Thick & Creamy Vegan Vanilla Shake

I wasn’t sure whether to call this a shake or a smoothie, because it reminded me so much of a vanilla milkshake so I opted for calling it both. This is one of the best smoothie (shake) recipes I’ve come up with so far. I was actually going to call this a breakfast smoothie until I decided to have it for dinner too because I enjoyed it so much.

This is one of those quick and easy smoothie recipes that is just so delicious and nutritious that there’s no excuse not to make it any time you need a quick meal or pick-me-up.

Vanilla, honey, maca and lucuma are all superfoods. Sesame seeds have more protein than any other seed or nut, are loaded with calcium, iron, and magnesium. Plus they contain lignans that can help burn fat. Flaxseed (also called linseed), is high in omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and fiber. Oats are the king of the grains, they help lower blood cholesterol, are a good source of magnesium, zinc and vitamin E and are also very high in fiber. And the humble banana… contains potassium and vitamin B6, which the body needs to make serotonin the brain-chemical which makes you feel good. Bananas also have plenty of fiber, and it’s a particular type of fiber that aids bowel health, and has been found to lower the incidence of bowel cancer. Whew! And if you need any more convincing, just taste it.

Ingredients:

4 cups water
4 ripe bananas, peeled (fresh or frozen)
1 cup oats *
4 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp flaxseed (linseed)
2-3 tbsp honey or agave nectar (to taste)
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
2 teas natural vanilla extract
dash of Himalayan sea salt
1 tbsp maca-root powder or lucuma powder (optional)

Instructions:

Grind the sesame seeds and flaxseed to a fine meal. A coffee grinder works beautifully for this, otherwise use a high-powered blender (make sure the inside of the blender jug is dry). Grind the oats to a fine meal in a coffee grinder or a high-powered blender.

Add all the ingredients to the blender. Blend well until, rich and creamy.

Makes 5 cups.

* Oats are almost always cooked, even when you find them as oat groats. It’s very rare to find truly raw oats, but if you want a 100% raw shake and can’t find raw oats you can substitute buckwheat groats instead. Just soak and sprout them for a day or two, but make sure to use them before the tails get longer than the buckwheat seeds. You can dehydrate the sprouted buckwheat and grind it, or just add the fresh sprouted buckwheat to the blender. The result is not as creamy in texture, but it’s still really nice and super healthy.

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Honeybees at work making honey

By Suzi Franks

Here in New Zealand we have a secret, it’s called Manuka honey and it can heal our bodies both externally and internally, but thats not all, some honey when tested in the lab has been found to contain a second unique healing factor which enhances the uniqueness of this wonderful natural healing nectar.

Manuka honey is a ‘mono-floral’ honey, meaning it’s made predominately from one flower, in this case it’s made from the delicate small flowers of the Manuka tree (Leptospermum scoparium) or Tea tree as some call it . Native to the shores of New Zealand, its a pretty low growing tree which has an abundance of tiny white or pink flowers in summer, and it’s wood is highly prized for its aroma and is used in wood fired pizza ovens or in the smoking of many food items, but it’s the nectar we are interested in today.

Two Types of Manuka honey

According to New Zealand scientists, there are two types of Manuka honey; one is an ‘ordinary’ Manuka honey which contains a natural hydrogen peroxide antibacterial property, this is not unique to Manuka honey, it’s found in most honeys.

The second type is the special ‘active’ Manuka honey which contains a natural non-hydrogen peroxide antibacterial property, the scientists call this UMF, translated as the Unique Manuka Factor. The difference in the two honeys cannot be determined by taste, texture or color, to determine if the honey is active requires clinical testing and then the activeness’ is rated.

Different strengths of ‘Active’ UMF

There are different ‘degrees’ of UMF activity and this is rated on a numbered scale:
0-4 UMF is not detected and therefore jut ‘honey’
4-10 UMF is present in a ‘maintenance’ level only, so good for when all healing os completed and just tops up the bodies levels
10-15 UMF is present in ‘healing’ amounts
15+ UMF is present in super healing amounts and can be used to fight active bacterial infections or correct health issues, like stomach ulcers etc.

What makes ‘Active’ Manuka honey special?

UMF, is a special property which inhibits the growth of certain ‘resistant’ bacteria’s, the most common being helicobacter pylori which is responsible for stomach ulcers, staphylococcus aureus and streptococcus pyogenes both bacteria’s cause nasty throat infections.

The UMF property in active manuka honey has been found to fight these otherwise resistant bacteria’s with excellent results, the reason being it is resistant to heat and is slower to be broken down by the internal working of our bodies, therefore able to put up a stronger fight.

Specific Uses for Active Manuka honey

A spoonful of active manuka honey daily is a good overall health tonic, but sometimes it can be used on specific problems and reduces the need for a ‘chemical’ ‘pharmaceutical’ antibiotic.

Stomach Ulcers:
Research has shown that active manuka honey inhibits the growth and kills off the helicobacter pylori bacteria which are commonly responsible for stomach ulcers. The ‘normal’ honey with hydrogen peroxide properties was not effective in this case.

Wounds, burns and many skin irritation complaints:
Because of it’s increased anti bacterial qualities, active Manuka honey can be used directly on the surface of the skin to treat many skin conditions like acne or eczema which are often created by skin flora bacteria.

It is also extremely effective in the treatment of a variety of open wounds, like burns, boils. It’s used extensively in the Health profession for treating infected leg ulcers, often infected with resistant bacteria’s like staphylococcus aureus or pseudomonas aeruginosa which have not been controlled with ‘pharmaceutical’ antibiotics.

I personally cannot think of a nicer way to heal my body, internally or externally than the natural aromatic active Manuka honey.

Suzi Franks, a former ER Nurse with over 15 years experience is now a healer of The Earth. I have now dedicated my life to tending my piece of paradise and returning the chemical torn landscape back to its former glory with lovingly applied organic principles and tender loving care. I am on a quest to help share my knowledge of organic vegetable growing, so you and others may feel the goodness of Mother Nature and eat her bountiful gifts.

Click here to read more articles by Suzi Franks

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Raw Vegan Blueberry Ice Cream

Blueberries are a superfruit. They are extremely high in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties which combat oxidative stress and inflammation that many experts believe are involved in all the major killer diseases as well as age-related conditions like arthritis and memory loss. In fact, blueberries are considered the ultimate memory food. Bananas contain potassium and fiber. Avocados are high in good heart-healthy fats, and lutein, an antioxidant that’s great for your eyes and skin.

All tremendously healthy foods to eat. Blend them together and you’ve got one of the most delicious and satisfying desserts ever. Well I think so anyway. I ate the whole lot of this myself for dinner. Isn’t it every child’s dream to eat dessert for dinner? As adults we can do whatever we want, but usually don’t because we know it’s not healthy for us. Well, go ahead, now you can live the dream and know you’re still eating healthy!

Ingredients:

2 cups frozen blueberries
1 frozen banana
1/2 avocado
juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp honey
dash Himalayan sea salt
water

Instructions:

Add honey, lemon juice, flesh of the avocado and dash of salt to blender. Blend well until creamy, add a bit of water as needed to keep it blending. If you add the honey after the frozen fruit it will harden and be harder to blend in.

Add remaining ingredients and blend well until creamy. Add water, a little at a time, as needed to keep the mixture blending and get the consistency you like.

Serve and eat immediately. Serves 2, or 1 if you are like me!

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Sesame Halva

I love halva, the Middle Eastern dessert made from sesame seeds. I’m not even sure how they make it but I decided to make my own healthy, raw version. Actually I was going to see if I could make raw tahini with my blender because I’ve not been able to find a raw tahini here in NZ. My blender ground the sesame seeds really well, but I was having a bit of a sweet craving and I ended up abandoning my tahini experiment in favor of raw halva. I didn’t regret it, it really hit that sweet spot!

This isn’t an exact recipe, but it’s such a simple recipe with so few ingredients that if you just let your taste buds guide you and you can’t go wrong.

Ingredients:

Sesame seeds (raw)
Honey or agave syrup
Vanilla extract
Dash of Himalayan sea salt

Instructions:

Make sure your blender is really dry before you start. If there’s any moisture the sesame seeds aren’t going to grind up so well.

Pour sesame seeds into the blender and grind them to a fine meal. Stop frequently and using a spatula scrap down the sides, and fluff up the meal and seeds that will end up underneath the blades at the bottom of the blender jug, then continue blending. Do this until you have ground all of the sesame seeds.

Pour the sesame meal into a bowl. Add honey to taste and enough to form a dough. Add a dash of Himalayan sea salt, not enough to make it salty, but the salt will bring out the other flavors. Add vanilla extract to taste. I used about a cup of  sesame seeds and 1/4 teas of vanilla extract. You don’t need much. Mix by hand until all the ingredients are thoroughly blended together.

Pinch off a little bit of the dough and roll them between the palms of your hands into little balls. I made mine very tiny, about a heaping 1/2 teas worth of dough. They probably came out about the size of cooked chickpeas. They were the perfect size. Even though it’s raw, this is a very concentrated food, so you don’t want to eat too much at a time.

Keeps well in the fridge. In fact I think it’s even nicer the next day after it’s been sitting in the fridge, it seems to bring out the flavor.

Variations:

• Add ground cinnamon to the sesame meal. It adds a nice, subtle flavor.
• Add some raw cacao powder to the mix, or roll your halva balls in raw cacao powder to give them just a hint of chocolate flavor.

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Fruity Chia Pudding

This healthy, filling, yummy dessert is quick to make as long as you remember to start the chia seeds soaking in advance. If you start the chia seeds soaking in the morning you can have your pudding for dinner.

The bee pollen and camu camu powder give an extra nutritional boost to this pudding. I’ll often eat this as a meal on it’s own. It’s great to have for breakfast because I find it really lasts me through the day without being too heavy and filling.

Chia is very sustaining and great for endurance. So this is my favorite breakfast if I have a lot of physical work to do in the garden or if I’m going on a bushwalk for the day.

Ingredients:

1 cup chia seeds, soaked in 3 cups water for 4-6 hours
2 tablespoons honey or agave syrup
1 tablespoon tahini
1 teaspoon camu camu powder
1-2 tablespoons of bee pollen
dash of Himalayan or Celtic sea salt
Fresh fruit in season (juicy fruit works best, especially berries, pineapple, mandarin, grapes)

Instructions:

Soak the chia seeds in 3 cups of water ahead of time. You can start soaking them in the morning, mix everything together around lunchtime, pop it in the fridge and it will be ready to eat for dinner.

Add the honey or agave syrup, tahini, camu camu powder, and sea salt to the soaked chia and mix thoroughly. Then add the fruit and mix just so that it’s evenly spread throughout. Spoon the mix into a pie dish or jelly mould. Glass pie dishes or silicon jelly moulds work great.

Sprinkle the bee pollen on top and pop it into the fridge. You can also eat it straight away if you want too. This recipe usually makes a bit more than my glass pie dish can easily hold, so I usually have a small bowl immediately and pop the rest in the fridge.

The chia are so filling and sustaining that I can’t eat a lot at one sitting. It will keep well in the fridge for several days.

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Espresso Non-Dairy Ice Cream

My very favorite ice cream is coffee ice cream, and nothing else even comes close. Not only is it very difficult (read: impossible) to find good coffee ice cream in the shops here in New Zealand, but now that I’m not eating dairy, ice cream is off the menu… or is it? NO! Because there is a healthy, delicious, non-dairy, non-soy alternative. And it takes about as long to make as it takes to get a tub of ice cream from the freezer and serve it up. But the best part is, it’s so healthy, it’s virtually guilt-free.

I love this non-dairy ice cream, in all it’s variations, so much I don’t think I’d be satisfied going back to eating ice cream made from dairy.

Ingredients:
1 ripe banana
3 frozen bananas
1/4 cup brewed & cooled espresso
1 tablespoon coffee chicory essence
1 tablespoon honey or agave syrup
1/2 teas vanilla extract (optional)

Instructions:
Break bananas into pieces and add to blender. Add all other ingredients and blend on low until until the banana starts becoming smooth, then turn the speed up until thoroughly blended.

If you brew the espresso earlier in the day, or save some from your morning coffee you can make this delicious treat in about 5 minutes for dinner or lunch. In fact, it’s you can still make a nice cold dessert even if the espresso is still warm.

Many health experts argue that coffee is actually healthy because of the high level of antioxidants it contains. As much as I’d like to believe that I know from my own experience that coffee is addictive and too much is definitely not good, for my body at least. But I love it all the same.

If you don’t like coffee, or are trying to give up, you could use a healthy coffee substitute instead. Roasted chicory is one option, but I’ve also seen, though not yet tried, roasted maca root. Raw maca has a sweet, rich, malty flavor which I imagine is enhanced by the roasting, so I’d certainly love to try some! Both chicory and maca are very nutritious and healthy in their raw state. Roasting, like all forms of cooking will destroy some of the nutrients, including vital enzymes. But it’s a trade-off if you feel coffee is not good for you. The caffeine in coffee can certainly have a detrimental effect if you tend towards insomnia.

This is a great raw vegan ice cream recipe to use as a starter and just play around with the ingredients to create a delicious concoction of your own. What variations have you come up with? Leave a comment and let me know.

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