Rawspirations | LFW MAGAZINE

By Emma Dowling

Let’s be honest. Eating paleo or raw is easy—it’s good for you, it’s healthy, it’s fresh (mostly organic) food with little or no gluten, colouring, flavouring, processing, or added sugar. So far, so good—right? But, when it comes to cooking paleo it’s a whole different, and somewhat daunting, ball game. It’s a bit like living before the kitchen was invented as you make almost everything from scratch. And when it comes to desserts—no sugar, easy-peasy cheat flavours, no packets, and no chocolate(!) OMG! What kind of dessert is that!

Image from Rawspirations

Fast getting over grinding our own corn and doing a million-and-one things with a coconut, we were pretty excited when we got a copy of Rawspirations brand-new Sweets & Treats e-book. With over 50 amazing vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar recipes to tempt your taste buds, this little book includes both raw and baked treats, smoothies, cakes and slices, and big and little bites, and we taste tested more than a few at The Divine Rawspirations High Tea Event earlier this year and they passed with flying colours!

Many of the recipes in the e-book have a fairly long list of ingredients, so make sure you have everything before you start, and some ingredients such as cacao butter or white chocolate butter, hemp protein powder, and coconut nectar, you’ll need to source from a health food shop. However, once you’ve got all you need, the ‘what you do’ bit is fairly straightforward.

We road-tested a few of the easy ones to start with:

Caramel and coconut balls

Caramel and Coconut Balls—super, super easy! Basically you just blend everything in a food processor, shape into balls, and roll in the coconut. This is a great one for beginners.

Raw chocolate chia and hemp truffles

Raw Chocolate Chia and Hemp Truffles—another super easy one! Only seven ingredients, toss in the food processor, roll into balls, and freeze! Another good one to start with.

Triple choc mint slice

Raw Vegan Triple Choc Mint Slice—this one is a bit tricker and with four different layers you need to give yourself plenty of time, and we found it easier to soak the cashews from early morning, make the slice in the afternoon and leave overnight in the freezer before you add the choc icing. Tricky and time consuming but well worth it; especially if you want impress with your raw vegan cooking skills!

Then we side-stepped … sort of … this one isn’t from the cookbook but it’s pretty damn good! Raw Coconut Bounty Bars—totally awesome! This recipe is available from Rawspirations Facebook page.

Raw coconut bounty bars

The Sweet & Treats e-book is available from Rawspirations website for only $15. The recipes are in simple steps and easy to follow, and accompanied by the most gorgeous mouth-watering pics. So watch this space for more road and taste testing … might have to give the Chocolate Mudslide Thickshake a go next!

Sweets & Treats ebook by Sabrina Muscat from Rawspirations

If you think raw vegan and vegetarian dishes are boring, think again. Just looking at Sabrina Muscat’s recipes is enough to make you drool and convert forever. By Wendy Johnson

Sabrina runs Rawspirations, a website stuffed full of free delicious recipes and ideas on healthy living. Her Instagram account has a whopping 74,600 followers and grows every day. And she’ll launch her first recipe e-book featuring her sensational sweets this Saturday 9 April at the Divine Rawspirations High Tea Event.

Baked purple sweet potato and pumpkin

Rawspirations’ ever-growing collection of savoury and sweet dishes are all organic and dairy-free, gluten-free and refined sugar-free. Some are baked and some are raw. This is food that looks and tastes amazing. Sabrina develops and trials all recipes, including her favourite baked purple, sweet potato wedges with smashed avocado, polenta and corn fritters, and rainbow sushi rolls.

For a little decadence in your life, Sabrina includes in her e-recipe book treats such as chewy caramel and choc custard cups, a choc mint slice, and a caramel slice that her family can’t get enough of. All of these desserts will be offered at the High Tea, along with mouth-watering raw and baked vegan and vegetarian buffet, organic wine, champagne and cold pressed juices.

For the High Tea, Sabrina is joining forces with Therese Kerr, voted one of Australia’s Top 50 Most Influential Women of 2015 and Organic Industry Leader of 2015. Therese owns The Divine Company, a line of certified organic beauty and personal care products.

Raw vegan choc-mint slice

Both Sabrina and Therese have had endometriosis, a major factor in their journey to live chemical-free lives. Endometriosis is where tissue from the membrane that normally lines the uterus grows outside the uterus, typically on the ovaries, fallopian tubes, intestines or other areas in the pelvis.

Sabrina’s story began many moons ago. She hadn’t been well and had almost given up on falling pregnant. In 2013, she sat shocked in her doctor’s office having been told she had Stage 4 endometriosis, a painful condition affecting between 25 and 50 per cent of infertile women.

“My endometriosis had spread through most of my organs and my doctor told me I had very little chance of ever falling pregnant,” said Sabrina. “It was suggested that I take a six-month course of a hormone therapy and type of chemotherapy, although there were no guarantees it would help me have a baby.”

Sabrina found some comfort by connecting with friends through Instagram. She ultimately chose not to go the treatment route but back to basics. “I decided to look at the underlying reasons my body wasn’t happy,” says Sabrina. “With support from my naturopath, I began to eat predominantly raw and vegan organic foods. Six months later I was pregnant and I had a beautiful baby boy.”

Chewy caramel and choc custard cups

Both Sabrina and Therese will speak at the Divine Rawspirations High Tea Event. Sabrina, backed by her studies in ongoing studies in nutritional science and her skills as a fully qualified life coach, will talk about how easy it is to eat well without compromising on food variety, presentation or taste.

Sabrina and Therese will also explore why thyroid challenges and other hormone-related disorders are so common these days and why it can be so hard to lose those extra few kilos no matter how much effort goes into it. They’ll share insights on the impact of chemicals in every day food and other products, including beauty products. “I’m not a preacher and believe that what worked for me may not work for everyone,” says Sabrina. “But I felt my experience, and Rawspirations, could motivate others to think health eating and living.”

Raw white chocolate and blueberry mini cheesecakes

The Divine Rawspirations High Tea Event is being held at Double Shot, Deakin, on 9 April. Bookings are essential. It’s a seated event with a maximum 150 guests allowed. Tickets, including the High Tea itself, are $58. Book online: www.rawspirations.com

Images of Sabrina Muscat by Margit Selg Photographer

Images of food by Sabrina Muscat

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