Thrifty Recipe: Healthy, Delicious, and Easy Raw Cashew "Cheese"

This scrumptious raw cashew cheese is one of my favorite ways to graze on sliced raw vegetables! It's dairy and cholesterol free, packed with protein and nutrients, and incredibly thick and creamy. It will remind you of hummus- but I like this spread even better! It's super easy to make:

I learned this recipe from my favorite cookbook, Ani's Raw Food Kitcahen: Easy, Delectable Living Foods Recipes.

Ingredients: 2 cups cashews, juice of 2 lemons, 3 gloves garlic, 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon sea salt, 1/4 cup water (I love to serve it with lots of black and red pepper! Yum! Also yummy with nutritional yeast flakes.)

Use a food processor to blend all of your ingredients together, adding only enough water to ensure a smooth texture. If using a standard blender I'd soak the cashew for a few hours to make them easier to blend. I'd say your dip would keep in the fridge for a week...but it will be eaten before a week passes, trust me!

I love to eat my cashew cheese stuffed inside of mini bell peppers or Anaheim chilies, or as a drip with broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber or red pepper slices. It's fun to make portable wraps with this yummy spread too. Stuff in inside of large kale or collard green leaves. Above I've stuffed a sheet of nori with veggies and cashew spread. You can roll it up for a healthy, portable snack.

Enjoy! I urge you to try this decadent dip this weekend. It's an indulgence that loads your body with protein, potassium, vitamin C, calcium, iron, vitamin E, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, pantothenic acid, vitamin K, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, copper, manganese, selenium, and dietary fiber! Chomp!

Go forth, try this, and let me know how you like it! In the meantime, keep letting me know your favorite ways to violate your veggies!

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