With great pleasure I was given the opportunity to review this amazing cookbook: Raw Food Carob Desserts (Lovingraw, LLC) by raw food experts Heather Pace and Philip McCluskey.
This recipe collection features mouth-watering healthy alternative ideas that will surely satisfy every chocolate lover’s cravings.
Featuring over forty ideas from cakes to ice cream, puddings to beverages, this natural foods cookbook is complemented beautifully with photographs featuring the final creations.
Healthy Recipes for Chocolate Lovers
Heather Pace and Philip McCluskey are the raw food experts who developed this collection of recipes. Pace is a vegan author with extensive cooking and teaching skills. McCluskey is an author who also delivers lectures on the raw food diet and his dramatic 200 pound weight loss success using this approach to eating.
Raw Food Carob Desserts is the first carob dessert book, offering readers an opportunity to enjoy their favorite desserts guilt-free. Full of healthier alternatives, those with a sweet tooth will enjoy the creations they can easily prepare using chocolate’s “hipper, healthier cousin,” carob.
What is Carob?
Carob powder comes from roasting and grinding the pulp from the tropical pods of the carob tree. Similar in appearance to cocoa powder, carob is naturally sweeter. This is beneficial for people in baking because it allows for less sugar content to be added to the recipe.
Carob is a great substitute for cocoa powder. Not only does it contain essential minerals, but it has three times the amount of calcium as cocoa, and is caffeine free. Many people have sensitivities associated with caffeine and avoid foods or drinks that contain it. Using carob allows them to enjoy their favorite recipes without the headaches, bloating, or sluggishness that often results from caffeine.
Recipes Featuring Chocolate Alternative
As a fan of ice cream, I was excited to try one of the many recipes featured in this cookbook. The Mint Chip Ice Cream was a tasty, dairy-free creation that was surprisingly easy to make—even without an ice cream maker. With cashews, fresh mint leaves, peppermint essential oil, and carob chips, this sweet and satisfying dessert was a treat for my taste buds.
Another easy yet satisfying recipe featured is Sweet Almond Dip, a carob and almond creation that’s perfect for a snack with fresh fruit, or even to serve guests at your next party. I shared this dip guilt-free with my kids, and they happily enjoyed its sweet taste.
The Cinnamon Spice drink is yet another favorite. The authors noted that this beverage can be served either hot or cold. And because it includes both ground cinnamon and ground ginger, those enjoying this flavorful beverage can also be assured of the spices’ beneficial health boosting effects.
Superfood Ingredients
The recipes call for the use of nuts and seeds and many superfoods—like goji berries, bee pollen, and irish moss. Some recipes also call for chia seeds, a protein-rich seed with numerous nutritional benefits. Mesquite is another common ingredient used throughout the book. Mesquite serves as an excellent protein source, as well as providing calcium and magnesium.
For most ingredients used in Raw Food Carob Desserts, readers can find high-quality organic products through Mountain Rose Herbs. This holistic company offers a great selection of herbs, spices, oils, and more.
Raw Food Carob Desserts is a collection of recipes that every chocolate lover must add to his or her cookbook collection. Once discovering the incredible flavor and sweet benefits of carob, desserts will never taste better.
