When it comes to sweets, there’s not a chocolate brownie we won’t indulge in every so/often. But how about one without sugar, butter or flour? Enter Sweetly Raw Desserts by Heather Pace: a Canadian classically trained chef and raw-dessert maker extraordinaire. Packed with a variety of delicious recipes (from vegan chocolate mousse to chocolate peanut butter cups), we recently got a chance to ask Heather about her new book and get her best tricks for newbie raw-foodies like us. —Aurea Dempsey
When we hear raw desserts, we think expensive ingredients like raw cocoa, hemp, goji berries, dates and coconut oil. Any budgeting tips you can share?
Fortunately these ingredients have become so popular that you can find them in almost any grocery store, and places have become competitive with their pricing. I recommend buying in bulk where possible, and searching online (Amazon, for example) for good deals. Since all of these dry goods last a long time, you won’t risk wasting anything if you buy a more than a pound at a time.
Many of the recipes featured in your book look sinfully delicious! What are your go-tos?
My favourite go-to recipes in my book include the chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter and jelly smoothie, chocolate sauce (I always keep a jar of it in my fridge), key lime pie bars and caramel peanut chocolate bars (which are just like Snickers!).
We’re always trying to watch our sugar intake … without giving up our love for chocolate. Any tips on keeping natural sugars on the lower end?
To keep sugar on the low end, I suggest using fruit more than concentrated sweeteners such as coconut nectar. Fruit is packed with nutrition and fibre to keep a person feeling full. A banana spread with some almond butter is absolutely delicious. A piece of dark chocolate paired with some nuts makes a perfect sweet treat, too—and, of course, the darker the chocolate the less sugar it has. A person can always lessen the amount of sweetener called for in a recipe, too.
From soaking nuts to dehydrating veggies, what cooking tools do you recommend for beginners?
For beginners I always recommend a high-speed blender and a food processor. With a good blender (I’m a Vitamix girl) sitting at $500, it’s an investment, but it’s cheaper than burning out five regular blenders. It’s also hands-down better for turning cashews into silky smooth cheesecake filling or blending spinach and fruit into a perfectly creamy smoothie. A decent food processor can be purchased for as little as $90 and is needed for things like power balls, brownies, cakes and nut butter. A dehydrator is another great tool to have as it acts like an oven for raw-food prep.
We hear you’re no longer a vegan, now eating meat. So clearly, one need not be 100 per cent raw to enjoy your recipes! Can you elaborate?
Yes that’s right. After 13 years of veganism I eat meat now. My health suffered a great deal and I needed to change my diet in order to heal. Seventy-five to 80 per cent of what I eat is plant based but I do need some animal protein to feel my best. When I made the shift about six years ago I nervously shared my story on my vegan blog. I was amazed that so many people were dealing the same issues that I was and I was lucky to get a great deal of support. Regardless of a person’s diet, I think we would all do well to add more raw and vegan food in. When people try my raw food for the first time they are amazed at how delicious it is and are often inspired to learn how to make it. Any cooked dish can be made raw: lasagna, fajitas, nachos, pasta, sushi, pizza, chocolate bars, granola … anything!
Besides tasting delicious, are there health benefits to eating raw desserts?
Yes! Raw desserts are made up of things like nuts, fruit, cacao and coconut, which are all full of vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, fibre and enzymes. The body recognizes it as real food and is able to process it. These treats are so healthy that you can eat them for breakfast—ironically, a healthier option than a muffin. Imagine that? Coconut oil is used in a lot of the desserts and is known to help burn fat. So we could almost call this weight-loss food! But seriously, I have friends who have ditched the processed stuff, converted to eating raw desserts and have lost weight as a result of it. These desserts give a person energy instead of an energy slump like refined white flour/sugar treats. They also promote a natural glow to hair, skin and nails due to the high concentration of nutrients that work from the inside of the body out.
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