We love the sweet taste, and according to Ayurveda, deprivation only leads to more craving. In order to find sweets that satisfy body, mind and soul, LA YOGA gathered a group of recipes from healthcare practitioners and noted chefs to offer treats without tricks. Enjoy. — FM
Healthy Holidays
Seed’s Holiday Chocolate Truffles
by eric lechasseur | www.seedkitchen.com
Seed's Truffles
For the truffles:
1 cup soy milk
18 ounces dairy-free, grain-sweetened
chocolate chips
2 tablespoons agar flakes
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
For the coating:
Cocoa powder
Roasted hazelnuts, finely chopped
Roasted coconut flakes
Makes 24 Truffles
- In a saucepan over medium heat, bring the soy milk and agar to a simmer.
- Add the chocolate chips and stir well until melted.
- Remove from heat, transfer mixture to a baking pan. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Using a spoon, scoop up about 1-ounce of the chocolate mixture. Roll between your hands to form a small ball. Continue until mixture is used up.
- Roll each ball in the cocoa powder or green tea powder or as it is.
- Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
- Plate all of them deliciously.
Chocolate Velvet
by cherie soria, brenda davis and vesanto melina
Chocolate is a source of antioxidants, but it can be addictive, so use it sparingly. This sauce is velvety, smooth and creamy and will feed the soul of even the fussiest chocolate lover. Avocado, the secret ingredient, provides richness but its distinctive flavor is overpowered by the cocoa. Use chocolate velvet as a topping for fresh fruit ice cream or other desserts, or serve it on its own as a pudding.
Chocolate Velvet
Ingredients:
1 ripe avocado
6 tablespoons unsweetened raw
cocoa powder or carob powder
1/4 cup agave syrup
2 tablespoons evaporated cane juice
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons purified water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons + 1/2 cup purified water
Variations
- Chocolate frosting or filling: Use only 2 tablespoon of the water, and omit the remaining 1/2 cup.
- Chocolate mousse (pictured): Use a blender instead of a food processor, and use only 1/4 cup of the water to create a fluffy consistency similar to a classic mousse.
- Frozen fudge bars: Freeze the mixture in popsicle trays.
Yield: 1 1/2 cups (6 – 8 servings)
- Combine the avocado, cocoa powder, agave syrup, evaporated cane juice, 2 tablespoons of water, and the vanilla extract and cinnamon in a food processor fitted with the S blade, and process until smooth.
- Add the remaining 1/2 cup of water, and process again until blended well. The more water you add, the thinner the sauce becomes. (If you prefer to use a blender rather than a food processor, be careful not to process the mixture too long. If too much air is beaten into the sauce, it will become too fluffy.)
- Chocolate velvet will keep for up to one week stored in a sealed glass jar in the refrigerator.
From The Raw Food Revolution Diet: Feast, Lose Weight, Gain Energy, Feel Younger by Cherie Soria, Brenda Davis, RD, and Vesanto Melina, MS, RD and the Living Light Culinary Arts Institute, the premiere raw food (non) cooking school in Ft Bragg, California. rawfoodchef.com
For another avocado-chocolate option from Wine Country restaurant and yoga center Ubuntu, visit: layogamagazine.com/yogifood
Carrot Halwa
by dr. jay apte
According to Ayurveda, the fall season is the time when the vata dosha (air and ether elements) are on the rise, making our body and skin cold, dry and rough and our mind restless and anxious. We want to eat something that will help us feel grounded, well-lubricated and calm. Sweet, warm, heavy and moist foods have qualities exactly opposite of vata dosha, reducing dryness and roughness. It’s no wonder that we gravitate toward sweet and heavy foods around the holidays.
Root veggies growing in the ground have a grounding effect so the ingredients in the carrot halwa encourage balance during the sometimes stressful holiday season.
Carrot Halwa
Ingredients:
1 pound grated carrots
2 cups sugar (unrefined, sucanut or turbinado)
1 – 1 1/2 cups milk powder
**can leave out for vegan alternative, see note
1/8 teaspoon cardamom powder
1 tablespoon cashew pieces (more as desired)
1 tablespoon golden raisins (more as desired)
¼ cup ghee (vegetable oil for vegan alternative)
Serves: 4 – 6
Preparation time: 30 minutes
In a pan, sauté grated carrots in ghee, over low to medium heat, for few minutes until soft. Add sugar and cook until all liquid is absorbed. Stir in milk powder, cook for a minute or two. Remove from heat and mix in cardamom powder, cashew pieces and raisins. Serve warm.
**In the LA YOGA test kitchen, we left out the milk powder and still enjoyed the halwa.
Dr Jay Apte is an Ayurvedic doctor healing people through foods and lifestyle. Contact at: (650) 341 – 8400 or drjay@ayurvedaonline.com
Raw Pumpkin Spice Pie
by jonathan snell-callanen of the ELR dessert team
Pumpkin is one of those harbingers of the holidays, but traditional recipes may be less than uplifting. This recipe fulfills the resolution to prepare (or order) a different variety of an old favorite.
Raw Pumpkin Spice Pie
Crust:
3 cups walnuts
pinch sea salt
1 teaspoon coconut oil
Crust Directions:
Using a food processor, grind the walnuts completely and then add the salt and oil and mix.
Whipped Cream:
3/4 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup coconut water
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup Irish moss gel*
10 macadamia nuts
Let mixture set up in the refrigerator
Pie Filling (makes one 11 inch pie):
6 cups raw pumpkin chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
3 cups young coconut meat (tightly packed)
2 cups macadamias
2 cups coconut oil
2 cups agave nectar
1 cup Irish moss gel
1 tablespoon cinnamon powder
1 tablespoon nutmeg powder
1/8 teaspoon cloves
4 inch piece peeled ginger
Filling Directions:
Blend all ingredients until smooth in a high-speed blender. It is best to divide the recipe into two portions, as it will require two full blender batches, that way you maintain consistency with the ingredients.
Put it all together:
Line an 11 inch springform pan with crust by sprinkling the crust over the bottom. Pour pie filling over the crust. Allow pie to set up in the freezer, 4 – 6 hours if possible or at best overnight. When ready for serving, top with the whipped cream.
*Irish moss gel must be made at least one day in advance, and it can be stored for many days. To prepare: Soak moss overnight. The next day, rinse moss 10 – 20 times until seaweed smell is gone. Blend two cups of moss with 1/4 cup of water. Keep gel in the refrigerator and use to thicken recipes.
Jonathan Snell-Callanen is a member of the Euphoria Loves Rawvolution dessert team. Janabai Amsden is the owner and executive chef and Matt Amsden is the cofounder and member of the recipe creation team at Euphoria Loves Rawvolution, purveyor of creative raw foods including the weekly delivery extravaganza, The Box, for those with no time to shop and chop.
euphorialovesrawvolution.com.
By Felicia M. Tomasko, RN
