Decadent Black Bean Based Orange & Chocolate Spread

Decadent Black Bean Based Orange & Chocolate Spread
If there is one great way to get your beans into you without knowing it, this is it 🙂 It tastes decadent, rich and just gorgeous. I call it 'spread', but it is excellent as a sauce or a dip, like in the picture, or for cake layers, you name it. But whatever you name it, I'm pretty sure as a breakfast, with fruit to dip, it will make you start the day with a smile on your face!
Prepared by:
Cuisine: vegan
Recipe type: Sauce, dip, spread
Serves: 4-8
Prep time: 
Total time: 
You need
  • 200 grams black beans
  • 25 grams raw cacao powder
  • 5 tbsp raw agave nectar
  • zest of 1 orange
  • and optional, 2 pipettes (about ¾ tsp) of stevia - depending on how sweet you like it.
To do
  1. blend the beans, cacao powder an agave nectar with a stick blender or in a small blender
  2. stir through the zest
  3. taste and add stevia if you like
Notes
Serve with fruit to dip, on toast or a sandwich (great for your lunch box), or with dessert. If you'd like it thinner for a sauce, you could dilute with a nut milk or orange juice, or both.
Nutritional value is per cup, but ¼ cup gives you plenty for a 1-person fruit dip 🙂
Nutritional Information
Serving size: 1 cup Calories: 489 Fat: 9 Saturated fat: 0 Trans fat: 0 Carbohydrates: 94 Sugar: 38 Sodium: 479 Protein: 25 Cholesterol: 0

 

Raw Chocolate w Toasted Seeds & Cherry Brandy soaked Goji Berries

Raw Chocolate w Toasted Seeds & Cherry Brandy soaked Goji Berries
Aaah, there is no better chocolate than home made chocolate, so have a go at it! You can make these completely raw by not toasting the seed and soaking the berries in just water or fruit juice.
Prepared by:
Cuisine: vegan
Recipe type: healthy sweets
Serves: 24
Prep time: 
Total time: 
You need
  • 2 tbsp sesame seeds
  • 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
  • 3 tbsp sunflower seeds
  • 3 tbsp dessicated coconut (fine)
  • 2 tbsp Goji berries
  • 30ml Cherry brandy
  • 1 heaped cup of coursely grated cacao butter (130gr.)
  • just over ½ cup of raw cacao powder
  • ¼ cup + 1 tbsp of raw agave nectar
  • 1 tsp vanilla paste, or 1 pod (or vanilla essence - from the bean, in alcohol; don't mix water based things in)
To do
  1. soak the Goji berries in the Cherry brandy for about 1 hour
  2. toast pumpkin & sunflower seeds in a skillet first, then add sesame and coconut (as they brown quicker)
  3. put grated cacao butter in a plastic (!) small jug, preferably with a spout
  4. in a small pan, heat water, then keep at low or medium heat and put the jug with cacao butter in the water to let the butter slowly melt (water shouldn't boil)
  5. while the butter is melting, drain the goji berries (keep liquid!) and divide seeds and berries over the wells of your mould
  6. when butter is melted, stir in agave nectar and vanilla paste (I use a mini whisk) and when that's mixed well, add the cacao powder. You don't need to sieve the powder, but it's easier to mix it in in batches
  7. mix in the left over Cherry brandy
  8. almost done! Pour the chocolate in per well, stirring the liquid through the seeds and then topping up. I used a cake tester to stir, but any thin item would do.
  9. place in fridge or freezer and they're ready when they're hard - give it 2 hours in the fridge and check; if you pop one out and it still sticks to the mould, leave them for a bit longer. In the freezer it obviously goes a lot quicker.
  10. pop them out of the mould and voilá.
Notes
* If you have a very flexible mould, it is handy to have a piece of carton or something similar to put your tray on, otherwise transferring it to the fridge may be messy 😉
* Best to keep these in the fridge.
* Cleaning out the chocolate mixture I find easiest by putting steaming hot water with a dash of dishwash liquid in the jug and let it sit for a bit.
* If you have any melted chocolate left over, just pour in another mould and push some nuts or seeds, or raisins - pretty much anything, in the liquid.

 

Raw Smoky Coconut Flakes (or Raw Vegan Bacon)

Raw Smoky Coconut Flakes (or Raw Vegan Bacon)
This recipe can be made in the oven too (in that case, it'll be ready in 10-15 minutes, the flakes will be a little crispier than the dehydrated version), but of course then it won't be raw. Both versions taste lovely though!
Prepared by:
Cuisine: vegan
Recipe type: snack, vegan alternative
Prep time: 
Total time: 
You need
  • 3 hands of coconut flakes
  • 1 tbsp liquid smoke
  • 2 tbsp Tamari
  • 1 tbsp water
  • 1 tbsp organic agave nectar (or maple syrup)
  • salt to taste
To do
  1. in a bowl, mix the liquids
  2. add in the flakes and mix well
  3. transfer to dehydrator tray
  4. dehydrate at 46C until crisp, at least 8 hours.
  5. add salt to taste
Notes
You can give these flakes any flavour, add spices like curry or chilli 🙂

 

Raw Ginger Chocolate

Raw Ginger Chocolate
No chocolate is nicer than raw chocolate, made by you 🙂 Not only is it fantastic to eat them, but also to see the smiles on the faces of your friends and family when they taste them 🙂

I use 'official' chocolate moulds and also silicon trays or small muffin moulds. If you use floppy moulds, you may want to put them on a tray or piece of carton so it is easier to transport to the fridge.

Other flavours are easy to create, by adding (to a unflavoured base) orange zest, nuts of all sorts, a small dash of liquor, chilli powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, you name it! This makes roughly 1.5 tray of choccies, so about 18.
Prepared by:
Cuisine: vegan, raw
Recipe type: sweets
Serves: 18
Prep time: 
Cook/wait time: 
Total time: 
You need
  • 1 cup of grated raw cacao butter
  • ½ cup of raw cacao powder
  • ¼ cup of raw agave nectar or coconut nectar
  • 2 tsp of vanilla paste or essence
  • 2 to 3 tbsp of grated ginger, depending on how strong you want the ginger flavour
To do
  1. slowly melt the grated cacao butter in a plastic jug or ceramic jug au bain Marie. (Never let it boil, as it is meant to be raw, so definitely not to be heated over 46C). Using a stainless steel jug or glass has failed with me as the chocolate became too hot and therefore thick, so don't try that 😉
  2. when it is melted, use a small whisk to stir in the vanilla paste and agave nectar
  3. when that is nicely mixed, stir in the cacao powder bit by bit, but no need to worry about clumps as they dissolve pretty much straight away
  4. when the powder is dissolved, your chocolate mixture is ready to be poured
  5. while you don't use it, just let it sit on the stove in the warm water so it doesn't go thick
  6. add the ginger to the chocolate and mix through
  7. fill up all moulds and pop in fridge or freezer
  8. it won't take long for the chocolate to get hard; after an hour, pop one out and when all nice and hard, pop the others out too.
  9. Keep them in a container with lid in the fridge.
Notes
It is easy to make some plain chocolates and some flavoured ones: just fill a part of your mould before you add the flavours.

 

This makes roughly 1.5 tray of choccies, so about 18.

Needs:

♥    1 cup of grated raw cacao butter
♥    1/2 cup of raw cacao powder
♥    1/4 cup of raw agave nectar or coconut nectar
♥    2 tsp of vanilla paste essence
♥    2 to 3 tbsp of grated ginger, depending on how strong you want the ginger flavour

Way to go:
– slowly melt the grated cacao butter in a plastic jug or ceramic jug au bain Marie. (Never let it boil, as it is meant to be raw, so definitely not to be heated over 46C). Using a stainless steel jug or glass has failed with me as the chocolate became too hot and therefore thick, so don’t try that 😉
– when it is melted, use a small whisk to stir in the vanilla paste and agave nectar
– when that is nicely mixed, stir in the cacao powder bit by bit, but no need to worry about clumps as they dissolve pretty much straight away
– when the powder is dissolved, your chocolate mixture is ready to be poured
– while you don’t use it, just let it sit on the stove in the warm water so it doesn’t go thick
– add the ginger to the chocolate and mix through
– fill up all moulds and pop in fridge or freezer
– it won’t take long for the chocolate to get hard, and once hard, take them out of their moulds and keep them in a container with lid in the fridge.

I use ‘official’ chocolate moulds and also silicon trays or small muffin moulds. If you use separate moulds, you may want to put them on a tray or piece of carton so it is easier to transport to the fridge 🙂

This kind of chocolate is just the BEST and other flavours are easy to create, by adding (to the plain mixture) orange zest, nuts of all sorts, a small dash of liquor, chilli powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, you name it!

It is easy to make some plain chocolates and some flavoured ones: just fill a part of your mould before you add the flavours.

Cinnamon Avocado Mousse w Black Bean Chocolate Sauce

Cinnamon Avocado Mousse w Black Bean Chocolate Sauce

Cinnamon Avocado Mousse w Black Bean Chocolate Sauce

 

This SO yummie!

You need (for 2 people):
♣    1 avocado
♣    raw agave nectar (or maple syrup), start with 1 tbsp
♣    cinnamon

You throw it all in the food processor, and really, you make it as sweet and as cinnamonny as you like, just keep tasting until you’re happy with it.

For the chocolate sauce you need:

•    125 gr canned/cooked black beans
•    5 tbsp raw agave nectar (or other sweetener)
•    3 tbsp raw cacao powder
•    2 tsp stevia

You do:
Mix in food processor until nice and smooth.

Place cinnamon mousse in a small bowl and top with chocolate sauce. The mint was for decoration but actually added a lovely flavour 🙂

Breakfast Wrap w baked Banana, Peanut Butter, Mint & Vanilla Cream

Breakfast Wrap w baked Banana, Peanut Butter, Mint & Vanilla Cream

Breakfast Wrap w baked Banana, Peanut Butter, Mint & Vanilla Cream

 

Yum!

Parts (per person):
◊    1 wrap (see recipes in Wraps & Sandwiches or use wholemeal or gluten free wraps)
◊    1 small banana
◊    peanut butter, not sweetened/salted
◊    1/4 cup of Cashew Cream (see recipe)
◊    1 tbsp of raw Agave nectar
◊    1 teaspoon of Vanilla paste
◊    some fresh mint leaves

Assembly:
– spread the peanut butter on your wrap
– slice the banana lengthwise and cut in two
– bake the banana (coconut oil, preferably)
– mix Cashew Cream with agave nectar and Vanilla
– transfer banana to wrap
– place mint leaves on banana
– pour Vanilla cream over the top
– roll up and eat!

Raw Beetroot, Ginger & Coconut Soup

 

Raw Beetroot, Ginger & Coconut Soup
This soup is absolutely lovely; if you get the balance right, it is just plain surprising. To be served cold or at room temperature. This is what I did, for 4 entrée size portions:
Prepared by:
Cuisine: raw vegan
Recipe type: soup
Serves: 4
Prep time: 
Total time: 
You need
  • 2 beetroots medium sized
  • 1 tbsp raw agave nectar
  • 1.5 cup of filtered water
  • ½ of spring onion
  • ½ medium red onion
  • 2 tbsp dried Dill
  • ¾ cup of Coconut Cream (fats scooped off in my recipe, but feel free to leave it in)
  • about 1.5cm of fresh ginger
  • juice of about ½ to 1 lemon
  • pepper
  • 1.5 tsp Himalayan Rock Salt
To do
  1. grate the beetroot
  2. then add everything to a blender and blend till smooth. Unless you have a high powered blender, this will keep some beetroot bits.
  3. serve!
Notes
I served this at room temperature, but would serve it cold in summer, even with a few ice cubes 🙂

 

Smoky Roasted Coconut Flakes (or vegan ‘bacon’)

Smoky Roasted Coconut Flakes (or vegan 'bacon')
Well, wether this tastes like bacon or not, it is very yummy and morish! Lovely to snack on, and lovely to sprinkle on just about anything 😉 It is easy to make too (by the way, this is not my own recipe, you can easily find it online):
Prepared by:
Cuisine: vegan
Recipe type: vegan alternatives
Prep time: 
Cook/wait time: 
Total time: 
You need
  • 3 hands of coconut flakes
  • 1 tbsp liquid smoke (yes, table spoon)
  • 2 tbsp Tamari
  • 1 tbsp water
  • 1 tbsp organic agave nectar (or maple syrup)
  • salt to taste
To do
  1. preheat oven to 150C
  2. in a bowl, mix the liquids
  3. mix in the flakes and mix well
  4. transfer to oven tray
  5. bake for about 15 minutes, but keep a good eye on it, as all ovens are different. Once I went to stir the flakes and they were done already. They should have a crispness to them, with a chewiness as well. They do get a bit crispier once out of the oven.
  6. add salt to taste
Notes
Let's see how quickly your batch disappears!

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