With Cashew/Basil Pesto & Tomato Bruschetta!

 
Hey lovelies!
I’ve been promising this recipe not only online, but to some fabulous people I met at a raw potluck. Inspired by the Mediterranean theme of this raw potluck (which usually gathers almost 70 people monthly), I decided to go the more ‘savory’ route this month and create these delicious pizza poppers!
Because I’m also a fan of sprouted/soaked things and don’t like to get too nut-heavy on recipes, the crust for the pizza also utilizes sprouted buckwheat! (Which if you read here, I totally tell you why I love it so much and why you should too!)
So let’s get started!

**Measurements not super exact, but should be pretty close**

Sprouted Buckwheat Crust:

 

Ingredients:

1 ½ Cups of Sprouted Buckwheat
½ Cup Soaked Pumpkin Seeds
½ Cup Soaked Sunflower Seeds
¼ Cup Sun-dried tomatoes
2-4 Tbsp dried herb mix (I used a mixture of rosemary, basil, Thyme, & Oregano)
¼ – 1/3 Cup of Water to blend
Dash of sea salt
 

Directions:

1) Using a high-speed blender or a really awesome food processor, combine all ingredients
2) When formed into a paste-like substance, spread on teflex sheets or parchment paper with a spatula. This mixture yielded only 1 Excalibur dehydrator tray, personally.

**Don’t forget to score your crust! Do this by using a spatula and outlining the size of your appetizers so when they’re done you can easily break them into neat-sized pieces!**

3) Dehydrate for 12-18 hours at 105 degrees. After 6-8 hours, flip and remove teflex or parchment paper.
 
 

Raw Basil Pesto

 

Ingredients:

1 ½ Cups of Cashews
Less than ¾ cup of lemon juice
A LOT of Basil – I used approximately 2 ½ cups of micro-basil (which isn’t as strong as store-boughten stuff)
*optional 1-2 cloves of garlic
1 Cup of Spinach
1 ½ tsp sea salt (can add a little bit more depending on how salty you like it)
Dash of water for blending

 

Directions:

1) In a food processor or blender (with a tamper like a vita-mix), combine all ingredients until completely combined and smooth
2) Store in a separate, air-tight container in the fridge
 

Raw Tomato Bruschetta

 

Ingredients:

6 Roma Tomatoes
1/3 Cup Sun-dried tomatoes
2 Tbsp herb mix
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp sea salt (or less if you’re like me and don’t like to use a lot of salt – the sun-dried tomatoes are already pretty salty)
 

Directions:

1) Food process or chop tomatoes until diced and set aside.
2) In a blender combine remaining ingredients until a thoroughly blended combination is formed. Empty into container with chopped tomatoes and combine.
3)Set aside or store in an air-tight container
 

 

Putting the Poppers together!

 
1) Once your sprouted crust is ready, remove from the dehydrator and gather your pesto and bruschetta.
2) Spread pesto on each individual crust, followed by a dollop or tsp of tomato “bruschetta”. Top (like I did) with a thinly sliced mushroom piece, a sprig of basil, or if you’re really creative, brazil-nut ‘cheeze’ feta.
3) Continue until all are covered (if you’re serving them for an appetizer), or save ingredients until you prepare more!
4) Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy – and know that what you’re feeding your body is living foods, so easily digestible compared to cooked, acid-forming, mucous stimulating pizza – and tastes so great! You’ll follow this with tons of more energy instead of feeling like you need a nap.
 
*Optional changes:
If you’re wanting to make this for a meal for your family – go ahead and turn it into a big pizza with bigger slices.
 
 
 
I hope you enjoyed this recipe! If you’d like to stay in the loop for future recipes, musings, and more – please subscribe up in the right hand corner and like my FB page to receive recipes like this – which you can see on the go!
 
Speaking of Asian Markets…

As you can see above, I got major haul which I decided to turn into a delicious smoothie.
I also tried out Jackfruit & Durian

They’re now one of my two favorite fruits. Both are amazing for you – and off the top of my head I can remember that Durian is great for alleviating depression, helping skin, digestion, and more!
I also was lucky enough to get some great cucumbers, young thai coconuts (for the water – yum!), and papaya!
Enliven your Life!
XOXO – Mandy