Roasted Garlic & Herb Cashew “Cheese” Log

While the pressure of the New Year can be needlessly intimidating, it’s still as good a time as any to make healthier choices. The sad fact is that we tend to associate healthy changes with deprivation and there’s really no need for that!

At the Conscious Cleanse, we know that even a slight shift in perception is enough to help us embrace change, not with fear, but with excitement. And that’s where our featured recipe of the week comes in.

Many of our cleansers absolutely L-O-V-E cheese and can’t imagine going a single day without it! That is before they found the Conscious Cleanse.

Sound familiar?

Dairy, and cheese specifically, is one of those big indulgences that so many of us have a hard time leaving behind. Ironically it’s also one of the foods that can cause the strongest and most unpleasant reactions! I don’t know about you but I’m thinking hives, gas, bloating, acne and a runny nose might not go with my outfit – not to mention my health goals.

The trick to making long lasting lifestyle changes is to simply find a healthier option that you love just as much. When I first started this cleansing as a lifestyle journey, I went from eating all types of cheese to only fresh goat cheese. We have a Boulder-based goat cheese company here called Haystack that I’m obsessed with, and that’s where the inspiration for this Roasted Garlic and Herb Cashew Cheese log came from.

Are you one of those people that L-O-V-E-S cheese? Be sure to try our Conscious Cleanse makeover below. Is it just as rich, creamy and delicious as the real thing? Be sure to leave me a comment below.

With cheesy love,

Roasted Garlic and Herb Cashew “Cheese” Log

Yield: 1 4-6 inch log
Ingredients:

• 1 cup cashews
• Filtered water, enough to cover and soak cashews
• Olive oil for drizzling
• 1 head of garlic
• ¼ tsp. sea salt
• 1 TB. lime or lemon juice (If you have unpasteurized sauerkraut you can use the liquid from that too)
• 1 TB. fresh chives, chopped
• 3 TB. mix of fresh herbs, chopped (thyme, oregano, chives, parsley, cilantro, rosemary, dill, etc.)

Directions:
In a medium bowl, add cashews and enough filtered water to cover the nuts. Soak for at least 4 hours or, preferably, overnight.

Preheat oven to 400^o F.

Slice the top off the whole head of garlic, exposing each clove. Leaving the head of garlic intact, remove any loose or papery skin. Drizzle with olive oil and enclose head in a piece of aluminum foil. Roast until the cloves are lightly browned, about 20-30 minutes. The garlic is finished roasting when the center cloves are soft and easily pierced with a fork.

Once the garlic is cooled enough to touch, pluck or squeeze each clove out of its skin and into a food processor fitted with an S blade. Drain and rinse cashews. Add cashews and sea salt to the garlic in the food processor. Blend for about 15 seconds before scraping the sides down. Continue blending. Add lime juice and blend until creamy.

Scrape “cheese” into small bowl and fold in 1 tablespoon of chopped chives. Once mixed, add the dollop of “cheese” to the middle of a large square of wax or parchment paper. The “cheese” will be slightly sticky and soft but it should easily form into a 4-6 inch log. Use the paper to help shape the log. Wrap the paper completely around the log, fold the ends in, and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

After an hour, take the log from the refrigerator and unroll. Sprinkle the fresh herbs onto paper and roll the log back and forth across the herbs, adding more, until the log is entirely coated in herbs. Re-roll the log and refrigerate for another half hour, or longer, depending on firmness desired.

To serve, drizzle with olive oil (optional) along side sliced veggies.

Store “cheese” in the refrigerator (wrapped first in paper and then in an air-tight container) for up to 3 days.