Coconut Bacon…FTW!!!

 

This savory coconut bacon is made by baking flaked coconut in a smokey marinade. So amazingly flavorful, you’ll never miss the real thing!

Coconut Bacon

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tsp. liquid smoke
• 1 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tsp. maple syrup
• a dash of smoked paprika (optional)
• 1½ cups unsweetened flaked coconut

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Whisk everything except coconut together in small bowl. Add coconut and mix to coat. You should have just enough sauce to coat all of your coconut.
3. Spread coconut in an even layer on parchment.
4. Bake for about 15 minutes, tossing every 3-5 minutes during cooking. Watch closely, because this stuff can go from crispy to char in a very short time.
5. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Wafflelicious

Pistachio Waffles w/ Raspberry {N}ice Cream

INGREDIENTS

• ⅓ cup oat flour
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• ⅛ teaspoon pistachio extract
• Pinch of cinnamon, optional
• ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon room temperature unsweetened almond milk
• 2 large eggs whites
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup frozen raspberry
• ½ cup raw cashews soaked overnight
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
•  ½ teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

For Waffles

• With a traditional blender or immersion blender whip all waffle ingredients into a smooth batter. Let sit for at least five minutes. Preheat waffle iron with nonstick spray, measure all batter onto iron, and bake until golden brown. Let cool.

{N}ice Cream

• Place the raspberry in the freezer overnight, or until they are frozen solid. Put the frozen raspberry in a food processor and pulse. first they will start to resemble gravel. Soon the raspberry will turn into a frozen mush. At this point start scraping the sides down as your go. When the raspberry look like cream, it’s time to add the cashew base…Right out of the food processor, the ice cream is like soft serve. You can freeze it for a firmer texture. Generously scoop ice cream on your waffle top

Homemade Magic Shell

• Place coconut oil in a pan and melt over low heat. Remove from heat and add cacao/cocoa powder and maple syrup/honey. Stir until thoroughly mixed. Allow to cool to warm/room temperature, then pour over ice cream. Serve immediately!

Vegan Almond Cheese

Vegan Almond Cheese

Ingredients:

• 1 cup raw almonds
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp garlic & pepper seasoning

Directions:

Soak your almonds in water overnight The next morning, peel away the almond skin Pour your peeled almonds into your food processor along with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic & pepper and water.

Blend until it reaches a nice smooth consistency. Place a strainer over a large mixing bowl, and lay on a couple layers of cheese cloth. Pour your almond cheese blend into the cheesecloth and wrap it up. Transfer the bowl with the strainer and almond cheese to the fridge for 12 hours, or overnight. To keep it raw, stop here and devour! To add a rind, place your almond cheese ball onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and sprayed. Mold it however you’d like! I squared off the edges of mine so it resembles a wheel of brie. Place in an oven preheated to 300ºF for 30-40 minutes.

Mac n’ Cheese

It’s time to…Oil & Gluten Free Vegan Mac n’ Cheese!!

Mac n’ Cheese

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup of Gluten Free pasta, cooked
• 1 steamed carrot
• 1 steamed potato, peeled
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp onion powder
• Sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Blend all your ingredients except pasta on a high speed blender, adding water slowly until you reach a very creamy and thick consistency. You don’t want it to be very soupy, add water as needed.

Heat a medium-large saucepan an put on medium heat. Add sauce and warm a little bit, mixing while you heat add the cooked pasta and mix well.

Make sure to cover well and turn heat off. Feel free to add more vegetables like peas, broccoli, mushrooms, basil..Or just serve it traditionally and top with some fresh zucchini and cherry tomatoes like I did. This will keep on the fridge up to 5-6 days. It will also firm up more once it gets cold.

{N}ice Cream Wafflewiches

Vegan, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Fat Free….

All Free for Enjoy 🙂

{N}ice Cream Wafflewiches

Ingredients:

• 1/4 Cup sorghum flour
• 2 tbsp almond flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 2 medium egg whites
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• strevia
• 2 1/2 tbsp grated zucchini
• 1/4 cup mashed blueberries
• 2 frozen bananas, just slightly overripe ( brown spots are good)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

Directions:

For two wafflewiches

• With a traditional blender or immersion blender whip all waffle ingredients into a smooth batter. Let sit for at least five minutes. Preheat waffle iron with nonstick spray, measure approximately 1/3 cup batter onto iron, and bake until golden brown. Let cool.

{N}ice Cream

• Peel and slice the bananas into 1/4 to 1/2 inch discs. Place them in the freezer for about an hour, or until they are frozen solid. Put the frozen slices in a food processor and pulse. first they will start to resemble gravel. Soon the bananas will turn into a frozen mush. At this point start scraping the sides down as your go. When the bananas look like whipped cream, it’s time to add the almond milk…Right out of the food processor, the ice cream is like soft serve. You can freeze it for a firmer texture.
• Generously scoop ice cream on 1 waffle; top with second waffle to form sandwich. Serve immediately, or wrap and freeze for serving later.

Sunday Superfruit

Avocado!!!

Some people avoid avocados due to their high fat content. Most of us know by now that avocados have the kind of fat that actually help you lose weight!

10 Avocado Benefits

1. Nutrient dense fruit

Yes, they are actually a large berry with one seed. One avocado contains approximately 1/3 of the daily requirement of vitamin K and folate, lots of pantothenic acid, vitamin B6 and vitamin C. Avocado has twice the potassium of a banana. It also contains vitamin E, niacin, and riboflavin. That is definitely nutrient-dense!

2. A Source of Healthy Fat

They help increase good cholesterol. Avocados are full of fat, but adding avocados to the diet can increase HDL and decrease triglycerides.

3. Help Cure Cancer

The glutathione found in avocados has been found to help prevent some kinds of cancers. Researchers found extracts from Hass avocados kill or stop the growth of pre-cancerous cells that lead to oral cancer. Avocado extract was found to inhibit prostate cancer.

4. Excellent as a First Baby Food

Puts it as #1 on the top ten list of fruits for babies because avocado nutrition is well-suited for a baby’s growing development.

5. Stabilize Blood Sugar Levels

Avocado slows digestion which keeps blood sugar from spiking after a meal.

6. Avocados Can Protect Unborn Babies
One avocado provides one third of your recommended daily intake of folate, which helps form a baby’s brain and nervous system. The USDA recommends avocados as one of the best sources for some of the nutrients needed when pregnant.

7. Improve Eyesight

The high amount of lutein and zeaxanthin in avocados can protect your eyes from age-related macular degeneration and improve your vision. One ounce of avocado contains 81 micrograms of lutein.

8. Have Low Pesticide Levels

“Avocados were the cleanest: only 1 percent of avocado samples showed any detectable pesticides.“ The thick skin of the avocado protects it from absorbing pesticides.

9. Help With Weight Loss

It was found that those who ate half of a fresh avocado with their lunch had a 40 percent less desire to eat for 3 hours after lunch, and a 28 percent less desire to eat 5 hours after as compared with those who ate lunch with no avocado.

10. Good for Sexual Health and Fertility

They are rich in Vitamin B6 and folic acid which regulate sexual hormone functions. Also, vitamin B6 and potassium boost testosterone production in males. Rich, heart healthy fats keep your heart beating strong making sure that blood is flowing to the right places.

Avocado Vegetable Dip

There are so many dips available to buy at the grocery store but this is one is healthier with it’s low sodium content,   monounsaturated fat and a good source of lutein, an antioxidant that may protect vision. Best of all it is fresh, and tasty. I enjoy this mixture is on mixed green salads.

Ingredients:

1 ripe avocado, peeled & pitted
1 tsp. onion, finely minced
1 stalk of celery, finely chopped
1 – 2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tomato, chopped
Nori & Dsulse seaweed flakes to taste

Directions:

1. Mash avocado.
2. Add onion, celery and lemon juice and mix in well.
3. Gently mix in chopped tomato.
4. Serve with corn chips or slices of vegetables.

Sources and References

Raw Vegan Cheesecake

I’m in love with this cake! ❤

Raw Vegan Cheesecake

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup raw peanuts (soaked in hot water for 1 hours and drained)
• 3 tbsp coconut flour
• 2 Medjool dates
• 1 tsp ground saigon cinnamon
• 1 cup diced ripe mango (½ cup unsweetened
•  almond milk)
• 1 cup diced ripe papaya (½ cup unsweetened
•  almond milk)

Preparation

1. Make the crust first – place the medjool dates, coconut flour, cinnamon and peanuts in the food processor and pulse to obtain a sticky mixture. (Add a little water if the mixture is dry.)
2. Spread the mixture into the springform pan and press it to evenly arrange. (If you do not have a springform pan you can cover a mold with parchment paper.)
3. To prepare the filling- place mango and almond milk in the food processor and pulse until smooth mixture. The same procedure with the papaya and the rest of the almond milk.
4. Put the mixture into a springform pan, then put the pan in the freezer for 25 minutes.
5. After 25 minutes, puts the rest of the mixture and garnish with fruit that you like.
6. Leave at least 4-5 hours in the freezer or overnight.

Lovely Vegan Carrot Cake

Spongy and soft vegan carrot cake, perfect for breakfast or a snack with a cup of tea.

Vegan Gluten Free Carrot Cake

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup sorghum flour
• 2 tbsp flaxseed meal
• 1 packet of stevia
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup grated carrot
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 3 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
• 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preparation

Pre-heat the oven to 350° F / 176° C

1. Mixture into a small bowl, sorghum flour, flaxseed meal, stevia, baking powder, cinnamon and salt leave aside.
2. In another bowl mix the almond milk and vanilla extract.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat until blended.
4. Stir in grated carrots and nuts. Pour the batter into prepared pan.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. For muffins, reduce baking time to 15-20 minutes or until they pass the toothpick test. Cool on a wire rack.

French Toast (with whole grain baguette)

This is pure love, these are perfect and delicious french toasts but especially healthy and free of refined sugars, unlike to the conventional recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 baguette
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 2 medium egg whites
• 1 tsp ground saigon cinnamon
• 1 packet of stevia

Instructions

1. Start by slicing the baguette.
2. In a bowl, whisk egg whites in the milk, cinnamon and stevia then set aside.
3. In a medium pan over a medium/high heat melt 1 tsp of coconut oil. Dip 4 pieces of bread, one at a time, in the mixture, making sure you coat each side very well. Place them in the hot pan and let them cook for about 1 minute. Flip and lightly press on the pieces. Let them cook for about a minute and a half.
4. Repeat these steps until you run out of bread.
5. You can sprinkle a bit more cinnamon on the french toasts before serving them.
6. Serve them with agave syrup and fresh fruits.

AND ENJOY!! 🙂

Carrot Chips

Yummy and crispy carrot chips, is not only a healthy and fun treat, but a deliciously additive one as well.

Ingredients

• 1 large carrots (at least 1 inch in diameter), peeled
• 1 teaspoons olive oil
• garlic & pepper seasoning

Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350°F
2. Holding the stem end, shave the carrots lengthwise into thin strips using a Y-shaped vegetable peeler. Place the carrot strips in a medium bowl, add the oil and garlic/pepper to taste and toss with your hands until thoroughly coated.
3. Place the strips in a single layer on wire racks—the strips can be touching but should not overlap. (Discard or save any remaining carrot slices for another use.)
4. Bake for 6 minutes, rotate the chips and bake until the edges of the chips are just starting to turn golden brown, about 6 to 8 minutes more. Let the chips cool down until crisp, about 3 minutes. Using your hands, carefully transfer the chips to a serving dish and serve with ketchup, if desired. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.