Tag Archives: cacao

Easy VEGAN Chocolate “Ice Cream” (without an ice cream maker)

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This is the kind of ice cream we have in our house.  All natural, hormone-free, low sugar, and healthy!

 

I have posted easy “ice cream” recipes in the past, but I just wanted to remind you again how awesome and delicious this stuff is!  It is simple and quick!  It takes me 5 to 10 minutes to make this stuff.

It is the best guilt-free chocolate “ice cream”! Made from fruits, cacao,and peanut butter…and a little bit of almond extract.

It is creamy, delicious, and so satisfying!

Ingredients:

-frozen bananas (3 or 4)
-frozen blueberries (about 1 cup)
-1 tsp almond extract
-pitted dates (5)
-1/3 cup of peanut butter
-2 tablespoons of cacao powder
-a few tablespoons of cacao nibs or vegan chocolate chips (optional)
Note: if you find that it is too thick, just add a bit more frozen fruit.  If you want to make it sweeter, you can add more dates, stevia, or agave.  Adjust to your preference….

Directions:
1. throw everything in the VITAMIX or high-powered blender.
2. Blend and serve
3. Top it off with more fruit, shredded coconuts, hemp seeds, vegan cookies, crushed peanuts,  etc.

I usually make a couple of batches to freeze.  Before I serve, I let it thaw for about 5 to 10 minutes.
Enjoy!

Raw Vegan Chocolate Figgy Pie with Pecans

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I have been craving something chocolaty lately, so I decided to experiment with the ingredients in my fridge and pantry.  I love doing that!  So, I soaked some nuts the night before and made a delicious and healthy dessert that is packed with nutritious ingredients the next day.  It was so easy to make that my daughter (4 years old) was able to help me make it.  After my daughter tried it, she says, “Mommy, this is the best pie I have ever tasted!  I love you so much!”  LOL  It was too cute.

Enjoy!

Ingredients for crust:

  • 1 and 2/3 cup of raw pecans (if you don’t have “raw”, just use unsalted pecans)
  • 1 cup of pitted medjool dates
  • 12 dried figs (stems removed)
  • 2 tablespoons of cold pressed coconut oil
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla
  • 2 tablespoons of raw cacao (note: if you don’t have “raw”, you can use regular cacao powder)
  • pinch of sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon of shredded coconut to sprinkle on the pan

Here are the figs I used:

Ingredients for the Filling:

  • 2 cups of raw cashews (soaked over night in filtered water)
  • 1 and 1/3 cup of filtered water
  • 4 tablespoons of cold pressed coconut oil
  • 4 tablespoons of raw agave (I don’t like my desserts too sweet, so taste it to see if it is sweet enough for you, if not, add a little more agave)
  • 1 tablespoon of vanilla
  • 2 tablespoons of raw cacao powder
  • 2 dried figs (stems removed)
  • 1/2 teaspoon of soy lecithin granules

Directions for Crust:

  1. Throw all ingredients in the food processor (except for the shredded coconut) and blend for a few minutes.
  2. Sprinkle shredded coconut on the bottom of your pie pan.  This is so the crust doesn’t stick to the pan.
  3. Press the crust blend onto your pie pan.

Directions for Filling:

  1. Throw all “filling” ingredients into your blender.  I used my Vitamix.
  2. Blend for a few minutes until it is smooth.
  3. Pour blend onto pie crust.
  4. Decorate with more pecans.
  5. Freeze for a few hours.
  6. Serve.

Dark Chocolate “PB and J” Gelato

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Some of you may already know that I like to make my own puddings, ice creams, and other snacks for my family.  I prefer them over most of the store-bought ones because I know exactly what goes into them.

I am calling this chocolate dessert “gelato” instead of ice cream because of its texture.  It is smooth, creamy, and of-course delicious.  When I have this, I feel like I am cheating, as if I am eating something completely unhealthy!  So, I am happy to say that my family and I love this stuff!

Ingredients:

  • 3 frozen bananas
  • 1 cold or frozen avocado (removed skin and pitted)
  • 6 to 8 tablespoons of peanut butter
  • 2/3 to 1 cup of frozen blueberries or mixed berries
  • 8 to 10 pitted medjool dates
  • 1 tablespoon of all-natural alcohol free vanilla
  • 6 to 8 tablespoons of raw cacao powder (adjust to your taste preference)
  • hemp seeds for topping

Directions:

  1. Throw everything in your VITAMIX.
  2. Serve.

Note: Adjust cacao if you don’t want your chocolate ice cream too dark and adjust the amount of dates for sweetness.

Also, if you would like to keep this “raw”, substitute the peanut butter with raw almond butter.  It is just as delicious!

You can also freeze this, but allow thirty minutes to thaw before serving.

Enjoy!

Raw Papaya Cake and Chocolate Ice Cream

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The other day, my child asked me if I could make some cake and ice cream.   So, I went to my pantry and freezer to see what I could whip up.  I wanted to make something healthy and delicious for us, so I decided to make it raw!  This was perfect because I had just re-stocked my pantry with raw nuts and fruits.

The “cake” is more like a raw-vegan blondie.  It is soft and chewy with a hint of fruit and a little crunch.  The “ice cream” is like chocolate soft serve ice cream with a banana-base flavor.  Both are delicious and we just love them together.

Note: this is a large batch.  This can serve up to 6 people, so if you have leftovers, store them in the freezer.

This kinda reminds me of my raw vegan chocolate brownie/cake post (one of my first posts).

Ingredients for the papaya cake:

  • 1 cup of raw almonds
  • 1/2 cup of apricot seeds
  • 1/2 cup of macadamia nuts
  • 1/2 cup of dried papaya
  • 12 pitted medjool dates
  • 3 tablespoons of flax seeds
  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla (all natural-alcohol free)
  • 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

Ingredients for the Chocolate “Ice Cream”:

  • 3 frozen bananas
  • 1/3 cup of frozen berries (I used a mixture of black berries, blue berries, and raspberries)
  • 1 avocado
  • 3 tablespoons of raw almond butter
  • 2 tablespoons of all natural vanilla
  • 3 tablespoons of raw agave
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons of raw cacao powder (I just used 3 tablespoons.  But if you like dark chocolate, add another tablespoon of cacao)
  • unsweetened shredded coconut for topping (optional)

Note: if you don’t have the nuts listed above, you can substitute it for other raw nuts such as cashews, Brazil nuts, etc.

Directions:

  1. Soak nuts in distilled water for a few hours.
  2. Drain nuts and place in the food processor with all of the papaya cake ingredients (almonds, apricot seeds, macadamia, dried papaya, dates, flax seeds, vanilla, and cinnamon).
  3. Blend in the food processor for a few minutes. 
  4. Put the nut/papaya/date mixture into a pan and pack it tightly.  *Mine pan  was a 5′ x 8′ pan*
  5. Place in the fridge for a couple of hours.
  6. Now you are ready to make the “ice cream”.
  7. Place all of the “ice cream” ingredients (frozen bananas, avocado, almond butter, frozen berries, vanilla, raw cacao, and raw agave) in your Vitamix or other high power blender.
  8. Blend for a minute until it looks like soft serve ice cream.
  9. Plate your “cake” and top it off with your chocolate “ice cream”.
  10. Top it off with some shredded coconut (optional).
  11. Enjoy!

I served the raw cake and ice cream with bananas per my daughter's request.

Raw Chocolate Beta Packed Soft “Cookies”

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Ingredients:

  • 1.5 cups of carrot pulp
  • 1/2 cup of goji berries
  • 3 tablespoons of raw agave
  • 4 pitted medjool dates
  • 2 tablespoons of cold pressed coconut oil
  • 3 tablespoons raw cacao powder
  • 3 tablespoons of sesame seeds
  • 1/4 cup of raw almonds (soaked overnight) …optional
  • 1 banana
  • 2 tablespoons of raw wheat germ (optional)
  • 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons of ground flax seeds (optional)

Carrots and goji berries pack a lot of beta carotene.  This is a super healthy snack that my daughter and I love.  I don’t make or buy a lot of “real” cookies because most of them contain so much unnecessary sugar that I don’t want my family and myself to be consuming.  But, I don’t feel bad about giving my three year old these “cookies” because they are healthy!  You have some grains, protein, minerals, and lots of antioxidants/vitamins (vitamin A, iron,  Omega 3s, Vitamin C, folic acid, etc).

I make these “cookies” a lot and there are so many different variations.    You can adjust the sweetness by adding more dates or raw agave.  To give it a little more tang, you can even add dried cherries.  You can even add raisins, dried figs, macadamia nuts, hemp seeds, chia seeds,  etc.   …..so many possibilities!

Note: you don’t have to have ALL of the ingredients listed, you can improvise.

Directions:

Note: if you don’t have carrot pulp, just shred some carrots in your food processor.  I like to use the pulp when I juice (juice recipe click here)  because I don’t like to waste perfectly good food.  And, sometimes, I make dog food out of it (with apples and carrots).  I give the pulp to my dogs raw or cook it with other ingredients like brown rice, broccoli, quinoa, etc.

  1. Place all ingredients in the food processor.
  2. Adjust sweetness preference.
  3. Mold the mixture into little cookies (about 1/2 an inch thick).
  4. Place the “cookies” in your food dehydrator.
  5. Dehydrate for around 13 hours.  You don’t want them too dry…it gets too hard and chewy.
  6. Enjoy!…and, don’t forget to share the healthy cookies with other children!

Chocolate Coconutty “green” Smoothie

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,,,,just another breakfast of mine! :)

Do you know that coconuts are super good for your body?  Read about it here.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of greens (spinach)
  • 1 banana
  • 3 medjool dates
  • 2 tablespoons of shredded coconut
  • 1/2 cup of mixed berries (strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, etc.)
  • 2 tablespoons of hemp seeds
  • 1/3 cup of nut milk
  • 2 tablespoons of raw cacao powder
  • 1/2 tsp of spirulina (optional)
  • 1/4 cup of ice

Directions: blend together…preferably in a Vitamix blender….it makes your smoothies SOOOO much better!

Peanut Butter Banana Fudgesicle

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mmmmmmmmmmmmhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmm

Ingredients:

  • 3 organic bananas
  • 1 cup of chocolate hemp milk
  • 3 tablespoons of organic peanut butter
  • 1.5 to 2 tablespoons or raw cacao powder

Directions:

  1. Throw ingredients in a blender and place in popsicle tray.
  2. Freeze.
  3. Enjoy!

Note:  You can make your own raw hemp milk.  Hemp seeds are highly nutritional and delicious.

Ingredients for RAW HEMP MYLK:

  • 1 cup of shelled hemp seeds
  • 5-6 cups Water
  • Raw agave nectar to sweeten

Directions:

Place in a blender and strain with cheesecloth.

Minty Shake/Smoothie

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I went to Earthfare today and I was talking to the produce manager about smoothies.  He got very excited about it because he also drinks a lot of healthy smoothies/shakes.  He also gave me a smoothie recipe idea: avocado, apple, banana, cranberry, lime juice, and mint.  I have always known that mint was awesome, but I totally forgot about it!

Well, after he reminded me about it, I got super excited about trying out different mint with avocado smoothies, so I am planning to use mint in food/drinks this week.  Tomorrow, I will also be making some VEGAN SAMOSAS with a MINT AND CILANTRO DIP….so stay tuned! :-)

Mint wakes up the flavor in some foods and drinks.  The medicinal properties range from breath freshener to curing cancer.

Please take the time to learn about the benefits of MINT:

http://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/herbs-and-spices/health-benefits-of-mint.html

Daddy's shake for the morning

Daddy’s veggie/fruity protein shake

  • Fresh frozen strawberries
  • Banana
  • Fresh frozen cranberries
  • Spinach
  • Soy milk
  • Hemp seeds
  • a couple sprigs of mint

Savannah's shake

Savannah’s and mommy’s  chocolate cake smoothie

(I say “chocolate cake” because I use a few similar ingredients as my raw chocolate cake/brownie…which Savannah absolutely loves)

(This will be a small serving)

  • 1 half of a ripened avocado
  • 1 half of a fresh frozen banana
  • 1/2 cup (or more…depending on thickness preference) of nut milk or rice milk
  • 1 to 4 tea spoons of raw cacao  (just adjust according to chocolaty taste preference)
  • 1 tea spoon of coconut oil
  • just a little bit of spinach
  • 1 table spoon of hemp seeds or raw chia seeds
  • add raw agave to taste
  • and a couple sprigs of mint

Note: this is Savannah’s (small) shake which contains about 7 grams of protein.  The average 1 to 3 year old will only need 16 grams of protein.

Note: if you would like to create a “raw” version of this shake, you may also use coconut water or just plain water.