when is a chocolate mousse not a chocolate mousse...?

When there's no chocolate!!!!!
We whipped this up a few weeks back for a dinner party and not one of our guests was the wiser (until we spilled the beans afterwards) that this was anything other than a homemade chocolate treat!
Good times....

Sneaky 'Chocolate' Mousse

*1/4 cup fresh Dates (or dried Dates soaked for 3 hours in water)  * 1/4-1/2 cup water  

*2 tblspn Raw Honey  *1/2 tsp Vanilla Paste or Vanilla Powder  *3/4 cup Avocado (approx 1 medium sized Avocado)  *1/4 cup Carob Powder

Blend dates and 1/4 cup water, honey and vanilla till soft and smooth

Add avocado and carob - blend til creamy - stopping every now and then to scrape the sides 

Add more water if need a thinner consistency

Serve with fresh berries.

Lasts around 3 days in the fridge or up to 2 weeks in the freezer

What we loved: how quick this was to put together (other than soaking the dried dates)

The texture was a true luscious 'mousse' and the flavour very rich

Knowing there was no dairy or refined sugars involved

What we didn't love as much: ours turned out just a little too sweet for our taste - next time we will try halving the honey or adding more carob

recipe courtesy of: 'Raw Food - a complete guide for every meal of the day' by Erika Palmcrantz and Irmela Lilja

belly full of burrito!!

Who says a burrito has to involve a flour based tortilla?  Choc full of fresh veg and flavour, a burrito can be a very healthy dinner time choice!

Raw Food Burrito's

* 1 Avocado, mashed  * 3 Radishes  * 1/2 Capsicum  *1 Tomato  * 2 Sundried Tomatoes  * 1 inch Leek * Sprig of Parsley  *1 tsp Tamari or Soy Sauce  *pinch Dried Chilli Flakes  *juice from 1 Lime  *2 tbslp Sunflower Seeds  * 1/2 cup Alfalfa Sprouts  *Baby Cos Lettuce Leaves

Finely chop all vegetgables and herbs

Add radishes, capsicum, tomatoes, leek and parsely to the mashed avocado

Season with tamari/soy sauce, lime juice and chilli flakes

Rinse cos lettuce and place large spoonful of mixture onto each leaf

Top with alfalfa sprouts and seeds and roll into burrito

What we loved:  the freshness and flavour

How light but filling a meal this was

How easy it was to tailor the recipe and add our favourite vegies and herbs (we added corn kernal and lentils for ours)

What we didn't love as much: nothing!!

Recipe courtesy of 'Raw Food: a complete guide to every meal of the day' by Erika Palmcantz and Irmela Lilja

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day!

We'll be closed today and tomorrow (Fri/Sat) as we are off to Sydney for a Valentines/Annie's Birthday weekend!

Wishing everyone a fantastic weekend ahead and will look forward to seeing you in the new week!

Cashew Cream

This is something we whipped up to go along with our new favourite Chia Seed Pudding.  The creaminess balanced out the richness of the pudding beautifully.
Also, not bad over fresh fruit as well!!!

Cashew Cream

*1 cup raw Cashew nuts   *1/4 cup water  * 1 handful raw Almonds  * 1 Vanilla Bean or tsp Vanilla paste  * 3 tblspn Flaxseed or Canola oil

Blend cashews to a flour-like consistency

Add 2 tblspn water and the almonds and blend again

Add vanilla and the oil and blend well

Add more water as needed to reach the desired consistency

What we loved: the taste!  Creamy, slightly nutty and Oh So Yummy!

The ease of substituting this for normal dairy cream 

Thinking of more uses for it so we had an excuse to make more!!

What we didn't love as much: Our blender struggled with getting the mixture as smooth as we'd like (though there were never any complaints!).  We found it had a hard time after blending the cashews to then blend the almonds and water - it bogged down the bottom of the blender - next time we'll separate the two steps and tip out the cashews before blending the almond and see how that goes.

recipe courtesy of Raw Food - a complete guide for every meal of the day by Erika Palmcrantz and Irmela Lilja

Pudding anyone?

It's no secret that Annie is a certifed sweet tooth!
So looking for a sweet treat that tastes great, is easy for the body to process and is actually good for you.......what a dream come true!!!

After tasting Garden of Vegan's gorgeous desserts, we found and tried this little recipe and it's proven popular for when we go to friends homes for dinner parties!
Once the ingredients are all together, it a snap to create with just a little time to set in the fridge. Use more seeds for a thicker pudding.
Enjoy!

Chia Seed Pudding

*1/2 cup filtered Water   *1 tablespoon Raw Honey   *1/4-1/3 cup Chia Seeds  

*2 tablespoons Raw Cacao Powder  *1 Cup Almond Milk (see our previous post for this recipe)

Mix Chia Seeds with the Water - whisk with a fork and leave stand for a minute or so

Add Honey and Cacao Powder and mix together well

Add Milk and stir to combine

Pour into cups or small bowls and allow to set for at least 2-3 hours or overnight

Can top with dried/fresh fruit, nuts and seeds or even carob or cacao nibs for an even better chocolatey hit!

What we loved: The ease of making

The flavour and the amazing texture of the chia seeds that almost magically plump up 

That there is no dairy or refined sugar anywhere near this dish

How self righteous we felt after 'having our cake and eating it too'! 

We were a little naughty and used just a dollop of Elgaar Double Cream once with this dessert - the cream really balanced out the Cacao and made this extra luscious!

What we didn't love: We prefer a thicker pudding texture so the second time we made this we used a half cup of seeds

*recipe courtesy of 'Model Chocolate' by Abigail O'Neill