Lemon Coconut Buttercream-Stuffed Medjool Dates

Medjool Dates stuffed with raw, vegan Lemon Coconut Buttercream.

As I write this post with Summer Solstice just a week away, the pretty violets photographed above have given way to buttercups and roses... Still, it's not too late to share a spring-born recipe.

I invented these Lemon Coconut Buttercream-Stuffed Medjool Dates last month as part of my ongoing quest to deliver delicious, digestible, low-sugar sweets to my mouth and yours. Raw, vegan, gluten-free and out of this world scrumptious, this recipe can be made either SCD/GAPS-friendly with raw honey, or low FODMAPS-friendly with maple syrup to sweeten. (I don't know how it would be with detox-friendly stevia, but if I ever dare try it, I'll make a note in the comments below. And please let me know if you do!)

My Lemon Coconut Buttercream is made with raw coconut butter, a naturally sweet, nutrient dense nut butter produced by grinding whole, mature coconut into a smooth paste. Don't confuse coconut butter with coconut oil. Coconut butter is to coconut oil as peanut butter is to peanut oil—totally different!

My number one favorite brand of coconut butter is Sacred Foods. Their low-temperature, super slow stone grinding method creates the silkiest and best-tasting coconut butter I've ever tried, by far. Sacred Coconut Butter is a gourmet product with a premium price ($21.95 for a 16 oz jar) but I highly recommend it if you can manage. Amazing just on the spoon, and in recipes like this one.

Lemon Coconut Buttercream

1 c coconut butter
1 Tbs coconut oil
3-4 Tbs maple syrup or raw honey
2 Tbs lemon juice
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp Himalayan pink salt

Make sure coconut butter and oil are at room temperature to begin. Add all ingredients to a food processer fitted with the S-blade and process until smooth, using the pulse function. Add more lemon juice or sweetener to taste.

In an 8X8 Pyrex dish, press buttercream into a half-inch thick "loaf". (The loaf will not fill the entire area of dish! But pyrex is a good, non-reactive holder.) Chill for about one hour to firm up, for easy handling.

Stuffed Medjool Dates

1 batch of Lemon Coconut Buttercream
12 or more plump, soft Medjool dates

To stuff dates, gently remove and discard pits. Slice off a rectangular portion of buttercream, about the size of the date middle, and nestle it into the center of the pitted date. Press and shape to fit as needed (buttercream will soften in your fingers and become very easy to mold). Proceed until you have as many stuffed dates as you want. This recipe will stuff at least two dozen dates at a time, but unless you're feeding a crowd, it's nice to work in smaller batches, and the buttercream keeps very nicely in the fridge for several days (although it's hard to keep it around that long ;-).

Coconut-Almond Crunch Balls

Ever since I was introduced to the concept of "low carbohydrate density" nutrition I've been on a mission. The goal: to create a low-carb, low-sugar, grain-free and, most importantly, delicious dessert.

The low-carbohydrate density diet aligns beautifully with the evolution-based diet that I recommend. It eliminates flour and sugar, includes but minimizes whole grains and fruits, and emphasizes vegetables, seeds, animal protein (not necessarily meat—think pastured eggs and raw goat cheese) and healthy fats like coconut oil. The benefits of avoiding refined grains and sugars include improved blood sugar balance, yeast control and intestinal comfort (i.e. reduced gas and bloating, a big bonus for IBS people like me). However, there isn't much to offer the sweet tooth contingent. Hence my mission.

I started off very simply: grated carrots (carrots are sweet, right?) mashed with nut butter and cinnamon. (I told you it was simple.) I know: not exactly blog-worthy—but it's darn good, trust me!

Anyway, in terms of a real recipe worth sharing, I am proud to present these adorable Coconut-Almond Crunch Balls. 

They're made with naturally sweet raw coconut butter, and naturally sweet raw almond butter, with only a hint of concentrated natural sweetener added. (I used agave, but maple syrup would be scrumptious, too.) The crunch comes from homemade Buckwheat Crunchies (soaked, sprouted dehydrated buckwheat groats), which I had on hand from a previous dehydrating day.

Buckwheat Crunchies are REALLY easy to make (instructions below). But if you don't have a dehydrator or the time, consider substituting finely chopped almonds. (Alternatively, forget the crunch aspect altogether and use this recipe, sans crunchies, to make creamy Coconut-Almond Truffles instead! Guaranteed they would be totally yummy, too.)

P.S. This dessert is gluten-free. I know buckwheat sounds like it must be related to wheat, the mother of all gluten-containing grains, but it isn't. In fact, buckwheat isn't even technically a grain. It's a fruit! Read more here.

Coconut-Almond Crunch Balls

1 cup raw coconut butter
1 Tablespoon raw coconut oil
1/4 cup raw almond butter
4 Tablespoons agave or maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt or fine sea salt
1 cup buckwheat crunchies
shredded coconut for coating - about half a cup

In a food processor fitted with the S-blade, process coconut butter, coconut oil, almond butter, agave or maple syrup, vanilla and salt until a smooth dough is formed. Transfer to a medium bowl and use a soft spatula to gently mix in buckwheat crunchies.




Use a teaspoon or the spatula, and very clean fingers and hands, to separate out small chunks of dough. Roll and press them into little bite-sized balls, or medium-sized balls if you like more of a mouthful.

Roll each ball in shredded coconut and set aside until all the dough is used up. You'll get about two dozen balls or more, depending on their size.

If you prefer a flatter profile, that works, too.

I recommend eating Coconut-Almond Crunch Balls at room temperature for best flavor, but do store them in the refrigerator to keep firm and fresh. Miraculously, these balls hold their crunch for at least two weeks! (It wasn't easy to keep them around that long—hence the miracle—but I wanted to be sure my Crunch Balls lived up to their name over time, before going public with this recipe.) Enjoy!


Buckwheat Crunchies
To make these, you will need a dehydrator and a supply of raw buckwheat groats, which can be hard to find. I ordered a five-pound box directly from my local food coop.

To begin, soak two cups of buckwheat groats in four cups of water for eight hours or overnight.



Drain and rinse very well, several times, to thoroughly remove slippery foam. Allow soaked buckwheat to sprout in a strainer for 12-24 hours (as pictured below), rinsing at approximately six-hour intervals so that the soaked buckwheat doesn't dry out prematurely. (If sprouting overnight, you don't need to wake up to rinse your groats; just loosely cover strainer with a clean damp towel at bedtime.)

Spread sprouted buckwheat in a single layer on mesh dehydrator sheets and dehydrate at 110 degrees for 12 hours, or until very crisp.

Store crunchies in an airtight glass jar. Use in place of dry cereal (delicious with coconut milk!) or in recipes that call for crunch, such as my delectable Coconut-Almond Crunch Balls. ♥

Kale Around the Clock—Raw Fusion Style

Freshly harvested, tender spring kale has arrived in Western Massachusetts and I couldn’t be more thrilled! Kale is truly a superstar vegetable. It’s packed with nutrition, tastes great, comes in several colorful varieties and is incredibly versatile in the kitchen.

Kale is a member of the illustrious, cancer-fighting Brassica family and, like its cousins broccoli and daikon radish, has been researched extensively in recent years. Studies suggest that kale may help suppress tumor growth, promote detoxification at the genetic DNA level and support healthy cholesterol levels. Kale is packed with antioxidant flavonoids that fight inflammation and is notably high in lutein, a yellow carotenoid pigment required for healthy vision. It is an excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin K, a good source of manganese, calcium and other bone-building minerals and, best of all... it’s GREEN!

Green foods are beneficial for many reasons, including their exalted status of being the premier alkalizing foods on the planet. Alkaline nutrition is important because the pH of human blood must remain within a very tight, alkaline pH range (between 7.35 and 7.45) and the world we live in has become increasingly acidic, making it tough for the body to maintain. Processed foods, meats, sugars, white flour and most grains (i.e. the modern diet) along with chronic stress (i.e. the modern lifestyle) all promote acidity and threaten our alkaline balance. Ongoing low grade acidic conditions in the body are implicated in a Pandora’s box of health problems from bone loss and premature aging to arthritis, heart disease, cancer...you name it.

Promoting alkalinity is becoming increasingly recognized as critical to healthy physical and metabolic function, so the more alkalizing green vegetables you can eat, the better. Of course, salads and steamed greens are a great place to start. But why stop there? Some leafy greens like KALE are so versatile, they allow you to enjoy greens at every meal—even dessert!

To show you how, I’ll share three delicious and innovative recipes that I’ve adapted from Raw Fusion Recipes by LindaJoy Rose, PhD. LindaJoy is a leader in the field of hypnotherapy and an enthusiastic raw food educator. Her wonderful little recipe book, now in its second printing, is the companion volume to Raw Fusion, an introductory guide to incorporating raw/living foods into a healthy diet. (Visit rawfusionliving.com to order the books or learn more.)

And now…let’s have some fun with Kale Around the Clock!

morning...

Pineapple-Grapefruit Green Smoothie

To bathe your cells in alkalinity on a regular basis, I suggest starting each day with a tall glass of delicious green juice. (My revitalizing Ginger Green Juice is a favorite.) If you don’t have a juicer or simply find yourself in the mood for a more substantial meal, a blended green smoothie—which, unlike juice, retains the fiber of the fruits and veggies it contains—is a fine alternative. Experiment with different fresh leafy greens or green herbs—spinach, kale, parsley, dill—they’re all good. Cilantro really makes the flavors pop in this Pineapple-Grapefruit Green Smoothie. Enjoy for breakfast or lunch.

½ red grapefruit, peeled and pitted
1 cup chopped pineapple
½ lemon, peeled and pitted
4 leaves of kale, chopped
1 cup cilantro, leaves and stems
4 slices fresh ginger root
½ cup water or cooled lemon balm tea

Rough chop all ingredients, add to blender and blend on high until well combined. Add additional liquid or ice to reach desired temperature and consistency. Makes one pint.

Recipe inspired by Green Fairy’s Lemonade in Raw Fusion Recipes by LindaJoy Rose.


afternoon...

Lunar Kale Chips

When I was a kid, people used to say the moon was made of green cheese. These days, everyone knows the moon is made of rocks and dust, but we can still make our own green cheese using sprouted pumpkin seeds and seasonings. The classic approach to making pumpkin seed paté is tweaked here to create a savory Lunar Sauce for these out-of-this-world kale chips.

1 bunch Red Russian kale, or other flat leaf variety
½ cup raw pumpkin seeds, soaked 4 hours, drained and rinsed
1 lemon’s juice
½ cup water
1 clove garlic
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp chipotle chili powder
¾ tsp Himalayan pink salt
2 Tbs. nutritional yeast

Rinse kale leaves well and remove stems. Save stems for juice and set leaves aside. To make sauce, put pumpkin seeds, lemon juice, water, and all seasonings except nutritional yeast into blender and blend on medium to high speed until well combined. Pour sauce into a large bowl, add a little more water to the blender and blend quickly to loosen the remaining sauce, then add this to what’s already in the bowl. Stir in the nutritional yeast by hand. Taste and adjust salt or seasonings if desired. Coat each kale leaf on both sides with the Lunar Sauce. Arrange leaves on dehydrator trays lined with Teflex sheets. Avoid overlapping leaves to permit air circulation. (My bunch of kale contained twelve leaves and I needed four trays to lay them all out.) Use up all the sauce—you should have just enough.

Dehydrate kale chips for one hour at 145 degrees, then reduce temperature to just under 110 degrees and continue dehydrating for about four hours. At this point, gently flip chips off of the Teflex and onto the mesh trays, dry sides down. Dehydrate another two to four hours or until desired crispiness is reached. Keeping them slightly moist and flexible is a fun option and keeps the kale a bit more lively, since a plant’s vitality is primarily contained in its water-containing portions.

If you don’t have a dehydrator, you could try making Lunar Kale Chips in a very low-temperature oven, perhaps with the door left slightly open. If using this method, use a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and keep an eye on the chips as they dry – they might be crisp within 20 to 30 minutes.

Recipe inspired by Cheezy Chili Chips in Raw Fusion Recipes by LindaJoy Rose.


evening...

Kale Fudge Torte

I was planning on making Kale Brownies with this adapted recipe, but I overdid it on the food processing and things got pretty sticky fast! Luckily, my mistake yielded outstanding results, and a Torte was born. There are two whole cups of chopped kale in this recipe but you really can’t taste them at all, as confirmed by my Sunday Yoga test group. (Maybe once you know it’s there you THINK you can taste the kale, but nobody guessed the secret ingredient.) In fact, this torte may be the most decadent way ever to “sneak” greens into the diet. Consider it a stealth health strategy for people like the mom I met last week at the Greenfield farmer’s market, whose son refuses to eat green veggies. Mom, your secret is safe with me!

1½ cup walnuts or pecans
½ teaspoon sea salt
10 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
2 cups chopped kale leaves, loosely packed (stems removed!)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup raw cacao powder, plus 1 teaspoon
1 Tbs coconut butter (not coconut oil)
1 or 2 Tbs maple syrup

In a food processor, pulse nuts and sea salt until finely ground. Add remaining ingredients and process until dough comes together. You may add a tablespoon or two of water to facilitate things if necessary—the dough will be extremely thick.

Place dough on a piece of parchment paper laid flat on the counter and press into a square or round shape, one inch tall. The dough is VERY sticky so moisten your hands with water or use a second piece of parchment paper on top of the dough to help you press and shape the torte. When shaped, wrap in parchment paper and chill until firm, about one hour or longer. Before serving, sprinkle top with additional teaspoon of raw cacao powder by sifting through a fine mesh strainer, such as a tea strainer. (To sift, hold strainer over the torte and “stir” the cacao powder with a spoon or chopstick to sift the cacao onto the surface of the torte, covering the entire surface with fine powder.)

Store Kale Fudge Torte in the fridge and consume within three days—the raw, living kale in the recipe leads to a short shelf life. If you can’t or don’t want to finish the torte in only three days, I suggest freezing individual sized pieces, each tightly wrapped in parchment paper and sealed within a freezer bag. Then, when you feel like a treat, just take out a packet and let it warm up on the counter. Yum!

Recipe inspired by Family Favorite Flourless Chocolate Cake in Raw Fusion Recipes by LindaJoy Rose. Many thanks to LJ for sending me the books and for being so patient while I prepared this post! ♥

Sacred Maple Mounds

It all started with a hankering for something sweet. Then, the loose talk on Facebook about coconut haystacks started up. That directed my mission: to create a natural, high raw and improved version of the old familiar Mounds Bar experience. You know what I mean? That thing that happens inside your mouth after you’ve given your bite of Mounds a few good chews and all the flavors and textures start to meld together on your tongue for a fleeting moment of crunchy-chewy-smooth-chocolatey-coconutty bliss... before you have to start swallowing?!

Well, working off of Matt Amsden’s Carob Coconut Haystacks recipe (from his Rawvolution cookbook) I got what I was looking for. Mounds…but better. WAY better.

The chocolate in my Sacred Maple Mounds is provided in the form of raw cacao powder. The sweetener is pure maple syrup. The main ingredient is organic shredded coconut, macaroon cut. (I get mine from Ultimate Superfoods - sold conveniently at my Community Superfoods discount store!) And the secret ingredient is…. Coconut Butter. Not coconut oil (which sometimes mistakenly is referred to as coconut butter) but REAL, stone ground, raw coconut butter, made from hunks of whole mature coconut. (If you’re not sure what coconut butter is compared to coconut oil, think of the difference between almond butter vs almond oil. Almond butter has all the bits of the original nut, just ground into a paste; almond oil is simply the fatty oil, extracted out. Same thing with coconut, except that coconut oil, rich in healthy saturated fats, is solid at room temperature, like dairy butter.)

My Maple Mounds are Sacred because I make them with Sacred Foods Coconut Butter, an awesome product you can read more about here. Raw, organic, stone ground Sacred Coconut Butter is one of my favorite food indulgences – it’s seriously SO yummy you can’t believe it! And more good news is this: as a nutrient dense whole food, a little Sacred Coconut Butter goes a long way. In other words, yes, I’ll enjoy a teaspoon of this tasty treat plain, on the spoon, as a snack or dessert, but I never feel drawn to eat spoonfull after spoonfull, if you catch my drift ;-).

As for feeling drawn to eat Sacred Maple Mound after mound…well, that’s why we make them bite-sized. Enjoy!


Sacred Maple Mounds

1 ½ cups organic raw shredded coconut, macaroon cut
¼ cup raw cacao powder
1/3 cup Sacred Coconut Butter, softened
¼ cup real maple syrup
pinch Himalayan crystal salt

Ideally in an electric mixing bowl (but use a fork in a pinch!), combine shredded coconut, cacao powder and salt. Add Sacred Coconut Butter and beat on low until well combined - no chunks. Add maple syrup and blend in.

Using clean hands, make tablespoon sized balls and press into your palms to form mounded discs. Place each Mound directly on mesh dehydrator tray. Dry at 105 degrees for six hours and store in an airtight container at room temperature.

If you don’t have a dehydrator, enjoy Sacred Maple Mounds wet. Simply freeze or chill molded mounds and eat cold. “Wet” Maple Mounds – a slightly cruder, fudgier and still one hundred percent delectable – version of the elegant dried Sacred Maple Mound must be stored in your fridge or freezer.

Community Superfoods Open Thursday This Week!

For all my dear local readers, please note there is a change to Community Superfoods' store hours for this week only. Store night this week will be on Thursday, February 25, from 5-7 PM, not Wednesday. I will not be at the store this Wednesday! I will be there Thursday! And next week, we'll be back to Wednesday nights as usual.

Now for the good news...


This week on store night (Thursday, as you may recall!), for the very first time ever, I will be taking pre-orders for an incredible new product that has just launched: organic, raw Stone Ground Coconut Butter from Sacred Foods. Many of you are familiar with Sacred Foods as the makers of the amazing Sacred Chocolate bars (now back in stock in many flavors at Community Superfoods - yay!)...

Well, Sacred Foods has done it again! Their new Stone Ground Coconut Butter is simply divine! Made from hunks of dried, mature coconut and stone ground over many days at low temperatures to produce a silky smooth, totally raw product, Stone Ground Coconut Butter is packed with flavor and nutrition.

In case you were wondering, coconut butter is very different than coconut oil. Coconut oil, which I also sell at the store, is pure fat, extracted from the coconut fruit. It's a wonderful fat, suitable for many uses, but it is not a whole food.

Stone Ground Coconut Butter is a whole food, made from whole dried coconut. It hence contains healthy coconut oil fats PLUS healthy coconut proteins, carbohydrates and fiber, along with an array of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). Its nutritional profile compares to whole, dried (dessicated), unsweetened coconut as follows:

MACRONUTRIENTS in Stone Ground Coconut Butter are distributed as approximately 65% fats, 24% carbohydrates,16% fiber and 7% amino acid proteins. Most of the fats occur as healthy, cholesterol-free medium chain fatty acids - lauric, capric and caprylic acid - suggested to offer antibacterial and antiviral benefits. Coconut Butter's delightful, delicately sweet taste is provided by less than 8% total naturally-occurring sugars.

MICRONUTRIENTS in Stone Ground Coconut Butter are distributed primarily as minerals (notably calcium, potassium, iron and selenium). Traces of vitamins C, E and B-complex, notably folate and pantothenic acid, are also present.

Best of all, Stone Ground Coconut Butter tastes amazing!
It adds depth to smoothies, curries and soups, is the ultimate spread on warm toast or crackers, and of course, is great plain, right off the spoon! Or use Stone Ground Coconut Butter as a confectionery ingredient (to make candy, chocolate or icing), in dessert recipes (cookies, bars) and in grain or cereal dishes. For example, mash a spoonful of Stone Ground Coconut Butter together with cinnamon and raw honey or your favorite non-glycemic sweetener (stevia, mesquite or lucuma powder) to make a paste. Then add some raw sprouted buckwheat groats or warm steamed millet or quinoa and stir till all the grain is coated. Yummy!

If you are interested in trying Sacred Foods Stone Ground Coconut Butter, stop by Community Superfoods this Thursday, February 25, where my personal jar will be on hand for sampling! I will be taking pre-orders at that time - no product is currently stocked. CSF cost per 16-ounce jar is $10.99.

I am also taking preorders for the NEW! 50-pack of Raw Nori Sheets from Ultimate Superfoods. Raw, untoasted nori is very hard to find. I do have a few packages in stock, with a one-pack limit for store night customers. There is no limit on pre-orders, however, so do take advantage of the opportunity to stock up! CSF cost per 50-pack of Raw Nori Sheets is just $15.95. Great for making raw sushi, wrapping a hummus and sprouts sandwich (skip the bread!), creating a sliced avocado salad roll, tearing into miso soup, boosting flavor & nutrition of any chili, soup or stew or simply as a tasty snack food!

Yours in radiance, diana ♥