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Rosemary-Infused Roasted Fruits with Sweet Lime Creme
Elegant Raw Fusion Dessert
Featuring Vegetarian, Vegan and Raw Options
for the Creme Dip
The aim of Raw Fusion Living is to find sophisticated yet simple ways of combining our foods so that they are visually appealing, nutritionally optimized and yet still have a decadent appeal. When we have something wonderful to look forward to as a snack, dessert or indulgence, we tend to stay more on track with healthier eating patterns.
Roasted fruit is exotic and texturally interesting enough to make it an ideal Raw Fusion Dessert. You can use a wide variety of fruits, based on what you have on hand or in season. The stone fruits, like the nectarines I used, hold up to the heat well. There is something luxurious and almost perfume-like about the taste of slightly roasted pineapple Add the succulent scent and flavor of rosemary and you have a real taste sensation!
The dipping sauce adds a lot of to this dish. You can make it as simple of whisking in some flavorings to Greek yogurt, to a more complex version made with tender young coconut flesh (pictured).
ROSEMARY-INFUSED ROASTED FRUIT
Ingredients:
3 nectarines
3 fresh pineapple rings
½ cup dried cherries
1.5 TB. virgin coconut oil
2 TB. maple sugar, palm sugar or succanat
3 sprigs rosemary
Spring into Raw with Sweet & Spicy Cashew Wraps!
A Simple Raw Fusion Recipe – Vegan and Gluten-Free
Spring Rolls – ideal for the season!
I was back on NBC’s Daytime show yesterday (March 23rd) making Sweet and Spicy Cashew Rolls with host Lindsay MacDonald. Collard greens are in season right now and they make spectacular, low-carb wraps. As you hear me mention in this video, this nut pate blend is very “forgiving” – if you don’t have a certain ingredient on hand, don’t worry about it! You can also substitute with what you do have in your fridge and pantry. Also try using the collard wraps (simply cut along each side of the central rib) with any sticky base –hummus, shrimp salad, tuna salad, chicken or egg salad. Make sure to spread out to each corner as it will make it stick when you roll it up.
The dipping sauce is particularly wonderful. I use Tamari in lieu of soy sauce as it’s gluten-free and many people have wheat sensitivities. To keep this recipe fully raw you can source Nama Shoyu, an unpasteurized soy sauce, at your local health food store. You can use honey, agave, coconut nectar, maple syrup or succanat to sweeten this sauce. I like to use agave as it’s easiest to whisk in there. This also makes a fantastic stir-fry sauce and many of my clients love it as a salad dressing.
Sweet Dreams Scones – Food to Promote Restful Sleep!
Raw, Vegan and Gluten-Free
with Raw Fusion Baked option
I was watching the Dr. Oz show the other day, discussing foods that help promote restful sleep and I was struck by a combination of pumpkin seeds and applesauce, not a food combination that I would normally consider. Evidently, foods that are high in the amino acid, tryptophan (like pumpkin seeds) need to be combined with a carbohydrate in order to activate the niacin and seratonin that relax the nervous system and makes us drowsy.
According to this article on Livestrong.com, the amount of tryptophan found in a serving of food that contains this essential amino acid does not produce enough serotonin to cause sleepiness. The sleepy feeling you feel after eating a large meal — such as Thanksgiving dinner — typically comes from the high number of carbohydrates and calories you consumed.
That interesting fact as well as the pumpkin seed/applesauce combination started my Raw Fusion creative juices flowing so I decided to create a scone or muffin (see below) that can help people sleep since insomnia or some kind of sleep disorder affects as many as 100 million Americans (Sleep Wellness Institute). Wouldn’t it be great to just enjoy a delicious and healthy treat in the evening instead of taking medication? Let me know how these work for you (so far been getting thumb’s up from friends and family but that is not exactly hard science…)
For sweetening your dreams (and this recipe) you can use agave, maple syrup, honey, succanat, coconut nectar or palm sugar, which is derived from palm tree flowers.
Sweet Dreams Scones
Makes about 16 Scones (depending on size)
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Curried Apple-Cucumber-Kale Salad
Meatless Monday Raw Vegan Brunch
I had some friends over for lunch the other day to introduce them to the raw foods lifestyle. This is a photo featuring a bowl of the Curried Apple-Cucumber-Kale-Cranberry Salad which I served with Sunflower Seed Pate, Onion Crisps and a really refreshing Green Tea with Apricots, sweetened with stevia.
Have to admit that I get such a kick out of serving raw foods to people who have never tried them before as the response is always favorable and rather astounded by the gourmet and sophisticated taste sensations.
Especially fun is finding fabulous ways to serve kale, a green that is probably one the most nutritious plants in the world, but not one that most people are accustomed to eating. After all, when you are served a plate of food at a restaurant garnished with some kale, how often have you actually munched down on that leafy green?
For this recipe, leaving the dressing for about 20-30 minutes on the salad and even massaging into the kale will actually soften the texture and make the kale much more delectable.
Curried Apple-Cucumber-Kale Salad
Banana Nut Bread
Vegan and Gluten-Free, Raw and Raw Fusion Versions
Banana Nut Bread is such a comfort food, but these raw and raw fusion versions are actually ultra-healthy and good for you. Walnuts and flaxseeds are loaded with Omega 3’s and digestible proteins; Bananas are powerhouses of fiber and micronutrients, including potassium, Vitamins C and B6, Folate, Magnesium. This is also a low-fat dessert or snack food. You can add some coconut oil to the batter, or spread some on for a mid-morning snack.
Watch the video below where I am making this for eHow.com. If you do not have a dehydrator, you can bake this in a glass or metal brownie pan, but make sure it is well-oiled. Because there are no eggs, flour, yeast or baking powder in this recipe, the batter will not rise and remain rather flat. Keep a close watch as it should be ready in less than an hour at about 325 degrees. Another way you can bake this is to put the pan in a larger pan of water (bain marie) and bake it at the lowest temperature setting on your oven.
Banana Nut Bread
Ingredients:
2 cups of walnuts
2 TB. maple syrup, agave, honey or coconut nectar
1.5 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup water plus 2-3 TB.
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
dash of salt
2 ripe bananas
1 tsp. vanilla
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