Cheesecake with Chocolate Sauce & Nut Crumb

Before we go in to the details, let me just say, I have made many cheesecakes (vegan) and they all turned out terrible. I do not know how I got to this one, but its the easiest, the most tasty, and with very few ingredients

Ingredients
1 cup pitted dates (soaked in water for 1 hour and drained)

1 1/4 cup walnuts

1 1/2 cups cashews (soaked for 4-6 hours)

1 large lemon (juiced)

5/8 cup coconut oil (melted)

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons full fat coconut milk

3/8 cup maple syrup

fruit filling of your choice - for this example I use 1/2 cup raw apricots

3 tablespoons raw cacao powder (or regular cocoa powder)

1 tsp vanilla

Steps

1. put dates in food processor and chop until smooth, then take out and set aside
2. take 1 cup of the walnuts and put in food processor and chop until fine
3. add dates back to food processor and chop both together until it is in a ball like form
   
   set aside
4. put the following in the food processor and blend until a smooth consistency:
   cashews (all)
   lemon juice (all)
   1/3 cup of coconut oil (melted)
   coconut milk (all)
   1/2 cup maple syrup
5. Take cheesecake out and place in bowl, then add apricots and chop until fine
   
   If you want cupcake sized cheesecake, see step 6, if you want it in a pie form, see step 7
6. (Cupcake sized cheesecake) in cupcake pan put small amounts of the date/walnut mix, this mixture amount should make roughly 15 cupcake size crusts. You will pack them in to the bottom of the cupcake holders. I use cupcake paper to make it easy to get them out later.
7. (Pie sized cheesecake) in a pie pan place the date paste across the bottom and spread out to evenly cover the bottom of the pan
8. Take cheesecake mix and add to the cupcakes and distribute evenly, or the pie pan and spread evenly.  Then, take the apricots and put a little bit in each cupcake or in a nice bit swirl on the pie pan.
9. Put in refrigerator until hard. This depends on the temperature of the fridge. Could be a few hours to overnight.
   
   While the cheesecake is setting, lets make the chocolate sauce.
10. In a large mixing bowl, add the following and whisk until all ingredients are together as one:
    4 tablespoons (should be the remainder) of melted coconut oil
    3 tablespoons cacao powder
    2 tablespoons maple syrup
    1 teaspoon vanilla
11. take 1/4 cup walnuts and chop in food processor until in small pieces
12. Once cheesecake is set, put in your serving setting and be liberal with chocolate sauce, and top with chopped walnuts and enjoy with love

Vegan Cheddar Cheese

Vegan Cheddar Cheese

This cheese, is amazingly easy to make, and tastes absolutely super. I highly recommend only making very small amounts, otherwise, you will eat it all way too fast!!

UPDATE: substitute the tofu for the thick part of coconut milk. when you buy it, don't shake it up and be sure to spoon out that dense creamy milk

Ingredients & Tools Needed

Ingredients 1/2 Cup (113 g.) Cashews 1/4 Cup (57 g.)  Almonds 1/2 Cup  (113 g.) Soft Tofu 1/4 (57 g.) Olive oil 1/4 (57 g.) Coconut Milk 1/3 Cup  (76 g.) Sundried Tomatoes 1/4 Cup  (57 g.) Nutritional Yeast 1 tbsp (15 g.) Miso Paste 1 tbsp (15 g.) Paprika 1 tbsp (15 g.) Onion Powder 1 tbsp (15 g.) Chili Flakes 1/2 tsp (2.5 g.) Sea Salt 1/2-1 tsp (7-15 g.) Smoked Chipotle Powder 1/4 tsb (1.25 g.) Tumeric

Cooking tools Food processor or blender Sushi rolling mat Plastic wrap Knife to chop Chopper for nuts or chop with knife

Preparation

1. Soak cashews for 3+ hours.
   The longer you let them soak, the softer they will become. If you want a crunchy texture to your cheese then soak them for less time. I recommend soaking as long as you can wait because you will have plenty of crunch from the almonds
   
   
2. Chop sundried tomatoes. This just makes it easier and more consisten when putting in the food processor, but its not 100% necessary
   
   
3. Process all ingredients except almonds. For the oil, add 1/2 at the start of processing, then slowly add in the remaining oil until you get that perfect consistency you want.
   
   
   
   
4. Place cheese in the refrigerator for a few hours. It will help with the consistency of the cheese. It isn't necessary to do this, but it also rolls easier if you do.
5. Chop Almonds... these will form the crust around the outside of the cheese. You are welcome to make them as coarse or fine as you like.. I like a little crunch so mine are chunk
   

   
6. After time has passed and the cheese has rested in the refrigerator, take your sushi mat and lat it out flat putting a sheet of plastic wrap on it, just as you would when making sushi. But, you do not need to wrap it tightly as we are only making one simple roll.
   
7. Spread the chopped almonds out on the mat. You want them to cover a long area because we will want the cheese to stay on them as we roll it.
   (Sorry, I forgot to take a photo of this step, but you can see what I mean in step 8)
8. Lay your cheese on the nuts and if there are any nuts left over, simply put them on the top of the cheese. Do not worry, excess chopped nuts will just fall off, unless you make the roll really tight, to which some will embed in to the cheese deeper, which is also ok :)
   
9. Now, just like a sushi roll, roll your cheese. It will help if you hold the plastic wrap with your fingers a bit so it doesn't roll around in to the cheese.
   

That is it, you are now down... 

I would love to have your feedback. What you liked, didn't like. Did you try it with olive oil or coconut oil? 

Juicing 101 - A lecture

Juicing 101 - A lecture

By.. Me!

You may find this hard to believe, but I am asked ALL the time to help with juicing. People see how I have turned juicing into a positive experience and want some of what I have.... After reading a post and replying this morning on this topic, it made me think about the top five things I want to share with you, about juicing, and hope in some small way, you will open up how you think about juicing, even just a little bit. 

1. Keep it simple. 
So many people who want to juice start out making these super extravagant juices, and then, get exhausted and give up. When I give a presentation at work, or see some of the more effective presentations given at work, they all follow the rule of keeping it simple. The presentations are not filled with too much information that makes them an eye chart, but, key bullet points which can be spoken to. Use this same concept with juicing. Make simple, healthy juices that really work, will really satisfy you, and make you wonder why you thought it would be so hard.

2. Get support. 
I find that when doing things like this, it is always easier to do it with someone, or a group of people. Many of you know I did a juice fast in January with my friend Valerie, which turned into four or five of us doing it. That was great because we talked from time to time, and shared progress + support. Once you are well established with juicing and find it a part of your life, then, you may have less difficulty in doing it alone. I started in July of 2012 juicing daily. I have kept it up since then and I feel better than I ever have. But, there were times when I wish I had someone to share it with, talk about it with, and keep me focused. 

3. How healthy are you? 
You want to do a juice fast? You want to introduce juicing in to your life as a daily supplement? Great ideas. But, get a checkup first. Even if your doctor (who more than likely will not know very much about the benefits of juicing) can and should at least be able to tell you what your health state is like and let you know if you have any risks to be concerned about.

I am not an expert. When it comes to juicing, I regard very few people as experts. Jay Kordich is certainly one of them. He has done the work for many, many years, which helps us understand what juice combinations work best together, and what juices work for what scenarios. There are many out there who make a living off of being juice guru's and I am learning that while they are doing it for a living, I am happy to see they promote a healthier way of caring for one’s body. I don't much like the pimping of products (books, dvds, etc.) but, I think, any good knowledge, is knowledge worth sharing.  My point is, there are many who know more than enough to get you on the right track. Just avoid what you don't want to hear, and focus on what you do want to hear.

4. Respect and love yourself. 
Huh? Why am I mentioning something like this when talking about juicing? Maybe it is because I am getting old (rumor has it I am turning 29 this year), but, you have to believe in yourself and love who you are before anything and everything else. Juicing is an extension of this. Why would you put so much energy into something for your health and well-being if you don't feel this self-love or respect? It doesn't matter how you look, how old you are, what your weight is, or anything else. What is important is that when you look in the mirror, you can say, "I love you" without regret or shame.       

5. Have fun!! 
There is nothing more important than having fun when doing things. Anyone who knows me I am ALL about laughing and making jokes. Juicing should be just as much fun. I will not admit to having funny conversations with the veggies and fruits. :)

It is very important to embrace juicing, and anything else with fun in mind. Keep yourself happy doing something and it will reward you in more ways than you realize.

Do not hesitate to let me know if you have any questions or want help with juicing. I really care about your health as I care about my health.

Making a juice and veggie burgers. 

Veggie Burgers & Green Smoothie

Today I decided to use the left overs from my green smoothie and make veggie burgers. The good news about doing this, there are no wrong ways to do it. The better news, you end up with amazingly tasty veggie burgers, which follow that super green drink smoothie I like to brag about so much.

Ingredients

Cucumber Lemon Mushrooms Corn Carrots

Banana Peas Spring Onion (or yellow onion) Green/Red peppers Chili Pepper (I used one whole one. You are welcome to omit)

Black Beans Apples Parsley Spinach Ginger

Steps

Part I: Making the Smoothie

1. Put a good portion of spinach in the blender along with the banana. Cover and set aside
   
   
2. Juice the left column while setting aside the ingredients in the right column:

   Juice Cucumber Lemon Remaining spinach Ginger Carrots Parsley Apple

   Mushrooms Corn Carrots Peas Spring Onion (or yellow onion) Green/Red peppers Chili Pepper Black Beans

3. Once you have finished juicing, you will have lots of pulp and of course, the green juice. Place the pulp in a large bowl
   
4. Put juice in blender with the spinach and banana and blend. When blending is complete, you are ready to drink the smoothie.
   
   
   
   

Part II: Making the Veggie Burgers

1. Take all of the remaining ingredients and place in a large mixing bowl. I have also added some dal to give more flavour as well as moisten up the burgers a bit more. A dash of salt and pepper are ok too if you wish.
   
   
2. Gently mix the ingredients by hand. What is important is that everything is evenly mixed.
   
3. Now take handful sizes of the mixture and shape into patties and place on parchment paper. Today, with the ingredients I had, along with the ingredients I added, I was able to make 8 large veggie patties.
   

How to Eat

You can eat them any way you like.. I would suggest eating them raw, you will really be glad you did, but, if not, I feel the best way to prepare the burgers would be to bake them until crispy on the outside in the oven. If you fry them in the pan with oil, you are just adding unnecessary fat to the burger and you run the risk of them breaking apart.  Here are three methods of eating that I recommend:

1. Put on a roll with freshly sliced tomato and lettuce. If you are eating bread this will be a really nice treat for you. You can also cover in some freshly made salsa if daring.
2. Eat with freshly made salsa. 
3. Eat with something else you have made, like a dal. It will make for a great combination.

Hints & Notes

1. Try to always use Organic/Bio foods.
2. Always wash everything well before using
3. If you find the veggie burger mixture is dry, you can do any of the following:
   - Add some water
   - Add freshly squeeze lemon juice
   - Add dal (like I did) which comes with spicy flavours built in
4. When pouring the green juice into the blender for making the smoothie, I always gently move the spinach to the side and ensure there is plenty of juice at the bottom. The reason is, its hard on the blender (I have a good one and it still is not happy sometimes) to start off with all the chunky stuff on the bottom. The better the mixer the less one has to worry about it.. But, because I am drinking this, I want to treat it with respect and care
5. Storage. Unless you are having a party on the day you make the veggie burgers, you will want to store them so they do not go bad. You can put them in the refrigerator if you will eat them in a couple of days. But, if you think it will take you a while, you can always put them in the freezer.
   
   In either case, putting some of the already used parchment paper between each one will keep them in place as well as not stick together.

Please let me know any variations you have made to these burgers or the green drink smoothie. Also, feel free to post your recipes below as well.

En Guete