I am addicted to Groupons! Whenever I see a coupon listed for a cooking class, I almost always have to purchase it. For those of you who take cooking classes, most are pretty expensive. Last week I took a healthy Italian cooking class at a yoga studio in Inwood. I was curious how the cheese, cream and pasta, could make for a healthy meal.
Bread and Yoga was founded two years ago by a woman who wanted to integrate having a healthy mind with a healthy body. The classes are more of a demo with her cooking at the head of a long wooden, communal table. What we made was putanesta served in lettuce, fettuccine with veggies, and a strawberry sorbet. The class was fun and I learned a lot. Something that intrigued me was the cashew cream. Not being a vegan I had never head of cashew cream before.
Cashew cream is a popular substitute for heavy cream or milk. It's similar to almond milk in how it's made but since cashews don't have much taste it's pretty bland, which is good for substituting heavy cream in dishes. A plus is that it reduces well unlike other milk alternatives such as soy.
It's pretty simple to make only taking a few minutes. The only thing you have to remember is to set the cashews and water aside for a few hours before blending. Add as much water are you want, depending how thick you want it. If you want to use it for your cereal add more (water). If you wanted to use it as heavy cream, you would add less water. During the class we added another item I was unfamiliar with-Nutritional Yeast. NY is a product that adds a lot of nutrition (hence the name) and protein. It comes in a powder and does not have much taste but does add a bit of a saltiness. The NY worked well in pasta but due to the saltiness.
The taste is very good. I did not taste it by itself, but in the pasta it tasted similar to a heavy cream. The nuts do have A LOT OF FAT AND CALORIES. Therefore, it's a healthy alternative but not one that will help those watching there weight or on WW. I did not calculate points or calories because it depends on how much water you add and what you use it for (for amount per serving). Just to give you an idea, one once of cashews has 155 calories and 12 grams of fat. The reason why you might want to make the switch is because it is healthier for you than heavy cream. The fat is "heart healthy" and there is less saturated fat.
I found cashew cream a great alternative to your diet if you wish to have a vegan lifestyle. Since it has a lot of fat it tastes great and I might use it in recipes involving cream so I feel like I get a bit of a nutritional boost. Even though the calories are high, they will not be empty calories. If anyone has tried it, let me know what you think?!
Ingredients:2 cups raw, whole cashews
2 cups water*
Method:
- Rinse cashews.
- Cover cashews with water and let sit over night or during the day while your at work.
- Blend with a high quality blender or food processor.