Daikon (White radish) spread

Spreads are very easy to make and cost much less than buying them in the shop. I love to dip carrots into spreads, but they can be as well a nice topping on a piece of bread.
The spread takes only a few minutes to prepare and can be enjoyed fresh or kept in the fridge for a couple of days. 
Hint: take some spread to work with some carrot and use it as a healthy snack when you get hungry between your meals ;)...I am doing that right now :D

What will you need: 

- 1 medium daikon (white radish), approximately  20 cm long

- 200 g of sunflower seeds

- A few sun-dried tomatoes

- Juice of half lime

- Juice of 1/4 lemon

- a bit of salt (according to taste)

- 3 Tbsp of Walnut oil

Place first the sunflower seeds to the food processor. Blend until sunflower seeds are broken into small pieces. Add the white radish and blend. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until getting a smooth paste. It takes up to about 10minutes to get a smooth dip depending on the food processor you are using. 

Morning blood cleanser juice

A great way to start your day is drinking a big glass of veggie juice like this one. Drinking freshly squeezed juices first thing in the morning provide your body with tons vitamins. Doing this before eating breakfast alkalize the blood, giving you an instant energy. By juicing, the pulp of the veggies and fruits is removed and therefore can be fully absorbed in a very short amount of time (no extra time needed for digestion). 
Hint: Wait at least 15-30 minutes before having any solid food for full benefits.

What will you need: 
For one person:

- 3 stalks of cellery
- 2 small beetroots
- 1 cup of spinach
- some ginger (I used around 1cm piece)
- a bunch of mint leaves

Juice all ingredients in a juicer. If you are new to juicing, try first a small amount of ginger. Later, you can increase the amount. I normally take a 1cm to 2cm piece. Depends on how spicy I feel in the morning ;)

You can run the pulp through your juicer once again. You will get quite a bit more of the juice and won't feel like you are wasting so much veggies...

Please make sure to buy beautiful organic veggies, so that you don't juice the chemicals into your morning vitamin bomb. 
If you don't have a budget to buy always all organic, here is a very useful table to show which fruits and veggies contain the most of the pesticide and which can be bought non-organic safely. 

http://www.strivelife.ca/dirty-dozen-clean-fifteen/

Cheers! :)

Birthday cupcakes

I've made these cute cupcakes for a birthday of my partner's daughter... She is super cute and I was trying to make her birthday dessert just as sweet as she is :))

I've found a cupcake set, which is a combination of pink and brown colors.. How do you like them? I find them adorable :)

The cupcakes are very easy to make and don't contain that much sugar as traditional cupcakes, although the frosting does have powdered sugar in it... bur for special occasions like this, I don't mind ;) 
Hint: Nowadays, a wide selection of cute cupcake sets are available. Try one, you will enjoy to dress up the muffins and will be surprised by the huge difference they make:) If you are like me and just can't make the frosting look that perfect, this is the way to decorate the cupcakes ;) You can write on each little label something different and make such a picture with retro effect ;)

I have taken the recipe from this page:

http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2013/02/chocolate-frosted-banana-cupcakes-vegan.html
I used spelt flour instead of white flour, which is a great substitution if you are trying to avoid wheat.
So let's see what will you need to make these cuties:

Banana Cupcakes:
- 3 bananas, mashed (extra-ripe)
- 2 cups white spelt flour, organic
- 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil, melted

- 1 cup sugar, organic
- 1 cup almond milk, vanilla (any non-dairy milk)
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp apple cider or white vinegar

Chocolate Frosting:
- 1 1/2 cups avocado cubes
- 1/3 cup virgin coconut oil, melted 
- 1 cup powdered sugar, organic
- 1/4+ tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4-1/3 cup cacao powder

 

To make the frosting: 

Mix all ingredients listed for "Chocolate frosting", but leave the powdered sugar and the cocoa out at the beginning. Blend in the food processor until smooth and silky. Slowly add the powdered sugar and the cocoa. Place the frosting in the fridge to cool.

To make the banana muffins:

Preheat oven to 350 degree. 
Combine first the dry ingredients: flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Add the wet ingredients: almond milk, vanilla extract, oil and vinegar to the bowl and beat until smooth. Do not use high speed blender. Beat on low.

In a separate small bowl, mash the bananas and sugar together until having a consistency of somewhere between thick, fluffy and spoonable.
Stir in the banana sugar mixture to the other parts. For extra smooth cupcakes you can beat on low for a second time.
Grease the cupcake tin and fill until the top to get 12 cupcakes and the over-spread look, or fill up to 3/4 of the way to get more cupcakes. 

Bake at 180 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and let the cupcakes cool on a tray before applying the frosting.

Decorating the muffins: 

Meanwhile, the coconut oil should have done it's work and make the frosting nice and sticky. Before using the frosting, microwave it for a few seconds, or wait for about 20 minutes. This will help the frosting to become more creamy and flexible. You won't feel the avocados in the frosting, but you will feel the creaminess of them together with the buttery coconut oil ;)
Serve and store on counter top, in a sealed container for up to one day. After than, store cupcakes in the fridge. 

Enjoy :)

Raw Raspberry "cheese" cake

I've surprised my partner with this healthy delicious raw cake on his birthday. It is very simple to make and tastes amazing..if you would like to surprise someone you love, I can recommend this cake. You will not regret and they will love you even more for your kindness ;)
The bottom layer is mix of almonds and sweet dates with a bit of coconut oil, to add on the creaminess. The middle layer has a creamy texture made of cashews and sweet frozen bananas, while the upper layer resembles a fruit ice cream...all together creates a delicious texture and taste, which is a must try! This super easy cake would satisfy any cake loving person:)
Hint: The Cake is already attractive with it's three layers, but you could add some flowers to make it even prettier :) If you don't have flowers handy, you could add some melted coconut oil with cocoa on the top ;)

What will you need:  

For the crust:

- 1 and a 1/2 cups of almonds

- 2 and a 1/2 cups of medjool dates

- 1 heaping tablespoon of coconut oil

  

For the middle layer:

- 2 cups of soaked cashew nuts

- 2 frozen over-ripe bananas

- 1/3 – 1/2 of a cup of maple syrup depending on how sweet you like it

- 1/3 of a cup of freshly juiced apple juice

- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

For the top layer:

- 2 cup of freshly frozen raspberries

- 1 frozen banana

- 4 medjool dates

- 1 tablespoon of maple syrup

- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon 

Start with the crust. Put first the almonds into the food processor and blend for a minute, add the dates and the coconut oil. Place the crust to a cake form and set it in the freezer for about 10-20 minutes.

Blend all ingredients for the middle layer in the food processor. Take 3/4 of the mixture and pour it on the top of the crust. Set it into the freezer for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix all ingredients for the top layer in the food processor and blend it together with the 1/4 of the middle layer. Pour the top layer on the top of the middle layer and place it to the freezer.

Freeze it for at least 3-4 hours and decorate as you like :) 

Original recipe has been modified from: 

http://deliciouslyella.com/raw-blueberry-cheesecake-vegan-gluten-free/