raw key lime lovin'

Who doesn’t love cheesecake? I don’t think I know anyone who doesn’t…

Oh wait. Nevermind. I do.

Anyway, do you know someone who doesn’t like cheesecake? Or chocolate? At all? I love chocolate in anything and *for* anything. Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Snacks. I’ve done it all.

But today isn’t about chocolate. Maybe later on. Today is about cheesecake. Key lime cheesecake.

Raw.  Beautiful.  Divine.

Possible? Oh yes.

A few months ago, I was searching around on the web for a raw version of one of my favorite desserts. I love it cause it reminds me of summer.  It’s light and tangy and delicious.  Perfection! I found one and vowed to make it one day in the future.

The future is here! Today is the day.  Hooray!

Here’s where you can find the original recipe: key lime cheesecake (original)

Raw Key Lime Cheesecake

Crust

¼ cup pitted dates (I used honey dates)

½ cup coconut chips

A small handful of chopped walnuts

A scant ½ cup coconut cream concentrate

Filling

2 cups cashews (soaked 4 hours)

6 tablespoons coconut oil (liquid)

½ cup lime juice (the original recipe called for ¼ cup, but I like it “limey” tasting)

Juice from ½ a lemon

6 packets stevia (the original recipe called for ¼ cup agave nectar)

½ teaspoon vanilla

6 tablespoons water

Put the cashews in a bowl and cover with cold water.  Soak for four hours. Rinse, drain, set aside.

Pulse the dates, coconut, and walnuts in the food processor to a sticky, crumb-like consistency.  Add the coconut cream concentrate a little at a time until you get a dry dough consistency. Press crust mixture into a 8 inch pie plate.

Place cashews, coconut oil, lime juice, lemon juice, stevia, vanilla, and water in the food processor or high speed blender. Puree until smooth and then pour onto crust. Freeze 1 to 2 hours, or until firm. Slice while frozen, but defrost on counter or in the fridge.

Some thoughts about this key lime goodness:

One of the reasons I didn’t use macadamia nuts (original recipe) for the crust (besides the fact that I didn’t have any) is that nut crusts are so heavy tasting and I wanted to keep this dessert lightlight.  Coconut is the answer!

When I put the crust in the pan, I decided to stick in the freezer to let it “set”. Not too brilliant. The crust didn’t really stick to the filling because of that…so don’t do what I did.

Also, I used a springform pan for this recipe…but I think I should have either used a pie pan or doubled the filling recipe. It’s pretty thin, which is fine with me, but if I ever wanted to serve this to guests….yeah.

So tell me.  What’s your favorite summertime dessert?

Pictures! ...the best I can do for now...

the crust. with my fingerprints all over it. 

 have you had this? you must try it.

the cashews and coconut oil...waiting patiently. 

stevia and key lime juice (I'm not sure if that's raw or not. shh. don't tell.) 

oh yeah. I forgot to tell you...we got a new blender. 

*happyness infinity*

NINJA! 

final product. :)

"ooooh...ahhhh."

Chow!

I {heart} hummus

So. What day are we on? 162...going on 163.  Goodness. That's a big number...and that means about 202 days to go. Give or take. Probably more on the "give" side...  It's a daily adventure and I'm loving the journey.  Every day is a little different. That's what makes this all so delightful and fun! Do I still miss *ahem* "real" food?  Um...every once in a while.  

Mostly I miss coffee, meat, and hummus.

How random is that?  Very.

When I first went raw, I missed hummus something awful.  I scoured the web for a raw hummus recipe and of course, found a few!  I wanted to make it legit as possible and use garbanzo beans...which I would have to sprout.  Almost every comment I found on such recipes said that using sprouted garbanzo beans is basically the worst decision ever.  Also, almost every comment said that hummus made from sprouted garbanzo beans is, in a word, disgusting.  

Did I heed such advice?  *pfft* Of course not.

Were they correct?  Um. They were. Of course.

I tried. I really did. Twice!! Maybe I should have gone with the old saying that "the third time's the charm."  But I'm pretty sure whoever said that, never tried to make this hummus.  People. It was not good. Not a bit. The sprouted beans gave it a bitter and musty taste.  I wasted garlic. I wasted tahini. I wasted time. *sniff*  I'm over it.

Mostly cause I found an alternative.  Now, the people who said they loathed "sprouted bean hummus" also mentioned that they loved another hummus recipe floating around out there that uses zucchini.  I thought that sounded weird. How could that even work?  But it does! It totally does.  Granted, it doesn't taste exactly like the real thing, but hey....I'm not complaining. Not after the "sprouted bean" nightmare... *shudder*

Raw Zucchini Hummus

(yields over 3 cups; you can easily cut this recipe in half)

3 zucchini, chopped
½ cup lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1 ½ tsp cumin
1 cup raw tahini (pick this up at Whole Foods!)
4 tbsp olive oil
3 or 4 cloves of garlic

Few dashed onion powder

Vitamix (or blender) instructions:

Put all ingredients in your Vitamix and blend to a rich perfection!

Food processor instructions:

Same as above. You may have a hard time blending the sesame seeds, so I recommend soaking them for a few hours first, halving the recipe, and stopping frequently to scape the bowl. You can also omit the seeds entirely, but in that case I also recommend omitting the olive oil to keep a thick consistency.

Try with veggies or on salad! Both are delish.

Hey. Enjoy.

Chow!

I adore Bumble Bars

Well...

I've been negligent in my blogging...not because I don't want to write. I've missed it. Writing about these raw adventures of mine helps me keep the fire burning. I don't want the fire to die. Not ever. Cause raw is awesome. :)

The main reasons for my negligence are as follows:

   1)   I’ve been ridiculously busy with work.  Seriously. Ask anyone.
   2)   I've been at a loss for what to write about. 
   3)   I wanted to wait till I bought my camera *sigh* Alas, that still hasn't happened. You're getting an update anyway.


So what's happened since I last posted? I flew on a plane. I went to Texas. Both were incredible. Absolutely incredible. I can't wait to go back! I adore Texas.  


Also, I drank coffee. A lot. It was delicious. I adore coffee too. And I must admit…I still miss it. Oh oh! I wanna give a shout out to the Lindsey family who hosted me while I was there.... You guys are beyond amazing and generous. I felt so welcomed. :) Mucho love!

Something else I adore is Bumble Bars. You can find them at Whole Foods for over a dollar (not sure of the exact price). They are organic, vegan, gluten free, and utterly scrumptious. I love them...but not the cost. And they aren't raw. I decided to be enterprising and look for a recipe online to adapt and make my own. Success!!  Here's the original recipe I found. Bumble Bars

And here's my recipe…not changed all that much.

What you need:

1 ½-2 cups sesame seeds

3/4 cup almond meal

½ cup flax seeds, ground

1/2 chopped almonds

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup honey

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

To finish it off:

Combine all ingredients in bowl and mix until fully incorporated.  You made need to add the extra ½ cup of sesame seeds to make it less sticky. Spread mixture in pan and refrigerate for about 2 hours.  Cut into bars and wrap individually. Store in fridge.

Basically, all I did was switch out the brown rice syrup and evaporated cane syrup for honey, which is way better in my opinion. Plus, since we have bees, then I get home grown, raw honey! Yum. :)

I’m gonna try different combinations with this recipe, just like the official Bumble Bar… How do these sound?  And more ideas! (more flavors).

Tropical (pineapple and coconut)

Lemon

Chococherry (cherries and chocolate)

Chocolate Cashew (chocolate, cashews, agave)

Chai

I did take a picture or two of these sweet snacks…however, every once in a while, I seem to repel technology. So you’ll have to wait for a picture...

Chow!

Iron Man...my hero.

Does it count if I've been thinking of posting something, but just haven't gotten around to it? I vote yes.

My life has been pretty busy lately! I've been working, catering, writing, eating...and I did something to my back on Sunday. I've been out for a few days, but today has been the first day when I've actually felt normal. Praise God! This morning, I went to the chiropractor for the first time in about 3 years! He adjusted me and I think I'm all set for my trip to Dallas, Texas tomorrow! My first time ever on a plane! Can you believe it?? I was nervous earlier...but now I'm excited. :)

Speaking of Dallas, I want to tell you something...you folks are like my conscience, so I feel like I should tell you.  

I don't think I'll be eating all raw while I'm there.  *gulp*

When I went all raw in January, I decided that I would never let it become an obsession or take it so far as to be rude to people. I want to keep both feet on the ground.  So, since I'm staying with friends, and they won't be eating raw, I'm not going to make a big deal about it... and that's that.  Plus, I've never been to Texas and I hear the food is great. :)

Now, onto our inspirational picture and quote!

"I'm sorry.  This is the fun-vee...the hum-drum-vee is back there..."

This, ladies and gentlemen, is Tony Stark...aka. Iron Man. Do you see what he's drinking?? 

um. that's a green smoothie.

Radical, huh? And if he's drinking it, well....I'm gonna drink it.  And right now you may be asking yourself "why the random Iron Man quote?"  Well, besides the fact that I like the quote (a lot), to me, eating healthy and raw is like driving in the "fun vee."  It's always an adventure, it's never boring, and it makes the body super happy. Going back to my old eating habits would be like driving in "hum-drum-vee" cause it makes me feel hum-drum.

And we don't want that.

Chow!