How to Choose a Young Coconut

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The other day I went to the Asian food store to pick up a couple of cases of young coconuts, and I was so disappointed. 18 coconuts and only 8 of them were good. So sad. I have never had that happen before. Sure, I will always have a couple of coconuts per case that are bad, but never, in  8 years of cracking coconuts, have I ever experienced this.

Well, I guess I will be trying to get back to the store to see what we can do about that, but in the mean time I thought I would make a short little video that might help someone else avoid this problem. In the future, I will probably choose my coconuts individually instead of just taking a random case. It's probably worth sacrificing the 10% off.

Raw Apple Dessert

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This raw apple dessert was so yummy and so near an actual baked apple pie. Yes, it is possible to get the apple slices soft, rather than crisp.

After slicing the apple (I made this little dessert with just one apple), I sprinkled the slices with a bit of sea salt and then tossed them in some coconut sugar and cinnamon.


Then I laid the slices out flat on my Excalibur dehydrator and dehydrated them for a few hours on 105 degrees, which softened the apples considerably.

Once the apples were soft, I placed the slices in a bowl and drizzled a very small amount of raw local honey over them and mixed it all up a bit. Besides adding a little extra sweetness, the honey gave the effect of that wonderful apple glaze you get in a baked apple pie.

I put some pecans and dates in the food processor, along with a very small amount of coconut oil, and processed to get the crumb crust. Then I pressed the mixture into a small baking dish, which was not destined for the oven. Then I arranged the apple slices inside. I could have just as easily placed the apple slices in first and then put the crumbs on top and called it apple crisp, but either way you arrange it, it really did taste yummy!

Raw Pear Crisp

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Treat time! I had some pears in the fridge that needed to be used up, so I sliced them, tossed them with a little coconut sugar (not raw, but less refined) and sea salt, then topped with a crumb topping made of chopped pecans, coconut sugar, coconut oil, and coconut flakes. Yummy!

A Lighter Almond Meal

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Gluten-free is all over the place. More and more people feel that wheat and other gluten products are wreaking havoc on their digestive systems and causing other problems as well. But how disappointing it can be to find that many of the ingredients used in gluten-free mixes and recipes are just as disruptive, if not more so.



Almonds--and nuts in general--were probably my biggest trigger of IBS attacks, so I would have never dreamed that one day almonds would be one of the mainstays of my diet (mostly via almond milk). This lighter almond meal is made from the leftover pulp I get from making my almond milk. I put the almond pulp in bags in the freezer, and when I get enough accumulated to make it worthwhile, I thaw it all, spread in on the dehydrator trays, and let the dehydrator run all night at about 105*. Then next morning I check it, and when it is dry all the way through, I run it through my food processor in batches. Then I put it in freezer bags again and store the dried meal in the freezer or fridge. 

The lighter colored meal was made from the pulp of blanched almonds (skins have been removed). Now, this almond meal will be much lower in fat and other nutrients than whole almond meal, since much of the nutrition was kept in the milk. But if what you are looking for is just something that's both light and naturally gluten-free for baking, this will do nicely. 

Chocolate Avocado Smoothie

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This is a yummy, very filling smoothie with good fats for brain power. Fats are also needed for all body membranes, including the skin and cell membranes. 

This has a nice, speckled appearance when made with the cacao nibs, but if you opt to use regular cocoa powder, it will look more like a chocolate milk shake.

1/2 of a ripe avocado (or one small)

2 tablespoons raw honey

2 tablespoons raw cacao nibs, finely ground

1 1/2 cups raw nut milk

1 tsp vanilla (optional)

Raw Butternut Squash Casserole

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I think I have found my new comfort food: Raw butternut squash "pasta" with creamy cashew "alfredo" sauce.  I was amazed that it actually was "pasta-like." The sauce was amazing. I did cheat with the sauce, though, as I accidentally bought roasted cashews awhile back, so I used those, which gave it a really unique flavor.

So, here's what I did: I peeled the squash with a potato peeler and cut the squash in long quarters. 

Then I used the peeler to take off strips of squash. I added a little oil to the strips (I think it would have been really good with peanut oil), stirred, and let it set while I made the sauce. 

For the sauce, I took the cashews and ground them in my Vitamix. (You can use a regular blender, but it may be grainy.) Then I added some smashed garlic, sea salt, and a little water. I blended it until smooth. (If I had had raw cashews, I would have soaked and drained the cashews and then made the sauce. I think half raw and half roasted would also be good.)

Then I poured the sauce over the noodles and added a little paprika for color. I put a dollup of blended raw young coconut meat on top, and a few sprigs of spearmint. It looked purty! I served it with pomengranate arils, which made a nice color combination.

Just a note - The next day I had some leftovers of this, and to my surprise, the flavors had blended to something that bore an uncanny resemblance to tuna casserole. This was fine in my book, because I had been missing tuna casserole something fierce! 

This, like most raw dishes, is naturally dairy-free and gluten-free.