Heather's Halva

Traditional halva recipes, while delicious, are not food combined properly because they use flour and protein (grain and protein), making them harder to digest. They also use sugar and gluten flours. Typical energy bars in health food stores are unfortunately similar with respect to improper food combining.

This is a rich, delicious, chewy and slightly crunchy dessert or snack. It must be refrigerated to hold its fudge-like consistency.

Preparation time

To soak and dehydrate or bake the sesame seeds, start 24 to 48 hours ahead of time (see instructions below). Once that part is done, the halva takes 15 minutes to prepare and at least 3 hours to chill.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup raw butter or cultured butter (you can use coconut oil if you are vegan)
  • 3 cups organic raw tahini
  • 1 cup organic unhulled sesame seeds (see instructions below) cover unhulled sesame seeds with water overnight or for 8 and dried in your dehydrator for 12 hours at 105 degrees F until crunchy)
  • 4 cups flax meal (pre soaked and dehydrated, see instructions. )
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1.5 tsp sea salt
  • Sweetener options: The recipe tastes the same warm or cold, so add the amount of sweetener that works for you.
  • Stevia – ½ – 1 tsp (add to taste – if you like the taste, stop adding stevia)
  • Xylitol – 1 cup (add to taste – add more if you like it sweeter)
  • Honey – 1 cup (add to taste)
  • Dates – Puree 1 cup pitted organic medjool dates with ½ cup hot water to make a paste and use this as your sweetener.

Directions

  • Preparing your seeds so that they are easier to digest – At least 24 hours prior to making your halva, start soaking your sesame seeds and flax seeds. Here’s how:
  • Grind your flax seeds into a flax meal, until you have 4 cups of meal. You can do this in a high speed blender, like a Vitamix or in a coffee/spice grinder.
  • Soaking – to do this, you will put the sesame seeds and flax meal in separate glass bowls, cover them with water and add 1 tsp of sea salt to each bowl. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap (the plastic wrap ideally should not touch the water). Allow them to soak for 8 – 12 hours.
  • Sesame seeds – After soaking your sesame seeds, drain them in a fine mesh strainer and put them in a glass baking dish in your oven at the lowest temperature for about 20 minutes or until slightly browned. If you want this to be a raw recipe, put the sesame seeds in your dehydrator at 105 degrees F for 12 hours or until dried and crunchy. They are now ready to use in the recipe.
  • Flax seed meal – this will be gelatinous and sticky. This is good! Take 4 cups of the mixture and put it in the oven at the lowest temperature for 20 minutes or until dry. If you want this to be a raw recipe, spread the flax meal on a silicone baking sheet and put it in your dehydrator at 105 degrees F for 12 hours or until the flax meal is dry. You will want to grind it up a bit in your blender or spice/coffee grinder to get it back to a fine meal. This makes the flax meal easily digestable so that your body can absorb the great nutrients!

Making the Halva

  • In a saucepan – on your stovetop, heat on low: tahini and butter/coconut oil, then turn off the heat. This is just to get things to warm up. Alternatively, you can warm them up in your dehydrator.
  • Stir in flax meal.
  • Add sweetener and sesame seeds and mix well.
  • Pour onto greased baking pan (I use a silicone baking pan lightly greased, you can also use unbleached parchment paper placed inside any baking pan and you don’t need to grease it); put in the refrigerator and cut as soon as solid enough.
Best when kept refrigerated and will last in your refrigerator for about a week and in your freezer for a couple of months.

 

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Heather Dane

As a coach, writer and recovered former executive, I understand the challenges of creating a balanced, healthy lifestyle when over-scheduled. In my journey to radiant health, I created a whole health system of eating, exercise, renewal and recharging -- a roadmap toward health & vitality. I empower clients to create their own whole health systems, in their own unique ways. I have seen amazing results in working with my clients!
On October 31, 2012   /   Bonus, Desserts, Raw, Recipes, Vegan