One of my readers, Sue, mentioned that she frequently turns to this Banana with Hempseed Milk recipe (quick & easy, no straining required), and it reminded me of one of my all-time favorite recipes, this Vanilla, Macadamia, Hemp Seed Topping, which would be fabulous on top of those bananas… or any other kind of fruit… or the raw oatmeal which I just posted!

This topping is easy to make ahead of time and keep in the fridge, too, so… it’ll be there when you need it, another layer to the convenience that’s required in order to make a high-raw lifestyle workable.

This topping is just so good, I have never had any leftovers unless I make a large batch, because if I don’t scarf it all down, the kids will.

Between the fact that I just used my last young coconut and I haven’t bought raw macadamias in months… I think I feel another trip to Whole Foods coming on!

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This Fruit Topping is wonderful, nutritious, addictive, quick-to-make, and hard to keep on hand because everybody wants some!

The recipe portions are small because I used to make it in one of those mini-food processors, but I’ve since realized that I should at least double (or quadruple) the portion and use a larger machine… otherwise I’m liable to try to bogart the whole batch!

You could just sprinkle on sliced or chopped fruit and go, but the way I normally eat it is to sprinkle it on fruit in a bowl, pour some fresh pecan or almond milk over it (or other fresh nut or seed milk), sprinkle with hemp seeds, and then dig in. Exactly as it looks in the photo:

Try Different Kinds of Honey

It’s fun to experiment with the type of honey you use because different honeys lend different nuances of taste. One of my fave honeys for this recipe is the organic Hawaiian Lehua honey by Garden of Life – it’s one of the tastiest I’ve tried. Quite floral… delicious with vanilla.

Try Different Kinds of Nut and Seed Milks

Most people quickly become familiar with how to make fresh Almond Milk when they begin exploring a raw foods lifestyle, but there are other kinds of nut and seed milks which are wonderful!

I love Pecan Milk (shown in the picture above). It’s rich, warm, and nutty tasting, it’s full of healthy zinc (great for men and their prostates and for pregnant women… and well, everyone needs zinc for healthy growth, cell development, and DNA synthesis).

Also, in my house Sunflower Seed milk rules because you get a tremendous nutritional bang for your hard-earned buck! Much cheaper than almonds or any of the other nuts, you can buy a huge bag of them and not break the bank. And they are high in fiber, protein, essential fatty acids, vitamins A, B complex, C, potassium, and magnesium! They’re also GREEN, and make a very pretty creamy-green milk. So… bring on the Sunflower Seeds, I say!

Vanilla-Macadamia-Hempseed Fruit Topping Recipe

• 1/4 C. raw Macadamia nuts
• 1 t. raw Honey
• dash “Himmy” salt (Himalayan Crystal Salt)
• 2 T. Hemp seeds
• 1/8 t. Vanilla extract (or a snippet of Vanilla Bean if you have some on hand)

Blend in small food processor, or just chop the nuts & mix by hand.
Serve on fresh fruit with fresh nut milk. Sprinkle with extra hemp seeds, if you like.

This is an excellent breakfast recipe, but I’ve also had it as a snack, and for a light dinner many times. It really satisfies on a number of levels — sweet, crunchy, creamy, tart, and belly-filling!

I just love fresh, jumbo Medjool dates. Not when ground up and mixed into nut balls or energy bars… blech. In fact, I loathe those sorts of things, where the almost-juicy quality of the dates is destroyed by over-processing.

No, dates are best enjoyed whole, where their lovely succulence can be enjoyed full-on. I’ve said more times than I can count that the simple treat of a raw pecan stuffed into a whole date and popped into one’s mouth is like pecan pie, only the way pecan pie wishes it could taste!

Here, I’ve made up a salted vanilla filling for the dates without any additional sugar. All the sweetness comes from the dates themselves. And the overall effect when all is said and done is that of a salted caramel!

The dish is comprised entirely of non-perishables, so you can make this entire batch and keep at your desk at work, or in a container in your gym or dance bag for a quick energy pick-me-up when you need it… and with the added salt, it’s a great way to replenish electrolytes after a good workout! And shoot… I just finished one up as part of a late breakfast.

And forget those “nut balls” that so many raw foodies make with dates (did I say “blech” yet?)… these put those to shame. In my not-so-humble opinion.

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I could eat this every day, for any meal. In fact, if you would kindly rummage a plate up for me now, I’d be quite pleased, thank you.

It’s lusciously juicy, creamy, crunchy, sweet… with a bit of good salt to perk things up all the more. And completely pedestrian. No exotic superfoods here or rarified flavorings. There is no reason you couldn’t keep the ingredients for this brilliant combination on hand most of the year. Though ripeness of mango and avocado certainly does make a difference!

Some of these raw-yummy combinations seem so brainless, but I ask you… have you ever had this before? It’s a revelation how certain simple ingredients, lovingly combined, can yield such fabulous results!

Mangia bene, my dearies. This recipe is a keeper!

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Why isn’t tomato paired with tangerine more frequently, I wonder? It’s a great combination… gorgeous on the plate, and the sweetness of the tangerine pairs so nicely with the acid in the tomatoes!

This particular recipe has so many uses. You can serve as-is. You can add fresh greens and toss for a green salad, using it as a dressing. You can serve it as a relish, as a salsa, as a dip, and as a side to a plate of antipasto.

And this was just made for spooning over fresh fish! I’m a lover of Moroccon sardines (I keep “Season” brand “skinless, boneless, saltless, in water” variety on hand and freshen them up with some himmy salt, black pepper, a squeeze of lemon, and some cold-pressed olive oil. With this dressing on top it’s a feast and a half.

Raw vegan recipes aren’t just for raw vegans.

To make this, I used tiny little “mineolas”, wee little mandarin orange-type things. If you use larger tangerines, be sure to get the pips out first… or just pick up tangelos, which are seedless. But whatever you buy, the smaller and more fragrant, the better, in my opinion.

And be sure to use wee, sugary grape tomatoes!

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This simple, quick-to-prepare dish makes for a nice little sweet-treat to have with your tea or coffee, or to give to your kids (and know that there’s nothing artificial or denatured about it in the least).

This little “white chocolate” candy is mild, not-too-sweet, and melts into a kind of soft-taffy texture that quickly melts down the back of your mouth with all that honey-vanilla goodness.

I also found an interesting article that mentions some research that has found that cacao butter suppresses excessive T-cell activity in the immune system, which could make it favorable for individuals suffering from overactive immune systems, with conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and the like.

Sounds like something that might be worth looking into for many people…

But I just like it because it’s a small bit of something vanilla-y, and for the lusciously melty texture as it warms up in your mouth.

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This is one of those recipes I wish I’d known how to make back when I first encountered the whole raw & living food world. Would have made staying “high-raw” so much easier.

This “hummus” is made from raw macadamia nuts and a few other utterly pedestrian ingredients. It takes only a few minutes, and what you get is a hummus I actually enjoy better than hummus made from sesame. It has a “cleaner” flavor, it explosive with garlic, tangy with lemon, and makes either a great dish for dipping or a delicious (and filling) raw sandwich spread!

An excellent recipe for rummaging up a quick supper!

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did…

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I’m visiting family in Florida right now for the holidays, and when I saw the giant bowls of freshly picked, home-grown oranges, tangerines, grapefruits, and lemons in their kitchen, I knew straightaway that citrus was going to figure prominently in a few of my recipes this week! Then my mom asked me to show her how to make some tasty raw chocolate goodies, and I knew the first thing I wanted to make: these deliciously juicy chocolate-dipped tangerine slices!

What a great combo… the sweet, juicy tang of tangerine with luxurious dark chocolate. And so easy… you whip up the chocolate in minutes, dip the fruit twice, and store the plate of treats in the fridge. Nothing complicated, other than waiting a few minutes in between dips for the chocolate to harden in the freezer.

When you bite into these babies, the delicate hard-chocolate shell crunches into the cool sweetness of the tangerine for a juicy bite that’s both refreshing and just slightly decadent! And if you can find “tangelos” at your grocer’s instead of tangerines, even better — you won’t have to spit out a pip when you’re done!

I brought this plate over to my brother’s for dessert and left the plate unattended in the kitchen, only to find it half-demolished just moments later by all the kids who’d gotten to it before dinner was served. But with this recipe… all natural, rich with undenatured nutrients… who cares? Was probably the healthiest thing they ate all day.

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These look like ordinary nuts, but I assure they are not. This unique recipe coats your favorite nuts in a sweetly savory combination of raw honey, cacao butter, garlic, cumin, and maca, calling up the taste sensation of authentic mexican mole seasonings, tho’ I left out cacao powder to keep them lighter in flavor.

Munch on these by themselves, or add them to salads, Salad Sandwiches, and Warm Live Soups. But be sure to include some the next time you entertain. They are festive and addictive!

And satisfies that desire for crunch and something salty in a wonderful healthy way. Plus… you get the potent adaptogenic health benefits of maca powder without being bothered by maca’s distinctive pungent flavor. An utterly win-win treat!

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A recent new member to my site specifically requested some recipes for raw cheeses, as she loves cheese dearly, and this is my first offering in that category.

I’m also a serious lover of seriously wonderful cheese. Irish cheddar… Dutch parrano… Greek feta… genuine Italian parmagian… I very much enjoy a few slices with a glass of red wine. Delicious. I’m not ready to bid those experiences adieu forever as yet, so I completely understand.

Consistent with my general paradigm around fresh, raw, living foods, I made this recipe to be easy to whip up on-the-spot so that it’s something one can turn to frequently, when a bit of something savory beckons. I chose not to start off with a recipe using raw cashews, although that is usually what raw food enthusiasts use for their “cheesy” recipes. Instead, this is made from the pulp leftover from making fresh almond milk, because raw almonds tend to be far easier to locate locally than raw cashews.

I have also included a small amount of Nama Shoyu, an unpasteurized soy sauce popular in the raw food community. I’m not a frequent user of Nama Shoyu, due to its reputation for containing glutamates (as do all soy sauces, raw or not). However, it is glutamates that give certain cheeses their compelling savoriness (such as with parmagian), and I wanted an undertone of that savory quality in this “cheese” spread.

If you don’t have Nama Shoyu, you can use a bit of Tamari, which is pasteurized and not raw, until you can get your hands on the unpasteurized product.

This is not a firm, sliceable recipe. It is soft, rather fluffy, a spread which you can also use as a dip with raw crackers, fresh vegetables, or organic tortilla chips for a “rawish” snack or meal. The flavor is mellow and nutty, not overpowering, quite light… but still has that savory quality (and rich calcium content) that may satisfy a craving for cheese.

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This is a seriously versatile recipe you can use many different ways, and it’s a nutritional, energetic powerhouse! Definitely add this to your repertoire, to create delicious quick snacks, a perky no-oil salad dressing, a fruit topping for perhaps any fruit under the sun, or a great dip for both fruit and vedge!

It’s fresh, fluffy, gorgeously orange, tastes not unlike Ginger Fruit Loops, has no added fat, will be a hit with both kids and raw pot luck munchers…and has the combined nutritional power of goji berries (without their raisiny flavor), the potent adaptogen raw maca powder (you will be hard-pressed to taste its strong flavor in this combo…), fresh ginger (great for digestion and a sore tum!), raw honey (anti-inflammatory to soothe the lungs), and fresh lime juice (vitamin C). In other words: Major Zing!

Takes minutes to make. If you’re into superfoods…and even if you’re not… this is a recipe you can make frequently and not get tired of!

Homemade Goji Powder...part of the recipe.

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