Kitz Living Foods Recipes & Reviews. Raw Dehydrated Treats!
I first found Kitz Living Foods in my local health food store, and fell in love with the fact that their crackers are organic, gluten & grain-free, raw, activated, & vegan! I became a huge fan of their Mexican Buckwheat Crackers, which have the perfect blend of flavours and have a nice crunch to them. I then realised that they actually have a whole range of goodies! From raw pizza bases, to granola, to brownie bars. Their treats are handcrafted, and are actually good for you, with simple ingredients and nothing artificial, ever.
All of their products are lovingly hand-made in their kitchen in the beautiful Tweed Valley nestled between Byron Bay and the Gold Coast, located in Northern New South Wales. They create snacks that meet the requirement of vegans, raw foodies and allergy sufferers, yet are still delicious even if you don’t have any dietary restrictions
Raw & Activated
I also love how all of their nuts and seeds are soaked overnight in filtered water to ‘activate’ the ingredients, breaking down the naturally-present enzyme inhibitors like phytic acid, making them easier to digest. Then, they slowly dehydrate all their creations at 47°C or less so they remain ‘alive and raw’. This ensures your body is getting maximum nutrition from the products.
These treats are incredibly delicious on their own, and make a great 'grab-and-go' snack. They also can be the base of a hearty raw meal, or a scrumptious condiment!
Compostable Packaging
All Kitz Living Foods products are packaged in 100% compostable packaging! I deeply appreciate that, being environmentally conscious and passionate about sustainability. The packaging is a combination of paper and biophan, a cellulose based film that breaks down quickly in at home composts, or in municipal compost facilities.
Mexican Buckwheat Crackers with Greens & 'Rice' Salad
These raw dehydrated Mexican Buckwheat Crackers are definitely one of my top favourite products from Kitz Living foods! These crackers have the perfect flavour combination, which in my opinion can pair perfectly with just about any meal or dip. I also really appreciate that they've added some veggies into the cracker formula, including organic carrots, onions, and sun-dried tomatoes. They have the perfect crunch & crack to them, which adds some crispy texture to my raw meals, which are usually quite soft. I snapped some of these crackers and added them onto the top of my Greens & 'Rice' Raw Salad... which reminds me so much of croutons! I also stacked some of this salad on top of a whole cracker, and ate it like an open sandwich, or toast!
Ingredients
4-5 Mexican Buckwheat Crackers
3 cups lettuce
1/2 capsicum
4 spring onion shoots
1 whole tomato
1/4 cup dill
1/4 cup coriander
1.5 cups cauliflower
1/2 avocado
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 tsp of salt & pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
2-3 cherry tomatoes
Method
1. Wash your lettuce, spring onions, dill, and coriander. Then chop these greens up and add them into a large bowl.
2. Next, using a food processor with a thin slicing blade, slice up the capsicum and tomato (or hand cut thinly). Add these into the bowl
3. Pulse the cauliflower in a food processor with the 's' blade to create the 'rice'. Blend the cauliflower chunks until it resembles the consistency and texture of rice. Then blend in the avocado, lime juice and spices.
4. Stir your cauliflower rice into your salad, and squeeze the remaining lime juice over the salad as a dressing.
5. Crack the Mexican Buckwheat Crackers on top of your salad, and decorate with some cherry tomatoes (I also used a whole + unbroken cracker to stack some of my salad on top of, and enjoyed it that way too).
Tomato & Basil Crackers with Beetroot Hummus Dip
I decided to pair these crackers with a raw vegan beetroot hummus dip, and they went so well together! I love the punch of basil in these crackers, it just takes them to a whole new level. These tomato & basil crackers also taste a lot more 'seedy' than the buckwheat crackers, but they are still just as delicious. I already know that I'll be purchasing more of these in the future to go on my raw vegan platter spreads for picnics and parties- you seriously wouldn't be able to guess that they are gluten-free, grain-free, vegan or raw as they have such an authentic cracker 'snappable crunch' and a beautiful savoury taste.
These crackers could also go really well with some avocado, sliced tomato, avocado, basil, sprouts and olives. Or you could even create a sandwich with two pieces! This dip I made is a favourite of mine, due to its vibrant colour and sweetness from the dates. The garlic in this beetroot hummus compliments the crackers perfectly too.
Ingredients
1 peeled beet
1 peeled zucchini
2 medjool dates
2 small garlic bulbs
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
Optional- 1 tbsp raw tahini, or 1 tbsp raw sesame or hemp seeds
Method
Place all the hummus ingredients into a blender, and blend until smooth and creamy. Dip your crackers in & enjoy! You can also serve with additional tomato slices and freshly picked basil placed on top if you'd like.
Choc Chip & Goji Chunks with Banana Berry 'Nicecream'
The Choc Chip & Goji Chunks also have made it into my top favourites from the Kitz Living Foods collection. Warning- these are dangerously delicious. The base of these is activated buckwheat, mixed with dates sultanas, goji berries, and cacao nibs to create a delightfully crunchy treat! I also love how the goji berries give these chunks a pretty pop of colour. This is the type of treat you'll want to just snack on straight out of the bag- it's that good! However, I managed to use some self-control (lol) and saved some as a topping for my Banana Berry 'Nicecream' dessert recipe! The chocolate flavour and the crunchy texture pair beautifully with the creamy chilled raw nicecream.
Ingredients
3 large super ripe & spotty frozen bananas
3/4 cup frozen wild blueberries
3/4 cup frozen strawberries
Method
1. Blend your frozen bananas, wild blueberries & strawberries in a food processor or blender until smooth and creamy like ice cream. (TIP- cut up your bananas into small bite-sized pieces before freezing, this will make the process quicker to blend)
2. Add your Choc Chip & Goji Chunks as a topping upon your nicecream!
3. Add any other toppings you love- I also used fresh strawberries, frozen wild blueberries & cacao nibs.
Quinoa Energy Chocolate Brownie
I love the Quinoa Energy Chocolate Brownie best solo. It's one of those brownies that just hits the spot, and is delightful by itself! They soak the quinoa to activate it, which removes the natural saponins they contain, this makes it easier & more efficient for your body to digest. Who knew that brownies could be this good for you, as well as being so consciously & carefully created! The quinoa balances the fruit, giving a steady, long lasting boost of energy. They also dehydrated this brownie below 47 degrees for optimal taste and nutrition!
I personally do not like super rich desserts, so this treat is perfect for my palette. It's not overly sweet, and the cacao isn't too overpowering either- it's just right for my taste buds. There is a subtle vanilla flavour in there also. If I gave this brownie to someone who wasn't raw or vegan, they wouldn't be able to tell that it isn't a regular baked brownie. It tastes truly authentic and has a dense and chewy texture.
You could totally pair this brownie with some fresh berries or with a bowl of banana nicecream, but I enjoyed it most as a 'ready-available' snack to take along with me on the go :)
Tomato & Basil Pizza Base with Marinara Sauce & Veggie Toppings
I thoroughly enjoy making my own pizza bases, however, they are definitely time consuming to make from scratch and sometimes I wish I could just whip out a ready-made, raw, activated, dehydrated healthy pizza base crust and just add my sauce and toppings.... well, my wish has been granted hahaha! Not only is this raw pizza base crust super convenient and saves me from using a lot of veggies and seeds from when I make my own pizza bases, but it eliminates the dehydrating time length to create a pizza also! You don't even need to dehydrate your finished pizza with the sauce and toppings at all, you can 100% enjoy it fresh! Which is what I did for this recipe. However, if you do want to dehydrate your pizza to get the sauce and toppings to have a more 'cooked' texture, you'll only need to pop it in for 30mins-1hour!
Now, let's get on to the taste... I chose the tomato & basil flavour, because I absolutely ADORE their tomato & basil crackers, so I thought I'd enjoy it in pizza form too! Tomato and basil are ingredients I always use on my raw pizzas anyway, so it's the perfect flavour for a base crust and compliments the rest of the additional toppings I add on top. Activated flax and sunflower seeds form the base of this pizza crust, so it has a lovely crunch and divine blend of flavours from the carrot, basil, tomato, Himalayan salt, garlic, and onion.
The following recipe is my favourite way to enjoy this Kitz Living Foods Pizza Base!
Ingredients
Marinara Tomato Sauce
1 cup ripe cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes soaked in warm water (oil-free type)
1-2 dates
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 tsp pepper
1/2 red capsicum with inner seeds and white fibre removed
1-2 garlic bulbs
Pizza Toppings
1 cup rocket/arugula
1 cup baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup thin tomato slices
1/4 cup basil
1 tsp dried or fresh rosemary
2 tbsp fresh parsley
1/2 cup long orange capsicum slices
1/4 avocado cut in strips
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
Optional - 1/4 cup alfalfa sprouts
Method
1. Blend sauce ingredients together, and spread over pizza evenly.
2. To prepare the toppings: wash your leafy greens & herbs, slice all the veggies thinly, and decorate the pizza by adding all of your desired toppings above the sauce. I like to add the herbs last on the very top.
3. Optional- Place the pizza into a dehydrator for 30-60minutes (the pizza does not have to be dehydrated for too long, as the base is already fully dehydrated!).
4. Add alfalfa sprouts (or your favourite kind of sprouts), and slices of the avocado to serve for decoration. Cut it up into pizza triangles (or you can totally eat it whole in one go), and ENJOY!
Coconut Dream Bars
Kitz Living Foods has a large variety of flavours in their Coconut Dream bar collection. I tried the Banana Cacao, Caramel, Chocolate Mint, Cranberry, Turmeric & Ginger, Mocha Energy, and the Lime Sublime.
I thoroughly enjoyed them all, but I particularly loved the Banana Cacao, and the Cranberry flavour! These both hit the spot for me. Kitz also offers their Coconut Dream Bars in bundle sets, which I think would be the perfect gift too! For someone who is a big fan of coconut, these bars were winners for me as coconut is the main ingredient in all of them, hence the name 'Coconut Dream'. They serve well as a convenient 'on the go' snack too, for that instant sweet vegan treat satisfaction. If you are a fan of lighter, fruity & citrusy flavours, I would recommend the Cranberry or the Lime Sublime bars.
