Raw Desserts: Eating to Thrive, Not Just Survive!

Hi Everyone! We hope you've all had a great weekend. This week we wanted to discuss something a bit more controversial - raw desserts! We all know that this has been a 'thing' for quite a while now; a lot of you may have encountered restaurants that serve raw and organic options, and some of you may have even begun to change their lifestyle around eating more raw and organic meals. The big question is, why go raw in the first place?

There are the obvious reasons - that deep frying, sodium and sugar additives along with preservatives are simply not good for your body. Without delving deep into a lot of unfamiliar jargon, the crux of the benefits of eating raw is this: a lot of the vitamins and minerals that our bodies need are compromised when certain food are cooked. We're not saying everyone needs to jump on the bandwagon and start chucking out the stoves and pans, but why not experiment with the best part of the meal? Dessert!

Here are 3 scrumptious, raw dessert recipes that make us drool. Give it a go and let us know what you think!

1. One Minute Fudge (A quick fix for a craving for one!)

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 teaspoons coconut oil

2 teaspoons honey

Directions:

1. Throw the ingredients in a tiny bowl.
2. Grab a spoon and begin to mix. You may want to put a playlist on and groove as you will need to mix slowly and carefully.
3. When the texture is similar to our photo, the fudge is ready to be enjoyed!


2. Raw Raspberry Bars

Ingredients:
Shortbread bars

2 cups dried, shredded coconut

1/2 cup cashews

1/4 cup maple syrup (or honey or agave nectar)

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Raspberry Jam

1 1/2 cups raspberries

1/2 cup dates

Directions:

1. Process all white shortbread ingredients in food processor. Process briefly until you get a crumbly consistency. Tip: mixture should stick together when pinched.
2. Take 3/4 of the white mixture and press it down firmly into your pan/molds. Refrigerate immediately so the bars can start firming up. Set remaining 1/4 white mixture aside, to be used later.
3. Blend all raspberry jam ingredients together until a smooth, jam-like consistency is reached.
4. Get your white bars out of the fridge, and smooth the raspberry jam on top of the bars using the back of a spoon. Place back in refrigerator.
5. Refrigerate bars for at least 1 hour so that the jam can firm up a little bit.
6. Sprinkle remaining white crumble mixture on top of the bars.
7. Place in freezer for at least 3 hours to firm up.
8. For an optional fancy addition, top each bar with a frozen raspberry and share with friends!

3.Vegan Banana Split - on a Spit!

Strawberry Layer Ingredients:
1/4 Cup Natural Cashew Butter
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Cups Hulled Strawberries
1/2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
3 Stevia Packets
Dash of Salt



Banana Cream Layer Ingredients:

3 Bananas
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
Dash of Cinnamon
3 Stevia Packets
1/4 Cup Coconut Milk
3 Tbsp Shredded Coconut

Chocolate Layer Ingredients:
1 Cup Pumpkin Puree
4 Tbsp Cocoa Powder
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Tbsp Agave (Maple Syrup or Honey)
1/2 Cup Natural Peanut Butter
2 Tbsp Almond Milk

Directions:

1. Blend each layer separately in your food processor and set aside.
2. Layer each as desired into your popsicle molds.
3. Freeze for 6 hours or more.
4. Remove and enjoy!

There you have it - let us know which dessert was your favourite, and if you have other recipes to recommend.

For more recipes, check out these sites: http://www.therawtarian.com/ http://www.damyhealth.com/2012/07/top-30-best-raw-desserts/