Finding something to stand in for yogurt has been quite a journey for me. This morning for breakfast, despite the fact that I overslept, a potential recipe dawned on me. I had bought a bunch of fresh apricots yesterday for another recipe idea which paired beautifully with this recipe. In the recipe I use a container of Bio-K probiotics. This liquid probiotic can be found in the cooler case of many natural foods stores. It is cultured in a variety of mediums including various dairy-free, gluten-free options. Choose whichever one lines up with your specific dietary requirements.

Lemon Yogurt with Apricots

1 cup Really Raw Cashews, soaked
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup Coconut Creme Vanilla
2 tbs. local, raw honey
1 tbs. Chia Seeds
1 cup water
2 drops lemon essential oil
1 container Bio-K of choice
6-8 fresh apricots, chopped

Add cashews, lemon juice, coconut creme, honey and chia to a high-speed blender. Start blending and slowly pour in water. Allow to blend until smooth. Turn off blender and add lemon oil and Bio-K. Blend to combine. Serve with apricots.

I ended up eating this right away (like I said, I overslept!). I’m going to try a batch soon that ferments a little longer. I’ll let you know how that works out.

Cream Filling
1 cup Really Raw Cashews
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup raw, local honey
2 drops lemon essential oil
pinch of salt
1/2 cup Vanilla Coconut Creme
1/4 cup Cacao Butter, melted
1 tsp lecithin

Place cashews in a food processor. Process until finely chopped. While the food processor is running pour water in. Allow to process until creamy. Stop machine and add honey, lemon oil and salt and process until well-combined. Add vanilla creme & cacao butter and process again until creamy. Add lecithin to running machine and process just a moment more. Pour into a bowl and allow to set in the freezer while you make brownie base.

Brownie Base

1 1/2 cups Pecans
1/2 cup Coconut Chips
1/3 cup mesquite meal
pinch of salt
1/3 cup Cacao Powder
1/4 cup raw, local honey
1/4 cup Cacao Butter, melted

Add pecans to food processor and process for a moment. Add each ingredient individually and process for a moment until each ingredient has been added. Process until it clumps up a little.

Press a small amount of brownie base into a silicon cupcake wrapper until you’ve used up brownie batter. Allow brownie base to set in the freezer 5-10 minutes. Once set remove cream and brownies from the freezer. Put a tablespoon dollop on top of each brownie base. Put back in the freezer until chocolate topping is ready.

Chocolate Topping

3/4 cup Cacao Butter, melted
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp. Vanilla Bean Powder
1/2 cup Cacao Powder
1 tsp. wheat-free tamari or nama shoyu

Whisk ingredients together until smooth. Take cupcakes out of freezer and fill the remainder of cups with chocolate topping. Return to freezer until set then devour.

Lately for lunch I’ve been wrapping leftover salad fixings, sauerkraut, tahini dressing and spirulina crunchies wrapped in nori. A nice thick layer of spirulina crunchies on top of tahini dressing in a nori roll reminds me of the days I used to put potato chips on my sandwiches.

Here’s a photo of a recent nori wrap prior to rolling:

Tahini Parsley Spread

1 jar Tahini
2 lemons, juiced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup water
1 bunch parsley, roughly chopped.

Add everything except water and parsley to a food processor. Begin processing and slowly pour water in while the machine is running. Once it is smooth a creamy turn off machine and add parsley. Pulse machine until parsley it mixed in but still distinct pieces. Eat with copious amounts of spirulina crunchies.

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Blueberry Goji Pudding Parfait

16 ounces frozen wild blueberries
1/2 cup Goji Berries
1 tbs Chia Seeds
a drops of stevia
1 cup Raw Cashews, soaked
1 tbs. Coconut Oil
1 lemon, juiced
2 tbs. liquid sweetener of choice
1/2 tsp. Vanilla Bean Powder
2 tbs. water

Mix frozen blueberries and goji berries together, place in a refrigerator overnight to allow the blueberries to defrost. Place the mixed berries in a blender with chia and stevia and blend until smooth.

Next process cashews in a food processor until finely chopped. Add coconut oil, lemon juice, sweetener, vanilla and water. Process until creamy.

In 3 or four glasses put a dollop of blueberry pudding. Follow with the cashew cream. Repeat until all of the pudding & cream is finished. Garnish with Bee Pollen. Eat right away or chill.

Anyway, it’s summertime and for me, it’s time for frozen stuff! I love making raw ice cream utilizing amazingly good-for-you nut fats (including coconuts; it’s a nut) whole and in “milk” form, but it takes some prep work, and I am really over the simple raw ice cream route. You know, frozen naner’s, water and sweetener ground up in the Vita-mix. Hot summer days create lazy kitchen days, with a craving for cool down foods, but I don’t always feel like diggin’ the meat out of a coconut, so I’ve taken the banana and given it new life by leaving it in it’s original shape, drowning it in chocolate sauce, rolling it in goji berry powder and freezing that bad boy! It doesn’t get any easier or delicious than that on a hot summers day.

Frozen Choco-Covered Naner’s w/Goji Dust – YEAH, BUDDY!!
Bunch of ripe bananas
2 cups Cacao Powder
1 1/2 cups maple syrup
½ tablespoon Vanilla Powder
Pinch of sea salt
½ cup Coconut Oil, warmed to liquefy
1 cup Goji Berries
Wooden skewers

First, cut bananas in half on the bias and freeze for ½ hour (they are easier to work with when they are a little firmer). Combine all the ingredients except the coconut oil and goji berries in a high-speed blender. With the blender running, add the coconut oil and continue blending to emulsify. In a clean Vita-mix container, grind goji berries into a powder (or you can use a coffee grinder) and set aside. Next, roll the nanas into the chocolate sauce, place onto a stick length-wise, then sprinkle all sides with goji berry dust. Lastly, place these beauties back into the freezer and freeze for firmness; at least 3 hours.

Store the leftover chocolate sauce in a covered container in the refrigerator. Before using, place it in the dehydrator to warm to liquefy it. If you don’t have a dehydrator, you can also place the container in a warm water bath.

Savory Green Italian Crackers

2 onions, shredded
4 cups sunflower seeds, soaked overnight
1 tbs. mineral-rich salt
3 tbs. nutritional flakes
1 bunch fresh basil or 1 tbs. dried
1 tbs. Chlorella Powder
1 bunch parsley
8 oz. Sundried Heirloom Tomatoes, soaked 30 minutes (save water)
2 3/4 cups tomato soak water
8 fresh rosemary twigs
1 bunch fresh spinach
2 cloves garlic
1 tbs miso
2 lemons, juiced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup flax or Chia Seeds, ground

Place shredded onions in a very large mixing bowl.

Place half of the soaked sunflower seeds in a food processor and process until broken down. Add salt, nutritional flakes, basil and chlorella. Process again, adding tomato water as needed to facilitate smooth processing. Remove this mixture and add to the onions.

Without cleaning the processor add the remaining sunflowers seeds and process. Add parsley and rosemary, process adding tomato water as needed. Add spinach and process until smooth. Add this mixture to the mixing bowl.

Again, without cleaning the processor, add garlic, miso, lemon juice, olive oil and soaked tomatoes. Process, adding tomato water as needed, until smooth. Add this mixture to the mixing bowl. Also add the ground flax or chia.

Mix everything, using your hands works best, adding additional tomato water to facilitate blending. Once it is well mixed spread onto teflex sheets. I usually fill about 5 trays but you can make your crackers thinner or thicker depending on your preference. Dehydrate at 115 for 3 hours. Score each sheet of crackers to desired size/shape and transfer off of the teflex sheet and dehydrate for another 12 hours or until dry and crispy.

Pecan Nougat & Maca Creme Filled Chocolates

Pecan Nougat
1 jar Pecan Butter
1/3 cup raw, local honey or liquid sweetener of choice
1/3 cup Coconut Oil, melted
1/2 tsp. Vanilla Bean Powder
2 tbs. Cacao Powder
1/4 cup Pecan Halves, broken into bits

In a food processor combine all the ingredients except for the Pecan Halves. Process until smooth and creamy. Spread this mixture in an 8″x6″ baking dish and press pecan pieces on top. Place pan in the freezer and allow to set while you prepare the other parts of the chocolates

Maca Creme

6 dates (I use local Arizona Black Sphinx)
1/4 cup Coconut Oil, melted
1 tbs. Lucuma Powder
1 tsp. Super Maca
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tbs. raw, local honey or liquid sweetener of choice
2 tbs. Really Raw Almond Butter
1/2 tsp. Vanilla Bean Powder
pinch of salt
1/3 cup of water

Place ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth and creamy. Spread over the pecan mixture and put back in the freezer to set.

Chocolate

1 pound Cacao Butter
2 1/2 cups Cacao Powder
1/2 tbs. Vanilla Bean Powder
1/2 cup Yacon Syrup
1/4 cup Lucuma Powder
pinch of salt

In a double boiler or two stacked bowls place some hot water in the bottom and the cacao butter in top. Melt the cacao butter. Once melted stir in the remaining ingredients one at a time until well combined and smooth. Re-heat water as necessary.

Assembly:

Remove the layered pecan & maca from the freezer. Using a knife cut nougat into 10 bars. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Carefully remove one pecan maca bar from the baking dish and dunk the bar into the melted chocolate, then place on the parchment paper. Repeat process until all bars have been dipped. This is very messy! Place bars in the freezer.

Once they set, dip again. You can repeat this process until your melted chocolate is used up or until you have reached a desired thickness on the coating. Pour remaining chocolate into molds to enjoy on its own.

Make sure to store these in the refrigerator once you have finished them.

As an almost graduated student of Gabriel Cousens, M.D., live-vegan food nutrition program (thank God for Vivapura superfoods! They gave me nonstop energy needed to study) and LOVER of raw food, I bring to you a recipe that is not just easy, my peeps are Vivapura do most of the work – well, them and the cacao Gods. Because I am a young grasshopper of Gabriel’s, I have a lot of clients who are healing on the deepest level through a low-glycemic raw diet (I like to call it the almost no-glycemic diet). Of course, there is more to this healing diet, such as how you oxidize food can dictate what you eat, etc., but today we are just going for a GREAT, SUPER AMAZING, EASY, SNACKY SWEET TREAT THAT IS PHASE 1!! Drum roll please….

I bring to you: VivaTurtle LOVE!! OMG! Chocolate-Caramel raw turtles that are low-glycemic. Yep!! Feel the love and don’t forget to share!!

Caramel Sauce
¼ cup + 1 tablespoon Pecan Butter
2 tablespoons Coconut Crème
1 tablespoon Yacon Syrup* (this is so low-glycemic, I allow this sweetener in a phase 1 diet; but very minimal use)
2-4 drops liquid stevia (to taste)
1 teaspoon vanilla powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Pinch Celtic sea salt
Water, as needed to blend

Directions
In a high-speed blender, blend all the ingredients, adding water to thin as needed. It will become more of a caramel-like texture with refrigeration.

*You can omit and just use stevia if on a VERY regulated low-glycemic diet. But, this gives the caramel the earthy flavor that dates or Turkish figs would normally bring to this recipe (this is how I make my regular caramel). Oh, and isn’t it hilarious that Spellcheck tries to change yacon to bacon!

Chocolate Sauce
1 1/2 cups Coconut Oil (not butter), warmed into a liquid (can melt in a dehydrator or in a warm water bath)
3 tablespoons Yacon Syrup*
2-4 drops liquid stevia (to taste)
3/4 cup Cacao Powder
Pinch sea salt

Directions
Blend all the chocolate icing ingredients in the Vita-Mix until smooth (like 60 seconds).

*You can omit and just use stevia if on a VERY regulated low-glycemic diet.

Assembly
Pour a one pound bag of I Thrive Trail Mix (Phase 1) into a large bowl. Next, stir in caramel until well-combined. Using a melon baller (or in the culinary world, we refer to this kitchen tool as a Parisian Scoop), drop balls onto a baking sheet, flattening out somewhat with a spoon, and place in freezer for at least 3o minutes. Lastly, dip hardened treats in chocolate sauce and freeze again until the turtles shells are formed!

Even Easier Option:
So, if you want to save on time, you can melt two Mint Zero Pointe chocolates from Sacred Heart over a double boiler (you can find this method on YouTube) and pour over turtle base; then refreezing. It gives them a minty, caramel taste reminiscent of Girl Scout Thin Mint and Caramel DeLite cookies all rolled into one. Nostalgic tastes are soooo rooted in those epigenes, right!?? However, this version won’t kill you!!

When making these types of foods I have a few things that I take into consideration. First is, where can I sneak in the superfoods? In this recipe I managed to sneak in Cacao Powder, mesquite powder, Cacao Paste, Coconut Oil and Vanilla Powder. They are gluten-free, casein-free and vegan. The other big concern is taste, I mean I don’t want my daughter to be the one whose mother always sends in the “weird” food. And the final consideration is my location. It can be very hard to find ingredients that can fit all these criteria in my location. So while my preference might be using a certain group of products to make, say, frosting, I am left having to get what is available in my area.

This recipe has some of all of those things, superfoods, tastiness and a few ingredient compromises because of what I could find in my area in my time-frame.

Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes

5 1/2 cups gluten-free baking flour blend (I used one from Bob’s Red Mill that already had baking powder and such added)
1 cup Cacao Powder
1/2 cup mesquite powder
1/3 cup Cacao Paste, broken up into small pieces
1 cup Coconut Oil, melted
1 1/2 cups agave or other liquid sweetener
1 cup fruit or veggie puree (pumpkin, apple, cherry, apricot)
1 tbs. Vanilla Powder
1 cup chai tea

Preheat oven to 325 degreesMix all of the ingredients into a mixing bowl until well-combined. Line a muffin tin with paper cups and fill 3/4 of a way full. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely on a baking rack.

Frosting:

Pamela’s Confetti Frosting Mix
8 tbs. softened shortening or butter-like substance of choice
1/4 cherries
1/2 tbs. Vanilla Powder

Place ingredients (except sprinkles that come with mix) in a food processor and pulse until well-combined but still with some chunks of cherries.

Frost cooled-cupcakes and sprinkle with sprinkles. Enjoy!

Pineapple Chlorella Smoothie

1/4 of a pineapple, peeled and chopped (if you have a high-powered blender use the core too)
1/4 tsp. Vanilla Powder
4 drops liquid stevia
1 tsp. Chlorella Powder
large handful of baby spinach
water

Place everything in a high-powered blender. Add water to the height of the ingredients. Blend and blend and blend to really break down the pineapple. Then drink up!