Raw Vegan Pea Pesto Hummus

I am super excited about today's raw vegan hummus recipe! Recently I have been eating raw vegan lunches throughout the week to help increases my vegetable consumption. Personally I have found great benefits to eating this way. Eating raw vegan meals like this raw vegan pea hummus are a great way to eat larger volumes of food while eating less calories. At the end of the day the only way to lose weight is by being in a calorie deficit. How you go about this is entirely up to your preference. For me volume eating is key. The All Natural Vegan is not a weight loss website, it is a health promoting website. However I do like to incorporate healthy weight loss recipes into my blog to provide something for everyone! If you're interested in more raw vegan recipes be sure to check out some of my other posts!

My favorite raw recipes:

• Edamame Crunch Salad
• Raw Vegan Pad Thai
• Healthiest Vegan Ice Cream

How to make raw vegan hummus:

I think raw vegan hummus may be a bit confusing since traditional hummus is made with chickpeas. Since you have to cook chickpeas, traditional hummus is not raw vegan. However this cauliflower hummus recipe is made with peas. Therefore it is lower in calories, yet still high in protein!

How does one make a raw vegan hummus? I honestly wasn't sure at first either. I knew that I would have to take a different approach, because I didn't want to be using ingredients like zucchini, or cashews. After giving it some thought I settled on peas! This raw vegan pea hummus is loaded with flavor and healthy fats to give it the ultimate filling and delicious flavor!

What is a raw vegan:

If you are reading this post, there is a good chance you already know what a raw vegan is. However if you do not, here is a quick summary of what it means to be a raw vegan. A raw vegan is a vegan who eats exclusively uncooked food. Raw vegans eat a diet that is made up of fresh fruits and vegetables as well as seeds, nuts, and dried foods. Raw vegans do not eat grains or beans.

I am not a raw vegan, and I have no intention of ever becoming a raw vegan. However I do think that there's massive benefits to eating a raw vegan diet, and I think that everyone should make an effort to eat more raw vegan meals. They are so healthy, because they're loaded with nutrients from the fresh produce, and free of unhealthy processed foods. Over the past couple weeks I have been eating raw vegan meals for lunch, and I already feel so much better.

It has definitely been a struggle developing raw vegan recipes, but I think I am starting to get the hang of it. This raw vegan hummus is one of my favorite raw vegan recipes that I've created so far! This pea hummus recipe is loaded with low calorie vegetables like cauliflower, peas, and cucumber making it low calorie, while also being full of healthy fats like avocado and walnuts to make it creamy and satiating!

Healthy vegan habits for weight loss:

If you are interested in healthy vegan weight loss, raw vegan recipes may be for you. The reason I will never be fully raw is because I find it a bit too restrictive (that is my opinion). However whenever I have the desire to lose weight, I find that raw vegan meals are the way to go. Recipes like this raw vegan hummus are high in volume and low in calories. This allows you to eat more and feel full without the excess calories.

This raw vegan recipe is made with cauliflower, which is one of my go-to low calorie raw vegan foods. I personally love eating cauliflower raw. I find that it doesn't give me "the grumblies" like some other cruciferous vegetables. By opting for something like cauliflower instead of full fat coconut you are dramatically lowering the calories and fat content of the recipe. While you should definitely still make recipes with full fat coconut milk, because it is absolutely delicious, if weight loss is your goal, this is something that has worked for me!

How to make creamy raw vegan hummus:

Raw vegan hummus is a little tricky to make. You pretty much have to blend it in order to enjoy it like a hummus. If you don't blend it you will just be chowing down raw vegetables. Therefore I would definitely recommend investing in a high speed blender like a Vitamix. I do not exaggerate when I say that I use mine at least twice a day. I received mine as my college graduation present, but honestly I wish I would have invested in one earlier. It has elevated the quality of my cooking so much!

If you are interested in making more raw vegan recipes like this raw vegan cauliflower hummus, then I would go as far as to say it is a necessity. I say this, because you will not only need the power of the motor to blend the raw vegetables, but also the size of the blender. The model I linked is the best of both worlds. It has a strong motor, and a large pitcher. There are plenty of other brands that make high speed blenders, but I firmly believe Vitamix is the best.

How to serve this basil pea dip:

This raw vegan hummus is flavorful on it's own, but there's a couple things you can do to elevate the flavor even more! The first thing we eat with is our eyes, so I am a big fan of presentation. This may be obvious since I am a food photographer, but it is important for anyone! If you follow me on my Instagram, then you know all about #smoothiebowlsaturday! Something that makes smoothie bowl Saturday so special is my Coconut Bowls! I absolutely love serving food in my Coconut Bowls for a couple reasons.

First, and most obviously is the aesthetic. This pea hummus looks so much more beautiful because the Coconut Bowls. Second, they are the perfect proportion! I am someone who has no control when it comes to portion control. Therefore whenever I can find some sort of serving dish to help me properly size out my food it is a lifesaver! Last, but not least is that I love supporting amazing companies who are making the world a better place, and Coconut Bowls is one of those companies. As always you can use my code "COCO-NV-10" for money off your purchase!

The other important factor when serving this raw vegan hummus is what you're dipping in it! The crackers featured in these photos are Ellas Flats. I am not entirely sure if they are raw vegan, or not. However there are plenty of raw vegan crackers out there. When it doubt, fresh vegetables do the trick! I love dipping carrots, cucumbers, and cauliflower in this pea hummus.

Ingredients for this Raw Vegan Pea Hummus:

• Avocado
• Peas
• Cauliflower
• Basil
• Walnuts
• Raw plant based milk (I used almond)
• Lemon