Fake Cream Cheese

By: Elna Botes van Schalkwyk
2½ Cup macadamias
500 ml water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon sweetener
1 teaspoon himalayan salt
4 probiotic capsules

Preparation:
Blend all the ingredients except the probiotics together in a power blender until the nut cheese is sompletely smooth. Empty the contents of the probiotic capsules into the mix and blend through on low speed. Add mixed herbs and/or garlic to taste and blend briefly. (Optional) Put in a jar and refrigerate. Allow to ferment in the fridge for at least 24 hours and use within a week.
Makes 1 litre. Enjoy! ♥

Barbara's Butters

By: Elna Botes van Schalkwyk

Ingredients:

2 - 3 Cups of the nuts of your choice

Preparation:

Blend the nuts in a high speed blender such as the Vitamix for approximately 3 minutes on high speed using the tamper to keep the mixture moving until a nut butter consistency is reached.

2 - 3 cup of nuts makes 200 - 300 ml of nut butter. Enjoy! 

Homemade Cranberry-Orange Juice and Sauce

By: Esther Vasa

Ingredients:
Note: If you are making this for a Thanksgiving dinner, multiply your quantities as needed. I usually like to prepare fresh juice and sauce and use it for the day. You can freeze the unwashed leftover cranberries and bottle the sauce for later use.

Cranberries are a good source of Vitamin C and are known to prevent urinary tract infections, bladder infections and kidney stone formation. They are a great alternate to antibiotics and have probiotics to promote the gastrointestinal health. Multiple Sclerosis fighters are prone to UTIs and this berry has the power to fight it off naturally. I have used homemade cranberry juice to fight off my infections and would like to share the recipe with my co-fighters. Please refrigerate the berries for use in the spring and summer months.

For Juice
Fresh or frozen Cranberries - 1 cup
Water - 2 cups
Grated Orange rhind peel - 1 tbsp (or one orange's)
Juice of one whole orange
Brown Sugar or Molasses - 1 tbsp (optional; I don't prefer using)
Himalayan Salt - a pinch

For Sauce
Brown Sugar or Molasses - 1 tbsp
Crushed cinnamon - a pinch

Juice Preparation:
Boil the cranberries and orange rhind peel on medium heat until the berries burst and thereafter a couple minutes. Towards the end, add orange juice and brown sugar or molasses if you are using. Let this mixture boil until sugar melts. If you are not using sugar just boil cranberries and the orange juice for a minute. Strain and let cool in the refrigerator. Serve chilled. Makes two cups.

Sauce Preparation:
Use the strained mixture and mix it with a tablespoon of brown sugar and boil on low for 5 minutes. Add cinnamon towards the end. Let cool and transfer into a glass jar and store in refrigerator. Makes about 1/4th cup. Your kids can use this as bread spread! Goes well with grilled chicken and/or mashed potatoes. Enjoy.

Whole Millet Scoops

By: Esther Vasa
Whole Millets or Foxtail Millets are also called "Korralu" in Telugu. This millets are the oldest millets and are very rich in iron and mostly eaten by farmers, construction workers and hard workers in India. It is being increasingly embraced as a grain of nutrition everywhere around the world.

Ingredients:
Whole Millets - 1 cup
Curly Kale - 2 cups (tightly packed)
Scallions - 1/4th cup
Thyme - a tsp (or use any herbs you have at home)
Unsulphured Black Beauty Raisins - 1/4th cup (or any unsulphured raisins)
Water - 2 cups
Extra Virgin Olive oil - 2 tsp
Himalayan Salt to taste

Preparation:
Wash the whole millets once. Add water, salt, scallions and thyme and bring it to a boil and then cook on low heat until millets are almost cooked well. At this point add kale and cover cook until done and then fluff it. Turn off the heat and let it sit for about 15 minutes and then add the oil and raisins and mix well. Using a rounded ladle scoop out the cooked millets and serve it with any salad or gravy or a soup.

Serves: 4

Simple GFCF Crunchy Crust Mini Pizza

By: Esther Vasa
This simple GFCF crunchy crust pizza base is best for those who are doing the best bet diet for MS. Not only is this pizza base free of gluten and casein, it is also free of yeast. In place of cheese, use herbs generously and have an extra serving of chives.

Ingredients:
Non-GMO Organic Yellow Cornmeal - 1 cup
Rice Flour - 1 cup
Cayenne Pepper - a couple pinches
Cumin - 1/8th tsp
Dried Oregano - 1 tsp
Organic Egg - 1 whole or two egg whites (preferably whites beaten)
Water about 1/2 cup
Olive oil - 3 tbsp
Himalayan Salt to taste
Rice Flour to sprinkle on the rolling surface

Preparation:
Mix all the dry ingredients. Make a little well in the center and put a tbsp of oil and beaten egg and mix well. The flour will be nice and mildly moist. Then add a tbsp of water at a time and mix well to make a thick dough. Saran wrap the dough for atleast 1/2 hour in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Generously sprinkle rice flour on the rolling surface. Take a handful of dough and roll using a rolling pin to make a 0.5 cm thick 6-inch circle. Grease a baking tray with a tbsp of oil and transfer the rolled pizza bases to the baking tray and grease the top of the pizza bases with the other tbsp. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top of pizza bases turns golden brown. Apply tomato sauce or marinara sauce on each pizza base and top it with any vegetable toppings of your choice and put it in the oven for another 3-5 minutes.

Note: In the picture, I have used chicken breast and vegetables and the base is not clearly seen. If you are using chicken breast, cook it in a pan by adding white vinegar and spices for about 10 minutes or so. Then toss in any veggies of your choice and use this as your pizza toppings.

Serves: 4

Andrea's Butternut Pumpkin Soup

By: Elna Botes van Schalkwyk

Ingredients:
500 g Butternut
1 onion
1 clove garlic
10 ml freshly grated ginger
800 ml vegetable stock
250 g rice milk (or cream for those without MS)
15 ml pumpkin seeds
himalayan salt as desired
1 ml cayenne pepper
1 ml cinnamon
5 ml brown sugar or sweetener of your choice
Olive oil or water

Preparation:
Deseed, peel and slice the butternut. Peel and finely dice the onion and garlic. Heat the butter/water/palm oil in a pan and sweat the pumpkin, onion, garlic and ginger until soft. Add the stock and simmer for about 20 minutes. Puree the soup, stir in the cream/rice milk and season to taste with himalayan salt, cayenne pepper, cinnamon and sugar. Ladle into bowls and scatter with pumpkin seeds. Will post the pumpkin lasagne recipe (photo ~ front) later. Enjoy! ♥

Serves: 4

Vegan Ceviche Salad

By: Esther Vasa

Ceviche Salad is a tangy South American salad prepared with raw seafood that gets the cooked look in lime or lemon juice combined with vegetables and some cilantro. In the vegan version, I tried using avocado  in order to get that meaty texture and a peach for some sweetness. It was just fantastic. Try with any vegetables you have in hand.

Ingredients:

For the dressing

Juice of three lemons

Himalayan Salt to taste

Garlic Cloves - 2 (Crushed)

For the salad

Diced Scallions - 1 cup (chopped)

Avocado - 1 (diced)

Cucumber - 1 cup (diced)

Peach or nectarine - 1 (de-seeded and diced)

Cherry Tomatoes - 1 cup (full or halved)

Porcini or Cremini Mushrooms - 10 (Optional)

Any other vegetables of your choice

Preparation:

Prepare the dressing for the salad and set aside. Cut up the vegetables and fruit(s) you are using and soak in the prepared dressing. Saran wrap the salad for two to three hours before enjoying. For some extra meaty look and feel, top the salad with seeped, sliced and herbed mushrooms. In the picture, I used cremini but porcini might be wonderful for this salad.

Anoop's Banana and Cashew Ice-Cream

By: Elna Botes van Schalkwyk
Note: This is an occasional treat for your children and your other family members who are supporting your fight against MS. You can enjoy a bite or two but try reducing the saturated fat intake to help yourself!

Ingredients:
500 ml cashew nuts
225 ml coconut oil, melted or an oil of your choice
45 ml raw honey or sweetener of your choice (Optional)
Seeds of 1 vanilla pod or 5 ml Bourbon vanilla powder
4 - 5 frozen bananas
A little water

Preparation:
Blend the cashews, honey, coconut oil and vanilla seeds in a power blender until a smooth creamy consistency is reached. Take the frozen bananas and process in the food processor with a little bit of water until it resembles a smooth soft serve ice-cream blend. Slowly pour the blended cashew mix into the food processor as it is turning until a fluffy creamy consistency is reached. Place in the freezer to set for 2 hours.

Variations:
CHOC CHIP: add carob nibs to the base mixture, stir through and set.
MINT CHOC CHIP: add a drop of mint essential oil to the choc chip version above.
CHOCOLATE MINT CHOC CHIP: add 1 - 2 teaspoons carob powder to the mint choc chip version above.
STRAWBERRY: add 2 cups of strawberries tot the original banana-cashew mixture.

GFCF Carob Fudge Brownies

With the holiday season round the corner, just just plan your GFCF treats in advance. Enjoy these GFCF brownies free of cocoa or processed sugar.

Ingredients:
Dry
Carob Powder - about 3/4th cup
Almond Meal - 1/2 cup
Potato Flour - 1/3rd cup
Brown Rice Flour - 1/2 cup
Crushed Walnuts - 1/2 cup
Brown Sugar - 1.5 cups (Truvia or Stevia or Purevia also could be used)
Baking Powder - 1 tsp
Himalayan Salt - two big pinches
Xanthan Gum - 1 tsp (to get the chewy texture to brownies as this flour is free of gluten)

Wet
Organic Eggs - 4 or 8 Egg Whites
Olive Oil - 2/3rd cups
Unsulphured Molasses - 1 tbsp
Pure Vanilla Extract - 2 tsp

Preparation:
Combine all the dry ingredients and set aside. In another mixing bowl, mix all the wet ingredients. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture. Mix lightly using hands but DO NOT OVERMIX. Spread in a lightly greased baking tray preferably 9*13 and bake for 20-25 minutes. Check for doneness. Makes anywhere from 20-25 brownies. No frosting is needed and they are just good to enjoy right away. You may dust some truvia or purevia on the brownies before serving. Enjoy!

Chicken Breast Patties

By: Esther Vasa

Ingredients:

Ground Chicken Breast - 1 Pound

Onion - 1 (Diced)

Diced Carrots - 1/2 cup

Diced Scallions - 1/4th cup

Organic Egg - 1 (or two egg whites)

Cumin Powder - 1/4th tsp

Cayenne Pepper or Red Chilli Powder - per your taste

Chopped Cilantro Leaves - 2 tbsp

Himalayan Salt to taste

Almond Meal - 1 tbsp (optional - I don't use it)

Olive Oil - a tsp for greasing the baking tray

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350F; grease the baking tray with a tsp of oil. Mix all the ingredients except oil. Take a handful of this mixture and make it into a patty and put it on the greased baking tray. Repeat the process until you run out of the patty mixture. Bake it at 350F for 15 minutes. Then, pull out the tray and turn the patties and set the oven to broil and broil on one side for 2 minutes. Turn the patties again and broil on the other side for another 2 minutes. They should be well done by this time. Serve them with lettuce, tomatoes and tomato sauce on gluten-free bread slices or just enjoy them straight with organic tomato ketchup. Makes about 10 patties. Enjoy!

Macademia-Carob Chip Cookies

By: Esther Vasa

Ingredients:
Brown Rice Flour - 1 cup
Almond Flour - 1 cup
Unsweetened Carob Chips - 3/4th cup
Macademia Nuts - 1/2 cup (lightly crushed)
Raw Honey - 1/4th cup
Unsulphured Blackstrap Molasses - 2 tbsp
Olive Oil - 2 tbsp
(an additional 1/2 tsp of oil for greasing the cookie sheet)
Himalayan Salt - a pinch
Organic Egg - 1 or two egg whites
Pure Vanilla Extract - 1 tsp

Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 300F. Mix all the dry ingredients including the carob chips and the nuts. Then, make a little well in the center and put the wet ingredients and mix well to form a thick dough. Lightly grease the cookie sheet and using a teaspoon put the dough at equal spaces on the sheet. Bake at 300F for 15-20 minutes. Enjoy them after they are cooled down. This is a rich cookie and you don't want to enjoy more than a cookie or two per day. Makes around 15 cookies.

Quinoa Vegetable Soup

By: Esther Vasa

Ingredients:
Organic Quinoa - 1/2 cup
Diced Onion - 1/4th cup
Diced Pumpkin - 1/2 cup
Diced Mixed Peppers - 1/4th cup
Diced Celery - 1/4th cup
Crushed Ginger - 1 tsp
Whole Cinnamon - 1
Star Anise - 1
Green Chilli - 1 (use it whole)
Water or Vegetable Stock - 4 cups
Himalayan Salt to taste
Olive Oil - 1 tsp
Cilantro or parsley for garnishing

Preparation:
Heat up the oil in a soup pot and lightly fry cinnamon, anise, ginger and green chilli. Do not crush cinnamon or anise and do not dice green chilli. We will remove these three spices from the soup before serving. Cinnamon gives a nice punch to the soup while anise gives a mild licorice flavor and the green chilli and crushed ginger render the soup slightly spicy.

Then, add onion and let it sweat. One by one add celery, diced pumpkin, mixed peppers and tomatoes in that order every minute or so. The secret ingredient is pumpkin. The sweetness of pumpkin adds an additional taste to this soup. Next, add the rinsed quinoa (rinse it twice at least), salt and water. Bring it to a boil and simmer for about 20-25 minutes. By this time the vegetables and quinoa should be well cooked. Garnish with fresh cilantro or parsley. This is a great soup on a cold winter day!

Quinoa Pilaf with Greens

By: Esther Vasa

Ingredients:
Organic Quinoa - 1 cup
Filtered Water or Homemade Vegetable Stock - 2 cups
Lemon Zest - 1/2 tsp
Thyme - 1/2 tsp
Rosemary - 1 tsp
Sage - 1 tsp (chopped finely)
Oregano - 1/2 tsp
Cilantro or Parsley - 1 tbsp (chopped finely)
Bay Leaves - 2
Extra Virgin Olive oil - 1 tbsp
Himalayan Salt to taste

Preparation:
Wash quinoa thoroughly in water at least twice. In a pan, mix salt, quinoa, bay leaves and water and bring it to a boil. Then, let quinoa cook on low heat for 15 minutes or until done. Fluff and transfer into a serving bowl and let it cool. Then, add in the oil and the fresh greens and toss well. Voilà! Your pilaf is ready to be enjoyed with a salad or soup.

Vegan Polenta (Crockpot Style)

By: Esther Vasa
If corn is in your allergens, stay away from this! If not a nice warm bowl of polenta on a cold winter day makes a wonderful breakfast especially if served with herbs.

Ingredients:
Organic Cornmeal - 1 cup (I used blue cornmeal)
Water - 5 cups (you could use a combo of stock and water)
Dried Basil and Parsley - 1/4th tsp
Himalayan Salt to taste
Olive oil - to grease the crockpot
Crushed or powdered Walnuts and Pistachios


Preparation:
Grease the crockpot with olive oil using a paper towel. Switch on the crockpot at high and put the water. Mix in salt, cornmeal and dried herbs. Let this cook on high for an hour. Then, stir the polenta mixture and let this cook for another four hours on low. I start the process the previous night in order to enjoy a well set polenta. Transfer a big scoop of polenta into a bowl and garnish with crushed or powdered walnuts and pistachios. Alternately, you could serve with fresh herbs! My son likes his with a poached egg.

Serves: 4

Root Salad with Cilantro Sauce

By: Esther Vasa

Ingredients:
Beetroot - 1 (julienne cuts)

Carrots - 1 cup (julienne cuts)
Radish - 1 (julienne cuts)
Spinach - 20 leaves (for arranging the salad)

For Cilantro Sauce
Cilantro - a few sprigs
Olive oil - 2 tbsp
Juice of one lemon
Jalapeño - 1 (de-seeded and diced)
Himalayan Salt to taste

Preparation:
Arrange the spinach leaves in a neat circle in a flat salad bowl. Cut up your root veggies and put them in a separate bowl. Blend all the ingredients listed for cilantro sauce and mix it in the root veggies. Arrange the root salad in the salad bowl prepared for serving.

Enjoy!!!

Serves: 3 (comfortably)

Choc Mousse

By: Elna Botes van Schalkwyk
~ Another decadent weekend-special from the Rawlicious Recipe Range... ~

Ingredients:
4 Avocados
250 ml cocoa or carob powder (we recommend using carob)
75 ml coconut oil
60 ml water
125 ml raw honey/maple syrup or sweetener of your choice (OPTIONAL)

Method:
In a power blender, blend all the ingredients until smooth. Spoon into cups and refrigerate overnight. Serves 4. Enjoy! ♥

Avocado-Raw Mango Salad with Yellow Mustard

By: Esther Vasa

• AVOCADOS contain the 18 amino acids required to form complete protein that is used more efficiently by the body than are proteins found in meat.
• They contain more natural fiber than any other fruit, and this high fiber content aids in digestion and total body absorption of nutrients.
• Healthy fats found in avocados raise “good” cholesterol (HDL) while lowering “bad” cholesterol (LDL) and triglycerides by 20%.
• They contain 35% more potassium than a banana does. Potassium is important because it regulates blood pressure.
• Avocados provide the lutein necessary to protect you from age-related eye degeneration.
• The anti-inflammatory properties of avocados prevent and/or treat rheumatoid arthritis.
• Sufficient amounts of oleic acid improve your cardiovascular system and protect against prostate and breast cancer.
• Vitamin B6 and folic acid control homocysteine levels – high quantities of homocysteine are linked to an increased risk of death from heart disease.
• Glutathione boosts your body’s immune system and keeps your nervous system healthy.

Ingredients:

Avocado - 1 (rightly riped)

Grated Raw Mango - 1/4th cup

Fresh Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp

Olive oil - 1 tsp

Yellow Mustard - 1 tbsp (I like 365 Yellow Mustard)

Cilantro Leaves - 1/4th cup

Red Pepper Flakes - a couple pinches

Method:

Cut avocado into bite sized pieces. In a salad bowl put the avocado bits, grated mango, cilantro and the red pepper flakes. In a mixing bowl whisk lemon juice, yellow mustard and olive oil. Put the salad dressing over the salad and toss it well.

Serve the salad with chicken breast cooked per your liking.

Serves: 3

GF Crepes Served with Mixed Fruits

By: Esther Vasa

Ingredients:
Brown Rice Flour - 1 cup
Almonds - 1/2 cup (soaked for 4-5 hours)
Eggs - 2 (or 4 egg whites or egg substitute)
Olive Oil - 2 tbsp (some extra oil to grease the pan)
Pure Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
Blackstrap Molasses - 1 tbsp (or sweetener of your choice)
Himalayan Salt - a couple big pinches
Water - 2 cups

For Stuffing:
Banana - 1 (sliced into thin semi circles)
Strawberries - 8 (hulled and sliced finely)
Seedless Black Grapes - 8 (quartered)
Raw Honey - 2 tsps

Preparation:
Prepare the stuffing and mix it well in raw honey. Set this aside.

Blend all the ingredients thoroughly for about five minutes at varying speeds and transfer into a bowl. Grease a flat pan with some oil using a brush or paper towel. Take a ladle full of the prepared mixture and spread evenly using a crepe roller or just use a flat bottom ladle and make an even 8 inch diameter crepe. Allow it to cook well and then turn onto the other side. After it is well done transfer into a serving plate. Take about 2-3 tbsps of stuffing and spread it evenly at the center of crepe. First fold one side towards the center and then the other side also. Makes 6-8 crepes. Your children would love this scrumptious breakfast.

Variations:
You could smear some yellow mustard on the crepe and fill it with fresh spinach, tomatoes, peppers, sprouts and onions or vegetables of your choice.

Roti with Pearl Millet Flour

By: Esther Vasa

Roti with Pearl Millet Flour is called as "Jowar ki Roti" in Hindi and "Jonna Rotte" in Telugu. Pearl Millet Flour is a gluten free flour and this is a good choice of flatbread for MS fighters. It is a very simple recipe free of oil.

Ingredients:
Pearl Millet Flour - 1 cup
Hot or Boiling Water - almost a cup
Himalayan Salt to taste
Clean wet kitchen towel or wet paper towel

Preparation:
Combine salt and the millet flour. Add a little hot water to the flour each time and stir with a spoon until the water is absorbed well by the flour. The only way this gluten free flour binds is by incorporating hot water into the flour. Further, keep kneading the dough until you get tortilla dough consistency to make it into a nice rounded ball. On a flat surface, sprinkle some flour and using the palm of your hand flatten the dough to make it into a nice six to eight inch diameter roti. If you find it hard to flatten using your hands you could use a rolling pin to complete the roti. Put this on a hot pan and press the top of the roti with a wet kitchen towel or paper towel. Then, turn it to the other side and check for doneness. Serve it with any chutney or dhal or soup. Makes around six rotis.

Flatbread and Wraps

By: Elna Botes van Schalkwyk

Ingredients:
½ cup gluten-free cornflour
1 cup gluten-free plain flour
½ cup gluten substitute
1 teaspoon himalayan salt
½ teaspoon gf baking powder
2½ teaspoons light olive oil

Preparation:
Sift flours, gluten substitute, salt and baking powder into a bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the oil and 225 ml lukewarm water and mix to a soft, but not sticky dough. Remove from the bowl and knead on a lightly floured surface for 2 - 3 minutes. Roll into a sausage shape.

For chapatis and rotis cut into eight pieces and roll or press out into thin rounds.

For pita and wraps cut into six pieces. Roll or press pita into rounds about 8 mm thick and for wraps roll out as thin as possible.

Heat a heavy-based pan over medium heat. Cook one or two pieces at a time, without oil, until the surface becomes lightly browned and bubbly. Encourage the bread to puff by gently pressing in the centre with a balled-up paper towel. Turn and cook the other side. Layer cooked bread with paper towels and put in glass casserole with lid to keep warm and pliable while the remainder are cooked. Fill with the filling of your choice.

Makes: 6 - 8

Enjoy! ♥

Spaghetti with Swiss Chards and Shiitake

By: Esther Vasa

Swiss Chards like Kale, Collard Greens and Spinach is a leafy vegetable packed with what is needed for bodies fighting MS. It is rich in Vitamins K (both K1 and K2), C and E. It is especially good for bones and prevents or slows mental disability. Shiitake Mushrooms are wild mushrooms that have been found to contain a good amount of L-ergothioneine, an antioxidant. Wild mushrooms like Shiitake help promote body's immune system and aid in fighting inflammation. Well, having understood what these two could do for us, let us see one way to enjoy them.

Ingredients:
Brown Rice Spaghetti or any Gluten Free Pasta - 1 pkt
Swiss Chards - a bunch (stems and center ribs chopped finely and the leaves coarsely chopped)
Shiitake Mushrooms - 8 (de-stemmed and chopped finely)
Sundried Tomatoes - 1/4th cup (diced)
Marinara Sauce - 1 cup (or more depending on your liking)
Balsamic Vinegar - 1/4th cup
Garlic - 3 cloves (minced)
Olive oil - 1 tbsp (optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preparation:
Cook the spaghetti per package instructions (al dente). Bring balsamic vinegar to a boil and add shiitake mushrooms. Let them cook for a couple minutes. Then, add the swiss chards and allow these to cook for about five minutes or so. Add salt and pepper to taste. Turn off the heat. After about 15 minutes add the diced sundried tomatoes and garlic. Mix in the marinara sauce and olive oil if you are using (Remember, we are avoiding heating oil). Set this aside. Add the cooked spaghetti and toss to combine well. Enjoy!

Serves: 8 or more

Raw Vegan Triple-Berry ShortCake

By: Esther Vasa

Ingredients:
Cashewnuts - 1.5 cups
Dates - 8-10 (pitted)
Strawberries - 8 (+6 to decorate as you wish)
Blueberries - a handful
Cranberry Raisins (unsulphured) - a handful
Raw Honey - 2 tbsp
Extra Virgin Olive oil - 1 tbsp
Himalayan Salt - a couple pinches

Method:

• Powder your cashewnuts and set aside. 
• Let the dates and cranberry raisins blend well in a food processor. Then, add raw honey and blend further for a few more minutes.You get a neat ball; pull it out and set it aside. 
• Next, blend strawberries, oil and salt and slowly add the powdered cashewnuts and the blended mixture from the step above and let this all blend well. 
• You can dehydrate it until you see it nice and dry enough to your liking. But, I like it soft. Arrange the shortcake on a platter. Decorate it per your liking. 

Serves: 6-8