Raw Vegan, Gluten Free, Blueberry Cream Tart In A Chocolate Coconut Crust - Perfect For Valentines Day!

This blueberry tart makes a perfect Valentine's day dessert!

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Blueberries and Chocolate
I know, it's almost Valentine's day. I should be making something red, like chocolate covered strawberries or red velvet cupcakes. But I was inspired by the thought of whipping fresh blueberries and cashews into a creamy filling served in a simple raw crust made from heart healthy English walnuts, dried coconut and chocolate in its purest form - raw cacao. Is there a better way to say, "I love you" than giving a gift of delicious and powerful antioxidants? I don't think so.

Elegant or Casual?
This recipe makes enough for one 4 1/2 inch tart pan with enough crumble and filling left over for 2 small ramekins. A tart makes a very elegant presentation. But if you don't have a tart pan, feel free to use individual ramekins or small bowls for the entire recipe. Sprinkle the crust ingredients in the bottom of 4 to 6 individual ramekins or small bowls and cover them with the filling. It tastes just as delicious!

Don't have a tart pan? No problem.
Just sprinkle the crust on the bottom of individual ramekins.
Cover with blueberry filling, top with a blueberry and serve!

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Blueberry Cream Tart 
Raw Vegan, Gluten Free
Requires a high speed blender, a 4 1/2 inch tart pan and 2 small ramekins
Plan 8 hours ahead to allow time for soaking and chilling
[ makes 4 to 6 servings]

For the Crust (Chocolate Crumble)
3/4 cup raw English Walnuts
3 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
4 teaspoons raw cacao (or unsweetened cocoa)
1 tablespoon unsweetened, shredded coconut
Pinch of salt

For the Filling
1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked 6 hours
2 Medjool dates, pitted and soaked 6 hours
2 packets powdered stevia
1 cup fresh blueberries plus 8 for garnish

Prepare the crust. Place the crust ingredients in a food processor, such as a Cuisinart, fitted with an S-blade. Process until they form a "chocolate crumble" and are the size of bread crumbs. The will begin to stick together.

Making chocolate crumble for the crust

Place enough chocolate crumble into a 4 1/2 inch tart pan to cover the bottom and the sides. Press with your fingers to make a crust. You should have enough to sprinkle the bottoms of 2 small ramekins. If you do not have a tart pan, divide all of the crumble into four to six small ramekins.

Press enough of the crumble to cover the bottom and sides of a 4 1/2 inch tart pan with a removable bottom.

Sprinkle the rest in the bottom of 2 small ramekins.
You can use all ramekins if you don't have a tart pan.

Prepare the filling. Drain and rinse the cashews. Drain the dates reserving the soak water. (You will not be using the date soak water for this recipe, but save it for a smoothie.)

Place the cashews, dates, blueberries (reserving 8 for the garnish) and stevia in a high speed blender, such as a Vitamix or a Blendtec. Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary. 

Filling ingredients

Process the cashews, blueberries, dates and stevia until smooth

Spread the filling over the crust and garnish with fresh blueberries. Spread the remaining filling over the 2 individual ramekins and garnish each with a single blueberry. 
Cover gently with plastic wrap or was paper and refrigerate for one hour.

Carefully push the tart up from the bottom and remove the side pan. Enjoy!

Release from tart pan and serve.

Added Bonus and Tip
You may notice that it's almost impossible to get all of the filling out of your Vitamix. I just hate wasting all of those beautiful ingredients. So make a small smoothie!
Add the date soak water and a cup of almond milk to the blender with its residue filling. Blend until smooth and enjoy!

Raw Chocolate Almond Macaroons - Great Raw Dessert For Passover Or Easter

Process almonds in a food processor.

Add salt and raw cacao or cocoa and process until blended.

Blend in agave nectar, almond extract and coconut butter.

Add shredded coconut and pulse until combined.

Scoop macaroons onto a Teflex sheet and dehydrate.

Unrefined, "virgin", coconut oil.

Dried organic shredded coconut.

Macaroons

Macaroons are my husbands favorite cookie. Whenever we go to "Slice of LIfe, our favorite vegetarian restaurant where we live in Sebastopol, Doug always buys one of their chocolate dipped macaroons on the way out and savors it all the way home. While making almond milk for my last posting, I took the residiue almond pulp, threw in some coconut and stevia and dehydrated it to see what would happen. Unfortunately the result tasted like saw dust so I kept experimenting until I had much better results. The next time I started with soaked almonds instead of pulp (although I think pulp would work, I just didn't have any more), some cocoa for intensity, agave nectar for sweetness and a touch of salt. They looked great but I dehydrated them too long and they were so hard you could break a tooth while trying to eat one. In round three I added some almond extract for an even more interesting flavor and a little coconut butter to keep the cookies from drying out. This finally resulted in a delicious macaroon that received Doug's seal of approval!

Tropical Oils

I am not yet ready to jump into the debate over tropical oils. On one hand, you've got a contingent that believes that tropical oils (coconut and palm oils) can help you lose weight , build energy and help you fight disease. On the other side of the argument you have those who focus on their high content of saturated fat which conventional wisdom tells you to avoid. Personally, I don't avoid tropical oils but I eat them sparingly. I will continue to watch for data that proves the many health claims made about them before I voice a strong opinion. In any case, enjoy this recipe as a "holiday treat", not a health food to consume in large quantities every day.

Great Dessert for Passover or Easter

Macaroons are a popular Passover dessert since they are made without flour. But the Easter bunny could enjoy these just as much!

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Raw Chocolate Almond Macaroons

[makes 18 small cookies]

1/2 cup raw almonds, soaked overnight and rinsed

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons raw cacao or cocoa

1/3 cup raw agave nectar

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 tablespoon organic, unrefined virgin coconut oil

1 cup dried, unsweetened shredded coconut

Process almonds in a food processor until they are the size of crumbs. Add salt and cocoa and process again until combined. Add agave nectar, almond extract and coconut oil and process until smooth. Add shredded coconut and pulse to combine. Scoop out scant tablespoons of the mixture onto a Teflex dehyrator sheet using a melon baller or small ice cream scoop. You could also just use a tablespoon. In about 4 hours, when they are easily removed from the Teflex sheet, transfer the macaroons directly on the dehydrator screen. Dehydrate at 115 degrees until they are hardened on the outside but still soft and chewy on the inside. This could take as little as 8 hours total or if you want them a little drier, dehydrate for a few more hours. Just pop one in your mouth while dehydrating until you like the consistency. Hopefully there will be some left by the time they are done!

Per macaroon: 81.2 calories, 5.8 g fat, 3.5 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 1.2 g protein, 7.1 g carbohydrates and 1.3 g of fiber.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread with Walnuts

Chocolate zucchini bread served with ice cream

Zucchini and shredded apple mixed with dry ingredients

Chocolate zucchini bread with walnuts.

Got Zucchini?

If you've got a garden, you are probably drowning in zucchini by now as I am. That's why I keep coming up with more and more ways to use up this prolific little vegetable. What can be better than making a delicious and healthy chocolate loaf that can be served for breakfast with cream cheese or jam, served as a decadent dessert with a scoop of your favorite ice cream (the picture shows a scoop of mint chocolate hemp milk ice cream by Tempt) or just eat a slice as is.

In case you've missed them, check out my other zucchini posts:

- Vegan lemon basil pesto on raw zucchini spaghetti - April 20, 2009.

- Roasted baby squash on whole wheat pasta - June 1, 2009.

- Raw zucchini spaghetti and walnut meatballs - June 16, 2009.

- Zucchini corn pancakes with homemade organic low sugar plum jam - July 8, 2009.

- Raw zucchini soup topped with raw goat milk feta - July 20, 2009

Another Delicious Way to get Omega 3 Fatty Acids

My last several posts have talked about the importance of omega 3 fatty acids and how to get them. This vegetarian recipe provides 1/2 gram per slice! It gets its high omega 3 content, all ALA, mostly from the walnuts, but other ingredients contribute as well, like the omega 3 enriched organic eggs and olive oil. Even the zucchini contains some.

Dark Chocolate

Besides the omega 3 content, this recipe provides a double dose of flavonoid-rich chocolate, first with the raw cacao and then with the chunks of 70% dark chocolate. Dark chocolate is known to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease by reducing blood pressure and preventing blood clots. The flavonoids in chocolate, called flavonols, also have strong antioxidant properties.

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Chocolate Zucchini Bread with Walnuts [makes 12 slices]

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 omega 3, organic cage free eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup Sucanat or organic cane sugar

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons raw cacao or unprocessed cocoa

1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini (about 1 large zucchini)

3/4 cups shredded baking apple (about 1 medium apple)

1/2 cup chopped raw walnuts

2 tablespoons 70% dark chocolate mini chunks

I usually let the prepared mixture sit in the pan for 5 or 10 minutes before baking so you don't need to preheat the oven yet.

Grease the sides of an 8.5" x 4.5" pan and put parchment or wax paper on the bottom. In a bowl, beat together olive oil, eggs, vanilla and sugar. In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and cacao. Add the zucchini and apple to the flour mixture and beat well with an electric beater until the zucchini and apple shreds are coated (see above picture). Beat in the egg mixture and then stir in the walnuts and chocolate chunks. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and let sit while the oven is heating up. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. When heated, bake the loaf for 50 minutes. Let it cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Carefully cut around the edges of the pan with a knife and turn over to remove the loaf from pan. Peel off the wax paper and put the loaf on a cooling rack.

Per serving: 190 calories, 9.8 g fat, 1.9 g saturated fat, 35.4 g cholesterol, 4.4 g protein, 22.7 g carbohydrates, 3.3 g fiber, 0.5 g omega 3 and 2.5 g omega 6 fatty acid.

Chocolates Without Guilt – Tropical, Chocolate Truffles

Sometimes research presents us with facts we don’t want to hear but every now and then we receive a gift. Like, finding out that chocolate is actually good for us! Anyone who has ever eaten chocolate is familiar with its ability to “lift our moods”. There is also evidence that chocolate can lower high blood pressure. In addition, the flavonoids (polyphenols) in chocolate are very powerful antioxidants which can counteract harmful free radicals. The good news just keeps coming! But before we go buy a bag of snickers bars, you need to know a few factoids:

• Data showed only dark chocolate was effective in lowering blood pressure

• Studies indicate milk may prevent the antioxidant absorption from chocolate so here’s another vote for dark over milk or white chocolate

• Flavonoids are weakened when cacao is processed

• Many chocolate treats are very high in saturated fat and calories so they should be eaten in moderation no matter how good they are for you

I have a recipe that can give you all the benefits of chocolate but none of the guilt. This RAW VEGAN CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE recipe has no milk, very little saturated fat, ZERO cholesterol and no unnecessary processing of the cacao. It makes a perfect Valentine gift and is VERY AFFORDABLE and easy to make. Compared to a Godiva truffle, our recipe has 75% of the calories, 60% of the fat, only 20% of the saturated fat and twice the fiber at a fraction of the cost.

I have served these guiltless chocolate treats to dozens of people of all ages and food preferences, who gobbled them down and pleaded for the recipe. With all the goodness of these precious morsels, I haven’t been able to remove the calories so if you are trying to lose weight, you will have to restrain yourself to several a day.

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Tropical Chocolate Truffles, With Mango And Coconut [makes 28 truffles]
1 ½ cups of raw walnuts
12 pitted Medjool dates
1/3 cup of raw cacao
1/3 cup of finely chopped, dried mango*
3 T of raw, unsweetened, shredded coconut (optional)

*Mango can be replaced with other dried fruit, like dried apricots or cherries

Cut dates in half, remove and discard the pits, and set dates aside. Take ¼ cup of walnuts, chop and set aside. Put remaining 1 ¼ cups of walnuts in a food processor with an S blade and process until fine. (In an 11 cup food processor, this will take about 20 seconds). Add the pitted dates and blend until the nuts and dates stick together, around 45 seconds. Add cacao and salt and blend until the mixture is smooth (another 20 seconds). Times may vary depending on the size of the dates and the food processor. Put the mixture into a bowl and, by hand, mix in the chopped mango and chopped walnuts until they are evenly distributed throughout. From this mixture, make about 28 round truffles by shaping and gently rolling them in your hands. After each one is made, roll immediately in shredded coconut. Refrigerate truffles for several hours before serving. They will last for a week in the refrigerator; however, they usually disappear long before that!

Each truffle has 81 calories, 4.6 g of fat, .8 g of saturated fat, NO cholesterol, 1.3 g of protein, 10.7 g of carbohydrate and 1.8 g of fiber.