Mango Sorbet

Mango Sorbet

Mango Sorbet

I love the refreshing sweet tangy flavor of store-bought mango sorbet, and now I’ve discovered it’s super easy to make it at home – and even tastier.

I like to make about a pint’s worth because it fills up my used plastic yogurt or hummus containers that are easy for holding home-made ice-creams and sorbets.  Here are the basic proportions:

2 Cups pure water

2/3 Cup Vanilla Agave Nectar

4 Cups Frozen Chopped Mangoes (about 4 Champagne mangoes or 2 larger Kent mangoes)

Blend all ingredients until smooth in a high powered blender (like a Vitamix).  You may require dividing the recipe in half and blending twice.  Consume immediately or pour into containers and freeze for later.  It scoops out easily.

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Orange Julius Upgraded

Orange Creamsicle Smoothie

Orange Creamsicle Smoothie

This is one of my favorite breakfast smoothies to play with – it tastes a bit like an upgraded Orange Julius (if you remember those mall days way back when) :)

Orange Carrot Ginger Bee Pollen Hemp  Juice/Smoothie for breakfast. Sunshine in a glass!

Juiced 3 oranges and 3 carrots for about 2 cups of juice

Blended that juice with about 1-2 Tbsp Bee Pollen, 1-2 Tbsp Hemp Seeds and about 1 inch of ginger (peel off the brown skin)

I’m estimating the amounts of bee pollen and hemp seeds because I really just dumped some in there.  I tend to be creative like that in the kitchen. :)

You can adjust this smoothie by using just orange juice, orange/mango juice (yummm!), or grapefruit juice.  Blending the juice with hemp seeds makes it that creamy frothy taste like an orange creamsicle.

Enjoy!

 

Pizza Soup & Salsa Soup

Pizza Soup

Pizza Soup

I had a lot of fun experimenting with making raw soups during our spring equinox cleanse and here are 2 more that we really liked: Pizza Soup and Salsa Soup!

Pizza Soup

Juice 1 zucchini (wow yumm!), a slice of onion & 1 red bell pepper.

Blend that juice with 2-3 tomatoes, 2 Tbsp Hemp Seeds, 1 Tbsp Oregano, 1 Tbsp Fiesta Mole & about 1/2-1 Cup warmed water (optional for a warmer soup).

Top with sweet baby tomatoes and green onions (or any other pizza-like toppings you desire).

Tip: In place of the warm water I used a decoction of astragalus, eleuthero, and shatavari I happened to have on hand during our cleanse.  That’s why the soup in my picture is particularly frothy – that astragalus foams well.  Stay tuned for more on how to make decoctions. :)

 

Salsa Soup

Salsa Soup

Salsa Soup

Blend until mixed, but not super-smooth: 2 Tomatoes, 1 Red Bell Pepper, 1 slice of Onion (~2 Tbsp), 1 Carrot, Handful of Cilantro, 1 tsp Cumin, 1 tsp Garlic Powder, 1/8 tsp Chipotle and 1 Cup warmed water.

Tip: In place of the warm water I used a decoction of Fo Ti I happened to have on hand during our cleanse.  Fo Ti has an awesome miso-like flavor that rounds out the body of this soup.  You could also use a miso base or add in a pinch of SunFire Salt to your water.

Many thanks to my friend Becca Ladd for the inspiration on this soup … I see why it’s one of her favorites!

Chocolate Sauce & Raspberry Sauce

Raw Chocolate Sauce & Raw Raspberry Sauce

Raw Chocolate Sauce & Raw Raspberry Sauce

At our recent Raw Superfood Dinner & Class we served up our favorite Raw Cheesecake with raw chocolate and raspberry sauces on the plate.  These sauces are super quick and easy to make and can be used on, well anything, especially great on your fingers for licking off. :)

Raw Chocolate Sauce

½ Cup Cacao Powder

¼ Cup Coconut Oil (melted)

¼ Cup Vanilla Agave Nectar

Put the cacao powder in a small mixing bowl and make sure it doesn’t have any lumps.  If you find any, press them against the side of the bowl with a spoon to separate them.

Add the melted coconut oil and agave and stir or whisk until smooth.  Keep this at room temperature so that it’s easy to drizzle or pour.

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Tomato Carrot Hemp Soup

Tomato Carrot Hemp Soup

Tomato Carrot Hemp Soup

This was another winning raw soup (and often requested recipe) from our 10-day Spring Equinox Cleanse.  I did quite a few alterations to a recipe I got from Kristen Suzanne’s Raw Vegan Hemp Recipes book.  I think my version tastes AWEsome! It’s a nice lighter soup – not too creamy (as many raw soups tend to be).

Like I’ve said before about raw soups – they taste better when you top them with something extra – like chopped green onion, nutritional yeast flakes, hemp seeds, chopped apples, chopped tomatoes, chopped avocado, chopped bell pepper and live sprouts.  Give your tastebuds multiple flavors to taste and they’ll enjoy the whole bowl of soup, not just the first 3 slurps. :)

Tomato Carrot Hemp Soup

1 Cup Pure Water (warmed if you like a warm soup)

1/2 Cup Orange Juice (1 orange juiced)

3 Tomatoes chopped

1 Cup Carrot chopped (about 2 medium sized carrots)

2 Tbsp Hemp Seeds

1 Tbsp Fiesta Mole Powder

1/8 tsp Chipotle Powder

1 tsp Onion Powder

1/2 tsp SunFire Salt

4-6 Sun Dried Tomatoes (optional – gives it a nice tangy flavor)

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Kale Apple Soup

Kale Apple Soup

Kale Apple Soup

This is one of the soups we declared a winner during our 10 day Spring Equinox Cleanse.  We’re serving it at our monthly Raw Superfood Dinner & Class and will definitely be repeating it for our personal dinners often.

This comes from an awesome raw cookbook I just received called The Raw Food Revolution Diet.  It’s co-written by Cherie Soria who is the founder and director of Living Light Culinary Arts Institute where many famous raw chefs go for training.  And it’s really well done, so you may be seeing more excerpts from this book again soon. :)

Before I get to the recipe, I’ll also say that one of the major keys to a good raw soup is to have chunky bits in it for added texture and bursts of flavor.  Otherwise you’re eating the same blended taste with every spoonful and your palette gets bored.  So trust me on this, and try slicing some tart apple and sweet baby tomatoes on top of this soup and your taste buds will be extremely pleased.

Kale Apple Soup

2 Oranges

½ Cup Pure Water

¼ Cup Sunflower Seeds (soaked and rinsed)

½ Apple (chopped – tart apples work best)

1 Green Onion Stalk (or more to taste)

1 Tbsp Nama Shoyu (raw soy sauce – Coconut Aminos by Coconut Secret is what I use)

½ Clove Garlic (or more to taste)

Pinch of Cayenne

4 Cups Kale Leaves firmly packed (about half a head of kale)

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