whats a good natural food thickener for raw foodists?

[SheLovesToEat]

I love puddings and i was wondering what a raw foodist could use if you wanted to make something like nut milk into a pudding.

what could be used to thicken a liquid like that. of course... i would want to put it into the fridge to get cold. i love cold puddings.
perhaps adding a fruit high in pectin to the mix. i dont know...what do you think?

any suggestions?
thanx

[Coconutcutie]

Psyllium? Not sure if it is raw but Ani Phyo uses it in a few of her recipes....

Agar-agar is another thickener derived from seaweed, not sure if it is technically raw either.....

I feel like there is something else that I have used but am forgetting....usually if I want a pudding type consistency with something sweet and/or chocolately I grind up coconut really fine and put it in there, also some mesquite flour which adds some thickness and sweet flavor.

Hope this kinda helps

[SheLovesToEat]

Psyllium? Not sure if it is raw but Ani Phyo uses it in a few of her recipes....

Agar-agar is another thickener derived from seaweed, not sure if it is technically raw either.....

I feel like there is something else that I have used but am forgetting....usually if I want a pudding type consistency with something sweet and/or chocolately I grind up coconut really fine and put it in there, also some mesquite flour which adds some thickness and sweet flavor.

Hope this kinda helps

i'll check it out. thanx so much. i do love coconut.

[TaupeRawMan]

Blueberries have natural gelling properties.

[shashibala]

Chia seeds have a naturally forming gel when soaked in a liquid. You'd have to research how to add them to specific foods. They are very good for you ,too!

[raweater]

Why not just use a thick ingredient to start with? It sounds like you want to make a pudding the SAD way, by using milk and then a thickener. In the raw world puddings are made from thick ingredients to start with like avocado, bananas, nuts, blended with other ingredients to make the flavor you want. It's much simpler to make it this way than thinning nuts to a liquid milk to then thicken them back up.

[brownies]

for puddings I use banannas as a base (but everything does have to have a bananna taste when you do this)

for everything else I use agar or ground up flak seeds.

[Rawkinlocs]

You can actually make pudding with cashews and water (and other things like your sweetener, etc. of course) OR you can use avocado.

There are recipes floating around here for chocolate pudding using avocado as the creamy base and it does, surprisingly, have the consistency of pudding!

I made a lemon pudding once using half an avocado (so it wouldn't be TOO green) and some cashews and water (non-strained...don't have to with cashews), agave, a whole lemon (take the seeds out) and it was great!

Other fruit puddings can be made simply by blending nuts, water (not too much) and fruit of choice (and sweetener if necessary) in a blender until smooth and creamy.

I've seen a lot of recipes lately using Irish Moss as well.

But be careful with psylium husk as it can be kinda slimy-tasting especially if you use too much.

[queenfluff]

I use Irish Moss (you might know it by its more popular name carrageean - it used it all types of products on the market today - beer, shampoos, conditioners etc). You can buy it raw and use it to thicken your soups, milks - whatever! I like to used it to make my cheese sauces thick so they are like almost solid.

[SheLovesToEat]

Thanks for all the suggestions...i know about using avos and banannas but i would rather not have to worry about those flavors in the mix if i wasnt looking for it. thats why i was wondering what might be used for thickening.
i do remember that flax seeds have that gel that forms. does that thicken when its in the fridge?
i have never used chia seeds but i am gonna look into that as well.

i dream of a beautiful hazlenut or almond pudding. it would be great to just thicken almond milk for a pudding....i do love it.

ok well...you have given me lots of stuff to look into now. thanks again for the info.

[Lelê]

I use soaked chia on my smoothies to make them "spoonable". Depending on how much chia you add and how long you let it sit, the chia gel have the consistence of thick jelly.

Also, it adds volume, but it doesn't change or "water down" the favor of whatever you are mixing with. Maybe you can strain the seeds and use just gel, after soaking for a while, mix with the milk and put it in the fridge?


ETA: Personally, the seeds don't bother me. They have softer and have only a slight, tasteless crunch to it.

[raweater]

Why not try to blend almonds with just a bit of water and sweetener for an almond pudding?

[SheLovesToEat]

Why not try to blend almonds with just a bit of water and sweetener for an almond pudding?


raweater.... i didnt think to do that...i have made loads of almond milk but i didnt think that just a little water with the nuts would make a pudding. i guess i was thinking about a pudding from the almond milk. i'll try it..thanx

[SheLovesToEat]

I use soaked chia on my smoothies to make them "spoonable". Depending on how much chia you add and how long you let it sit, the chia gel have the consistence of thick jelly.

Also, it adds volume, but it doesn't change or "water down" the favor of whatever you are mixing with. Maybe you can strain the seeds and use just gel, after soaking for a while, mix with the milk and put it in the fridge?


ETA: Personally, the seeds don't bother me. They have softer and have only a slight, tasteless crunch to it.


i dont think i would mind the crunch from chia seeds. i have never had them but they sound like they would do the job for all kinds of nut milks and whatever else i can come up with. GREAT! i have alot of experimenting to do. thanx

[shashibala]

I made a wonderful chia seed "cereal" this morning. I put a tablespoon of the seeds in a bowl. I added 1-2 tablespoons of dried coconut, dried mulberries, and soaked sunflower seeds. Then I chopped 10 almonds and added them. I put in about a half of a cup of slightly warm water,stirred, and let it all sit for 15 or 20 minutes. I admit I added a tiny drizzle of agave syrup on top:rolleyes: , and then I ate it. I found it to be very satisfying and delicious! You could change it up depending on the foods you have around.

[sport]

I know of only 2 fruits that will naturally thicken after blending and they are blueberries and persimmon. I use them both as pie filling.

[CoconutMegs]

2 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp cacao powder
1/2 tbsp palm sugar
1/2 cup liquid, coconut milk, coconut water or water
Dash of sea salt
Dash of cinnamon

Mix all ingredients together, let sit 15 mins. Then enjoy or chill before eating....

[healthywealthy]

I use banana as a thickener for fruit juices


good luck
happy eating x

[drolemil]

Psyllium is raw, you can find easily in the wild (in certain places) actually. :)
http://www.oshims.com/herb-directory/p/psyllium