 Photo courtesy of Hail Merry Foods One of my favorite guilty pleasures is watching television programs like Top Chef, Master Chef and Iron Chef. You might wonder how can a raw foodist enjoy watching these kinds of shows but I find them to be inspirational in regards to the incredible flavor combinations and innovative ideas that these chefs come up with while under so much pressure.
And I’m sure I’m not alone here. C’mon admit it. There must be some other raw foodies out there who share my enjoyment of these programs. Even Cherie Soria admitted to watching these shows in one of her talks while I was recently at Living Light doing my raw chef training.
Last week I was watching a chef show involving a cookie competition and one of the judges pointed out that there are actually two types of macaroons. The ones made from coconut are most familiar to Americans, however the original macaroon was actually based on almonds.
When you refer to macaroons in France or Italy it is the almond version and while the exact origins of these cookies are not known for certain, some historians claim that they were first created in an Italian monastery.
This recipe is somewhat of a marriage between the European and American versions of macaroons with a combination of coconut and almond flour. They are soft and moist with a mild almond flavor but coconut is still the main ingredient here.
They are really easy to make and the actual preparation time is fairly quick, but you will have to be patient while they are in the dehydrator as the delicious aromas are released. Mine took two days to dehydrate!
Almond Macaroons
Makes 2 dozen
2 cups shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups almond flour
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon Himalayan salt
Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine well. Form into cookies of about one tablespoon each ( a measuring spoon or mini ice cream scooper can help to create a nice shape) and place on the dehydrator trays with teflex sheets.
Dehydrate for about 12 hours or overnight then remove the teflex sheets and place onto the mesh trays. Then dehydrate for 24-36 hours longer until they dry to your desired level. They will still remain fairly moist even after a large amount of drying time.
I dried them for 48 hours total, but I am living in Costa Rica, where our humidity levels are high, and I always find I need to adjust dehydrator recipes to allow for a longer drying time, so you may not need to dry them for quite that long.
But they are well worth the wait and will keep for a couple of weeks in the fridge and at least a month or two in the freezer, so you may even want to double to recipe so you always have something on hand for an afternoon pick-me-up or for when unexpected guests drop by.
I hope you like them!
 Photo courtesy of Joel Luks Just in time for Thanksgiving, here is a recipe for a raw vegan version of a favorite holiday tradition; pumpkin pie. This is based on a recipe by Matthew Kenney from his book, Everyday Raw Desserts.
Surprisingly this pie doesn’t contain any pumpkin but the flavor and texture mimics that of traditional pumpkin pie. The similarities in the color and flavor are achieved with the use of carrot juice and pumpkin pie spices.
To make cashew flour, simply blend raw cashews in the Vitamix until ground to a flour-like consistency. This pie will keep in the fridge for a few days as well as keeping for at least a month in the freezer.
Raw Vegan Pumpkin Pie
Crust
1/2 cup shredded coconut
2 cups cashew flour
2 tablespoons raw agave
2 tablespoons coconut sugar
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
Filling
1/2 cup cashew flour
3/4 cup raw agave
1/2 cup carrot juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coconut oil
For the crust, blend the coconut in the Vitamix to a fine consistency. Add to a food processor with the cashew flour, agave, coconut sugar, salt and vanilla. The mixture should just hold together when pressed between your fingers. Press into a nine inch pie pan.
To make the filling, place all the ingredients except the coconut oil in a blender and blend until smooth. Slowly add the coconut oil and blend until combined well.
Pour the filling on top of the crust and place in the fridge for a few hours to set.
So I hope this recipe inspires you to incorporate raw foods into your Thanksgiving menu and I wish you all the best for an enjoyable holiday!
 Photo courtesy of Aaron Landry I was shocked when I heard the news today that the US congress has passed a vote determining that pizza can now be classed as a vegetable. Apparently the amount of tomatoes contained in pizza sauce is sufficient, according to these lawmakers, for it to be regarded as such.
So now we are faced with a situation where any food containing two tablespoons of tomato paste can be called a vegetable. Obviously this is a completely illogical ruling. How can such a ridiculous law come to pass?
Well it seems that this decision is entirely based on political agendas related to the financial interests of certain lobbyists in the food industry. The changes in the law were requested by the companies that produce frozen pizzas for schools, as well as the salt industry and potato growers.
The justification provided by government representatives was the following: ”This agreement ensures that nutrient-rich vegetables such as potatoes, corn and peas will remain part of a balanced, healthy diet in federally funded school meals and recognizes the significant amounts of potassium, fiber and vitamins A and C provided by tomato paste, ensuring that students may continue to enjoy healthy meals such as pizza and pasta”.
Pizza and pasta is healthy?
With the exception of the tomatoes these foods basically consist of refined flour, low quality factory-farmed meats and high fat cheese.
Meals provided to schools must currently adhere to a requirement to include a certain amount of vegetables. According to nutrition advocate, Margo Wootan, the classification of pizza as a vegetable will prevent schools from serving a wider variety of vegetables. She says that children already get enough pizza and potatoes and that ”they are making sure that two of the biggest problems in the school lunch program, pizza and french fries, are untouched”.
Now I don’t have a problem if you want to eat a pizza. That’s your choice. You know the risks and make an informed decision.
But when it comes to the food that children are eating on a daily basis, I think they deserve much, much more.
My eyes were really opened to just how much of an issue the subject of getting healthy food into schools really is when I watched Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. I highly recommend you take a look at this program. The obstacles that he faced in simply attempting to upgrade the nutritional quality of school lunches were unbelievable.
As he demonstrated, children are generally highly responsive when they are introduced to eating healthy foods, especially when they are involved in the processes of growing and preparing them.
And in the face of the current obesity and diabetes epidemics, more vegetables (not pizza and french fries), could be an important factor to assist with improving the nutritional intake of children in the United States so as to promote better health and allow them to live a productive and fulfilling life.
Source: Pizza is a Vegetable? Congress Says Yes
 Photo courtesy of Satoru Kikuchi When I first started eating a raw food diet I trusted that ingredient labels were telling the truth when they claimed that a product was raw. Now I realize that it is not always so simple and that there may be many so-called “raw” foods that are not really raw.
One of the main problems is that there is no industry standard when it comes to the classification of a food as being raw. It could simply be used to categorize a food as being unroasted - for example in the case of nuts - or not pasteurized, whereas raw foodists have a much different set of criteria as to whether we regard a food as being truly raw.
The commonly accepted idea is that if a food is not heated above 105 degrees, this will preserve the enzyme content, as well as maintain optimal levels of vitamins in a food. However, many foods that are labeled as being raw are often heated well above this temperature.
Many of us know that “raw” almonds can no longer be thought of as a truly raw food since the passing of a law in 2007 that requires all raw almonds to be pasteurized. But there are many other foods that are either labeled as raw, or mistakenly thought of as being raw, which can often make a very large contribution in the diet of a typical raw fooder.
Here is a list of some of the foods that are commonly regarded as raw but may not truly be so:
Raw Nuts
Cashews must be heated to extract them from their shells and boiled to remove strong toxins they contain. Other nuts including pecans, macadamias and Brazil nuts are heated to high temperatures during processing. Walnuts, hazelnuts and pistachios are more likely to be truly raw.
Nut butters can also be heated simply as a result of the grinding process, due to friction. Artisana is a brand that makes delicious raw nut butters that are made with a special low temperature process.
Tahini
Most tahini on the market is made from toasted sesame seeds, with the exception of the Artisana brand.
Dried Fruit
The majority of dried fruits including raisins, figs, prunes etc., are oven-dried and thus exposed to high temperatures up to 200 degrees. Fresh dates are raw but the packaged dates are unlikely to be so.
Some sun-dried fruits are available. Better yet, dehydrate your own fruit. They taste better and you can be sure of the drying temperature.
Oils
Many oils, even those labeled as cold-pressed, can be heated to 160 degrees as a result of the high speeds that occur during processing. This applies to coconut oil, olive oil and many others.
Wild Rice
During harvesting wild rice is parched at high temperatures to reduce the moisture content for long storage. This is why wild rice doesn’t actually sprout, although it does “bloom” - expand when soaked in water - which resembles sprouting.
Nutritional Yeast
Nutritional yeast is pasteurized to kill the yeast, but many raw foodists include it in their diet for its high content of B vitamins and delicious taste.
Miso, Nama Shoyu and Tamari
Miso is generally made from cooked soybeans and rice, although the final product does contain probiotics, so it is sometimes called a “living food”. The same applies to nama shoyu and tamari.
Agave Nectar
Agave must be heated to produce a chemical change necessary in order for it to taste sweet. Some companies are now claiming to be able to produce agave at temperatures below 115 degrees.
Rolled Oats
Unless specifically labeled as being truly raw, rolled oats are steamed during processing and they may also be lightly toasted. Oat groats can be sprouted and are a raw alternative.
Frozen Vegetables
Vegetables like peas and corn are blanched in boiling water for a minute or so before they are frozen.
Olives
Most olives are pasteurized prior to being put in jars.
Where to find truly raw foods
Luckily the increased demand for foods that adhere to the standards of raw foodists has resulted in a few companies making these products available. With careful reading of labels, and/or by writing letters to the manufacturers asking for disclosure of the processing temperatures, truly raw foods can be located.
So how important is it to know if your foods are truly raw?
When I made the transition to consistently eating raw foods I thought I was eating 100% raw. Now, looking back, I can see that there were many foods I was consuming on a daily basis that weren’t really raw.
Nevertheless, I still got fantastic results because I was emphasizing fresh fruits and vegetables with lots of green smoothies, while eliminating many problem foods.
There were also a couple of periods, where for several months at a time I was definitely eating totally raw because I was only consuming green smoothies, fruit, young coconut, chia seeds and simple salads with avocado. These were also the times when I made the most progress with my health and as a result I believe that a purely raw diet is usually the best when it comes to healing.
For recovery from a chronic illness it is often - but not always - best to follow a diet that consists entirely of raw foods. For those who are in good general health and wish to eat a diet for prevention of disease it is recommended to consume at least 80 percent of your diet as raw foods.
So if you are lucky to be in the latter category, it may not be as important for you to consume only raw foods, as it will be for someone who is recovering from a debilitating chronic illness.
Even still, if you are consuming nuts, dried fruits and oils on a daily basis, it could be very easy for you to go above the 20 percent safety margin that is recommended by most raw food experts as the upper limit for the consumption of cooked foods. This is even more vital to know if you also include some cooked foods like quinoa, legumes and vegetables in your diet, as many of those eating a largely raw food diet often do in varying degrees.
Whether you include these items in your raw food diet is ultimately a personal choice. Judicious use of many of these foods can often enhance the flavor of a meal and increase the pleasure of eating; a factor that is known to be associated with good health.
On the other hand if you are experiencing chronic health challenges you may choose to eliminate these foods from your diet - at least for a time - to observe if it makes any difference to your wellbeing.
 Photo courtesy of Vanessa Pike-Russel Today I’m sharing another recipe from my book, “The Raw Food Solution“. Many of you have requested fast and simple recipes and this meal is an example of just how easy and delicious raw foods can be.
I first created this recipe while I was undertaking a detox diet, but since then I have continued to enjoy it on a regular basis because it is so quick to prepare, as well as being light and nourishing.
I recommend using the Spiral Vegetable Slicer with the widest setting to create thick noodles. If you don’t yet own one of these you can make the noodles either with a vegetable peeler or by slicing them thinly with a knife into your desired shape, but be aware that this will take you much longer.
The spiralizer makes really quick work of the noodles and I recommend getting yourself one. Although I don’t use mine all that often - maybe once or twice a week - I really appreciate how quick and easy this piece of equipment makes it to prepare noodles out of vegetables like zucchini, squash and cucumber. I also use it in place of a vegetable grater for preparing veggies such as carrots and beets for garden salads.
The secret to creating a soft and silky texture with the zucchini noodles is to marinade them with lemon juice before adding the other ingredients. This takes away their crunch and releases some of the moisture to produce a more appealing mouthfeel that is reminiscent of traditional noodles.
Shallots are included in this recipe and I prefer their flavor, which is more subtle and complex than regular onions, but if you can’t find them you can substitute red or white onion.
Zucchini Noodles with Lemon and Dill
Serves 1
1 large zucchini, peeled
1 medium tomato, diced
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/3 cup fresh dill, chopped finely
1 tablespoon shallots, chopped finely
1/2- 1 avocado, mashed
Himalayan salt to taste
1 tablespoon capers (optional)
Prepare the zucchini as wide ribbon noodles with a spiralizer or mandoline. (If this is unavailable you can use a regular vegetable peeler but it will take much longer).
Toss the zucchini noodles with lemon juice and a little salt. Allow to sit while you prepare the other ingredients, then drain to remove the excess moisture.
Add chopped tomato, dill and shallots and toss with the noodles. Then add mashed avocado and optional capers and mix to combine well. Serve immediately.
The noodles are delicious served alone or stuffed inside large romaine lettuce leaves for a quick and satisfying meal. You can play around with different fresh herbs in place of the dill, if you prefer, such as cilantro, basil or parsley. And in a pinch you could substitute dried dill, in which case you would use only a tablespoon or so because dried herbs tend to be stronger than fresh ones.
While I love all of those delicious gourmet raw meals I find they can take a lot of time and energy to prepare and can sometimes be a little difficult to digest. So I appreciate recipes like this, which are more interesting than a smoothie or plain salad, while being quick to make as well as satisfying.
 Photo courtesy of Wrestlingentropy Here’s something for all of the serious raw chocolate addicts.
This is based on a recipe by Matthew Kenney from his book, Everyday Raw Desserts , for Brigadeiros, which are a variety of chocolate truffles that are very popular in Brazil and in Portugal and are usually served at birthday parties.
The original recipe called for ¾ cup of cacao butter but since I ran out and only had half a cup available I added coconut oil to make up the difference.
These are just like those delicious traditional truffles with a creamy rich center that melts in your mouth. The cacao nibs give a perfect contrast of crumch and bitterness that works really well with the soft sweet interior. They also add that serious raw cacao hit that many of us appreciate.
If you like dark bittersweet chocolate you are going to love these truffles. I made a batch and put them in the freezer so that there is always something available when guests come to visit. They are perfect to eat right of the freezer and they will keep for several months, although I serious doubt they will last that long!
Beware that these are really intense and will provide you with quite a caffeine hit so I don’t recommend eating these too close to bedtime. (Yes raw cacao does contain caffeine and even though it is less than coffee and appears to be less likely to cause negative effects, if you eat too many of these truffles you will surely notice the buzz.)
I recommend having one or two at the very most of these because they not only contain a lot of cacao but are also fairly high in calories, fat and sugar from the cacao butter and agave.
Brigadeiros (Raw Chocolate Truffles)
Makes about 2 dozen
¾ cup raw cacao powder
1 ½ cups cashews, soaked two hours
¾ cup agave nectar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup cacao butter, melted (1/4 lb)
¼ cup coconut oil
1-2 cups raw cacao nibs
Blend everything except for the cacao butter and cacao nibs until smooth. Gradually add in the melted cacao butter and blend it just until everything is properly combined.
Pour it into a bowl and place in the fridge or freezer until it becomes slightly firm, which will take about thirty minutes. Then form the mixture into balls of about 2 teaspoons each and roll in cacao nibs.
If you prefer you could try using coconut, chopped nuts or cacao powder instead of the cacao nibs. This will significantly reduce their stimulating effect as the cacao nibs are quite powerful. If you are making these for kids or anyone who is sensitive to caffeine I recommend substituting the cacao with carob powder, or using a 50/50 combination of cacao and carob to create a milder but still really delicious truffle.
I hope you enjoy them!
 Photo courtesy of Biplusone Many of you will probably know Susan Schenck because of her wonderful book “The Live Food Factor: The Comprehensive Guide to the Ultimate Diet for Body, Mind, Spirit & Planet”. This publication is over 600 pages in length and has been referred to as the encyclopedia of the raw food diet”.
In her latest book, “Beyond Broccoli, Creating a Biologically Balanced Diet When a Vegetarian Diet Doesn’t Work “, Susan outlines her own personal experiences with a raw vegan diet, as well as that of many others. She found that when she first started eating raw and vegan she felt wonderful for the first several years but after a while she started noticing a variety of health complaints.
Her hair was falling out, she was losing muscle, which was being replaced with flab, she was getting bags under her eyes and her memory was deteriorating. Even though she had been taking sublingual B12 for years, blood tests showed that she was seriously deficient in the vitamin.
Susan consulted natural hygienist Stanley Bass - who she now cites as being an important mentor – and he advised her to add a few raw eggs to her diet every day. After many years of being a committed vegetarian, and six years on a raw vegan diet, she was reluctant to consume meat or fish but was willing to compromise and add eggs, as well as a small amount of goat cheese, to her diet because she knew her health was suffering.
Even still, after about a year on this regime, as well as having regular B12 shots, her vitamin B12 levels were still not up to normal. This was when she decided that she needed to include meat in her diet again.
So she began consuming small portions of wild fish, organic chicken and grass-fed meat on an almost daily basis, as well as cutting back on her intake of carbs. This is when her health really took off and she started to experience enhanced mental clarity that sometimes exceeded that of her youth.
Her motive in writing “Beyond Broccoli” is to educate people about the possible dangers of following a strict vegan diet. She explains how raw and vegan diets can be deficient in certain nutrients, but that these deficiencies can sometimes take years to manifest.
This is why many people appear to do really well on raw vegan diets for the first year or two but very often find their health and energy levels begin to decline the longer they follow the diet. They find it hard to believe the diet that made them feel so fantastic in the beginning could actually be the source of their new health problems. Often those on raw vegan diets think they need to do some deeper cleansing and so become even more strict, when in actuality they may be exhibiting the signs of a deficiency in fat-soluble vitamins or long chain omega-3 fats.
When writing her first book, “The Live Food Factor”, one of Susan’s primary intentions was to highlight the large number of studies available that support the potential health benefits of the raw food diet. In “Beyond Broccoli” Susan’s emphasis on verifiable scientific research is equally evident. She presents a carefully considered argument as to why at least some of us may find it challenging to thrive on a vegan diet as a long-term approach to eating.
However, one thing that has not changed in Susan’s approach is her commitment to the importance of consuming a diet with a very high percentage of raw foods in order to support our optimal health. She asserts that the reason people’s health can fail on raw vegan diets is not related to the raw aspect of the diet but rather occurs when we completely eliminate the animal foods that we have evolved to survive on.
Susan has stated she really didn’t want to write this book and resisted it for over a year. Eventually she decided that she had to speak the truth because she realized that many people were giving up on raw diets when the real source of their problem was their vegan diets, not the raw food.
She asks readers to keep an open mind and consider her arguments from a rational rather than an emotional perspective. Even though you may be doing well eating a strict raw vegan diet, this doesn’t mean that it works for everyone, she says.
She adds that it may be easier to adapt to a vegan diet if you start when you are young. Those who make the change in their forties or later may find their body less able to make the metabolic adaptations necessary to adjust to the change in diet than those who commence in their twenties.
Susan talks at length about metabolic typing, which she believes is one of the main reasons why certain people do well on high carbohydrate, fruit-based raw vegan diets, while others seem to function better with a higher intake of fat and protein. However, regardless of your type she asserts that almost everyone will benefit by including animal products in their diet occasionally. Her message is that we should include at least a little bit of animal foods in our diet - about 5 to 10 percent of caloric intake – preferably raw or only lightly cooked.
Overall I found this book to be very well researched and I appreciated Susan’s careful documentation of her references so that readers can follow up on the scientific studies she mentioned if they want to do their own examination on a particular topic.
I believe that anyone truly interested in achieving optimal health and learning about nutrition will enjoy reading this book. Even if you are a committed ethical vegan you can greatly benefit from the information Susan presents on how to prevent deficiencies on a raw vegan diet with the use of superfoods and nutritional supplements.
No doubt many people will resist Susan’s work on this topic and she has expressed that she has already received quite a bit of negative feedback. However, I applaud her commitment to searching for the truth and honestly communicating her personal experiences and knowledge on this very important subject.
Above all I value the concept that everyone is individual and that we all need to find out what works for us on our own personal journey. An attitude of tolerance and acceptance for every person’s unique path is of paramount importance as we all strive to attain our highest potential of health and holistic wellbeing.
 Photo courtesy of Oandresilva Hi everyone! Hope you all had a great weekend. Today I’m announcing the winner of the giveaway of “The Raw Food Solution”.
The winner chosen at random is comment #14 - Jude. Check your inbox for your gift, Jude, and I hope you enjoy the book.
Thanks for everyone who participated. I greatly appreciate your feedback about the subjects you would like to see covered on the blog.
One recurring theme that I noticed in your requests is that many of you are looking for fast and easy recipes. So I’ll be doing my best to include more recipes like this in the near future. I understand how important this is because most of us have limited time but we still want to eat healthy and enjoy raw food that satisfies our nutritional needs and also tastes great.
Just a quick post today. We’re having major internet problems at the moment, but I’ll be back during the week with a review of Susan Schenk’s new book and a recipe for some delicious raw chocolate truffles!
 Photo courtesy of Paganites I love eating salads with a generous amount of dressing. It’s not that I like to drown my salad in dressing but to truly enjoy salad I need to add enough to give me that flavor I am looking for.
For those of you who have been eating raw for a while, it is highly likely that you enjoy eating huge salads, as I do. Many raw fooders will eat an entire salad bowl in one meal that would generally serve four people! There is hardly a day that goes by where I don’t eat a salad and generally they are of the supersize variety.
The problem is that many salad dressings contain a high amount of fat, either from oils or nuts and seeds. With high-fat dressings you can only really use a tablespoon or two on your salad without adding a fair amount of fat to your daily intake.
I don’t know about you but, while I love my fruit and veggies in all their simplicity, when it comes to eating a salad, the dressing is what makes it really delicious. So I am always looking for salad dressings that will satisfy my tastebuds, while also keeping my nutrition in balance.
This dressing features fresh tomatoes and basil: classic Italian flavors that almost everybody loves. The sundried tomato powder acts as a thickener while really boosting the tomato flavor. If you can’t find it in stores you can buy it online here - Organic Powdered Tomato - or make your own by grinding sundried tomatoes in a high speed blender.
I prefer Vega EFA oil in most raw recipes whenever possible due to its high levels of omega 3 fats. If you prefer to use extra virgin olive oil in this recipe that would also be an acceptable alternative.
I’m also sensitive to garlic so I tend to be very cautious with it but if you are a garlic lover feel free to increase the amount of garlic in this recipe.
Low Fat Tomato Basil Dressing
4-8 Servings
2 cups tomatoes, seeded and chopped
3 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, chopped
4 teaspoons Vega EFA oil
1 tablespoon sun-dried tomato powder
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon raw agave
1/2 clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon Himalayan salt
1/2 teaspoon Italian herbs
Pinch of white pepper
Place all ingredients except basil leaves in blender and blend until smooth. Add fresh basil and pulse briefly just to combine. Be sure not to overblend because this will compromise the color of your dressing. You want to see flecks of green with a red base.
This dressing will keep in a jar in the fridge for about two days. It is delicious on mixed greens with sliced tomato and avocado, topped with pumpkin seeds.
I’d love to hear about your favorite low fat salad dressings!
 Photo courtesy of Floridecires Banana ice cream is often one of the first desserts discovered by those who are new to the raw food diet, and it quickly becomes a favorite healthy indulgence! It can come as a revelation that you can blend frozen bananas to create a dessert that not only tastes good but is also good for you, and is so quick and easy to make!
I actually discovered the wonders of raw banana ice cream long before I started eating a raw food diet. It must have been at least ten years ago when I was reading a book by Carrie L’Esperance called “The Ancient Cookfire”, which she has since republished under the title The Seasonal Detox Diet: Remedies from the Ancient Cookfire.
This book has a focus on seasonal cleansing and detox diets with recipes specifically designed with these intentions in mind. She provided a recipe for a banana ice cream made with coconut milk, maple syrup and walnuts that was absolutely delicious.
I don’t remember what the particular cleansing purpose for this recipe was and in all honesty I don’t really think that is what I was thinking about when I tasted it. What a fabulous and healthy dessert! It opened my eyes to just how fantastic ice cream made from frozen bananas can be and it became a favorite summer treat.
Since then I have delved even deeper into health, nutrition and raw foods and experimented with various versions of raw ice cream including ingredients like cashews, coconut oil and agave. But I find myself returning to banana ice cream again and again because it is much healthier and lower in fat than other raw ice creams, while still providing that creamy texture that we all love.
The most basic version of raw banana ice cream involves simply blending frozen bananas in a food processor for a few minutes until they become light and smooth with a slightly fluffy consistency, as in the picture below. You can also use a Vitamix if you don’t have a food processor.
 Photo courtesy of Floridecires I have found that I get the best results, both in terms of the texture and flavor, if I first add some sweetened vanilla nut milk before adding the bananas.
Sometimes for me the pure banana ice cream can be a bit too much “banana”. The nut milk adds an extra level of creaminess that is more like traditional ice cream. I find a ratio of about half a cup of nut milk to two or three bananas to be just right.
If you prefer a lighter ice cream then I recommend adding frozen berries, especially strawberries. In fact, I have previously posted a recipe for a low fat strawberry ice cream that is a great source of protein and antioxidants. It’s so healthy I’ve even eaten it for breakfast! (Although I’m not sure it’s nutritional quality was my sole motivation.)
So here I will give you my basic recipe for making banana ice cream:
Raw Banana Ice Cream
Serves 1-2
1/2 cup cashew or almond milk (or you could use 1-2 tablespoons of raw nut butter with 1/2 cup water)
1-2 tablespoons raw agave, raw honey or maple syrup (optional for those with a sweet tooth)
1 teaspoon alcohol free vanilla extract
2-3 frozen bananas
Place nut milk in the food processor or Vitamix with optional sweetener and vanilla and blend until smooth. Add frozen bananas and process until you achieve a creamy consistency.
You can serve this right away and it will have a texture similar to that of soft serve ice cream. My preferred method is to return it to the freezer for an additional two to six hours, because this creates a firmer texture that personally I find much more enjoyable. (And with this method the Vitamix works just fine).
This is a great base to start with and from there you can experiment with optional additions. For example for coconut ice cream, start with a coconut milk and use coconut extract. For double chocolate chip ice cream add some cacao powder with the nut milk and mix through some cacao nibs at the end. You are limited only by your imagination!
So let me know if you try this and please share any great flavor combinations that you come up with. I’d love to hear what you think!
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