Raw Blueberry and Lime Macadamia Cheesecake

I was blessed to be in Hawaii for 16 days in April, helping out at a free community health expo and presenting health seminars. While I was there, I really wanted to make a raw cheesecake for our team as there were many team members who had never tried raw desserts before! Needless to say, they all enjoyed the experience!

Photo credit: Taj Pacleb Photography

Some of them went a bit crazy at cake o'clock!

Photo credit: Beejay Crisostomo

I wanted to create something using iconic Hawaiian ingredients, which is why I chose macadamias instead of cashews. I'd always thought macadamias were an Aussie nut, but it turns out Hawaii has a $40 million macadamia nut industry!

Photo credit: Earl Kapule

Trust and believe me when I tell you this recipe is yummy, creamy, zesty, and fruity - please try it yourself!

Crust:

💟 1 cup raw macadamias, activated (soaked in water for several hours)
💟 4 cups raw cashews, activated
💟 10 medjool dates, pitted
💟 1/4 cup desiccated coconut 

1⃣ Process 2 cups of nuts (set remaining 3 cups aside for filling) with dates and coconut (save some for garnish) in a food processor until well blended and sticky.
2⃣ Press mixture into the lined base of a 9" springform cake tin.
3⃣ Set aside in freezer.

Filling:

💟 fresh juice of 2 limes
💟 1/2 cup coconut nectar
💟 1 cup coconut oil
💟 1/4 tsp pure Hawaiian sea salt

1⃣ Blend the remaining nuts, lime juice, coconut nectar, coconut oil, and salt until very smooth (I alternated between food processor and Vitamix to get the consistency right).
2⃣ Pour mixture onto base and distribute evenly with spatula.
3⃣ Freeze overnight.

Topping:

💟 3 cups frozen blueberries
💟 8 dates
💟 1/4 cup coconut oil
💟 1/4 cup almond milk

1⃣ Blend all ingredients until smooth.
2⃣ Pour onto filling and freeze for a few hours.
3⃣ Remove from freezer 20 minutes before serving and garnish with coconut.

✴️ Please don't substitute the coconut oil with any other oil - it's the secret ingredient to getting the cake to set. All other ingredients can be adjusted according to your taste. All ingredients purchased from Down to Earth Organic and Natural retailers, my favourite stores in Hawaii!

✅ Coconut oil actually raises HDL (good cholesterol), despite the bad rap it's had over the years - previous studies that condemned it were performed on partially hydrogenated coconut oil rather than raw, cold-pressed virgin coconut oil.

Give it a go and treat yourself, or surprise a friend with a deliciously healthy birthday cake!

Sisi xo

Baked Falafel Stuffed Capsicums

The only time I will ever use the term "get stuffed" is when I'm talking to one of my favourite vegetables, the  commendable capsicum.

These stuffed capsicums are gluten-free and 100% plant-based.

This is literally one of my tastiest, yummiest, most mouth-watering and flavoursome recipes to date.

I've been wanting to write a blog post on these since I first made them on the weekend and seeing as my blog is now officially live (yay!) I decided I'd make them again this morning (double yay!) to remind myself of the ingredients and steps I used. 

I'm a big fan of Middle Eastern cuisine because of its freshness and flavour and also a big Mexican food lover (there's never a bad time for guac!) so stuffing capsicums with falafel just seemed to make sense in my mind, and then serving them with avocado sauce seemed like an even better idea!

I only had one capsicum and heaps of stuffing so I ended up making several small falafel patties too - these are perfect to fill a lunch box for school or work!

Makes 2 stuffed capsicums and 7 falafel patties
Prep time: half an hour
Cooking time: half an hour 

Falafel Stuffing

2 cups cooked chickpea splits (I actually cooked these on the weekend in a huge batch and froze them)
1 brown onion
small bunch of coriander, chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed (for ease of peeling and also because garlic must be crushed or cut to release the anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral activity of allicin)
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground ginger
Celtic sea salt to taste
3 tbsp coconut oil

Avocado Sauce

1/2 an avocado
juice of 1/2 a lemon, few tbsp of olive oil
2 spring onion shoots

1. Slice the capsicums in half and de-seed.

2. Pre-heat the oven to 190 C.
3. Toss all falafel ingredients into a food processor and pulse away until everything is holding together but a bit soggy.
4. Scoop mixture into capsicum halves and form remaining stuffing into slightly soggy falafel patties.

5. Place patties onto a baking-paper-lined tray for 25 minutes, until browned on the outside. 
6. Blend sauce ingredients and serve stuffed capsicums and falafels with avocado and Hawaiian red alaea salt, avocado sauce, lime wedges, and a smattering of hemp seeds and activated raw pumpkin kernels.

There you go! A Sisi-friendly, slightly Mexican spin on traditional falafel that's packed with nutrients and flavour! 

Banana Berry Bread and Berry Coconut Sorbet

These were recovery gifts for an injured friend and her fam! 

Bread:

💟 5 ripe bananas, mashed
💟 1/3 cup mixed berries
💟 1/4 cup goji berries
💟 handful of dried pear pieces, chopped
💟 1/2-3/4 cup Loving Earth coconut nectar (depending on desired sweetness)
💟 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
💟 1 vanilla bean, ground
💟 fresh juice of half a lemon
💟 1/2 tsp ground ginger
💟 1/2 tsp Celtic sea salt
💟 1 and a 1/2 cups quinoa flakes (more for topping)
💟 1/3 cup almond meal
💟 1/3 cup amaranth flour
💟 1/3 cup sorghum flour
💟 handful of walnuts, chopped (more for topping)

1⃣ Mix bananas, coconut oil, coconut nectar, vanilla, lemon, ginger, salt, berries, and pear.
2⃣ Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
3⃣ Pour batter into a loaf pan and smooth out the top.
4⃣ Sprinkle with walnuts and quinoa flakes and bake at 175C (fan-forced) for 40 minutes.

Sorbet:

💟 2 cups of frozen mixed berries
💟 1/3 cup coconut cream
💟 1/3 cup Loving Earth coconut nectar

1⃣ Blend until well combined and serve with bread. 

✴️ You can leave out the goji berries and pear pieces if you'd prefer.

✅ Quinoa flakes are much more nutritious than oats and lighter on digestion!

Veggie Salad Rice Paper Rolls

This is one of my favourite packed lunch ideas! Fresh-made in the morning and full of baby spinach, celery, red onion, Syndian Natural Foods Veg Boost patty (vegan, soy-free, yeast-free, gluten-free, preservative-free and corn-free), Ozganics mild salsa (no added sugar), mung bean sprouts, and avocado! Delish! 😍