Raw Key Lime Pie

This is a frozen dessert that did not last but a few minutes in our house. I saw this recipe in Purely Delicious magazine, spring 2007 and had the ingredients on hand so I whipped it together on Saturday night, and we all enjoyed it today after church...well the majority of it that is :o). Yesterday I had some of the filling left over and the children ended up begging for, "just one more bite."


Crust:
3 C. finely ground almonds
4-5 fresh medjool dates
2 Tlbs coconut oil
1/2 tsp. sea salt


Filling:
2 small ripe avocados
1 ripe banana
1 C. juice from key limes
1/2 C. mango chunks
1/2 C. agave nectar
1/3 C. coconut cream concentrate (buy from Tropical Traditions)
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla


To make crust, place all ingredients in a good processor and blend until it balls up. Firmly press mixture into pie plate and set aside.

To make the filling, process all filling ingredients in a high powered blender, such as a Vitamix until smooth and fluid. Pour into pie shell and freeze about 6-8 hours or longer. Serve and enjoy.

This makes a 9 inch pie and serves up to 10 people.

Speaking from experience, I would take it out of the freezer about 5 to 10 minutes before you cut it or you will find it becomes a workout getting the (even hot) knife through the frozen pie. After fighting this creation for about 7 minutes I was able to get the slices out with relative ease :o). The filling from this pie would also make GREAT pop cycles in the summer and pudding if not frozen. So versatile and YUMMY!

Enjoy :o)

C.

Raw Tomato Salsa

This has to be the top hit in our family especially during the summer months when the tomatoes are the tastiest. If you want to stay away from tortilla chips, use sliced veggies such as cucumber, white radish, zucchini, yellow squash, or raw corn crackers. The last time I made this, our one year old daughter ate almost 1/2 cup with her fingers because she did not have the patience to use her spoon or dipping veggies :o). Enjoy!


5 medium tomatoes
1 small red onion
2-4 cloves garlic (to taste)
hand full of fresh cilantro
raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar
juice of 1 lime
celtic sea salt
black pepper (optional)
jalapenos (optional)


The way this salsa tastes best is if you chop everything by hand. You can use a food processor and pulse chop, but the tomatoes get mushy and the salsa loses a great deal of it's flair.

Dice the tomatoes as big or small as you fancy them and place them in a medium sized bowl. Then dice the onions as fine as you like and add them to the tomatoes. Press only two cloves of fresh garlic into the tomatoes (you can add more later if needed). De-stem and chop the cilantro and add to bowl. Pour enough apple cider vinegar so that the liquid is level with the amount of tomatoes. Juice one lime and add to salsa. Mix thoroughly. Taste and add salt, pepper and more garlic or jalapenos if desired.

The apple cider vinegar amplifies the kick of the onions and garlic. The finer you dice the onions and the more garlic you add, the hotter the salsa becomes without jalapenos. I fixed this salsa with my mom once, and she was convinced that we needed jalapenos; I told her to try a little first. After trying a few bites, we both started to tear and sweat because she had diced the onions so fine. I've never tried this with the jalapenos, but beware it could get pretty spicy!

Why Almond Milk?

I am so deeply saddened that we think we are doing the best for our families, but in reality the information we learn about nutrition early on is never challenged or questioned. Please watch this video on cow's milk, and then you will understand why our family opts to drink almond milk instead.





This is a wonderful demonstration on how to make almond milk. It may take a little while for your family's taste buds to change because the almond milk lacks the heavy fat of cow's milk. You can ease the transition by first using it in cereals, smoothies, etc. before offering the almond milk as a beverage. We rarely drink it straight because we want our children to have enough plain water each day to help hydrate and cleanse their systems.





Something to think about :o).

C.

A Birthday Cake

Since it was my husband's birthday yesterday, the children and I decided to make him a raw strawberry cake :o). It was so sweet and filling without the sugar or guilt :o). We had the rest this morning for breakfast along with our favorite raw shakes.




The recipe below originated from the book, Eating without Heating by Sergei & Valya Boutenko. Wonderful resource.




STRAWBERRY CAKE


Topping (or frosting)

1 C. fresh or frozen strawberries (if frozen use no sugar added fruit)
1 C. cashews
1 C. olive oil
5 Tbsp. honey
juice from one medium lemon
1 tsp. vanilla

Put the nuts in the blender and whiz until they are broken up into little pieces. Next add the rest of the frosting ingredients and blend until smooth. Add small amounts of water if it is too thick for your motor. (remember pulse is your best friend :o). When finished place in the freezer until needed to solidify the nuts and oil for a frosting consistency.


Crust

2 C. ground almonds (place in a blender and whiz until ground)
1 C. shredded coconut
3 Tbsp. olive oil (extra virgin cold pressed)
3 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. cinamon
1 tsp vanilla

Combine all the crust ingredients and mix well (your hands work best). Then separate "dough" into three balls and form the first layer of the cake on a plate. Take the "frosting" out of the freezer and spread a thin layer on the top of the cake layer. Form the next cake layer off to the side and then gently place it on the cake. Repeat until the cake has all of its layers; then frost like a regular cake.

If the frosting gets too runny, just put it back in the freezer until it gets more solid.

Refrigerate the cake immediately until you are ready to serve. Makes an 8 inch cake that yielded 12 slices.

Enjoy :o).

Favorite Raw Morning Shake

This is by far our family's favorite shake. No matter what time of day everyone enjoys this. It reminds me of a virgin strawberry daiquiri...tart and sweet, wonderful.


5 medium size oranges
1 Tbsp. tahini (Arrowhead Mills brand has the highest nutrient content that I have found)
1 Tbsp. agave nectar
3 cups or so frozen organic strawberries (or frozen strawberries without the sugar, corn syrup, etc.)

Juice the oranges and put liquid into blender. Add tahini and agave nectar. Put just enough strawberries so that they reach the bottom of the blender and stick out above the juice. Blend until smooth. So delicious and filling.

Serves 2-4 (depending on how tall the glass :o).

C.