wholesome

Raw Key Lime Pie

“You attract what you are.” – Dr. Wayne Dyer

And I’m happy to say many of my friends are like minded when it comes to food, lifestyle, interests and health. We spend A LOT of our time exchanging views, best practices, hidden gems and favourite recipes. With that being said, I would be remiss if I didn’t share their best ideas. 🙂

Which leads me to introduce, my friend Kieran Darcy, who I’m thrilled to say will guest blog with some of her favourite dish’s, along with some of her beautiful photography. You’ll quickly notice, her skills are much better than mine (she is a very talented photographer) and gets it right every time. Please check  out more of her amazing work here.

Kieran had my mouth watering when she first told me about her Raw Key Lime Pie recipe. And with each week she had a new variation to share and that’s when I knew I had to have her dish about it!

Without further ado, here’s Kieran’s Dish –

A few months ago I decided to make a key lime pie for my dad’s birthday. I don’t know why, but I’m glad I did. I started googling ‘raw key lime pie’ to find something that would suit his celiac & diabetic needs and came upon this. The amazing thing about this recipe is that it’s really just a launching pad for any dessert you want to make. For any of you who don’t like following instructions or baking, this is the dessert for you.Raw Key Lime Pie

Let’s take a moment and appreciate the fact that the main ingredient in this dessert is cashews. Maybe I’m just ignorant, but I had no idea what they were capable of. Sorry cashews, I underestimated you. Since mastering the key lime pie I have adapted the recipe to make pumpkin, chocolate-orange, chocolate-raspberry, and lemon pies. With the lemon pie I added some Astarte blueberry-lavender preserve to each slice when serving – Sooo good!Raw Pumpkin Pie

This dessert has become a staple for every family gathering and I get to pretend I’m a really great baker when all I’ve done is blended. Easy, healthy, and delicious. I will say that attaining all of the ingredients is a bit pricey but you won’t need to buy them every time.  So take this recipe and make whatever you want with it. Cover it in nuts, fruit, add peanut butter, make different flavour layers, increase the crust measurements…Do whatever you want.Raw Chocolate Orange Pie

Raw Key Lime Pie

Crust:
  • 1 cup dried dates
  • ½ cup whole almonds, coarsely chopped
  • ½ cup whole pecans, coarsely chopped
  • ¼ cup unsweetened shredded dried coconut
  • 1 Tbsp coconut oil
  • Pinch of sea salt
Filling (Key Lime):
  • 2 cups cashews
  • ¾ cup fresh lime juice
  • ½ cup maple syrup
  • ⅓ cup melted coconut oil
  • 1 tsp matcha powder (optional for color only)
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  1. Put all the crust ingredients into a food processor, and process until the ingredients can just stick together. Pie Crust
  2. Press the crust mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9­inch pie dish
    Pie Crust
  3. Place all the filling ingredients in your high-speed blender or food processor and blend until the filling is completely smooth and creamy.
  4. Pour the filling evenly over the pie crust, smooth with a spatula.
  5. Place the pie in the freezer covered to set for at least 3 hours, or overnight if possible.
  6. Let the pie sit at room temperature for 10 minutes and garnish before serving. I used coconut and lime zest on the Key Lime variation.Raw Pumpkin Pie

Enjoy!

Just Juice

I’ll keep this short and sweet today, but thought I would share 3 juice/smoothie combo’s I am loving lately. I do recommend blending these fruits and veggies or doing half and half to ensure you are getting all the nutrients you can from these delicious foods. I often will find myself juicing the harder fruit and veg + any citrus first. And then taking that juice and blend in the more leafy choices (you’ll yield much more green goodness). Of course blending works with all these recipes, just be sure to add water!

This PineApple-Mint juice is a big favourite of mine! But be aware that it can carry a lot of sugar, so make this one more of a treat. I like to juice the pineapple and blend in the apple and mint. That way I get the most flavour from the mint and the fibre content of the apple skin. This one is so quick and delicious, you’ll want to make it all the time!

Ingredients

1 apple, half a pineapple, handful of mint

Ingredients

Next up, we have Sweet Carotene which is high in beta-carotene (see what I did there haha).

This immunity boosting nutrient works to protect against toxic free radicals. So load up on this one. 🙂

2 apples, 2 sweet potatoes, 2 carrots and 1 lemon.

Ingredients

Lastly, Lean Green. Which is great when you are looking for a reset. I often feel like this one first thing Monday morning,

after an indulgent weekend. First, juice the apple, lemon, cucumber, and celery. And then blend it with the spinach and romaine.

If needed add a touch more water and you are good to go!

1 apple, 1 lemon, 1 cucumber, 4-6 stalks of celery, 1 head of romaine and 2 cups of spinach.

Juice

Reset. xx

Glowing Green Smoothie Bowl

Despite the wicked snow storm we were having early this morning, I had a bit of extra time and was feeling inspired. Since we rang in the new year, I’m finding muse in all the social sharing that is taking place with everyone’s new healthy 2016 regime – there have been some beautiful creations posted out there. With that being said, I wanted something different than my typical blend of fruits and veggies.

I recently organized my spice/toppers/baking/coffee/tea cupboard (yes this a thing haha) so I knew I had a handful of delicious add-in ingredients. So I decided to get creative and jazz up my smoothie with something beautiful and even more filling – a smoothie bowl!

I took some of my favourite toppers/ingredients – chia seed, coconut, hemp hearts, and strawberries and topped them onto my trusted Glowing Green Smoothie recipe (limit the water part to keep it on the thicker side).

What a simple and gorgeous dish to start off the morning – it definitely brightened my day!Glowing Green Smoothie Bowl

Be creative. xx

Sweet Pea Crostini

I know I am stretching it with this one as we hit mid-Fall but this dish is too good not to share and is our one last grasp at the summer season. After all, crostini is welcomed any time of year – right? 🙂  This vibrant refreshing spread might be the perfect addition to that gorgeous Holiday spread full of rich indulgences. It’s simple in its ingredients and can be thrown together in a matter of minutes. No real measurements required, it’s pretty foolproof. Here’s the dish-

Sweet Pea Crostini

  • baguette
  • peas
  • mint
  • garlic
  • olive oil
  • balsamic vinegar
  • salt
  • pecorino
  1. Slice baguette, brush with olive oil and rub with garlic clove
  2. Toast baguette in the oven at 350°F for 10 minutes each side or until golden
  3. Blanch fresh peas for 2-4 minutes
  4. Drain peas, season with salt, olive oil and mash with fork, until desired consistency (you can also blend for a smoother mash)
  5. Mix in tbsp of mint and shredded pecorino to mixture
  6. Top toasted baguette with pea mash, some more pecorino, mint and drizzle with balsamic

Sweet Pea Crostini

PEAce. xx!

Banana Bread Granola

I am basically obsessed with the My New Roots: Inspired Plant Based Recipes for Every Season cookbook. Sarah Britton is a true original when it comes to edible inspirations, with an insight on Holistic Nutrition that is thought-provoking and enlightening. This book isn’t just about the pretty pictures (although they are definitely mouth-watering to look at). Sarah breaks out her recipes by season and by dish category – which I absolutely love! Although I am totally guilty of jumping all over, since I want to try them all!

This weekend I tried out her Chunky Banana Bread Granola and I can’t believe I hadn’t thought to add in banana’s to my granola sooner – what a game changer for my granola making days. For one that loves banana bread but looks for a healthier alternative with added nutrients – this is it!

Using banana’s as part of your binding agent will change up any of your go-to granola recipes. Sarah’s recipe is spot on and needs no modification, unless you want to add a few alternate ingredients or use what you have on hand. Just don’t skip out on the Banana – this is the absolute key! My personal recommendation for add-in’s are chia seeds, raw pumpkin seeds, crushed raw almonds or chocolate chips for a treat! What would you add? Check out this amazing breakfast dish-

Banana Bread Granola (yields 9 cups)

  • 3-4 very ripe bananas
  • 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
  • 3 cups rolled oats (gluten-free)
  • 1 cup  buckwheat groats
  • 1 1/2 cups unsweetened large coconut flakes
  • 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 cup whole raw walnuts, roughly chopped
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 1 or 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Melt the coconut oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Pour the melted oil into a food processor or blender, add the bananas and maple syrup, and blend until smooth.
  3. In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients – rolled oats, buckwheat groats, coconut flakes, sunflower seeds, walnuts, cinnamon, salt, etc.
  4. Pour the maple syrup mixture over the dry mixture and gently toss to coat.
  5. Divide the mixture between the 2 baking sheets and press it firmly with the back of a spatula to ensure that the mixture is compact and even. Bake the granola for 20 minutes, until it’s beginning to brown.
  6. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and use a spatula to flip the granola over in large sections. Return it to the oven and flip it every 5-8 minutes, making smaller chunks each time, until golden, 15 to 25 minutes more. The granola should be dry and crisp.
  7. Set the granola aside at room temperature to cool. Do not stir the granola until it is completely cool so it will set into chunks.
  8. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 month – if it lasts that long!! 🙂

Banana Bread Granola

Go BANANAS! xx