Naraya Cooking Health Recipe

My inspiration / goal for these was to use the nut pulp left over from the almond milk my mom made yesterday. I succeeded. Because the almonds were put through a blender and then strained, their consistency is extremely fine, so I guessed they'd work great in a cookie recipe, having the same texture as the original baked version. My guess was right! These cookies are delicious and nutritious (I feel like I say that all the time... because I do) and anyone can make them because they don't require any special or great skills. 

That's right; I just brought Napoleon Dynamite back into your life. You can thank me later. Right now all I want you to do in scurry into your kitchen and try making these! It took me a second to get used to their super smooth texture and very almondy flavour but once I did, I hastily gobbled down like three. Plus with the fudgy chocolate frosting, you really cannot go wrong. Oh yes - we're doing double chocolate here, folks. It's gettin' real.


Since almond pulp is an ingredient (although you CAN use plain almonds if you want), this implies that you should also have some almond milk in your fridge, ready to be drunk. This is ideal because everyone knows that chocolate cookies and milk are BFFs. This is the cruelty-free version of that eternal friendship. Point being: eat these cookies with your fresh almond milk. Keep it whole, keep it good, keep it cool. But hey, I know you always do. Wink.
I'm feeling pretty joyful - literally, full and almost bursting with joy - today because after a week of a lot of negativity entering my life, things are looking bright again. Let me say right now that I am basically always ecstatic (often to the point of not being able to control blissful laughter) about the nature and circumstances of my life. I am seriously BLESSED and I actively remember this at all times. That being said, the past several days have been unusually tough. A couple people I care very much about were fairly upset with me (for valid reasons). I developed some strange illness - a mix of mono and the flu - so I couldn't go to school. Mother Nature chose to bless me with her monthly crimson gift. All these things combined left me stranded at home, alone, coughing endlessly and painfully, with only my abnormally stressed-out mind to question if I was an evil person or if the world just misunderstands me. It also messed up my metabolism, exercise regime, and skin. Woe was me, relatively speaking. 


Fortunately, it seems I am through the worst of it. My friends are letting me back into their lives, my sickness is packing it's bags and waving farewell; meaning that soon my body and brain will get back to normal and I can return to my regularly schedule program that is life! The way I see it: this week was like a challenge, forcing me to realize more than ever how lucky I am for all that I have. In addition, getting healthy again is getting me mega pumped for a party I'm going to on Friday.

I hope you guys like hearing about my personal life because I sure do find it useful to write it out. This is my online diary for the world to see. If you don't care to know about my daily living, the internet is great in that it lets you scroll past all this junk and get right to the good stuff! That being the recipe. No losers here! Only cookies.

CHOCOLATE ALMOND COOKIES WITH FUDGY FROSTING 

Cookies:
1 cup almond pulp (or 1 1/2 cups almonds) 
1 1/2 cups medjool dates
1 heaping tablespoon maca powder
2 heaping tablespoons cacao powder
2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 
Pinch of Himalayan pink salt

Frosting:
2 tablespoons cacao powder
2 tablespoons almond butter
2 tablespoons coconut nectar

To make the cookies: throw all the ingredients in your food processor and process until it all sticks together. Form into balls and press into cookies on a baking or dehydrator sheet. Dehydrate for 2-4 hours, or "bake" at the lowest temperature in your oven, until they hold together. Alternatively you can leave them as is and put them in the fridge. Up to you. Ain't nuthin' but a texture thang.

To make the frosting: mix all the ingredients together until smooth. Frost your cookies. Nom.

Today's post is simple and short. This is primarily because the recipe I WANTED to give you is taking longer to dehydrate than expected. Hint: it has something to do with chocolate and cookies. Oh, wait. That gave it away, didn't it...

My mom made almond milk with our new nut milk bags this morning and I thought it would be delicious added to my daily smoothie. I was right. Here are some easy recipes for making your own nut milk. The flavour is incomparable to the store-bought variety. Nuff said.


POWER SMOOTHIE with FRESH ALMOND MILK

2 banana
1 cup frozen berries
1 tablespoon Jump Up and Go Go (Go Green)
1 cup almond milk 
1/2 cup chopped pineapple

Blend. Pour. Sip.

Enchilada police: arrest me now. These are too delicious to be legal. A chunky salsa of avocado, tomato, onion and cilantro mixed with a walnut taco meat spiced with cumin and coriander, all wrapped up in raw tomato-corn tortillas and covered in a creamy cashew cheese sauce. This is savoury food heaven.


I got mono from a friend on Thursday, and then proceeded to do the opposite of what I should have done; I partied all weekend instead of staying home and resting. It was worth it! But now I'm feeling pretty low. Also, on Friday night I did something kinda stupid and now a person I care deeply about doesn't want to talk to me for awhile. This is not helping my condition. To combat my emotional and physical sickness so far, I have downloaded The Very Best of Enya (don't judge me), composed a list of important documentaries to watch, and made these enchiladas.


Honestly I'm not feeling much better yet, but I hope it's just a matter of time... before this person wants to see my face again AND before I can swallow painlessly again. ONLY TIME. Ha-ha. Get the Enya reference? Okay, I'll stop.
Back to food. These are epic. Not authentic at all (you can't be when you make something raw and vegan, just being frank here), but mind-blowingly tasty nonetheless. It's quite a simple recipe and doesn't take long to make at all, not including dehydration time for the tortillas. The taco nut meat is almost too good to be true, and the cashew cheese sauce will make you sing. It goes without saying that the salsa is fabulous. Make these now, then freak out with joy.


ENCHILADAS with SALSA, CHEESY SAUCE & NUT MEAT

Tortillas:
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup corn 
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
Salt and pepper, to taste

Cashew cheese:
1 cup cashews
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons miso 
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 garlic clove
3/4 cup water, as needed
Juice from 1/2 lemon

Taco meat:
1/3 cup walnuts
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Cumin and coriander, to taste
Salt, to taste 

Salsa:
2 tomatoes
1/2 onion
1 avocado
1/3 cup fresh cilantro 
Juice from 1/2 lemon 
Salt and pepper, to taste

To make the tortillas: put the onion, corn and tomato in your food processor and pulse until it becomes all mushy, add the flax seeds and salt and pepper and process until it thickens up. Spread this mixture evenly into 3 large circles on dehydrator sheets and dehydrate for 1 few hours or until they are pliable. Alternatively, you can spread the mixture on parchment paper-lined baking pans and put them in the oven at the lowest temperature. That's what I did. 

To make the cheese: blend all the ingredients together until smooth and creamy. Pour into a bowl and set aside. 

To make the taco nut meat: pulse all the ingredients in your food processor until it forms a crumbly mixture. Put in a bowl and set aside. 

To make the salsa: chop up the produce, throw it in a bowl, and season it with the lemon juice and salt and pepper. 

Assembly: fill up your tortillas with salsa, nut meat and a little bit of cheese, then roll them up and cover them all with more cheese sauce and the remains of your other fillings. You'll have left over cheese sauce.

Ingredients

• 1 8oz. package tempeh (I used this three grain tempeh), crumbled
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 large cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil or 1/4 cup water, for sauteing
• 1 can (15 oz.) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (15 oz.) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (28 oz.) diced fire roasted tomatoes and juices or 3 cups fresh diced tomatoes
• 1 can (4 oz.) diced mild green chilies or 1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon garlic powder, optional
• 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder, optional
• Salt & freshly cracked pepper to taste
• 1 bottle dark beer (Negra Modelo 1 bottle = 1 1/2 cups) plus 1/2 cup additional water or 2 cups water
• scallions, for garnish

Ingredients

• 1 fuyu persimmon, peeled and diced
• 1 cup red grapes (use your favorite color grapes)
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
• pinch mineral salt
• 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In medium bowl combine the oatmeal, cinnamon, cardamom, pecans and salt. In another bowl combine the milk, syrup and vanilla. Add wet mixture to the dry mixture, mix well. Add in persimmon and grapes, mix again.

Place mixture into a lightly greased 9 x 9 baking dish and bake for 40 minutes. Serve warm with a splash or two of non-dairy milk over top. 

Serves 4 or 2 generously.

Notes:

Sub in fresh cranberries for the grapes. Try using diced apples of choice in place of the persimmon. Use more of either of the fruits if you like. 

An excellent way of eating warm, raw meals in the colder months is in soups. You can use spices, garlic, onions, and other vegetables and hot water to create creamy, flavorful, healthy bowls of goodness that will have everybody asking for more! This particular recipes uses garlic to add heat, and avocado for creaminess. The other ingredients are fresh and bursting with nutrition and great taste. I like adding chopped veggies to the soup so you have another texture. Grab a spoon!

This recipe was featured on Chalkboard Magazine about a month ago, and I figured it's time to share the photos and recipe on my own blog too. This soup is DELICIOUS, insanely healthy and so easy to make. There are literally zero downsides involved. Let's slurp raw goodness and dance to this song.

I saw this picture of some Hostess cupcakes on Tumblr awhile ago and figured I'd better make a raw and vegan version because... why not. Although I never ate the infamous baked treats before I became vegan, their imagery still managed to infiltrate my eyesight; good marketing does that. If you're not familiar with what I am talking about, Hostess cupcakes are just chocolate cupcakes filled with a vanilla cream, and topped off with chocolate frosting and an endearing little swirl of the vanilla cream.

Sadly, they're full of all the crappiest-quality ingredients you could possibly put together. Seriously - no one is living longer or fighting cancer by eating these guys. Fortunately, apart from their appearance, this recipe is the exact opposite, plus it probably tastes better (I'm a little biased though). The ingredients include dates, oats, cashews, coconut oil and cacao powder. Google any of those and you will see that they are all excellent for you. Hehehe. Sometimes it feels like the world is almost too good to us.


Here's a run down of the recipe: the cupcake part is made up of oats, date and cacao powder; the vanilla cream filling is mostly cashews and coconut oil; and the chocolate frosting is cacao powder, almond butter and whatever sweetener you like. My frosting skills are lacking, as you can tell by the pathetic swirls I failed at creating. I had to use a hoisin sauce bottle, okay? No fancy piping bags in THIS kitchen, we do it thrifty-style. Of course, it doesn't actually matter what your swirls look like, since they're all gonna taste equally delicious and wholesome.

When I made these they were very sweet and rich (almost too much so, and for me that is saying a LOT) so in the recipe I typed up here, I lessened the amounts of sweeteners. But as always: you can - and should - adjust the recipe to suit your tastes/available ingredients/whatever. Note: you will have leftover vanilla cashew cream... I assume this will not be a problem.


CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES WITH VANILLA CREAM FILLING

Cupcakes:
1 cup oats
1 cup dates
2 tablespoons cacao powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Vanilla cream filling:
1 cup cashews 
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup water
1-2 tablespoons coconut nectar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Chocolate frosting:
2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
1 tablespoon cacao powder
1 tablespoon coconut nectar (or other sweetener)

To make the cupcakes: pulse the oats in a food processor until they become flour-like. Add the rest of the ingredients and process until it all sticks together. Press into lined cupcake tins and indent a thumbprint in the middle of each one for the vanilla cream. Put in the fridge.

To make the vanilla cream: blend all the ingredients together until smooth. Scoop a spoonful into each of the indents you made in the cupcakes. You'll have lots left over. Put the cupcakes back in the fridge.

To make the chocolate frosting: mix together all the ingredients until smooth. Let it re-solidify just enough so that you have a frosting consistency. Frost the top of the cupcakes and then using a piping bag, decorate the tops of your cupcakes with the vanilla cream. Eat right away or within 1-2 weeks.