made with various vegetable fillings and sauces or creamed nuts. I have tried several of these rolls and I am not a huge fan. I suppose the fishy seaweed taste is an aquired taste. I have read a lot about the minerals and nutrative properties of nori and seaweed and so I will continue to develop a recipe that I really enjoy with nori seaweed wraps. For now, if you love the idea of fast sushi dishes try this sudo-fruit-sushi. It is so easy, if you have nut butter, nuts, honey or agave, fruit and romaine lettuce you are good to go! As an added bonus, I promise kids (and adults!) will love these. It's a good way to sneek in some greens!

Variation 1:

Ingredients:

Organic Romaine Lettuce Leaves
Chunky Peanut Butter
Bananas
Organic Fuji or Pink Lady Apples
Agave or Honey

Variation 2:

Ingredients:

Organic Romaine Lettuce Leaves
Raw Almond Butter, Maple Syrup Flavor
Chopped Walnuts or Pecans (or any soft nut of choice)
Bananas
Organic Apples
Agave or Honey

(Can you believe I found this for five bucks at Wal-Mart?!)

Instructions:

Start out with large organic romaine lettuce leaves. Wash them and pat dry with a paper towel or let them air dry for a few minutes.

Now spread your nut butter gently over the leaf, taking care not to tear the gentle fibers of the greens.

This leaf is covered in chunky peanut butter. If you are sensitive to peanut butter or prefer another butter try variation 2 (ingredients listed above). I would say about two tablespoons of nut butter per romaine lettuce leaf (depending on how large the leaf is).

Now cut a banana in half, lengthwise. Place the banana on the bed of lettuce and over the nut butter. If you are using almond butter, sprinkle some chopped nuts on the butter before the banana. This creats a texture variation of smooth butter and chewy nuts. Drizzle the banana with a little bit of honey or agave. I would say about 1 tsp of sweetener or more, to taste.

Now, add about half of a crisp, sweet apple, cut into thin slivers, over the top of the banana. Wrap up the leafy edges of the romain until it resembles a burritto like roll. Carefully place the roll on its side and cut the roll into 1 inch sushi rounds. It helps to have a very sharp knife for this step.

 This is what you are aiming for... This is like sushi for kids, minus the raw meat and seaweed LOL.

Viola! YUM! :-)

Also, If you are not avoiding bread, you can use spelt bread to make a delicous sandwich! Simply toast the spelt, whole wheat or gluten free bread, spread the nut butter and chopped nuts on top. Thinly slice the banana and drizzle with agave, maple syrup or honey. I'm sure you could even sprinkle some stevia lightly over the nut butter if you are avoiding sugar.