Good Day!

Through out my childhood, my mother would tell me stories about how I could never keep any milk down as an infant. She surrounded me with pillows so I could always be sitting up because the doctors told her it was just reflux… The doctors told her a lot of babies have this… it’s totally normal!  What?!?

So I’m throwing up all the time, I can’t keep any formula down… but this is totally normal?!?

Years of ER visits, years of stomach x-rays… years of drinking radio-active barium drinks to light up my intestines, but Nobody… NOT ONE DOCTOR ever stopped to consider that I may be eating something that may be hurting my stomach.

So all of my infancy, all through Elementary School, Middle School and High School… I secretly lived with severe stomach pain… I was convinced it was all in my head, so I kept eating everything I wanted.

I worked out like crazy… thinking the bloated stomach has to go away if I just exercise more! Maybe if I just stop eating all together the pain would go away. Well, I love food so darn much, that never lasted past breakfast… lol 🙂

Well years later, I’m desperately looking for a waitress job that can help me pay my way through college. Well the only place that would hire me was a Vegan Restaurant…

Vegan, what in the world is Vegan?!? I had no idea… but I took the job  🙂

I received free yummy yummy food and a pay-check… You can’t beat that!  Well after working there a couple of weeks, my stomach aches disappeared! Wow… Awesome!

Come to learn, I am dairy intolerant and have very low enzymes that do not break down protein properly… Are you kidding me? All those years it wasn’t in my head?!? I can live life and not have to secretly be in pain?

If there is one thing I miss about not eating Dairy… it’s cheese and cheesecake!  *but I do cheat on special occasions 🙂

Well here is a super yummy recipe for Lavender-Lemon-Berry Cheesecake! Honestly, it is better than real cheesecake!  Now the cheesecake with out the Berry topping is good… But with the Berry Topping… It is Deelicious!  Or as my baby would say, Deewishess!

Lavender Lemon-Berry Cheesecake

Crust:
1/2 cup Dates
1 1/2 cups Nuts (I mixed, washed and soaked walnuts and almonds)

Surround the inside of a cake pan with wax paper. Process dates and nuts together until you get a rough, sticky mixture that you can pat down with your hands into the bottom of the cake pan. (I also added a drizzle of agave). Place it in your fridge or freezer if you are in a hurry.

Cheesecake:
3 cups Cashews (preferably soaked for 3-4 hours)
3/4 cup Organic Fresh Lemon Juice
2/3 cup Coconut Nectar
3/4 cup melted extra virgin, cold pressed Coconut Oil
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract/seeds from 1/2 Vanilla Pod

1-3 teaspoons dried Lavender (depends on how much you like Lavender; I used 3)

*or you can use Organic Food Grade Lavender Oil (2 to 4 drops)

Lavender is a strong taste so I suggest going easy at first then add more if you like

Blend all ingredients together until smooth and creamy. It will taste… Deeelicious!

Pour the mix onto the crust in a cake pan and set in the freezer or fridge until it has the hardness you want (probably 3-5 hours or overnight). Take it out of the cake pan holding onto the wax paper and then put it on your favorite plate.

Topping:

1  1/2 Cups of Organic Raspberries

1  Large Organic Banana

1/2 Tablespoon of Coconut Nectar

1/4 Teaspoon of Fresh Lemon Juice

Blend all the ingredients together until it is like a liquid… I use my Nutribullet!

Drizzle the sauce all over every slice and get ready because it is Deelicious!

Yummy Yummy Baby!

**Organic ingredients tastes the best ❤

**Remember you can add more of this or less of that… whatever works for you! Play!