Raw Vegan Choc Banana Hemp smoothie

I felt in need of a real boost this lunch time, so whizzed up this protein packed smoothie to keep me going for the rest of the afternoon.

Raw Vegan Choc Banana Hemp smoothie
1 banana
small handful of blueberries
2 tbsp of raw hemp protein powder
1 cup of nut or seed milk
2 tbsp of raw carob or cacao powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 medjool date
1 tsp of maca
A few ice cubes

Blend until smooth and enjoy :)

Raw Vegan Brownies

Based on Jennifer Cornbleet's Brownie recipe, these gorgeous treats are wonderfully tasty but also super quick to make.

Raw Vegan Brownies
1 1/2 cup of walnuts
Pinch of salt
6 tbsp cacao or carob
8 medjool dates
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp coconut oil, melted
1 tsp cold water

Process the walnuts until coursely chopped. Set aside 1/4 cup then continue to process the rest until they are a fine powder. Add the salt and cacao or carob and process again. Add the dates, vanilla, coconut oil until everything starts to come together. Add back in the reserved walnuts and enough water just to bring everything together and pulse briefly. Press into a small square container so that the brownie is about 1/2 inch thick and chill in the fridge :)

Raw Chilli Recipe

This is a quick and easy recipe for a gleaming, ruby-red chilli containing protein packed quinoa sprouts, warming ginger and chilli powder and beetroot for fibre. The sweetness of sultanas is a great contrast to the heat from the ginger and chilli.

Raw Chilli Recipe
1 large beetroot (peeled and chopped)
1/4 onion
1/4 inch piece of root ginger
1 red pepper (de-seeded and chopped)
1/2 tsp chilli powder
pinch of salt
3 tomatoes (chopped)
6 sun-dried tomatoes (soaked overnight, rinsed and drained)
1/3 cup sultanas
1/4 cup of basil leaves
1 cup quinoa (soaked overnight, rinsed and sprouted for 12 hours)

Put the beetroot, onion and ginger into a food processor with an s blade and process until coarsely chopped. Add the red pepper, chilli powder, salt, tomatoes and sun-dried tomatoes and process again until well mixed. Add the remaining ingredients and process briefly until combined. Serve with a green salad.

Beetroot, carot, apple and ginger juice recipe

A lovely, zingy juice for a kickstart to the day. I have been having this for breakfast of late, as I have been harvesting fresh beetroots from the garden.

Beetroot, carrot, apple and ginger juice recipe
2 apples
3 carrots
a handful of beetroot leaves
small piece of root ginger (approx 1/2 inch long)
1/4 lemon (unpeeled)
1 small beetroot (scrubbed well)

Juice all of the ingredients. Mix well and serve immediately.
Makes one large glass

Raw Mango Crumble Recipe

We had a gloriously ripe organic mango in the fruit bowl, and as good as it would have been to eat it as it was, I thought that, for a change, I would add a crumble-type topping. The contrast between the soft, sweet ripeness of the mango and the crunchy, nuttiness of the topping works really well. Plus the pumpkin seeds are not only full of iron, zinc, calcium and magnesium, they are also a great source of protein and the essential fatty acid omega-3.

Raw Mango Crumble Recipe (serves 2)
One ripe mango
1/4 cup of almonds or mixed nuts (such as brazil nuts, cashews, walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts)
1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds
1 tbsp of coconut oil (gently melted in a bain marie of hot water)
a pinch of sea salt
approx 6 dates

Peel the mango and remove the flesh from the stone. Chop the flesh into cubes and divide between two individual serving bowls.
For the crumble topping, in a mini chopper/food processor chop the nuts and seeds until coarsely ground. Then add in the oil and salt and mix well. Finally add enough dates to bring the mixture together into a moist, crumble-type topping. Sprinkle over the mango and serve at once.

Raw Spicy Quinoa Curry Recipe

I didn't plan today's evening meal and so it was very much a case of making do with whatever I could find in the fridge. The result was actually very good :)

Raw Spicy Quinoa Curry Recipe
1 cup of quinoa (soaked overnight and then sprouted for 24 hours)
1 red pepper
2 carrots
4 leaves of spring greens
1 small beetroot
6 runner beans
(alternatively use similar quantities of whatever veg you have available)

4 small tomatoes
1/2 onion
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
A small piece of red chilli (finely chopped) or to taste
1 tbsp tahini
1/2 tbsp brown rice miso
1 tbsp tamari


Finely slice the red pepper, greens and beans, and grate the carrots and beetroot (or use a food processor with a slicing and grating disc for ease). Add to a bowl with the quinoa sprouts.
Put all of the other ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Add to the vegetables and quinoa, mix well and serve immediately.

I think it would also be good with some chickpea sprouts added to the vegetables, for added texture.

Raw Carob 'ice cream' recipe

Another adaptation from a recipe in Kate Wood's Eat Smart, Eat Raw is a delicious carob ice-cream recipe. I used my Matstone 6 in 1 juicer for this recipe, but it could be adapted and made in a food processor.

Raw Carob Ice Cream Recipe
Serves 2
2 tbsp almonds (soaked overnight)
2 tbsp carob powder
4 bananas (peeled, chopped into small pieces and frozen, ideally overnight)

Start this recipe the night before by peeling, chopping and open freezing your bananas and putting your almonds in water to soak. The next day, drain and rinse your almonds and then chop finely (either by hand or in a mini-chopper device). Then with the mincing cone on your Matstone juicer, start putting the almonds through the juicer, about 1/2 tsp at a time. Repeat several times until the almonds are paste like. Alternatively either grind the almonds well in a small mini chopper until they start to come together in a 'paste/butter' or use 1 1/2 tbsp almond butter or tahni instead of the almonds.
Transfer the almond paste to a food processor, along with the carob powder.
Then gradually add the frozen chopped banana into the Matsone juicer (again with the mincing cone). (Alternatively, chop until blended in a food processor). Once the juicer has finished processing all of the banana pieces, add the banana to the food processor and blitz until well mixed. Either eat straight away or transfer into a freezable container and freeze until needed. Perfect on its own or served with fresh raspberries.