Vegan Cheese & Crackers

Vegan Cheese & Crackers

When changing your diet, especially to raw or high raw, diet there are things you end up missing and craving. A couple of them are cheese and breads. Having a batch of raw breads, crackers, crusts and cheeses are nice when you want something to satisfy the cravings.

Learning to make these staples and having them around will be helpful in the success and longevity of your new way of eating. 

Add a few crackers with cheese to a salad makes a satisfying meal.

Raw Crackers

Cracker Base

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond pulp, from making almond milk
• 1 cup oat flour, ground from raw oat groats
• 1/2 cup flax, ground, soaked for an hour in 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup zucchini, puree 
• 1/2 cup hemp seeds, opt

Directions:

 Mix by hand or in a food processor. Choose one of the following mixes to add:

Italian Mix

• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp rosemary, dried
• 1 tsp oregano,dried
• 1 tsp basil, dried

Sweet Mix

• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup date paste, (5 dates soaked in 1/8 cup water for 20 minutes. Blend or mash to make a paste)
• 1/2 cup raisins, opt 

Directions:

Mix into a “dough”, adding a little of water if needed. Spread onto a teflex sheet about 1/3 inch thick. Score. Place in the dehydrator at 120 degrees for about 4 hours. Remove crackers from teflex sheets and place on the mesh sheets and continue dehydrating till very dry. Store in a covered container in the fridge. Will keep for a few weeks.

Alternately, you can shape the Italian crackers into circles and make crusts or taco shells or the sweet crackers like bagels or cookies and place in the dehydrator. If you don’t have a dehydrator, never fear. You can put your crackers on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper in the oven on the lowest temperature for 45-60 minutes, remove from oven and turn crackers over, place back in oven until dry.

Raw Cashew Cheese 

Cheese Base

• 2 1/2 cup cashews, soaked
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp probiotic powder or 2 capsules, opened and poured out

Blend in a high speed blender until very smooth. Line a strainer with 2-3 layers of cheese cloth, put mixture into the strainer. Cover with the cheese cloth and place a heavy stone or glass to press the water out of the “cheese”. Leave on the counter to culture for at least 24 hours but no more than 48.

After you’ve cultured your cheese stir in the following to the base: 

Garlic Pepper Cheese

• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 3 tsp nutritional yeast 
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbls coconut oil, opt for a firmer cheese

Mix well. Place in a container and chill.

Sweet Cream Cheese

• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tbls agave or honey
• 1 tsp cinnamon 
• 3 tbls chopped dried fruit such as blueberries, cherries, date etc
• 2 tbls coconut oil, opt for a firmer cheese

Mix well. Place in a container and chill.

Cheese will keep in the fridge covered for about a week. Once you get familiar with making raw cheese, you can play with recipes and make you own. Have fun with different ingredients. 

Cheeses can be spread on crackers, apple slices, tomato slices, used as a veggie dip or used in a wrap. Be creative!

Enjoy! 

In Love and Health, Lori Clayton, LMT, CHHC

Pure Bliss Health


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