A Raw Cheesecake to Celebrate Day 30!

I made it! 30 days of eating only raw vegan food!

After just one month of raw…

• I sleep better, and I wake up feeling awake. I get up without even hitting the snooze button once. Many times I wake before the alarm.
• I feel full after eating, and I never really experience that “starving” feeling. I don’t find myself snacking after meals or craving bad foods. I am satisfied after a small to regular sized meal, and I have forgotten about all my midnight snacking habits.
• I’ve effortlessly lost a little weight in those areas I could never tighten up before.
• I recover from working out quickly. I’m not tired or worn out after running.
• My skin looks healthier and more moisturized without me doing anything to it.
• I feel great. Simple as that.

The raw diet turned out to be way easier than I had thought it was going to be, especially in creating recipes. Once I got the hang of things, I was able to raw-vatize cooked food recipes or create new raw ones easily. I will definitely continue skipping happily down this raw path of eating and blogging!

To celebrate my 30 day anniversary as Raw Lau I made a Raspberry Swirl Raw Cheesecake!

Raspberry Swirl Raw Cheesecake with Chocolate Crust

Crust
1 cup raw almonds
1 cup dates
1 heaping Tbsp raw cacao
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp shredded coconut

• Sprinkle coconut on bottom of spring-form pan and set aside. This will keep the crust from sticking later.
• Process almonds in food processor until fine.
• Add dates a few at a time and continue processing.
• Pulse in cacao and cinnamon.
• Transfer crust mixture to pan and firmly press on top of coconut using the back of a spoon. Set aside.

Cheesecake
3 cups raw cashews, soaked 1 hour
3/4 cup cold pressed coconut oil
1/2 lemon, juice and zest
pinch salt
1 cup raspberries

• Drain and rinse cashews. Process until broken down in food processor.
• Add oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt. Continue processing until smooth.
• Transfer all but 3 Tbsp of mixture to spring-form pan and spread evenly on top of crust. Don’t worry if this layer looks a little funky, see picture.
• Add raspberries to remaining 3 Tbsp of cheesecake and process until smooth.
• Pour berry mixture in pan and spread over plain layer.
• Gently cut down about half way in a crisscross pattern using a spatula or dull knife. Be careful to keep the crust intact.
• Smooth berry layer with a spoon.
• Refrigerate until ready to serve.