Sweetness in the RAW

I have a sweet tooth like nobody’s business. So I decided to start experimenting with some raw desserts on my own.

When I have a sugar craving of some sort I now have learned that it is due to lack of protein intake. So I pay attention to that. But there are other days when I just want something sweet but not anything that will send me over the edge and make me break out in the shakes…

When I saw the book: Raw Food Made Easy… I thought, now that’s a raw cookbook I can get in to.

This dessert was my first creation. And by the way don’t let the avocado in the recipe scare you. You don’t even know it’s there. You know how I know? Because my husband-to-be HATES avocados, so I didn’t tell him that I put one in there and he gobbled it up and said “Can I have another one?”

The health and beauty benefits of this delicacy are endless (also another reason to justify eating this dessert).

All things ANTIOXIDANT have beauty and health benefits.

Cashews:

• packed with soluble dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals and numerous health promoting phyto-chemicals; that help to protect against diseases and cancers.
• rich in “heart friendly” monounsaturated fatty acids like oleic and palmitoleic acids that help to lower LDL or bad cholesterol and increase HDL or good cholesterol.
• rich in many essential vitamins such as pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), riboflavin and thiamin (vitamin B-1). These vitamins are essential in the sense that our body requires them from external sources to replenish and essential for metabolism of protein, fat and carbohydrates in the body
• rich source of minerals like manganese, potassium, copper, iron, magnesium, zinc and selenium.
• Eating just a handful of cashew nuts every day can help you to avoid minerals deficiencies
• That reminds me, I need to keep a bag of cashews here at my office

Chocolate (unsweetened cocoa powder):

• Cocoa powder is chocolate that’s had much of its fat removed. When it is processed into chocolate it loses most of its nutritional value. Enjoying this in its raw form satisfies the best of both worlds.
• Has High Antioxidant Content:  14 times more antioxidants than red wine and 21 times more antioxidants than green tea

Raw Chocolate Mousse Recipe:

1/4 cup pitted medjool dates, soaked
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup mashed avocados (1 1/2 avocados)
1/4 cup plus 2 TB unsweetened cocoa
1/4 cup water

Place the dates, maple syrup and vanilla in a food processor and process until smooth. Add avocado and cocoa powder and process until creamy. Add water and process briefly.

Vanilla Creme

1 cup soaked raw cashews
1/4 cup plus 2 TB water
2 TB maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract

Place all ingredients in a blender and process on high speed until smooth. Chill for at least 30 minutes before scooping and alternately layering into glass with your chocolate mousse.

Both of these will keep for 5 days.

If you ever get around to making this dessert let me know how it turns out.

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