Raw Vegan Cacao Beetroot Cake with Fudge Frosting

Raw Vegan Beetroot Cupcake with Fudge Frosting

I've been seeing a variety of beetroot cakes lately and they look so darn good!  So after becoming inspired, I decided to create my own version - and came up with this super delicious recipe.

I made a few mini cupcakes to try it out first and then made a small cake for Mark's work - it was for this months birthday celebration and the theme was Chocolate.  And boy oh boy you should have seen the sea of chocolate there! (drool).

Raw Vegan Beetroot Cake with Fudge Frosting

The cake was moist, flavorful and held together nicely.  I'm going to make a few changes next time I make it, but my current recipe is truly quite delicious. 

You really don't need a frosting or icing for this melt in your mouth cake, but hey... I had to continue on with the Chocolate theme, right?  I didn't want a nut base frosting, so I played around and came up with my WOW THIS IS AWESOME Fudge Frosting. 

Now that my mouth is watering and I'm wanting chocolate, I'll move on to my recipe. 

Raw Vegan Cacao Beetroot Cake with Fudge Frosting
makes one 7x5 cake

1 1/2 cups brazil nuts
1 cup medjool dates soaked in fresh water and drained (reserve soak water)
1 cup grated beetroot
1/3 cup plus 1 Tbs cacao powder
1/3 cup coconut flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbs agave
pinch sea salt

Place brazil nuts in food processor and process to nut flour, but do not over process (there will be little bits). Transfer the nut flour to a bowl and set aside.

Add the softened dates and grated beetroot to processor and process until combined.  Add in the remaining ingredients and the nut flour then process until well combined.  If mixture is too dry, add in some of the date soak water 1 TBS at a time and pulse process.   

Press mixture into a lined 7x5 glass pan and place uncovered in fridge for at least 90 minutes or until firm.  Can be enjoyed with or without the frosting. 

Fudge Frosting
6-8 medjool dates soaked in fresh water and drained (reserve soak water)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup cacao
1 Tbs agave
4 Tbs date soak water
pinch of sea salt

Put all ingredients into blender and blend until smooth and creamy.  It will be like a thick frosting, but creamy.  If mixture is too thick add in more date soak water 1 TBS at a time until desired consistency.

Store cake in fridge for up to 5 days.

Peace☮
Rocki

Raw Vegan Veggie Burgers

Raw Vegan Veggie Burgers - Portobellos

Move over fork and knife!  Raw vegan veggie burgers - it's what's for dinner.

These huge, juicy, delicious, messy, triple napkin, "don't bother me I'm eating" veggie burgers definitely hit the spot.  The get in my belly spot!  They are super easy to make and you can fill them with as many of your favorite veggies as you like.  I used the following, from bottom up:

mashed avocado
onion slices
peeled carrots
sliced tomatoes
leaf lettuce
mashed avocado (can't have too much avocado :)

In fact, I'm just going to get right to the easy peasy recipe as I'm drooling all over my laptop.

Portobello Veggie Burgers

Raw Vegan Veggie Burgers

4 large portobello mushrooms - stemmed and gills removed
Place in Ziploc bag or other container

Marinade
1 Tbs apple cider vinegar (I use raw and gluten-free)
1 Tbs Braggs or Tamari
1 Tbs EVO (extra virgin olive oil)
1 Tbs Agave
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cumin

Combine the marinade ingredients in a small bowl then pour over the portobellos and make sure to coat each one as well as you can.  It may seem as if there is not enough marinade, but the shrooms will develop juice while marinating.  Marinate in fridge for at least 6-8 hours - the longer the better. 

After marinating, lightly pat dry each shroom, place on mesh tray and dehydrate at 115° F for approximately 2 hours or until desired tenderness.  Fill with veggies of choice and enjoy!

Peace☮
Rocki

A&J Smoothie - Almond Butter and Jam

Smoothie - Almond Butter and Jam

The other day I was dreaming of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  So I created this thick and delicious healthy smoothie!  But instead of a P&J, this one is A&J -  without the bread.  Creamy almond butter and lick my lips blueberry grape jam.

I don't use too many nuts in my smoothies, but a little here and there is perfect for me.  Besides, it's kind of hard to create a A&J smoothie without them. 

A&J Smoothie - Almond Butter and Jam
 
Jam Swirls
1 cup blueberries
1 cup red grapes
1 very small banana

Blend, pour into separate container and put in freezer while making next layer.

Almond Butter Layer
1 frozen banana
1 non-frozen banana
1 heaping TBS almond butter
1/2 cup water or milk of choice (adjust as needed)

Blend in powerful blender.  Alternate each layer in a tall glass as you wish and enjoy!

Peace☮
Rocki

Raw Vegan Veggie Lasagna Stack

Raw Vegan Veggie Lasagna Stack

There are so many ways to make raw vegan lasagna and this is another one of mine.  It is super easy to make and you can change it up to your own liking.  In fact, this is so simple that a recipe really isn't needed, but I have provided it at the end.

Raw Lasagna loaded with veggies

I didn't know where I was going with this one, so I just grabbed a bunch of veggies and went with it.  There are 3 huge layers plus the top, but a couple of them are double stuffed.  Just look at all that raw goodness!

Raw Vegan Meals are far from boring

I text Mark a picture of what I made for dinner (I know, I'm such a tease!) and could hardly wait for him to get home so we could eat.  It was very difficult to not dig into it before he got home.  Okay, so I had a little bite... I had to make sure it was edible, right?

Well, let me just say that the lasagna was our entire dinner.  That is how huge and filling they were.  So if anyone ever tells you that a raw vegan lifestyle is boring... need I say more?

Raw Vegan Veggie Lasagna Stack

This is truly very simple, but here are the basics for my sauce recipe and avocado mash.  The rest of the ingredients I'll list, but there are no measurements as I pretty much winged this one.

Tomato Sauce
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes - soaked until softened then drain
2 medium tomatoes - roughly chopped
1 medjool date
5-6 basil leaves - chopped
1 long sprig rosemary
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
black pepper - few turns or to taste
pinch sea salt

Process well in food processor.  Mixture will be thick.  I don't like my lasagna wet and soppy, so I strain my sauce.  Put the tomato mixture into a fine to medium mesh strainer, place over bowl and set aside to drain while you prepare the rest of the lasagna ingredients.  You can see how I did it in my other lasagna recipe here.

Avocado Mash
1 avocado
squeeze or two of fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp onion powder
black pepper - couple turns
pinch of sea salt

Just like it says - mash the avocado along with all the ingredients.

Zucchini noodles
I used 3 zucchinis - sizes vary so use however many you need

I made the noodles with my mandolin - a bit thicker than usual due to the amount of veggies that I was using.  They soften up like noodles while in the fridge for a couple hours and are so yummy!  Anyway, you can also slice them with a knife if you don't have a mandolin.

Use whatever veggies you would like in your lasagna, but here's what I used in this one from bottom up:

zucchini noodles
sauce
chopped yellow bell pepper
zucchini noodles
sauce
peeled carrots
zucchini noodles (I put a little avocado on it first then put it on top of the carrots to hold in place)
avocado mash
chopped onion
corn
zucchini noodles (I put a little tomato sauce on it first then put it on top to hold veggies in place)
tomato sauce

Serve immediately or at least within a 2-3 hours and enjoy!

Peace☮
Rocki

Green Custard Smoothie - Raw & Vegan

Green Custard Smoothie - Raw & Vegan

Cherimoya - also known as the custard apple, and for good reason.  You can read more about this OMG! fruit in my Cherimoya Parfait recipe post.

I do believe that cherimoya is my most favorite fruit of all.  Well, right next to mangos, bananas, blueberries, watermelon... Anyway, it's in my top 5 at least, that's for sure. 


Green Custard Smoothie - Raw & Vegan

Custard layer:
1 small cherimoya - peeled and seeded
1/2 banana
water - enough to blend with (amount varies due to fruit size)

Blend, pour into separate container and set in freezer while making next layer.

Green layer:
1 frozen banana
1 non-frozen banana
2 handfuls baby spinach
1 tsp Matcha Green Tea powder (optional)
1 Tbs flax meal (optional)
1/2 cup water - adjust as needed

Blend in powerful blender.  Alternate each layer in a tall glass as you wish and enjoy!

Peace☮
Rocki

Buddha and my Green Custard Smoothie