Is Cashew Cream The Best Alternative to High-Fat Dairy ?

Most experts agree that incorporating some form of dairy on a regular basis may be beneficial for diabetes management.

Additionally, the  2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, jointly published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), recommend including dairy sources such as milk, yogurt, and cheese regularly in the diet, though they stress that these sources should be fat-free or low-fat.

However, no one disagrees with cutting back on high fat dairy products. But if you love putting half and half in your coffee and/or savor a dollop of sour cream on your nachos is there an alternative?

Why not try cashew cream?

Cashew cream has the texture and thickness of dairy. Depending on how much water you use, it can range from the constancy of regular milk to sour cream—and everything in between.

Many people have used cashew cream as a substitute for sour cream, ice cream, and pie filling.

The first step in making cashew cream is to soak your cashews. You can either soak them overnight or for a speedier process,  pour boiling water over the cashews.

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There’s a good indication that murder might be part of the recipe when Nantucket’s ten time reigning Baking Champion’s last name is ‘Coffin’. But resentment, greed and Britannia’s own bad dealings turn everyone into a suspect when she’s found dead in the parking lot just before the Annual Decadents on Deck! Bake Off competition is about to kick off.

Divabetic’s Mystery podcast cast includes USA Best-Selling Author Tonya Kappes, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, MaryAnn Horst-Nicolay MEd, NDRT, Lorraine Brooks, Catherine Schuller, Wendy Radford, Coach The Cure‘s Trisha Artman, Mama Rose Marie, Seveda Williams, and Max ‘Mr. Divabetic’ Szadek. Produced by Leisa Chester-Weir.

Throughout the podcast we will be featuring music from the Broadway Cast Album of ‘Call Me Madam’ courtesy of SONY Music.

Raw Blueberry Cheesecake Recipe by Solla Eiríksdóttir

I’m in the midst of the first draft of this year’s Diabetes Mystery podcast (tentatively titled: ‘Swan Wake’) entailing among other things, a gluten-free cheesecake prepared by yours truly. Chaos ensues when my cheesecake mysterious ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Here’s the Diabetes Mystery synopsis: 

When the happy healthcare, Mr. Divabetic heads to the Gotham City Ballet Company’s box office to fix a mix up with his Swan Lake tickets he’s faced with a even bigger problem – a murder. To make matters worse, one of his gluten free cheesecakes seems to be covering the victim’s face. Even more shocking are the numerous scandals swirling around the Gotham City Ballet and it’s members that have everyone walking around on tip toes.

Could our happy healthcare host’s questionable culinary skills make him an accessory to the crime or even a possible side dish? Now Mr. Divabetic with the help of his team of smart Diabetes Educators, a best-selling mystery writer and his own nosey Italian Mom must whip up his own crime-solving recipe, and fast–before a hearty dose of intrigue and a deadly dash of danger ends his diabetes advocacy and healthy catering career once and for all.

For inspiration, I’ve been researching various gluten free cheesecake recipes for the past few months. I recently stumbled upon Solla Eiriksdottir’s recipe below posted on Twitter by the Guardian

Solla Eiríksdóttir is one celebrity chef you may not have come across, but she is a household name in Iceland because of  her TV shows and four restaurants focused on raw food and vegan dishes.

If such an approach sounds a little purist, Solla, 55,  is more interested in flavor than philosophy.

“It’s a way of preparing food, not a way of life,” she says. “Everywhere in the world, people are told to eat more fruit and vegetables. What we’re doing is transforming fruit and vegetables into real dishes instead of just making salad all the time. This is just food. We love the freshest raw materials so your taste buds are screaming for more.”

Solla Eiriksdottir’s Cheesecake with Blueberries Recipe

Ingredients (for the filling):

450g cashew nuts

240g maple syrup

4 tbsp lemon juice

2 tsp vanilla powder

2 tsp probiotic powder

A small pinch of salt

160g coconut oil

2 tbsp ground chia seeds

Ingredients (for the crust):

150g pecans

280g dried mulberries

60ml coconut oil, liquefied

A pinch of sea salt

For the topping

275g blueberry jam

150g fresh blueberries

1 Line a 23 cm-round cake tin with parchment (baking) paper. For the filling, put the cashew nuts into a bowl, pour in enough water to cover, and soak for about 2 hours. Drain and discard the soaking water. Set aside.

2 Meanwhile, make the crust (base). Put the pecans, mulberries, oil and salt into a food processor and blend until it all sticks together, but is still a little coarse. Press the mixture into the prepared pan with your fingertips. Make sure it covers the bottom of the pan in an even layer.

3 To make the filling, put the drained cashew nuts into a high-speed blender or food processor with the maple syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, probiotic powder and salt. Blend. Add the coconut oil and chia seed and blend briefly. Pour the mixture over the crust and chill overnight in the refrigerator or for 3-4 hours in the freezer until the filling is firm. Top with a layer of blueberry jam and fresh blueberries and serve.

Chef’s Notes: You will need to make this at least three hours before serving. Serves 10 – 12

Raw: Recipes for a Modern Vegetarian Lifestyle by Solla Eiríksdóttir (Phaidon).  Featuring 75 healthy and delicious recipes, Raw introduces readers to the new look of vegetarian and raw food. Divided into five chapters – breakfast, snacks, light lunches, main dishes, and sweet treats – readers can expect bright, fresh flavours with recipes like Green smoothie, Pistachio and kale hummus, Quinoa pizza, and vegan Vanilla ice cream. All the recipes are vegetarian and many are raw and vegan.

Every recipe includes symbols to indicate whether dishes are suitable for a dairy-free, gluten-free, nut-free, raw-food, or vegan diet.

After each chapter of recipes there is a seasonal recipe and activity section, which explores some wider lifestyle elements of living healthily, for example growing vegetables in small spaces, dying cloth with turmeric in summer, picking wild berries in fall, and making holiday gifts in winter.

Thinking about eliminating gluten from your diet? Get expert advice from Jill Weisenberger RD, CDE about gluten free diets and food choices exclusively for Divabetic. LINK