Last weekend I was really craving a peppermint patty. I made my girlfriend pull into a (*gasp!) gas station to buy me one because I needed it so badly. I'm a big mint&chocolate person... my favorite flavor of ice cream is mint chocolate chip. I'm so glad there are a few great vegan brands out there now made with coconut milk or almond milk. I have yet to find a good substitute for peppermint patty's though! I decided to get working in the kitchen, and here's what I came up with! (inspired by a recipe by Kelly Keough)

Ingredients:

*1 1/2 cups extra virgin coconut oil, melted

*3/4 C hemp butter

*1/2 C ZSweet (see bottom of post)

*1 teaspoon peppermint extract

*3 drops of liquid stevia peppermint

*3 drops of liquid stevia chocolate

*1/4 C agave

*3/4 C vegan carob chips (melted) or powder

*1/2 C raw cacao nibs

FILLING

*1/2 C hemp butter

*1/4 C agave

*1/4 C powdered ZSweet

*2 drops of liquid stevia peppermint

Line mini cup cake tins with paper liners. Melt coconut oil by placing jar under hot water. when coconut oil turns to a liquid, pour the oil in medium bowl. Slowly whisk in hemp butter until smooth.

Whisk ZSweet into wet batter. Add in peppermint extract, liquid stevias, and agave one at a time and blend.

Slowly stir in the carob and cacao powder a spoonful at a time. Stir raw cacao nibs one at a time. Batter should run off the spoon easily, but not too runny.

To make the filling:

in a small bowl, mix together hemp butter and agave. Add ZSweet and Liquid stevia and mix. with two spoons, drop a small teaspoon full of filling into prepared paper liners. 

Spoon a tablespoon full of prepared batter on top of the filling. Freeze for 15 minutes. Store in the freezer.

Yield: 50 candies

[caption id="attachment_1520" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Score!! "][/caption]

My Hubby Loved them!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:) :) :) :) :) :)

A fellow LA vegan chef, Kelly Keough, introduced me to ZSweet. This recipe was my first time experimenting with the calorie free sugar substitute, and to be honest I didn't taste any difference. I am going to keep experimenting with it and let you know my thoughts! So far, so good!

A friend of mine wanted me to make a raw, gluten-free, dairy-free cake for her co-worker who loves chocolate.  Here's the recipe I used:

Crust:

[caption id="attachment_1448" align="alignright" width="254" caption="raw chocolate cake!"][/caption]

• 1/2 C cacao powder
• 1/2 C carob powder
• 1/2 C ground raw almonds
• 1/3 C agave/honey
• 1/4 C cacao butter
• sea salt to taste

Filling:

• 2 C Cacao powder
• 1 1/2 C agave
• 1 C coconut butter (melt by placing in a warm/hot bowl of water)
• 1 tbsp lucuma powder

1. take all ingredients for the crust and mix in the food processor. Once they are combined, take the filling and push it into a pie/tart pan with your fingers. (the best kinds are the ones that have a removable bottom) Chill in the fridge for an hour or freezer for 30 minutes.

2. Mix the filling ingredients and add on top of the filling. Put back in the fridge or freezer for at least an hour. Viola!

You'll never know (or anyone else) that this is completely gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free and HEALTHY for you! Cacao is the highest ranked antioxidant in the world!

*Top with raspberries, strawberries and/or nuts and drizzles of cacao! (an easy cacao topping is mixing cacao powder and agave with a spoon until it's runny)

I love this recipe for raw, vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free chocolate chip cookies. They taste like the raw cookie dough we aren't supposed to love and eat while we're making "real" cookies... only these are egg-free and completely safe to eat a ton of! Now I'm sharing the recipe with you, for your noshing pleasure.

Recipe for Raw Chocolate Chip Cookies

*2 C nuts (soaked almonds)

*1/2 C dates

*1 tsp vanilla extract

*1/2 tsp sea salt

*1/4 C coconut oil, melted (not in a microwave)

*1/4 C-1/2 C chocolate chips (depending on your love of chocolate)

Directions

1. With a food processor, grind up all above ingredients except the chocolate chips. If you process them for a long time they will taste much more like cookie dough, if you process for less time they will have a nutty consistency which is fun and tasty, too!

2. After processing to desired consistency, drop the chocolate chips into the dough and mix with a spoon. Then pulse 3-4 times to mix it and grind the chips into the mixture.

3. Take a cookie sheet and spread the cookie dough into the pan, using your fingers to press into the corners and flatten into one even, level, layer.

4. Put in the fridge or freezer for 30 minutes to an hour to harden.

5. I then took it out and used heart cookie shape cutters but you can roll them into a ball and leave them that way, use another shape, or take the ball and flatten it into a round "cookie". sky's the limit! :) ENJOY!!!

 

Makes: 24 slivers of a large pie, or 4 smaller pies with 6 slices
Equipment needed: Food Processor

[caption id="attachment_1358" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="blending the crust"][/caption]

For the Crust

2 cups raw macadamia nuts OR a blend of almonds, walnuts and pecans
1/2 cup dates, pitted
1/4 cup dried coconut

For the "Cheese"

3 cups chopped cashews, soaked for at least 1 hour

[caption id="attachment_1361" align="alignright" width="150" caption="blending the "cheese""][/caption]

3/4 cup lemon juice (or lime juice-i used limequats for this! so delish)
3/4 cup honey
3/4 cup coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon celtic sea salt (optional)

For raspberry sauce:
1 bag frozen raspberries (or blackberries/strawberries)
1/2 cup dates

DIRECTIONS

To make the crust, process the nuts and dates in the food processor. Sprinkle dried coconut onto the bottom of an 8 or 9 inch springform pan. Press crust onto the coconut. This will prevent it from sticking.

To make the cheese, blend the cashews, lemon, honey, gently warmed coconut oil (do not use microwave), vanilla, sea salt, and 1/2 cup water. Blend until smooth and adjust to taste.

Pour the mixture onto the crust. Remove air bubbles by tapping the pan on a table.

Place in the freezer until firm. Remove the whole cake from the pan while frozen and place on a serving platter. Defrost in the refrigerator. (the more defrosted the better the taste)

To make the raspberry sauce, process raspberries and dates in a food processor until well blended. (Do not use a blender for this or the raspberry seeds will become like sand.)

[caption id="attachment_1363" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="finished product! :)"][/caption]

Now that I'm pregnant, I have to get blood taken all the time. I get kinda queasy after wards, and usually need a sugar hit like fruit or juice. My husband came prepared the last time, buying me a Naked smoothie and an Almond Joy. The Almond Joy was good, and made luckily with dark chocolate, but way too sugary with a ton of horrible additives.

This recipe is a healthier version of Almond Joy made with coconut oil, carob, almonds, and agave. You'll never know it's dairy-free, sugar-free and gluten-free!!

• [caption id="attachment_972" align="alignright" width="150" caption="ingredients"][/caption]

  1  cup melted extra virgin coconut oil

• 1/4 cup organic raw almond butter
• 3 drops Liquid Stevia Vanilla Creme
• 3 drops Liquid Stevia Chocolate
• 4 tablespoons agave
• 1 tablespoon organic vanilla
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 3/4 cup roasted carob powder (or chips and melt)
• 1/4 cup organic hemp seeds
• 1/4 cup almond meal
• 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut

To melt coconut oil, place jar under warm/hot water.

In a medium bowl, place melted coconut oil and almond butter. Stir until both are blended. Next, stir/whisk in Liquid Stevia Vanilla Creme and Chocolate, agave, and vanilla. Add in cinnamon and stir until it blends evenly. Slowly stir in carob a tablespoon at a time. The mixture should still be slightly runny. Add in almond meal, hemp seeds, and coconut. The mixture will run off the spoon, but very slowly.

Spoon into mini cupcake trays lined with paper liners. Pour in mixture half way. Chill in freezer for 15 minutes. When the candies are set, pop out and store in a freezer safe container. Keep frozen!

Looking for an easy dessert to make without getting an stomach ache or preparing something extravagant for hours?

Make a little extra of this pudding and store it in the fridge for a few days! *warning: can be addictive

Vanilla Pudding

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1/4 cup pitted dates, soaked 10-20 minutes
• 1/2 cup fresh berries
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract/vanilla pod

Coconut Banana Pudding (chocolate or vanilla!)

• 1 ripe banana
• 6 dates, soaked up to 30 minutes
• meat and water from one young coconut
• 2 tsp vanilla extract or 1/4 cup raw cacao or carob powder
• 1 tsp. cinnamon

Coconut Banana PIE!!!!!!!

• 3 Avocados
• 3 Bananas
• 1/4 cup of honey or agave (add more or less depending on how sweet you like it)
• 1/4 cup of raw chocolate

*Mix these ingredients together in the vitamix or blender. In a blender you may need to add some water or nut mylk to get it to mix together. When creamy and smooth, spread the pudding into a dish.

Dairy-free Whipped Cream Topping:

• Meat from 2 young Thai coconuts
• 1/4 cup of honey/agave

Mix together in your food processor or high-speed blender. Mix until creamy and spread it on top of the chocolate mixture.

*Garnish however you like. I cut up one banana and sprinkled with coconut flakes

all of these recipes are dairy-free, gluten-free and raw! bona! :)

CHERRY JUBILATION

A raw vegan dessert truffle with cherries, chocolate and Brazil nuts.

• 1/3 cup  coconut cream butter (Artisana is a great brand)
  
• 1/2 cup powdered carob
• 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp agave
• 2 tsp Stevia Plus powder
• 2 droppers dark chocolate Stevia liquid
• 1 cup fresh, pitted organic cherries
• 1 1/2 cup organic Brazil nuts
• ½ cup unsweetened carob chips
• 15 cherries, pitted and halved

Purée all ingredients in food processor except carob chips. When dough is formed, pull out blade and stir in chips. Form into balls and scoop into paper mini cupcake liners. Top each one with a cherry half.

Freeze for 15 minutes and they’re ready to serve. Store in refrigerator. Tops of cherries will get frostbite if kept in the freezer over 15 minutes.

Yield: 30