3 Vegan Recipes that pack some punch

Food bloggers spend a lot of time reading other blogs for inspiration. I met vegan / raw food blogger when she contacted me to have me create a photo for her recipe book The Joy of Raw and Vegan Cooking which is available now on Amazon. Follow the link to preview her book which features some beautiful photographs. Also, you will not be disappointed to discover Shernell's blog where she shares her passion for raw food.

I am not vegan but I am always concerned about healthy eating. Often,  I will include vegan or vegetarian meals on my table. Shernell  now resides in New York but her food is still big on island flavour which everyone is sure to enjoy. Hers is one of the blogs that I turn to when I am looking for vegan inspiration with a West Indian twist. Over now to Shernell......

Hello all you readable feast lovers out there! My name is Shernell, and I’m a passionate vegan cook from the island of Barbados. I love making all my food from scratch, however I believe in simple, easy to find ingredient recipes. I have been invited here to share three of them from my new cookbook The Joy of Raw and Vegan Cooking with you. So enough with the long talk and enjoy.

First up I have a recipe that has been known to turn meat eaters into vegans. Flavor is everything when cooking any meal, vegan or not. These cauliflower steaks are dripping with succulent barbeque flavor.

Barbeque Stewed Cauliflower

If you’re new to raw and vegan foods and you miss meat, this easy recipe is for you.

1 tablespoon salted barbeque spice mix

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 sundried tomatoes

½ red bell pepper

1 tablespoon maple (or agave) syrup

½ lemon juice

3 tomatoes

1 head of cauliflower cut into medium florets

Blend the first seven ingredients in your blender and then pour over the cauliflower florets.

Mix the sauce into the florets well and put into a roasting pan.

Roast for 30 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender and then serve.

If your barbeque spice mix isn’t salted, add 1 teaspoon of salt ( or salt to your taste)  to the recipe. 

Second up we have the best tasting green smoothie ever made. That’s right, Shernell says so.  It makes for a great meal replacement.

Best Green Smoothie

I made this recipe over one hundred times; it is so delicious and easy to make.

2 cups fresh organic spinach

3 frozen bananas

1/3 cup cashews

¼ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons of maple ( or agave )syrup 

1 cup water

Blend and serve. Makes about three cups.

If you take your time to make this recipe you will be in cake heaven, guaranteed. Yes I did save the best for last. 

Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse Tart

No Exaggeration, this is the absolute best raw dessert I have ever had hands down. Please make it and prove me right. It’s light and airy with smooth chocolate and hazelnut flavor.

Crust

1 cup cashews

1 cup almonds

2 tablespoons of chocolate powder

¼ teaspoon of salt

7 medjool dates

½ teaspoon of vanilla extract

Process the first 4 ingredients in your food processor until flour like then add in the dates and vanilla extract and process until the mixture sticks together.

Press the pie crust into a 10-inch removable bottom tart-pan and place it in the freezer.

Filling

The meat of two young Thai coconuts

11/2 cups coconut water

1/3 cup cashews

1/3 cup of chocolate powder

1/3 cup maple ( agave ) syrup

¼ teaspoon of salt

Blend all the ingredients until creamy and place in the refrigerator in a medium bowl.

Hazelnut Topping

¼ cup of hazelnuts

¼ cup of cashews

2 tablespoons of chocolate powder

1/2 cup of maple syrup

2 teaspoons of coconut oil

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon of salt

1 cup of hazelnuts

Blend the first 7 ingredients in you blender until creamy then set it aside.

To assemble the tart, pour the filling over the crust then pour the topping on and

evenly spread 1 cup of hazelnuts over the tart.

Freeze for 3 hours and serve. Its lasts for one week in the freezer, but trust me, it won’t

last that long.

Have a happy and healthy holiday.

To find out more about Shernell Cooke, visit her at her blog The Raw Food Beginner Chef.  You can also purchase her book The Joy of Raw and Vegan Cooking on Amazon or Barnes and Nobel. 

Sapodilla (Naseberry) Dawn Dessert - Raw Food is Wow Too

I'm slowly learning to come to terms with my altered body now that I have had children. But Wizzy you exclaim you’ve had 1 ½ years to get back in shape! As I was saying. It’s been slow going. Some days I cringe at my reflection and most days I honestly don’t recognize the woman in the mirror since I seem to be stuck in a mental time warp of my young adult self which is weird because that was a most awkward and self-concious time of my life. Are women ever truly happy with what we look like?

I want to lose weight but my attempts to exercise are constantly derailed. If it’s not playing nursemaid to children who get sick at inconvenient times then it’s the difficulty of getting someone to babysit so that I can go to my exercise class. If I am to be completely honest then I also must admit that my biggest hurdle is one of choice. Yes there are days that I choose to relax and not have to rush off to yet another activity even if it’s supposed to be something that is good for me..

Right now I’m a good candidate for a makeover. But before you rush off to sign me up for a beauty overhaul consider this, at the end of the day when my exhausted somewhat out of shape body falls into bed; I am content. I am happy with my life and my insanely hectic days. My unsophisticated look may not be for everyone but it’s honest. It’s where I am in life right now and why should I pretend otherwise. Now is wow too. Isn’t that a lovely refrain? I picked it up from Elspeth. I sincerely hope that she doesn’t mind me borrowing the name of her blog. It's an uplifting message.

While I’m not giving up entirely on the idea of exercising, I am easing up on the pressure I’ve been putting on myself to look a certain way. If you’re a woman then you know what I’m talking about. Our image of beauty is driven by unrealistic media hype. I will stop listening. I will shut up that ugly inner voice which tells me that I will be happier later on if/when I lose (insert number) pounds. I’m taking Elspeth’s beautiful message to heart. I am wow right now. What about you?

©All Rights Reserved

Sapodilla (Naseberry) Dawn Ricipe 

(adapted from Elspeth)

Serves 1

2 ripe sapodillas (naseberries)

1 large banana (crushed and frozen)

Two raisins

A smidge of freshly grated nutmeg

12 almond slices

2 walnut or pecan halves

Pulverize the banana in the blender and freeze for about 3 hours. Cut the tops off the sapodilla and scoop out the center seeds. Pile the frozen banana into the center of the sapodilla. Sprinkle with grated nutmeg and decorate with the remaining ingredients.

Sapodilla (naseberry) has always been one of my favourite fruit. For those of you who may not know it, sapodilla’s boring exterior belies the flavour party that is happening on the inside of this unassuming fruit which looks like a small potato. The predominant flavour is vanilla with a hint of creamy caramel. The soft pulp even has a slight granular texture which mimics the feel of sugar in your mouth. Cartwheels it’s so good. What I like about this dish was the little extra attention and effort that went into making it as visually appealing as it was delicious.

Elspeth follows a raw food diet. While such a rigid way of eating is not for everybody, I don't know anyone who doesn't appreciate the health benefits of including more raw fruits and vegetables into their diets.