[ "Never, never,never give up!" ~Winston Churchill ]
[Mel tries to console MiaLana after their gluten free raw treat went south!]
Sometimes healthy living endeavors go wrong... very wrong :{} and this is on of those times! I don't often see or read about the 'sideways' adventures of healthy recipe indulgences. I usually see how delicious recipes turn out but rarely occurrences that [Frequently] happen in my world Lol! So when you come to this blog you will find me sharing my mess up's, mistakes, backslides and disasters! So what I'm saying is you'll see real life as it happens :{}
It all started well. The gals and I were craving something red velvet cakeish, but we wanted to keep it healthy, raw and of course gluten free. This was a TALL order, let me say, as we tried to cater to everyone's food allergies and intolerances! Since recently I'm not 'tolerating' nuts [ in my previous blog post on Gluten Free Struggles, I discuss the differences between food allergies, and intolerances], we decided to start by replacing the Almond Flour called for with Sunflower Seed Flour. We quickly whipped up some in my Vitamix Blender and voila! We were all pretty stoked about it!
We didn't have any who beets on
hand either [this was a spur of the moment
recipe :() ], so we subbed grated carrots for the beets. However we did have ground beet powder [Frontier Co-Op Organic Beet Powder that I bought on Amazon] so in went that for the whole beets. We kept the ground carrots because we needed them for texture and fiber! We pressed on with the rest of the ingredients and tossed them into the food processor.
Once the batter began to come together we were all excited to sample it. The batter or dough's appearance matched the one in our recipe so we assumed that it would be golden!
We scoped our Red Velvet Raw Cupcakes into a mini muffin tin, and just before we put it into the fridge everyone had a taste... I can't tell you the disappointment that set in, especially for MiaLana :() Everything was right except for the Taste! Sunflower seed flour just didn't impart the flavor that I think almond flour would have :/ The girls and I are going to do more experimenting with raw treats as we all agreed on the need to incorporate more raw foods into our diet.
Our family already eats plenty of veggies and fruits, but during these winter months most of the veggies we eat are cooked except for salads, and raw veg sticks with dips! Adding sweet treats with a raw base will be challenging with my off and on nut sensitivity, but we're up for it!
I think that next time I will have on hand Raw Buckwheat Groats. Buckwheat groats are the hulled unroasted kernels [or sometimes berries] of the buckwheat plant, and are a gluten free option for preparing various dishes. Groats have always been popular in Eastern European cooking. They can be purchased Toasted in which they are referred to as Kasha. [ Yep, like popular cereals]. These groats come with a variety of health benefits like being high in Magnesium, and Potassium [two minerals I lack!], as well as Manganese, B vitamins(Yay!), Zinc, Copper and Selenium. Groats are also a great source of Phytochemicals which aid in the fight of cancers and heart disease. So, all in all, we tossed out the disheartening red velvet batter and had some apples and almond butter! :{} I seem to be able to tolerate nut related products like almond milks, yogurts, and butters. Alas, In the words of Carol Brunett "I'm so glad we had this time together!" We look forward to the next adventure to share with you :}
In case you're interested, here's the original recipe: From http://www.Earthsprout.com
Raw Red Velvet Cupcakes
Filled with the all natural red color of beets and healthy goodness from almonds, flax and coconut, these cupcakes are actually good for you! The frosting would also be perfect on a carrot cake or with added raw cacao powder on a chocolate creation.
Around 10 mini cupcakes
Coconut Frosting
1/3 cup virgin coconut oil 1/3 cup plant based milk 2 tbsp honey (vegans use maple or rice syrup) 1/4 tsp pure vanilla powder 1.5 tbsp coconut flour 1/4 of a whole nutmeg, ground 1/4 large lemon, juice + zest
1. Add coconut oil and plant based milk to a saucepan on lowest heat possible. Once the mixture has reached just below body temperature (check with your little finger) you remove form heat and add the honey/maple syrup/rice syrup and stir until fully incorporated. Add to a high speed blender (use a hand blender if you don’t have a high speed blender) and add all other ingredients to the mix. Blend until slightly fluffy and nicely shiny. Pour into a piping bag or plastic bag and refrigerate for 1 1/2 – 2 hours. Sorry, there are no shortcuts..
2. Once you notice that the consistency of the frosting is one that will hold or at least not completely leave the top of the cupcakes, you cut a small-ish hole in one of the bottom corners of the plastic bag (if you’re using a piping bag – don’t cut a hole in it ;). Work quickly because once you start working with the frosting it might start ‘crumbling up’ due to the highly absorbent coconut flour and the change in temperatures. Once ready, sprinkle with the beet pulp you saved when making the cupcakes (below).
Cupcakes
3 mid sized beets (1 1/2 cup once peeled and shredded) 1/2 cup raw almonds 2/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut 1/4 cup flax flour (it’s easy to make you own flour by grinding whole seeds in a coffee grinder) 7-8 medjool dates, pitted (around 135 g once pitted) 1/4 cup raw cacao powder a pinch of sea/himalayan salt 1/4 tsp pure vanilla powder
1. Peel beets and juice them in a juicer and use the pulp for the cupcakes OR peel and grate beets finely (I recommend using a food processor and not a hand grater). If grating, add the grated beet to a nut milk bag and squeeze out ALL juice (that you’ll of course drink, silly!). Set aside pulp and save 4 tbsp separately for sprinkling onto cupcakes later.
2. Rinse and wipe food processor dry if you used it for the beets. Add almonds and mix into a flour (stop mixing before it starts sticking together). Now add coconut, flax flour, raw cacao, salt and vanilla to the almond flour and pulse until incorporated.
3. Add pitted dates and beet pulp to the food processor and pulse into a deep red mixture. Be careful not to mix for too long as you don’t want the ‘dough’ ending up too compact but still have a fully incorporated blend of ingredients.
4. Divide ‘dough’ into ten pieces and form each one into a cupcake shape. Wrap with parchment paper and tie a little string around it or simply leave as they are. Leave cupcakes in room temperature if you plan on eating them once the frosting has set. When refrigerated in air-tight container cupcakes will stay fresh for 2-3 days both frosted and un-frosted.
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