Rawfood Vegan Maple Pecan Pie Bars from Crudessence,Perfect for Valentine's!

                         

Morning beautiful people, it's time for the dessert recipe that I tried from the wonderful Crudessence cookbook, which I reviewed a long time ago. Did I ever mention how much I freaking love pecan pie? Poppa Bear says like but nuh uh, this is a sexy pecan love affair. 
Don't worry PB, you are still #1 in MB's heart, pass that slice of pecan pie would yah? Pleeeeeease.

Above is the book which I used to test out two different recipes, one wasa raw vegan lasagna and of course the second were the bars. Both came out tasting really good and totes deelish!

Here is the link to the recipe for that lovely raw vegan lasagna:
http://thekinkycoconut.blogspot.ca/2015/09/crudessence-raw-vegan-lasagna-recipe.html

So, I made these maple pecan pie bars a little while back and I adjusted the recipe which did not use raw cashews but only raw Brazil nuts. 
As that would have made this dessert way too expensive, I chose to use half raw cashews and found that it was good because it lightened up the richness considerably. I also turned the pie into bars and left out the 1/4 tsp ground cardamom that was supposed to go in the crust as I had a bad reaction to cardamom a little while ago.
This item used to be on the Crudessence menu at their resto years ago and at health food stores, but sadly, it went the way of the dino. 
I was so so sad when I found out the terrible news, nothing has ever replaced it. I was a bit dismayed every time I went to purchase it, they had to reminded me that it was no more. Waaaaah...
I really enjoyed eating it as I am such a pecan pie fan. 
At the time I was a serious raw vegan foodie, so it was a joy to have a treat which was an amaze bombs stand in for the cooked, and let's face it, rather unhealthy version. 
I was over the moon when I found it in the dessert section of the Crudessence cookbook, which is really the best part of any cookbook, in my humble opinion.
Ladies and gents, I give you, the pecan goodness that must be devoured with wild abandon and a good cup of tea. Enjoy!

CRUDESSENCE RAWFOOD VEGAN MAPLE PECAN PIE BARS

Ingredients:
1 Coconut Pecan Crust Recipe, pressed into an 8" pie plate or a square brownie pan(recipe follows down below)
1 C Brazil nuts soaked
1 C Cashew nuts soaked
3/4 C Date paste (recipe link follows down below)
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1/3 C Melted coconut oil
3 Tbsp Maple syrup
*1/4 C Filtered water (add only if needed when blending if too thick)
12 Pecan halves (to decorate the top)

Method:
-In a blender blend nuts, water, vanilla, maple,water and date paste until smooth.
-Add coconut oil, blend for 5 seconds.
-Pour into prepared pie crust, place pecans on top evenly.
-Chill for 4 hours or overnight.
-Slice into pie slices or bars depending on type of pan you use, I used a square pan and sliced them all in advance then froze them to eat later as I wanted.
-Serve with a dollop of maple syrup. 

Date Paste:
http://bienconfitglutenfree.blogspot.ca/2016/06/date-paste-rawfood.html

COCONUT PECAN CRUST
Ingredients: 
1 1/2 C Pecans
3/4 C Unsweetened shredded coconut 
3 Dates soaked no pits
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp fresh scraped nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground clove
1/8 tsp pink sea salt

Method: 
-Grind nuts in blender with pecans for 60 seconds, add coconut and blend until they are a medium ground flour consistency, it's okay if it's not completely smooth. I like a small bit of mini chunkage. Try not to over grind.See the pics below for consistency, visual help.
-In a bowl add spices to those ingredients and mix well, you may add 1 tbsp coconut oil if mixture is too dry but I never had this problem,.
-Press into a pie plate or a square brownie pan evenly, I chill it for 30 minutes before pouring the crust in. Also, if you want it to be easier to take out the bars I lay down parchment paper or plastic wrap, which I allow to hang way over the edges to ease pan removal for cutting.
This made 16 bars and everybody was really diggin' on em'. Some people added way more maple syrup at serving time, this is a personal preference and health thing.
They froze beautifully, I recommend a month maximum and wrap them well as nuts pick up flavours of other foods in fridge and freezer.
I hope you try this recipe out, you will not be sad you did because they are amazing! Go for it and let me know all about your kitchen adventures, I love to hear from you.








Before serving a slice, I always drizzle some maple syrup over it. Trust me, it is happiness.

Enjoy these with your special someone, believe me, I have served this to fellow rawfood, vegan friends, and meat mouths; they have always been a huge hit!

Take care, be well, love freely!

Raw Vegan Buckwheat Krispies Recipe

                                 

Well, Hello There!

I was wanting something simple and nutritious for breakfast but wasn't in the mood to make anything. It turns out after smashing my hand like a total klutz, there was yummy raw, vegan, cereal to be found hidden on the shelf I had been rifling through, that I had made in the dehydrator a while back. Yipeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! 



There's so much happy & healthy in a bowl and it was already made. Good Saturday morning even though I still can't find my wedding planning binder but shhhh, don't tell hubby to be. Actually, he's the first person I whined to about it and it's all because I reorganized last week & now I can't find things. The wedding binder being the most distressing but it's here somewhere. Soon-to-be Hubby to be is being very supportive & trying to help jog my memory but no luck yet, St. Christopher, please help me find it! 
Anyways back to food. 
I am working on that recipe with some vegan mock ricotta & the Sable grapes but it's not ready to post, ( I ate all the Grapes, sorry, & the grocers order will only be there later today-waaah) so I am going to put up this one. It's an oldie that has my changes, from the Raw Food Real World cookbook by Matthew Kennedy & Sarma Melngailis. I use this recipe quite a bit, especially when I want to introduce people to the wonders of raw food, I need to modify it though because I found the original was way too sweet/salty for my liking. One of my favourite things to do is triple the recipe and add strawberries to one batch-which I always eat first, blueberries to a second, & leave the last tray plain. I have increased the amounts to reflect a 3-4 tray batch because I figure, if you're going to bother making cereal, make enough to last for a while longer that 3 days. Which, is as long as this stuff lasts when everyone discovers it & lovingly eats your stash. Meh-better they eat healthy & you be wise enough to make several trays. (Hide your personal stash) 
This recipe requires a blender & Excalibur food dehydrator, set on the living foods temperature setting. (105 degrees)

RAW VEGAN BUCKWHEAT KRISPIES:

INGREDIENTS:
-5 CUPS raw buckwheat soaked for 2 hours, then rinsed & drained. Be sure it's raw buckwheat, not toasted. 
-1 1/2 Cup grade B maple syrup 
-2 Tbsp vanilla extract
-1/2 tsp sea salt
-1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
-1/2-1 Cup water or juice depending if you are adding fruit. I will leave 3 bowls separated with ingredients, omitting the water until I know what kind of flavour cereal I am making. Strawberry cereal gets strawberry juice, blueberry cereal gets blueberry juice, plain cereal gets water & a touch more maple if it's not sweet enough. Add a bit at a time so it's not too watery. 

METHOD:
-In a bowl combine all ingredients together, separate into three smaller bowls if you are making different flavours. 
-In blender, blend half the recipe at a time so it does not overflow, if you need to do 3 or 4 batches at a time then do so. - When it's smooth and looks like a thick paste, then you can spread it out on teflex or parchment lined sheets on your dehydrator trays. You must place the mix on a sheet, not directly on the tray, or else the cereal will goop through & you're going to be swearing at the mess to clean! 


                                       This is plain with the cinnamon. 


With blueberry, the strawberry pic did not turn out but it looks the same except pink because of the strawbs. 


This last tray has my Honey'd Graham's cereal on it, I believe in simplifying life whenever one can. So, I got into the habit of making several different kinds of cereals when it's dehydrator time, this recipe is already in a much earlier post, should you be interested. 

-Now dehydrate each tray for 10 hours and check them, if the cereal is dry enough, flip them over to allow the back to dry out as well as the top. If it's not ready, dehydrate an additional 1-3 hours until you can flip them and peel away the telex sheet or parchment paper. If some of the parchment paper sticks, don't worry, it's easily removed once the cereal is all dry. 
-Continue dehydrating for another 14 hours. This recipe requires a good 24 hours. 
-Once dry, you may begin breaking one tray of cereal at a time into bite size pieces & then place in storage bags or airtight containers. 

This is what it looks like when done:


Stored up:



It lasts 3-4 months if stored in a dry place in the proper container. I have never seen it last beyond a few weeks because it gets eaten so quickly, except for the bag above which was somehow forgotten during the holiday craziness. 
Enjoy it with milk of your choice, I always use almond milk, and fresh fruit. So good with fresh mangoes or berries. I have also been known to crumble it on my coconut yogurt! 



Remember to share with your loved ones and leave a comment below, I love hearing from you.

The Best Raw Vegan Banana Bread Sticks

                         

Yipeeee!

Nana bread lovey's, and she be rawfood vegan goodness! 

Wait, she be awesome with a cape on yo banana goodness! Teehee...

I came up with this recipe this week because I had so many bananas in the freezer that I had to do something with a few of em'. 

I need to cop to something, I usually dislike banana anything in rawfood except for eating a real banana alone or bananas that are dried in lime juice-will post that recipe another day. Yep, banana dehydrated stuff is not my cup of tea but like I said, there was an avalanche of bananas to contend with. These breadsticks are super deelish! It was a pleasant surprise that they came out so yummy and they were liked by all who tried them, double win!

                          

It made a full tray, I didn't dare make more in case I did not likey. Now I know and will be "unbaking" them more often, you need to get the kids in on making these as they will enjoy smashing up the bananas; there is also no "cooking" involved so let them have fun. One of the things I appreciate about rawfood is that old and young alike can make this food.

This recipe is part of stocking up your pantry in prep for the 30 Day Self-Love Detox Challenge, there will be some more lovely recipes this week so you need to come back and you should subscribe to get them sent directly to your inbox, in case you have not already.

Without further ado, banana bread crisped delightfulness.

THE BEST RAW VEGAN BANANA BREAD STICKS

makes 1 Excalibur tray

Ingredients:

(I use organic, try to do the best you can with what you can afford. The coconut oil really does need to be cold-pressed though.)

2 Very ripe bananas mashed

3/4 Cup almond pulp leftover from making almond milk (recipe link below)

1/2 Cup Brown flax ground

1 tsp vanilla

1/8 Cup coconut flour

1/2 Cup date paste (recipe follows below milk recipe)

1/2 tsp Fresh scraped nutmeg

1 Tbsp coconut oil cold pressed unrefined

3 Tbsp Dark Maple syrup (grade B)

1/8 tsp Walnut oil (DO NOT use more!)

1 Cup Raw Sunflower seeds, soaked 2-3 hours, drained & rinsed well

2/3 Cup almond milk mixed with 1/4 Cup water (almond milk recipe below)

Method:

-In a blender mix sunflower seeds with almond milk & water mixture until a thick paste forms. Place in a bowl with mashed bananas, maple syrup and vanilla.

-Add date paste, nutmeg and coconut oil, mix together well.

-Add all dry ingredients to wet and mix until well combined, the flax seeds will give you a very thick dough.

-On a teflex or parchment lined Excalibur dehydrator tray, spread dough out to about 1-1 1/2 inch thickness, square off edges.

Place in dehydrator on rawfood 105 degree setting, for 2 1/2 hours, remove and score with a knife into rectangular "sticks". (See the pics down below) Put back in the dehydrator for 10 hours.

-Check to see if the sticks are getting to a medium pliable bread consistency, you need to make sure they are not too wet because they must be flipped onto a new Excalibur tray lined with the regular white tray sheet it comes with because you need the air to circulate over and around the sticks so they dry properly. 

-Place an Excalibur sheet lined tray (Do not use a teflex sheet, just the regular plastic white sheet the trays always come with) over the top of the sticks and quickly flip the tray over. You will be able to gently and slowly remove the teflex sheet or parchment paper. (Don't force it if they are not ready, place them back in if it is too hard to remove)

-The score marks will be evident, at this point you can take some of the pieces and use them as warm bread for breakfast with nut spread and fruit if you like. Otherwise the sticks go back in the dehydrator for another 8-12 hours depending how crisp you like them. I left my sticks in for a total of 24 hours.

-Once dry, remove from the tray and gently break the sticks where the score marks are. Store in an airtight glass jar. These will keep for several weeks, if they don't all get eaten first! 

As always, pics follow below to help guide you along. Leave any questions or comments down below, I love to hear about your kitchen adventures.

                           

http://bienconfitglutenfree.blogspot.ca/search?q=date+paste 

                            

Gluten-free Raw Vegan Blueberry Bon-Bons & Agave Nectar Information

                            
Happy Monday Morning Lovelies!

Looks like it is time to make something delicious, I adore these blueberry charmers. I am sweetening these without using agave nectar, below the recipe I am including a whole bunch of well researched information on agave nectars and why it is so awful. I used to use this product but cut it out of my diet completely in 2011. The recipe follows after all the info, if that's what you came for, scroll down to after the last links.

Warmer weather is on the way and that means goodbye winter weight, hello healthy clean eating choices. I need snacks, quick, grab and go yum yums for the munching moments that come up. The problem is that all too often they are so sticky sweet that it hurts my teeth and gives me headaches. I have a sweet tooth but it seems that the level of sweet I like differs greatly from the average sugar monster. I gave up on "health" bars a long time ago and decided to make my own with way less sugar, a fraction of the cost, and ingredients that I could pronounce. 
I don't use agave, you may feel free to use it as a maple syrup replacement but a lot of information has come out on agave and after I researched and listened to how negatively my body responded to it, I gave it up. I don't miss it, I know it's big in the raw vegan world, which was where I first discovered it years ago, but it's not a healthy sugar or corn syrup alternative. As a matter of fact, it's not even raw. It goes through a serious process to come out like how we are used to seeing it and with a taste we like. In it's truly raw state, agave is very thick, almost black, and super bitter. That kind of agave has some medicinal properties but is used sparingly. In our North American way, we have denatured a product to suit our sweet tooth needs and have hoped for the best until we find out the worst. I was just as guilty of this as any other, I firmly believed that Agave nectar was raw and had a lower glycemic index than sugar, blah blah blah. New studies have actually come to find that it's just as bad if not worse than corn syrup because it's more quickly absorbed than corn syrup and has been processed to a point where it has no health benefits what-so-ever.
Here is a small excerpt from an article at the huffington post, the link follows underneath if you want to read more. And before all the haters start firing off, for the sake of balance, I have included a write up from another health site that says why Agave is not as bad as high fructose corn syrup. I give you the information, take what you like and leave the rest. All I know from my personal experience is that my body started reacting very negatively to Agave in a very short period of time and I never looked back. I don't want to have my stomach swelling, making horrible sounds, severe nausea and then itchy skin to be a part of my treat routine.

What is the "Real" Truth about Agave?
If you knew the truth about what's really in it, you'd be dumping it down the drain and that would certainly be bad for sales. 
Most agave "nectar" or agave "syrup" is nothing more than a laboratory-generated super-condensed fructose syrup, devoid of virtually all nutrient value, and offering you metabolic misfortune in its place. 
Unfortunately, masterful marketing has resulted in the astronomical popularity of agave syrup among people who believe they are doing their health a favor by avoiding refined sugars like high fructose corn syrup, and dangerous artificial sweeteners.
And if you're diabetic, you've been especially targeted and told this is simply the best thing for you since locally grown organic lettuce, that it's "diabetic friendly," has a "low glycemic index" and doesn't spike your blood sugar. 
While agave syrup does have a low-glycemic index, so does antifreeze -- that doesn't mean it's good for you.
Most agave syrup has a higher fructose content than any commercial sweetener ranging from 55 to 97 percent, depending on the brand, which is FAR HIGHER than high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which averages 55 percent.
This makes agave actually WORSE than HFCS.
It is important to understand that fructose does not increase insulin levels, which is not necessarily good as what it does do is radically increase insulin resistance, which is FAR more dangerous. You see, it's okay for your insulin levels to rise, that is normal. You just don't want these insulin levels to remain elevated, which is what insulin resistance causes.
That is why fasting insulin is such a powerful test, as it is a very powerful reflection of your insulin resistance.
In addition to insulin resistance, your risk of liver damage increases, along with triglycerides and a whole host of other health problems, as discussed in this CBC News video about the newly discovered dangers of high fructose corn syrup. The study discussed in this news report is about HFCS, however, it's well worth remembering that agave contains MORE fructose than HFCS, and in all likelihood, it's the FRUCTOSE that is causing these severe liver problems.
How Agave is Grown and Produced Proves it is Unnatural
Agaves grow primarily in Mexico, but you can also find them in the southern and western United States, as well as in South America. Agaves are not cacti, but succulents of the yucca family, more closely related to amaryllis and other lilies. Edible parts of the agave are the flowers, leaves, stalks and the sap. 
A mature agave is 7 to 12 feet in diameter with leaves that are 5 to 8 feet tall -- an impressive plant in stature, to be sure. There are over 100 species of agave, in a wide variety of sizes and colors.
Although the industry wants you to believe that agave nectar runs straight from the plant and into your jar, nothing could not be farther from the truth.
In spite of manufacturer's claims, most agave "nectar" is not made from the sap of the yucca or agave plant but from its pineapple-like root bulb. The root has a complex carbohydrate called inulin, which is made up of fructose molecules.
The process which many, if not most, agave producers use to convert this inulin into "nectar" is VERY similar to the process by which cornstarch is converted into HFCS1. 
Though processing methods can differ among manufacturers, most commercially available agave is converted into fructose-rich syrup using genetically modified enzymes and a chemically intensive process involving caustic acids, clarifiers, and filtration chemicals. Here is a partial list of the chemicals many producers use:
Activated charcoal 
Cationic and ionic resins 
Sulfuric and/or hydrofluoric acid 
Dicalite 
Clarimex 
Inulin enzymes 
Fructozyme 
How natural does this sound?
The result is highly refined fructose syrup, along with some remaining insulin.
Most agave "nectar" is neither safe nor natural with laboratory-generated fructose levels of more than 80 percent!
Is There Really a "Safe" Organic Agave?
Part of the problem leading to the confusion is that there are some natural food companies that are indeed committed to excellence and in providing the best product possible. But let me assure you that in the agave industry, this is the minority of companies. 
Nevertheless, these ethical companies seek to provide an outstanding product. There are a few companies who commit to and actually achieve these criteria and actually:
Work with the indigenous people, 
Use organic agave as the raw material, free of pesticides 
Process it at low temperatures to preserve all the natural enzymes 
Produce a final agave product that is closer to 50% fructose instead of over 90% 
Fructose is bonded or conjugated to other sugars and not floating around as "free" fructose, like HFCS, which is far more damaging. 
The VAST majority of companies however do not apply these principles and essentially produce a product that is, as this articles states, FAR worse than HFCS.
If you are going to use agave you will certainly want to seek out one of the companies that adhere to the principles above. However you will still need to exert caution in using it.
Just like fruit it is quantity issue. Fructose only becomes a metabolic poison when you consume it in quantities greater than 25 grams a day. If you consume one of the typical agave preparations that is one tablespoon, assuming you consume ZERO additional fructose in your diet, which is VERY unlikely since the average person consumes 70 grams per day.
Even a hundred years ago, long prior to modern day food processing, the average person consumed 15 grams a day.
Listen to YOUR Body
Many people will not be convinced by my arguments and data. They certainly can choose to do that but they are only hurting themselves. Fortunately there is a very simple way to learn if the fructose level you are consuming is safe.
When you consume fructose over 25 grams per day it will very likely increase its metabolic byproduct, uric acid, in your blood. So you can go to your physician and have a simple uric acid level done.
This is not a fasting test and is very inexpensive to do, it's typically free with many automated chemistry profiles.
If your level is above 5.0 you will want to consider reducing your fructose level until the level drops below 5.0. This will provide you with a valid, objective parameter to let you know if the information I am sharing is correct for you and your family.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mercola/agave-this-sweetener-is-f_b_537936.html 

Why Agave Nectar is Not Worse Than High-Fructose Corn Syrup

Fructose is not inherently evil

Agave nectar is high in fructose, but so are many foods that we eat. This is Dr. Mercola’s main beef with agave nectar. And while it is true that agave is quite high in fructose, it is the most common form of sugar in all fruits. Dates, molasses, raisins, apples, honey, and even many vegetables and other plants are high in fructose. Fructose is a natural form of carbohydrate, and for thousands of years, it has been an important source of energy for the body.
In fact, fructose in live raw fruits is good for us! A scientific statement from The American Heart Association found that consuming limited amounts of fructose, in a pure form, had no negative effects on the majority of individuals. Other studies show that fructose, in limited amounts, may even reduce the risk of prostate cancer.
Another study found that the beneficial fructans found in agave may help fight bone diseases such as osteoporosis, as well as other diseases such as diabetes and colon cancer. This research also suggested that fructans may promote the creation of beneficial gut bacteria, allowing for better absorption of calcium and magnesium (two important minerals for bone health).

Fructose & HFCS are not the same

There is no comparison between a natural form of fructose, such as in fruit or from agave, and the chemically-processed, pesticide-laden, genetically-modified High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). The fructose in agave is a slow release form of sugar. This means that, in comparison to HFCS, which spikes blood sugar levels, agave does not cause the stimulation insulin secretion that leads to harmful rises in blood sugar. What is more, the enzymatic processing of agave is very different from the process of High-Fructose Corn Syrup, which fabricates fructose out of the glucose made from the milled starch of corn.
For High-Fructose Corn Syrup, glucose chains in the starch are broken down into long chain lengths of glucose molecules. These long chains are less sweet, but offer easier viscosity and functionality than raw glucose.
Producers of HFCS are looking for this better viscosity and adaptability, as it allows them to add it, unnoticed, to virtually any substance. To do this, they dry the corn and mix it with water and sulfur dioxide.
From there, the starches are separated from the kernel, fiber and protein. The separated starch slurry is then processed at very high temperatures, mixed with acid, neutralized, and then treated with an enzyme to create a 42% fructose and 55% glucose syrup. It is these strong acids and caustic chemical additives that are believed to be related to mercury contamination in HFCS. Moreover, most HFCS is made from genetically-modified corn, adding yet another contaminant into the processing mix.
Organic agave nectar’s processing could not be further related from this aforementioned processing of High-Fructose Corn Syrup. Agave is processed through either the use of natural enzymes, or through the use of thermal hydrolysis. These processes are essentially used only to evaporate the nectar from the liquid juice that is extracted from the plant. The processing of agave is done in the exact same way in which bees make honey, whether through a natural enzyme in the bee’s stomach, or when they fan their wings to evaporate the natural water out of the sweet liquid before capping into the honey comb.
In essence, no refinement, beyond the evaporation of water, occurs in agave processing. To put this in perspective, one must consider that hydrolysis is a 100% natural process of molecule separation. The human body does it every day!
http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/agave-nectar/  


And now, we move onto the recipe that you came for, I like these really cold and a bit hard so I keep them in the freezer but you can eat them room temp or cold out the fridge. 

                                 

GF RAW VEGAN BLUEBERRY BON-BONS:

Ingredients:
1 1/4 Cup ground almond flour
3 Tbsp ground tiger nuts
1 Tbsp cinnamon (yes, a tablespoon is right, not a teaspoon.)
1/4 tsp pink sea salt
1/4 Cup dried blueberries
2 Tbsp hemp protein powder 
3 Tbsp dark maple syrup
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil


Method:
-In a bowl, mix all dry ingredients, mix in blueberries, stir.
-Add oils and maple syrup, then mix with your hands, should clump together and easily form in your hands.
-Roll into bite sized balls, this recipe makes 12 regular sized bites but I make them a bit bigger so I get 10. Place on parchment paper as you roll them out so they don't stick.
-Chill in fridge for 2-3 hours, I like mine frozen but you can also make them and eat them room temperature.






These last 5-7 days in the fridge, (I always finish them before 7 days) and up to 4 weeks in the freezer (I don't keep them in the freezer longer because the nuts pickup flavours and get freezer burn quickly.)
This is a fun recipe to do with the kids because it's easy, no cooking or baking is involved, and they are fun to roll. I like to introduce raw vegan or healthy foods to people with these kinds of recipes. Leave your comments down below and don't forget to subscribe! 

Vanilla Bean Almond Milk Vegan Rawfood

                           
Bonjour mes loverlies!

This is such a delight, I don't ever want to go back to store bought nut milk again. I finally found a very reasonably priced nutmilk bag ($4.95) & decided to give this a whirl. I also wanted a better consistency for my recipe for Chia Pudding that I will be posting soon,soon, soon. Here's a picture to drool over. 
                       
Here's the recipe and I give you 2 different ways to prepare it, the smaller amount is the one needed for the Chia Pudding recipe, which I will link here once it's up & vice versa. There is no substitute for vanilla beans in this recipe because the flavour truly shines with the real deal. Plus if you are on an autoimmune protocol, the alcohol in vanilla essence is not recommended. Details are below with pictures as always.

Vanilla Bean Almond Milk:

Ingredients:

1 Cup raw almonds soaked overnight and rinsed
1/4 Scrape of fresh vanilla bean (no substitute) 
Small pinch of pink sea salt
3 1/2 Cups Filtered water
1 Tbsp Dark maple syrup 


*1 1/2 Cups Filtered Water for the Chia Pudding recipe, so not 3 1/2 Cups, only the 1 1/2 cup for Pudding recipe only!!!!All other ingredients remain the same.

Method:

-Place nuts and water in blender, add all other ingredients. There is a picture down below to show you how to split & scrape a vanilla bean. Then blend for 45 seconds at high speed. No chunks remaining.
-Place nutmilk bag over large non-reactive bowl, carefully pour blender contents into nutmilk bag. 
-Now squeeze and strain until no more liquid comes out. 
-You will notice that there are black flecks, this is normal. It is the little flavour pods from the vanilla beans, leave them in there.
-Carefully transfer milk & be sure store in glass jars.

Makes almost 4 cups
Keeps for about 5-7 days in fridge. I always use it up within 3-4 days though because it tastes so good.

*For the chia pudding, all steps are the same excepts you use the smaller quantity of water. The reason is that you need a richer, creamier milk to get the consistency right for the chia cherry vanilla bean pudding recipe. Trust me, it makes a difference.



Take a fresh vanilla bean, it must be soft still. Lie it flat and use a knife to carefully split down the center but not all the way through. Now using the same knife, run it flat, down the inside where you split it. The pods of glorious flavour will come out. They are sticky & fragrant, your hands will smell divine. Don't waste them or the empty pods. The empty pods can be placed in sugar to make vanilla sugar. The remaining vanilla seeds can be added to smoothies, baking, whipping cream, another kind of nut milk, ice-cream. DO IT!!!!!! lol







The pulp is great for rawfood nut crackers, check out my best apple pie cracker recipes in previous posts! 
So don't chuck it out, you can freeze if you need to.
Leave your comments and triumphs down below, I really like hearing all about your kitchen adventures!