just the bare fruit tarts

Get it? Just the bare fruit... just the bare truth... Haha? These are all fruit, all the time. the crust is nut-free, made from only dried dates, raisins and figs. The filling is banana cream and obviously the topping is simply sliced strawberries and kiwi. I added chia to the banana cream because chia is a rock star (or should I say... RAW star? Eh? Eh!? Alright fine, I won't). 

So if you are allergic to nuts or just don't like their fat content, this is the recipe for you! Plus it's super easy and since it includes fruit, it's also tons of colourful fun. I recommend getting organic strawberries - they are way tastier, and much better for the planet (and your own body). A documentary I watched recently reminded me of the importance of buying organic produce. It's called Queen of the Sun, and it discusses how honey bee populations are shrinking drastically largely due to the lack of organic plants they can use. Give it a watch! It's excellent and intriguing. 

Anyways. Fruit tarts. 

These are absolutely bursting with colour, flavour and life. I ate two of them all by myself while photographing  I've got a tough life, what can I say? Go ahead and use whatever fresh fruits you have, and top off with little goodies like cacao, goji berries, or coconut flakes. They are best enjoyed in the sunshine, with your friends family, and animal buddies.

Better yet - grow your OWN strawberries! I am hoping we get a better crop from our bushes this year, last summer we got a bunch of new strawberry bushes, so they take a while to get used to growing fruit. I am also looking forward to my goji berries to coming back! They are such a treat. Basically - fruit is the best thing ever, and I get to be surrounded by it when summer comes, thus I am extremely excited for summer. I am also extremely excited about all the GIFs I have been making.

berry fruit tarts with chia seeds: makes 3 tarts

Crust:
1/4 cup dates
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup dried figs

Filling: 
1-2 bananas
2 tablespoon chia seeds (optional) 

Topping:
3/4 cup chopped strawberries
3/4 cup chopped kiwi
Whatever else you want

To make the crust: put all the ingredients in your food processor and pulse until everything is in small pieces that stick together - don't process to much or it will get too sticky. Press into three lined tart tins. Put in the fridge. 

To make the filling: mush the banana with fork and then add the chia seeds. 

Assembly: take the crusts gently out of the tins. Spread the banana chia mix into the crusts and then top off with the fruit. Gobble. 

coconut mango tarts with figs, walnuts, cinnamon + ginger

I bought a few mangoes yesterday and wanted to use them a in recipe, since lately I've been using mainly frozen fruit - variety is the spice of life! I love mango and coconut together, and also walnuts and figs. So I combined the two delicious pairs and added cinnamon and ginger... because why not? These are a simple treat to make if you ever have a couple fresh mangoes (or other colourful fruits) you want to use in a creative way. 

I hope you enjoy these as much as I did. You really can tell when you're eating pure, raw, whole foods because they give you energy and make you feel light and joyful. That's my experience, anyway. I certainly felt that way after one of these, and I look forward to sharing them with my family so can feel the same way. 

Spread love, in it's whole form. 

coconut mango tarts with figs, walnuts, cinnamon + ginger: makes about five

Tart crust:

1/2 cup walnuts

1 cup dried figs

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

1 teaspoon grated ginger

1 cup coconut flakes 

Filling:

1 or 2 mangoes, peeled sliced in strips 

Cinnamon and ginger powder

Coconut flakes

To make the crusts: pulse coconut and walnuts together in your food processor until they become crumbs. Add the rest of the ingredients and process until it stick together. Press into tart tins lined with coconut oil and put in the fridge to set for about an hour. Take them out of the molds and fill with mango slices, dusting the tops with cinnamon and ginger and sprinkling with coconut. Enjoy!

chocolate covered bananas with walnuts other good stuff

There was nice lighting this afternoon while I was finishing up making another recipe in the kitchen (which will be posted tomorrow!) so I figured I may as well make something else to photograph. Fruit and chocolate recipes are easy and quick, so I covered bananas in chopped walnuts, chia seeds, hemp seeds, coconut and goji berries. Yum!

chocolate covered bananas with walnuts, chia seeds, hemp seeds, goji berries and coconut:

1 batch liquid raw chocolate or any other kind of chocolate you want 
5 bananas
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons each of hemp and chia seeds
Handful each of goji berries and coconut flakes 

Cover the bananas in the chocolate and roll them in the other good stuff. Freeze them if you like, for a banana ice cream treat! Dee-lish.

super food energy bars with cacao

These are chock full of super foods to provide your body and mind with long-lasting energy to get through your busy (or leisurely) day. What have they got? Chia seeds, flax seeds, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, cacao nibs, raisins, dates and coconut. You can't beat this recipe as far as nutrition goes. Try to find organic varieties of each ingredient - and of course raw! 

I was snacking on the mix as I made the recipe and immediately felt a difference, they gave me enough strength to get through a workout and then they made an excellent post-exercise snack, paired with my green protein smoothie. I had a bit of extra mix that I shaped into tiny cupcakes and I thought... hey, I could top these off with dark chocolate to make it a sweet super food treat. Done. 

If you want real, raw, cruelty-free, high quality, efficient and delicious energy bars - you've got 'em right here. Don't look at those sugar- and refined protein powder-filled candy bars in the grocery store that for some inexplicable reason happen to be called "power bars". It's a joke. The best brand on the market is the Larabar (or the Clif bar for more protein) but you can make better recipes yourself, plus add in a bunch of other awesome ingredients. You've got the power! Get it...

super food energy bars with cacao: makes about 15 bars

1 cup walnuts

1/3 cup chia seeds

1/3 cup ground flax seeds

1/3 cup hemp seeds

1/4 cup cacao nibs

1/4 cup coconut flakes 

3/4 cup pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup raisins

1 cup dates 

1-2 tablespoons melted coconut oil, if needed

Throw the dry ingredients (keep a little bit of each ingredient to add in a second) in your food processor, then add the dates and raisins and process until everything it starts to stick together. If too dry, add more dates or coconut oil. Put in the remaining dry ingredients you left out and mix in with your hands. Press into a lined pan and set in the fridge for an hour or more. Cut into bars and store for up to one week. If you have extra, shape them into cupcakes and top off with raw chocolate.

orange lavender pudding with cashews

This recipe creates a pudding that is creamy, fresh and - let's face it - pretty cute. I love using fruit in desserts because... okay wait do I actually have to explain? This is a raw, vegan blog; obviously I like fruit. It's colourful, naturally sweet, nutritious and generally the all-around perfect food. You can practically live off fruit. The benefits of eating nature's vibrantly coloured candy are too many to count. Just eat a lot of it, okay?

Last night I was scouring the internet looking for some dessert recipes I could turn into raw vegan versions. I didn't actually find a recipe for an orange pudding but somehow it got lodged in my brain and stayed there. So I made it. At 10:00 PM while dancing to lame pop music. Yep. The idea to add lavender came this morning, while I was setting up the pudding for photos. I know I say this about a ton of things like chocolate, dates, bananas, coconut, etc. - but you really can't go wrong with lavender!

The recipe can't get much simpler or more whole-foods: blend some cashews, dates and oranges. Add some coconut oil and put it in the fridge. Sorted (as they say in the UK)! The next morning you have a luscious, sweet citrus infused treat to enjoy at anytime of the day because it's so healthy. Pudding for breakfast? Excellent. Lunch? Good choice. Snack? Go for it. Dinner? Alright, you must really like pudding. You should probably eat something else with dinner. Weirdo.

orange lavender pudding: serves 4

2 peeled oranges
1 cup cashews
1 cup dates
1-2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
1 teaspoon dried lavender flowers

Blend all the ingredients until smooth. If it is too thick, add the juice of another orange or two. Scoop into small, single serving dishes (like ramekins) and leave in the fridge overnight. The next day decorate the pudding with orange zest and slices, and more lavender flowers if you like. Get sexy with it. 

walnut bliss balls with chia, coconut + carob

Wow, I love balls. This recipe has only a few ingredients, all of which are super foods in their whole, raw form. I had trouble restraining myself from eating all the mix before I rolled them out but I can proudly say I only devoured like... 1/4 of it. This is where you say "Good job, Emily." Even my kitty was tempted by the coconut flakes. I quickly googled "cats and coconut" and it turns out coconut oil is excellent for your animal companions! Holla.

I am starting to prefer carob over cacao. I had forgotten how deliciously sweet it is, and in my opinion, more florally (I don't think that's a word...) than cacao. Nutritionally it has less fat, 1/3 of the calories, many of the same nutrients and vitamins, and can be eaten without any processing, while you must process cacao seeds before they're edible. Having said that - I will never give up chocolate so don't worry. But still - carob is pretty legit. 

You know what else is legit? Chia seeds! They are way too awesome for me alone to explain so I will let this professional-sounding person do it for me. Finally we have raw coconut flakes that taste OUT OF THIS WORLD. I have much sympathy for those poor folks who are allergic to coconut. On your behalf, I am so sorry. Now if you excuse me, I am going to go fill my face with coconut... *runs away* 

walnut bliss balls with chia, coconut + carob: 

Balls:

1 cup walnuts

1/2 cup oats

1 1/2 cups dates

2 tablespoons carob powder

Dash of salt and vanilla, if desired 

Coatings:

Coconut flakes

Carob powder

Chia seeds 

To make the balls: process the walnuts, oats and carob in your food processor until they become a rough flour. Add the rest of the ingredients and process until it sticks together. If it is still too crumbly or dry, add 1 tablespoon of liquid coconut oil or a few more dates. Press the mix into balls with your hands. Roll in the coatings. Nom. 

apple sandwiches with date caramel + almond butter

These are really fun to make, and super healthy. Oh and as you can tell from the photos - so easy they hardly need instructions. Slice up some apples and layer them with caramel and almond butter. Yum! Make these with kids and you will make some new little friends. 

They actually taste like candy or something... it's almost too good to be true. But then - isn't zucchini pasta almost too good to be true? Yes. Yet it exists. Thanks, Mother Nature and innovative kitchen equipment. So eat as many of these as you want and feel great afterwards about yourself and your awesome healthy, humane, eco-friendly choices.

apple sandwiches with date caramel + almond butter : serves 2 to 4

4 apples
Almond butter or other nut butter

Caramel:
1/2 cup dates
2 tablespoons liquid coconut oil (or use water... won't be as creamy though)
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional) 
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Make the caramel: blend all ingredients until smooth. 

Assemble: Slice the apples thinly from bottom to top and then core each piece. Now layer each slice with alternating caramel and nut butter. Enjoy!