By Chocolate mousse
Ever fancied dunking a wedge of avocado in cocoa powder? No, us neither, but when you whizz it up with cacao and a little sweetener, trust us - something magical happens. Recipes vary, but avocado mousse generally requires less than 5 ingredients and 5 minutes with an efficient blender, so it's perfect for when chocolate cravings hit hard and fast. If your interest has been piqued, The Kitchn and Honestly Healthy both do a great version - prepare to be rethink everything you thought you knew about avo…
Energy balls
We've all seen the Instas of neat looking balls of nuts and dates on the accounts of healthy food bloggers, but what you might not have seen is how simple they are to make in your own kitchen. As long as you get the proportions of wet ingredients (sticky dates, nut butters, a little water) to dry (ground raw nuts, supplements like spirulina, chia seeds) on balance, you can't really go wrong, and they're easy to customise to your favourite flavours. For example, try rolling yours in coconut if you're a big fan of Bounty bars, or add peanut butter and cacao for nutritious raw balls of Snickers.
Brownies
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These have a similar principle to the energy balls, but unsurprisingly, they're all about that chocolate. Queen of the raw sweet-toothed Deliciously Ella has not one but two raw brownie recipes on her website – standard choc, and chocolate orange – and they're both equally fudgy and delicious. The only catch is, making them is a snap, but you have to wait for them to set for a few hours. However, because it's all raw and vegan, you can totally lick the bowl in the meantime…
Summer rolls
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Not just a delicious starter from your local Thai restaurant, it turns out – raw summer rolls are crunchy, fresh and healthy, and take basically zero times to chops and roll up. Fill your rice paper wrapper (available from specialist supermarkets) with long thin strips of carrots, beansprouts, peppers, cucumber and herbs like coriander or basil – or if you're wholly committed to the raw food lifestyle, you can ditch the wrappers and make your parcels with cos lettuce leaves or similar instead.
Smoothies
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Yeah, we know, duh, but in times of hunger, it's helpful to remember that smoothies can serve as a snack, not just a breakfast, as long as you manage your portion size. For a basic recipe, blend half a banana with some greens or berries and coconut water, and add a small amount of any other fruits or veggies you please (veggies are preferable, as their sugar content is lower). Just remember, smoothies only count as one of your 5-a-day once, no matter how many you slurp in 24 hours, so don't go downing three a day and wondering why you're not super glowy and revitalised.
Gazpacho
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Basically a savoury smoothie, or cold soup, if you're less forgiving, but don't let that put you off. Gazpacho is crazy refreshing on a hot summer's day, and packed with pure, unfiltered goodness from the selection of raw veg you can include. Oh She Glows has a wonderfully sweet, garlicky tomato gazpacho recipe, where the instructions are pretty much 1. Bung in blender and 2. Blend. It might feel wrong not to put it on the hob and warm it up to begin with, but one spoonful in and you'll def change your mind.
Chia pudding
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In case you've not been properly introduced to the chia seed yet, here's what you need to know. These tiny flecks of yumminess are protein rich, full of fibre and give you a dose of essential nutrients like calcium, potassium, omega 3 fatty acids and zinc in just a couple of spoonfuls. When covered with liquid like nut milk or coconut milk, they also turn into the stickiest, jammiest pud you'll have met in a long time. It's literally as simple as adding the seeds and a bit of honey or other flavouring and stirring, but you do need to leave it in the fridge overnight to set.
Zoodles
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No spiralizer? No problem – a vegetable peeler will make long, Papperdelle style ribbons of veggies like carrots and courgettes in less time that it would take you to wait for bread to pop up from the toaster. Top yours with homemade pesto, chopped tomatoes and garlic, or a drizzle of infused oil and some sesame seeds for a tasty raw snack that can also double for a light lunch in a hurry.
Salsa
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Tomato salsa is obvs amazing, but why limit yourself to just one flavour? Mix it up with chunky mango salsa with coriander and lime, or watermelon salsa with mint, jalapenos and red onion (Gimme Some Oven's recipe is to die for). Corn chips are great, but if you want an all-raw snack, serve your salsa with crudités or pile the salsa into lettuce cups and munch away. And remember, guacamole and hummus also count as raw if you're up for making extra batches.
Nice cream
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Ice cream, but healthy and raw – it can be done! You'll need to freeze slices of banana ahead of time, but then you can blitz the frozen coins up with a couple of spoonfuls of milk and a dash of vanilla, and it'll turn into the dreamiest Mr Whippy-style soft serve you ever imagined. It's so good, you can even serve it in a cone – Flake and sprinkles optional.
Fudge
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Calling all candy lovers – it's the one you've been waiting for. Even with no dairy and no refined sugar, Fearless Fresh has managed to come up with a raw fudge recipe that takes less than 10 minutes to make and tastes INSANE. All you need is coconut oil, cacao, maple syrup (or raw equivalent), vanilla and walnuts, and you can add to the basic recipe with dried fruits and other nuts if you like. Once it's done, you just have to stop yourself eating the entire pan in one go…
