Raw Raspberry-Coconut Birthday Cake

in , , ,

Happy Birthday Natural Always!
It's already one year ago since Natural Always was founded. This one year was great, obviously hard work and at the same time a lot of fun and filled with lots of new experiences! I can't wait for the future to come, to share with you all the new recipes I created and still have in my mind. I'm totally looking forward to continuing my mission of showing you how to find happiness through a healthy plant-based lifestyle step-by-step and in an easy way. On this occasion I especially want to thank all my lovely subscribers and readers for sharing their love and passion with me and for reminding me of doing the right thing. I also want to thank all those of you, who believe in and support me in doing what I'm passionate about and love to do. Thank you all very much!

For this special celebration I present you this Raw Raspberry-Coconut Birthday Cake, which is my favourite desert consisting of only simple ingredients which I absolutely love such as raspberry, coconut, cashew, almonds and dates to name the main ones. Trust me, each bite will melt in your mouth, it's soooo heavenly delicious that you always want to make this cake for any occasion to come! Although there is some time needed for preparation as the base and the whole cake need to go in the freezer for some time, it's so easy to make. Moreover, this Raw Raspberry-Coconut Birthday Cake is filled with only healthy and natural ingredients – as always. 

Raw Raspberry-Coconut Birthday Cake

Ingredients
Base:
45g desiccated coconut
150g fresh dates, pitted
70g raw almonds
1 tbsp raw cacao powder
a pinch of sea salt

Filling:
250g raw cashews (soaked overnight or for 3 hours in hot water)
50ml raw honey (vegan option: agave nectar/maple/date syrup)
125ml coconut oil, melted
200g coconut yoghurt without flavour (my favourite brands: harvest or coyo)
50ml fresh lemon juice
1 tsp bourbon vanilla powder
200g fresh raspberries (if frozen raspberries are used: thaw them completely before use)
fresh raspberries or figs, sliced (for decoration)

Line the base of a springform (20cm) cake tin with baking paper.
Combine all ingredients for the base in a food processor and blend. If mixture is too dry, add a little water (be careful: only a little!). If everything is well combined, press mixture firmly into the cake tin until mixture is evenly spread and base becomes level. Then put the cake tin into your freezer.

In the meantime start preparing the filling: warm the honey and coconut oil in a water bath until well combined and liquid. Drain and rinse the soaked cashews and place them together with the honey-coconut-oil-mixture, vanilla powder, lemon juice and coconut yoghurt into your food processor. Blend on high level until mixture becomes a creamy and smooth consistency. 
Pour half (only half!) of the filling over your base using a spatula. Add fresh raspberries to the remaining half of the filling and blend again on high speed until smooth and creamy. Then gently spread the second half of the mixture on top of the first layer and level with a spatula. Place the cake tin again into the freezer for 3-4 hours. Depending on your schedule it's also possible to leave it in the freezer overnight.

Take out the cake tin from the freezer half an hour before serving. Decorate the cake with extra raspberries – sliced figs are delicious as well. 
Try to lose the cake with a sharp knife running around the edge. Before cutting the cake into slices, make sure to run a sharp knife under hot water. 

Serve, smile and enjoy because life is wonderful!

Note: Another positive thing besides its great taste is that you can store this Raw Raspberry-Coconut Birthday Cake in your freezer for up to 3-4 weeks.

(Makes: 12 slices; Soaking time: min. 3h/overnight; Preparation time: 45min; Freezing time: 3-4 hours)

Happy Birthday Natural Always and thanks a lot to all my dear readers and lovely friends – I'm so grateful and happy!

Lots of love, 
Fabienne.

 

Raw Carrot-Hazel Dreams

in , , , ,

The last couple of weeks I spent a lot of time in my kitchen experimenting and creating wonderful new recipes. As I want my recipes to be perfect I take my time and the time they need to be completed to perfection. 

My recipes not only need to be delicious, I strive them to be healthy and good for your body at the same time. Most of the time I try to include magical superfoods with lots of different properties. Today I present you my Raw Carrot Hazel-Dreams which you need to try out because they are simple to make and so delicious. On top of that they give you energy which lasts long and prevents sugar cravings.

Raw means they haven't been heated at all and its ingredients still contain their natural properties. The recipe consists of the main ingredients such as carrots, almonds, hazelnuts and cashews. A special ingredient is the yacon syrup. You might have heard of or come across it in other recipes of mine. Yacon is a large plant that is mainly grown and cultivated for its roots. Yacon syrup is commonly used as healthy replacements for sugar as sweeteners in various recipes. At the same time this sweetener is a real wonder elixir because of many reasons:

Yacon syrup regulates sugar levels, helps with weight loss, improves liver health, lowers "bad" cholesterol and blood pressure and is known to prevent certain types of cancer. On top of that it boosts digestive health and strengthens the immune system. The majority of the carbohydrate sugars contained in yacon syrup cannot be digested by the body, which results in a very low calorie intake and low sugar level coming into the bloodstream. It also helps the body to absorb vitamins and minerals of other foods while it's rich in potassium, calcium and phosphorous.

You're crazy about your health? Go nuts – seriously! 

Cashews: are packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Vitamins such as E, K and B6 come along with minerals like copper, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, selenium and zinc. These components are all very important for maintaining good health and are required for the body to function properly. According to research, eating more nuts such as cashews can lower your risk for cardiovascular disease by reducing blood pressure and "bad" cholesterol levels while potassium, vitamins E and B6 help to fight heart disease. The copper and iron work together to help the body form red blood cells which in turn keeps blood vessels, nerves, bones and the immune system healthy and functioning properly. Replacing the animal fats and proteins with the mono-and polyunsaturated fats found in cashews is an excellent way to manage your weight and reduce stored fat in the heart.

Hazelnuts: contain as cashews as well heart-healthy fats that can protect the health of your heart. Hazelnuts have a high amount of vitamin E in addition to B vitamins and folate. Vitamin E is especially important in maintaining healthy skin, hair and nails, while B vitamins are important in energy metabolism. Hazelnuts as a rich source of minerals such as potassium, calcium and magnesium, provides many health benefits such as regulating a healthy blood pressure. 

Raw Carrot-Hazel Dreams

Ingredients

Filling:
2 organic carrots, peeled and grated roughly
30g flax seeds, grounded
140g almond meal
450g fresh dates, pitted
2 tbsp psyllium husk
50g desiccated coconut
1 tsp cinnamon
a pinch of cardamom

Icing:
200g raw cashews, soaked before about 3 hours
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp yacon syrup (other option: maple syrup; non-vegan option: raw honey)
1 1/2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
ca. 80-90ml water
a handful of hazelnuts, chopped and toasted
a handful of shredded coconut, toasted

Combine all ingredients into your blender. Blend until mixture is combined together well.
Then pour the mixture into your muffin tins with a spoon. Pay attention that the mixture sticks together in the muffin tins by pressing down the mixture with a spoon. Depending on the size of your muffin tins you will get about 12-18 muffins out of the mixture. After this step you should put the tins into the freezer while you prepare the icing.

For the icing you only need to blend all ingredients listed above until mixture becomes smooth. While blending, pour the water at the same time into the mixture to be distributed evenly. Take the muffin tins out of your freezer and spread the icing over the muffins. Sprinkle the toasted hazelnuts and desiccated coconut over these little beauties. Then freeze them again for about half an hour until the icing sets on top of the muffins.
Serve and enjoy these Raw Carrot-Hazel Dreams!

(Makes: 12-18 depending on size of muffin tins; Preparation time: 60min)

I wish you all a great weekend and stay happy & healthy!

Lots of love,
Fabienne.

Going Nuts: How To Make Your Own Nut Milk

in , , ,

There is only one way to top the Good-For-You Granola with this heavenly delicious nut milk! This recipe shows you how to do this in a quick and easy way. Just soak your nuts overnight, and you will be able to quickly do your own nut milk the next morning without any hassle. The only thing you need is the nut you love, water, a blender and a sieve. As a sieve you can even use an old t-shirt, of course a cheesecloth or even a nut milk bag is the luxurious way to go, but anything similar will do a great job as well. So everyone can be the creator of her/his own nut milk according to its personal choice and taste. You can even delicately sweeten and flavour your milk with some dates, agave nectar and natural spices. It will never ever compare to the one you might have bought in a shop. You’re in full control of the ingredient list, so your nut milk will be free of any bad stuff and totally raw, additive-free, preservative-free and sugar-free. This creamy nut milk with its wonderful rich flavour will be full of goodness and the best choice for your body and soul – natural always.

The nut milk is especially lovely with my homemade Good-For-You Granola, to pour over porridge, to use in smoothies, for baking or to drink on its own.

Today I'm happy to show you my first video. I’m excited about your feedback, so please feel free to use the comment section below to tell me how you like it and what I can do better for the next video.

My love for nut milk evolved when I started to find out about my lactose-intolerance and was therefore looking for alternatives. Some years ago I was only familiar with soy milk, which was perfectly fine for me at the time as I have found an alternative to diary milk. As I educated myself more and more about food and its properties I came across a more natural and healthy substitute of soy milk, namely nut milk. For a while I was trying different store-bought brands with different variations in nuts and flavours. The one thing which disturbed me the most was the endless list at the back of most packages. I don’t understand why you put sugar in a natural product such as almond milk, when it doesn’t need any or could be substituted by a natural sweetener? Not to mention adding any additives and preservatives. Well, for me it was clear this wouldn’t be a longterm solution, so the obvious step was to create my own nut milk. Although I imagined it to be quite time-consuming and difficult, I was surprised how easy and quick it all went. Even better, you can decide what will be in your nut milk and vary the taste according to your taste butts.

When you do your own nut milk it’s very important to soak the nuts with a pinch of salt. And here’s why: Raw nuts contain substances which lock up all of its nutritions inside to prevent the nuts from sprouting and becoming a plant. Two of these substances are called phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors. If we consume phytic acid it binds to minerals in the digestive system which makes it impossible for our body to absorb the valuable minerals inside the nuts. Moreover, phytic acid can even cause mineral deficiencies. While enzyme inhabitors prevent our bodies enzymes from breaking down the food we are eating. In order to absorb the minerals, vitamins and proteins containing in nuts you should always soak the nuts in warm water with added salt to get rid of these substances.

Almonds: Out of all nuts, almonds are the highest in calcium and fibre. Countless studies have proven that almonds are the perfect source for weight loss, regulating blood sugar and lowering cholesterol. Because almond milk doesn’t contain any cholesterol or saturated fat at all, it’s the perfect daily choice for people who are looking after their heart.

Cashews: Cashews are bursting with vitamins, minerals and fibre. In a vegetarian diet, cashews serve an excellent choice as they contribute a good level of protein and are a useful source of minerals such as iron and zinc. They’re also rich in magnesium, which improves brain function and is important for good health and vitality. As a special property, cashews are very high in the heart-healthy monounsaturated fat named “oleic acid”, which helps to reduce bad LDL cholesterol and increase the good HDL cholesterol.

Hazelnuts: Hazelnuts are a good source of vitamin B and E, as well as a good source of folate, which prevents heart problems and conditions such as Parkinsons.

Brazil Nuts: are highly nutritious nuts with a rich source of selenium, which helps prevent cellular damage from free radicals that contribute to the development of chronic diseases such as cancer. The brazil nut is a rich source of calcium and magnesium, needed for healthy nerve and heart function, iron for red blood cell production, and zinc for a strong immune system. They’re also a good source of vitamin E and vitamin B needed for energy production. 

Homemade Nut Milk

Ingredients
180g raw nuts (almonds, cashew nuts, hazelnuts, brazil nuts or pecans etc.) or 150g whole oat groats
1 litre water
pinch of fine sea salt
1 tsp spices you like (as whole pieces or grounded: cardamom seeds, cinnamon sticks, vanilla bean etc.)
Sweetener to your taste: 2-3 pitted fresh dates or a couple of spoonfuls of agave nectar
Equipment
1 large jar
1 litre sealable bottle
1 piece of cheesecloth or a fine sieve
(Makes: 1 litre; Preparation time: 10min; Soaking time: 6-8 hours or overnight)

The process of soaking the nuts in advance is crucial and absolutely essential for doing nut milk. Put the nuts in a container, cover with water and add the right amount of salt depending on the nuts you soak (see note below). Soak for 6-8 hours or overnight .
Drain the nuts and rinse well. Add the nuts to a blender with 1 litre of fresh water, add dates if you wish, blend on high speed for about a minute until milk becomes smoothly. 
Place the cloth or sieve over a jar. Strain the milk until only pulp is left and squeeze the rest of the liquid out with your hands.
Pour the strained milk into a sealable bottle. Add a punch of fine sea salt. If your using the ground spices and extra sweetener such as agave nectar add them to the milk and shake the bottle. Another option is to just add the whole spices to the milk bottle before placing into the fridge. Store in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Note: Salt amount for soaking the nuts: Soft nuts such as cashews, walnuts, pecans require 1 tsp of fine sea salt, while hard nuts such as almonds and hazelnuts need 1 1/2 tsp of fine sea salt.

Watch my video for inspiration and have fun creating your very own nut milk!

Stay happy and healthy.
With lots of Love, Fabienne.