Raw Vegan Chocolate-Orange Buckwheat Bliss Balls

These balls of chocolatey-orangey deliciousness are packed with super foods, completely nourishing, refined sugar and gluten free, so easy to make and taste amazing.

Makes 12 balls:

• 100g raw activated buckwheat (soak overnight)
• 1 tbsp orange juice
• Orange rind of one orange (grated)
• 1 tbsp orange blossom extract
• 3 tbsp raw cacao
• 2 tsp maca powder (optional)
• 7 medjool dates/ 10 deglet noors, pitted
• 3tbsp rolled oats
• 1tsp coconut oil

Simply place your buckwheat (rinsed and drained) in your food processor with all other ingredients, and process on the highest speed, until you have a doughy mixture.
If your mixture is too sticky to roll into balls just yet transfer your mixture into a bowl and place it in the freezer for 5 minutes or so (this will allow the coconut oil to solidify as it would have become liquid during the mixing process).
Now when you have a more solid dough, use a tea spoon to portion your scoops of the mixture, and roll into balls. You can use cacao powder to act as flour. You can coat them in different toppings of your choice too, such as goji berries, hemp seeds, dessicated coconut, pumpkin seeds, etc.
Place on  a tray lined with parchment paper, and leave to set in the fridge, OR if you're feeling impatient leave them to set in the freezer for just less than 10 minutes.

Hope you enjoy!

Raw Vegan Raspberry, Lemon and Coconut Cheesecake (refined sugar free, dairy free, guilt free)

After trying the most delicious raw vegan raspberry and vanilla cheesecake, and a raw vegan mocha cheesecake at London Vegfest, I had been itching to make one myself, and what a success it was indeed (if I may say so myself!)

These no-bake treats are undeniable winners; simple and easy to make, yet look impressive, not to mention they taste delicious, lighter than a usual cheesecake made with dairy, and fundamentally they're very nutritionally dense. As this recipe is raw, it provides optimum nutrition and living enzymes. Benefits from the following ingredients include; 
Activated cashews- cashews provide us with healthy fats ( heart healthy mono-saturated fats which promote good cardiovascular health), cancer preventing properties, hair, skin and bone health, prevent gallstones and aid weight loss. Activating nuts refer to the process of soaking nuts/seeds in order to increase their nutrition value, and make the nutrients a lot more readily available.
Coconut oil- one thing I can't get enough of is this nutritional powerhouse. It works wonders for hair and skin, maintains cholesterol levels, aids weight loss, boosts the immune system, and boosts metabolism. 
Raspberries- these delicious summer berries provide us with antioxidants, anti-inflamitory properties, high fibre content (essential for maintaing a healthy digestive system and reduces the risk of bowl cancer) while low in fat (aiding weight loss), maintains cardiovascular health thanks to its potassium content which helps maintain the heart beat and blood pressure, and a mood lifter as it's a rich source of Vitamin B and folic acid.
Lemon- provides us with bountiful benefits such as many antioxidants, healthy glowing skin, fights fatigue, anxiety and hypertension, boosts the immune system, acts as a weight loss aid and liver cleanser.

What's better than delicious dessert which is this good for you?

It felt like the success of this cheesecake tripled when every member in my family thoroughly enjoyed this vegan treat. Even my 15 year old, self-professed carnivorous brother loved it, which as you could probably imagine I was super happy about!

This was an absolute hit, and I would recommend it to anyone. Whether your cutting out dairy, refined sugar, looking for a healthy alternative, or fancy a light treat which will still satisfy your sweet tooth, give this a go and I'm sure (I hope)  you will not be disappointed.

*Disclaimer: credit goes to the amazing Sarah Britton of http://www.mynewroots.org/site as this cheesecake is predominantly based on her 'Raw Cashew Dream Cake' recipe, however I modified it slightly.

For the base, you will need:
1/2 cup raw almonds (50g)
1/2 cup medjool dates (90g deglet noors work too)
1/4 tsp. sea salt

For the filling, you will need:
1 ½ cups raw cashews, soaked for at least 5 hours, but overnight is best (210g)
Juice of 1- 1½ lemons
Lemon rind of 1 lemon
Seeds of 1 whole vanilla pod (or 1 tsp. alcohol-free vanilla extract)
1/3 cup raw coconut oil, melted (75g)1/3 cup agave nectar (approx. 110g)
1 cup raspberries (thaw completely if using frozen)

Instructions:
1. Pulse almonds, dates and sea salt in a food processor until they meet desired fineness. (For a finer base process longer). Test the crust by spooning out a small amount of mixture and rolling it in your hands- the ingredients should hold together. Spread out your crust mixture in a 7” spring-form pan and press firmly, making sure that the edges are well packed and that the base is relatively even throughout. Rinse food processor well.
2. Warm up the coconut oil and agave in a small saucepan on low heat until liquid, whisking the two ingredients to combine.
3. Place cashews, coconut oil, agave, vanilla and lemon juice in a food processor and blend on highest powder until very smooth (this make take a couple minutes so be patient).
4. Pour about 2/3 of the mixture in a separate bowl for the time being.
5. To the mixture remaining in the food processor, add lemon rind. After processing together, pour the lemony mixture out onto the crust and smooth with a spatula.
6. Pour the remaining 2/3 of the mixture back into the food processor with the raspberries, and process together. Layer this mixture on top of the lemon one. Place in freezer until solid.
7. Remove cheesecake 30 minutes before eating. Run a smooth, sharp knife under hot water and cut into slices.

Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did!

Raw Vegan Lemon & Coconut Bars

I've never before craved lemon like I have been recently. I keep adding lemon rind to my breakfast, it's pretty odd, but delicious. So, I figured I should make some lemon bars to dust off this citrus craving once and for all, after being inspired by ariellelikestocook recipe (I made a variation of her recipe, however I still recommend giving hers a try too as I'm sure they're just as delicious.)
They definitely did the job... lemon cravings are 110% satisfied.
They were absolutely delicious, I really recommend you try them! When they're dairy & refined sugar free, raw, vegan, how could you not?

As lemon rind plays a large role in giving these baby's that lovely lemony-zesty flavour, I thought I'd share some of the many benefits that it provides, which is often lost as we tend to just only use the juice:

Detoxifying  effect on the body- the astringent, antiseptic, as well as the antibiotic properties of the fruit peel, are considered to be good for our skin, making it yet another point in favour of the health benefits of lemon rind.
A source of essential oils- which acts as a rejuvenator and mood enhancer too
Decreases Cholosterol Levels- promoting better heart health.
Improves Bone HealthNeutralizes Free Radicals- free radicals are the unpaired electrons present in the cells of the body. These radicals are responsible for occurrence of certain types of cancers, heart issues, ageing  swelling, and autoimmune diseases. The vitamin C present in this fruit peel plays a very important role in neutralizing the free radicals, thereby preventing the health concerns mentioned above. 
Promotes Healthy Skin
Click here for more 



Makes 4 bars:

For the Crust:

• 1 and a half cup of oats
• 1tbsp coconut oil
• 5-6tbsp agave
• 1 cup coconut flakes

- Pulse all ingredients together in a food processor untill it looks like pastry dough.

-Spread it in a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper

For the filling:

• 1 cup soaked cashews (left to soak for 24 hrs)
• 1/2 banana
• Lemon rind (of 1 and a half- 2 lemons)
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1/2 cup coconut flakes
• 2-3tbsp agave

-Pulse the cashews in a food processor so that they become a creamy mixture.
-Then add all other ingredients and pulse till smooth.
-Layer this filling over the crust.
-Place in a freezer for 1-2 hours.
-Garnish with more lemon rind for decoration and extra zesty flavour

I love this recipe and hope you will just as much! 

Almond Milk Chia and Mango Pudding

This is one of my favourite breakfasts, but I think it would also make a delicious and light dessert. The mango gives a lovely taste and thick texture. Better yet, it is extremely to make.

Serves 1:

What you will need:

• 1 and a half tbsp chia seeds
• 1 cup of almond milk
• 1 small mango/ 1/2 large mango.
• Goji berries (optional)

What to do:

-Pour your chia seeds into a cup, add almond milk and stir with a fork quickly. Ensure that all the chia seeds have covered by the milk, so that they're not just lying on the surface. It's important to use a fork and stir qucikly in order to avoid the chia seeds clumping together.
-Leave to soak overnight - when left in liquid, chia seeds expand and gelatinise.
-Blend mango with a hand blender until smooth.
-In a bowl pour your chia seeds, then your mango puree, garnish with goji berries and enjoy!

Tomato, basil and garlic zucchini spaghetti

Zucchini makes a great low calorie, low carb, gluten free, spaghetti/pasta alternative. Ofcourse, it doesn't taste like pasta but it's filling and when prepared well it can be very delicious. And, it's incredibly easy to make! All you need is a spiraliser or a julienne peeler (which I use), to make the zucchini into a spaghetti like form.

Serves 1:

For the tomato sauce, you will need:

• 6 tomatoes
• 1clove garlic
• 1-2 handfuls basil leaves.
• Sea Salt
• Nutritional yeast (optional)

What to do...

-Wash and place your tomatoes in a saucer with enough boiling water to cover them.
-Leave to boil for 10 minutes or so.
-Whilst waitng for them to boil, peel your zucchini, and place into a mixing bowl.
-Check your tomatoes. Once they are soft, strain and run them under hot water, so that you can then peel their skins.
-Process them in a food processor with basil, garlic, nutritional yeast.
-Blend until smooth.
-Pour the sauce over the zucchini. Taste and garnish with pepper and salt. (I also cut up fresh tomatoes and put them in as we had SO many tomatoes in the house I thought I'd use the oppurtunity to use them up)

I loved this dish warmed up (rather than raw), and I added kidney beans to make it a more hearty meal.

Almond Milk

Making almond milk is so much easier than you may think!

All you need are 2 ingredients:

• 1 cup soaked almonds (soaked for at least 24 hours)
• 3 cups water
• Optional- Dates and vanilla flavouring can be added to enhance a sweet flavour. 

-Add all ingredients to a blender, and mix until it's all white and frothy.

-Then pour everything into a sive lined with a cheesecloth. Use a spatula (or any instrument which will work for this purpose) to push the milk away from the pulp as much as possible. Then use the cheesecloth to squeeze as much of the milk out as possible. You should be left with a dry pulp.

-Store in an airtight jar. 

-Use ASAP as it only lasts for about 3-5 days

Enjoy!

Pesto Zucchini Spaghetti

This rawesome dish is so easy and delicious.

For the pesto, you will need...

Serves 4 OR 2 generous portions
-100g pinenuts
-2 clove of garlic (i love garlic so you might want to use less if you're not a fan)
-Nutritional yeast
-1 pot of basil (just use the leaves)

What to do...

-Start by processing your pinenuts in a food processor. Leave it processing, so that it's natural oils release, and it becomes lovely and creamy.
-Then add your basil, garlic and nutritional yeast and process untill it's a smooth pesto.
-Peel your zucchini and place in a bowl, and mix with the pesto.
-Add black olives and cherry tomatoes.
-I leave it to marinade over night, so the zucchini softens and absorbs all the delicious flavours.
-Eat raw or warm if you want.

Bon appetit!