If you’ve been following this blog for some time, you’ll know I’m a fan of dessert, but not a fan of sugar. Raw desserts – creations made with natural sweeteners and without refined grains – are a perfect compromise for me. They’re delicious, and nutrient dense, but they’re not toxic. That means you’re far less likely to binge on them. And if you do, you’re getting all kinds of vitamins and minerals that you wouldn’t be getting from a Marie Callendar equivalent (sorry Marie).
Today’s recipe comes from therawdessert.com. I surely don’t need to explain this site. 
While I do not agree with the author’s philosophy of an entirely raw diet, I think his creations look scrumptious.
RAW CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE WITH MINT GANACHE
(looks like the real thing, doesn’t it!)
Crust
2 cups Pecans
4 Dates, fresh or soaked
2 Tbsp Cacao
Pinch of quality salt
Cheesecake
4 cups Cashews, soaked
1 cup Agave
1 cup raw Cocoa Butter (or coconut oil)
1 cup Water
1 tsp Vanilla
Ganache
1/2 cup Cacao
1/2 cup raw Cocoa Butter (or coconut oil)
1/4 cup agave
1/4 tsp mint extract
Equipment needs
Food processor or blender
Spring form pan or pie plate
Crust: Process pecans in food processor, then add dates, cacao, and salt. Spread on pie plate. Place in freezer to set.
Cheesecake: Melt cocoa butter or oil. Pour it, along w. agave, 1/2 c water, and cashews into blender. Slowly add more water if needed. Do not let mixture get hot while blending! Pour into pie crust and set in freezer.
Ganache: Melt cocoa butter or oil. Mix it, along w. cacao, agave and mint, in a warm bowl. Pour evenly over cheesecake – it will set very quickly so you won’t really have time to spread it.
Enjoy!
One of the keys to weight loss lies in stabilizing your blood sugar. Blood sugar can spike from a number of things – for example, consuming sweets, experiencing stress, drinking caffeine, or lack of sleep – and that same sugar, when not burned off, ends up being stored in your body as fat. Avoiding sugar and refined carbs, and sticking to low glycemic index foods, will help you reach your weight goal…as will reducing your anxiety and practicing mindfulness!
What if you’ve got a sweet tooth but you’d like to shed a few pounds? Never fear. Every Monday we will be featuring a tasty low GI snack that will actually work towards stabilizing your blood sugar by making use of the wonderful plant Stevia as a sweetener.
Today we are introducing the STABILIZING SHAKE. Most smoothies contain a banana for texture. However, bananas, and fruit in general, are high Glycemic Index foods and not ideal for weight loss. Instead, this shake is thickened with half an avocado, one of the best plant sources for Omega-3. Rather than using dairy, a common allergen, the recipe calls for coconut milk. Full of good, hearty saturated fats, the oil in coconut milk has been shown to aid weight loss by increasing metabolism. You can make this a vanilla, chocolate, almond, or any other flavored shake depending upon what you add to it, so you’ll never get sick of it. And it will always have that lovely hint of coconut. This shake is filling and satisfying and won’t give you a blood sugar rush. What more can you ask for?
STABILIZING SHAKE
6 oz coconut milk
2 oz almond milk
½ avocado
4-6 drops stevia
Your choice of flavoring: almond extract, vanilla extract, a spoonful of cacao, a handful of mint leaves…
Add everything to your blender and mix. Drink and enjoy, but remember to chew slightly in order to encourage your saliva to begin to digest the smoothie!
NOTE:Â If it tastes bland, it could need some salt. Don’t hesistate to toss in a pinch – it heightens any pre-existing flavor. If you’ve accidentally over-salted, just add more stevia…
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