Apple, Strawberry Cobbler

We made this raw pie for a friend of ours the other day, and it was really, really yummy (we made one for us too!). I rarely bake desserts because the raw desserts are so fabulous, and are so good for you! You don't feel heavy and sick like you do after eating a big slice of baked apple pie with ice cream. It's a win-win situation! The only thing that would have made it better is if I could have gotten strawberries from my favorite farm (James went there, but they were sold out!). But, it was good nonetheless.

This recipe is from the "I Am Grateful" raw recipe collection:

Ingredients:

For the crust and topping:

4 1/2 cups of raw pecans (do not soak)

3 Tbs of finely chopped, well-packed dates

2 Tbs cinnamon

1 Tb vanilla

1/2 tsp sea salt

For the filling:

5 cups sliced pink lady apples (or other very sweet variety)

3 cups sliced strawberries

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 Tb vanilla

pinch of sea salt

To make the crust:

Process the 3 cups of pecans with the cinnamon, vanilla, and sea salt for 1 minute in your food processor fitted withe the "S" blade. Then place in a bowl and add remaining 1 1/2 cups of pecans ( I would get the pecan pieces vs. whole pecans so it sticks together better). Press the crust into your pie pan setting aside 1 1/2 cups of this crust mixture for the topping.

To make the filling:

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Evenly distribute the filling on top of the crust. Then crumble the remaining crust on the top.

Voila!

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

We are always looking for dairy-free desserts. We made a big batch of these cookies this week for a friend. I was really impressed with how they turned out. Savanna is the baker in the family, but since she was out most of the week I made these by myself. They were REALLY good!

Ingredients:

(makes 48 small cookies)

• 2 1/2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour (get at any health food store)
• 1/2 Tb baking soda
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 1/2 cups of turbinado sugar
• 1 cup of refined coconut oil or melted coconut butter
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 1/3 cup of ice water
• 1 Tb of black strap molasses
• 1/2 Tb vanilla extract
• 1 10 oz bag of vegan chocolate chips or carob chips
• 1 cup of chopped walnuts (optional)

Sift flour, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl with a mixer mix sugar and oil about 3 minutes until smooth. Add water, molasses, and vanilla mixing until well combined. With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture until almost blended. Add the chocolate chips and nuts mixing until just combined.

Roll into small balls of dough and place 2 " apart on a baking sheet. Flatten out a bit and cook 13-15 minutes at 375 degrees until edges are slightly brown. Cool and Eat!

Banana Berry Freeze

Not the best picture, but this was really good. We actually made it for breakfast (you'll see why when I post the ingredients). I modified this recipe from a book I recently finished by Dr. Joel Furhrman, "Disease-Proof Your Child." He is another whole foods, mostly plant-based diet advocate, but he is also an MD so he gives some great medical background as to why diet can alleviate or prevent many illnesses (for my friends with kids with ADD or ADHD or severe allergies- he gives specific dietary guidelines to help). He is a bit extreme in his views, but that doesn't mean that I think he is wrong...just means you might have some BIG changes to make after reading his book! He has a ton of recipes in the back. We've tried some and really like them, others...not so much. This one was a winner!

Ingredients:

(per serving/person)

1 1/2 frozen bananas

1/4 cup non-dairy milk

1/4 tsp of vanilla

handful of frozen blueberries, strawberries or raspberries

tsp of ground flax seed

chopped nuts of your choice

Blend the frozen bananas, milk (we used almond milk), and vanilla - it will be thick like ice cream, especially if you have a Vitamix or other good blender. Top with frozen berries of your choice (we used blueberries and raspberries), the ground flax, and some nuts (we used slivered almonds). Enjoy!

Homemade Applesauce

Well, I love to make fresh applesauce, but we got a HUGE amount of apples from a friend's tree, so we decided to can some so it lasts longer. We just made it up as we went along, and the results were great. Here are the details:

Slice apples- I didn't take the skins off, but most people do. I have a Vitamix that completely pulverizes EVERYTHING!

Put them in a large pot with just a cup or two of water to steam them until they are soft.

Blend them until smooth. I added a bit of honey and cinnamon.

Pour into the cans, and can in a water bath canner. Applesauce takes about 20 minutes (for pints and quarts) in the canner. Cool and Store!

**Fresh applesauce is even better tasting and better for you, and will last about a week in the fridge. Just cut up the apples and process in a food processer with honey and cinnamon until it is the consistency you want (you can put it in the blender for really smooth- we use the fp so it is a bit chunky).

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Savanna belongs to a book club and she was asked to bring these to their next meeting. She and I were not feeling well, so James actually made these beauties. I watched him, and it only took him about 15 minutes! Seriously easy and seriously good.

How He Did It:

We get the 1 pound bars of chocolate from Trader Joes (there are two kinds that are vegan: the dark chocolate and the bittersweet chocolate). Just break off a good size piece of the bar and chop it into small pieces. Microwave the chocolate pieces on high in a glass bowl for about 2 minutes, stirring every 20 seconds. Dip the strawberries the melted chocolate and place on wax paper. Place in the fridge for about 10 seconds and then serve! (You can also refrigerate these for about day, covered).

Ben's Strawberry-Banana Birthday Pie

Okay, well this may look/sound strange to some of you, but I've been making pies like this for years. They are quick, simple, VERY delicious, and, best of all, made with whole raw food ingredients (no additives), so it's safe for the whole family to enjoy.

This recipe comes from Alissa Cohen, and is in her book "Living on Live Food." Alissa is a raw food chef and consultant. With Brad's allergies, I am so grateful for raw, vegan cookbooks! I can make him wonderful desserts, snacks, and meals using just a few ingredients. It takes little time and has HUGE health benefits, even for those of us without allergy issues.

Forgive me as I digress, but I think nutrition and how the body works is fascinating. Matt Amsden, another raw food chef, has this posted on his website. It's a VERY basic explanation of why everyone should incorporate more fresh fruits and veggies in their diet. I could go on and on (And I might at a later date. Hey, it's my blog. I can say what I want!), but this should suffice for now. :)

The top 3 things that are sapping your energy & compromising your health:

1. DEHYDRATION: Our body is over seventy percent water, shouldn't your food choices mirror this? A great way to get a head start on becoming hydrated is to consume food that has not had the natural water removed from it through cooking. Cooked food does nothing to provide your body with much-needed water and dehydrates you further in your bodies attempt to digest it. Everything you put in your stomach needs to be turned into liquid to be digested. How easily is your current diet liquefied?
2. MALNUTRITION: Recent data shows that nutritional deficiencies are most often caused by what we eat rather than by what we do not eat. Your current diet may be robbing you of precious vitamins and minerals. A well balanced diet of consciously prepared raw plant foods contains the full compliment of essential vitamins and minerals, while food prepared using conventional methods destroys over 80% of that foods nutrition. Can you afford 80% less nutrition than is naturally found in your food?
3. LACK OF ENZYMES: Enzymes are responsible for every metabolic process that takes place in your body from digestion to healing. Most prepared food is served with up to 100% of the natural enzymes destroyed. One hundred percent! When the lipase and amylase enzymes are destroyed, the body cannot digest fats or carbohydrates and they are stored in the body, causing you to gain weight. When you consume living, enzyme rich food, it practically digests itself. This leaves you with a surplus of energy to play harder, work more efficiently and do more of what you love! To learn more from Matt visit www.rawvolution.com.

Okay, onto the recipe!

Strawberry Pie

CRUST:

2 cups of almonds (I used pecans and walnuts work great too)

1 1/2 cups of dates, pitted and soaked until soft

1 cup of strawberries, diced

FILLING:

2 1/2 cups of strawberries

3 very ripe bananas

FOR CRUST:

1. In a food processor, blend nuts until fine
2. Add dates and blend until smooth
3. Place in a bowl and mix in the diced strawberries
4. Mold into a pie plate

FOR FILLING:

1. Dice 1/2 cup of the strawberries and set aside
2. In a food processor blend the remaining 2 cups of strawberries
3. Place in a bowl and stir in the diced strawberries
4. Pour into crust
5. Refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight and serve!

(I made his name out of blueberries.)

This is seriously so good. It tastes like Yoplait yogurt with a nut crust underneath- total hit and guilt-free!

**For more info or recipes from Alissa Cohen, go to http://www.alissacohen.com/!

3 Minute Micro Cake

I have to preface this post by saying that I am not really a fan of the microwave and rarely use it (and have even suggested several times that we get rid of it altogether), and this is not the healthiest of recipes....BUT, when I got this email, I had to try it! I am a big fan of quick, easy, affordable, and delicious food, AND I love chocolate cake! This recipe took me all of about 15 minutes, including clean-up, and I had a very nice piece of chocolate cake perfect for one person!

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons flour
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons cocoa
• 1 egg (or egg substitute- I mixed 2 1/2 Tbs of ground flax seeds with 3 Tbs of water)
• 3 tablespoons milk (I used soy)
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
• A small splash of vanilla extract
• 1 large coffee mug (MicroSafe)

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool. You can put it on a plate or just eat right out of the mug!

My only complaint is that I didn't have any chocolate chips, and it definitely could have used them- but overall, a worthwhile experiment for those nights when you just want to have a piece of chocolate cake!

No-Bake Brownie Balls

Here is one of the three dozen brownie balls we made today. This is another simple, fun recipe. The kids can help with this too. Bradley loves to roll them into balls, and then roll them in the coconut flakes. He does a really good job too!

Brownie Balls

• 1 cup of walnuts


• 1 cup of dates (soaked in water for about 20 minutes, and pitted)


• 1/4 cocoa powder or carob powder


• 1/2 cup or so of shredded coconut

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend well. You may need to add a bit of water to make sure they stick, just don't add too much or they get really sticky (I like to save the water the dates were soaking in and use that). Roll into bite-size balls, and then roll in the shredded coconut. These can be eaten fresh from the fridge or the freezer.

You can use any kind of nuts you like. I've made these with pecans, hazelnuts, cashews, and almonds. You can do a mix too if you like!