How many times have you bought a precious $12.00 bottle of coconut butter, savored one little spoonful at a time or perhaps even used  some for a recipe taking little nibbles of the heavenly manna as you went?

Coconut butter can be used for so many wonderful treats, including the luxurious pleasure of eating it right out of the bottle. For those of you who don’t know what coconut butter is or perhaps are confusing coconut oil for coconut butter; Coconut Butter is the whole matured coconut pulverized into a butter. Just like almond butter. Coconut oil is the oil extracted from the mature coconut and melts into a liquid. Coconut butter does melt, but it remains thick and spreadable. 

I have been told that it is SO easy to make your own precious Coconut Butter, but I had never tried it until the darling Heather Pace of SweetlyRaw.com made a post for these coconut butter cups. They looked WAY to good not to finally try it out! And let me tell you, making coconut butter is WAY to easy to EVER, EVER buy another bottle again!!!

Here’s the Skinny on making your own Coconut Butter:

You need a high speed blender to do this, I use a Vitamix.

Start with 3 or more cups of pure, unsweetened, preferably organic shredded coconut – no preservatives, or additives of any kind or this most likely will not work.

Place in your High speed Blender and BLEND, BLEND, BLEND. You will need to use your tamper to push the coconut down. 
The coconut will get thick and creamy, keep going and it will finally turn liquid. 

Once you have a silky smooth liquid you are DONE!!!!

If you want to fill a 16oz. jar, start with 6 cups of shredded coconut, as I have found that 3 cups of shredded coconut turns into 1 cup of coconut butter. Therefore 6 cups of shredded coconut should turn into 2 cups or 16 oz. of coconut butter.

That was easy right??? 

I have to say THANK YOU Heather Pace for your inspiration!!!! I will most likely NEVER buy a jar of coconut butter again. This was SO good and SO, SO, SO easy! (Can you tell I’m excited?)

Onto the Low Glycemic Rosemary Rock Candy.

Herein lies the BEAUTY of taking a kitchen catastrophe and turning it into a tantalizing triumph!!!

I was set to make my own version of Heather’s coconut butter cups which are no-glycemic tempting little beauties in a cup. Although I commend Heather for going ’0′ on the sugar index I wanted just a hint of sweetness in mine. So, I made the liquid coconut butter and added the slightest amount of maple syrup (1.5 tsp. to be exact), and any guesses on what happened next? The gorgeous, thick, white liquid seized right up into a thick paste! While this left me with a paste that would not pour into the cups and molds I had ready, I did not give up. The butter didn’t “break” which is what happens when the oil separates from the more fibrous part of your mixture. If that happens there’s not much you can do except for adding a liquid and creating a mousse, cream, milk, or other such soft and creamy creation. 

In this case, because it didn’t break I went on with my vision, working the ingredients into the thick paste. Once I LOVED my flavor I just poured it into a mini cheesecake mold , let it set, and then chunked the brick into rock like pieces – hence the title “Rosemary Coconut Rock Candy”.

This dessert is extremely low-glycemic, with a mildly sweet and soft aromatic flavor that leaves a fresh feeling on your palate and a deep satisfaction in your belly. 

Onto the recipe:

Coconut Rosemary Rock Candy

Chaya-Ryvka

2013-03-14 06:36:57

Serves 30

This dessert is extremely low-glycemic, with a mildly sweet and soft aromatic flavor that leaves a fresh feeling on your palate and a deep satisfaction in your belly.

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Prep Time

20 min

Cook Time

2 hr

Total Time

2 hr 20 min

Prep Time

20 min

Cook Time

2 hr

Total Time

2 hr 20 min

73 calories

1 g

1 g

8 g

0 g

7 g

10 g

5 g

1 g

0 g

1 g

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size

10g

Servings

30

Amount Per Serving

Calories 73

Calories from Fat 67

% Daily Value *

Total Fat 8g

12%

Saturated Fat 7g

33%

Trans Fat 0g

Polyunsaturated Fat 0g

Monounsaturated Fat 1g

Cholesterol 1mg

0%

Sodium 5mg

0%

Total Carbohydrates 1g

0%

Dietary Fiber 0g

1%

Sugars 1g

Protein 0g

Vitamin A

1%

Vitamin C

1%

Calcium

1%

Iron

1%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

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Ingredients

1 cup coconut butter, fresh made or liquified in a bath of warm water - see recipe above.

3 drops Medicine Flower vanilla flavor extract or half a vanilla bean scraped

15 fresh rosemary leaves

pinch high mineral sea salt

Blend to incorporate all above ingredients.

Blend just enough to break rosemary down, like a fine dice, not a green butter.

Add

2 tsp. maple syrup

You will need to use your tamper once the mixture gets thick.

Blend just enough to incorporate the maple syrup.

Prepare

10-15 rosemary leaves, diced

Set aside.

Instructions

Use a 4.5 inch springform pan, and pour your rosemary cream into the pan.

Sprinkle the top of your cream with the diced rosemary leaves.

Sprinkle the top of your cream with a pinch or two of course sea salt.

Drip 1-2 tsp. of maple syrup over the top, so that you have little dots scattered over the top of your cream.

Set the pan in your fridge to firm up for 2 hours or until it is completely firm.

Remove your block from the pan onto a cutting board.

Use a pointed paring knife to break your brick into many small rock-like pieces.

Enjoy!

Notes

Store in the fridge in an airtight container.

It will last for a really long time, but they will probably get eaten up too quickly to worry about that!

Adapted from Heather Pace's Coconut Butter Cups

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calories

73

fat

8g

protein

0g

carbs

1g

more

Adapted from Heather Pace's Coconut Butter Cups

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These raw chocolate sesame pinwheel cookies were my answer for 2 cravings; One was for a crispy cookie that I could enjoy with my midday tea or coffee if it was a coffee day, and two, for CHOCOLATE!!!

They don’t quite hit the “crispy” cookie craving, but they are slightly crisp on the very outside and caky on the inside which in the end was a heavenly texture (the past-tense reference is an indication that they have since been devoured!). The flavor strangely reminded me of what I remember a snickers bar tasting like (it has been well over 10 or 15 years since tasting one, but…) rich chocolate, a creamy nougaty type of flavor and texture, with hints of caramel and a nuttiness from both the sesame seeds and the almonds. Plus there’s a nice crunch from sesame seeds sprinkled on the inside that gives it even more depth in texture and palate pleasure.

I hope you feel enticed to give these a try. If you do, please let me know what you think.

In Love and Joy – Always,

Chaya

Raw Chocolate Sesame Pinwheel Cookies

Chaya-Ryvka Diehl

2013-03-03 11:07:59

Serves 40

Candy like cookies that are deceptively healthy and deeply satisfying for you sweet toothed chocolate lovers. With a creamy caramel cookie dough and intense chocolate sesame filling these little morsels are delightful, sexy and nourishing.

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55 calories

4 g

0 g

4 g

1 g

0 g

12 g

38 g

2 g

0 g

3 g

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size

12g

Servings

40

Amount Per Serving

Calories 55

Calories from Fat 31

% Daily Value *

Total Fat 4g

6%

Saturated Fat 0g

2%

Trans Fat 0g

Polyunsaturated Fat 1g

Monounsaturated Fat 2g

Cholesterol 0mg

0%

Sodium 38mg

2%

Total Carbohydrates 4g

1%

Dietary Fiber 1g

4%

Sugars 2g

Protein 1g

Vitamin A

0%

Vitamin C

0%

Calcium

4%

Iron

3%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

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Cookie Dough

1 1/3 cup peeled crispy almonds - I salt soak my raw almonds for up to 14 hours, rinsing 2 times a day, peel and then dehydrate the almonds before using them. This makes them much more digestible and generally healthful.

Process almonds in a food processor with an "s" blade attachment until buttery and add

1/2 tsp. high mineral sea salt

6 Tbs. grade "b" maple syrup

5 drops medicine flower vanilla flavor extract, or 1/2 vanilla bean scraped or 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (http://medicineflower.com/)

1/4 cup sprouted crispy sesame seeds, ground - I start with raw sesame seeds (with hulls) salt soak for 7 hours, rinse well, soak again for 7 hours and allow to sprout in a sprout bag or colander rinsing twice a day until small tails for. At that point I dehydrate until crispy. This is optional, but greatly enhances the seeds nutritional quality and out bodies ability to absorb the nutrients and minerals it contains.

1 Tbs golden flax, blended in a spice grinder with 3 Tbs. purified or spring water

3 Tbs. purified or spring water, this is in addition to the water used with the flax seeds.

Process again until smooth and

Spread over one 9x9 teflex sheet, and dehydrate at 110 degrees until dry to the touch. About 6 hours.

Flip onto the mesh screen, and dry for another 3 hours or so until the dough is dry, but still pliable.

Remove and set aside while you make your chocolate sauce.

Sesame Chocolate Filling

1/4 cup sprouted and crispy sesame seeds - optional, see instructions above if you choose to sprout and crisp.

5 Tbs. grade "b" maple syrup

2 1/2 Tbs. raw cacao powder

1/8 (+) tsp. high mineral sea salt

4 drops medicine flower vanilla flavor extract, or 1/2 vanilla bean scraped or 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (http://medicineflower.com)

Blend in a spice or coffee grinder until the sauce is silky smooth.

For Your Pinwheel

Take your cookie dough sheet and place it on a large cutting board.

Spread the chocolate sauce evenly over its surface, leaving about 1/2 inch border dry.

Sprinkle crispy, sprouted sesame seeds over the chocolate to add a crunchy texture.

Cut the sheet in half.

Separate the two halves, and roll each half beginning from the edge that you cut (which will not have a border, so there is chocolate all the way to that edge).

Fold over the entire edge bit by bit and roll keeping it tightly pulled as you go.

Once you reach the very end where there is a border, wet your finger tips and rub the edge until it feels slightly sticky.

Complete the roll and firmly press down with the weight where you created an adhesion.

Roll the second roll in the same way, and set that one aside.

Use a sharp, slightly moist knife and cut small slices, whatever size you choose will be perfect.

Between every few cuts you may want to clean your knife and moisten it ever so slightly. this will make cutting much easier.

As you go you can place the pinwheels back on a teflex sheet, and once all are cut place them in the dehydrator for a few more hours (again at 110 degrees).

Remove from the teflex and transfer them to the mesh sheet.

Dehydrate for another 3 hours or until your desired texture has been achieved.

In my humble opinion they are better before you dry them out too much. Dry on the outside, and still caky on the inside, that's the peak point if you ask me!

Notes

Store these in a cookie jar for up to a couple of weeks. Although they do not need refrigeration I do recommend it for the integrity of the ingredients. Refrigerated or frozen they will last even longer.

Bon Apetit!

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calories

55

fat

4g

protein

1g

carbs

4g

more

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If you love those gooey, sweet raw energy bars that you can find in isles of every health food store out there and would love to make your own at home (that are far superior in flavor and quality) this is the recipe for you! In one of my “Living Vision Agreement” posts I talked about a habit I had gotten into here in Israel of indulging in some of the phenomenal artisan breads, and pastries made at a local cafe-bakery “Lechem Shel Tomar”. One of my favorite items to get (which I still get occasionally) is what they call the “health bar”. It consists of date, honey, maple syrup, oats, nuts, cranberries and cinnamon. This sweet and hearty bar hit all the right spots for me, except that my preference was that all the nuts, seeds and grains would be sprouted and dehydrated first and that everything would be organic. Lucky for me I have quite a knack for making sweet stuff just the way I like it! I took the inspiration and ran with it; now YOU can too!

You’ll see for these energy bars I chose to use buckwheat instead of oats. The reasons being; I can sprout it, it’s gluten free, high protein and alkaline forming. Plus, when you sprout and dehydrate buckwheat they get crispy and add a great texture to foods. The pre-prep for these bars will take you some time, but it is all soaking, rinsing and then drying. I recommend soaking and drying a lot of extra ingredients. That way you can store the leftovers in your freezer, have them on hand to use for other recipes later, and all your pre-prep is already pre-prepped!

These homemade “health bars” have become a HUGE hit in my house and neighborhood. They remind me somewhat of a larabar meets a rice crispy treat with a lot of extra surprises mixed in, which I L-L-LOVE. Try it out and play around with it, there’s a lot of wiggle room for switching the dried fruit, or trying different nuts or seeds, using oats instead of buckwheat, adding some variation in the spices, or adding chocolate to make it a raw chocolate energy bar. Let your creative juices run wild, but perhaps try the original version first and let that lead you to wherever your heart desires!

Enjoy, in-joy!

Energy Bar

Chaya-Ryvka

2013-02-27 05:13:31

Serves 49

This bar tastes like Larabar meets Rice Crispy Treats in the best way ever. Using ingredients properly prepared for mineral and nutrient absorption, with all organic (if you so choose) ingredients, making it the Best Energy Bar in flavor, texture and nutritional integrity.

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59 calories

8 g

0 g

3 g

1 g

0 g

16 g

37 g

4 g

0 g

3 g

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size

16g

Servings

49

Amount Per Serving

Calories 59

Calories from Fat 24

% Daily Value *

Total Fat 3g

4%

Saturated Fat 0g

2%

Trans Fat 0g

Polyunsaturated Fat 2g

Monounsaturated Fat 1g

Cholesterol 0mg

0%

Sodium 37mg

2%

Total Carbohydrates 8g

3%

Dietary Fiber 1g

5%

Sugars 4g

Protein 1g

Vitamin A

1%

Vitamin C

0%

Calcium

2%

Iron

3%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

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Prepare Ahead

1/2 cup sprouted and dehydrated sesame seeds

1 1/4 cup sprouted and dehydrated buckwheat groats

1 1/2 cups soaked and dehydrated walnuts, rough chopped

Date Paste

1 1/3 cups soft medjool dates, packed measure

3 Tbs. maple syrup

1 Tbs. raw honey

1 Tbs. cinnamon

3/4 tsp. salt

6 drops Medicine Flower flavor extract or 1 vanilla bean scraped

3/4 cup tart dried cherries or apple juice sweetened cranberries, rough chopped

For the Sprouted and Dehydrated Items

(The amounts below will give you a good amount of leftovers to store in your freezer and use for other recipes).

Sesame Seeds

Start with 1-2 cups of dried sesame seed with their hulls.

Soak in twice the amount of water with a teaspoon of sea salt.

After 7 hours rinse your seeds and soak an additional 3 hours in purified water.

Drain into a strainer and set over a bowl with a towel on top.

Rinse twice a day until small sprouts have developed.

Dehydrate sprouted seeds at 110 degrees until crispy.

Buckwheat Sprouts

Measure out 1-2 cups of raw buckwheat groats.

Set in bowl and cover with twice the amount of water.

Soak for 6 hours, drain and rinse thoroughly. (I was recently told that you only need to soak these for 20 minutes, but I have not tried it yet!)

Pour into a colander and set over an empty bowl.

Cover with a towel and rinse twice a day until small sprouts form.

Dehydrate at 110 degrees until crispy (about 6 hours).

Soaked Walnuts

Measure out 1-2 cups of raw walnuts into a bowl.

Cover with twice the amount of water and 1-2 teaspoons of sea salt.

Soak for 7 hours, rinse thoroughly and repeat the process.

Rinse again and soak in purified water for a final 3-6 hours.

Rinse well and dehydrate at 110 degrees until crispy (12-24 hours)

For the Date Paste

Process the first 6 ingredients in your food processor fitted with an "s" blade attachment until a smooth paste has formed. You may need to scrape down the sides a few times.

For the Bars

Transfer your date paste to a large bowl.

Measure in your final ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon.

After a bit you may want to get your hands in there and start kneading it like a dense dough.

Once all of you ingredients a well incorporated line an 8x8 cake pan with a teflex sheet or some saran wrap. If you use the plastic wrap grease your pan a bit first with some coconut oil so that the plastic sticks to the pan. Also, make sure you leave a few inches of over hang so that you can easily remove the "brick".

Transfer the "dough" to your lined caked pan and press firmly creating an even surface, and making sure there are no holes or air pockets.

Transfer the "brick" to a large cutting board and cut into desired shapes and sizes.

Refrigerate for up to a month or freeze for longer storage

Enjoy!!!

Notes

Remember you can make many variations to this by adding chocolate, other spices, different nuts and seeds, superfood powders. Play and enjoy the flavors of life!

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calories

59

fat

3g

protein

1g

carbs

8g

more

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I’m getting this posted just in time for you to get all your ingredients together and get crackin’ to have some delectable raw, gluten free and vegan Hamantaschen for Purim!!! 

For those of you that don’t know “Hamantaschen” are traditional cookies served for the festival of Purim. They are shaped in triangles to mimic the hat that “Haman” wore (the villain in the Purim story) there are a few more explanations here. Hamantaschen are usually filled with a jam or a sweet poppy seed filling. Growing up my favorites were either apricot or poppy seed.

I had high hopes of creating an outstanding raw poppy seed filling to share with you and alas it got too close to the Holiday without getting that recipe tested. Actually a few days ago I was about to begin my “30 unrefined days” agreement and needed to make a stash of raw cookies to have on hand. It was the perfect opportunity to test some raw Hamantaschen. 

This recipe came about via looking through my pantry to see what ingredients I had on hand that could turn into some outstanding Hamantaschen. Here in Israel I don’t have a car and walk to the store every time I need to go shopping, which leads to shopping much less and getting really creative with what I’ve got.

Although these Hamantaschen aren’t of a “traditional variety”, they look the part, taste really good, and  are much healthier! My favorite Hamantaschen are the crispy ones. Some make them more cake like and other (like myself) prefer a crispy cookie. That’s what I was going for in this recipe, and what I got was something in the middle.

This raw, vegan and gluten free Hamentaschen recipe is made with an orange spiced dough and filled with the tastiest sweet carob sauce ever!!! Skip to the recipe if you must, but I want to share with you just how good this carob sauce is via the scene in my kitchen when I was making it:

As always, Hodie (my 2.5 year old son) was helping me make this recipe. As we are adding another pinch of this, and dash of that to the food processor Hodie is leaning far over the machine, shoving me quite out of the way to stick his little fingers in and get some tastes (don’t worry, I made sure he was safe and told him I would give him tastes). He has learned that we must taste as we go, and adjust until the flavor is perfect. One more Tablespoon of water and the sauce was a beautiful fudge, one more Tablespoon of Maple syrup made a syrup that was silky and rich, another pinch of salt and all we could say was “HOLY MOLY”!!!! It was perfect.

Hodie wanted more tastes, and I was saying we need it for our Hamantaschen. I transfered the mix to a bowl and moved it to another counter as far back as possible so Hodie couldn’t reach it. Hodie gets down and begins pushing his “work chair” around the Island in our kitchen. I wasn’t sure what he was doing at first, but it quickly became obvious when he reached across the counter for the sauce. I moved it at least another 5 places and he continued to push a big, heavy, wooden chair as close to this sacred sauce as he could. At first I was laughing, but then it became nearly impossible to continue. Finally I stuck it in the fridge and we moved on. However, I TOTALLY understood why he was so obsessed and if you try this sauce so will you! It’s great in this recipe, but you could use it for so many different things, a frosting, a fudge in ice cream, a chocolate-free dip for strawberries, a, a, a, a, a “Holy Moly Carob Sauce”!!!! Try it!

Raw Vegan Hamantaschen

Chaya-Ryvka

2013-02-19 04:00:48

Serves 20

A raw, vegan and gluten free take on the traditional Hamantaschen cookies.

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Prep Time

1 hr

Cook Time

24 hr

Total Time

25 hr

Prep Time

1 hr

Cook Time

24 hr

Total Time

25 hr

246 calories

22 g

0 g

17 g

4 g

2 g

50 g

83 g

5 g

0 g

14 g

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size

50g

Servings

20

Amount Per Serving

Calories 246

Calories from Fat 141

% Daily Value *

Total Fat 17g

26%

Saturated Fat 2g

10%

Trans Fat 0g

Polyunsaturated Fat 7g

Monounsaturated Fat 7g

Cholesterol 0mg

0%

Sodium 83mg

3%

Total Carbohydrates 22g

7%

Dietary Fiber 2g

7%

Sugars 5g

Protein 4g

Vitamin A

0%

Vitamin C

0%

Calcium

3%

Iron

5%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Does this look wrong?

For the Cookie Dough

6 Tbs. grade "B" maple syrup

3 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil

2 cups flour mix, I used a half and half mix of almond and coconut. This flour is the pulp left over after making an almond or coconut milk. I find that if you use 1 cup of almonds (I use soaked and dehydrated nuts, go to my "Dessert Essentials" page to learn more) and 1 cup of dry shredded coconut to begin with you will end up with the same amount in flour. This is a loose measure. Level but not packed.

1/2 tsp. high mineral sea salt

6 drops medicine flower vanilla flavor extract or 1 vanilla bean scraped, or 1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. orange zest, not packed

Mix all of the above ingredients in a bowl until well combined.

Add

3 Tbs. golden flax seeds, freshly ground into a flour

Mix thoroughly, and set in your fridge while you make the carob sauce.

Holy Moly Carob Sauce

1 cup soaked and dehydrated walnuts, it is preferable to soak and dehydrate until crispy, but if you do not have time, just use the raw walnuts.

Process your walnuts until they become buttery.

Add

1/4 + 1/8 tsp. high mineral sea salt

3 drops Medicine Flower vanilla flavor extract, 1/2 a vanilla bean scraped or 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 cup raw carob powder

1/4 cup grade "B" maple Syrup

3 Tbs. purified water

Process until the sauce is silky smooth.

Use this for your Hamentaschen or store in the fridge for up to 10 days.

For the Dough

(see pics below for a visual)

Once you have made your carob sauce, place it in the fridge and pull out your dough.

Use a Teflex sheet from your dehydrator (if you do not have one follow these instructions using a cookie sheet for the bottom and some plastic wrap for the top. Dry them on your lowest setting in the oven or just enjoy them fresh - more like a cake, but still delish!).

Place the dough on your teflex sheet and press into a flat square.

Place another Teflex sheet on top, and roll out using a rolling pin (or wine bottle, as I did :-) until it is about 1/4 inch thick and even all the way across.

Peal off you top teflex sheet and cut circles using a cookie cutter or glass.

gently pull away the excess dough and repeat the process until all your dough is used.

In the center of each circle place 1-2 Tbs. of your carob sauce (I used a piping bag to make this really easy).

Now all you have to do is gently peel up the bottom flap of your cookie circle and repeat on all 3 sides until a triangle is formed.

Carefully pull your sheet onto a dehydrator tray and dehydrate at 110 degrees for 6 hours.

Remove the cookies from the Teflex sheet and place them directly on the mesh for another 6-12 hours or until you have the desired texture.

Enjoy!

Notes

These can be stored in a cookie jar for up to a week, or refrigerated for even longer.

Use any other filling you love to make your favorite traditional (or wildly exotic) Hamantaschen flavor.

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calories

246

fat

17g

protein

4g

carbs

22g

more

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Making the Cookies: