Blueberry & Banana Icecream

Courtesy of Kitchen Dispensary http://thekitchendispensary.wordpress.com/

This is a delicious alternative to the heavy nut based raw icecreams and it’s super quick and easy to make if you keep some bananas on hand in the freezer. The riper the bananas the sweeter it will be.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup frozen organic blueberries
• 1 frozen organic banana
• 1/2 organic avocado
• 1 tbsp organic raw agave nectar
• a splash of filtered or spring water

Method

1. Put everything apart from the water into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. If it’s not moving just add a little water to get it going.
2. Either eat it right away for soft serve or if you are patient enough freeze for about hour then whisk with a fork before serving. Yum!

TIP: Peeling and chopping your bananas before freezing makes life much easier. Peeling frozen bananas is a surefire way to get a bad case of finger frostbite.

Blueberry & Banana Pudding

Courtesy of Kitchen Dispensary http://thekitchendispensary.wordpress.com/

I made this for my flatmates last night to eat while we watched a movie. It’s really easy if you keep chopped frozen bananas in the freezer and have a jar of buckwheaties on hand. It probably took 10 minutes to whip up.

Ingredients

• 2 frozen bananas (chopped)
• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 1 small avocado
• 1 tbsp honey, agave or a couple of dates (whichever you prefer)
• 1/2 cup dried coconut
• 1/2 cup buckwheaties

Method

Pudding:

1. Place the chopped frozen banana, avocado, blueberries and your sweetener of choice into a food processor or high speed blender and blend until smooth.
2. Spoon into bowls and sprinkle with coconut and buckwheaties for a bit of crunch!

Buckwheaties:

1. Soak whole buckwheat groats in water for about 8 hrs.
2. Use a sieve to drain and thoroughly rinse the buckwheat.
3. Spread the buckwheat over mesh dehydrator tray and dehydrate 8-12hrs or until fully dry and crunchy.
4. Another optional extra is to add cinnamon and honey, maple syrup or agave nectar before dehydrating.

Peach Pie

Courtesy of Gone Raw http://goneraw.com/
Servings: 6

Ingredients:

• 2 cups ground almonds
• 1 cup coconut flakes
• About 8 dates, soaked
• 2 cups dried apricots, soaked
• 1 banana
• 1 lemon
• Vanilla
• 3 tablespoons psyllium husks
• 4 - 5 peaches
• Mint (peppermint) leaves for decoration

Preparation:

1. For the crust: Blend the soaked dates without the water. Mix the ground almonds and the coconut flakes. Add the date paste to the almond-coconut "flour" and mix it with your hands to form a dough. Press dough into pie pan. Set aside, this allows the dough to get firm.
2. For the apricot layer: Blend the soaked apricots (without the water) with the banana, juice from about ½ lemon, and some vanilla. Stir in the psyllium husks. Set aside.
3. Topping: Peel the peaches and cut into slices. Sprinkle with juice from ½ lemon.
4. Assembly: Pour apricot puree evenly onto the crust. Put peach slices above. Decorate with mint leaves.
   

Notes:

* Can use any kind of nuts instead of the coconut flakes

* Can make the crust the day before, so that it gets firmer during the night

* It tastes good with cashew-coconut cream (you can see in on the picture)

Cashew Coconut Cream

Ingredients:

• 1-2 cups cashews (soaked)
• 2 young coconut (only the meat)
• 2 tablespoons agave
• ½ vanilla bean
• Some coconut oil
  

Preparation:

Blend the soaked cashews. Add the meat of the young coconuts and blend. Add some agave nectar, so that it gets sweeter but does not change colour! Add vanilla from about ½ vanilla bean. In order to get a firm consistency, add some (about 2 tablespoons) melted coconut oil. Put in fridge for at least one hour.

Notes:

- If it stays too liquid, you can add more coconut oil and put it into the fridge for a few more hours.

Banana Oatmeal Raisin Cookies & Scones

Courtesy of Gone Raw http://goneraw.com/recipe/banana-oatmeal-raisin-cookies-scones

Servings: approximately 15 cookies

Ingredients:

Cookie Dough:

• 2 medium (perfectly ripe) bananas
• 4 medjool dates (pitted)
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp coconut oil (extra virgin/cold pressed)
• 1/3 cup raw cashews
• 1/2 plus 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

ALSO:

• 2 cups gluten free raw rolled oats
• AND 1/2 cup raisins

**you'll need a food processor (or high speed blender) and a dehydrator

Preparation:

Use your food processor (or blender) to combine all ingredients above the line (everything except for the oats and raisins).
Transfer to a bowl and mix in the oats well.
Add the raisins, continuing to stir them in.

Making Cookies or Scones:

When you form your cookies, use a spoon to scoop a small amount into your palm, squeeze tightly and roll between palms and get it to form a tight ball. Then press down with palms to form a round patty for cookies, or manipulate the patty to a triangle shape if you'd like to serve it as a scone. Place them on your dehydrator racks at 110 degrees for about 4 hours (flipping after the first two hours, or alternately set the dehydrator even lower, 104 degrees, and allow for more drying time).

These scones may look like they'd be dry as they are oat based, but i promise you when you bite in you'll experience all the moistness that the bananas offer. Everyone loves these right out of the dehydrator while they are still warm.

Chocolate Cake (with bananas, optional)

Courtesy of Gone Raw http://goneraw.com/recipe/chocolate-cake-bananas-optional
Servings: 6-10

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 200 grams (about 3 cups) almonds
• 5-8 tablespoons cacao powder (or ground cacao nibs)
• 1 pinch of cinnamon
• 1 pinch of salt
• 6-8 medjool dates, pitted, soaked for 10 hours, then purreed without the soaking water

Filling:

• 3 cups cashews, soaked for 10 hours at least
• 2 young coconuts (only the meat)
• 1-2 cups cocoa powder (you can substitute half of it with carob, if you like)
• 8-12 medjool dates, pitted, soaked for 10 hours, then pureed without the soaking water
• about 5 tablespoons cocoa butter or coconut butter (make it soft / liquid through carfully warming it)
• 1 vanilla pod
• 2 bananas

Optional:

• 2 bananas
• coconut flakes

Preparation:

Crust:
Grind the almonds and put all ingredients for the crust in a large bowl. Make a dough with your hands and put it on the bottom of a round cake pan. Put in fridge.

Filling:
1. Grind / Puree the cashews without the water in a Blender
2. Puree the meat of the young coconut without the water
3. Puree the bananas
4. Put all ingredients for the filling in a large bowl and blend it with a blender bar or put everything in a blender if you have a really good one (or a food processor).

The dough should not be liquid. If it is too liquid, add some pureed cashews or some cacao or coconut oil. If it is too hard, add some pureed bananas.
You also have to make sure that the filling is sweet enough. If it is not, add some pureed dates or bananas.

Assembly:
Optional: Slice the 2 bananas and put the slices on the crust, but leave space at the margin.
Then pour the filling over it.
Put in the fridge for a few hours

Before serving, decorate with coconut flakes or any other nice looking raw ingredient.