Luscious Fruit and Flax Smoothie...

I thought I would take a moment to share with you my favorite smoothie of late. I’ve made it quite a few times now and it’s everything you could want in a smoothie. Dense, satisfying, filling, sweet - but not too sweet, and nutritious. I’ll admit that as much as I love flax, I’m not always so diligent about eating it, but I just recently watched a fascinating video with Michael Gregor about the importance of Omega-3 Fatty Acids that’s got me thinking up new ways to include this vital powerhouse food into my diet daily.

Smoothies are the easiest way for me to consume flaxseed. I feel like if I do it all in one go right in the morning then it’s done and I don’t have to worry about it. If I leave it until later the truth is I’ll probably forget to sprinkle it on my salad or my pasta or my broccoli or what have you. Best to do it first thing, and why not have it in a delicious smoothie? The addition of flax to a smoothie gives the drink a really luscious texture reminiscent of a milkshake, and with the great flavor bursts in this particular concoction you’ll feel like you’re having something decadent when really you’re drinking tons of healthful nutrients, vitamins, and antioxidants. So give it a try, and enjoy!

Luscious Fruit and Flax Smoothie

1 Navel Orange
1 Banana
1-2 Handfuls Baby Spinach
1 Cup Frozen Blueberries
2 Tbsp Ground Flaxseed
1 Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
4 Drops Liquid Vanilla Stevia (Optional)

- Combine all ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend on high for 60-90 seconds until completely smooth.

*** Note - If you can't find liquid Stevia or don't wish to use it you can use another sweetener of choice and add in 1/2-1 tsp of vanilla extract instead.***

Almost Raw Mango Cheesecake with Mango Glaze...

A few days ago I really wanted something sweet. I was dying for dessert, but as I mentioned a couple of days ago I’m staying away from sugar until I’m fully recovered. That means no dessert, or at least no traditionally sweetened desserts. I tried for a while to let the craving pass, and when it wouldn’t I started thinking about fruits. Only just sitting down and chomping away on a piece of fruit wasn’t really doing it for me. Then I got thinking about what I was going to do with the batch of home made cream cheese I’d made last week, and then I got thinking about cheesecake. Then I really wanted cheesecake except cheesecake is loaded with sugar. Hm! What to do?

It was then that a vague idea for a raw cheesecake popped into my head. Most raw cheesecakes are not sweetened with sugar, and a lot of them use fruit as a sweetener instead. I could get behind that right? Except I’ve made raw cheesecakes in the past and while I do enjoy them I find they always have a very strong cashew, date, coconut flavor, which is fine if that’s what you want, but it’s not really ‘cheesecake’ you know? I wanted a cake that was creamy, and cheesy, sweet and tangy, and suddenly I started thinking about mango. I mean it’s summer after all - even if it’s getting near the end of summer - and a Mango Cheesecake sounded just about perfect in that moment. Only, I was tired, and drained from being sick and didn’t want to go through the process of having to bake and look after a cheesecake, especially in the middle of an already hot evening.

So I started wondering if I could make a more traditional cheesecake using my homemade cream cheese and frozen mangos - which were the only kind I had - by employing the basic principals of raw cheesecake making. Once I got thinking like that it all kind of came together in a snap. As it turns out you can make a cheesecake in this way, and it tastes awesome. This cheesecake was so sweet, cool and mangoey the perfect treat on a humid summer evening. Yet it was creamy and tangy like a regular cooked cheesecake with not coconut, or nut aftertaste. The only problem with this particular cheesecake is storage. You see since the filling is quite liquidy you can’t store it in the fridge even after it’s been frozen, because it’ll melt and leak. I didn’t have a problem with it melting completely losing it’s shape and reverting back to pre-frozen state but it melted enough. Of course because cheese doesn’t taste great frozen, and you loose that creamy texture if it’s frozen solid leaving it in the freezer isn’t so great either. My recommendation is that this is a cake best eaten right away. Of course if you need to store it I suggest cutting the entire cake into individual slices first, then storing in the freezer. When you want to eat a slice, take it out and let it thaw for 30 minutes so it gets creamy again.

Though that might seem like some unnecessary trouble this cake is so amazing flavor-wise, that it’s really worth it, even if there’s no perfect way to store it. Of course you could always store most of it in the freezer and store individual slices in the fridge in a snap-lock container that way if it melts a little it won’t get all over your fridge. I think next week I’ll experiment and make this a full-on traditional cooked cheesecake, so I’ll let you know how that goes, but for now enjoy!

Mango Cheesecake with Mango Glaze 

Crust -

1 C Pecans
1 C Rolled Oats
½ tsp Ground Cinnamon
4 Medjool Dates Pitted and Soaked
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
Pinch of Sea Salt
5-8 Drops Liquid Stevia

Filling - 

***1 ½ C Cream Cheese preferably homemade
3 C Frozen Mango Chunks Divided
2 Tbsp Lime Juice
Date Soak Water
1/4 tsp Ground Ginger
2 tsp Maca
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Pinch of sea salt
2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
8-12 Drops Liquid Stevia

Glaze - 

1 C Frozen Mango Chunks
4 Medjool Dates pitted and soaked
Water
5-8 Drops Liquid Stevia

Instructions -

Crust -

Add Pecans and oats to a food processor and process into fine crumbs.

Add in the dates - reserve the soaking water - and coconut oil along with all other ingredients. Process until a smooth dough forms.

Turn out into a spring-form pan and press down evenly spreading the mixture across the bottom of the pan.

Freeze until ready to add the filling.

Filling -

Add 2 C mango chunks along with the date soak water leftover from the crust recipe to a high speed blender. The water should roughly yield between a third and a half cup. Add in the lime juice and vanilla extract and blend on high until completely smooth.

Add the cream cheese to the food processor along with the pureed mango mixture, coconut oil, maca, ginger, sea salt and stevia. Blend until smooth and fully incorporated.

Add in the remaining cup of mango chunks and process. You can process this until very smooth or leave it a little chunkier, it’s up to you.

Pour the filling into the prepared crust and return to the freezer. Freeze for 2-3 hours until solid but still creamy.

Glaze -

Add all ingredients to a high speed blender and blend until smooth. Pour over cheesecake when ready to serve and then serve immediately or freeze for an additional 30 minutes to firm up the glaze a little bit. Enjoy!

*** Note - I used homemade cream cheese that was made with cashews, salt, water, and 2 tbsp of coconut milk yogurt to culture it. The recipe I used was from Miyoko Schinner’s “Artisan Vegan Cheese.” though I think you could use any homemade vegan cream cheese just as long as it’s cultured. You could try making this with store-bought vegan cream cheese but honestly I don’t know how that would alter the taste and texture of this recipe. Store-bought cream cheese is full of preservatives and other ingredients and it may not freeze as well. Since my homemade cream cheese was practically raw I think it might work better then a cooked cream cheese, but feel free to experiment and let me know what you discover.*** 

The Great Stevia Deception...

Stevia is a low-glycemic, zero calorie sweetener that gets a lot of praise in the health community. Diabetics love it, and so to people trying to keep their sugar consumption low for general health reasons or weight control. Since stevia is a natural product, made from the leaves of the stevia plant it’s been the saving grace of many people who are trying to keep their diet as natural as possible. Unfortunately it seems that most, if not all commercial Stevia is anything but natural. Many commercial brands - including Organic brands - of stevia contain maltodextrin which is just a fancy name for sugar derived from corn. Stevia also contains Silica - also known as Silicon Dioxide - this is a naturally occurring mineral found mostly in quartz and sand. A trace amount is needed by our bodies for certain functions particularly that of bone strength and the strength of connective tissue. However, silica is easy to get from plant foods and is not something you need to be concerned about supplementing, as many if not all plants foods have trace amounts of it for the simple reason that they get it from the soil they’re grown in. Getting silica in this way is one thing, ingesting silica in the form of a food additive is another. Some studies have suggested that silica as a food additive can be toxic. If not processed in the right way, and if a food product contains more then 2% silica it can have ill-health effects. Studies have also suggested that people taking silica supplements over a long period of time can suffer from kidney deterioration.

Unfortunately Silica is used in many food products. Particularly pre-packaged foods, powdered foods, and drinks. Mostly as a caking or absorbing agent. Interestingly enough it’s also used to make glass, and cement. Crystalized Silica Dioxide is considered toxic if inhaled,. Little packets of silica gel are also used to prolong the shelf life of dry goods, and those packets as you’re probably well aware are considered toxic if ingested.

I find all this a bit concerning. Silica when ingested in trace amounts in your produce and grains is fine, but ingested as a food additive? I’m not convinced it’s safe, and I definitely don’t think it should be mixed directly into stevia.

Unfortunately Silica additives are not the only thing to be concerned about with commercial brands of Stevia. Most, if not all of them also contain maltodextrin which as I already said is just a fancy name for sugar derived from corn. Maltodextrin is not safe for diabetics and should not be ingested by them because it spikes your blood sugar just the same as regular table sugar. Commercial Stevia should not be aloud to be marketed as safe for diabetics, it’s not.

After discovering this on Friday I went to my local Whole Foods, and my local independent health food shop and at both places I found every single brand of Stevia to contain maltodextrin, and/or silica, plus a host of other filler ingredients. This was very upsetting, because I like stevia. I’ve been using it for a couple of years now, ever since I found out how toxic Splenda is. When I buy stevia I expect to be buying the pure thing, not a bunch of fillers. Not to mention potentially hazardous and toxic agents, and GMO’s. Since maltodextrin comes from corn it is most certainly GMO unless derived from non-GMO corn.

Commercial Stevia is expensive, about $8 a box depending on the brand and where you live, and they’re totally ripping us off. Since the Stevia is cut with so many fillers you’re really not getting that much pure product. Commercial Stevia may only actually contain 10-15% actual stevia! So we’re being cheated.

After doing a bit of online research I discovered that true pure stevia powder is actually green. It’s a tad grainy and doesn’t dissolve as well in liquid. Though it supposedly settles at the bottom of a glass - like tea leaves I suppose. It’s also super sweet, from what I’ve read a ½ tsp will sweeten a 58 ounce pitcher of tea! Pure stevia is more expensive of course - anywhere from $12-21 a pound but it goes a long way. You can by the pure leaf powder on Amazon.com and there are a few other independent websites that sell it as well. Just make sure that you double check to make sure that what you’re getting is the pure leaf powder, it should be green and contain no other ingredients.

I purchased some pure green stevia powder yesterday morning and eagerly wait it’s arrival. If you're diabetic, concerned about your health, or don't want to ingest GMO's, Toxins, and fillers i suggest you do the same!