Dehydrated Buckwheat Pizza

Mmmmmm, pizza--my favorite!  This doesn't taste like the real pizza, but it sure tastes delicious.  You may be wondering why I put dehydrated pizza on the title and not raw pizza.  Well, the buckwheat groats that I bought online were actually roasted, but I figured I should still use them.  You can try to find raw buckwheat if you can, but I heard that most buckwheat is going to be cooked in some way.  I like the way they turned out though, just the way I like them--soft with lots of vegetables.

When I say lots of vegetables, this is what I'm talking about!  If I can take a bite out of that veggie layered pizza without the vegetables spilling, that would be awesome.

Dehydrated Buckwheat Pizza 


Buckwheat Pizza Crust

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup buckwheat groats
• 1 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsps ground flax seeds
• 1 peeled zucchini
• 3 tbsps almond butter
• 1 1/2 tsp himaylian salt
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsps nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsps Italian seasoning
• a small amount of water

Directions:

1. Grind the buckwheat and sunflower seeds into a flour.  In a food processor, blend the zucchini well and add it into a medium sized bowl along the rest of the ingredients.  Add a small amount of water and combine the dough and knead it with your hands.  

2. On a piece of parchment paper, lay some dough onto it and with a rolling pin flatten it until you get the pizza thickness you want.  If you desire, you can cut the dough with a cookie cutter or use the inside of a measuring cup to get round pizzas.  When you are done making the pizza crust shapes, gently place each crust into a dehydrator and dehydrate them at 105F. for 12 hours or more.

Best Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of ripe tomatoes
• 3/4 cup sun dried tomatoes
• 1 tbsp of olive oil or the olive oil from the sun dried tomatoes jar
• 2 tsps Italian seasoning or the Italian seasoning from the sun dried tomatoes jar.
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

Directions:

1. In a food processor, blend the sun dried tomatoes and then add the regular tomatoes and blend well.

2. In a small bowl, pour in the tomato sauce and then the rest of the ingredients and stir them together.

Cashew Cheese

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup cashews
• 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp water
• 3/4 tsp sea salt
• 2 tbsps nutritional yeast

Directions:

In a food processor, add all of the ingredients and blend well.  The cheese should resemble a small chunky mixture.

Toppings:

• bell peppers
• olives
• cucumbers
• raw organic cheese (optional)

Directions:

Chop the vegetables and shred the cheese and place them on the pizza.

Vanilla Cupcakes With Magenta Whip (Vegan and Gluten Free)

I love these because they are healthier and scrumptious at the same time.  These cupcakes are free of dairy, corn, soy, gluten, wheat, potato flour, and white rice flour.  I indulged in eating these while I was taking pictures of them.  Taking pictures makes me even more hungry, especially food photography shots.  The healthiest part of these is probably the whip, because of the raw everything.  I never knew how to make whip without coconut milk until I made theses.  In fact, I was suspecting these would turn out to be a cream-like frosting, but fortunately, it turned out to be better than I thought.  When I cooled the whip, it changed colors; it was pretty interesting.  I just want to mention that you may want to make another half of this recipe if you want to make the cupcakes swirl up high.

I learned an easier cake decorating technique that I want to share with you.  Typically, you might use a plastic decorating bag to put your frosting in; if it's not disposable, you can use baggies instead.   You cut a hole in the tip of two baggies and place a decorating attachment inside and twist the top on.  It's the easiest thing ever because it costs less than buying the disposable ones at the store and you just throw away the baggies when your done.

Vanilla Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup brown rice flour
• 3/4 cup sorghum flour
• 3/4 tapioca starch
• 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp coconut nectar
• 2 1/2 tsps baking powder
• 1/4 + 2 tbsps coconut oil
• 1 1/2 tsps vanilla extract
• 1 cup + 2 tbsps apple sauce
• 1/4 + 1/8 tsps xanthan gum

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven at 350F. and line a cupcake pan with paper liners. 

2. In a medium sized bowl, sift the brown rice flour, sorghum flour, tapioca starch, baking powder, and xanthan gum.  With an electric blender, blend the rest of the ingredients in the bowl until the batter is smooth.

3. Pour the cake batter into the liners, filling them 2/3 of the way.  Bake the cupcakes for 24 minutes.  Insert a tooth pick in the center of one and if doesn't come out clean, bake them for another 2-4 minutes.  Place the cupcakes in the fridge to cool them off.

• This recipe makes 15 cupcakes

Magenta Whip

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cup cherries
• 1 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 3/4 cup cashew butter
• 9 packets stevia powder
• 1 1/2 cups of frozen strawberries pulp (juice frozen strawberries or grate them by hand to get the pulp.)

Directions:

1. In a food processor, blend the cashew butter and coconut oil until creamy.  Add the rest of the ingredients and blend well.

2. At the time, the whip is probably more like a cream.  You can add it to the cupcakes or chill the whip in the fridge for 3 hours for a more fluffy texture.  

Zucchini Topped Crackers + Dill and Onion Sour Cream (Raw)

I love to eat these zucchini chips with my favorite dips; they go good with almost anything.  These chips particularly go great with this dill sour cream.  Sometimes I need to make something that's mostly vegetables and a snack at the same time.  Surprisingly, these are veggie based with zucchini, carrots, and cucumbers.  I made a veggie juice and used the left over pulp for these crackers--I couldn't waist the skins of the vegetables, especially the cucumber skins.  Cucumber skins are a valuable part of the vegetable; the skins contain a good amount of vitamin c and a great source of silica.  I don't know if many of you are familiar the this mineral, but it is essential for healthy bones, hair, nails, and skin.  If you aren't getting adequate amounts of silica, your body can't use the calcium you consume.  

Raw Zucchini Topped Crackers

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup carrot pulp
• 1/4 cup cucumber pulp
• 2 tbsps ground flax seeds
• 3/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 tbsp raw almond butter
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 2 tbsps warm water
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 3/4-1 medium sized zucchini

Directions:

1. Thinly slice the zucchini.  In a bowl, combine all the ingredients, except the zucchini slices.  Knead the dough with your hands until the ingredients are mixed in well.

2. Lay a thin layer of the cracker mixture on top of the zucchini slices.  Dehydrate the crackers on 105F. for 15-18 hours.

Note: if you are wondering how to get the pulp of vegetables, you simply juice carrots and cucumbers to get the pulp. 


Dill and Onion Sour Cream


Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 1/8 cup raw sesame butter
• 3/4 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp himalayan sea salt
• a little water to blend together
• 1/2 tsp dill seasoning
• 1/8 tsp onion powder

Directions:

In a food processor, blend all of the ingredients and gradually add a small amount of water to get a thick and creamy consistency.

Banana Bread Smoothie

Yum, you can probably consider this smoothie a quick treat.  Sometimes when I didn't want to make the full recipe of something, I just make less of it in a more simplified way.  You can do that with smoothies or even cheesecake.  As crazy as it sounds, you can make a smaller amount of cheesecake just for you.  I have those days where I am too tired to make anything or don't have the time.

After making lots and lots of foods vegetarian style, I've come to realize that certain nuts taste like certain foods.  Pecans taste similar to gram crackers, cashews taste like they could be related to dairy, and macadamia oil tastes like butter.  It's weird and cool at the same time!

Banana Bread Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup walnuts
• 2 + 1/2 tbsps buckwheat groats
• 1 frozen banana
• 1/2 ripe banana
• 1/3 cup kefir or any nut milk of your choice
• 1/2-3/4 cup almond milk
• 2 packets stevia powder
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 tbsp ground flax seeds

Directions:

In a blender, blend all of the ingredients until smooth; enjoy!

Mashed Potatoes + Raw Cheesy Gravy (Italian Style)

My family teases me about how my favorite foods used to be potatoes and eggs.  It was probably true, because I would have eggs and hash browns with ketchup.  Breakfast foods were my favorite, and still are.

This recipe is a twist on the real thing.  I decided to make mashed potatoes with red potatoes and an Italian gravy to go with it.  I put some wonderful tasting spices in the gravy, mmmmmmm.  I gaze into the cupboard of spices and think, "wouldn't it be lovely to have a gold mine of spices to experiment with?"  Some people collect stamps, and others collect coins, so wouldn't it be cool to collect spices and seasonings.  That would definitely be a fun adventure in the grocery store.

Mashed Potatoes + Raw Cheesy Gravy (Italian Style)

Potatoes:

• 7 red potatoes
• 1 tbsp macadamia oil 
• 1 tbsp raw cashew butter
• 1 + 3/4 tsp sea salt
• 2 tbsps water

Directions:

1. Wash the red potatoes and place them in a medium sized pot; pour hot water 1/3 of the way (or 
more. ) When your'e cooking the potatoes, make sure they are covered with water, if they aren't, pour a bit more in the pot.

2. While the pot of water is coming to a boil, chop the red potatoes into cubes.  If the pot has come to a boil, carefully slide the potatoes off your cutting surface into the boiling pot of water.  Cook the potatoes for 18-20 minutes.  To see if they are fully cooked, stab a potato cube with a fork.  If the potatoes are soft and tender, pour them into a strainer over the sink to drain the hot water.  Rise the potatoes with cold water until they are warm.

3. Place the potatoes in a medium sized bowl.  With a potato smasher, or a fork, mush the potatoes to help the blender blend them.  With an electric blender, blend the potatoes until they are smooth and fluffy.  Add all of the ingredients above and blend well.

Italian Gravy:

• 1/2 cup walnuts + 2 tbsps water
• 1/2 cup cashew butter
• 3 tbsps water
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp basil
• 1/2 tsp rosemary
• 2-3 tbsps nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp himalayan salt
• a few sprinkles turmeric for color (optional)

Directions:

1. In a food processor, blend the walnuts and 2 tbsps of water.  Add all of the ingredients, except the turmeric.  If you want to change the pigment slightly, sprinkle a bit of turmeric and blend well.

2. Now pour the Italian gravy on top of the mashed potatoes.

Raw Fruity Banana Pops

                                                                                                         

The Best From Both Worlds

Banana pops are one of the most fun things to prepare.  These ones are a twist from regular ones people normally make.  These fruit pops are colorful and fun, so I had the best time taking pictures of them!  There's certain fruits I use for the fruity pops, but you could make up your own combinations. Instead of using strawberries and mango's for the tropical pops, you could use coconut and pineapple, or maybe they don't have to be tropical.  With the berry cream pops, you could use cherries and raspberries; just use you imagination.  Sometimes I taste a piece of each ingredient to see what would taste good, and I figure out what combinations go good together.

Spirulina Chocolate Drizzle

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsps nut butter of your choice (I used almond butter)
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 packet of stevia powder
• 1-2 tsps spirulina powder (optional)

Directions:

In a small bowl, mix the ingredients until smooth.

Tropical Cream Banana Pops

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup coconut butter
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsps cashew butter 
• 2 handfuls frozen mangos and strawberries + 2 extra frozen strawberries
• 2 tbsps coconut nectar or another liquid sweetener of your choice
• 2 ripe bananas 
• 4 popsicle sticks

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, add the coconut butter and 1/4 cup of cashew butter.  In a medium sized bowl, pour hot water 1/4 of the way.  Place the small bowl into the medium sized one and stir the ingredients with a spoon until there's no clumps in the mixture.

2. In a food processor, add the mixture from the small bowl and blend the 2 handfuls of frozen fruit and the liquid sweetener (for a short amount of time) until the ingredients are mixed in well.  Make sure that you don't blend it too much.  With a spoon, stir 2 tbsps of the cashew butter into the tropical cream if it needs to be thicker.  It freezes into the mixture quickly, so stir the cream as fast as possible.

3. Cut the bananas in half and slowly stick each of the popsicle stick 2/3 of the way in each banana half.  Lay parchment paper over the top of a baking sheet and place the banana pops onto it.
With a spoon, gently pour the cream all over each banana half (as much as you can.)  Leave out a small amount of the cream.  Place the pan of banana pops into the freezer for 10 minutes.

4. Take the banana pops out of the freezer and cover the rest with the left over cream.  Grate the top skin of two frozen strawberries and sprinkle it on top of the banana pops.  Next, drizzle the spirulina chocolate over the top of each banana pop and place them in the freezer for 4-5 hours until they are ready to eat.

Tip: I pour the spirulina chocolate sauce in a baggie and cut a tiny hole in the tip and easily drizzle it on the banana pops.  The great thing about this is you can throw away the baggie when you are done. 

Purple Berry Banana Pops

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup coconut butter
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsps cashew butter 
• 1 handful frozen blackberries and blueberries
• 2 tbsps coconut nectar or an other liquid sweetener of your choice
• 2-3 tbsps pumpkin seed butter
• hemp seeds for sprinkling (optional)
• 2 ripe bananas 
• 4 popsicle sticks

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, add the coconut butter and 1/4 cup of cashew butter.  In a medium sized bowl, pour hot water 1/4 of the way.  Place the small bowl into the medium sized one and stir the ingredients with a spoon until there's no clumps in the mixture.

2. In a food processor, add the mixture from the small bowl and blend the frozen berries and the liquid sweetener together (for a short amount of time) until the ingredients are mixed in well.  Make sure that you don't blend it too much.

3. With a spoon, stir 2 tbsps of cashew butter into the berry cream if it needs to be thicker.  It freezes into the mixture quickly, so stir the cream as fast as possible.  Cut the bananas in half and slowly stick each of the popsicle sticks 2/3 of the way in each banana half. Lay parchment paper over the top of a baking sheet and place the banana pops onto it.  Leave out a small amount of the cream.  Place the pan of banana pops into the freezer for 10 minutes.

4. Take the banana pops out of the freezer and cover the rest with the left over cream.  Drizzle the pumpkin seed butter over the top of each banana pop and then sprinkle hemp seeds over the top too. Place the banana pops in the freezer for 4-5 hours until they are ready to eat.  

Tip: I pour the pumpkin seed butter in a baggie and cut a tiny hole in the tip and easily drizzle it on the banana pops.  The great thing about this is you can throw the baggie away when you are done. 

Raw Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hello everyone, I am so happy to post this recipe!  This is one of my favorite desserts 

that I could eat forever and ever!  For a week or so, I’ve wanted to come up with a raw chocolate chip cookie recipe because I couldn't found one anywhere.  I decided to go on my quest to the kitchen to experiment with good food combinations to make these cookies taste similar to the real thing.  The weirdest thing happen to me yesterday, my dad tasted some of the cookie dough and he actually thought it tasted good.  He usually doesn't like the smell and taste of the healthy food I eat, so that was a shocker for me.  It all makes sense; who can resist chocolate chip cookies?  

Raw Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond flour
• 1 cup cashew flour
• 1/8 tsp sea salt, and if you want you can add a pinch more
• 1/4 cup coconut nectar
• 3/4 cup coconut butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp ground flax seeds
• 3 tbsps cacao nibs

Directions:

1. In a bowl, sift the almond flour, cashew flour, sea salt, and ground flax seeds.  Add the rest of the ingredients, except the cacao nibs, and mix well.  Knead the cookie dough and smash any coconut butter clumps with your fingers or a spoon.  Add the cacao nibs and stir the dough until everything is mixed in well.

2. Next, place the dough on a long piece of parchment paper. With a rolling pin, roll the dough until you reach the cookie thickness you desire.  With a round cookie cutter, or the inside of a round measuring cup, make a round shape.  Gently place each cookie unto a dehydrating tray.

3. Dehydrate the the cookies on 105F. for around 12 hours or over-night.  When they are finished you can serve them with almond milk.

• This recipes makes 12-14 cookies

Comfort Food Salald

Today my mom was feeling sick so she asked me to make her some cooked broccoli and potatoes.  I made that, but I added much more to it.  I'm the kind of person that won't settle for for plain foods, because I love to add lots of flavor to them.  Delicious food is what gives my life a little zing.  This morning I wanted to put something tasty on my salads, but I didn't know what.  This half cooked salad is exactly what I was looking for.  It is really cold where I live so this warmed me up in a snap, and I bet it will do the same for you.

The Comfort Food Salad

For the Salad: 

• frozen or fresh broccoli
• kale
• avocados
• red potatoes and/or yukon potatoes

 Directions:

1. Pour hot water into 2 pots and place it on a stove unit with the temperature set on high and wait for them to come to a boil.  While the waters coming to a boil, chop the potatoes into cubes and add them into the boiling pot of water.  Reduce the heat to a 7 or medium-high heat.  Cook the potatoes for 18-20 minutes and stir occasionally.  To tell if the potatoes are done, stab a potato cube with a fork and see if it's soft and tender inside, if it's not, cook them a bit longer.

2. Also, when the other pot of water comes to a boil, add the broccoli into a metal strainer or steamer and place it into the boiling pot of water.  Reduce the heat to a 7 or medium-high heat.  Steam the broccoli for 7-10 minutes.  While the broccoli and potatoes are cooking, chop the avocados into small cubes and set aside. 

Note: when the potatoes and broccoli are done, but too hot to eat, you may want to pour cold water over the top so they will be warm quicker.

3. Wash the kale and dry it off with a salad spinner or use paper towels.  When the cooked vegetables are warm, add the kale and avocados.


Salad Toppings:

• organic dijon mustard (I use Annie's)
• nutritional  yeast
• raw sunflower seeds to garnish
• pepper to taste
• himalayan salt to taste
• the chef shake blend from the spice hunter or whatever seasoning blend you like

Directions:

Sprinkle and pour the ingredients onto the salad and adjust to your own liking.