Creamed sesame tahini dessert

Contrary to my recent posting pattern, here I am already back with recipes. My life, as I probably have mentioned more than once, is a hectic one. Just recently, I was working two positions. Last week I made the decision to give the corporate one up, so that I can concentrate on the interesting research I am doing at the University. This will be my Master's thesis. On top of this I have a load of interesting courses, but also a wonderful family. As much as I enjoy blogging, it comes after my family and work on my list of priorities. It looks like at the moment I finally have some spare time to create and post, so your patience will hopefully be rewarded =)

Raw tahini:
Sprouted sesame seeds
Raw and unfiltered honey, to taste
Cold-pressed coconut oil and sesame oil
Himalayan salt
(water)

Soak sesame seeds for 8 hours. Drain water, rinse thoroughly and sprout for another 8 hours. The seeds won't actually grow, the idea is to get rid of the enzyme inhibitors, so that the calcium and other nutrients are better absorbed. Once this is done, place the seeds in a food processor or blender, add honey. Then blend in 50:50 coconut and sesame oil. Add salt. Taste and adjust. I like my tahini with a nice balance of savory and sweet. If you find that cold-pressed sesame oil is too strong in flavor, substitute for more coconut oil.

Tahini cream:
3 tbsp raw tahini
4 oz/120g raw brazil nuts, soaked for 4-6 hours
Raw honey, to taste
water

Blend tahini, nuts and honey. Add water until desired consistency. With little water this makes for a flavorful raw cream, while more water will yield a more yoghurt like texture and slightly milder flavor.

Serving suggestion:
Banana, blueberries, chopped pecans, fresh lemon balm leaves

You could also blend some lemon balm in with the tahini cream.This is a versatile, quick and easy raw treat. Enjoy as breakfast, snack, dessert or dress it up for a fancier occasion.

Still alive and back with a vengence

Hey guys, and thank you for your patience. I've been laying low for several reasons. First of all, I suffered a severe kidney infection with high fever lasting over a week. Since that, I've done a lot of thinking. Why despite my healthy lifestyle did I come down with such an illness? Why despite the all organic, pure diet does my daughter get sick? Many other health food/raw foodie bloggers seem to be the epitomes of health, insisting that as long as you eat pure food, you can't get sick. What is it that I do wrong then? I eat mostly raw, mostly vegetables and fruit, I exercise but don't overdo it. Nearly all my food is organic. Although I work and study, I don't ever feel overwhelmed or stressed. All in all, I am happy and love my life. What gives?

Is this all due to a tick bite that went unnoticed years ago? Doctor's think I suffer from chronic Lyme disease. I thought so too, initially I was in a lot of chronic pain because of it. So much so, I was on horrible medications. I was sick constantly, and it was never the flu or anything mild. Now, thanks to completely changing my diet and way of life over a year ago, I am pain-free and medication free. But could this be something that is affecting my immune system? I have been rigorously tested for every condition that may cause compromised immunity, but they all have come back negative. If this is the case, is there anything I can do about it? Echinacea, medicinal mushrooms, camu camu for vitamin C boost? If anyone one of you has tips, I would greatly appreciate any advice.

This all being confessed, I am starting a project of my own that I will continue to write about here. For months now, I have been taking a dose of 2000IU vitamin D and some supplemental zinc.  I have also been eating raw shiitake mushrooms weekly. This month I started B12 supplements, since this could help improve my immune system. Just this morning my husband and I decided that we will try some wild game birds in our diets, so that we wouldn't need the supplements. Before I was disgusted by the thought of eating anything else than chicken or fish, and even chicken I haven't had in a long time. Now, although I am not going full on paleo, I think it is wise to try to eat what is natural and what our bodies were designed to eat. I am blood type O, which is a hunter blood type. This could be the reason for my gluten-intolerance and milk allergy. I find I need a high protein diet, maybe also because my work is so intellectually demanding. So, I am going back to my roots in search for better health. From now on, this family is on a "wild diet", consisting of  mostly vegetables, with an emphasis on seasonal foods including weekly self-caught or sustainably caught wild fish and game.

I will be back with recipes and thoughts on my new journey. Let's hope this does the trick!

Creamy pomegranate-lingonberry hearts

Wondering how to surprise your valentine this year? Perhaps not quite yet, but I just got carried away with my gorgeous red pomegranate and cute heart-shaped cupcake molds. I had a hard time figuring out what to call them - the "cream" resembles white chocolate, but also distantly a cheesecake. It has layers of flavors, and it depends on the taster, which is most prominent. To me this was white chocolate, to my husband it was cheesecake, and most likely someone not quite as accustomed to the taste of coconut would find it to be the dominant flavor. Well, try it our for yourself and let me know what you think!

Honey-almond crust
Almond flour (or dehydrated almond pulp leftover from making raw almond milk)
Coconut oil
Raw, organic honey
pinch Himalayan salt, touch of pure vanilla

Mix together and pat down thinly on the bottom of cupcake molds. Chill to firm up.

Cream layer (for 6 cupcakes + leftovers)
125g cashews
400ml coconut cream (about 1,75C)
2 tsp mesquite + 2tsp lucuma (optional, but very good)
0,5-1,5 tsp dehydrated orange peel
70g raw cocoa butter
vanilla agave, to taste
pinch salt


Blend everything until smooth. Spread on crust, chill until they are hard enough to remove from the mold.


Pomegranate-lingonberry glaze
1 pomegranate
0,5 C lingonberries
vanilla agave, to taste

Blend. Layer on top of the cupcakes prior to serving.

We made 6 and I had leftover cream+glaze, so I froze the cream to make raw ice cream and served it with the pomegranate-lingonberry sauce. All three layers of the cupcakes go really well together, and make a really scrumptious treat. Without the glaze, they keep well frozen. If you like, you could also serve them just lightly thawed as ice cream cakes. We opted to allow them to thaw a bit further, which brings out more flavor. Altogether this is a versatile recipe, you could just use the cream in any other raw dessert that calls for it.

Royal berry tartlets and cranberry-orange cookies

Once again my good friend was coming over for tea. I've mentioned before that she has several allergies. As such, they wouldn't be too problematic, but combined with my gluten-intolerance and milk allergies it becomes challenging. Again, it wouldn't be if I would go for conventional baking.. but you know me, my desserts are always raw even if I sometimes enjoy cooked meals.

I came up with a crust that would work for both of us, given that it had to be nut-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free and raw. Then I thought I'd make a strawberry shortcake out of it, but I wasn't sure if she was allergic to strawberries.. then I remembered that it is fairly common, and thought I wouldn't risk it. Well, I thought I'd use blueberries instead, but I've made quite a few raw blueberry pies in the past... long story short: I made a pie filling out of blueberries, raspberries, figs and dehydrated orange peel. Only to realize soon after, that she is allergic to nearly all fruit, except bananas. Luckily it turned out she could handle the small touch of organic orange peel, and got no reaction from the figs either.

As if there weren't enough problems to begin with, I was short of time. I went to work early and didn't have time to prepare anything in the morning. I told my husband to soak some flax seeds for me, but neglected to tell him how much water I wanted in them... well, there was too much and hence I had to make a much bigger batch of "dough" than I had in mind. This is how I ended up making a batch of 12 tartlets and about 20 cookies.

The "dough":

1 C soaked flax seeds

2 C water

1,5 C coconut flakes

1,5 C sprouted buckwheat

10 dried dates

vanilla agave + honey, to taste

pinch salt and cinnamon (salt is essential!)

Soak flax seeds in water for at least an hour, preferably overnight.  Blend with dates, buckwheat and seasoning. Remember to taste the dough!

Royal berry filling:

1,5 C raspberries

1 C blueberries

12 dried figs

vanilla agave

0,5-1tsp dehydrated, ground organic orange peel (peel your oranges, dry in room temp/dehydrator, grind in a food processor)

2 tsp lucuma, optional

Blend all ingredients together, taste and adjust sweetness.

Fill as many pie shells with the dough as you like (spread with wet hands), set in fridge for an hour or too. Make filling after you have put the shells in the fridge, and chill it. Once the pie shells have set, assemble and chill until served. They are best, when you let them warm up just a bit in room temp before serving.

We had extra filling, but it is amazing on it's own. You could enjoy it just with some raw chocolate, on raw pancakes, etc etc... Feel free to substitute the crust for your favorite raw crust, especially when making for skeptics it might be a better idea to make a sweeter, nuttier crust. Because it didn't have any oil, this dough didn't really "set" like a nut crust with cocoa butter/coconut oil would. This means it softens in room temperature. It also tastes more "healthy" than delectable, but if you like a less sweet, nut-free crust this is pretty good. More than likely though, the next time I make these I will make an almond-pecan crust with coconut oil and vanilla agave.

Cranberry-orange cookies

The dough, left-over from making the tartlets

Chopped almonds (soaked and dehydrated if possible)

Organic, sugar-free dried cranberries (eg. apple-sweetened)

Orange peel

Cinnamon

Fold chopped almonds and chopped cranberries into the dough with a large spoon/spatula. Add flavorings and sweetener, if desired. Dollop onto dehydrator sheets, spread into thick round cookies. Dehydrate! Mine were in for about 12 hours, after which they were warm and crunchy on the outside but nice and chewy on the inside. The quality of the cranberries really makes a difference, I used Eden Foods cranberries, which are big, juicy and dark in color.

Raw buckwheat sandwiches with parsley nut cream

This was not the first time I have made raw bread, believe me I've tried a fair amount of recipes.. somehow I've never liked them too much (read: edible with plenty of toppings to mask the flavor). I thought this bread would be no different, but I was suprised to find that this was actually tasty on its own. It was good with raw spreads and veggies, and we also have enjoyed it with a (cooked) indian brown lentil dahl.

Raw brazil nut-buckwheat bread (aka best raw bread I have made)

1/2 C brazil nuts soaked

1 C flax seeds

1 C water, to soak the flax seeds with

1/3 C pumpkin seeds

1 C sprouted buckwheat (soak 10min, sprout 24h, little tail)

2/3 C grated raw seet potato

Quality salt, freshly ground black pepper, dried organic thyme (just a touch)

Soak buckwheat groats 10 min, place in a sprouting jar. Rinse at least 4 times during the 24h. Soak brazil nuts and pumpkin seeds 6-8h, discard soaking water. Also soak flax seeds with water (min 1h) to make a thick gooey paste. When they're all done, place nuts and buckwheat in a food processor, along with sweet potato. Give it some spins, I left mine chunky on purpose. Season. Shape into bread slices and dehydrate overnight.

Parsley nut cream spread:

1/2 C brazil nuts

´1/4 C sunflower seeds

handful of fresh parsley

clove garlic

lemon juice

salt, pepper

(water)

Blend brazil nuts and seeds, add lemon juice, garlic clove and salt + pepper. Blend until smooth. If you like, you can also through in the parsley. This will lend the spread a light green color. Alternatively, you can finely chop the parsley and mix it in with a spoon.

Serve together, or eat the bread on its own or with your choice of toppings. We had simple sammies with split pea greens and julienned carrots.

Functional training and stress relief

My life is pretty hectic and exciting at the moment. I mentioned that the New Year would mean new challenging opportunities for me. Recently I was asked to participate in ground-breaking research and formulate my findings into my Masters thesis. This is all happening quite fast, considering that it was only a couple months ago when I finished my Bachelor's thesis and have only studied 2,5 years at the University. Last week I also had a development discussion at work that revealed several interesting career path opportunities for me.

Although all this takes up a fair amount of hours (work, research, studies), I feel fortunate and stress-free. Of course, in times like these stress management skills are essential. Personally I don't think all stress is bad, for example a small amount of pressure can allow you to perform better and more efficiently than usual. However, the moment you notice that you are feeling overworked and it affects your moods daily, it is way past time to do something about it. How do you guys deal with stressful times?

My stress-fighting strategies sound simple: exercise, diet, fun. I find that my new-found form of functional training, Kinesis, has proven to be very effective. For me, it uniquely combines relaxation and releasing tension. This is because I utilize the balance boards/BOSU-balance trainer with every exercise possible. Not only does this provide an amazing way to work out your deeper core muscles while working on other muscle groups, but the deep level of concentration the movements involve allows you to really clear your mind.

Advantages of Kinesis:

+ Activates kinetic chains of muscles, not just individual muscles monotonically like conventional equipment. Resistance varies also with the range of movement and angle (as well as weights).

+ Easy!

+ The design allows you to move freely with minimal interference with the body, especially in 'push' movements.

+ Fast set up

+ Incredibly versatile, even just one machine can be used in dozens of different ways (be creative!)

Some of my favorite Kinesis movements (free video instructions)

-Additional Chest Press Exercises on a Kinesis System

- Lower Leg and Chest 

- Upper back with balance ball

- Core exercise with the above machine, you lie on your back and grasp one handle with each hand. Lift both feet up. Stretch your right leg, and push your left arm back parallel to the floor (away from your head). Without dropping your feet, do the same with your left leg and right arm.

- Using the equipment in the first pick, either stand on a balance board or sit on a fitness ball and extend your arms (like you were boxing). Or use a ball/balance board and stretch your arms, and then open them. You can combine this with lifting one of your legs at a time, while maintaining your balance and strengthening your core muscles.

- With the machine in the lower pic, you can sit on a ball and make a large circle with both your arms holding the handles, a "sun".

Kinesis is especially effective when combined with relaxing and empowering yoga breething techniques,  you breath in when moving into position, and breath out when doing the most strenuous part. This will activate more core muscles and increase strength and effectiveness.

Because Kinesis is a form of functional training (works on several muscle groups with one exercise), it saves time. Especially the movements requiring balance will activate muscle groups traditional gym equipment never would.    

My typical gym ruitine:

30min in-door cycling (interval training, 5min cycle seated with resistance, 5 min standing with added resistance)

30min Kinesis exercises as circuit training (no resting in between)

Sometimes I run instead of cycle, and sometimes if I don't have an hour I opt to cycle in slightly higher gear for 20min and do Kinesis for 10-20min. Once a week I usually run 15min for warm up and participate in a Kinesis Core class for 45min. When it suits my schedule, I also enjoy pilates and different yoga forms. Typically I go to the gym 3-4 times a week with my husband. The days I don't go, I get my minimum of 30 min exercise by cleaning, playing with my daughter, going outside with the family, etc.

I will not go too deep into diet in this post, after all all my past posts have been about diet in one way or another. Yet I will say that in times of stress, it is sometimes a good idea to indulge a little. No, I don't mean diving into a bar of chocolate or eating a bag of chips. Instead, dry making some raw chocolates (click here for an easy recipe) with your partner or friend, and sip some delicious Yogi tea. Relax and talk!

Images from:
http://www.technogym.com/
http://www.balance4lifetimmins.ca/Grand_Opening_-_Kinesis.html
http://www.puravidaclub.com/kinesis_denver_files/_dsc3473-2-600.jpg

Lucuma maple flax crackers

My adventures with my new Stöckli dehydrator continue! It is so much fun - I feel like a "domestic goddess" again when the yummy fragrance of my concoctions can be sensed throughout the corridor. Playing with my dehydrator is way more fun than baking ever was (and I really used to enjoy that!), not only because I know that these treats are truly healthy for all of us but also because I feel there is no limit to my creativity. Maybe it is the scientist in me, that relishes in being presented with a problem like "it is not possible to make raw pulla*" and being able to solve it through thinking and experimenting. It is rewarding and comforting to find that switching over to eating right can be exciting and fulfilling. First I had a whole list of things I thought I'd miss, but now I've come to realize that I wouldn't trade my yummy raw treats for anything.

Many of you have probably had or heard of raw flax crackers. I added my spin on the traditional maple-cinnamon crackers:

Lucuma maple flax crackers
3 round 13" trays

2 C whole flax seeds
4 C water
2 medium organic apples (I had Gala)
1/4 C raw organic honey
1/4 C organic pure maple syrup
1-3 tbsp ceylon cinnamon (regular cinnamon contains the liver-toxin coumarin)
2 tbsp raw organic lucuma powder
pinch salt

Soak flax seeds in water for at least an hour, preferably overnight. It will transform into a very thick goo, which you don't want too wet because it would lengthen dehydration time later. Puree apples with spices and sweeteners in a food processor/blender until smooth. Mix with flax seeds either in a bowl or pour them into the food processor. Taste, and adjust flavor until it is so good you have to restrain yourself from just eating it out of the bowl. Seriously, we were lucky to actually get some to the D :)
Once you have the taste down, take out your dehydrator sheets, oil them with coconut oil if necessary and spread the gooey mixture onto the sheets thinly. I oil the sheets just for the nice taste and texture the coconut oil adds to the crackers.

Dehydrate under 104F/46C to keep it raw - don't want to compromise those amazing omegas, enzymes and vitamins!

My husband and I usually find the cinnamon flavor in the store-bought raw organic maple-cinnamon flax crackers too intensive. I discovered that using combination of lucuma and cinnamon helps add a whole new depth of flavor, lending a rich and balanced flavor to the crackers. Of course lucuma is highly concentrated with nutrients as well - which together with the honey and mineral-rich maple syrup makes these extra super.

*Finnish or Scandinavian sweet wheat bun, which is raised with yeast and flavored with cardamom. A staple in any "normal" Finnish coffee table.