Sunday, January 10, 2010

I Can Have My Cake ... and Eat It Too

I'm not allowed to have any sugar until after January 26th, when my commitment to the Adventure Cleanse Tune-Up is over. But that isn't stopping me from enjoying cake, cookies, and other sweets.

How is that, you ask? With delicious (and easy-peasy) recipes from Jennifer Cornbleet's Raw for Dessert, my sweet tooth has stayed satisfied throughout the cleanse thus far. Using dates and agave in place of sugar, I've created several desserts from this book. Dates are high on the glycemic index, so they're not recommended for everyone on the ACT, but I figure raw desserts made with dates are the only way to make my sweet tooth truly happy. So I'm eating dates and not worrying about the glycemic index.

Cornbleet's book (published by the Farm's Book Publishing Company) is filled with cakes, pies, tarts, and quite a few lick-smackin' recipes for raw ice cream! Of course, it's way too cold for ice cream right now. But it's never too cold for Ginger Spice Cookies:

Aren't these precious? These bite-sized treats are made from dates, almonds, walnuts, cinnamon, and ground ginger. Though Cornbleet's recipes actually calls for a touch of raw sugar, I subbed agave since I'm avoiding cane sugar in all its forms.

I brought this Raw German Chocolate Cake to a game night at my friend Vaughan's house this weekend:

The rich, fudgey, dark chocolate cake was made with a base of walnuts, dates, and cocoa powder (I didn't have any raw cacao, so I used regular cocoa). The topping is a mixture of dates, coconut, and pecans. It was a huge hit at the party with all my non-cleansing (but mostly vegan) friends.

Cornbleet's recipes aren't all date and nut-based though. This fruity Macerated Citrus dish was a simple guilt-free weekday treat:

It's just orange and grapefruit segments mixed with a little agave and orange zest. No frills, but so tasty. Rather you're raw, sometimes raw, or not-in-a-million-years raw, Cornbleet's book offers tons of ideas for healthy desserts.

By the way, Nora of Pride & Vegudice also just reviewed this book. Head over to her blog to see gorgeous photos of raw truffles, crumbles, and an out-of-this-world raw spice cake!

Coffee Update: Over the weekend, I've felt a little better with the lack of coffee. I'm still bitter about not having it, but I haven't had any breakdowns. And I bought some Mocha Yerba Mate. It's much, much tastier than tea. Thanks for all your supportive comments!

21 comments:

Trinity (of haiku tofu) said...

The macerated citrus and raw German chocolate cake are calling my name. It is too cold to go out and get supplies, so tonight your photos will serve as my dessert! drool.

Sarah S. said...

Sounds like you are getting along very well with your cleanse! I love that you don't have to sacrifice dessert, both the cookies and the cake sound awesome.

Good for you with giving up the coffee!! Keep it up. I've only had regular yerba mate and it was a bit too earthy for me, I'll have to keep an eye out for the mocha variety.

Anonymous said...

those raw treats look amazing!

Jenni (aka Vegyogini) said...

I received this book as a holiday gift, but I haven't used it yet. I'm trying to avoid not only sugar, but all sweeteners during this cleanse, so it'll have to wait until February!

Meanwhile, everything you've made so far looks amazing.

nora said...

WAIT this is hilarious! i just posted MY review of raw for dessert like an hour ago! i'm gonna add a link to your review in mine! wanna do the same? lol

The Voracious Vegan said...

So much good food! I definitely need to get this book, it sounds fantastic and everything you pictured is making me drool like crazy. Especially that chocolate cake. Oh wow.

T said...

That cake looks fab! And glad you are dealing with the coffee-lessness better... after this, you will certainly appreciate your cup of joe more!

ZippyZu said...

Love Love love raw desserts. Even though dates are high in natural sugar they at least offer a bunch of nutrition to even it out!

Anonymous said...

Not gonna lie, that macerated citrus has me drooling way more than the chocolate! Both look great though!

jessy said...

i'm glad the yerba mate is helping out! all the raw desserts look super stellar, especially those ginger spice cookies. mmmmmmm! the citrus dish is beautiful - sounds amazing, too! hooray for ACT!

Leslie Richman said...

Those cookies remind me sort of of homemade Larabars. Yum!! I'm glad the coffee funk has eased a little!

Sal - AlienOnToast said...

that chocolate cake looks awesome!

Sheridan said...

Ooh! I'd like to try some of those desserts! They sound tasty. Even though I'm not doing the full cleanse, I am trying to avoid sugar. Love you!

two vegan boys said...

You are a strong woman to go without coffee. I feel your pain. I went without coffee during both pregnancies with my boys. Ugh. I was so happy to have coffee after they were born.

The desserts look perfect.

Anonymous said...

Bianca, do you get caffeine headaches? I'm just curious, I get them all the time.

Dani said...

The little date cookies are beyond adorable!

PurestGreen said...

Dates are so high in nutritional value, it's hard to feel bad eating them. I have a thing for grapefruits at the moment - thanks for the yummy idea.

Leslie Richman said...

I am really curious about Ani Phyo's raw dessert cookbook as well.

Millie said...

Bianca, this post is mouth watering.

http://nuestracena-vegancuisine.blogspot.com

bitt said...

spending more time on your blog now that you are eating more raw! good for you! yes you can still have your sweet fix and not have processed sugar.

getting off coffee is tough. you are almost there. it took me 2 weeks to detox.

Jessica said...

all of the food looks amazing!




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