How to Make Raw Vanilla White Chocolates (dairy-free, vegan)

Today I have a special Valentine's treat for you—a healthy recipe for raw white chocolate! This recipe uses just a few ingredients and is dairy-free. Traditional white chocolate usually contains sugar and milk solids, along with cacao butter. My recipe uses raw honey and raw cashew butter, as well as raw cacao butter. If you can't handle the buzz dark chocolate gives you then try this recipe. It's caffeine-free but still has some of the feel-good compounds found in chocolate.

You should be able to find all of the ingredients at your local health food store or online. One lucky person can win all of the ingredients, plus two silicone candy molds, for this raw white chocolate recipe on Facebook! That's right, I am doing my very first Facebook giveaway for you! Just go to our Facebook page and look for the giveaway photo at the bottom of this post. Leave a comment under the photo there. Drawing will end Monday, February 10th 2014, at 9pm PST.

Super Immune-Boosting Chicken Soup

Your grandmother was right…chicken soup is one of the best medicines when you are sick. In fact, you might want to consider gathering ingredients for homemade chicken soup before reaching for that over-the-counter cold medicine. Soup made from whole chickens is rich in carnosine, which has been shown to reduce oxidative lung damage from viruses, including H1N1 and H9N2! Beyond this, does't it just feel good to sip on a warm, brothy soup when you are under the weather?

I've created a chicken soup recipe with even more immune-boosting ingredients, such as the herb astragalus. You can find it at your local herb store or in the bulk herb section of your local health food store. You can even order it online. I crave astragalus in the winter time. If I ever feel the inkling of a cold or flu I start taking the tincture a few times a day.

I've also added plenty of fresh ginger, garlic, shiitake mushrooms, and some red chili flakes. Did you know that both the astragalus and shiitake mushrooms stimulate natural killer cells, whose job is to directly attack viruses and harmful bacteria? The ginger and chili flakes give the soup some heat to stimulate the sinuses to drain. Ginger is also a broad-spectrum antimicrobial and is an amazing anti-inflammatory herb. We use it to make healing root teas often at this time of year. You can read more about the benefits of ginger and shiitake mushrooms in this post.

The NEW Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook

The brand new, completely revised edition of The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook is available for preorder now! I'm so excited to share beautiful photos from the new book and answer the many questions we've been receiving about it. If you've been following me on Facebook and Instagram you've likely seen updates about the new book. Our publisher, Grand Central Life & Style, did a beautiful job with the layout and design. 

This book is the guidebook for learning how to stock and prepare whole foods…and how to be the healthiest YOU! We will guide you through the process of stocking whole foods, from the healthiest meats and seafood to the best types of fats and oils…and even the healthiest forms of chocolate! You'll learn tips for switching your diet to a healthy unprocessed one, as well as detailed information on the benefits of each whole food group {Greens, Vegetables, Fruits, Whole Grains, Legumes, Nuts and Seeds, Meats & Seafood, Dairy Foods, Sea Vegetables, and Fats}. There are over 450 pages of recipes and information!



The Table of Contents! 

How To Make Brown Rice Flour Tortillas (gluten-free, vegan)

Making your own gluten-free brown rice flour tortillas is so simple! With just a few ingredients you can make healthier tortillas at home. My recipe is egg-free and xanthan gum-free as well. I use a cast iron tortilla press to quickly press all of the tortillas, and then I cook them in a hot cast iron skillet on my stovetop. My children love to help with the entire process of making homemade tortillas too…otherwise I probably would not make them very often! Use this recipe during Phase 2 and Phase 3 of our Elimination Diet!

If you don't own a tortilla press you can roll the dough in between two pieces of parchment paper using a rolling pin. I've made so many versions of this recipe to try to figure out the best method for getting flexible tortillas. I've found that using boiling water works far better than cold or warm water. It makes a BIG difference in how pliable the tortillas are after cooking so don't skip this step! Beyond the boiling water, you can vary the amount of arrowroot powder to brown rice flour. More arrowroot equals really flexible tortillas, but they end up on the chewier side.

I'd love your feedback! So please let me know what ratio of brown rice flour to arrowroot you used and how they turned out for you in the comments section below. Thanks! :)

Vanilla Coconut Cream "Cheesecake" (dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan)

Hello dear readers! I have a special treat for you today....literally! A dairy-free, grain-free "cheesecake" made from my Soured Coconut Cream recipe. This no-bake recipe is so simple to make and will delight your friends and family. I've tested it many different ways to get the perfect ratio of ingredients, in fact maybe too much, because now I want nothing to do with coconut milk!

The secret little ingredient in this recipe that helps hold it together and lighten it up is....agar powder! Agar is a gelatinous substance derived from red algae. When it is mixed with a liquid and heated it forms a gel. You can actually make vegan "jell-o" with it using fruit juice. I use this brand of agar powder. Make sure you don't use agar flakes, as the amount needed is different as well as the fact that they need to be soaked in a liquid before using them. You may be able to substitute grass-fed gelatin but I'm not sure on the amount. You would need more than a teaspoon for sure, maybe 1 tablespoon?

If you don't want to use the raspberry topping, try drizzling each slice with warm chocolate sauce and topping with fresh berries. You can use the Chocolate Ganache recipe here if you like.

Homemade Dairy-Free Sour Cream (nut-free, soy-free, vegan)

Do you ever crave that rich, creamy taste of sour cream but are sensitive to dairy products? I created a very simple replacement for sour cream that can be dolloped over baked potatoes or yams, spooned over beans and rice, added to tacos, used to make a layered taco salad, or used to make no-bake "cheesecakes"!! Seriously, where can't you add a spoonful of this rich dairy-free sour cream?

This recipe can actually be found in my brand new, completely revised Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook. I created a whole new chapter entitled "Get Cultured!" full of healthy cultured foods like this one. Think Live Hot Pepper Relish, Pickled Basil Beets, Kombucha (with flavor variations), Coconut Milk Yogurt, and so much more! I just couldn't wait to share this recipe with you so I decided to post it today. If you are interested, the new book releases on April 29th, 2014, and is available for preorder now!