The Veggie Gal

I know I know, I use the hell out of cashews but they are fabulous!  They make so many different kinds of dairy substitutes that are actually delicious and when you buy the cashews in bulk it is not any more pricer than buying the highly processed stuff at the store.

When they go on sale in the bulk department buy a ton and freeze them, then you will always have some on hand to make this wonderful sour cream or any of my other cashew based dishes like Cucumber Cashew Ranch,  Chick’n & Cashew Chow Mein, Twice Baked Potatoes Mushroom Stroganoff (to be posted soon), Sour Cream Enchilada (to be posted soon), and the many dishes I make out of Sweet Cashew Cream mmm mmm mmm .

It is always BEST to soak your nuts to not only soften them but to get the most nutrients from them and to remove natures protective toxic layer.  Even if you only have 30 minutes to soak the nuts it will make a huge difference.  If I forget to soak overnight then I usually start soaking them right away when I am preparing my meal and by the end of making the food (30 mins to 1 hour) I can quickly blend the cashews into whatever I am making, in this case sour cream.  Rinse the nuts well with nice clean water and use filtered water to blend them with.

I LOVE Mexican food just like everyone else and you don’t notice it does not have cheese on it if you use this wonderful sour cream.  This sour cream can be frozen if you make too much.  A great way to freeze it is in an ice tray, pop out the frozen cubes of sour cream and put into a freezer safe container.  Then you can pull one or two out of the freezer the night before you are making something you want sour cream for.

Cashew Sour Cream 

1 cup of Soaked Cashews
Filtered Water to just cover the cashews
1/2 teaspoon Lemon Juice (adjust to taste)
1/2 teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) (adjust to taste)
Pinch of Salt (optional)

Rinse your soaked nuts well and pour into a Vita-Mix, good blender, Magic Bullet or good food processor.  Add enough water to just barely cover the nuts, add the lemon juice,  ACV and the pinch of salt.  Blend until very creamy adding in more liquid of your choice as you go by tasting and getting to desired creaminess.  ENJOY!

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Tags: Cashews, Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, Vegan Cashew Sour Cream, vegan recipe, Vegan sour cream, Vegetarian

To continue from my last post about dehydration I would love to share these wonderful Golden -Coconut Flax Crackers with you all.  I was looking for a sweet version of flax that I could eat my beautiful raspberries with and so I got creative and Viola these little beauties were born.

I had been reading so much about the health benefits of chia seeds so I used flax, chia, sunflower seeds and coconut at the base of these and a little bit of cardamom makes them heavenly.  Then to make them sinful I topped them with my Cashew Cream and some juicy, sweet and delicious raspberries, OMG.

These crackers can be eaten all by them selves as a energy snack or sweet treat as well but if you are going to save them for later snacking make sure to dehydrate them until they are completely dry so they do no harbor any bacteria.  If you want to eat them all when they are nice, warm and soft like a cookie you can not dehydrate them all they way, you decide.

You can sub 1/2 of the flax with buckwheat groats to make it more dense and add different nutrients.

Golden -Coconut Flax Crackers

1 cup Gold Flax Seeds
1/2 cup Unsweetened, Finely Shredded Coconut
1/4 cup Chia Seeds
1/8 cup Sunflower Seeds
1/2 cup Pure Maple Syrup (date paste works wonderful to-may need a little more to desired sweetness)
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
1/8 teaspoon Cardamom
2 cups Filtered water

Blend, in a high powered blender or a goof food processor, 3/4 of the flax seeds into meal and pour into a large bowl.  Add the remainder of ingredients and mix well then let stand for 10 minutes to thicken.

Spread thinly (1/4 inch) onto parchment paper or dehydrator sheet, score into desired cracker size and dehydrate at 115° for 4 hours, flip onto the mesh sheets of the dehydrator, peel off the dehydrator sheet or parchment paper and continue to dehydrate until crisp, approximately 4-6 more hours.

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Tags: Breakfast, Dehydrated, Dessert, Gluten Free, Golden -Coconut Flax Crackers, raw food, vegan recipe

The benefits of having your own food dehydrator are great!  These wonderful little un-ovens can make tons of delicious and healthful treats, help you store your garden harvest so it doesn’t  go to waste, help you build your food storage supplies and allow you to retain the nutrients of foods that would be lost during cooking.

Dehydrator

Now I am not a raw foodist but I do appreciate the teachings of that lifestyle and believe there is enormous value in trying to eat as much raw food as you can.  We all know that the soil our food is grown in is depleted in nutrients and is only getting worse so we need to keep as much of what is available as we can.

Obviously growing your own food in soil that you have enriched naturally is the best and you can reap more health rewards by doing so.  Saving as much of your harvest (or store bought if you need to) for use in the winter is a wonderful way to save money and increase your nutrient intake.  If done right you can start to store more for longer term use and know that as food prices start to sky rocket you are eating healthier and cheaper food than you can buy.  If you employ a quality dehydrator you can increase your intake of nutrient dense food while making all kinds of wonderful dishes.

Raspberry Fruit Roll-up

I do not have an affiliation with the company Excalibur who makes the type of dehydrator I chose to buy.  I only can tell you my experience with my own dehydrator and you can choose for yourself.  I did some research before buying a dehydrator and chose the Excalibur because of the reputation it seems to have all over the internet   I read tons of reviews and compared other machines and decided this one was the right one for me.  Now it is much more expensive than some of the others on the market but the quality and longevity made it worth it to me and I won’t have to replace it every year or two.

There are literally thousands of recipes you can make with a dehydrator and that is just in the vegan world.  You also can dry flowers and other arts in the machine so keep that in mind.  I will start to post some of the recipe I have made with my dehydrator and put them all in the “dehydrator” category so if you are looking for vegan dehydrated foods you can just go through my list.  There are so many wonderful recipes out there on the internet you could look for a year and probably not get to the end.  Pintrest has some awesome ones that I have yet to try but will be doing so soon.

Various Fruit Roll-ups

One word of caution,  my dehydrator does put off a little bit of heat and since you are drying food for hours at a time it can get toasty in the room it is in.  I like to use it in the fall and winter since it is chilly during that time of year and it is doing double duty, heating my kitchen and making my food.  In the summer I might put it in a room in the basement, in the garage or even out on the covered porch if I want to make things and not heat my house.

If you do decide to buy a dehydrator because you want to store your food and keep the nutrients and enzymes intact you should look up all the particulars that go along with it.  Some that I have learned so far are; never heat above 115° to keep all the enzymes and nutrients in the food (above that starts to kill them), store your food in air tight containers to prevent bacteria growth, I prefer to use my food saver to pull out all of the air and then I seal that in Mylar bags to keep them from the light, store the food in a cool, dark and dry place.  Rotate your food so you keep the freshest food (you can store food anywhere between 1 year and 30+ years!), when re-hydrating be sure to use the liquid since all the nutrients are in that liquid, when drying keep it thin to shorten drying time.  Now of course there are tons of other “rules” but these are the basics and are all pretty simple.

I have added some picture of the wonderful things I have used my dehydrator for which include, flax crackers, coconut flax cracker, vegetables, soups I have made from those vegetables, banana pancakes, fruit roll ups, dried apples, sweet lemons and bananas, flax pancakes, raw pizza, and kale chips .  I will continue to make things with it and will post as I go along to share.

Re-hydrated Soup

Coconut Flax Crackers with cashew cream and berries

Kale Chips

Cheezy Kale Chips

Blueberry Flax Pancakes

Dehydrating Bananas

Dehydrating Meyer Lemons

Banana Pancakes

Dehydrated Apples

Flax Crackers

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Tags: Dehydrator, Healthy Meal, Nutrition, raw food, Vegan Dehydrator, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

As promised I am posting my Sweet Oatmeal Crepes.  These babies are so good we eat them for dinner quite often along side of the Cheezy Tofu Scramble.  The great news is every single person in our house loves these so I always know they are going to be a hit.  The extra great news is every single guest to our home who has had them loves them and will always ask for seconds.

The recipe for the crepes is basically the same as the Oatmeal Waffles but with more water to thin the batter.  That being said, like the oatmeal waffles, they can be a little soft in the middle.  When cooking these make sure to press down on the done side to squeeze out the batter.  They take way longer than a normal flour crepe but are so worth it so be prepared.  Plus, they are much higher in fiber and good nutrients that are missing in typical flour.  I thank Dr. Neal Barnard for the amazing oatmeal waffle recipe because I have now used it for not only the Oatmeal Waffles but for Oatmeal Pancakes 3 Ways and now Sweet Oatmeal Crepes.

Because the crepe part can take a bit of time I make them ahead of time and put them in the oven to keep them warm on the lowest temp.  These keep well in the fridge for leftovers (if you have any) and put together well for lunch the next day.

~NOTE~This is a 3 separate recipe meal so make sure you read this WHOLE thing before you get started so you can pre-make what is needed!!

Sweet Oatmeal Crepes
Makes: approximately 8 large crepes

2 cup rolled oats
2 1/2 cups water (add more as it sits and thickens if needed)
1 medium banana
1 tbsp raw sugar, or other sweetener
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
Sprinkle or two of cinnamon (optional)

Filling

Sweet Cashew Cream mmm mmm mmm 
Sliced bananas
Chopped or sliced fresh berries of your choice
Chopped nuts of your choice (pecans are a great compliment-use a small amount-there is a enough fats in the cashew cream)
Ground flax seeds (a small sprinkle)

Topping

Berry Sauce

Make sure you have soaked your cashews for the cashew cream-read the recipe before you start this one!  Make the cashew cream and berry sauce before you make the crepes so it can chill in the fridge while you make the crepes.

For the crepes place all ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until smooth. Let stand a few minutes; if batter becomes too thick, add enough additional water to make batter easily pourable and thin enough to make a thin crepe.

Pour into a heated large skillet and rotate pan around right away to spread the batter to the edges making a thin crepe.

Cook until the edges start to come up and it can easily be flipped over.  (Tip-spray your spatula with some cooking spray on both sides so it does not stick and rip the crepe when you flip it)

Cook the second side while periodically pressing down on it to spread it thinner and make it cook through completely.  Cook until it is well browned on each side, it will look like it is not fully cooked but that is ok it will dry out a bit in the oven and soft is good.  Store in the oven until you are ready to put them together.

Chop the fruits and nuts.  Lay out one crepe on a serving plate, spread desired amount of cashew cream length wise down the crepe.  Top with chopped fruits and nuts and sprinkle a small amount of flax on top of that.  Spread a thinner amount of cashew cream on top of it all so it will stick when you roll the crepe.

Roll the crepe tightly and top the crepe with Berry Sauce and/or pure maple syrup then ENJOY!

Sweet Oatmeal Crepes Sauces

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Tags: Breakfast, Dessert, Dinner, Dr. Neal Barnard, Sweet Oatmeal Crepes, Vegan Crepes, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

In preparation for my post of sweet oatmeal crepes I am posting this Berry Sauce.  I use this sauce all the time in many things and since it is not exclusive to the crepes I thought it should have its own posting.

I have had many people ask how I make this wonderful sauce and once they hear how super simple it is they are excited to go home and make it for themselves.  All you need is berries of your choosing (fresh or frozen work equally), sweetener of your choice and a splash or two of water.  Then you can pour this scrumptious liquid over anything you can think of.  I have used it for my raw cheesecake, rice pudding, oatmeal waffles or pancakes, cakes, muffins, on sweet socca and mixed with frozen bananas for a yummy vegan ice cream that is actually healthy.

If you want to make it thick use less liquid or add in some chia seeds as you blend and it will thicken right up, plus you get the added benefits of more fiber and healthy omega’s.

Berry Sauce

Fresh or frozen berries of your choice
Sweetener of your choice (I like stevia or agave nectar the best-or a combo of both) date paste works well too but does give it a date taste
water
chia seeds (optional if you want to thicken it)

Put desired amount of berries and sweetener into a blender and mix, adding water slowly to desired consistency.  Pour over something delicious and ENJOY!

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Tags: berry sauce, Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, Vegan, vegan berry sauce, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

This Cucumber Cashew Ranch post is for my MIL (Hi J!), she enjoyed this dip that I served at my daughter’s graduation party.  She was excited to hear it was cholesterol free and only had good fats (the kind your body knows what to do with) in it so it is ultimately guilt free.

When I was a vegetarian Ranch was one of my must haves and something I used a couple of times a week.  When I went vegan I tried some of the tofu or “sour cream” ranches but they just did not hit the spot so I quite even trying.   I then started to play with cashews as our dairy source and triple SCORE!  I now make almost everything creamy that I used to love from dairy for out of them (Ranch, sour cream, ice cream, mac & cheeze, whipped cream and more…).  I can even get my kids to eat some of the raw veggies that they normally would not touch by dipping them into this creamy and delicious dip.

This recipe is not exact as everyone has a little bit different taste preferences and honestly I make it slightly different each time so I will just give you the ingredients, approximate amounts to use and you adjust it to your taste.  I have made a chipotle ranch out of this as well by just adding chipotle spices and it is a totally different dressing/dip.  Get creative and you could have many different recipes from this one base.

I used this dip to try the Gardein Buffalo Wings (pictured below) which unfortunately I do NOT recommend.  First of all the wings have to be fried in a lot more oil than it says for them not to stick which is just not healthy.  They never really crisp up like the Gardein Crispy Tenders (which I think would work much better with your own homemade hot sauce).  They are soft, slimy and the hot sauce is just hot and not tasty, BLAH.

**If you do not have a vita-mix I highly recommend you soak the cashews overnight to soften completely.**  If you do have a vita-mix or other high powered blender then I still recommend soaking for a couple of hours to get more nutrients from them, make them easier to digest and to soften them so it will be very smooth and creamy.

Cucumber Cashew Ranch

1 cup soaked raw cashews (NOT roasted or salted!)
1/2 cucumber, add more to taste and texture consistency
Enough clean water to just barely cover the cashews once placed in the blender or food processor
1 teaspoon (or more) garlic powder
1 teaspoon (or more) onion powder
1 teaspoon (or more) dried parsley
1 teaspoon (or more) chives
1/2 teaspoon (or more) dill weed
1/2 teaspoon(or more) lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon (or more) sea salt
pepper to taste

Make sure you soak your nuts, rinse completely and pour into your high powered blender or food processor.

Add all the rest of the ingredients in the order listed and blend until creamy.  If you are doing this in a food processor stop periodically and scrape the sides down.

Taste and adjust the spices to your liking.  If you need it to be thinner adjust the moisture with either more cucumber or more water.

Pour into a container with a lid and refrigerate until well chilled, although it can be eaten right away if you do not mind it slightly warm.

Once it is chilled serve on a salad, as a veggie dip,or  with your favorite vegan chicken wings and ENJOY!

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Tags: Cashew Ranch, Cucumber Cashew Ranch, Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, Quick vegan, Vegan, Vegan Ranch, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

I’m Baaaack!  I know I have been away a little bit longer than I said I would be but besides going to Alaska for over two weeks we had a personal tragedy in our family.  My ex husband and father of my two oldest children passed away.  He had long standing health problems but we honestly did not expect this at the time that it happened.  It was a very difficult time for us all and I needed the time away to help my children through it and deal with his passing myself.

I decided to post this recipe because he had a MAJOR sweet tooth and after trying my Carrot Cake Muffins with Cashew Cream Topping at our daughter’s high school graduation party he decided he loved cashew cream. I am posting this in his honor. “Hello Newman” – Jerry Seinfeld

Organic strawberries are frequently on sale this time of year and I highly suggest using organic only for this recipe. Not only are the better for you because they are not covered in pesticides, herbicides and other horrible chemicals that turn them into little chemical bombs in your body they taste a thousand times better!

These Strawberry Shortcake’s with Cashew Cream are super quick (lazy) and easy because I use the low fat Bisquick mix but obviously you can do homemade and make them  healthier by using whole wheat flour and so on but if you want a quicky recipe this works really great and they taste A-mazing!!

Strawberry Shortcake with Cashew Cream

Makes 4 shortcakes

Desired amount of strawberries, sliced (organic tastes best and does not require you to sprinkle sugar on it to take away the bitterness)

1 cup Bisquick mix

2 Tablespoons sugar

1/3 cup almond milk or other non-dairy milk

Cashew Cream topping (Click through to get the recipe on another page)

Heat the oven to 425°.  Stir Bisquick mix with 2 Tablespoons of sugar and the milk until just blended.

Drop 4 even spoonfuls onto a cooking sprayed cookie sheet and bake 10-12 minutes. Let cool until able to handle.

Using a downward angle to make a bowl, cut the top off the cakes.  Fill with desired amount of Cashew Cream and strawberries, place the top on and repeat  then ENJOY!

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Tags: Breakfast, Dessert, Easy Vegan, Quick and easy, Vegan, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

Trying to embrace the vegan food lifestyle my husband finds the most amazing recipes.  He found this wonderfully scrumptious recipe from the Herbivoracious blog.  He calls them “Vegetarian Frijoles Charros – Mexican Cowboy Beans with Smoked Onion” but since they are so freakin tasty in our house we call them AMAZING~Smoked Vegan Beans.

Call them what you want but make them and enjoy an amazing, savory and creamy dish that you can serve with just about a ton of things.  We have put them in fajitas, served on the side of veggie dogs, or simply with a salad and corn bread but the possibilities are vast.  We are going camping this weekend so we will precook our beans in the pressure cooker to bring along and the rest throws together really quickly.

These can be made low fat by replacing the oil with a quick spray of cooking oil.  We have made them without the chilies and with and both ways are amazing but we did not use the type of chilies he used so I can’t say how his are exactly. Obviously without the chilies this recipe is a little more kid friendly if your kids are sensitive to heat.  We also did not use the type of onion he suggests and I add a little more garlic because I love it.  Another change we made is how we smoked our onions so make sure to look at his recipe to choose which way you would prefer to smoke your onions.

Here is how we put his recipe together but the credit is ALL his, just marvelous!

AMAZING~Smoked Vegan Beans
Serves: 4+

1 handful smoking wood chips
1 large onion, chopped (depending on how you grill them you may need larger pieces then cut them down after you cook-ours fell through the grill plate we had)
2 whole dried chilies of your choice
Cooking spray (he used 3 T oil-your choice)
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Salt to taste (the tomato paste and crushed tomato have a lot of salt in them so start with less and adjust up it can be too salty-our first batch was)
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup canned crushed tomato
4 cups unsalted home-cooked pinto beans, and 1-2 cups of their cooking liquid

Prepare your home-cooked pinto beans the way you prefer.  We cook our in a pressure cooker for 26 minutes and they turn out perfect.  Make sure to keep all the cooking liquid.

Bring your grill to approximately 600° then put a handful smoking wood chips inside of some tinfoil, fold it securely, poke some holes into it and place onto your hot coals.

Slice up your garlic and set it aside until you need it. Chop your onions and place onto a grill plate with holes for the smoke to get through and place onto your hot, smoking grill and grill with the lid closed for 7-10 minutes.  Check at 7 minutes to be sure they do not burn, the end ones might burn a little but that is ok.

Cook your peppers for a minute or two on each side in a hot pan to soften them up a bit.  Pull them out of the pan and chop into small bite size pieces then put them back into the pan with a little cooking spray (or oil) and add the smoked onions, garlic and a teaspoon of salt and cook until it all softens up, maybe 2-3 minutes.

Add the beans, one cup of the bean liquid and the crushed tomatoes, bring it up to a simmer then reduce the heat and cook them for another 15 minutes.  Taste to see if you need to add more salt or more bean liquid to your desired consistency then serve and ENJOY!

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Tags: Beans, Cowboy Beans, Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, Quick vegan, Smoked Vegan Beans, vegan camping, vegan recipe, Vegetarian, vegetarian beans

I bought a cantaloupe that was not ready when I was in the mood for it so it sat on my counter for a few days and then a few more because by then I was feeling a bit lazy about cutting it up. Then finally, I woke up to the smell of very ripe cantaloupe so I knew I could not put it off anymore. Well, I waited too long and it was a bit too ripe and a little too soft but was not bad by any means. Hmmm what to do with it? Cantaloupe Smoothie!!

I cut it up, froze half of it (for future use) and used the other half to make us some very refreshing Cantaloupe Smoothies. I was not sure if the over ripe taste would make it taste bad but mixed with other fruit and almond milk it was pretty darn tasty! Plus, I love smoothies because you get so much in one cup that you just would never really be able to eat in one sitting so this adds to my growing smoothie list.

This is not an exact recipe because I just made it taste and texture so you can do the same. It is in the order of amount from most to least.

Cantaloupe Smoothie

Ripe cantaloupe
Almond milk
Banana (I used some left over frozen bananas but fresh works great too)
Frozen pineapple
Frozen mango

Put into a great blender (I use my vita-mix for a perfect blend) and blend until very smooth, pour into a dazzling glass and ENJOY! Quick and Easy

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Tags: Breakfast, Cantaloupe Smoothie, Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, smoothie, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

These Carrot Cake Muffins with Cashew Cream Topping are to die for, seriously!  My husband is a big carrot cake fan and I have to say I never was.  Most restaurants or stores usually had that thick butter cream frosting with a little carrot decoration on the top that I found revolting.  I actually used to work in a restaurant as a waitress and we frosted the cakes and made that little decoration on the top and I never was tempted to sample those nasty little cakes.  I just did not like the dark leathery raisins, the either to dry or sticky cake with the disgustingly thick frosting that stuck to the roof of your mouth and might cause you to go into a sugar coma after eating it, YUCK.  I just really never understood the appeal for carrot cake that everyone had.  But he persisted in suggesting I make carrot cake so finally I decided I would look at some recipes and see if I could make it taste any better than what I remembered.

In my search for a good carrot cake recipe I found this amazing one that the author calls The Best Vegan Carrot Cake Recipe Ever and well, she is right.  I only adjusted the type of nuts I put in and adjusted the oil with some applesauce to reduce the fat but otherwise YUMMY!

These little guys were a huge hit here in our house and I sent some to school for my daughter’s birthday and they were even a hit there with the kids and teachers.  Most kids don’t want to eat food with visible vegetables in it and raisins and nuts can be iffy for some kids to (like me).  I love the use of the golden raisins which or more plump, sweet and less chewy and for the nuts I used a mixture of well chopped pecans and walnuts so it would not be bitter.  I soaked the raisins in water for about 30 minutes prior to using them to really plump them up so that when cooked they did not dry out.

I really try and stay away from the oil type toppings for which most vegan frosting is made from (Earth Balance and sugar!) and my favorite topping is the amazingly delicious Cashew Cream! For the pictures and my daughter’s party I decorated them but at home you can just put a big ol’ dollop on top and go to town.

For the muffins pictured I used white flour but have found success in half whole wheat half white.  Also date sugar can be substituted for half of the sugar, one day I might try date paste to see how that turns out to make them even healthier.

 Carrot Cake Muffins with Cashew Cream Topping
Makes 12-14 muffins

**If you do not have a vita-mix blender then you will need to soak your cashews for the cashew cream topping for at least 2-4 hours or preferably overnight.  If you do have a vita-mix then soak your cashews in some water while you make the muffins and the topping can cool while they are baking, see below for the recipe or click the above link.

2 cups flour
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup bronw sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 cups shredded carrots
3/4 cup oil (I split that with half apple sauce half coconut oil)
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 golden raisins (soaked in water for 20 minutes then drained)
1/2 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
1/2 chopped nuts (I used half pecans and half walnuts)

Preheat the oven to 350 then line the muffin tins or spray with cooking spray.

Mix the dry ingredients together then add the shredded carrots and oil (or applesauce mixture)and mix until you do not see any flour.

Add the orange juice and mix again then add the raisins (make sure to drain the water off if you soaked them), coconut and nuts.

Fill the muffin tins with the batter to the top (this will give you a overflowing muffin) and bake for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool completely.  You should have already made the Cashew Cream and placed it in the fridge to cool.  Once the muffins have cooled completely and the Cashew Cream is chilled frost them however you like and ENJOY!

Cashew Cream;

1 cup raw cashews (If you do not have a Vita-Mix soak the cashews for at least an hour or better yet overnight then rinse well before blending.)
1 1/2- 2 cups water (amount depends on the thickness you desire-adjust as you go)
2-4 Tablespoons maple syrup (adjust amount to sweetness taste–can use a handful of dates or agave nectar if you would rather)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (can omit if you don’t have it)
If you soaked your cashews, drain and rinse very well.  Add them to your blender along with the lowest amount of water, desired amount of sweetener, vanilla extract.  Blend on high until smooth and creamy adjusting sweetener to taste and water as you go to desired taste and thickness.

You may use this right away or store in the refrigerator to thicken it even more and chill.  If you care about the color you may add a 1/2-1 teaspoon lemon juice to keep it on the whiter side.  ENJOY on everything you can think of!!!

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Tags: Breakfast, Carrot cake muffins, cashew cream, Dessert, Easy Vegan, Quick and easy, vegan carrot cake, vegan recipe, Vegetarian