Raw Four Layer Cream Bars

                                                                                            

Yesterday I wanted to make something

colorful and a bit more challenging than I

am used to.  Luckily, I had everything I

needed to make these delicious bars.  I

enjoy making beautiful food, even if takes

a while.  I have never made bars with more

than one layer, but it was one of the most

fun desserts to make!  These took me a

while to whip up, but these probably

won't take you as long as they did for me.  

I took my time to make these look as pretty

as they taste.  These can be either creamy and smooth or frozen and more solid.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

The Raw Four Layer Cream Bars

Almond Base

Ingredients:

• 15 dates
• 2 cups soaked almonds
• 1/4 cup raw almond butter
• 2 tbsps coconut butter or 2 more tbsps almond butter

Preparation:

1. Soak around 1 + 1/2 cups of almonds for 12 hours or over-night to get two cups.

Soak 15 dates for an hour to soften them or blend them in the blender with a small amount of water when you begin making the crust.

Directions:

1. Line a 7/11 pan with parchment paper.  If you dont have a 7/11 pan you can use one that's small too.

2. In a food processor, blend the dates until they are small and chunky.  Place the date chunks in a medium sized bowl and set aside.  In the same food processor, blend the almonds until they look thinly minced.  In the same medium sized bowl, add the almonds and the rest of the ingredients and mix with a large spoon. Pour the crust into the pan and place it into the freezer.

Lime Custard

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup coconut nectar
• 6 packets stevia powder
• 3-4 ripe avocados
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1/4 cup coconut oil

Directions: 

1. In a food processor, blend all of the ingredients together until smooth.  Take the crust out of the freezer and with a spoon, gently spread the lime custard over the top.

2. Place the pan back into the freezer.

Berry Cream

Ingredients 

• 1 cup raw cashew butter
• 1 cup fresh or frozen red berries
• 1/4 cup coconut nectar
• 1/4 cup coconut butter
• 3/4 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a food processor, blend in everything expect the berries.  Add the berries and blend them until they are mixed in well.  Take the pan out of the freezer and with a spoon, gently spread the berry layer over the top of the lime layer.

2. Place the pan back into the freezer.

Pumpkin seed Chocolate

Ingredients 

• 1/4 cup pumpkin seed butter
• 3 tbsps coconut oil
• 3 packets of stevia powder
• 1 1/2-2 tbsps cacao powder

Directions: 

1. In a small bowl, mix in all of the ingredients until smooth.  Pour the chocolate sauce unto the berry cream layer and spread it over the top with a spoon.

2. Place the pan back into the freezer and wait for 30 minutes for the bars to thicken more.  If you want, you can leave the bars in the freezer for 3-4 hours for a more solid creamy texture.  Serve with berries on top or with your favorite ice cream.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

A long time ago I ate some sweet potato fries in a restaurant in Disney Land, and they seemed to be too sweet and soggy.  Long since then, I never dared to eat them until the day I decided I was going to make my own.  The first time I made them I used olive oil.  After reading about how coconut oil is a better cooking alternative, I immediately switched.  Coconut oil doesn't go as rancid at high heats like other oils do.  When other oils go rancid they start to oxidize, and the oxidization can make you age faster.  To find more information on this topic, click here.  That is one reason I mainly cook with coconut oil.  Besides, it has such a light taste that it goes well with most recipes.


     
    Sweet Potatoes Are....     

• high in Beta Carotene
• an excellent source of vitamin A  
• a very good source of vitamin C
• capable of improving your blood sugar regulation
• considered a low glycemic starchy vegetable

Baked Sweet Potato Fries 

This recipe serves two

Ingredients:    

• 2 large sweet potatoes
• 2 tbsps coconut oil
• A few sprinkles dill seasoning or any others you like (I like to use deliciously dill seasoning from the Spice Hunter.)
• Sea salt or Himalayan salt to taste.

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven at 400F.  Lay parchment paper over the top of 2 baking sheets.  

2. With a sharp knife, chop the sweet potatoes into 1/2 inch thick slices.  In a strainer, warm the sweet potatoes with hot water for about 20 seconds.  Place the sweet potato slices into a medium sized bowl and add in the coconut oil.

3. With your hands or with gloves on, mix the oil and sweet potatoes together.  Spread the sweet potatoes onto the baking sheets and cook them for 36-38 minutes.  Sprinkle on the salt and seasoning.  Serve with your favorite ketchup and pickles or whatever you like. 

Colorful Mexican Salad + Vegan Cheesy Dressing

This Mexican salad is one of my favorites, full of so much flavor.  When I eat this I feel like my taste buds are going to explode!  I believe in eating food that not only looks and tastes great, but food that is nourishing to your body.  A salad is one of the best foods that you can eat.  It's not only packed with nutrients, but its also filled with enzymes!  Enzymes are the life force that drives everything that you do, because they are packed with energy.  In the past I used to drink a lot of smoothies throughout the day.  The problem with that is I could of been chewing more of my food.  When you chew your food well, your food activates enzymes, and more enzymes means a better, healthier life.

The Colorful Mexican Salad

For the Salad:

• cucumbers
• carrots
• raw organic shredded cheese (preferably pasture raised)
• red bell peppers
• radishes
• avocados (optional)
• tomatoes (optional)
• a small amount lemon or lime juice
• green lettuce
• South West Sunshine Burgers broken into small pieces (optional)
• green onions
• cilantro

Directions:

In a bowl, mix in all of the salad ingredients and pour on your favorite dressing or make "The Vegan Cheesy Dressing" below.

The Vegan Cheesy Dressing

Ingredients:

• 1 + 1/2 cups soaked cashews
• 1 heaping tsp himalayan salt
• 1 + 1/2 tsps zip seasoning (I use the Spice Hunters)
• 3/4 red bell pepper
• 3 tbsps coconut vinegar
• 3 tbsps nutritional yeast
• up to 2 tbsps water if it's needed

Preparation:

Soak the cashews in warm water for 6-8 hours.

Directions:

1. In a large food processor, blend all of the ingredients, except the water.  If you have a small food processor, you can make half of the recipe one at a time.  Now, blend the mixture until it's smooth.

2. If the dressing needs some water, pour in up to 2 tbsps and blend well.

• This makes a little over a 9.5 oz. glass bottle of this dressing.

Note: this dressing is a bit thick and creamy, but it tastes wonderful.

Baked Quinoa Onion Rings

For the first time when I made quinoa crackers, I made a batter with just soaked quinoa, salt, and water. I thought was so amazing that you can make batter with quinoa.  Today I thought, "hmmmm...if I can make onion rings with quinoa batter, that would would be great!"  So, I got cooking.  Quinoa is easily digestible, an alkaline seed, and delicious with tons of dishes.

Baked Quinoa Onion Rings

Ingredients:

• 1 + 1/2 cup soaked quinoa 
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 tsp himalayan salt
• a few sprinkles turmeric for color (optional)
• 2 tbsps ground flax seeds
• 2 tsps your favorite spices (optional)
• 1-2 tbsps arrowroot starch
• 2/3 medium sized onion

Preparation:

1. Soak 1 + 1/4 cup of quinoa in warm water for 8-12 hours.  When it is finished soaking, you can scoop out the 1 + 1/2 cup of soaked quinoa and you might have a little left over.  

Directions:

1. Slice the onions up to a half of an inch and set the onions aside.  Preheat the oven at 350F.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Blend all of the ingredients in a blender, except the onion.  Don't blend the mixture too much or it wont be thick enough for the onion rings.  Now pour the mixture into a small bowl.  Slip on some plastic gloves and dip each onion ring in the bowl and spread it around a few times and place them onto the baking sheet.  If there is some spots that need to be covered with the mixture, then spread it around on those places with a spoon or your finger.  Make sure the onion rings are an inch away from each other. 

3.  When the onions are mostly covered, place the baking sheets in the oven and bake the onion rings for 16-18 minutes.  Serve with your favorite ketchup, ranch, sauce, or dip.  You could even add herbs and spices on top.  

More Alkaline (Breakfast) Cake + Vegan Blueberry Cream Cheese

This cake is lightly sweet, moist, and delicious.  Sometimes that is exactly what I need when I dont want to eat something too sweet.  This breakfast cake is made with Alkalizing flours like buckwheat and quinoa flakes, and I even put arrowroot starch in it; that's alkalizing too.  This cake isn't meant to be the typical cake, so it's not going to be as sweet.  If you want, you can add more sugar in the cake or blueberries on the top to give it more of a sweet flavor.

The More Alkalizing (Breakfast) Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 cup + 2 tbsps buckwheat flour
• 1 cup + 2 tbsps quinoa flakes
• 1 + 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4-1 cup coconut sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/4 + 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 2 + 1/4 tbsps arrowroot starch
• 3 tbsps ground flax seed
• 3 tbsps coconut oil
• 1 + 1/2 cup warm water

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven at 400F.  In a round medium sized cake pan, line it with parchment paper.

2. In a medium sized bowl, use a blender to blend the vanilla extract, coconut sugar, flax, coconut oil, and water.  In a separate bowl, add in the rest of the ingredients and stir the flours with a spoon until they are well combined.  Add the flours inside the medium bowl with the other ingredients and blend well. 

3. Pour the batter into the round pan and smooth the top with a spoon until the top layer is even.  Next, put the cake in the oven for 22-25 minutes until it's thoroughly cooked.  Now, cool the cake in the fridge and start making the vegan blueberry cream cheese spread.

The Vegan Blueberry Cream Cheese

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 6-7 packets stevia powder
• 3/4-1 cup blueberries
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 cup coconut butter
• 3/4 cup cashew butter
• 1/4 cup sesame butter
• Extra blueberries for the top (optional)
• 2-4 tbsps water

Directions:

1. In a food processor, blend everything together (except the water) until the mixture is smooth.  Drain any oil that starts coming out of the spread.  It's ok if there is still some on the bottom.  Place the spread into the freezer until it's cool and it thickens more.  When the spread is cool and thick, add 2-4 tbsps of water if it's needed; stir with a spoon until it's creamy and everything is mixed in well.

2. Spread the blueberry cream cheese on the top of the cake.  Enjoy with blueberries sprinkled on the top. 

Raw, Vegan Chocolate Bar

This heavenly chocolate tastes like real milk chocolate!  It's sugar free, raw, vegan, and its healthy for you.  I love to eat the chocolate sauce with apples and pears.  There has been times where I have added chia seeds inside and it fills me up quickly.  This is the kind of chocolate that will instantly melt in your mouth because it has coconut oil in it.  You can add brown rice puffs, nuts, and dried fruits to make it your own special chocolate bar.  You could even put them in different shapes of molds.  Have fun with it!

Raw, Vegan Chocolate Bar 

Ingredients: 

• 1/4 cup raw cashew butter
• 1/4 cup coconut butter
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/8 tsp vanilla (optional)
• 3-4 packets stevia powder
• 2 tbsps cacao powder

Directions:

1. In a small rectangle container, cover some saran wrap the top of the inside.  In a medium sized bowl, add in all of the ingredients.  Pour a small amount of hot water into a large bowl.

2. Now, put the medium sized bowl into the large bowl and stir the chocolate mixture until it is smooth.  (The hot water underneath helps take out any coconut clumps.)  Try to smash down any coconut butter chunks that you see in the mixture.

3. Next, pour the chocolate mixture into the rectangle shaped container and store it into the freezer until it is a solid bar.  If you want, you can slightly carve the top of the bar for when you break the chocolate.  

Note: don't leave the chocolate bar out for more than five minutes or it will start to melt.

• This recipe makes one chocolate bar

Sweet Garden Salad + Hemp Ranch

I love large salads, because they are full of living foods!  What a blessing it is to have salads that nourish and strengthen us from the inside and out.  I always fill a new vitality after eating something with a variety of vegetables. The ingredients in this salad can strengthen your hair and skin, because they are full of beta carotenes, good healthy fats like omega 3 and 6, proteins, and lots of vitamins!  A lot of my healing has been done in the kitchen by fixing food and using my imagination and eating what makes me feel amazing!  I spend a lot of my time in the kitchen; it is one of my favorite places to be....until it's time to do the dishes.

Sweet Garden Salad

Hemp Ranch 

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsps coconut oil
• 2 tbsps olive oil
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/8-1/4 tsp himalayan salt
• 1-2 tbsps coconut vinegar
• a pinch garlic powder
• a few pinches onion powder
• 1/3 cup raw hemp seeds
• 1/2 tbsp water (if it is needed)

Directions: 

In a food processor, blend all of the ingredients together, except the water.  When the dressing is creamy and blended well, add the water if it's needed. 

• This dressing makes a little over 1/3 of a cup

For the Salad:  

• kale
• romaine lettuce
• sweet potatoes (1/2 of a medium sized one is good for a large salad.)
• coconut oil for the sweet potatoes
• Tomatos
• cucumbers
• carrots
• avocados
• walnuts
• sprouts (optional, I like to use broccoli.)

Cubed Sweet Potatoes

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven at 400F.  Lay parchment paper over the top of a baking sheet.  Chop the sweet potatoes into cubes.  Place the cubes into a strainer and pour hot water over them if they are cold in any way. 

2. Pour the cubed sweet potatoes into a medium sized bowl and add in a small amount of coconut oil.  With your hands or with gloves on, mix the oil and sweet potatoes together.

3. Now, spread the sweet potatoes onto the baking sheet and cook them for 25-35 minutes.

When the sweet potatoes cool off, add them to the salad along with the dressing.  

Vegan Tacos From Scratch

These tacos are grain free and actually healthy for you!  There is a lot of foods you can put in these tortillas, like the raw cheese spread, raw sour cream, raw walnut meat, and the vegetables.  This is a delightful meal full of color, and it can add a pop of happiness into your life.  It's good to have a variety of foods in your diet, and these definitely have a large variety of different foods.  One of my favorite foods is Mexican food, because of all of the different spices like cilantro, cumin, paprika, etc.  When I was growing up I would eat all sorts of Mexican foods.

If you can make a simple dish that has health benefits, looks great, and tastes great, you'll never miss the old foods, because you will have everything you'll ever need.  When I was transitioning to eating a healthy diet, I didn't really know what was good for you or not.  After doing my research for a while, I found what foods were best for me.  The great thing about this recipe is that the tortillas are mainly chickpeas and a bit of arrowroot starch.  If your trying to lose weight or even reduce your carbohydrate intake, these are great for that.  I hope you like them!

Vegan Tacos 

Chickpea Tortillas 


Ingredients:

• 1 cup chickpea flour
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup arrowroot starch
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tbsp coconut oil for greasing the pan or griddle

Preparation:

1. Pour the chickpea flour, arrowroot starch, sea salt, and warm water in a small bowl and soak the flour for 8 hours. (This is optional, but it helps you digest the beans when you eat the tortillas.)

Directions:

1. Heat the griddle or the pan at a medium high heat.  Add a little bit more water to the batter if you soaked it (if it's needed.)

2. With a spoon, spread a thin layer of coconut oil on the pan or griddle and pour the batter on to it and adjust the size of the tortilla with the same spoon.

• This makes 4-5 medium sized tortillas

Raw Cheese Spread

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup raw or roasted cashew butter
• 1/2 tsp the mild zip blend (I use the Spice Hunters)
• 1/4-1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• a few sprinkles turmeric for color (optional)
• 2-3 tbsps nutritional yeast
• Water if it's needed

Directions:

In a food processor, blend the bell pepper first, then add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth. 

Nut Meat

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup soaked walnuts
• 1 tbsp coconut aminos 
• Up to 3/4 tsp of the Fajita blend (I use spice hunters)
• 3/4-1 tsp sea salt

Preparation:

Soak one cup of walnuts in warm water for 8-12 hours. (This is optional, but it helps you digest the nuts.)

Directions:

In a food processor, blend all of the ingredients together.

Raw Sour Cream

Ingredients:  

• 1/2 cup cashews
• 1/8 cup sesame butter
• 3/4 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2-3/4 tsp himalayan sea salt
• water if it's needed

Directions:

In a food processor, blend all of the ingredients together until creamy.  Now, if your finished making the tacos, serve them with green onions, cilantro, tomatoes, etc.