There are so many different diets and lifestyles to follow it can get a bit overwhelming. We are constantly learning new things when it comes to the field of nutrition but I believe if we all connected more with our bodies we would tap into the knowledge that we all pocess that lets us know what is right for our unique selves.
One way to do this is to imagine the foods you would eat in the opposite season to the one you are in now so if you are the full swing of summer like I am right now on the Gold Coast of Australia then I would imagine eating a rich hot stew and see how that feels in my body. Let me tell you its the furthest thing from what I feel like right now. Now imagine sipping an ice cold berry smoothie. That feels better, I know my body is giving me a high five right now. This is a very simple excercise to pay a little attention to what your body wants and like a muscle , it does get stronger its just that we have spent sometimes a whole lifetime tuning out when we eat.
I say you have to become a detective of your diet and test what works for you. What makes you feel energized, happy and sustained. What foods make you feel invigorated and which ones leave you feeling bloated, flat and vibrating low.
I know for myself that I don’t handle a lot of raw vegetables well. I can have salads with easier to digest veg like cucumber and lettuce but I need to lightly cook cauciferous vegetables to digest them well. That why I love to juice because I know just how invigorating it feels to bath my cells in raw, cold pressed green juice.
We have made food complicated. We listened to the government guidlines set out with profits not people at heart and we allowed big food corporations to modify and distort perfectly natural ingredients in the name of convenience. Good food is not hard, its not complicated, we’ve simply forgotten to trust in ourselves and since our bodies have an incredible ability to adapt, we have become used to feeling less than well.
Some people like labels and thrive sticking to guidlines set out by certain lifestyles and thats awesome,but I am not one of those people I like the freedom of variety. I choose rather to take the good of each of them so some nights we might have a beautiful vegan meal and I try to get as much raw produce in my belly as possible but I know I function better adding a little animal protein to my diet. What about you? What are your thoughts on all the different theories? What works for you?
Todays recipe is for a raw vegan cheesecake. Don’t let the name fool you, theres no cheese in this cake. Its both light and smooth in texture and bold in flavor which is really needed in a dairy free, nut “cheesecake”. It has a lot of zesty lemon in it and that cuts the richness of the cashews and really enhances the blueberries. Whats pretty cool is that you can make this cake ahead of time if you are having a dinner party but you want to take it out of the freezer 20 minutes before serving. Once it starts to thaw use a pallet knife to gently smooth out the creases from the baking paper so it has a more smooth finish. ( Something I wish I had done better before doing the shoot haha)
* Corey’s brother Beau goes nuts for cheesecake and is always asking me to make him one which is cool because I get to try out different versions on him all while perfecting my baked cheesecake recipe (which has been a few years in the doing). Even with his great affliction for normal baked cheesecake he still really loved this raw vegan version as you can see from the photo above and I hope you do too.
- 1 cup nuts (I used equal parts walnuts and almonds)
- 5 mejool dates pitted
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- pinch of sea salt
- 3 cups cashews soaked over night
- ⅓ cup frozen organic blueberries
- ½ cup lemon juice
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 small can of passionfruit pulp
- 3T maple syrup
- Mix the base ingredients together in a food processor and process until finely crumbled.
- Line the base and sides of a 20cm springform tin with wax paper. ( for the sides, lightly brush with coconut oil so the wax paper sticks to it flushly)
- Press the mixture into the bottom of the tin needing it in with your knuckles until it is evenly spread and ensly packed on the bottom. Place the base in the freezer until you are ready with the filling.
- For the filling process the soaked and drained cashews and maple syrup in a food processor or blender until smooth. You may need to add a little water to assist.
- Add all the lemon juice and process.
- Divide the mixture into 3 bowls
- Return the contents of two bowls to the blender and add blueberries one by one until the mixture turns a pale shade of purple. Use your descresion here as to how dark you want the color to be remembering that the next layer will be much darker.
- Return half the blender mixture to a bowl and add the remaining blueberries and the lemon zest to the blender. Process until a deep rich purple colour then pour the mixture back into a bowl.
- You should have 3 bowls of different colours. Spoon the the darkest blueberry mixture over the base first and place in the freezer for 10 minutes. Do the same with the next 2 layers, layering the pale blueberry next and then the passionfruit mix on top.
- Freeze for an hour to set. Keep it at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving.
- Spoon some passionfruit pulp over the top and serve with seasonal fruit.
Hey Jo! If I was hoping to make this cheesecake this afternoon and did not soak the cashews over night could I add water when processing them to get the same consistency? Or would it be better to soak the cashews tonight and make the cheesecake tomorrow? Thanks!
Hi Elena, the longer you can soak the cashews the better. Even just a minimum of 2 hours soaking is better than having to add water. You really want the cashews to be super smooth when you process them. I made some raw caramel slices the other day with cashews I had soaked for 4 hours and they turned out really smooth. If you have a high sped blender then the soaking time can be less and you will still get the desired consistency. Hope this helps 🙂 and enjoy the “cheesecake”