raw snickers candy bars

I don't remember what a "real" snickers bar tastes like but I know that they are basically just white sugar... gross. I had a fun time looking around the official snickers website where they claim snickers are "part of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle."

LOL. 

Let's take a look at the ingredients that make this such a nutritional treasure, shall we? MILK CHOCOLATE (SUGAR, COCOA BUTTER, CHOCOLATE, SKIM MILK, LACTOSE, MILKFAT, SOY LECITHIN, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR), PEANUTS, CORN SYRUP, SUGAR, MILKFAT, SKIM MILK, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL, LACTOSE, SALT, EGG WHITES, CHOCOLATE, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR. MAY CONTAIN ALMONDS. Yes. We all know "partially hydrogenated soybean oil" is necessary for fitness excellence. NOT. Anyways, enough with this silliness. On to whole foods chocolate bars!

I got the idea to make this recipe from a reader. These are so freaking tasty, and mostly just - you guessed it - almonds and dates. They are pretty sweet and filling so you probably won't need more than one. Or maybe you will. What do I know? After some quick research (thanks, Wikipedia), I learned snickers bars are defined by a nougat layer topped with caramel and covered in chocolate.

PFF. NO PROBLEM. 

Consider these rawified. The nougat layer is raw flour, almonds and a wholesome sweetener of your choosing. Then I made the simplest and most delicious raw caramel ever (anyone can do it, I don't have any special powers) by blending dates with water, vanilla and a pinch of salt. Finally I threw together some raw chocolate and covered the bars in it. I am impatient so I did not wait for them to harden but in theory - they should. 

raw snicker bars: makes about 10 bars

Nougat layer:
1/2 cup raw flour (such as oat, coconut, buckwheat, almond, etc.)
1/3 cup raw agave/maple syrup
1 cup sliced almonds
1/4 pine nuts (optional) 

Caramel layer:
1 cup dates and enough water to cover them
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional) 
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons melted coconut oil

Raw chocolate coating:
Just use your fave recipe or my own 

To make the nougat: pulse the flour, pine nuts (if using) and sweetener together in your food processor until smooth. Add the almonds by hand. Shape into small logs on parchment paper and put in the freezer. 

To make the caramel: blend all ingredients together in your blender until creamy and thick, adding the least amount of water you can. spread a little on to the tops of each nougat log and put back in the freezer. 

When they are frozen enough, cover each one in chocolate and let harden in the freezer or fridge. Enjoy!

layered ice cream cake with chocolate, vanilla & peppermint

First of all - please listen to this exquisite album by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, it's incredibly beautiful and makes me cry.

Secondly - this turned out fabulously, if I do say so myself (and I just did - so there.) I had a dream about this cake a few days ago and have been itching to make it ever since. When it comes down to it - this ice cream cake is mostly bananas. The pink layer comes from beet juice, and the green comes from avocado and peppermint leaves. I recommend using your Vitamix for this (can be bought on amazon or ebay) to make the layers as creamy as possible. 

I must admit - the avocado layer tasted sort of funky on it's own and I was thinking "Hmm... maybe my subconscious failed to consider the weird combination of avocado and mint in an ice cream cake." But it ended up tasting great with all the other delicious flavour pairings. The beet layer is unusually enjoyable. you might be thinking beets are a strange thing to make into ice cream, but the earthy tones of beets along with the sweetness of bananas is outta this world! Letting each thin layer freeze is a tad time-consuming, but it's worth it. 

I love when my dreams come true.

spiced chocolate, cashew vanilla, peppermint-avocado & banana-beet layered ice cream cake

Crust:

1 cup raw flour (I used buckwheat)

1 cup dates or prunes

Chocolate layer:

3 ripe bananas

1/3 cup cacao

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne, to taste

2 tablespoon agave/maple syrup

water, if too thick

Vanilla layer:

1 1/2 cups cashews

3 tablespoons agave/maple syrup

seeds from one vanilla bean

1/3 cup water

juice of one lemon 

Beet layer:

1/2 cup fresh beet juice

2 ripe bananas

1/2 cup pine nuts

1-2 tablespoons agave/maple syrup

2 tablespoons melted coconut oil

Mint layer:

2 cup fresh mint leaves

1 avocado

1/4 cup agave/maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon salt

juice of one lemon

1/4 cup nut milk

2 ripe bananas

Coconut Maple Drizzle:
1 tablespoon melted coconut oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup

To make the crust: process the dates or prunes and flour until it all sticks together somewhat. Press into the bottom of a lined spring form pan and set aside. 

To make each layer: blend the ingredients (in each list) until smooth, then pour each one in a separate bowl. Pour on part of the chocolate mixture quite thin, then let it harden in the freezer. Next, pour on a thin layer of beet mixture, let it freeze. You get the idea. Pour, freeze, pour, freeze. Put them in whatever order you want until you use all the mixtures up! 

To make to drizzle, stir ingredients together until combined then decorate, I also added some lemon zest - why not. Enjoy!

chia caramel pecan pie with cinnamon chocolate sauce

I am so proud of myself. Today I - Emily von Euw - woke up, wide-eyed and ready to use my noggin' - at 7:30 AM. I have not risen so early in approximately a year or so. Oh, stop that applause now, that's enough. Why in the world did I break from my slumber so early? To write a final exam. I think I did well. Now we will move on to more important matters...

Pie.

This pie actually began as butter tarts. In my effort to rawify all the holiday food favourites, I remembered a Canadian Christmas classic: butter tarts. As you may be able to guess by the name, they aren't the healthiest thing you can put in your stomach. They are pretty much white flour, sugar, butter, raisins, more butter and more sugar. Time for me to step up to the plate and see what I can do (I like to pretend I'm a superhero.) 

The idea was to make a basic raw crust, then make a raisin caramel filling and add in whole raisins. I was going to make them all cute little individual tarts like the real thing, but then I got lazy. I didn't feel like shaping out as many tarts as I had made crust for so I decided to make a giant butter tart instead. Then I saw some pecans and I'm like "Hey! If I throw pecans on top of this baby, I can call it a pecan pie and no one will know! HAH!" Except I just told you.. So there goes that plan. This pie is a deceitful liar that can't be trusted - just eaten mercilessly. 

The filling ended up being a caramel sauce but it was too sweet and dense so I added gelled chia seeds for bulk and to dilute the sweetness; it turned out wonderfully! I made a simple chocolate sauce for contrast, and had leftovers so I made one baby tart and filled it with chocolate sauce. Secret treat for later. 

chia caramel pecan pie with cinnamon chocolate sauce: makes one pie

Crust:

2 cups nuts or raw buckwheat flour (I used pine nuts and cashews)

1 cup dates or prunes

1/2 teaspoon salt

Filling:

1 cup raisins

1/2 cup dates

1/4 cup melted coconut oil

6 tablespoons chia seeds mixed with 12 tablespoons water

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

more water, if needed

1/2 cup more raisins

Cinnamon chocolate sauce:

1 tablespoon cacao 

1 tablespoon nut butter or melted coconut oil

1 tablespoon agave/maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

To make the crust: pulse nuts in your food processor until they are crumb-sized. Add dates and salt and process until it stick together. Press into the bottom of a tart plate. Put in fridge.

To make the filling: process all ingredients - except the last 1/2 cup of raisins - until smooth. It will taste like a divine entity has landed in your mouth, plus chia seeds. Stir in the 1/2 cup of raisins by hand and pour into your crust. Let it set in the fridge then decorate with pecans, pumpkin seeds and chocolate sauce. Or not. 

To make the chocolate sauce: mix all ingredients together until smooth. Drizzle onto your pie. Eat it while

listening to this song.

spinach & apple distraction juice

I am the queen of procrastination today. I have a history final tomorrow morning - early, and I am NOT a morning person - but I have been finding ways to get around studying all day. Mostly that means I was writing my first e-book (don't freak out, it's coming soon!), cleaning my room, and making green juice (recipe below). I must say...

I am a pretty productive procrastinator. 

spinach apple distraction juice: serves one or two

2 apples

1 orange

3 cups spinach

1 cucumber

1 tomato 

Wash, peel, and cut as needed. Put it all through your juicer and enjoy the elixir you have just created. 

raw egg nog for the holidays

This stuff "rawks" - ha-ha, laugh away at my hilarity - especially with the sneaky addition of a little rum. I can confidently assure you will not miss the uncooked hen periods or puss-filled protein secretions from sad bovine mothers (that one normally experiences with conventional egg nog). oh, those are eggs and milk if  you didn't catch that. 

Nothing nasty here, just a bit nutty. I began by making pecan milk (you wouldn't believe how easy it is to milk a pecan, they're agreeable little guys!) then added cinnamon and nutmeg until it tasted right. I did use a can of coconut milk which is not strictly raw but it makes it so much better. If you're looking for a creamy, thick egg nog look-alike - do the coconut milk. If you just want a nice holiday drink, don't worry about it. I blended in a few dates for sweetness and finally finished it off with some rum to make it a REAL drink. I know, I know - rum is not raw, but it sure is fun. 

Following my pumpkin pie and gingersnap recipes, you may have noticed a holiday theme. That's right! I am theming myself now... although I don't think theming is a word. In any case - I'm am rawifying the holidays!

Also, not a word. 

Nevertheless, you will continue to see your holiday favourites magically morphing into wonderfully vegan, raw versions of themselves. Everyone will rejoice in the animal-free revolution of Christmas dinner! The turkeys are planning a rebellion and I suggest you get on their side, where there's raw egg nog, pie, cookies, gravy and alcohol. 

raw nog: makes enough for you and your friendly friends (about 4 or 5 people)

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup pitted dates
3/4 cup pecans
2-3 cups water
4-5 shots of rum (1 shot is about 44 ml) 
1 can coconut milk (optional but recommended) 

Blend everything together in your high-speed blender. Add the rum one shot at time to make sure you don't make it too strong and render all your guests unconscious by the end of the evening. If you don't use the coconut milk, just make up for it by adding 1/4 cup more of pecans and 1 cup more of water. But the coconut milk makes it really creamy and delicious... just saying. Change it as you desire... then CHUG! 

Kidding. 

One last thing - I want to take a moment to wish dear Dave Brubeck (I desperately hope you know who he is) a peaceful sleep in the afterlife... or wherever we go... or don't go. He was an amazing musician and his genius will be missed!

yam noodles with sweet sauce, marinated mushrooms & sesame seeds

This was a quick dinner I just whipped up after a (strangely) long day. The recipe needs no pre-planning because I didn't even know I was going to make it until I stepped into the kitchen and noticed we had yams. I was going to make a salad but then I'm like... "Hey, yams, you be lookin' pretty fine today. Imma spirooli you up and cover you in sweet miso sauce then put you in my mouth. Whaddya think?"

And so, my dinner was born. 

My favourite type of plant to turn into noodles is (probably expected, sorry) - zucchini. It is PERFECT for pasta. It has the right texture, taste and appearance to fool all your complex-carb-inclined friends. Having said that, I still love turning yams, bell peppers, carrots and other willing veggies into spiralized goodness. It's just so fun and you can be uber creative. 

yam noodles with sweet sauce, marinated mushrooms & sesame seeds: serves one

marinated mushrooms:

4 mushrooms

1 teaspoons sesame oil (optional but recommended) 

1 teaspoon tamari

sweet miso sauce:

2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast

1 tablespoon agave/maple syrup/raw honey

1 tablespoon miso

1 tablespoons hummus (not raw, too bad)

1 peeled garlic clove

2 tablespoons mustard

3-5 tablespoons water, as needed

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Yam noodles:

1 peeled yam

To make the mushrooms: slice them really thin then rub in the oil and tamari. Put them in a warm spot (I put them in my oven at its lowest temperature) and forget about them for a minute. 

To make the sauce: blend all ingredients except sesame seeds together until smooth. Add whatever else you want. Then toss in the sesame seeds by hand. Set aside.

To make the noodles: put the yam through your spiral slicer (spirooli) or slice on a mandolin  Then cover them with the sauce and them get to know each other for a few minutes. The noodles will soften and pick up more flavour. Now remember your marinating fungi friends being warmed somewhere? Add those on top, and sprinkle on some more sesame seeds and raisins. Yum. Yams, man. 

raw gingersnap cookies

Before going vegan I was not the biggest fan of conventional gingersnaps to be honest with you. But now that I have made a raw version I'm in this holiday cookie's heaven! I mean, when I actually think about it - what is there not to drool over? Cinnamon. Ginger. Dates. Make it into a cookie and sprinkle a bit o' raw sugar on top. Salivating at every word. These are just as good as the baked, processed version but you can feel completely proud of yourself for giving these to loved ones over Christmas, because not only are they delicious - they are healthful. I'd rather give gifts that promote health, sexiness and long life than ones that cause heart and weight problems.

Blunt but true. 

raw gingersnap cookies: makes a dozen or so

2 cups raw flour (grind raw rye berries or oat groats into flour in your blender) OR almond flour
1 1/2 cups dates or raisins 
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons of fresh, peeled ginger
1-2 teaspoons cinnamon powder 
1 tablespoon unsulphered molasses 
2 tablespoons maple syrup (optional) 
2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
raw sugar to garnish

Blend all ingredients together in your food processor until it forms into a delicious ginger-cinnamon ball of raw goodness. Stick this in a bowl in the fridge for an hour and then shape it into as many little balls as you desire. Put these on wax paper and sprinkle on raw sugar. Stamp each one down with the bottom of a jar. Refrigerate overnight or at least for a few hours, then eat. Mmm. Another option is to dehydrate for a few hours so they actually "snap". 

HEY (update): one of my readers is smarter than me and passed on this idea: you can make gingerbread men with this!