Raw carrot cake with cashew butter cream frosting

I think this cake is my new favorite desert. I actually feel good after I eat it which rarely happens after I eat a desert. We ate this for breakfast today and the kids were really excited to get to eat cake for breakfast.  This cake is really healthy and delicious with no added fats, or fatty milks to weigh you down. This isn’t a spiced carrot cake but more of a citrus carrot cake.

Raw carrot cake

1 1/2 carrot juicer pulp

1 cup coconut flour (freshly ground)

1/2 cup soaked cashew flour

2 tablespoon ground flax seeds

1/2 cup carrot juice

1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice

1/4 cup and 1 tablespoon raw honey

3 tsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. lemon zest

1/4 cup chopped soaked walnuts

1/4 cup raisins

pinch of sea salt

Mix together ingredients and press into 6-8″ cake pan. Flip pan upside down and place the cake onto a large plate. You can make this a single layer or a double layer cake (for double layer just double the ingredient amounts). Apply frosting and garnish with chopped nuts, dried berries, and/or flowers. Keep in refrigerator. Makes about 8 servings.

Cashew butter cream frosting recipe here

This recipe can also seen here with other great recipes http://dietdessertndogs.com/2013/05/16/wellness-weekend-may-16-20 and http://www.thetastyalternative.com/2013/06/allergy-free-wednesdays-week-73-june-26.html

Carob cream pie (dairy free/grain free)

I have a carob obsession lately, especially mixed with cocoa butter. This is a great pie that is easy to make and my kids go crazy over it. I use my cashew coconut whip cream on top with some crushed dark chocolate chips. This recipe contains a small amount of chocolate but you can just leave it out if you are trying to avoid it all together.

Carob cream pie

crust:

1  3/4 and 1 tablespoon ground cashews

1/4 cup melted coconut oil

2 tablespoons raw honey

pinch of sea salt

filling:

1 1/2 cups coconut milk (full fat or if reduced fat add 1 tablespoon coconut oil)

1 cup carob powder

3 tablespoons raw honey

3 tablespoons cocoa butter pieces

30 drops vanilla stevia

2 tablespoons dark chocolate chips

optional: 1/2 cup ground roasted hazelnuts

pinch of sea salt

Prepare the crust and flatten out to the bottom of a pie pan.  Cook on medium the filling ingredients just to melt the cocoa butter and chocolate chips.  I use a whisk to make sure it is smooth and creamy. Pour onto pie crust and refrigerate for a few hours until the pie sets. Top with some cashew/coconut whip cream and crushed chocolate chips/bars. I will leave the recipe for my whip cream also below.

Cashew/coconut whip cream 

Will post tonight -misplaced recipe:)

 

Try some raw pesto and sun dried tomato pasta!

This is a really simple and healthy meal to make. You don’t need any special equipment for the zucchini noodles except a hand held vegetable peeler. If you want to get really fancy you can buy a spiralizer which is a vegetable slicer that can make different types of noodle shapes from raw veggies. I think eventually I will buy one of these but for now I’ am happy with my hand held peeler. I love eating raw foods in spring and summer. My body feels more energetic and my skin clears up and starts to glow. (as long as I don’t overdo the treats!)

Raw pesto and sun dried tomato pasta

*1 zucchini peeled

*2 tablespoons pumpkin seed pesto

*1/4 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes ( I soaked mine for about an hour)

Peel the zucchini in noodle-like peels (don’t use the outer peel) and mix all ingredients together. Makes 2 small or 1 larger serving. Enjoy!

10 reasons why carob is better than chocolate!

 

 

I’m a huge fan of chocolate but can’t take much of the stimulants and heating effect of chocolate anymore. Chocolate gives me indigestion and heart palpitations so I need to avoid it as much as I can. I think the chocolate industry has the public fooled into thinking it is so good for you. Really how can a food that contains 4 stimulants be good for your blood pressure! I had a major carob breakthrough tonight by combining carob, cocoa butter, and coconut cream. This combination really tastes like chocolate! I can see a lot of yummy carob recipes in my future.

Try some lemon ginger coconut milk ice cream!

This ice cream turned out really good. My 3 year old daughter and I were scraping the ice cream maker bowl to get every last bite. Ginger and lemons are also digestive aides and will give your body some help digesting the fat from the coconut milk. Enjoy!

Lemon ginger ice cream (Dairy free)

1 1/2 cups coconut cream (or full fat coconut milk)

1/4 cup raw honey

3 teaspoons lemon extract

1 teaspoon lemon zest

3 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger

10 drops vanilla stevia

Use ice cream maker as directed. I put the flavoring ingredients in the last 5 minutes or so to prevent ice chunks from forming. Makes 2 servings

What I ate Wednesday and a grain free walnut flax bread recipe

For breakfast I ate a piece of my walnut flax bread with jam. I have been working on making a sandwich bread that I can use instead of buying it from the store. This bread is fairly dense and is good for a snack or with dinner but a little dense to use for a sandwich. It is a great source of fiber and loaded with anti inflammatory omega-3 fats.

Walnut flax bread (grain free/vegan)

2/3 cup ground walnuts (soaked or freshly shelled)

1/2 cup coconut flour (freshly ground)

1/4 cup ground flax seeds mixed with 1/4 cup warm water (let sit for a few minutes to thicken)

1/4 cup ground raw buckwheat (a gluten free seed-not a grain)

3 tablespoons tapioca flour

1/4 cup coconut milk

2 teaspoons vinegar

pinch of sea salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

Mix ingredients together and bake in a greased pan at 300 for about 45 minutes (or until the knife comes out clean after you test it)

 

 

 

For lunch I made some black bean garden chili. I love making chili because you can slip  in a ton of veggies and the kids don’t really notice. I threw in shredded carrots, shredded beets, butternut squash, cilantro, red bell peppers, onions and tomatoes (technically a fruit along with bell peppers).  I usually put a half of a chopped avocado on top but I was out so I just put a little coconut milk and fresh veggies. I had the lunch leftovers for dinner as well. For desert I made some really tasty raw carob raisin bars that I didn’t get a picture of because we ate them so fast and it was dark out so the lighting would have been no good. I will post those tomorrow.

 

 

Curried lentil butternut soup-frugal and cleansing!

This is a quick soup that I make for my family that is healthy and filling. Lentils are really cheap to buy in bulk so they are a great frugal option. This soup has some of the main ingredients of the detoxing dish in India called Kitchari so you will get a cleansing effect also. My daughter was starting to get sick all day today and was nauseous with a mild fever. After she had a bowl of this soup she was back to her normal self. The healing magic of Curry and mung beans-Love it!

Curried lentil butternut soup

Blend/process:

3/4 cup cooked lentils (leave some out of the blender if you like chunks in your soup)

1/2 cup cooked mung beans

1 cup cooked or canned butternut squash puree

1 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 small onion

1/2 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon curry powder

pinch of sea salt

Optional: for extra nourish soup you can add a little chicken or bone broth and a teaspoon of ghee.

Warm on the stove and top with some fresh cilantro and coconut milk. Serves 2-3

Try some creamy raw carob banana mousse!

This is creamy and cooling and perfect for a hot day like today. It’s about 80 degrees here in Washington and I am loving this warm sunny weather considering we only get around 50 days like these a year. I am a sunshine girl and my husband loves the snow (we both hate the gray sky/rain) so I am thinking when we win the lotto we will live in Hawaii for half the year and close to mountains for the other half. But that would require me homeschooling the kids…hmm not sure I am home school material. Homeschooling moms never get a break!-I treasure my quiet time and need my kids in school to allow myself a bit of sanity.

Raw carob banana mousse

Blend/process:

1 banana

2 tablespoons raw carob powder

1 tablespoon full fat coconut milk

1 tablespoon raw buttercream cashew frosting

top with dried fruit or nuts (optional)

Makes 1 serving

This recipe is also seen at  http://dietdessertndogs.com/2013/05/09/wellness-weekend-may-9-13-2013 along with many other yummy recipes

Raw carob brownies with raw buttercream frosting

No carob is not chocolate but it does come close for those of us who can’t do much chocolate. I’m not sure why carob went out of “style” after the 80’s. I think it has a good flavor that can replace all or some of the chocolate in a recipe. Just using half chocolate and half carob can help cut down on a lot of the stimulant effects of chocolate but still preserve the flavor (important for kids or eating at night). These have great chewy texture and flavor and are raw, grain free, and sweetened with only stevia and maple syrup.

Raw carob brownies

1 cup raw carob powder

1/2 cup fresh ground coconut flour

1/2 cup sunflower seed flour

1/4 cup ground flax seeds

2 tablespoons ground roasted mung beans (optional for flavor-not raw)

2 tablespoons melted coconut oil

1/4 cup and 1 tablespoon maple syrup

15 drops vanilla stevia

1 tablespoon coconut milk (full fat)

1 tablespoon water

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

pinch of sea salt

(optional) 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Mix ingredients together and refrigerate for about an hour to let the brownies harden a bit before eating.  After puting on the frosting I top these with some crushed chocolate chips. Yum! Makes about 6-8 servings

Butter cream cashew frosting

Process/blend:

1/2 cup soaked cashews

3 tablespoons coconut cream

25 drops vanilla stevia

3 teaspoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons maple syrup

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

pinch of sea salt

Curried root and fruit salad

I love the sweet and savory mix of curry dishes. My kids cant’t get into it but as a kid I probably wouldn’t have appreciated these combinations of flavors either. Turmeric is a super food and does amazing things for your body so I try to eat it often. I almost always make every salad with a lot of different textures of foods including nuts, seeds and dried fruits.

Curried root and fruit salad

1 apple chopped

2 large carrots chopped

large handful of grapes

1/2 cup chopped beets

2 tablespoon full fat coconut milk

2 teaspoons lemon juice

handful of yellow raisins

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

2 tablespoons unsalted pistachios

2 teaspoons curry powder

top with shredded coconut (optional)

Mix the coconut milk, curry powder and lemon juice together in a separate bowl then add to the salad and mix together.

Serves 2