The Almighty Coconut

My husband and I ventured into the kitchen today with the very versatile Thai Coconut. If you have never used it before you should try. It can be used in everything from desserts, to smoothies, to savory dishes, soups or on it's own. Actually that was part of the problem today. What to do with it...there were just to many choices.

Did you know that coconut water is a perfect match for human blood plasma. It is full of great nutrients such a potassium, trace minerals and can be used in place of a sports electrolyte drink. It can even be used as intravenous for a transfusions. Low and behold I just happened to see this exact thing on an episode on the tv show :"Off the Map". Sports companies are looking to use the coconut water in their formulations. So very interesting don't you think? Raw foodies have been using coconut water and milk for a long time for many different uses. Not only is it nutritious, but it also has a nice mild, sweet flavour that can work well in a zillion dishes.

If you are looking for it in the store...this is what you will see. If will be wrapped in plastic. You can also order them online. Try to get an organic one preferably and see if you can find out how long it takes to get it shipped to the store. There is talk a lot of these young Thai coconuts are being dipped in formaldehyde to help preserve it. The above link talks about how to find out how fresh they are and signs to tell tale signs of when they are bad. I always take a little sip before to see if it is okay before I start using it for a recipe.



Today I used the coconut a couple of ways. Really it would be ideal to have maybe at least 2 on hand at one time. We first cut a square opening in the top and poured out the water. It is slightly clouded,liquid. It is best to strain the liquid if you did not get a clean cut to open the coconut.

The liquid is in the glass pictured below. The meat of the coconut is the nice white silky substance in the coconut. We scraped most of it out. But just wanted to show you in case you haven't seen it.



I then blended the coconut water and coconut meat in the Vitamix to create a nice smooth white milk.



Then I made a smoothie.

Ingredients
coconut milk
1 scoop amazing grass (chocolate)
1 banana
1 cap of blue green algae ( my favorite)
cacao nibs

Blend in the Vitamix and enjoy.




Then I moved onto dinner. I made a Pad Thai "ish" meal. It is a take off of the Pad Thai recipe in I am Grateful book listed in my recommended books. If you have not heard of this book and are into raw foods it is a really great addition to your collection. right now I have my sister's copy. Shhhhhh.

Below is a non raw version made with Soba noodles for my husband. I cut up some veggies and then mixed it with the noodles and sauce. The Pad Thai sauce that I made contained organic nut butter, lime, coconut juice, and some spices and herbs. I blended it in the Vitamix and poured over his dish.



For the raw version which was mine. I cut up some vegetables and then added some raw cashews and poured the sauce over top.



Don't be afraid to experiment with raw food. Start small, start big...whatever feels right for you. Once you get a taste of it you will be hooked.

ps. You don't need to cut your coconut like the first photo. We were just having fun with the camera and the coconut. Maybe soon we will start posting video's.

Delish Raw Chocolate Cheesecake

Last night I made a Delish Chocolate Cheesecake. It is pretty easy to do. Don't get me wrong there are many versions of this raw desserts that are out there that are more complex. These day's I tend to go for easy. I have a four year old and a 2 year old with special needs, so my time is limited. So I tend to pick some easy recipes if I know that I am going to be in a rush.

This one includes the following ingredients:

Filling
3 cups Raw Cashews soaked overnight and rinsed
1/3 Lemon Juice
1/3 Coconut Oil (also called coconut butter)
2 tsp Vanilla Powder
Cacao Nibs (for sprinkling on top)
Pinch of Salt
Cacao Powder (depends on your craving for chocolate)
1/4 Agave Nectar (I always cut my sweetener, so you could add more)
1/4 Almond Milk

Crust
Walnuts crushed
Raw Coconut
Agave Nectar

First blend the cashews, lemon juice, coconut oil and vanilla in the food processor.



Depending on the flavor that you want you can either add in cacao powder as seen below or leave it plain. You could also do fruit. Everything from raspberries to mango works. Note if you want a 2 layered cake, let's say part white and part chocolate take out a little more than half of the white. Once it is taken out then add in your flavor choice.



Now you need a base. I usually use walnut and coconut for the base. This recipe I was in a rush so I used agave nectar and mixed together well and placed on the bottom of my glass dish. Make sure it is padded in well. It should look like this. For the best version pulse all the ingredients int0 the processor for a few minutes until it creates a ball. Then place in dish. I cheated a bit and just crushed it in the dish itself so that is why it is a bit thicker of a crust.




Then layer the first batch of cashews, which is the plain white mixture.



Then add on your second layer of the mixture, which is the chocolate mixture. Add your cacao nibs on top. If you are doing a different flavour you can add the fruit on top. Just make sure it is not one that is going to bleed all over the cake. If it is blueberries for example, I will leave the sauce separately until I am ready to serve it.



Stick in the freezer to settle and solidify a bit. I love mine a little bit frozen so I just keep it in the freezer until about 10-15 minutes before I want to eat it. For a fancy cake you can put this in a spring form pan or a round dish and decorate with a raw chocolate sauce.




Enjoy, this is a guilt free cheesecake!!!

Chocolate Blyss

I just love making these Chocolate Blyss Treats. My sister and I having been making these for the last couple of years. We always like to experiment with food and have many different variations of this over the years. My daughter's name is Blyss, hence the name and spelling. As luck would have it she was my little helper in the kitchen today.

These are a raw treat, but you can make them non raw if you choose. However I will tell you that if you are trying to do raw food this is one of the easiest things to do. Partly because I stick them in the freezer and the other part is that they always taste good. Here is a blueprint of what you can add. But almost anything goes with these. What ever taste you love you can add.

Grab a large bowl for mixing. Add a 1/4 cup of shredded coconut(non sweet, you want to add your own sweetener). Add some cacao nibs. I love these. They are bitter and give a good crunch. This is what they look like. You can buy them at your local health food store. They are great to have around and can be used in many raw dishes including smoothies. I added about a 1/4 cup again.

Cacao Nibs


Next I added some Organic coconut oil. COCONUT OIL is good for you. Go out and buy some. I just kind of poured this in maybe about a 1/4 of a cup or more. Then I added in a handful of sunflower seeds, goji berries,hemp seeds. Then a good sprinkle of ground flax seed. Lastly the key ingredient is cacao powder and lots of it.

Adding Goji Berries and Do Matcha Green Tea(sneaking some Matcha tea in because I love it)



Then mix and add your sweetener of choice either raw honey, agave syrup or stevia. Add more coconut oil if mixture is too dry and not all coated.

Mix it together.


Now time to get messy, don't worry you get to lick you hands after. Put your hands in it and roll into little balls. It will be oily but that is okay. If they don't stick that well you can add some nut butter or even more ground flax. It can help bind the mixture. They neat trick is that they don't have to be perfect or stick perfectly because you are going to pop them in the freezer.

Getting messy and rolling into balls


My little helper. I am thinking "Please don't touch the wall"


And Voila! Put them in a glass freezer safe dish and grab one when you are low on energy or have a craving. THEY ARE GOOD FOR YOU!!!


I eat them frozen, but you can slightly thaw them or keep them in the fridge. They seem to go faster in the fridge. For a party you can roll them in hemp seeds, sesame seeds or whatever you like to make them look all fancy. Enjoy.

Simple Raw Breakfast

This morning I was in a bit of a rush. As a family we had to head out the door for an appointment. So this was my quick fix. Some dark red/purple grapes, a cut up apple, some goji berries, hemp seeds and a few cacao nibs. It was pretty simple and really fast. I actually ate part of it in the car. (You will be happy to know that I was not driving and that I try not to practice this routine often).

However this little bowl was full of nutrients. Antioxidants, fiber, protein and lots of nutrients. As you can see I even had a second to take a quick photo. Definitely, not photo worthy...but you get the idea.



What's your favorite emergency breakfast?