When starting with raw foods, a very simple way to enjoy the benefits of eating healthy is to incorporate raw desserts, juices and smoothies in your lifestyle as it is at the moment and then try even more goodies by the time your body starts to crave more of those good, nutritious and delicious tasting foods. Because some of the raw foods require a minimum of kitchen equipment, you might find it pretty easy to start experimenting with them in order to enjoy the benefits of their lovely textures. Raw candies and rolls only require some of the ingredients to be grind, but the good thing is that you can also find most of them already in a powder form available at the supermarket or healthy food store of your choice.
Spices are mostly powders so for this kind of ingredients it is really easy to just add them to the recipe without any major effort. Superfoods can also be found in powder form, such as maca, spirulina, chlorella, acai, etc so they are also a great addition to any raw dessert. Other foods like nuts and seeds are usually needed in a powder form in order to mix well with the other ingredients of the recipe so you will either have to grind them or buy the flour version of the product, such as almond flour, sunflower seeds flower, cashew flour, because when it comes to nuts and seeds it is pretty much the same process that turns them into a nice powdered form.
Probably the easiest to make raw desserts are candies. Basically we just need some nuts, some dried fruit for sweetness and then any other flavors of our choice. We can also add coconut oil or cocoa butter for a creamy, dreamy texture, maca is a great emulsifier at the same time as it brings a boost in your energy levels and does amazing for hormone balance, essential oils are another great addition to a delicious recipe and of course spices like ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.
Here we have some chocolate coconut candies, made with dates, brazil nuts, maca, coconut flakes, coconut oil, and of course carob powder or cocoa powder if you wish. For a more intense chocolate taste replace the coconut oil with cocoa butter or just add them both and the taste will be absolutely yummi. As far as I have seen in the last months, the choice of quality when it comes to ingredients is also an important aspect, so when it comes to coconut, for example, organic coconut flakes and cold pressed coconut oil have definitely a stronger and more creamy taste, and as a result bring more flavor to the recipe. The good thing is that in this case the coconut products are pretty much affordable, coming with reasonable prices so that you can enjoy the taste and the nutrients in the best possible form.
Another simple raw recipe that you can try when starting to eat more raw foods is making a raw roll. All you need to do is combine the two layers: cream and crust and then decorate the roll with some glaze, dried fruits, nuts, spices etc.
Here we have a fruit roll. The ingredients for this recipe are:
1 cup cashews, grind
1 Tbs agave syrup
1 tbs psyllium husk
cinnamon
orange peel
1 tbs coconut oil
Those are the ingredients for the crust. We also add some water in order to allow the psyllium husk to expand and help the other ingredients stick together to create a thick consistency. Psyllium husk is really good because it brings a fluffy texture, but you can also skip this ingredient if using more coconut oil because when mixing it with the other ingredients, the coconut oil still does its job very well by holding everything together.
Next step is the filling, which in this case is a mix of dried fruits and nuts.
1/2 cup nuts
1/2 cranberries or raisins, dried
orange peel
2-3 tbs agave syrup
coconut flakes.
Spread this mixture on top of the crust and then roll it and we are almost done.
The final step is decorating the roll with some delicious coconut flakes, nuts and dried cranberries or raisins. Add a little bit of cinnamon and leave it in the fridge for about half an hour and then enjoy the goodness of this lovely raw dessert. Have fun experimenting with raw foods and share this amazing lifestyle with your friends and family members!
impRAWvise 