I had the pleasure of receiving a few blend from Misty Day Plant Potions to try. And when I was holding the beautiful Zen Potion in my hands, I had to create a recipe with it! I mean, those blue colours! So soothing… And I love the subtle flavour of blended spices.

If you don’t have the Zen Potion from Misty Day Plant Potions, you can also use blue spirulina powder. But I recommend to add vanilla for additional flavour.

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No Bake Dreamy Blue Cake (Vegan, Gluten-free, Fruit-Sweetened)

Dreamy No Bake Blue Cake. Raw, vegan, gluten-free and without refined sugar. For a 18cm cake spring form.

Course Desserts / Raw, Uncooked

Cuisine American

Diet Gluten Free, Vegan

Keyword blue, cake, fruit-sweetened, no bake, raw

Prep Time 4 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 10 slices

Equipment

• Blender

Ingredients

For the crust

• 140 g hazelnuts soak in water for approx. 8 hours, then rinse and drain
• 100 g dates pitted & diced
• 2-3 tbsp FAIR-TRADE cocoa powder

For the filling

• 250 g cashews soaked
• 100 g dates pitted & diced
• 130 ml water
• 25 g cacao butter melted
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp Misty Day Zen Potion or 1/2 tsp blue spirulina

Instructions

• For the filling, blend all ingredients EXCEPT the spirulina until smooth. Scoop the filling into a bowl and let cool down in the fridge for a few hours.
• For the crust, place hazelnuts & diced dates in a blender. Pulse to fine crumbles. Transfer to a bowl, stir in cocoa powder.
• Spread the dough evenly into a 18cm cake tin and place in fridge.
• Once the filling has cooled down, spread one layer over the crust. Sprinkle very lightly with blue spirulina and mix it with the filling. Repeat until the filling is used up.
• Place in freezer until solid (approx. 4 hours). Cut slices while it is still semi-frozen and chill until serving.

Notes

Enjoy!

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

Tomatoes always make me think of pasta. And so it happened that I saw this recipe by The Pesky Vegan. It sounded so yummy and oh yeah, it is! He uses lemon peel and lemon juice. What a flavor explosion that was! You can find the recipe, called Easy Cheesy Pasta Sauce here.

After that amazing flavour experience, I kept thinking about this sauce. And when I made it again, I decided to add a few of my favourite ingredients for pasta sauce: vegetables! Oh my! It was very yummy too

Easy Vegan Pasta Sauce – Mix, Heat or Dip!

And it’s super easy to make! You can mix it with the freshly boiled, hot pasta or heat it up in a separate little pot. But you can also have it raw as a dip. I’m so excited about this! And of course it vegan, gluten-free and once again oil-free. A big Thank You to The Pesky Vegan for this inspiration! 

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Creamy Vegan Vegetable Pasta Sauce (Gluten-Free, Oil-Free)

I had this giant cherry tomato plant growing wild in my garden – it inspired me to create this creamy vegetable pasta sauce! Adapted from The Pesky Vegan’s recipe, I added my favourite veggies for extra flavour and nutrients. It’s quick to make, oil-free, and perfect with pasta or as a dip!

Course Main, Pasta

Cuisine European, Fusion, Plant-Based, Vegan

Diet Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword gluten-free vegan recipe, oil-free pasta sauce, vegan pasta sauce, vegetable pasta sauce

Servings 2 big portions

Author The Vegan Monster

Equipment

• 1 Blender

Ingredients

• 100 g cashews (or sunflower seeds – these need soaking in water for approx. 6 hours though)
• 100 ml water
•  150 g zucchini
• 100 g carrot
• 20 g celery (or more if you like)
• zest & juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 garlic clove
• 3 tbsp  nutritional yeast flakes
• 2-3 tbsp  ground paprika
• 1 tbsp  coconut sugar
• a few pinches ground chili
• salt to taste

Instructions

• In a blender, simply blend all ingredients until smooth.
• You can either mix it with the freshly cooked, still hot pasta. Or heat it up up in a small pot.
• Tastes very well with roasted veges or as a dip.

Notes

Enjoy!

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

Makes approx. 10 bars

For the bars:
200g walnuts, soak them in water for a few hours, rinse and drain
140g hemp hearts
140g dates, pitted and diced
2 tablespoons flax seeds, freshly ground
3 tablespoons FAIR-TRADE cocoa powder
For the chocolate coating:
100 to 200g chocolate drops or roughly chopped chocolate

Instructions:

1. After soaking the walnuts, rinse and drain them. Transfer to a high-speed blender, add hemp seeds and dates and pulse until it is quite crumbly.
2. Scoop the mixture into a bowl, add ground flax seeds and cocoa powder. Stir to combine.
3. Line a 20 x 20cm baking tray with baking paper and spread the mixture evenly. Place in freezer until it is quite firm (approx. 3 hours).
4. For the chocolate coating, melt the chocolate in a bowl, using the double boiler method. Cut the cake slab into bar sized portions. Using a fork, pick up one bar at a time and dip it into the melted chocolate. Garnish to your liking (I use hemp seeds and lavender flowers).
Store chilled in an air-tight container. Enjoy!
Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

These berries had to be used for something special. With Christmas just around the corner, I opted for a festive No Bake Raspberry Chocolate Cake. I absolutely loved how it turned out!

This cake will work with other berries, or a delicious berry mix. And if you are not a fan of combing fruit with chocolate, you can omit the cocoa powder in the crust. It’ll still tastes amazing, if not better (deepening on your favourite taste).

When I listed the ingredients, I was surprised to see that it is actually only 7 ingredients that you need! So simple and easy – I love it! Of course it is vegan, gluten-free and without refined sugar. The perfect dessert for Christmas, I like to keep pre-cut slices in the freezer to have a dessert ready even with short notice

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No Bake Raspberry Chocolate Tart (Vegan, Gluten-free, Fruit-Sweetened)

This vegan and gluten-free cake will work with other berries, or a delicious berry mix. And if you are not a fan of combing fruit with chocolate, you can omit the cocoa powder in the crust.

Course Cake

Cuisine German

Diet Gluten Free, Low Lactose, Vegan

Keyword Cashew, chocolate, dairy-free, Dates, Hazelnut, pink colour, Raspberry, raw, soy-free, valentines, without baking

Servings 1 cake 35 x 10 cm

Equipment

• 35 x 10cm cake tin
• high-speed blender

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 140 g hazelnuts (soak in water, the rinse and drain)
• 100 g dates pitted and diced
• 3 tablespoon FAIR-TRADE cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon water

For the filling:

• 250 g raspberries
• 100 g dates pitted and diced
• 100 ml water
• 40 g cacao butter melted
• 280 g cashews (soak in water for a few hours, then rinse and drain)

Instructions

• Line cake tin with baking paper. For the crust, place soaked hazelnuts and dates in high-speed blender and pulse until crumbly.
• Transfer crumbles into a bowl, add cocoa powder and stir to combine. Should it be too dry, add one tablespoon of water. Spread evenly into cake tin and press firm.
• For the filling, blend all ingredients in a strong high-speed blender until smooth. You may need to use the tamper to keep the mixture turning inside the jug.
• Pour the filling over the crust and spread evenly.
• Garnish if you like (I use freeze dried raspberry powder and chopped pistachios). Place in freezer until set (approx. 3 to 5 hours). Cut slices when it’s still semi frozen, then store covered until serving.

Notes

Enjoy!

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

After I used some freshly sprouted buckwheat in the crust of my nut-free No Bake Avocado Chocolate Mousse Cake, I couldn’t think of sweet treat ideas that use sprouted buckwheat. After all, sprouts are so good for you

Since buckwheat pairs so nicely with chocolate, I tried this nut-free icy treat idea: a creamy chocolate coconut cream base with additional chocolate glazing. It went down a treat!

The lovely thing is that by using buckwheat and coconut cream, this recipe for Buckwheat Chocolate Ice Cream Bars is vegan, gluten-free and nut-free. No dairy products needed to create a delicious, creamy treat. And only 5 ingredients! (plus garnish)

For a 30 x 20cm baking tray:

For the filling:
120g dark chocolate (I use dark chocolate drops form TradeAid)
200g coconut cream
2 cups (approx. 360g) freshly sprouted buckwheat (1 cup of dry buckwheat before sprouting)

For the glaze:
80g dark chocolate (I use dark chocolate drops form TradeAid)
1 to 2 teaspoon cacao butter or coconut oil (if you like the chocolate layer a little thinner)

Instructions:

1. Melt the dark chocolate, using the double boiler method. Add coconut cream and stir to combine.

2. Gently fold in the sprouted buckwheat.

3. Line baking tray with baking paper. Pour the mixture evenly into the tray.

4. Place in freezer until semi frozen (about 3 hours). If you happen to leave it in the freezer for longer, let it thaw a little before the next step.

5. Cut the semi-frozen ice cream into chunks. Place in freezer while preparing chocolate glaze.

6. For the chocolate glaze, melt the dark chocolate, using the double boiler method. If the chocolate remains too thick (I find that TradeAid chocolate drops melt into a rather thick texture), add some coconut oil or cacao butter.

7. Dip the ice cream bars in the chocolate glaze, or drizzle them. Add garnish of your choice (I used chopped cacao nibs and grated coconut). Store in an air-tight container in the freezer.
Enjoy!

I love how these dressings are not only vegan and gluten-free but they also don’t need additional oil. Yes, the cashews naturally contain oil. And that is something that is actually a good thing – in balance of course. Make sure to add a good source of Omega 3s to your diet. (I am not a trained nutritionist. If you have questions or worries, please consider taking professional advise).

What I also like about this dressing, it’s super easy to make without any elaborate preparation. It yields about 250ml, but it tends to thicken up a bit. Simply water it down if needed

Makes approx. 250ml:

3/4 cup (110g) cashews
100g carrot
1.5cm piece ginger (or more if you like)
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric (or fresh if you like)
2 small garlic cloves
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/2 cup (125ml) water

Instructions:

1. Blend all ingredients in a powerful blender until smooth.

2. Transfer into serving bowl or dressing container. Keep in fridge and use within about 3 days or so.

3. Should thicken up too much, just add a little extra water.
Enjoy! 

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

With not much time on hand,  I needed an easy, quick to make recipe. Vegan ice cream it was! And I’m so glad that I tried it. It’s super easy to make, super creamy and silky smooth.

As always, this recipe for avocado Chocolate Ice Cream is vegan, gluten-free and without refined sugar. You can make it with an ice cream maker as well as a powerful high-speed blender. You’ll find both options below

Makes approx. 1 liter:

300g avocado pulp
1/2 cup (75g) coconut sugar
1/2 cup (50g) FAIR-TRADE cocoa powder (if you live in NZ, I highly recommend the one from Trade Aid)
1/2 teaspoon ground vanilla
2 pinches salt
1 cardamom
2 1/2 cups (625ml) water

Instructions for ice cream maker:

1. Blend all ingredients in a powerful blender until smooth.

2. Pour into ice cream maker and churn until it is finished. Transfer mixture into a freezer safe container. You may want to store it in the freezer for a little while to make it firm up some more.

3. If you leave the ice cream in the freezer for longer, let the ice cream thaw for at least 1/2 hour before serving. For the best texture though, place in fridge for approx. 4 hours before serving.

Instructions with high-speed blender:

1. Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender until smooth.

2. Pour mixture into large ice cube forms or approx. finger thick into freezer safe containers. Place in freezer.

3. Once frozen, chop up the slabs into rough chunks and place in high-speed blender. Blend on high-speed, using the temper to press the chunks into the blades (similar as you would make nice cream out of frozen bananas).

4. Transfer the ice cream to freezer safe container. You may want to store it in the freezer for a little while to make it firm up some more.
If you leave the ice cream in the freezer for longer, let the ice cream thaw for at least 1/2 hour before serving. For the best texture though, place in fridge for approx. 4 hours before serving.

Enjoy! 

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

So I find myself having avocados with everything. I even mash them into my stir-fry – it tastes delicious! And I found that I’m sleeping better since I upped my avocado intake. Admittedly, my sleep wasn’t too best lately. My brain is buzzing away with too many ideas sometimes. Ironically, a quick research showed that avocados can be good and bad for your sleep. Well, I can say I’ve had amazing sleep even during the full moon at the moment which is bathing us with its beautiful light at night.

So, savoury options for the use of avocado are slowly being exhausted. So I decided to try a sweet treat with it. Something, that people who have to avoid nuts would be able to enjoy too. A vegan avocado chocolate mousse cake sounded like a great idea. Instead of nuts I used sprouted buckwheat groats in the crust. They add a delicious crunchy base and come with a lot of nutritional advantages.

The texture of this avocado chocolate mousse is out of this world! I wish my photos could show you how gorgeous it is. But I guess you will have to make it yourself to see what all that fuzz is about.

And a word of caution: this is a rather rich treat. One tiny slice will do just fine. Just like with chocolate mousse, it doesn’t take much to satisfy your taste buds and your tummy.

Note: You have to plan extra time if you want to sprout the buckwheat groats for the base of the cake.

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No Bake Avocado Chocolate Mousse Cake (Vegan, Gluten-free, Nut-free)

The texture of this vegan and gluten-free avocado chocolate mousse is out of this world! I wish my photos could show you how gorgeous it is. But I guess you will have to make it yourself to see what all that fuzz is about.

Course Cake

Cuisine American

Diet Gluten Free, Low Lactose, Vegan

Keyword Avocado, cake, chocolate, Mousse, no bake, nut-free, raw, soy-free, without baking

Servings 1 Cake

Equipment

• Blender

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 100 g buckwheat groats (soak them overnight and then let sprout for another 12 hours or so. You should have a heaped cup of sprouted buckwheat groats eventually. You can find some more info on sprouting here)
• 70 g dates pitted and finely diced
• 3 tablespoon FAIR-TRADE cocoa powder

For the avocado mousse:

• 250 g avocado pulp
• 45 g coconut sugar
• 50 g FAIR-TRADE cocoa powder
• 60 ml water (or a little bit more but only if absolutely needed)
• 3 tablespoon cacao butter melted
• 1/2 teaspoon ground vanilla
• 1 pinch salt

For the chocolate drizzle:

• 1 tablespoon tahini or any nut or seed butter
• 1 tablespoon FAIR-TRADE cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon rice syrup or other liquid sweetener
• 1 tablespoon water
• 2 teaspoons cacao butter melted (alternatively coconut oil)

Instructions

• After you have sprouted the buckwheat groats, wash and drain them in a sieve.Then transfer to a bowl.
• Using a potato masher, mash the buckwheat groats as much as you can. Add finely chopped dates and cocoa powder and stir to combine, using a fork.
• Line cake tin with baking paper. Knead dough with your hands a little before spreading out evenly in the cake tin. Press firm.
• For the avocado mousse, mix all ingredients in a small blender until smooth. It might also work well with a hand-held blender or a stick blender.
• Pour avocado mouse over the crust and spread evenly.
• For the chocolate drizzle, mix all ingredients in a cup. I recommend to place the cup in a bowl of warm water to help to combine the ingredients.
• Drizzle the cake with chocolate glaze and garnish to your liking (I used coconut and cacao nibs).
• Place in freezer until set (approx. 2 hours). Take out of cake tin and store covered in fridge until serving.

Notes

Enjoy!

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

There raspberries, plums and quite a bit of nut pulp that has been leftover from making my own almond milk (something that I really recommend). This nut pulp is an incredible ingredients for cakes. It adds this amazing soft texture to baked stuff. Like the apple cinnamon cake or these chocolate muffins. And yes, there were also raspberries!

Besides using up some raspberries, I also wanted to create another no bake recipe that doesn’t use cashews. After I made this delicious Almond Raspberry Ice Cream the other, I was convinced that it would work in a no bake cake recipe as well. And it does, yay!

What amazes me the most, is that this recipe uses only 6 ingredients! Plus the garnish of course. And as always, it is also vegan, gluten-free and without refined sugar.

The raspberries make for quite a tart treat. If you like it a little sweeter, I recommend to add some more sweetness to raspberry layer.

Please note: in order to get a creamy consistency, you have to use a powerful high-speed blender and also use the tamper. Otherwise you have to add a little more water which won’t have the same results. Then it will be more like an ice cream cake.

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No Bake Almond Raspberry Slices (Vegan, Gluten-free, No Refined Sugar)

Besides using up some raspberries, I also wanted to create another no bake recipe that doesn’t use cashews. After I made a delicious Almond Raspberry Ice Cream, I was convinced that it would work in a no bake cake recipe as well. And it does, yay! And as always, it is also vegan, gluten-free and without refined sugar.

Course Cake

Cuisine German

Diet Gluten Free, Low Lactose, Vegan

Keyword Almond, cake, no bake, No Refined Sugar, Raspberry, Slices

Servings 1 Cake (30 x 20 cm)

Equipment

• high-speed blender

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 140 g almonds soak in water for 8 hours, then rinse and drain
• 140 g dates pitted and finely diced

For the vanilla cream:

• 70 g dates pitted and finely diced
• 140 g almonds soak in water for 8 hours, then rinse and drain
• 250 ml water
• 2 1/2 tablespoon cacao butter melted
• 1/2 teaspoon ground vanilla

For the raspberry cream:

• 250 g raspberries
• 45 g dates pitted and finely diced (more if you like it less tart)
• 70 g almonds soak in water for 8 hours, then rinse and drain
• 1 1/2 tablespoon cacao butter melted
• 60 ml water

Instructions

• Line cake tin with baking paper. For the crust, place almonds and dates in high-speed blender and pulse until crumbly.
• Transfer crumbles into cake tin and spread evenly. Press firm.
• For the vanilla cream, blend all ingredients in a strong high-speed blender until smooth. You may need to use the tamper to keep the mixture turning in the jug.
• Spread the vanilla cream evenly over the crust.
• Without cleaning the blender jug, add the remaining ingredients for the raspberry cream and blend until smooth. Using the temper is recommended, to keep the mixture moving inside the jug so that you achieve a creamy texture.
• If you like to create a swirly effect, first place a few dollops of raspberry cream all over the vanilla cream. Then swirl them around with a teaspoon.
• Spread the remaining raspberry cream on top. Garnish if you like. Place in freezer until set (approx. 3 to 5 hours). Cut slices when it’s still semi frozen, then store covered until serving.

Notes

Enjoy! 

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

What I love so much about this salad dressing, it’s super easy to make. And it lasts a while when chilled. I would recommend to use it within approx. 3 days after making.

This is a basic recipe. You can do lots of variations, combine different sorts of nuts for example. While I have used almonds, you can also use cashews, or macadamias etc. in this yummy vegan salad dressing. Beetroot can be cooked or raw.

Makes approx. 200 ml

1/4 cup (35g) almonds (or any other nut), soak in water for at least 8 hours, rinse and drain
1/2 cup (125ml) water
40g beetroot (or more if you like), cooked or raw
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon mustard
1 garlic clove
salt to taste

Instructions:

1. Place all ingredients in a powerful blender and blend until smooth.

2. Transfer to serving container. Then rinse the blender with a tiny bit of water and add to the dressing.

3. Keep chilled and use within approx. 3 days after making.

Enjoy! 

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.