Fast Raw Vegan Cheese Ball

Last Christmas I found and modified the most simple and delicious "Cheese Ball" I have ever had. I could not believe how fast it was to make and how fancy it looked. We simply devoured it with wheat crackers and veggies.

Into the Blender went:
1 1/2 C Cashews
1/2 Lemon, or 2 T Lemon Juice
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 T Nutritional Yeast
Dash of Cayenne Pepper

Pulse Together until the dough forms a ball on top of the blade. It is not wet and you can just dump it out into a bowl and form it together with your hands.
Add Shredded Almonds or other crushed nuts to the outside. It is ready to eat right away, or cover it and store in the fridge. The longer in the fridge the more it will dry out and become crumbly- which becomes and excellent salad topping :)
*It is very versatile and I think I would add crushed Walnuts and Italian spices to the outside next time. 

Raw Cheese Spread

At Christmas time I was searching for a raw cheese ball and never found one I wanted to try. Finally last week I was making some Honey Almond Crackers and found this great recipe for raw cheese.

http://www.rawmazing.com/raw-vegan-cheese/
 I followed the directions to first make

Rejuvalac.
1/2 C sprouted wheat berries (sprouted just until tails start)
4 C filtered water

Place the wheat berries and the water in a jar. Leave in a warm place for 24-48 hours. You will see a little fizz. The liquid should be a little tart but not smell off.

Then for my cheese I used:

1/2 C Cashews

1/2 C Walnuts

1/2 C Rejuvalac (the water that formed from sprouting wheat)

1/2 tsp Sea Salt

Process until smooth and thick. Transfer to a bowl and coat the outside with Raw Parmesan Cheese.

Set it in the pantry with a cloth over it for 1/2 a day, you can form it and the outside will start to harden a little. Then store it in the fridge. 

It was a great find and next Christmas I will definitely be making it.

The rejuvelac is in the green cup.

Raw Broccoli and Sunflower Seed Cheeze Sauce

I wanted something raw and warm and creamy and had a huge bag of broccoli...so this is what I came up with today. Surprisingly warm and yummy.

1-3 C Broccoli florets, broken into small pieces

Sunflower Seed Cheeze
1 C Sunflower seeds (best if soaked a couple hours, but works without soaking)
1 C Warm Water
1/4 C Nutritional Yeast (not technically raw, but I use it and it adds a great cheesy flavor)
1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp Sea Salt
Blend cheeze ingredients until warm and creamy.About a minute. The longer you blend, the warmer it will get, just don't let it get too hot.
Pour over broccoli and mix together for a warm and creamy broccoli dish. Sprinkle with a little more Cayenne.

Raw Pizza

So after almost 2 years of trying many raw foods, I finally found what I thought to be a fairly simple and yummy Raw Pizza recipe. I got the "inspiration" for it, from a Raw Inspiration book, and of course tweaked it to my liking :) It just takes a little preparation time and is well worth it!

Raw Pizza Crust
1 C Golden Flax Seeds (soaked 1/2 hour-1 hour)
1 C Water
2 C Almonds, Soaked (overnight or I've used right away)
2 T Chopped Onion
2 tsp Thyme
2 tsp Rosemary
2 tsp Oregano
2 tsp Italian Seasoning
1-2 T honey or agave (opt. I like it a little sweet:)

Grind the flax seeds in a blender or grinder. Then soak the ground flax seeds in 1-2 C water until it is absorbed. Stir occasionally.

Blend the Almonds. If they are dried out a bit they will blend finer.
Add the flax seed to the almonds and add onion and other spices. Blend, process, or stir together until well mixed.
Form the dough into pizza crusts and dehydrate overnight. Longer for a harder crust.
This made about 10 5-6 inch. Pizza Crusts and kept them in a container in the fridge. They lasted 2 weeks.


Pizza Sauce
2 C Tomatoes
1/2 C Sun dried Tomatoes
1/4 C Italian Seasoning
1-2 Garlic Cloves

Blend all until smooth. Put in an airtight container until ready to use.

Pizza Cheese

1 1/2 C Macadamia nuts
2 T Lemon Juice
1/8 C Nutritional Yeast
1 tsp Sea Salt
Dash of Cayenne Pepper (makes it a little spicy when dehydrated)
Enough water to blend smoothly.
Blend all until creamy. Store in container until ready to use.
I like it because it looks like Mozzarella cheese, and turns a little yellow after dehydrated.

Take a crust and spread Pizza Sauce, and then Cheese Sauce. I topped mine with chopped tomatoes, red bell peppers, and broccoli. You can put whatever toppings you like. (avocado, sun-dried tomatoes, raw olives, and thinly sliced zucchini are also great.)
Finally, eat plain. Or dehydrate it for a couple of hours.
Take out and enjoy!

Before Dehydrated

After Dehydrated

As "Pizza Bites"

Spicy Spinach and Pepper Taquitos

SPINACH/PEPPER MIXTURE
1 c fresh spinach

1/2 sweet red bell pepper, diced

1/2 sweet yellow bell pepper, diced (I used Red)

1/4 yellow onion, diced

Juice of one lime

1 T olive oil1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced

1 t chili powder

1 t sea saltPlace ingredients in a plastic bag Ziploc bag and marinate for 1 hour.

NACHO CHEESE (also good as a sandwich spread)

1 c cashews, soaked
1/4 c water
1/2 sweet red bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

Juice of half a lemon

1 T Nutritional yeast

1 t turmeric (opt.)

Blend ingredients until thick and creamy.

CORN TORTILLAS

4 c fresh corn kernels, from sweet corn on the cob

1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

1 c golden flax seeds, finely ground

1 t sea salt

Chop corn and bell pepper in a food processor. Add remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Take a spoon and spread the corn mixture on the teflex-lined dehydrator trays. You should have enough mixture for two or three trays.Dehydrate at 110 degrees for about 5 hours.
Flip the teflex sheet over onto the tray and carefully pull away from tortillas.
~Using a pizza cutter, score the tortilla in 3-inch strips (approximately 3 long strips) length-wise, then score every three inches across. You should have approximately 9 strips of rectangles.Dehydrate for another 2 hours until tortilla is completely dry on both sides but still pliable.To assemble taquitos, spread cheese on a the end of one tortilla strip, spoon spinach/pepper mixture on top of cheese and roll tortilla tightly to prevent it from opening.

Secure with a toothpick, if necessary.Put taquitos in dehydrators at 110 degrees for 5-8 hours for really crispy, 1-2 for softer shell.

Raw Cashew Cream Cheese

Cashew "Cream" Cheese
It's not really a cheese at all. But makes a great dip and spread for chips, flax crackers, and raw sandwiches.

1 C purified water
1 1/2 C Coconut shreds
2 C Cashews
1/2 C and 2 TBSP Lemon juice
1/4 C E.V.O.O.
2 TBSP Apple cider vinegar (Braggs is pure and raw)
2 minced Cloves of garlic
1 TBSP and 1 tsp Nutritional Yeast
1 1/4 tsp Sea Salt

Place all ingredients in a blender. If it gets stuck take off the blender and mix it with a spoon or spatula and blend again. It should be creamy.It will thicken in the fridge.YUM! Try on any veggie or raw bread as a spread.
My kids actually like it on crackers etc.

Raw Parmasan Nut Cheese

Raw Parmesan Nut Cheese


1/2 C Walnuts
1 tsp Italian Seasoning or Oregano
1 tsp Parsley 
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp. Nutritional Yeast (opt)

Blend, food process, or chop with a food chopper, the walnuts and stir in seasonings.
This is great on top of salads, on zucchini pasta (picture shows) or in combination with the
Vegan Entree, Potatoes-Sour Cream- and Parmesan Nut Cheese.

It does have a similar consistency as that of Parmesan Cheese.