Raw Vegan Carrot Falafel with Tahini Lemon Sauce

Falafels were always a favourite thing to put in sandwiches and have as a side for dinner but they aren't the healthiest things around seeing as though they are fried in oil. These raw carrot falafels are absolutely to die for, especially with the lemon tahini sauce. Due to the fact the falafels are dehydrated they are crisp on the outside but so moist and delicious in the inside. It goes perfect with the tahini lemon sauce because the falafels actually have tahini and sesame seeds in them and are coated with sesame seeds.

These falafels on top of salad of your choosing and dipped in the tahini lemon sauce I find is the perfect dinner or lunch. They are packed full of goodness and fill you up making you feel satisfied, healthy and not bloated after eating. The recipe I used for these came from Fragrant Vanilla Cake, her recipes are to die for.

Raw Carrot Falafel with Lemon Tahini Sauce
Serves 4-6

Falafel:
4 medium organic carrots
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds, soaked and dried
1/4 cup raw walnuts, soaked and dried
1/4 cup sesame seeds
3 garlic cloves
1 Tbsp tahini
juice of one lemon
1 1/2 tsp sea salt or to taste
1 cup raw almond flour (or more if needed)

Coating:
1 cups raw walnuts soaked and dried
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup sesame seeds

Tahini Sauce:
1/2 cup tahini
1/3 cup filtered water or as needed
juice of two lemons
2 garlic cloves, minced

To make falafel, place carrots in the food processor and process until finely chopped.  Add the yeast, sunflower seeds, walnuts, sesame seeds, garlic, tahini, cumin, lemon juice, chipotle, sea salt, and process until smooth.  Add the almond flour and process until well combined.  Remove from the food processor and if it seems too soft, add a little more almond flour (it should be the consistency of very soft soft cookie dough). 
Roll the mixture into 2 inch balls, and place on a plate.  
In a food processor, combine the walnuts, yeast, sea salt and sesame seeds for the coating and process until finely ground.  Pour into a bowl, and roll each of the falafel balls in it.  
Place the balls on a lined dehydrator sheet and dehydrate for about 16-18 hours, or until the outside is crunchy and they are firm, but not dried out in the center. 
Meanwhile, to make the tahini sauce, whisk together all ingredients until smooth.  If too thick add a little more water until the consistency of dressing. 

Serve with a salad on the side and the tahini sauce!

Raw Vegan Coconut Yoghurt Nectarine Cake

When I turned raw vegan I discovered coconut yoghurt, oh and what an amazing experience that was. It goes so well in smoothies, on granola, with fruit and now I have figured out that it even goes in cakes. Behold the Coconut Yoghurt Peach Cake!!! 

Now when it comes to the coconut yoghurt part I am so lazy. I do not make my own, in Melbourne you can buy something called Co-Yo which is raw vegan natural coconut yoghurt and it is amazingly delicious. So the recipe I used calls for store bought coconut yoghurt not home made.....apologies for my laziness! 

I could not get enough of this mixture, its so creamy, sweet and absolutely heavenly. I couldn't wait for the cake to be ready, I swear I was checking it every hour to see if it was hard yet but no I had to wait 4 hours....longest 4 hours of my life!!! 

Raw Nectarine Coconut Yogurt Cake
Makes one 6 inch cake

Crust:
1 cup dried finely shredded coconut
1/3 cup ground flaxseed
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
10-12 soft medjool dates, pitted and chopped (if they are not soft, soak them in water until they are and drain them well)
1/2 tsp ground cardamom

Coconut Yoghurt Filling
2 cups coconut yoghurt (co-yo)
1/3 cup coconut nectar
3/4 cup coconut oil, warmed to liquid
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup coconut water

Nectarine Filling
2 cups coconut yoghurt (co-yo)
1/3 cup coconut nectar
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup coconut oil, warmed to liquid
1 cup fresh organic nectarines
1/3 cup coconut water

Nectarines and coconut, for decoration

Lightly coat a 6 inch spring form removable bottom pans with coconut oil. To prepare the crust, process flax, coconut and sea salt in a food processor until fine crumbs, then add the dates and cardamom and process until the mixture holds together when squeezed between your fingers (if not holding together, add more dates). Firmly press crust into the bottom of the prepared pan, and set aside.

To make the coconut yoghurt filling, place coconut yoghurt, coconut nectar, coconut oil and vanilla extract in a high speed blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a bowl and set aside.

To make the nectarine filling, place place coconut yoghurt, coconut nectar, coconut oil, nectarines and vanilla extract in a high speed blender and blend until smooth.

There are two ways to assemble this cheesecake; layered or swirled.
For the layered look place all the nectarine mixture on top of the base and shake pan until spread over the base and then place the coconut yoghurt layer on top of the nectarine layer and shake the pan to cover the layer below. Tap pan lightly on the bench to settle the mixture and prevent air bubbles
For the swirled look, place tbsp of each mixture on top of the base and once the base is covered swirl with a knife. Repeat this process until the mixture is finished or the pan is full. Tap the pan lightly on the bench to settle the mixture and prevent air bubbles.

Place in the freezer for 4 hours or until firm enough to unmold. Serve and enjoy! Store in the fridge.

Raw Vegan Strawberry and Kiwi Cheesecake

Green and pink are the colours which form swirls of raw goodness. This cheesecake was so fun to make due to all the colours it involved and swirling the colours together was so much fun. The revealing of it is always so exciting, taking it out of the tin to reveal these amazing colours and layers which have all formed together to create heaven in a cake. And then to be able to decorate the top with all the goodness that is inside the cake is even more satisfying.

The only thing I would do differently next time would be putting the spinach in whilst the mixture is still in the blender so it blends it up smoothly and I don't get these bits of spinach in it but apart from that I would do everything the same. The original recipe which was from Fragrant Vanilla Cake I changed a bit by omitting the strawberry puree and making the mixtures separately and it worked out amazingly as you can see by the photos and it tastes like pure heaven.


Raw Strawberry Kiwi Cheesecake
Makes one 6 inch cake

Crust:
2/3 cup dried finely shredded coconut
1/3 cup ground flaxseed
3/4 cup dried finely shredded coconut
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
10-12 soft medjool dates, pitted and chopped (if they are not soft, soak them in water until they are and drain them well)
1 inch chunk raw red beet

Strawberry Filling
2 cups raw cashews, soaked
1/2 cup coconut water
1/3 cup raw coconut nectar
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup raw coconut oil, warmed to liquid
1 cup fresh organic strawberries
1/2 cup fresh beetroot, chopped

Kiwi Filling
2 cups raw cashews, soaked
1/2 cup coconut water
1/3 cup raw coconut nectar
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup raw coconut oil, warmed to liquid
1 cup fresh organic kiwi
handful of spinach

Fresh strawberries and kiwis for decorating

Lightly coat a 6 inch spring form removable bottom pans with coconut oil. To prepare the crust, process flax and coconut in a food processor until fine crumbs, then add the dates and beet and process until the mixture holds together when squeezed between your fingers (if not holding together, add more dates). Firmly press crust into the bottom of the prepared pan, and set aside.

To make the strawberry filling, in a high speed blender place coconut water, coconut nectar, vanilla and coconut oil and blend until combined. Then add the soaked cashews one cup at a time blending after each add until completely smooth. Pour filling into the mini food processor and add strawberries and beetroot and process until smooth. Set aside.

To make the kiwi filling, in a high speed blender place coconut water, coconut nectar, vanilla, coconut oil, spinach and kiwi and blend until combined and smooth. Then add the soaked cashews one cup at a time blending after each add until completely smooth. 

There are two ways to assemble this cheesecake; layered or swirled.
For the layered look place all the kiwi mixture on top of the base and shake pan until spread over the base and then place the strawberry layer on top of the kiwi layer and repeat until completely covered.
For the swirled look, place tbsp of each mixture on top of the base and once the base is covered swirl with a knife. repeat this process until the mixture is finished or the pan is full. Tap the pan lightly on the bench to settle the mixture and prevent air bubbles.

Place in the freezer for four hours or until firm enough to unmold. Serve and enjoy! Place leftovers in the fridge.

The Ultimate Raw Carrot Cake

There is carrot cake and then there is CARROT CAKE!!! And this by far is the ULTIMATE raw carrot cake. I have made raw carrot cake before and yeh it tasted like carrot cake but it was not as exciting as this was to make and to eat. This is cheesecake and carrot cake combined into one.....in my opinion you cannot get any better than that.

So I will start from the bottom and go up from there. On the base you have raw carrot cake, then the layer on top of that is carrot cake flavoured raw cheesecake and then the layer on top of that is vanilla raw cheesecake and then frosted with raw vanilla frosting and topped with dates and cashews. Both my best friend at uni and my boyfriend's mum said and I quote;

"Absolute Perfection"

And that is coming from two people who eat meat and every other animal product available and only get raw food when I make it for them. 

The Ultimate Raw Carrot Cake

Carrot Cake Base:

1/2 cup raw almond meal

1 cup raw coconut flour

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

12 medjool dates

1/2 tsp ginger powder

2 tsp cinnamon

3/4 cup dried shredded unsweetened coconut

1 - 1 1/2 cups grated organic carrots

Vanilla Cheesecake Layer
2 cups raw cashews, soaked
1/3 cup raw coconut nectar, or agave nectar
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 coconut water
1/2 cup raw coconut oil, warmed to liquid 

Carrot Cheesecake Layer

2 cups raw cashews, soaked

1/3 cup raw coconut nectar, or agave nectar

1/2 cup coconut water

1/2 cup raw coconut oil, warmed to liquid

1/2 cup grated organic carrots

1/2 tsp ginger powder

1 tsp cinnamon

Vanilla Frosting

1 cup raw cashews, soaked

1/4 cup coconut water

2 tbsp raw coconut nectar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

3 tbsp raw coconut oil, warmed to liquid

For the carrot cake base, in a mini food processor place almond meal, coconut flour, dates, vanilla, ginger and cinnamon and process until the dates are incorporated and it is all well blended. Add the coconut and 1 cup of carrots and process until pretty smooth. If not coming together like a dough add another 1/2 cup of carrots and process until incorporated. Grease a 6 inch springform cake time with coconut oil and pour the base mixture into it. Pack it in the bottom of the tin to form the base of the cake and set aside.

For the vanilla cheesecake filling, place coconut nectar, vanilla, coconut water and coconut oil into a blender and blend until combined. Add the cashews to the blender one cup at a time, blending till smooth after adding each cup. Place in a bowl and set aside.

For the carrot cake cheesecake filling, place coconut nectar, coconut water, coconut oil, grated carrots, ginger and cinnamon is a blender and blend until smooth and combined. Add the cashews to the blender one cup at a time, blending until smooth after adding each cup. 

To assemble the cake, pour the carrot cake cheesecake filling on top of the base and shake the tin to spread the mixture over the base. Then on top of that layer pour the vanilla cheesecake filling and again shake the tin to spread that layer on top. Place in the freezer for 4 hours or until firm enough to unmold.

For the vanilla frosting, place coconut nectar, vanilla, coconut water and coconut oil in a blender and blend until combined then add the cashews and blend until smooth. Place in the fridge for about 15 to 30 minutes or till it becomes thick enough to pipe onto the cake. Place in a piping bag and pipe around the top and edges of the cake. Top with dates and cashews and serve!! Store extra cake in the fridge.

Raw "Spaghetti & Meatballs"

My all time favourite comfort food was anything to do with pasta whether it was carbonara, marinara, meatballs, cannelloni or just even the simplest of things like pasta with pesto. But it got a bit out of hand where I was eating it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The amount of carbs I was putting into my body with no exercise made me gain 20kgs which I didn't realise until someone pointed it out to me. That day when that person pointed out my horrible eating habits was around 3 months ago now and ever since then I have been raw vegan and haven't looked back. The thought of that many carbs and fat going into my body sickens me now.

But when being raw vegan there is no missing out on that food that you always used to eat, no way I wouldn't allow it. These meatballs were a test on my cheap dehydrator to see if it actually worked because the first time I tried it, it failed. But to my disbelief and surprise it worked amazingly. The meatballs were firm on the outside but moist in the middle and tasted amazing!!! If you closed your eyes and ate this without knowing it was raw vegan you would think it was proper spaghetti and meatballs, its that good and that yummy!!

Raw "Spaghetti & Meatballs"

Meatballs:
1 cup dried tomatoes 
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves
2 Tbsp ground flaxseed
1/4 cup hempseeds
3 cups button mushrooms
1 tsp each dried basil and oregano
1 tsp fennel seed
1 Tbsp white miso
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
sea salt to taste
1 cup raw walnuts, chopped

Sauce:
4 large tomatoes, diced 
1 cup dried tomatoes, soaked for 30 minutes and drained well
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup fresh basil
sea salt to taste

6 medium zucchinis, peeled lengthways into noodle (1 zucchini per person)

To make the meatballs, place the dried tomatoes in a high speed blender or food processor and grind to a powder.  Add to a food processor along with the  carrots, onion, garlic, flax, hemp, mushrooms, herbs, miso, nutritional yeast and sea salt and blend until well combined. Add the walnuts and pulse until everything is finely chopped.  Shape the mixture into small 1 inch meatballs, and place on a lined dehydrator sheet.  Dry for about 8 hours until firm.  
Meanwhile, to make the tomato sauce, combine tomatoes, the sun dried tomatoes, the garlic, basil and sea salt and blend until smooth. 
Place zucchini in a bowl, top with tomato sauce and meatballs and serve!

Raw Red Velvet Cupcakes

Who likes cupcakes?? WE LIKE CUPCAKES!!! I always loved baking especially cupcakes I always found it so simple and easy. Raw cupcakes are a whole new story, with the use of veggies and dates and nuts and only a small bit of flour you have to make sure you get the right consistency for them to dehydrate properly and they can't be too dry or too sticky. So much to get right!!! Red velvet cupcakes were always my favourite because I am such a girl when it comes to colours..... I LOVE PINK AND RED!!! The recipe I used for these needed a little bit of adjusting but that may have been because I didn't exactly follow the recipe to a tee but I have never been able to follow a recipe, I like to improvise and then it a problem arises then figure out how to fix it. When looking at the recipe for the first time it required 8 cups of flour/meal which I thought was a crap load with the little amount of liquid required for the recipe so I decided 2 cups would be quite enough and sure enough they turned out exceptionally well.

I also found out today that my puppy loves raw vegan cupcakes. She first looked at it with curiousity wondering what is this thing mum is giving me but then continued to try and grab it out of my mums hands. She ended up having a bite and following mum around because she wanted more but seeing as though dogs aren't allowed to many nuts and coconut she wasn't allowed anymore. But it just shows that not only humans like animal friendly food, animals love animal friendly food.

Raw Red Velvet Cupcakes

Cake:
2 cups raw coconut flour

1/4 tsp sea salt
2  tsp pure vanilla extract
3 cups chopped raw red beets (peeled)

1 cup medjool dates, pitted (soaked in filtered water for 30 minutes if not soft, then drained)

1 cup raw coconut nectar or your choice of liquid sweetener
3/4 cup filtered water (or as needed)

Frosting:
3 cups cashews, soaked
1 inch chunk red beet
1/4  cup plus 2 Tbsp coconut water
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp raw coconut nectar or your choice of raw sweetener
1/4  tsp sea salt
seeds of one vanilla bean, or 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup raw coconut oil, warmed to liquid

For the cake, combine dates, vanilla, beets, nectar and water in a food processor and process until pretty smooth. Place in a bowl and add the coconut flour to the wet mixture and mix until smooth with a sturdy spoon (wooden is good). The batter should be like a dough which you can form into balls in your hands and then place in silicone cupcake molds to shape them. Place them in the dehydrator for at least 12 hours or until tops are not sticky anymore, they should be still moist in the middle.

Once the cupcakes are dehydrated, to make the frosting place beet, coconut water, coconut nectar, salt, vanilla and coconut oil in a blender and blend until completely smooth. Then to the blender add cashews one cup at a time, blending after each cup until smooth. Place frosting in a pastry bag and pipe a good amount of frosting on top of each cupcake.

Tropical Smoothie Bowl

It felt like summer time when I ate breakfast this morning. All these tropical fruits and berries, it was amazing! By far the best way to start the day. Ever since making my first smoothie bowl I have found I absolutely love them for breakfast. The smoothie is delicious and the toppings have amazing benefits for your body. It fills you up for ages and keeps you energised for most of the day.

I decided to make a collage of the toppings I put on my smoothie this morning. All these toppings provide such good vitamins, minerals, fibre, protein and fatty acids to your body. They are nature's super foods.

Tropical Smoothie Bowl

Smoothie:
1 large banana, cut into pieces
1 cup frozen organic mango
1 1/2 cups organic pineapple
a few organic raspberries
270ml coconut milk

Toppings:
pineapple
raspberries

almond slices

bee pollen (omit if vegan)
ground flax seed
shelled raw hemp seeds

For the smoothie, combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth, using the tamper to press the mixture into the blades.  Pour into a bowl, top with toppings (I used about 1 Tbsp of each).  Enjoy!

Note* I make the smoothie the day/night before so I don't waste time at breakfast time so its ready to go for breakfast the next day.